Richard Branson certainly doesn't need more publicity or admiration, but when I read this Q&A article in Time Magazine, one of his answers caught my eye: Has your dyslexia hindered you in the business world? —Skye O'Brien, Dartmouth, Mass. Strangely, I think my dyslexia has helped. When I launch a new company, I need to understand the advertising. If I can understand it, then I believe anybody can. Virgin speaks in …
The 30-Second Spot Is Alive, Well, And Expensive
You'd think that smaller TV audiences would lead to falling ad prices, right? Not so, according to this story in the New York Post: Although it seems counterintuitive, it's the law of supply and demand. As the TV audience shrinks, advertisers have to buy more ads to reach their target number of viewers. But that increased demand for ad slots creates scarcity, which in turn leads to rate hikes. In the fourth quarter, …
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It’s A Crazy Christmas
This brings back memories of WOR, which was on my Atlanta cable system in the 80's. …
Circuit City’s Stock Price Gets Zapped. Not A Shock.
Sorry for all the bad puns, but hey, a bad brand deserves bad puns. I wrote back in March about Circuit City's decision to fire 3000 employees, the ones who were the most knowledgeable on the sales floor. Of course, at the time, it was a way to make Wall Street happy by lowering costs and boosting profits. Well, Wall Street is not happy. From the Chicago Tribune: Shares of Circuit City Stores Inc. lost more than a …
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Scratch And Win The Caucus
Over at Politico.com, Roger Simon reveals Hillary Clinton's latest tactic to win support in Iowa: A campaign with limited resources would forget about the expansion voters and just go after the provens and potentials. But the Clinton campaign has been sending out a special glossy mailing to expansion voters. On the bottom is a scratch card that says: “Itching for change? Show your support for Hillary. Scratch to win …
From Terminated To Terminator
Every now and then, we post some news or item about an ad agency that leads to some very personal and controversial comments. And other blogs do, too. HighJive at MultiCultClassics has some very interesting thoughts on the way blogs sometimes cover agencies, particularly when it comes to employee or ex-employee gossip and crosstalk: The terminated are becoming the terminators. They’re mad as hell and they’re not …
Politics Gets Personal For Huckabee The Huckster
He hasn't raised the most money, but Mike Huckabee can afford a real good camera crew. Can you imagine the on-set high-fives when some campaign advisor looked through the lens and said "Wow, the way you're framed here in the shot, there's a freakin' cross plain as day in the background right next to your head!" See the Huckabee Christmas ad here. He's so smooth, it's scary. Sounds like a lot of people are buying …
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No News Is The News
Thanks to George Parker for finding this AOL News spot: Yes, it's funny. But it's also scary. This shit is considered 'news' now? …