Ken Convoy's got a few agency-ready business models proven to save tons of money and make clients love you more. He can do it all at a fraction of the cost most agencies can, and with less than 10 people involved.
What are these big ideas?
We don't know.
Who is Ken Convoy?
Um ... a dude who runs a one-man agency in Santa Barbara, CA.
But hey, Ken is willing to convey his winning, proven models to any kingpin agency willing to talk to him. The problem is, nobody's passed him more than a few friendly emails, followed by the inevitable brush-off.
In this post right here, Ken (sometimes eloquently) details his attempts to penetrate the iron curtain of "agency arrogance" with zero luck.
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This is the perfect time to use George Parker's BDA acronym which stands for Big Dumb Agencies. Adrants reader Lauren tipped us to a story in AdWeek about Omnicom's John Wren touting the holding company's "non-traditional" work.
The story miffed here a bit and she wrote us, "Congratulations Omnicom and welcome to the digital age. This article really bothered me because it seems like the advertising trades are so obsessed with covering any bit of news coming out of holding companies that they are missing the real news, the real trends and maybe even the cool interactive work that's being done now, and not in 2006. And (gasp) maybe, just maybe it's not the holding companies that are ahead of the game this time..."
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Now this is cool. We've already got contextual ads. We've already got behavioral ads. But we all know how much fuckery can sometimes come from those automated solutions. Wouldn't it be cool if the content of banners were matched to the content of the page by an actual, intelligent human being as opposed to a garbage in/garbage out, brainless computer?
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Now here's something you wouldn't generally expect to read on Adrants. After all, we're one half horny male ad slut, one half dystopian ad tyrant but when we were pointed to Amalgamated's website as an example of advertising's boys club hubris, we couldn't leave it alone. Yea, the site's been that way for a long time but we're too busy looking at actual work to check out every agency's site on a regular basis.
This site is so over-the-top, too-cool-for-school and testosterone-laden, it makes Mad Men look like an AWNY convention on steroids...uh...progesterone. Who do these guys think they are? Just check out the imagery on the site. Could it be any more packed with stereotypical pompousity? Even setting aside the quaintly anachronistic portrayal of men and women in the office, the whole things reeks of grandiloquent pretense.
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Crowdsourcing meets sci-fi meets a quasi-virtual world in Mountain Dew's exploding head-inducing campaign, DEWmocracy.
Supported by traditional advertising, DEWmocracy paints a dismal future filled with corporate suits that travel in the backs of pick-up trucks, and where high fructose corn syrup is considered a magical elixir capable of overthrowing big brother.
Through the site, the Dew ultimately aims to put consumers on an adventure to come up with its newest flavor and packaging, while grabbing as much marketing data on its brave virtual freedom fighters.
Fresh with ideas from his performance in Battlefield Earth, Forest Whitaker helped entertainment concept firm Protagonist in creating this brave dew world.
- Former Arnold Creative Director David Register has announced he will be opening a creative advertising school in Boston in early 2008.
- The 2008 One Show has opened its call for entries. The deadline for entering the 2008 One Show, One Show Interactive, and One Show Design awards is January 31, 2008. The online entry system is now live and accepting submissions.
- An Italian ad for Red Bull in which a fourth wise man shows up with a case of beer (sorry, we were thinking of Red Stripe) of the stuff for baby Jesus has angered Italian Priests.
- Followinig RJ Reynolds pulling its Camel advertising for 2008, six attorneys general have filed a law suit against the tobacco company for violating the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement which prohibits the use of cartoons, certain brand-name merchandise and related promotions in cigarette advertising.
- Landor Associates has named Russ Meyer Chief Strategy Officer. Hmm. And we thought he made sexploitation films in the seventies featuring gigantically-breasted models.
I suppose we should all be excited and ecstatic Deutsch, who really needs it, just reeled in the $150 million Sony PlayStation ad account besting Publicis, Venebles, RPA and TBWA which was eliminated yesterday but we just can't seem to get our pulse to rise above an even 60. It's not that we don't appreciate the efforts Deutsch must have gone to to rip this account from a 13 year relationship with TBWA/Chiat/Day it's just that...OK, fine, Deutsch sorely needs a win and this is a good one. (Sorry, someone must have shoved a bad ad up our ass when we wrote this)
Predictably, though moronically, no one wants to say anything for attribution which. predictably, is the way it is in this business. Don't take risks. Don't say anything without 300 people vetting it (and watering it down) first. And, God forbid, don't ever, ever leave your office without your ass completely covered with an inch of steel.
But they are talking about their same day win of Saturn's online business. And now at least we have a few words from Deutsch.
- Can't we just enjoy a happy Barbie and Ken Christmas without depressing PSAs? Apparently not.
- Writing on Advertising for Peanuts, Jim Morris thinks the best ads are the ones that capture "the quiet power of a genuinely human moment." He might be right.
- Y&R has scooped up the $55 million Jenny Craig Account. Direct response and celebrity management factored heavily in the decision. JWT handled previously.
- Black Friday's online spending was up 22 percent to $531 million. Cyber Monday is expected to surpass $700 million.
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In a recruitment ad, India agency Concept Communication wants your testicles. Yes, that's what they want. In fact, the headline of a recent recruitment ad reads, "Testicles Wanted." After that not so subtle reduction of potential employees to nothing more than a body part, the copy goes on to empathize with advertising professionals who are apparently sick of being called names such as "postman" (must be an Indian thing) and "person without balls." Somehow it's still perfectly OK for the agency to recruit a sack of bloated balls instead of an actual person.
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Even if it finds its way to a press release in a bid for publicity, you can't fault an agency for sending 30 of its employees to New Orleans to assist Hands On New Orleans with the continuing post-Katrina clean up. In partnership with its client, The Stanley Works, Mullen sent 30 "Mullenteers" from its Wenham (Boston) and Detroit office to the city last week armed with Stanley Tools and sixty hands to paint, construct, plumb, roof or anything else that needed doing.
The Stanley Works provided all manner of tools including tape measures, hammers, levels, saw horses, tool boxes, pliers, power staplers, clamps, laser levelers, inflators and mechanics tool sets, all of which will remain with Hands On New Orleans for continuing use.
Nice work, Mullen. So when are you guys moving to Boston? That's what we keep hearing.
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