The Conversation Thing

Slogan of the Day

Don't leave home without it.

Not your father's 4A's Convention

At least that's what Stuart Elliott reports in today's "Times." And we are greeted with a photo of Lee Clow (in an adidas t-shirt), described by Mr. Elliott as the most casually dressed person to ever address this gathering. But on to the meat. Tennis and Golf were cancelled!!! Because we are "in the most exciting period ever in this business," or some such hoo-haa. If I hear another panjandrum who made their gazillions in the days of old, interruptive media, describe today's current, insane, web 2.0 (soon to be web 3.0, 4.0, etc.) world as "the most exciting period ever in this business," I think I'm going to choke on my virtual martini. And then, we have to endure the comments from Eric C. Schmidt, grand poo-bah of Google, him saying "we're not creative, in fact, we're kind of boring." Boring ch-ching! Thank goodness, Mr. Elliott referenced Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, who, in the single best piece of copy to come out of WPP since "Don't leave home without it," termed Google the "frenemy." More like the "Enefren," I think. These guys are eating our lunch all the way to the Swiss Bank. (Davos branch.) And then, to really solve our problems, Ben Silverman, poo-bah of NBC, says all we've got to do is put Canon copiers in episodes of "The Office," that'll solve the future of advertising. Oh, Bill Bernbach, where are thou? How do the new Canon's become new Canon's? How does the old Canon stay there? How do companies that are selling (remember selling?) things as mundanne as steak sauce (see post below) and local hospitals and used cars and wine move the merch? Sponsored listing on Google? Been there, done that. So Clow says, hire young people and let them run the show. And Gotlieb, of Group M, says blend media and creative. And nobody plays tennis. And in the meantime, newspapers shutter, magazines fold, and products languish. Sounds like a great time to be in the business.

Slogan of the day

The quality goes in before the name goes on.

Edisonism of the Day

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. The physician of tomorrow will be the nutritionist of today.”

-Thomas Edison

Slogan of the day

The Ultimate Driving Machine

As belts tighten, ad pencils sharpen?

Front page article in today's New York Times tracking how people are coping with collapsing home prices and rising gas prices. They are fleeing from branded packaged goods like rats from a sinking ship. And not surprising. It takes ideas and ads to make brands. A somewhat debased skill during the past ten years of cheap (fake) money fueled growth. But if marketers want to stay on top, they better take heed. Pay particular attention to the last example in the article of a certain Mrs. Levitsky who takes generic steak sauce and pours it into an empty A-1 bottle. She says her husband can't tell the difference. Marketers better be able to.

anomaly goes urban outfitters

So the much touted integrated marketing shop (ad agency?) has brought on the design director of retailer urban outfitters. To sprinkle retail pixie dust over communications that extend from the brand to the ad. Sounds like they want to get people talking.

Edisonism of the day

"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this — you haven’t."

A definition of advertising

A collection of words and images that make products worth more.

Have the bean counters finally won?

Metrics rule. Algorithms rule. P.O.P. rules. But what about that 'extra' that takes bad tasting beer and makes it the Bud-killer? What about those four words, 'Tastes great, less filling.' That ain't no algorithm.