Creative review of the decade.

Advertising Age did it. Adweek did it. Now it's my turn. A humble tip of the hat to my five best advertising ideas/campaigns of the decade. My only gripe is that I had nothing to do with any of them. In fact, I don't even know anyone who knows anyone who had anything to do with them.

The decade started conventionally enough. I, for instance, was playing traditional ad guy at a traditional New York agency. A few days in saw me yucking it up at The Mondrian in Los Angeles, while shooting a typical thirty-second spot for a mainstream multi-national corporation. Who would have wagered that ten years later the best place to see a traditional advertising agency in action wasn't on set, but rather on a retro television drama series on AMC.

Not surprisingly then what inspired, wowed and provoked me to scream out, "fucking cock-suckers, I wish I did that" bared little resemblance to the advertising we once knew. The judging was unanimous. Me, myself and I all agreed that the two most mind-blowing pieces of work were "The Hire" from BMW and "HBO Imagine". Poetically, the former began the decade, the latter ended it. 

BMW Films hit the imagination in 2001 and I would insist sparked the new decade's romance with advertainment - try this scholarly read on the subject. About three years earlier, an under-rated movie, Ronin directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Robert de Niro was released. It featured a brilliant car chase with a black BMW through the streets of Paris. I remember thinking, "this would make a great ad". Clearly, more enlightened souls than me at BMW and Fallon thought, "this is a great vehicle for a new form of advertising, let's do it".

Was the "The Hire" eclipsed as the decade wore on by more even creative forms of branded entertainment? Of course, as it should have been. But because it opened my eyes and probably lots more to the idea of long-form content outside the sixty-second spot, it has to be at the top of my list. Here's to the pioneers. 

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday.

What is this viral teasing?


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: b) A cable network channel (Oxygen Channel)

That's the spirit.

Christmas day seems like the perfect moment to share another moving tribute to the generous spirit of man. The beauty of the internet is that your name doesn't have to be Bono or Sir Bob Geldof to make a real difference. It can be Robert Kleman and Daniel Shapiro, for instance. Take a look at the wonderful charity program they created.

As Robert says, "we felt it would be irresponsible and just plain heartless to sit on the sidelines and do nothing, especially at Christmas season." Let's just hope the judges remember their spirit at awards season.

Branding the friendly skies.

I just saw a great "100 minute commercial" for American Airlines. Kudos to Paramount Pictures, the advertising agency behind the creation. Have to confess, I'd never heard of them before.

The commercial was beautifully directed by movie director Jason Reitman. And it artfully hit all the right product benefits. Enticing frequent-flier miles privileges; destinations to every city in the country; nice luxuriating shots in their plush Admirals Club lounges.

My only gripe is that it was chock full of celebrities. Like George Clooney. And Jason Bateman. You could call it the ultimate celebrity commercial. But it's also another imaginative example of branded entertainment. Check out the review in the New York Times advertising section.

Still one of the best ever....

Bank Job - Nestle Commercial - Watch more amazing videos here

No gorillas playing drums. No snotty-nosed kids doing strange things with their eyebrows. No highly-staged dopey college kids being dopey college kids. Just kick-ass story telling. My favorite chocolate commercial of all time. Kudos to Lowe, London and director Ringan Ledwidge.

Part 3.

I'm still waiting to get interviewed by the likes of Adweek/Advertising-Age/Campaign/Creativity/Boards/Guns and Ammo/Jugs. In the meantime, here is the latest installment in a series of interviews  I conducted with myself. While they lack the historical power and tension of the Frost/Nixon interviews, they still offer a little peek into my world.

SHIRAZ: It's been a while since our last interview, so let's catch up. What have you been up to?

Shiraz: Well I just finished a freelance gig at Razorfish here in New York. 

SHIRAZ: What did you think of Razorfish?

Shiraz: I was very impressed. None of the employees spoke in HTML code so I was able to understand everyone perfectly. 

