You can't put a price on freedom, unless you're an independent agency working to free yourself from the clutches of a holding company. According to Ad Age, McKinney, the Durham, N.C.-based agency, is set to become an independent again, following a deal struck by agency management to re-acquire 100% interest from Havas, its French parent. "This has been a very long-term interest of mine and our team here," said Brad …
Drink Gatorade. Climb Walls.
According to Shoot, Element 79 hired director Baker Smith of harvest in Santa Monica to make this "viral video" for Gatorade. The catch is amazing, but so is the fact that Gatorade just barely makes an appearance. [via Shedwa] …
Paint By Numbers Design Rules
BusinessWeek canvassed a broad range of Internet luminaries to discover the design rules they live by. 1. Thou shalt not abuse Flash. 2. Thou shalt not hide content. 3. Thou shalt not clutter. 4. Thou shalt not overuse glassy reflections. 5. Thou shalt not name your Web 2.0 company with an unnecessary surplus or dearth of vowels. 6. Thou shalt worship at the altar of typography. 7. Thou shalt create immersive …
Doctors Look To YouTube To Boost Sales
Recently, I completed a series of videos to help a friend of mine promote his book. The videos have gotten him other publicity and also garnered an uptick in book sales. Today's New York Times reports that doctors are also using YouTube--and giving discounts to patients for an endorsement: Last year, Cynthia Goodstein was struggling to figure out how to pay for a face-lift. During a consultation with Dr. Payman …
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An “In the Box” Idea
LOWE, Bangkok found a way to do something creative with Direct. [via Ad Goodness] …
See No Evil
Jane Sample and Ad Broad consider morality in the context of an ad career. Jane says: I can see how some people think we are evil. But we are not evil. The majority of the people who work in advertising are extremely intelligent and empathetic people who CARE about the world and the people in it, we just like advertising. I know many people who work in advertising and are extremely passionate about “giving back” …
Omaha Rocks
The inside back cover of Spin Magazine's July issue profiles "Omaha—Rock City." It's clearly an editorial segment from Spin, but the line between lifestyle content of this sort and a paid advertisement is pretty thin. Whatever the intention, it's a Chamber of Commerce type listing for Omaha's music business. The feature mentions artists Simon Joyner, Tilly and the Wall, The Show is the Rainbow, Outlaw Con Bandana, …
Media Buying Efficiencies Found
Publicis on Wednesday unveiled a new digital-advertising system that links together technologies from Google Inc., AOL, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. The system connects Publicis's media-buying agencies with the ad space sold by the Web giants, according to The Wall Street Journal. "We are putting the four competitors around the same table," and "that will drive prices down so that we are using the money of our …