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Aug31
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So, here we are at the tail end of summer and about to enjoy the Labor Day holiday which is traditionally celebrated on the first Monday in September... Except for everywhere else in the world when it's celebrated on the first of May. We've also forgotten the original purpose of the holiday, founded in the late 1800's, which was to recognize "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" and give working people an extra day off, as most of them worked a six-day week. Most of the parades and events of the day were organized by trade unions, which were starting to grow in strength due to the appalling conditions most nineteenth century workers labored under. Today, unions are much weaker, yet many non-union workers benefit from the rights, benefits and safety rules unions fought long and hard to win. If you intend to spend the weekend at the beach or in some other form of relaxation, spare a thought for those union members who so long ago worked on your behalf. And that includes Corporate America's CEO's, who make on average, 500 times the salary of their employees. So I guess they don't need unions. 
. That makes even more sense today!
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Aug31
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As regular readers know, even though I do most of my work out of New York, I actually live in Idaho, which is a beautiful state with more mountains, rivers and wilderness than any state, with the exception of Alaska....
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Did you see the piece in today's New York Times about NBC intending to pull its TV shows from Apple’s iTunes store? Currently, NBC shows like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Heroes,” which Apple sells for $1.99 an episode, account for about...
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Aug30
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The World Privacy Forum, has issued yet another Consumer alert that Monster.com's data base has been compromised, probably by the kind of people who love to delve into other peoples business... recruiters. "Job seekers who have posted resumes at Monster.com may have had...
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Aug29
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I had to chuckle when I read the news today that a British artist was denied US backing to paint a portrait of President George Bush, and so decided to make an "alternative' version" - from images of porn. Now Jonathan Yeo, has...
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Aug28
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Looks like EarthLink is beginning to implode in the increasingly tough ISP market. For more than thirteen years the company has persevered through the painful transitions of the Internet service provider market, growing a respected dial-up access business, then fighting, more...
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You might not be seeing too much of those dancing bears and instant tattoos that signify the soporific advertising a great many mortgage companies have pumped out over the last few years. Meaning that a lot of Internet shops and...
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Aug27
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The news today that US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, embroiled in a row over the sacking of eight US attorneys, has formally announced his resignation has to be a major shock... Only in respect that like every other member of...
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Aug26
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I just came across a very intriguing blog. It's called "The Lord God Almighty's Weblog." The CEO with 6.6 potential customers. Very well written and very amusing. I don't want to give too much away, but it's well worth a...
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Aug25
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You can either admire or cringe at the nerve of the "Cinderella" Ad Agency in Auckland New Zealand. They just ran a campaign for "Hell" pizzas that showed Adolf Hitler making a salute with a slice of the cheese pie....
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News today that the Pentagon is setting up a new operation in Iraq that will pump out information from a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week Iraq Communications Desk issuing data from Baghdad and serving as what could be considered a campaign war room. Sounds...
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Aug24
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Loved the piece in today's Guardian on-line about "Silver Surfers." Pointing out that people over the age of 65 spend more time on the web than any other group. Which I guess is why most people putting together an on-line strategy...
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Aug23
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You just have to love the news that Rudy Giuliani, the ex mayor of New York, who's milked every possible association with New York while running to be the Republican nominee for the US Presidency, has picked his high powered...
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Aug22
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If I had an agency (God forbid!) And a new Marketing Director arrived on the scene at my largest client... I would immediately resign the account. After all, why spend a few short months trying to impress the new guy/gal...
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Aug21
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There's been a lot of talk about how Facebook is rapidly catching up to MySpace in the social networking arena. Particularly in the marketing and advertising space. And, I have to admit, I use it in preference to the overly "Yuppiefied"...
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Aug20
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Yeah... So Leona Helmsley finally kicked over the traces and has gone off to run "Hotel Hell. She was 87, so had a pretty good run for her money... Not to mention that she lived it in the lap of...
