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Dec31
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Pardon me while I yawn here, but the news that Tiger Woods will present Buick’s new “Buick Confidence Advantage” in an ad campaign for the Enclave, a luxury crossover vehicle that will arrive in dealerships in late spring, leaves me with a sense of “Who gives a Damn!” I mean I have no idea how much they are paying the “ubiquitous spokesperson of all time.” Who has quickly taken that particular mantle from the shoulders of Michael Jordan. Or, at least until the next “UberJock” steps up to the plate. But seriously. Do the companies that pour mega-bucks into these kinds of deals honestly think they are helping them to sell products… Or, is it all about the CEO of the sponsoring company playing a few holes with Tiger… Then dining out on that particular experience while sucking on giant Cohibas and sluping Makers Mark’s with their equally dumb and facile CEO Mates? 
. So, Mr. Jordon. After I've paid out gazillions in sponsorship fees, would you do me the honor of allowing me to buy you a caviar-burger at our local, recently condemned, eatery?
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Dec31
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Reading that drug marketers are set to see another record year in advertising spending, with budgets up nearly 9% over last year makes you wonder what state the ad biz would be in if the advertising of prescription drugs was...
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Dec29
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The New York Times has just conducted an informal poll of some advertising executives to divine upcoming trends. And guess what? Agencies, are wondering, among other things, how the online world is intruding into offline reality. Life online will become...
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Here’s another sign of the 800 pound gorilla rapidly turning into an 8,000 pound gorilla. According to research company HitWise Inc., Ailing web-blog search engine Techorati has been just been overtaken by Google. According to HitWise, Google's Blogsearch has seen...
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Dec28
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It would seem that so many people bought, or received as gifts, iPods and iTunes gift cards over the holidays that the Apple Computer's iTunes music store was overwhelmed for a couple of days, prompting error messages and slowdowns of...
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For those of you on this side of the pond who are not cricket fans, it should be explained that for the last couple of weeks England and Australia have been engaged in what is known as “The Battle For...
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Dec27
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Considering that most people are still recovering from a surfeit of Christmas Pud, Nog and other assorted pieces of seasonal good cheer, I am surprised by all the attention Wikipedia has been getting over the last couple of days with...
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Dec26
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As a fan of beer that tastes like beer, rather than all those anemic “light Beers” which are primarily water, I was appalled to read that Anheuser-Busch has just announced the launch of Redbridge, the first nationally available SORGHUM beer!...
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Dec25
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First off… Merry Christmas to all my readers and many thanks for your continued visits, comments and suggestions. Even when they are about where I should shove my head. Since I started this a year or so ago, it’s been...
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Dec24
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Everyone thought that with the advent of Amazon, book stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders would become a thing of the past. Now with the announcement of the “Book ATM” they might all be toast! In the very...
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Dec23
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For all those “Today Show” fans that can’t seem to get enough of NBC’s popular show, this weeks announcement that they are going to add a fourth hour should be welcome news. I do though; have a couple of questions…...
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Dec22
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OK, first of all, I think that 90% of the people with cell phones should only be allowed to use them for really important or emergency calls. They should also be banned from using them in moving vehicles. There should...
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Dec21
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So, I just finished watching NBC’s “World News Tonight” with Brian Williams. Having read so much about the decline in viewership of network news; let me offer you my take on why most of it is pure unadulterated tripe. Firstly,...
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Dec20
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The recent reports that Chrysler’s CEO Tom LaSorda is unhappy with some of the advertising created by their agency, BBDO Detroit, shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone following the incredible mess Chrysler is in. Not that their problems can...
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Today’s news that Bell Helicopter's first television spot in its 65-year history will premiere during the Armed Forces Bowl this Saturday on ESPN, had me wondering about two dissimilar, but equally strange, very American aspects of this event. Firstly, I...
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Dec19
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News today that the American Legacy Foundation's national smoking prevention campaign aimed at youth will now be featured on social networking Web sites as the latest phase of the "Infect truth" campaign, leaves me cold. Not because I think America’s...
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I’m really curious about the reasons why Anheuser-Busch will not renew its sponsorship of NASCAR’s Busch Series when the contract expires in 2007. I mean every time I read about NASCAR, someone is raving on and on about how it’s...
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Dec18
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Sometimes I feel like tearing my hair out when I read the ever growing tsunami of drivel written about where advertising is currently, and where it might be heading in the future. A perfect example is in today’s Real Media...
