Peter Murphy Channels John Lennon For Chase Bank.

Hmmm. I would gone with "Cuts You Up" and had someone destroying their credit cards. BUT THAT'S ME. Okay, besides the fact that Lennon and Los Beatles had generally been off-limits for years, or that Peter Murphy was Marilyn Manson sans make-up and obnoxiousity long before Marilyn was, let's take a look behind the scenes at the creative brief for this mcgarrybowen effort:

"Chase's objective was simple--they wanted people to know: we're Chase, we're a bank and we're in California. With WaMu being such a toxic brand--the largest bank failure in history--and with the country (especially California) hit hard with the recession, Chase also wanted the spot [after the jump] to provide people with a little hope and convey the dawn of a new day."

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Calling All Illegal Canadians.

You may just be Canadian and not even know it. Americans must be sneaking into Canada and blending in at such a rate if they needed this spot. Well, if you're one of the sneakers, you're now legal, no matter where you came from. Check out more info at about dual Canadian Amnesty at their website. Although I would've thrown in some Rush instead of the C&W music. How long now before we get spots here for immigrants converting into Americans. (Not every Canadian among us is honest about like William Shatner. Hard to tell them apart. The guy pumping your gas? Could be from Ontario.)

Never Date Outside the Division.

New series of spots out by Mullen for the Bruins. A bear mascot throwing down never gets old. Never. Maybe you were stupid and tucked your jersey in. Bad move. Or perhaps you're a fan who talks too much on their cell. Another bad move.

In a Crappy Ad Economy, Innovation is Key

During the ad:tech San Francisco Keynote Roundtable "Innovate or Die! Great Brands in the Age of Disruption," Nielsen Online EVP of Digital Strategic Services led a panel which focused on the need for brands to innovate as they move forward. Panelist Eric Feng, Senior VP of Audience and CTO, Hulu noted true innovation can come after a product is released and the end user feedback - which is now a real-time waterfall thanks to social media - is analyzed and put to use for future product releases.

Part of the discussion centered on where innovation originates and how that location can affect it. For example, in the U.S., innovation is built on years of previous product generations versus China where there is a lot of generation skipping. Legacy is not always part of the equation. Because of this, foreign markets are sometimes a better place to innovate because there's less legacy and less baggage.

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ad:tech: Jimmy 'Jimmidee' Wales, Post Keynote

Shortly after his keynote at ad:tech San Francisco -- and David Spark's timely pre-talk grab -- founder Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia sat down with me to talk shop.

Expect to hear his dish on where consumer generated media is now and why brands should dive in (as well as where). We also talked about what-in-hell happened with Wikia, why branding's underrated, and what keeps Wikipedia afloat. (It ain't advertising.)

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Vivo Shoes Loves Ebony & Ivory.

Side by side on my feet(s) in this new clip. According to their YouTube page, "Terra Plana's VivoBarefoot is a revolutionary, back-to-basics design based on the simple principle that being barefoot is the healthiest way for you and your feet to be." Or perhaps after watching, your mind went to a bad place like mine and thought, hey, look at the gangrene on those toes. But, because I'm feeling the love today, I'll err on the side of awwwww, that's kinda cute. (But, like, a 52-48% awwwww, not a landslide awwwww.)

Tribeca Film Festival Celebrates NYC with Gabardine Flashers.

Give him a break ladies, it's cold out. To promote the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, Ogilvy came up with this spot showing the fun you can have with the locals in NYC. This year's festival opens on Wednesday April 22 and runs through Sunday May 3, 2009. Say hi to Bobby if you see him.

In An Absolute World, Earth Wouldn't Need Help From Absolute.

Please, this Earth Day, be kind to the planet, and please, when viewing this short, be kind. SNL's Michaela Watkins plays a low budget Mother Nature in the fight between man and, um, nature.

Almost 100 Days In, Do You Still Have Hope?

Well, you wanted Hope, you got it. I noticed when Steve asked me to fill in this week that the last time I was here was in November during the elections. Hope was in the air! Whoo-hoo! I ran a poll to test the waters, and the results showed overwhelmingly that Obama was going to win! He did! Whoo-hoo!

It's more than a relevant topic to revisit now though. This industry practically helped get him elected. All anyone on ad and marketing blogs or in agencies could talk about was Obama, or the difference between the two candidates and their "brilliant/not brilliant" use of social media and how Obama was going to be the change we needed. A case study in how to use the internet. Whoo-hoo!

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But Wait, There's More...

- Is your company this clueless?

- Even the Yakuza are looking for work.

- Design LG's next cell phone, take home 20 large.

- The Saturn experience--ask for it by name!

- While you're at it, add Old Navy, Chrysler and Palm to the list of brands with a short future.