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Mergers and acquisitions—it’s one way to grow a company beholden to its shareholders. Ad industry holding companies know all about it, given that they regularly acquire and then “hold” what were once independent and innovate agencies. Earlier this month in what could become the merger of all mergers, Omnicom announced its intentions to acquire Interpublic […]
Holiday shoppers in Manhattan are being met with different sort of pitch this year, one that asks them to open their hearts and minds, not their wallets. DeVito/Verdi has a lot of experience working with healthcare concerns and pitching in to help cause-based organizations. In the agency’s latest campaign for LiveOnNY—the organ procurement organization for […]
One thing I love about watching soccer on TV is the complete lack of commercial breaks until half time. The great American game of football makes no such allowances and thus it takes much longer to watch. Did you know that the average college football game lasts 3 hours and 24 minutes and the average […]
The Culture War is the war that never ends. One side is hell-bent on denying American citizens their rights to bodily autonomy, gender identity, even books, and a decent education. To this end, the National Republican Congressional Committee unveiled its first Texas ad of the general election last week, accusing U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, […]
“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.” – Statement on AI Training Musicians, actors, and writers worldwide are signing their names to a statement opposing artificial intelligence companies and developers using their work […]
Kyle Chayka is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He wrote a piece after the election about Elon Musk’s impact on the Trump brand. Here’s a small excerpt to chew on. It’s hard to overstate the success that a Trump-Musk axis has already had in rebranding Trump’s image.… In the company of Musk—redolent of […]
Toxicity is at an all-time high, according to unnamed experts. There’s toxicity in the workplace, toxicity online, and toxicity in the air. Toxicity has even seeped into entire industries. As a result, Virgin Active, a chain of health clubs in the U.K and beyond, is calling on people to rebel against the toxicity of the […]
Nebraska is in the news, and I’m happy to say, it’s for the right reasons. The Democratic candidate for Vice President is from small-town Nebraska. A Republican State Senator from Omaha joined with his Democratic colleagues to defy attempts to change how the state awards its electoral college votes (by Congressional district). University of Nebraska’s […]
In Texas, the Attorney General’s office has a nasty habit of using the courts to interfere with citizens groups, churches, and others working for the common good. Now, Florida is taking the litigious path. The state’s Surgeon General’s office wants to bring criminal charges against any broadcasters airing an advertisement it doesn’t like. Right now, […]
In the elder days of Art Builders wrought with greatest care Each minute and unseen part, For the Gods see everywhere. –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In his pithy and spot-on book, On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt writes about the above lines of poetry, “The point of these lines is clear. In the old days, craftsmen did […]
Two highly litigious rich men were served a dose of their own lawyerly medicine this week when the United Auto Workers filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The charges claim Trump and Musk used a live broadcast on the site formerly known as Twitter to threaten and […]
How many recurring subscriptions do you have? And how many of these companies with your credit card info contact you before they automatically renew? Only a small percentage of my subscription-based relationships do me the favor (after I change my auto-renew preferences), and I imagine the same is true for you. The FTC uses the […]
I’m impressed by the quality and consistency of messages from the Harris-Walz campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris, in particular, is addressing the hard topics of our day with a straight-on, level-headed fierceness and compassion that’s both remarkable and refreshing. For millions of voters, a woman’s right to choose is at the center of the 2024 […]
In the elder days of Art Builders wrought with greatest care Each minute and unseen part, For the Gods see everywhere. –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In his pithy and spot-on book, On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt writes about the above lines of poetry, “The point of these lines is clear. In the old days, craftsmen did […]
“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.” – Statement on AI Training Musicians, actors, and writers worldwide are signing their names to a statement opposing artificial intelligence companies and developers using their work […]
In Texas, the Attorney General’s office has a nasty habit of using the courts to interfere with citizens groups, churches, and others working for the common good. Now, Florida is taking the litigious path. The state’s Surgeon General’s office wants to bring criminal charges against any broadcasters airing an advertisement it doesn’t like. Right now, […]
I’m impressed by the quality and consistency of messages from the Harris-Walz campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris, in particular, is addressing the hard topics of our day with a straight-on, level-headed fierceness and compassion that’s both remarkable and refreshing. For millions of voters, a woman’s right to choose is at the center of the 2024 […]
Nebraska is in the news, and I’m happy to say, it’s for the right reasons. The Democratic candidate for Vice President is from small-town Nebraska. A Republican State Senator from Omaha joined with his Democratic colleagues to defy attempts to change how the state awards its electoral college votes (by Congressional district). University of Nebraska’s […]
The Culture War is the war that never ends. One side is hell-bent on denying American citizens their rights to bodily autonomy, gender identity, even books, and a decent education. To this end, the National Republican Congressional Committee unveiled its first Texas ad of the general election last week, accusing U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, […]
Toxicity is at an all-time high, according to unnamed experts. There’s toxicity in the workplace, toxicity online, and toxicity in the air. Toxicity has even seeped into entire industries. As a result, Virgin Active, a chain of health clubs in the U.K and beyond, is calling on people to rebel against the toxicity of the […]
