Pandora is now serving ads in its stream. I haven't heard them yet, even though I did listen to a good bit of music on Pandora today. For what it's worth, TechCrunch says the ads are "not that bad." Audiophiles and anti-commercial activists may have other views. If they choose, listeners can always sign up for the service's $36/year premium membership and miss out on all the pitches. …
The Karsh Kiss Off?
The Denver Egotist guest blogged on Agency Spy about the state of agency affairs on the Colorado Front Range. Here's an item that jumped out at me: Karsh\Hagan, previously owned by The Integer Group and Omnicom, was sold back to former owner and agency head Pocky Maranzino. For reason's unknown, the deal has taken place under the radar and without much press. It's too early to say what this will mean for K+H in 2009, …
Cafe Culture Is American Culture
Ad Age decided to commission Lightspeed Research to find out whether either New Year's resolutions or a tough economy were turning latte sippers into bean counters. The survey results reveal that 60% of Americans have scaled back on fancy or expensive coffee in the past six months; 56% report cutting back just since the beginning of the year. The culprit was overwhelmingly the economy, with 90% of survey respondents …
Ubuntu Sounds Like “Up Yours” In Europe
The French are fun people. They make lovely wine and food, they climb mountains and frolic at the sea. But don't get on their bad side, because they're also a proud people and nationalistic, as well. For a variety of reasons, Microsoft, is on their bad side. Ashlee Vance of The New York Times writes: If the French National Assembly gets its way, the open-source Linux operating system will take over the governments of …
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Overly Social Can Be Totally Annoying
Nathania Johnson at Search Engine Watch considers Fanboy's take on social media experts and how they're ruining his Twitter experience. Pinto is sitting at the popular kids table and the conversation is shallow. The most popular people on Twittter are determined by vain methods found on grading websites that use things like number of followers as a crucial factor of someone's Twitter power. I recommend sitting with …
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Print Is Dead. @Google.
Google is backing away from its ambitious foray into the newspaper industry's sandbox. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google will shutter its Print Ads program on Feb. 28. Google's service let marketers buy print advertising in more than 800 U.S. newspapers. Google started the high-profile Print Ad program in 2006 as a way to diversify its business. The system was modeled after its popular search-ad system, …
Roman On Ogilvy
I often wonder, if David Ogilvy were alive today, would he e-mail a PDF of an ad to a client for approval? As Ogilvy the agency loses its prestige, Ogilvy the man gets a new biography, called The King of Madison Avenue by Kenneth Roman. Honestly, I haven't read the book, and don't plan to unless I get a complimentary copy to review, as sometimes happens here on AdPulp. But here's a take on it from The Wall Street …
Bad Habits, Bad Practices, Bad Juju – Throw Them All On The Fire
Naturally, President Obama addressed the economy and our national psyche in his inaugural speech today. Here's but one interesting passage: We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. …
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