Jolly Good Insurance

In this spot, several friends are regaling a buddy singing, "Ted's a jolly good fellow." He's jolly because he has insurance. He's also not so jolly for reasons that will become clear at the end of the commercial. Via TTR2.

The Cultural Ruination of a Nation

George Simpson writes in this MediaLife piece about the loss of moral fortitude and the sad results that loss has produced. No particular group wants to take responsibility for our morale fiber blaming the other groups for the problem. It's the media's fault. It's bad programming. It's sleazy politicians. And it's gotten to the point where the "cumulative effect on our culture has been to debase it to the point that we wink at presidential blow jobs and don’t howl in protest when a steroid-nourished, woman-hating movie star (and a bad one at that) runs for governor of the largest state in our union."

He may have a point. To some degree, we have all thrown our hands up in disgust with the frustration that it seems whollyy out of our control to stop the moral slide. His suggested solution is to take it upon yourself and assert some control with your advertising dollar. Buy what's right. Leave the sleaze on the table.

Generation Z: The Connected Multi-Tasker

The Connected Multi-Tasker

Generation Z will be the most connected generation that has ever walked this planet. With usage of electronic media devices rising rapidly along with the simultaneous use of those devices, advertisers will need to dramatically shift the strategies they use to communicate with this generation.

A recent study from Knowledge Networks/SRI entitled, "How Children Use Media Technology" reveals 61 percent of children 8-17 have televisions in their rooms, 35 percent have video games and 14 percent have a DVD player. Seventy-five percent of those who have a television in their room report multitasking with other media. With the rise of broadband and wireless access, these numbers are destined to move upward.

To accommodate this multitasking trend, the creation of entirely new devices by electronics manufacturers is in its infancy but growing fast. Companies like Nokia are releasing phones that are also cameras, video recorders, MP3 players, FM radios, gaming stations, IM stations and web browsers all rolled into one device. Media will cease to be time and place based with content delivery control shifting from provider to user.

Old media that do not adapt will die a long, slow and painful death. Refusal among network executives to acknowledge TiVo-like time shifting technologies and those who do not adopt some form of brand integration will also be left on the sidelines. The Internet revolution was nothing. The Gen Z media revolution will shake the industry as well as culture to its core.

Quickbrew Offers 'Write Your Own' Gossip Magazine

If you can't get enough gossip or don't like what you read in the rags then Quickbrew is for you. With Quickbrew's Dirt Magazine, you can choose from a menu of "dirt" to dish up your own personalized rendition of BenLo-like article.

Not surprisingly, this comes from Britain where viral advertising is an art form. The company behind this is Tetly Tea.

Seven Possible Reasons Why Fall Television Sucks

Aaron Baily of 601am puts forth seven reasons why TV sucks this season.

Black Oil Oozes in New BMW Commercial

Ooze For Cruise

Three car ads are mentioned in this weeks Ad Age TV Spots of the Week. The best of the three comes from Arnold Worldwide for BMW's new 5 series sedan. In the spot, a mysterious black fluid oozes across the landscape ultimate rising up T2 style into the new vehicle. The execution is enticing as well as riveting and a refreshing departure from the typical "car on a winding road"

Other spots this week include a humorous spot from Midas playing on the phrase "I brake for..."; a boring car commercial for Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Comp G; an ad for the new Dyson vacuum that claims it is the only vacuum that doesn't lose suction (Not true. Check out Rainbow). The vacuum was also rated poorly by Consumer Reports. There is a commercial for Domain furniture featuring the kind of woman you just want to reach out and stangle after listening to her pontificate about life's "important" issues; an ad featuring Jeter and Steinbrenner for Visa; a surgeon looses his cell phone phone for Keno and Salma Kayek stuffs her face for Coke.

Cigarettes Don't Cause Fires, People Do

Philip Morris has settled a law suit surrounding a baby who was severly burned because her mother, 11 years ago, stepped out of her car, leaving baby and cigarrette behind. The car caught fire and 21 month old Shannon Moore was badly burned.

This, of course, is horrible news but this is also analogous to people who sue McDonalds because coffee is hot and fast food makes them fat. Cigarette companies are despicable entities and they do kill people with their product but not because they set fires to babys in cars.

Girl Offers Crotch For Free Virgin Mobile Airtime

Here. Now Can I Have My Minutes?

In yet another hilarious U.K. ad for Virgin Mobile, a very bendable gymnastics babe flits about a Virgin Records store offering up a certain desirous body part hoping to lure an unsuspecting clerk into giving her free airtime for her Virgin Mobile phone.

As the spot ends, the announcer reveals a much simpler means to getting the free airtime. Thanks to Viralmeister for the link.

U.K Tailor Lutwyche Bespoke Launches Racy Viral Video

Eating. Slapping. Fornicating. Obey The Suit

To the musical bed Carl Orf's Carmina Buranaof , a headless suit mysteriously interacts with several people in a new viral video promoting U.K. based tailor Lutwyche Bespoke. In the video, called Obey The Suit, a man, whose face is never shown, first takes a bite out of a man's sandwich, then slaps the ass of an unsuspecting woman using the copy machine and finally gives another woman a backrub as she sits at a conference room table then lets her hair down and finally has his way with her on the table. Each time, the three react with a smile as soon as they see the suit.

Racy as it sounds, the message is clear. The authority of Lutwyche Bespoke suits is to be respected and appreciated. The video, developed by St. Lukes, has been viewed 35,000 times since its launch early this week and is now being considered for use on television.

Hollywood Honchos Discuss Brand Integration

Richard Horgan writes a piece (CORRECTED URL) in Filstew.com about how Hollywood muscle works with advertisers to achieve brand integration through product placement and other methods. The piece centers on a panel discussion that occurred during Digital Hollywood, a three-day technology conference held in Los Angeles this week. The four panel members - Mitchell Kanner (IEG), Sandy Climan (Entertainment Media Ventures), Michael Nyman (Bragman, Nyman, Cafarelli), Devery Holmes (Norm Marshall Associates) and Irwin Gotlieb (Group M) - seem to understand what's happening in terms of the shift from traditional :30 advertising to a method that firmly embeds the creative message within the content of the medium.

It's heartening to see these discussions taking place yet disheartening to know that most ad agencies don't see where this is going. There is much talk surrounding the "death of the :30" which may be a bit overblown but it is not far from the truth. The means by which marketers communicate with consumers will change dramatically over the next ten years. If agencies do not quickly become part of that conversation, they may not be part of the marketing process much longer.