Google's Gmail Not Alone on Privacy Front

Since Google's launch of their new email product, Gmail, many privacy hounds have been all over the search company because they feel Gmail's searching of personal email to deliver targeted contextual ads is an invasion of privacy. MarketingVOX's Tig Tillinghast spent several hours this weekend examining Hotmail and Yahoo only to find that both do very similar things.

'Passion of The Christ' Action Figure Spoof

Via Boing Boing and Kontraband comes this spoof ad for the Jesus Christ Action figure playset.

Ron Galotti Does No Favors For The Media World

Former big city publisher Ron Galotti speaks out from Vermont in this New York Magazine article by Jay McInerney. And we wonder why advertising and media get a bad rap.

On the delicate relationship between himself, when he was publisher of Vogue, and the monthly's fashion advertisers: "Okay, we're having trouble with Giorgio Armani. Anna [Wintour, Vogue's legendary editor] isn't featuring enough of his [expletive] white blouses or something. Si [Newhouse, chairman of Conde Nast] says would I mind going over to Milan and kissing his ass, 'cause I probably know him as well as anybody. I reach into my pocket and pull out a tube of Chap Stick and I say, 'I kiss so much ass I go through two of these a week. And the trouble is, I'm starting to like it.' "

Advertisers A Bunch Of NUDGnicks

MediaPost's Real Media Riffs takes an insightful look at the failed NUDG meeting this past Thursday saying the whole thing isn't about advertisers but rather shareholders.

UPDATE: Be sure to read the response to this post by Association of National Advertisers President and CEO Robert Liodice in the Comment section.

Jeff Jarvis On Stern: F*cked By The F*CC

Advance.net President Jeff Jarvis has a cover story about Howard Stern and his fight with the FCC on this week's The Nation. It's a well written piece reminding us what free speech is all about and how it is all being twisted to suit the needs of a few in the minority.

Jarvis also reveals on his blog that Stern claims to blog under a secret identity. The blogging community will not rest until he's outed. Of course, Atrios hasn't been outed yet either. Hmm.

PETA Wants Your Dog to Run Free

Not content with telling the world to stop eating meat, PETA now wants us to unchain our dogs and let the run free. This, following the mauling of a four year old Hodgenville, Kentucky girl by her own family's pit bull. PETA claims chained dogs go mad and are advocating legislation to end this so-called cruelty.

As part of this effort, PETA has launched a billboard campaign with the headline, "To Keep Your Family Safe, Chain Your Door, Not Your Dog." PETA Director Daphna Nachminovitc says, "People who relegate ‘man’s best friend’ to a chain in the backyard may be putting their families and neighbors at risk and are being just plain mean to their dogs."

Behavioral Targeting Not Online Ad Panacea

With announcements from Tacoda, aQuantive, 24/7 and others forming behavioral ad networks, one might think behavioral targeting could become the contextual ad-killer. Not so, according to mOne Group Planning Director Andrea Ching who is not convinced reaching a financial trader in the sports section is as valuable as reaching that same trader in the finance section. "There's nothing that substitutes for reaching someone in a relevant context," she said.

Adding to Ching's caution, Reuters Media Sales VP of Media Walker Jacobs said the contextual approach will always trump the behavioral approach, "We need to control the excitement about it. I don't know if it's the Holy Grail of online advertising."

In terms of its pricing, Ching thinks publishers charge too much for the service and ING Online Marketing Head Tom Lynch agreed saying, "The value is certainly TBD." So while the cheerleaders try to get the crowd excited for the kick-off, it's still pre-game on the behavioral targeting playing field.

Cell C Takes Care of Your Morning Clumsiness

Sometimes things just don't go quite right when you are getting ready for your day. Thankfully, there's Cell C, a South African cellular company that offers free medical rescue as part of its service. Odd thing to offer as part of a cell phone package but maybe South African's are accident prone by nature.

Oh, and that butt shot? Well, what part of the ad did you think you'd see cropped here on Adrants?

Network Execs Still Fat And Happy...And Clueless

Executives at the Milken Global Conference yesterday brushed off the notion that television is a dying medium.

"What time has shown is the unbelievable power of network TV," said Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corp., which owns the Fox Group. "The fact that people are still watching that much network television is a testament to its remarkable strength." Perhaps he hasn't seen the massive declines in Nielsen numbers.

Sumner Redstone also chimed in saying, "The only way you reach all American people is through network television." Sumner, there's this big thing called the Internet. Perhaps you've heard of it. Lots of people are using it. Really. I'm serious. You should check it out.

Big Changes Coming in Advertising

Stephanie Olsen writes in CNET about the many dramatic changes occurring in the advertising segment including the shift to accountability driven by available new technologies and the shift of marketing control from advertiser to consumer. Everything from TiVo to behavioral targeting to addressable advertising to performance-based campaigns are covered. All of which might finally lay the rest the famous statement, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The problem is, I don't know which half."