Two Harvard professors looked into the future of AI's impact on the world wide web and what they saw wasn't pretty. Judith Donath, a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and Bruce Schneier, a fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School published their projections in The Atlantic. Here's a short passage from "It's the End of the Web As We Know It," SEO will morph into LLMO: …
Did Stephanie McCarty Just Say What Other CMOs Are Thinking?
Stephanie McCarty is chief marketing and communications officer at Taylor Morrison Homes, a home builder based in Scottsdale, Arizona. McCarty is top of mind for a lot of agency leaders at the moment, because she used her LinkedIn page to speak some hard truths about the agency business. When her LinkedIn post went viral, Adweek commissioned an article. In the Adweek article, McCarty makes it clear that "the whole …
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The Loss of Freedom Is Never Obvious at First
"Trust the Free Press. Not Pretty Words." That's the message from Reporters Without Borders Germany. To commemorate the group's 30th anniversary, Innocean Berlin in collaboration with Stink Films Berlin produced a series of moving films, plus posters, digital out-of-home, and social media. The three films in the campaign are powerful cinematic expressions of what's at stake today. It takes truth to grow freedom, …
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Flashback Friday: Lone Star Beer
This vintage TV campaign from Lone Star Beer reminds me that computer generated images (CGI) have been in use by advertisers for years. It reminds me of popular TV shows from that time. The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched, in particular. It reminds me that making outrageous product claims has a long tradition. For example, "Something wonderful happens when you pour a cold Lone Star." It's just a beer, but a beer …
Medium Separates from the AI Pack
Medium is taking a stand on AI-generated writing. An email from Medium arrived in my inbox a few days ago describing changes that are coming to the publishing platform. Beginning May 1, 2024, stories with AI-generated writing (disclosed as such or not) are not allowed to be paywalled as part of Medium's Partner Program. Accounts that have fully AI-generated writing behind the paywall may have those stories …
140,000 Packaged Goods Under One Academic Roof
Did you know that you can study the science of packaging at Michigan State University in East Lansing? In the fall of 1952, Packaging was created at Michigan State University as an academic discipline in the Department of Forest Products. The Packaging program was science and mathematics based with strong components in business, sociology and psychology. The first Bachelor of Science degree in Packaging was awarded …
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AI Is Not the Problem, Lack of Original Thinking Is the Problem
How many times have marketers been told—mostly by other marketers—that the new tech is the best tech? So many times...remember when every brand had to have a home in Second Life? It was an absurd thing to say then, as it is today when the new new thing has to be tested, twisted, and made useful to real people. Nevertheless, promoters gonna promote. And Fast Company is a favorite media vehicle of promoters. For …
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Republican Accountability PAC to Invest $50M to Defeat Trump
Is the GOP on the verge of collapse? I doubt it, but there are obvious signs of decay, including the fact that a substantial chunk of Republican primary and caucus voters told pollsters that they would be so dissatisfied if Donald Trump became the party’s presidential nominee—and it looks like he will—that they would not vote for him in November’s general election. In related news, The New York Times is reporting …
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