We've all heard the stories. Advertising is dying. Advertising is dead. We've all seen it played out over and over again in various forms of media. Just about every agency has created some sort of self-promotional piece touting the fact they know advertising is dead and they are the only ones who can weather the storm and come out healthy on the other side which, of course, is why you should work with them and only them. Because, well, every other agency is stupid, anachronistic and can't get out of its own way.
But not Latvia's CCS. Oh no. They have all the answers and have launched as the country's first social media agency. And to do so, they've taken the whole "advertising is dead" thing to it's logical conclusion; a funeral. An actual funeral. Online and off. And they've invited every other agency in the country to attend.
Sadly, they've committed a grave, Online Markating 101 error. They've launched an "under construction" website. But that's OK because they have, yes, a Facebook page! And that's what social media is all about, right? Facebook. Facebook and Twitter. That's all you need do do the social media thing.
Well, here's hoping they're not that naive.
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- Nudity is great but it won't save magazines. We tell FOX News why.
- Esurance will be the official sponsor of the 2010 U.S. Open.
- Alex Bogusky tells all in lengthy Fast Company interview.
- It's not as hot as her work for Pepsi but this is Beyonce Knowles. There isn't much to complain about.
- Want to know how Karl Lagerfeld creates a Fendi campaign? Check it out here.
- Stallone beats the shit out of YouTube.
- This bike has a brain. And it's precious. And it's out to fight cancer. And it's a LIVESTRONG effort.
It seems everyone wants to work at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Even though Bogusky isn't even there anymore. He is/was, after all, the backbone of the agency. In fact, do Crispin and Porter even exist?
In any event, two Miami Ad School students, Santiago Cosme and Vicor Javier Blanco, on September 3, plan to travel from New York to Boulder without spending a dime. The pair hope the kindness of strangers will feed, clothe, house and transport them to advertising nirvana.. Why? We have no idea. They aren't even seeking a job at the agency as far as we can tell.
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Here's what we have to say about that. One of AgencySpy's beloved blind items goes all journalistic and decides to check sources on someone who's been fingered an asshole by co-workers. Gee, not everyone in the workplace is a Mr. Rogers who cares ever so deeply about people's fragile feelings? What a shocker.
Come on. This is blind item crap is pointless information if there isn't at least a hint of who it's about. If you have facts, AgencySpy, share them. If you have sources, use them. I completely understand that this trash gets readers. We've been known to do the same right here. But you've removed everything of value from this piece. It's like a fart without a smell. We've worked for/with plenty of people in this industry over the years whose name could very easily be slapped on this piece.
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Mullen has launched a new mobile media practice. It'll be headed by former media planner Brenna Hanly. Would it be inappropriate for us to say she's cute? Actually, we don't care if it's inappropriate because she is cute.
She even talks cute. Here's how she introduces herself on Mullen's The Next Great Generation blog: "Hey, I'm Brenna. I'm fascinated by the potential of emerging media. I want to transform the way we think about advertising and work towards creating sexy, new solutions with real utility. I also enjoy oil and acrylic painting, dancing, and travel. Oh, and I love the beach and margaritas."
See? Isn't that cute? We think so. Anyway, send us your hate comments about our inappropriate behavior now.
So is Cleveland-based Brokaw Advertising.
In every career, there are always a few times we'd all like to just get up and leave. Trouble is, we have to eat and we need a place to live hence the perpetual need for money. So no matter how much we might hate our jobs, leaving isn't always an option.
Unless, of course, you are someone like Alex Bogusky who, as we all know, has left MDC to "pursue a number of issues apart from advertising." With an annual salary of $2 million, the man certainly has a cushion. But, as BNET's Jim Edwards uncovered, the $38,974,000 MDC paid as earnout to agency founders, Bogusky is set for life.
We're not complaining. We're not jealous. The man is a major figure in the advertising industry and has contributed much to the business. Of course, parting with $38,974,000 "in these economic times" never sits well with the industry's hoi polloi.
Yes, it's true. Creative God Alex Bogusky, co-founder of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, has left MDC to "pursue a number of issues apart from advertising." Rising from CP+B founfer to co-chair to head creative honcho at MDC, Bogusky, 47, is leaving the business.
An MDC statement said, "Alex Bogusky has resigned from MDC Partners in order to focus his time and energy on pursuing a number of initiatives and issues apart from advertising and marketing that he feels strongly about. We have enjoyed a long and tremendously productive partnership over the past 10 years and have the utmost respect and admiration for Alex. We're confident that many important causes will benefit from his passion and brilliance, and wish him the very best in all of his future."
Alex, we wish you well in your future endeavors.
Does anyone really want to read about account wins and losses. Oh wait, that's the entire reason for AgencySpy's existence and if readership claims are to be believed, plenty of you do. We're not into that sort of thing so much here at Adrants...except when it has to do with condoms. Condoms specifically designed for those over 7.5 inches in length. Well, at least that's how long the brand's condom is.
Okamoto USA has named Cleveland-based agency Marcus Thomas to handle its Beyond Bodi Heat wrap and Beyond Seven condom product lines. First trade advertising, tagged "Thin condoms, thick margins," breaks (um...pun?) this summer. First consumer advertising will break in the fall.
It isn't what it used to be, but there's something about Cannes that still excites. It's a place apart, where you're plunged willy-nilly into a life that doesn't belong to you for an inordinate amount of time. For that reason, alighting on it yearly feels a bit like coming home, and the expectation that rises inside is a welcome feeling.
I arrived around 1 in the morning, following a long train delay in Paris thanks mostly to a workers strike. (This is normal.) Because it's a small town, I walked to my hotel: 6 minutes from the train station. This is a convenient city once you know it, and despite the constant barrage of tourists and entitled conference folk, it doesn't change much.
I am staying in a place that lacks sex appeal but has free secured wifi and is clean. The window has an excellent view of Curves, an American weight-loss chain that caters primarily to working women.
It's funny how the sight of something you haven't seen in a long time takes you elsewhere: Curves, an unlikely nostalgic device, brings me back to Oakland's business district, where I contemplated registering on my lunch breaks until a friend told me I'd be joining "fat camp for deluded feminists." I didn't think about it again.
But you're not here for reminiscences of lost fitness aspirations; you're here to read about the Lions. That's cool, let's get down to business.
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