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!!

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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.

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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.