5 Blogs Before Lunch

Pup-Peperoni: Dogs Just Know

You may have heard of "Snausages," and "Beggin Strips" for dogs. Now Del Monte Foods is giving the its "Pup-Peroni" dog snacks a marketing push.

Draftfcb in San Francisco created TV and online ads showing dogs using signs to communicate with their owners. The ads are meant to highlight the emotional connection between dogs and their owners.

From Brandweek:

While ads contain a plug or two for the product (“hearty, real beef taste,” and “mouthwatering aroma,”), the campaign’s core goal is to articulate Pup-Peroni’s emotional benefits, said Hilary Hamer, Draftfcb svp and group management director, who oversees Del Monte's pet foods business.

“The advertising campaign is built off of the premise that not only are your dogs irresistible, the Pup-Peroni brand is as irresistible as your dog,” as pet owners can “show their unconditional love to them with this [special] treat,” Hamer said.

A Bad Mix: Bruce Springsteen and Walmart

This month, a collection of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Greatest Hits” went on sale exclusively at Walmart.

But his fans are none to happy about the deal.

You see, Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker's rights. His brand perception is a guy who stands up for the working man.

Walmart's brand reputation is the opposite. Walmart has been accused of anti-union practices and has paid large fines for violating labor laws.

In an interview scheduled to be printed in this sunday's The New York Times, Springsteen says he shouldn't have made a deal with Walmart, and that his team didn't vet the issue as closely as it should have, and that he "dropped the ball on it,"

From The New York Times:

But Mr. Springsteen said the decision was made too hastily. “We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it.” Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, “given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.” He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

Taking the "Classic" out of "Classic Coke"

Do you remember the "New Coke" experiment of the 1980's when they reformulated the cola?

It was a miserable failure.

But there's been a legacy of that misstep that's been hanging around for over 25 years.

Coke "Classic" clearly separated the brand from the "New" Coke debacle.

But now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Coca-Cola "has quietly removed the word (classic) from the label of a new 16-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola that is being sold in some southeastern U.S. markets, as part of a broader plan to refresh the brand's image, according to a report in industry publication Beverage Digest."

Spoiler Alert: Super Bowl Ads Posted Online In Advance of Game Day

Marketers are taking the fun and suspense out of watching the Super Bowl.

They're posting ads online, in advance of the game. Talk about a pre-game show! I've been receiving press releases and links to Super Bowl ads for the last few days.

If you want a sneak peak (I'm resisting and waiting until sunday), check out Super Bowl ads for Pedigree, GE, Hyundai, Coca-Cola, SoBe Lifewater, GoDaddy.com, and more, posted on WSJ.com.

"Yo quiero Taco Bell" and the $42 million Lawsuit

Remember the TV commercials featuring a talking Chihuahua dog decked out as a beret-sporting revolutionary or bandit in sombrero? The talking dog's refrain "Yo quiero Taco Bell" became a pop-culture standard.

The ads stopped running back in 2000, but the lawsuits over contracts associated with the character has lingered in courtrooms until last week.

Taco Bell's talking Chihuahua ads have been the subject of a breach-of-contract lawsuit that has stretched out over 10 years.

The creators of the original "psycho Chihuahua" cartoon had been in talks with Taco Bell advertising agents to adapt the character for TV spots when, the men claimed in their lawsuit, Taco Bell took the idea to another ad agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day.

That move led to some of the most well-known Taco Bell ads in memory, but it also led to a $42 million judgment against Taco Bell. The final result of the lawsuit came last Friday when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Taco Bell Corp. vs. TBWA ruled that the fast-food chain, not the ad agency, was responsible for the ads, and thus liable for the $42 million breach-of-contract judgment. (Taco Bell sued the agency, arguing liability on the part of TBWA).

More at Los Angeles Times

Jim Horne: Go To Guy For Mad Ave in the 1940's, 50's and 60's

Jim Horne was the go-to guy for male model advertising in the late 1940's through the 1960's--the heyday of "Madison Avenue."

Horne had an easily adaptable look that was easy to cast: "He had a chiseled jaw, a distinctively rounded hairline, a seemingly permanent pompadour, a gleaming California smile and an athlete’s physique."

Mr. Horne died recently at the age of 91.

From his obituary in The New York Times:

For about 15 years beginning in the late 1940s, Mr. Horne was ubiquitous, perhaps the most widely seen male model in the country, appearing in hundreds of advertisements in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and catalog covers, in television commercials and industrial brochures.

The Times reports that he was employed to help sell an extraordinarily eclectic range of products: automobiles and underpants; exercise equipment and mothproofing; hair tonic and gasoline; beer, blended whiskey and milk; pajamas, raincoats, cardigan sweaters, Panama hats, and suits with two pairs of pants for $44.95.

Dancing Eyebrows For Cadbury Dairy Milk

Cadbury has launched a follow-on to their extremely successful ad campaigns 'Gorilla' and 'Airport Trucks.' This time, instead of a gorilla playing drums or airport diesels dancing to Queen, viewers get to witness "eyebrow dancing."

The 60-second Fallon-created spot, set to an 1980s electro track called "Don't stop the rock" by Freestyle, features two siblings sitting in a traditional photographer's studio breaking into a choreographed eyebrow dance. T

Chris Willingham, a partner at Fallon said: "Like all good creative ideas nowadays, ‘Eyebrows' will entertain and spark conversation online and offline. It is designed to encourage involvement and imitation."