SHIRAZ: Are they as cutting edge as they seem? 

Shiraz: They certainly seem to have their digital shit together, although there was one collective freak-out moment when Facebook went down for a few minutes. I now understand what it must have been like on the deck of the Titantic as she started to sink. 

SHIRAZ: What were you working on?

Shiraz: It was a very cool project for Ralph Lauren.

SHIRAZ: I heard he once dabbled in heroin.

Shiraz: You've got to stop listening to your Equadorian maid. Seriously, stop it. 

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday.

What the hell could this commercial possibly be for?


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: George H. W. Bush

Selling nothing.

We're into the home stretch now. Just seven shopping days left to Christmas. What better time to share this newly discovered gem. Kudos to Green Thing. What a clever, playful spin-off to Buy Nothing Day - a movement started in 1992 to get people to momentarily step back a little from conspicuous consumption, take a deep breath and reassess their true needs.

Green Thing brilliantly take this further with their own version of Amazon.com, where you literally buy nothing. And the beauty is it's all advertising based. But I won't say anymore, you REALLY have to check it out for yourselves.

(Sharing credit to Brain Pickings)

Branded entertainment alert.

Check out this cool project for Level 42 Vodka. More evidence that this is the most wonderful time to be a creative. No doubt if I presented something like this to my creative directors a few years ago I would have been laughed out the room. Actually, now that I think about it I was. For a coke project. I seem to remember being taken as seriously as a third rate stand-up comedian in the Catskills. Time for a drink.

Brain-teaser Monday brought to you by Merriam Webster.

Which 20th Century American President got his words horribly wrong?

• Woodrow Wilson.
• Ronald Reagan.
  
• Lyndon B. Johnson.
• Bill Clinton.
• Calvin Coolidge.
• George H. W. Bush.
• John F. Kennedy.
  

We're ad people, not a bunch of Mother Teresas.

Advertising folk fare pretty poorly in the "honesty and trustworthy" stakes in this recent Gallup survey. The good news is that car salesmen, stockbrokers, and politicians like Joe "You Lie" Wilson fared even worse. Coincidentally, these were the jobs I thought about before advertising.

Nurses were considered the most honest, which cuts me the wrong way, if only because a nurse once tried to murder my mother in hospital. That's right, in the hospital!

My question is, what about the respondents? How trustworthy are they? How many of these pollees have cheated on their partners? Cheated on their taxes? Embellished their resumes? Embellished their numbers of sexual conquests? How many told friends they "didn't look fat in those jeans", contrary to the evidence. A sizable percentage, I would surmise.

IN THE FREAKING HOSPITAL!!!!!

(Sharing credit to The Daily Dish)

Off and running.

So far so good with the new screenplay. Plot still in tact. Characters are developing nicely. And the dialogue is human sounding, at least. Unfortunately my agent won't let me say anymore, but just imagine Will Ferrell as a transvestite Buddist monk with a jewish mother complex and you have an idea of what my screenplay is not.

Brain-teaser Monday.

Unscramble the frames and build the storyboard. (Hint: It's for Twix.)


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Wussies

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

X-Large Clothing wanted a piece of branded-entertainment to run their in flagship store in Los Angeles. Something quirky with the "feel" of the street. A lot like them, really. Kudos to director Norwood Cheek.

Improv Everywhere.

Those lovable, shareable folks at Improv Everywhere have done it again. Check out poor Rob getting lost at a Knicks game. (Though not as lost as the Knicks players!)




(Sharing credit to Brain Pickings)

Hawking with the Salahis.

It's always fun to create advertising based on a topical news event. Especially when the news is juicy. So which advertisers are best positioned to make use of Tareq and Michaele Salahi? Here are a couple of thoughts.

For starters, how about The Slomin's Shield, makers of home security systems. Who better to testify to the effective protection of the Slomin's Shield against trespassers, intruders and the uninvited than our intrepid duo.

