Ad Age explores reactions to the much ballyhooed Red campaign designed to benefit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The campaign's inherent appeal to conspicuous consumption has spurred a parody by a group of San Francisco designers and artists, who take issue with Bono's rallying cry. "Shopping is not a solution. Buy less. Give more," is the message at buylesscrap.org, which encourages people …
The Law Of The Advertising Landscape
With the recent bi-partisan effort to enact further restrictions on tobacco advertising, I decided to explore the issue further. Just how much does advertising and marketing need to be regulated? It doesn’t matter who’s in power in Washington—there are both Democrats and Republicans who want to impose the additional tobacco regulations. It seems we are living in an ever-growing nanny state, and there are other types …
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Microsoft Will Shift $1 Billion To Digital
By 2010, Microsoft will shift most of its $1 billion in U.S. ad spend to digital formats, according to senior VP Mich Mathews. Traditional media will play a role, but the goal will be to involve consumers in the brand. From MediaDailyNews: That [involvement] mantra has become so critical that it's taken into consideration when creating TV spots and other video ads. Providing content that consumers can take ownership …
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Peter Krivkovich Talks About CareerBuilder’s Stupid Move
Over at The Hot Mic at Radio Talent Zoo, TZ's Bobbin Wages scores an exclusive podcast interview with Peter Krivkovich, CEO of Cramer-Krasselt. C-K, if you'll recall, decided to tell CareerBuilder.com to take a hike when the client decided it wasn't happy with its agency because its Super Bowl commercial failed to make the Top 10 in this year's USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter. Krivkovich also talks about agency-client …
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Wal-Mart Stocks New Receivers
According to USA Today, Wal-Mart is giving High-Def Radio a fighting chance. The world's largest retailer will carry a high-definition car radio from JVC in 1,989 of its stores in 85 markets, priced at about $190. Being on the shelf at Wal-Mart "underscores that HD Radio is ready for prime time, it's ready for the masses," says Peter Ferrara, CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a consortium that includes radio …
Rosemary Goes to the Mall Dot Com
Rob Walker has a good gig. He writes about consumer culture for TNYT Magazine. This week's installment looks at Rosemary Williams, an artist and an assistant professor of new media at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Williams finds shopping anxiety-laden, which makes her choice to pursue "The Wall of the Mall" an act of bravery as well as an act of art, for she had to make recurrent trips to the Mall of …
From 30 Seconds To 30 Minutes
The line between advertising and content becomes thinner by the day. Here's today's example from Variety. Winner for most unusual piece of development this pilot season goes to ABC, which has turned a series of quirky Geico commercials into an actual half-hour comedy project. "Cavemen" will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern …
Absolut Liquidation
According to this this news story from A.P., Absolut is for sale. The vodka distilled in the southern Swedish town of Ahus is the world's No. 3 premium spirit and one of the country's most recognizable brands. It's owned by the Swedish government, who will likely make billions on the transaction (while gratifying those Swedes who contend their government needn't be in the spirits business). …