P. Diddy’s got a new TV ad out for his Sean Jean fragrance. Banned from air in the U.S. because it’s “too hot”, the ad has been cleared for take-off in the U.K. Combs stars in the ad and also produced and directed it, pretty much bypassing any need for an ad agency. Maybe that wasn’t the smartest decision he’s made. I’m thinking he should let the ad agencies do the advertising, and he should stick to the……..wait a minute, what exactly is it that he does, again?
With the imminent release of Halo 3, possibly the most anticipated game to ever hit the shelves, T.A.G / McCann Worldgroup chose Big Science Music to score an emotional and intense 4 minute video showcasing the creation of the “Believe” John 117 Monument Video. Not a gamer? Listen to this track, and the chances are pretty darn high that you’ll have a come-to-Jesus moment anyway. Check it out here.
Was just about to blog about the latest survey on search results vs. print advertising. But then I saw the Marshall’s Shoe Mobile. Perfect timing. Search is awesome, necessary, and makes the world go ’round. But there’s NOTHING that can beat the impact of a cool stunt, in the right place at the right time.
Here’s a cool mobile campaign founded on something the phone is used for, anyway. The campaign utilizes the large digital screens in Hong Kong International Airport, to let travelers say goodbye to loved ones by using their mobile phones to post photos of themselves with goodbye messages on the big screens. Created by Hyperfactory, on behalf of Motorola.
Can’t believe it. First it was Grace Paley. Then Luciano Pavarotti. And now, it’s Madeleine L’Engle. The Newbery-award (and controversial) writer has died. She was 88. One of her most fabulous books, “A Wrinkle in Time” was rejected by 26 publishers before it was finally accepted by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. It proved to be her masterpiece, winning the John Newbery Medal as the best children’s book of 1963 and selling, so far, eight million copies. It is now in its 69th printing. NY Times notes that “Wrinkle” has been one of the most banned books in the United States. The book uses concepts plucked from Einstein’s theory of relativity and Planck’s quantum theory, “almost flaunting L’Engle’s frequent assertion that children’s literature is literature too difficult for adults to understand.” I ordered the book from The Weekly Reader book club, and read it for the first time when I was in the third grade. It was removed from the school library shelves the next year. I still have my original, life-changing, copy. It’s a wonderful can-opener for the back shelves of your mind, no matter how old you are.
Cool new study by the Corporate Executive Board’s Advertising and Marketing Communications Roundtable. Here’s the nutshell of what they came up with: “The traditional, static model of a single ad agency or a fixed roster of agencies working on a brand is being supplanted by an open-source model for some marketers. In this model, marketers hire numerous disparate marketing partners?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùsometimes on a project basis?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùto leverage their special talents and expertise as needed, according to the report. The payoff, it adds, is communications that are more personal, speak directly to the consumer and do a better job of boosting brand perception, penetrating new markets and impacting sales.”
Read Adweek’s account of how the project-based model rocks the house, here.
Fashion Week begins in New York this Tuesday. While some feel it’s nothing more than a vapid display of vanity and consumerism, fashion maintains a choke-hold as one of the most culturally potent forces. Fashion is in bed with Music, who is currently dating Art, who trysts with Politics, who showed up at the dance with Professional Sports, who met in the parking lot with The Film Industry, who was seen just last week seen throwing back shots with Advertising. While we may not all wear couture, even those who are most devoid of plot still show up in costume. Note: even if you’re not a Galliano fan, Fashion Week is worth paying attention to. If you can see past the ostrich feathers and leopard print, you’ll get a fabulous birds-eye view of what’s next among the bourgeois.
Not too long ago, Rudy was on a plane sitting next to Owen Wilson. “Tell him his nose isn’t THAT bad,” I texted. Rudy, of course, showed the text to Owen Wilson. Now, the guy is attempting suicide. Goes to show– if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
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