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Aug19
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I am always amused whenever I see or read about Jim Cramer, the ranting, screaming, going red in the face genius of CNBC's "Mad Money," and the writer of several books about how to get rich in the stock market......
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Aug18
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Is the stock market screwed, or is it the "same old - same old bullshit? Well hell, if I knew that kind of information, I'd be a crazy zillionaire. And, there's the rub... Cos no one in the entire business...
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Aug17
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Why am I not surprised to read today that Steve Jobs has just exercised some long-held options worth at least $14.5 million. On Monday, the "Great Leader" exercised 120,000 options that were set to expire this week. Apple gave Jobs the...
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Aug16
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So, as part of the continuing meltdown of the stock market, all the mortgage companies are getting hammered. The biggest sufferer would seem to be Countrywide Financial. Which funnily enough, is the company holding my mortgage. So, when they go...
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So yesterday I posted about the effect the upcoming recession (and with world markets down again today, there's no question it's happening) would have on ad budgets and agencies profitability. That's what makes today's Reuters story on BBD&O, CEO, John...
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Aug15
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Well, it looks like the economy is on the skids... And don't let the clowns on CNBC tell you it's a "Healthy Correction" or a "Buying Opportunity." Maria Bartiromo and all the other pundits don't have a clue. Come to...
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Aug14
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Interesting piece in today's AdAge by Scott Berg, the head media guy at Hewlett-Packard, talking about how he is less than thrilled with mobile-web advertising. As he puts it so well... People use their phones to communicate and get information,...
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Aug13
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So, I'm reading in the New York Times, the big news in Britain that someone is coming out next month with yet another "Lad's Mag." Usually these consist of lots of glossy pictures of naked women, sports cars, footballers, the...
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As BDA's are continuing to "Not get it" when it comes to the rapidly changing landscape of the ad biz, it's increasingly being left to the new guys to come up with different ways to effectively communicate with consumers. One...
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Aug11
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We're still over fifteen months from the Presidential elections But the bombardment of the airwaves by political ads is increasing daily. Top that off with the steady stream of so-called "debates," which in reality are merely collections of stale sound...
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Aug 9
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One of the things that really ticks me off is how advertisisers treat their audience like idiots. Remember what David Ogilvy said many, many years ago... "The consumer isn't stupid. She's your wife." This was brought home to me today...
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Aug 8
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OK, so Virgin America finally got off the ground today after all those storms in the New York area forced a delay and caused many of the celebrity passengers to miss the flight from JFK New York to San Francisco....
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Aug 7
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Funny how everyone is all over the news that "FakeSteveJobs' a very funny parody blog that takes the piss out of "UberFreak" Steve, is actually written by a Forbes Editor... It is actually very well written, and Forbes has always...
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Aug 6
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We're constantly hearing how hard-copy newspaper readership is declining, while it's growing online. So, it was interesting to read today a variant on that, in as much as it turns out British newspapers have more American readers than British readers... Online,...
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Aug 5
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Time Inc., the world's largest magazine publisher wasn't kidding about making a big noise on the Web -- even if it had to axe nearly 300 jobs to do it. In fact, Time Inc. has gone almost as crazy for...
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Aug 4
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As an old fart, I've always found it funny that the prized demographic everyone and his uncle is aiming at from an advertising point of view is the 18 to 24 young males segment. Yes... These are the bozos who...
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Aug 3
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Fellow KMM blogger, James Raia, who writes "AutoMill," has a very interesting post on The "Wizend of Oz" (Rupert Murdoch) and how his takeover of the Wall Street Journal will affect the newspaper from a reporters point of view. As...
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Aug 1
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Dan Tudor over on BizCradle did a post earlier today singing the praises of the "Wizened of Oz" and how great it would be to have at least one truly conservative newspaper in the Liberal Sodom & Gomorra stranglehold most...
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Why am I not surprised that the "Wizened of Oz" finally got his scrawny old paws on the Wall Street Journal? Well for a start, he's richer than Croesus. Secondly, he always gets what he wants, irrespective of who or...
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