Next up, Citizen Watches. The Salahis seems a perfect fit to extend Citizen's Eco-Drive "Unstoppable" campaign. "Unstoppable. The Salahis are. Just ask the secret service. So are their Citizen Eco-Drives."

Tiger Woods to follow.

The Phonies vs The Hoaxsters.

Move over Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. When it comes to the ultimate dream match-up look no further than the Salahis against the Heenes. But who would win this battle to become the mythical pound for pound publicity hounds from hell? Let's see how they measure up:

THE SALAHIS:

• Winning strategy - Phonied their way into the White House.
• Major strength - Shameless narcissism to utilize wife's floozy charms for their publicity stunt.
• Major weakness - Middle-Eastern sounding name.
• Major achievement - Managed to get photographed shaking hands with President Obama.
• Kudos points - Michaele Salahi didn't devolve into "Morganna, the kissing bandit" and cover the president in sloppy wet kisses. Masterful restraint.

THE HEENES:

• Winning strategy - Executed the hoax to perfection, almost.
• Major strength - Cold-blooded narcissism to exploit own six year old son for their publicity stunt.
• Major weaknesses - Exploiting the kid named Falcon was a  little too contrived.
• Major achievement - Wall to wall live coverage on major cable news channels.
• Kudos points - Didn't play the race-card, i.e. could easily have claimed that a big black man kidnapped their child, but had the decency not to go there.
  
  
  
  

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday.

Complete the headline for this poster.

• Wussies.
• Whoopsies.
• Pansies.
• Pussies.

Champagne Valentine anyone?

It's not a fizzy cocktail, but rather a wonderful creative digital agency based in Amsterdam. These guys are making interactivity in art and video a whole new experience.

“We are trying to create new mythologies and new visual and interactive experiences for the world, to give it something beautiful to engage with,” says Anita Fontaine, one of Champagne Valentine's founders.

Case in point: Their interactive video for Placebo's “The Never-Ending Why” is mesmerizing. The video pulls you into a graphic world inhabited by monsters, but you get to control the experience. Click here and play god.

(Sharing credit to jawbone.tv)

Brain-teaser Monday.

Unscramble the frames to build the storyboard.


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Rodney, Willi

This post brought to you by The History Channel.

The history of the Blog is a little fuzzy. It's earliest origins can probably be traced back to 1993, but here's what we do know definitively.

In 1994, Justin Hall, a student at Swarthmore, introduces us to the shape and format of the blog as we know it today with his site, links.net. Only the term blog would come much later.

In 1997, Jorn Barger decides to call his site, RobotWisdom.com a "web log", the actual forerunner to the term blog. A few weeks later, man walks on two legs.

1998, Peter Merholz coins the term "Blog". He now lives off the royalties on his private island in the Caribbean with his supermodel girlfriends. (Okay, the last part about the island and supermodels is totally made up.)

Now you know. For more very useful historical titbits check this out.

Wish there was an app for that.

One of the more interesting, okay the only interesting thing I overheard at an industry party the other day was a conversation regarding iPhone apps. There are currently over eighty-five thousand apps for the iPhone. That's a lot of apps, and to be honest I don't get the appeal. I mean what does iFart really do for you other than channel your inner Beavis and Butthead.

"Wouldn't it be great", said the twenty something South African to his colleague, "if there an app that allowed you to test the purity of your blow." The gist of his musing was that you would place your cocaine on the iPhone and the app would breakdown the ingredients, i.e. the ratio of rat poison to actual processed cocoa. Now, I know nothing about the Narco Science and Technology involved in such an endeavor, but leaving aside the obvious legal issues you have to admit its feasibility would have more practical value than iFart.