Two highly litigious rich men were served a dose of their own lawyerly medicine this week when the United Auto Workers filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The charges claim Trump and Musk used a live broadcast on the site formerly known as Twitter to threaten and […]
Letter writing is a lost art. Think about it. When was the last time you handwrote or typed a personal letter and dropped it in the mail? When was the last time you received a real letter in the mail? Maybe Google’s AI assistant (Gemini) can help to bring letter writing back into fashion. Seems […]
Caroline Gleich does not look like a Senator, and she’s wisely using this fact to her credit. Knowing how little faith American citizens have in Congress, why would you want to appear to be one of them? In a sane world, you’d do everything you could to distance yourself from the way it is in […]
The Olympic Games in Paris provide an ideal setting, programming-wise, for brands to explore their own heroic journeys and present powerful narratives to a large and attentive audience. Two car companies—Subaru and Hyundai—have chosen to follow this path and the results are notable. Subaru reminds us that “Love begins with trust,” and Hyundai reminds us […]
In-house agencies have grown in size and stature over the past 20 years. ECD Kevin Frank was there early on, leaving agency life to lead creative teams at Apple and LinkedIn. Now he’s living an expat life in Paris. In this 39-minute Ad Chatter from AdPulp, Kevin talks with host Dan Goldgeier about: Life at […]
A theater major from Kentucky isn’t necessarily the most likely candidate to become a CCO of a major agency, but Troy Hitch, Global Chief Creative Officer of RAPP, is the product of a number of adventurous experiences. In this 35-minute Ad Chatter, Troy talks with host Dan Goldgeier about: • The “Ego Epiphany” that good […]
Collaboration is the key that unlocks creative greatness. The best films, music, food, advertising, media, and so on, are all made by teams. Therefore, joining a highly functional team and learning to be a productive member of the team is the way forward for ambitious makers. Two professors at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas […]
We have a returning guest! Host Dan Goldgeier chats with Steve Harrison about his new book, co-written with Dave Dye, “The Howard Gossage Show – and what it can teach you about advertising, fun, fame, and manipulating the media.” In this 29-minute podcast, Dan and Steve chat about: • What made Howard Gossage’s work so […]
Last week, when people from the advertising industry began to dump on Apple’s new iPad advertisement on LinkedIn, I wondered what the fuss was about. Turns out that people working in creative industries don’t like it when the richest company on earth wantonly flattens guitars, books, collectibles, and other art objects. If you haven’t seen […]
This week in advertising history, Apple apologized for making an ad that people did not like. In other news, Liquid I.V. worked with its creative agency of record, Anomaly, to develop the new brand platform, “TEAR POUR LIVE MORE,” which highlights “the magic of extraordinary hydration.” The spot benefits greatly from its soundtrack—the gospel song […]
Advertising is a parasite that depends on the blood of its host—news and entertainment content—for its survival. When the body or in this case the media industry is sick, the parasite too will suffer. This is the conclusion, although not the language, of Mike Follett, managing director of eye-tracking company Lumen Research (and a former […]
To launch Hyundai’s all-electric, high-performance IONIQ 5 N, Hyundai Motor Europe and Innocean set a unique challenge for the car: beat the winter blues in one of Europe’s darkest cities. IONIQ 5 N is not a traditional car; it’s an everyday sportscar with racetrack capabilities and features such as N Drift Optimizer and N Grin […]
Two Harvard professors looked into the future of AI’s impact on the world wide web and what they saw wasn’t pretty. Judith Donath, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and Bruce Schneier, a fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School published their projections in The Atlantic. Here’s a short […]
Stephanie McCarty is chief marketing and communications officer at Taylor Morrison Homes, a home builder based in Scottsdale, Arizona. McCarty is top of mind for a lot of agency leaders at the moment, because she used her LinkedIn page to speak some hard truths about the agency business. When her LinkedIn post went viral, Adweek […]
“Trust the Free Press. Not Pretty Words.” That’s the message from Reporters Without Borders Germany. To commemorate the group’s 30th anniversary, Innocean Berlin in collaboration with Stink Films Berlin produced a series of moving films, plus posters, digital out-of-home, and social media. The three films in the campaign are powerful cinematic expressions of what’s at […]
This vintage TV campaign from Lone Star Beer reminds me that computer generated images (CGI) have been in use by advertisers for years. It reminds me of popular TV shows from that time. The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched, in particular. It reminds me that making outrageous product claims has a long tradition. For […]
Medium is taking a stand on AI-generated writing. An email from Medium arrived in my inbox a few days ago describing changes that are coming to the publishing platform. Beginning May 1, 2024, stories with AI-generated writing (disclosed as such or not) are not allowed to be paywalled as part of Medium’s Partner Program. Accounts […]
Did you know that you can study the science of packaging at Michigan State University in East Lansing? In the fall of 1952, Packaging was created at Michigan State University as an academic discipline in the Department of Forest Products. The Packaging program was science and mathematics based with strong components in business, sociology and […]
How many times have marketers been told—mostly by other marketers—that the new tech is the best tech? So many times…remember when every brand had to have a home in Second Life? It was an absurd thing to say then, as it is today when the new new thing has to be tested, twisted, and made […]
Is the GOP on the verge of collapse? I doubt it, but there are obvious signs of decay, including the fact that a substantial chunk of Republican primary and caucus voters told pollsters that they would be so dissatisfied if Donald Trump became the party’s presidential nominee—and it looks like he will—that they would not […]