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The only surprising thing about the news this weekend that Judith Regan has been fired by publisher Harper Collins, is the reason given for her dismissal… No, it wasn’t the OJ book deal and Fox TV special fiasco. Apparently, Judith...
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Dec17
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For years we've been hearing about the "Paperless Office," the "Digital Book" and all the other replacements for the printed page we could look forward to in the future. There was even talk many years ago about how the forests...
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Dec16
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Why am I underwhelmed by the news that 80% of the ad slots on the upcoming, Super Bowl LXI broadcast are already sold out? Because while the network is not identifying specific sponsors, several marketers have confirmed that they're in...
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Dec14
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I always find it amusing to read some of the dumb comments clients make when they put their account up for review. The dumbness of the comments is usually in direct proportion to the length of time the incumbent agency...
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Dec13
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I don't know if this is a first - Probably not - But still, a little unusual. Fred Leo who runs a very interesting operation, AdGiants, a marketing process management company aimed at small to medium business, has just posted...
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Dec12
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Having just seen a new TV spot in the continuing Charles Schwab campaign, I have to admit to being mystified as to why they use Bob Sabiston’s “interpolated rotoscoping” animation technique, which involves taking live-action film clips and coloring over...
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I just love it when I read about large corporations spending millions of dollars revamping their logo, signage, and brand image. The people who benefit the most from these exercises are the corporate design specialist company’s that rake in the...
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Dec11
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News today that even though online advertising grows year by year in the US, it has now been surpassed by the UK, where it is growing at the rate of about 40% per year. According to Group M, owned by...
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I know I’m probably the only person in advertising who finds golf an incredibly boring game, to both watch and play. And yes, I know it’s a huge business and that legions of men, and quite a few women, blow...
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Dec10
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Whatever you may think of the Iraq Study Group and its recommendations, I find it a very peculiar American situation when it actually hired a Public Relations company to present itself in a favorable light to the American public. Stranger...
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Dec 9
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In the last week or so, a lot of people on various ad blogs have been getting their knickers in a twist about an ad for Lego that came out of china, and shows the burning Twin Tower buildings from 9/11,...
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Dec 8
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With all the money being spent this time of the year on non-stop ad campaigns promoting electronic games, why am I not surprised to read that a South Carolina boy, 12, was arrested Sunday morning after his mother called...
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OK. Here's one of the dumbest/smartest ideas I've heard in years. Hewlett Packard has just introduced a range of digital cameras that make the people you photograph look slimmer... Or, as they say on their web site... "They say cameras...
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Dec 7
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Anyone out there remember Jolt? That was the first of the high sugar, high caffeine energy drinks, introduced in the eighties. Long before Red Bull and all the others that have since appeared, Jolt was what you drank through the...
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With the news today that the Volvo account is up for grabs after more than fifteen years at EuroRSCG... And actually you can trace its lineage back to Scali McCabe (Young members of the profession will no doubt now be...
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I thought the "Wizened of Oz" had really scraped the bottom of the barrel with his giant "OJ" screw-up. Between the book and the TV interview his tendency to cater to the lowest common denominator in America's current taste levels...
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Dec 6
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It would seem that the beginning of the end is about to happen with the news today that Amazon.com has invested in Wikia, the San Mateo for-profit wiki company co-founded by Jimmy Wales, one of the brains behind online encyclopedia...
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Dec 5
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I must say, today’s word that the Interactive Advertising Bureau has chosen ad and media columnist Randall Rothenberg to be their next CEO as they get deeper and deeper into the murky waters of multi-media, struck me as one of...
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Dec 4
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Here’s something that I find pretty funny, if not actually hilarious. We’ve been told repeatedly that the younger generation is more open to the user-generated content craze. And that this is “The next big thing” for advertisers to consider. Well,...
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Hey… Here’s some breakthrough news for all you AdHurl fans out there… American Express has been named corporate sponsor of the United States Golf Assn., the first such partner in the USGA’s 112-year history. The multiyear agreement will allow the...
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Dec 3
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It got no news coverage on this side of the pond, but in the middle of November, US deputy health secretary, Alex Azar on a trip to the UK, pressured the British government to allow free access to the UK...
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Dec 2
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I laughed when I read about the Norwegian police catching up with a young guy who’d posted on YouTube a video of himself taking a wild car ride, by following the electronic trail he left, then hitting him with a fine...
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Dec 1
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It would seem that the latest campaign for Jack Daniel's highlights the whiskey's Tennessee small-town heritage and seeks to spread cheer with two spots running on cable and in cinemas nationwide. The 30-second spots, which first broke on Thanksgiving Day,...
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