Anyway, this got me thinking about other apps with "exotic" practical value. For instance, you meet a nice young lady at a bar. You take her home and one thing leads to another. Pretty soon you're fumbling all over her and that's when you discover much to your horror that the dick in your hands isn't your own. Don't you just hate that. Well how about an app that instantly confirms the gender of the person you meet. How would this work exactly? Perhaps some kind of heat imaging sensor that would expose the dreaded third leg.

continue reading

See Dick buy Jane a diamond necklace from De Beers.

Do you know what "fluency effect" is? In layman's terms it's the phenomenon whereby people will feel more favorable towards words and pictures that they find easier to process. Combine this with research that shows that people are more proficient at processing words they encountered earlier in life and you could have some major implications for brands.

Well that's what Andrew Ellis and his team of researches at the University of York decided to explore and the results are very compelling. "The evidence suggests that mere exposure to brands in childhood will make for more fluent recognition of those brand names in adulthood that will persist through to old age," said the team. In other words, listen up companies and start exposing children to your brands as early as possible.

In related news, I've just heard through the grapevine that a new Peter Rabbit story, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit and his German cousin Volkswagen Rabbit" will be released early next year.

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday.

Complete the banner ads.


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 2. An electric shaver (Norelco)

The Post Mortem is in.

In a painstakingly thorough autopsy that would have made Dr. Quincy M.E. seethe with envy, I've finally outlined the causes of death of my first screenplay, "The Spokesman".

• The depiction of Jesus Christ as a wood-fearing, father-loathing bedwetter probably caused irreparable damage to fair-minded sensibilities.
• The inclusion of Sid Vicious in Heaven probably strained the limits of believability to breaking point.
• Pervasive use of the words "jejune" and "insouciance" reduced characters to pretentious twats.
• Failure to include an obscure homage to Asian Cinema proved catastrophic.
• Complications arose from a car chase that was too avant-garde.
• A fairly predictable sex scene proved to be a weak antidote.
• The plot developed Alzheimer's and by the end had no idea where it was supposed to be.
• The screenplay was riddled with too many cliches, e.g., the British soccer hooligan; the penny-pinching Jew; the child-molesting Catholic Priest; the coke-snorting Australian ad guy; the Russian whore; the error-prone intern; the Korean deli-owner who pretends not to understand English.
  
• There was no role for Megan Fox.

I move on to the next screenplay with much momentum and optimism.

Victors & Spoils.

The world of advertising has a new agency. Hello Victors & Spoils. "The world's first creative (ad) agency built on crowd-sourcing principles" is how they tout themselves. A bold touting, indeed.

I have to confess though, it's an intriguing proposition. Having already dallied with some creative crowd-sourcing sites, notably Idea Bounty and been disappointed with the end products, I look forward to seeing what they come up with. One of the problems I have with most of these sites is that there is no room to grow your idea, i.e. it wins or not. And that's not really the way creativity works. Usually most great ideas start off good, but then need lots of care and attention to blossom.

It sounds like V&S has the creative direction apparatus in place to succeed. I wish them luck. And yes, this is a groveling post as I attempt to get accepted into their community.

The wonderful world of Branded Entertainment.

As a great believer/proponent of branded entertainment I always get a warm, tingly feeling when I discover new resources that spotlight/advance/celebrate it's cause. What's with all the forward slashing today.

First up here's a nice read (okay a little dry, but very informative), where some of the leading lights of BE (i just made that up) offer up their wisdom and experience; share some current examples; and explain the differences between branded entertainment and product placement.

Next up, check out this gem. A great example of how a comedic web series can seamlessly integrate a brand. Here's a taster.

EPISODE 1: “Yogurt Gets Rocked”
by brainstormtv

(Sharing credit to jawbone.tv)

Brain-teaser Monday.

Is this an ad for:

1. A health-services provider.
2. An electric shaver.
3. An employment agency.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Dan Quayle

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

We had to head deep into the heart of the Shenandoah Valley and America's "bible belt" to uncover this very unusual training camp. Or so the legend says. Directed by Tom Cartier and written by yours truly. See if you can figure out which brand is behind this piece of branded entertainment.

Further reflections on celebrity advertising.

Rants are like a good dump. They are necessary to ease the system, but you can't do much with them after wards. So in an effort to be constructive, let me follow up my last post by sharing one of my favorite commercials that happens to feature celebrities. In fact I would go so far as to say the celebrities help make it the entertaining story it is. So thank you, Harry Dean Stanton, Juliette Lewis and Traci Lords, yes that Traci Lords.



Notice that they aren't being themselves, they are playing roles. The idea isn't about them, rather they are the vessels through which a great idea is conveyed, just like in film.

This is what I call branded entertainment. It is probably the one form of advertising where the use of celebrities, specifically top tier acting talent can be crucial. Remember BMW Films from a few years ago. One wonders how compelling they would have been without Clive Owen.

There I've said my peace.

Fire the celebrities.

A recent marketing survey turned up this gem. Only 8% percent of the public say they are more likely to be swayed by advertising with a celebrity in it. Almost 80% say the presence of a celebrity has no influence on them whatsoever.

Clearly, there is a little bit of untruth telling going on, after all who wants to admit to being the feeble-minded asshole who falls hook, line and sinker for a famous or infamous person. But even so, this survey has reinforced my long held belief that celebrity advertising, which by the way seems more prevalent than ever, is a lot less effective than advertisers and the star-fucker ad people who indulge in it would have you believe. Now I have my ammunition!

I should start off by disclosing that I have shot a few commercials with minor celebrities. The most famous being Hakeem Olajuwon, when he was winning NBA Championships for the Houston Rockets. The ad in question was for Uncle Ben's rice. It was god awful. Okay, I feel queasy just thinking about it. Hang on while I get some Tums.....

That's better. To be fair, there are times when the use of a celebrity is probably justified. Sports stars, for instance, clearly can give massive personality, credibility and creativity to athletic brands. No prizes for guessing who.

But why should Brett Favre hawk Wrangler jeans? Why is Payton Manning pushing Oreos? Why is Derek Jeter a salesman for Ford? And what the fuck was Hakeem Olajuwon doing with Uncle Ben's? Ah, wouldn't Gawker love to know. What possible intrinsic connection do these sports stars have to these non-athletic brands?

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday brought to you by Merriam Webster.

Which Republican Vice-President got his words horribly wrong?

• Dick Cheney.
• Dan Quayle.
  
• Spiro Agnew.
• Richard Nixon.
• Gerald Ford.
  

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 2. An erectile-dysfunction antidote (Viagra)

Breaking News.....

I don't usually like to engage in rumor mongering, unless it's to spread ugly lies about the people I don't care about or am envious of, but according to today's Adweek, Cliff Freeman & Partners will soon be no more. "People were seen packing up boxes", says a source. What could be more definitive than that.

If it is true, then what a sad end to a brilliant existence. Back in the mid-nineties when I was finding my way in advertising in New York, CFP was Mount Olympus. The place where all the men had the biggest dicks and all the women had the perkiest breasts. (People don't realize this, but size of genitalia and perkiness of mammary glands are exponentially proportional to the number of Clios won).

With notable campaigns for Little Caesar's, Outpost.com, Budget and of course Wendy's they set an incredibly high bar for comedic advertising. It had the rest of us scratching our heads and wondering how they did it. Or rather, how they sold it!

In honor, here is my favorite commercial from Cliff and boys and girls. RIP. And if this doesn't turn out to be true, no worries, it's going to happen one day. Let's just call this a premature eulogy.

Good news on the job front......

Bartle Bogle Hegarty are interested in me. The bad news, it's for their office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Yes, I didn't know they had an office there, either. My headhunter informs me that the pool of prospects is surprisingly shallow so my chances look good.

Apparently my only serious competition is Mullah Nagi Omar, Chief Creative Officer at Taliban, Worldwide. According to my headhunter his portfolio is rather limited. Not much digital, but lots of direct mail. More importantly though, he has NO positive experience with feminine brands.

BBH Kabul was opened last year to manage Friends of Opium an advocacy group made up of farmers and international businessmen that seeks to counter the negative image of Opium. For instance, did you know that Opium has been found to have increased the sex drive of monkeys. Move over, Viagra.

The other main accounts at BBH Kabul are The Afghan Kebab House and the animal rights group, the Afghan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Afghans (ASPCA). Will keep you posted.

Still one of the best ever....

Without question my favorite Playstation ad. And one of the best "anthem" commercials ever. Thank you, Frank Budgen. Oh yes, and the advertising agency too.

Advertising's Public Option.

On this day eight years ago I watched a focus group of 18-34 year old young men rip apart my advertising concepts for Norelco. It still haunts me to this day. As I munched furiously on M&M's, I felt a sudden rush of revulsion when one of the young men actually had the temerity to come up with his own idea. "Why doesn't Norelco just pay them to create their advertising", I sneered loudly to which my advertising cabal chuckled madly. No one is chuckling any more.

Welcome to the age of consumer crowd-sourcing aka consumer generated advertising. Or Hoi Polloi Inc, as I affectionately call it. Hundreds of years ago, the crowd was toppling monarchs. Twenty years ago the crowd was breaking down the walls of totalitarian regimes. Today, they're writing ads. Isn't progress a beautiful thing.

Okay I admit it, I'm still rather skeptical, but no longer contemptuous. You see, I totally get the rational. The game today is "two way consumer engagement". Thanks to technology and new media applications like social networking, consumers not only interact with brands but can now directly engage with them like never before blah blah blah.

Doritos's "Crash the Superbowl Party" promotion is a stand-out example. Doritos gives consumers the chance to create their own superbowl ad. Joe Public meet Joe Pytka. Last year's winning work wasn't bad and to be fair the production values were generally high even if the budgets weren't. As someone who has produced a fair amount of "spec" lately, I'm a big believer in low budget productions. They can help concentrate an idea. And low budget means NO CELEBRITIES!!

continue reading

Brain-teaser Monday.

Is this an ad for:

1. An anti-depressant.
2. An erectile-dysfunction antidote.
3. A religious institution.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Got Teeth (and yes it was derived from Got Milk. Call it 'paying homage' to Jeff and the boys.)

Paging Yong Ho Ji.

I wait with bated breath to see what Korean artist, Yong Ho Ji comes up with next. His mythical mutants made from recyclable tires were brilliant. So much so, I resisted the temptation to exploit them for advertising purposes. Even after I learned that his inspiration to use tires came from a childhood memory of the spare tire on his family's Jeep Wrangler. The ad practically writes itself. Won't be so honorable the next time, Yong.

Potmentum.

According to a new Gallop survey, support for the legalization of marijuana has reached a new high (sorry, but that's the best word I could find). 44% of Americans now favor its legalization, while 54% are opposed.

By comparison, ten years ago, around 27% were in a favor and about 70% were against. The numbers were about the same twenty years ago too. Wonder what the Partnership For a Drug Free America are going to say about this? Could a new anti-marijuana campaign be far behind?

As to the reality of legalization, what a boon that would be to the advertising industry. Imagine the creative possibilities, from brand naming to design packaging.

Social media marketing? How about 'Toke Me' on Facebook. What better way to send a virtual joint to a friend.

Direct response? Perhaps an educational DVD with the video professor in which he instructs how to roll the perfect joint.

continue reading

Merger mania.

First Lowe and Deutsch. And now this from my anonymous friend at Franklin Umberto Calvin Kooty Advertising. Apparently they are in talks with Mother about a possible merger. Wonder what the new agency will be called?

Brain-teaser Monday.

Unscramble the headline to complete this award-winning print ad for Crest.


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: c) Dangerous lingerie (Agent Provocateur)

Time for a beer break.

The "gay" is very much in the spotlight again. There's the debate over "Don't ask, don't tell", which seems to be reaching boiling point. The contentious issue of same sex marriage has resurfaced. And Glen Beck cried again on national TV.

So I thought, being an open-minded liberal from the Upper West Side I should add my voice. Here is a reprisal of a spec ad I produced a while back that broaches the subject in a very tasteful and sensitive way. Kudos to director Aaron Kisner.

Run Sarah run part five.

Yet another spot from the upcoming Newton Running campaign.

Run Sarah run part four.

This is big. Here is a rough cut of the first TV commercial from the upcoming national brand campaign for Newton Running. Even Sarah Palin hasn't seen this yet. Would love to be a fly on the wall when she does. Thanks again to my anonymous friend at Franklin Umberto Calvin Kooty Advertising for the peak.

Run Sarah run part three.

Wow, the folks at Franklin Umberto Calvin Kooty Advertising are really churning them out. Here's another print ad from the upcoming national brand campaign for Newton Running. Guess now we know why she quit. My anonymous friend says she's trying to sneak a copy of the first TV spot in the campaign. Stay tuned.

Run Sarah run part two.

As promised, here is the first print ad from the new national brand campaign for Newton Running, featuring Sarah Palin. Thank you to my anonymous friend at Franklin Umberto Calvin Kooty Advertising for the peak. I think you will agree, the ad speaks for itself.

Run Sarah run.

Here's a remarkable piece of news that hasn't been getting any coverage, I wonder why. Newton Running, a small running shoe company based in Boulder, Colorado announced they have signed Sarah Palin to star in a national brand campaign that will launch next year. According to a company spokesman, the launch will coincide with Palin's bid to run for President in 2012.

A spokesman for the spokesman for the agent of Sarah Palin would not disclose how much money she will be getting, but did add, "this time Sarah intends to keep all the shoes." And what was Levi Johnson's response, when asked to comment on his almost mother-in-law following him into the world of advertising - "Been there, done that."

Meanwhile, rather fortuitously, a close anonymous friend who works at the advertising agency of record, Franklin Umberto Calvin Kooty Advertising, has promised to send me early "comps" of the initial round of advertising. Will keep you posted.

Still one of the best ever....

From the campaign that inspired me to get into advertising. Thank you, BBH. Or should that be fuck you, BBH. And always a treat to hear the great Johnny Cash.

Nevermind Cannes, what about a Nobel?

Still no Nobel Prize for advertising. Perhaps it's just a little reminder that when it comes to the greater good, advertising still has a long ways to go. On the other hand, how about a prize for cinema?

Brain-teaser Monday.

What do you think this commercial is selling?

Fanwatch.

Coke has over three million fans on Facebook. Starbucks has over four million. Adidas almost two and half million. And then there's AIG with a paltry 637.

But hang on a minute. AIG were the chief architects of a complex scheme that almost brought down the entire global financial system as we know it. So any fan base north of zero is actually pretty impressive.

What's up people, you couldn't just become fans of Chinese Toy Companies? Union Carbide not bad enough? On the other hand you have to admire a group, who not only are willing to stand by their favorite brand, but also not afraid to show their faces. All advertisers would kill for loyalty like that.

It's my blog so I'll self-promote if I want to.

Here's my latest spec collaboration with Sebastien Guy, a talented director from Aussietralia. The spot was shot and post-produced in Sydney.

My point exactly.

Elizabeth Bernstein has it spot on about Facebook. Although I can't quite bring myself to join Enemybook yet.

(Sharing credit to Farhana Gani)

Scam vs Scum.

Call it hyperbole, but I'd rather be associated with a "scam" piece of communication that sincerely, albeit clumsily, tries to rally the world around a major public issue than a legitimate ad for a scumbag client, like say Blackwater. Sometimes it's not the means we should fret over, but the ends.