Phil Rumbol, marketing director for Cadbury, said: "'Eyebrows' marks our third original production following 'Gorilla' and 'Airport Truck' and we're confident it will prove just as popular and raise as many smiles -- but lots more eyebrows.

Source: Brand Republic

PR Exec Twitters His Way Into Client Trouble

It turns out that Twittering* can be dangerous.

Seems that a Ketchum PR account executive/vice president named James Andrews made a bit of mistake when he tweeted from the airport runway in Memphis, Tenn.

Here's the Tweet:  "True confession but I'm in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, 'I would die if I had to live here.' "

The problem, Andrews was Twittering on his way to make a presentation on social networking to one of his firm's largest clients, FedEx, which just happens to be located in...you guessed it; Memphis.

With the fine line between business and personal communication blurred with "friends" and "followers" able to read all communications, this is a reminder of how sensitive we need to be to what we say, and how we say it.

Blogger David Henderson posted details of this gaffe.

*For those unfamiliar, Twitter is a microblogging site allowing 140-character messages to be broadcast to a group of "followers" on the site.

Sharper Image Brand Reinvents Itself

When last we heard of Sharper Image, it had filed for bankruptcy, and closed all of its stores. But the news now, with new owners, is that of a revised brand and distribution strategy.

The Sharper Image brand is set to rise again.

The gadget retailer was purchased by the private investors Blue Star Alliance, Gordon Brothers and Hilco Consumer Capital for $49 million, and will license its products, rather than sell them direct-to-consumers.

Yep, that's right. No website, catalog or retail stores. The company will license products and sell them through third-party retailers. Products are said to include home audio gadgets like iPod and iPhone docks, a floating waterproof wireless speaker, and a shower speaker that receives music wirelessly from an iPod.

From The New York Times:

“Sharper Image was an aspirational brand,” said Federico de Bellegarde, the company’s vice president for licensing. While people wanted the products, not enough could afford them. “Now we can be in Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and midtiered department stores,” Mr. de Bellegarde said.

The new company, which has fewer than 10 employees, kept five of its original product licensees. It currently has the Sharper Image name on 40 furniture and accessory products sold in OfficeMax stores. Its big push will come at the end of this year, when it releases “hundreds” of new, less-expensive products in partnership with 12 unnamed partners.

Interestingly, the company is said to also be working on a new generation of its famous (or infamous) air purifier.

The original $350 Ionic Breeze, and resulting consumer lawsuits over the release of unhealthy levels of ozone, is reported to be one of the primary reasons for the bankruptcy of the original company.

Starbucks Volunteer Pledge "I'm In" Gets A Boost From Oprah

Starbucks' volunteer-oriented promotion, dubbed "I'm In," got a boost from a mention by Oprah Winfrey on her Wednesday show. The coffee chain is managing an online system in which people pledge to perform five hours of community service, with the promised reward of a free coffee.

From Advertising Age:

"So many Americans have been absolutely galvanized to participate in this new day, this new age for our country, and so today we are announcing a golden opportunity for you to do something," Ms. Winfrey said in discussing the promotion during today's broadcast, which featured footage from a local Starbucks. Her statement followed a clip from President Barack Obama's inaugural address, in which he called for a "new era of responsibility."

Oprah encouraged Americans to help the chain double its goal of 1 million hours pledged on the coffee company's site, pledge5starbucks.com. As of this morning, over 600,000 had signed up.

BET and P&G to Create "My Black Is Beautiful" TV Show

P&G and BET Networks. are teaming up to create a new television program to support Procter & Gamble's "My Black is Beautiful" advertising campaign.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the show will be a combination of traditional television and Webisodes featuring interviews, vignettes and style tips, all designed to support the campaign that P&G launched in 2007, The first episode will feature first lady Michelle Obama.

The initial campaign, which launched in 2007 to support multiple P&G brands, included a Web site, a multi-city road show, a four-city exposition with discussion guides, advertorials and other materials to encourage African-American women to organize meetings and conversations on popular notions of beauty.

"Trust Me" To Feature Real Products And Agencies

"Trust Me," is a new TNT series set in the fictional Chicago-based advertising firm of Rothman Greene & Mohr. But the show will feature real-life agencies like Leo Burnett and DDB as competitors and actual products as potential clients. Unilever, a sponsor of the series, will have its Dove brand hair care products featured in a story arc on the show. More at The New York Times.

Favorite Ad of The Day: Cisco "I Will Survive"

Technology Business-To-Business ads are often boring, or ridiculous, or both. But Cisco does a nice job of entertaining while giving a human-benefit to a business product:

MillerCoors Plans Counter-Programming To Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl Ads

Taking a cue from the tanking economy, MillerCoors is planning some counter-programming around Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl Ads.

A-B is the exclusive beer sponsor of the game, but MillerCoors is plannings a counterattack of Miller High Life TV and Web ads that make fun of advertisers who pay NBC $3 million — $100,000 a second — for a 30-second ad in the game.

USA Today says making fun of big spenders is a message that fits the Miller High Life brand, which is priced 20% lower than premium brews, such as Miller Lite or A-B's Budweiser and Bud Light.

"People are trading down to below-premium-priced beer," says Benj Steinman, editor of beer newsletter Beer Marketer's Insights. "It's a guerrilla (ad) tactic that talks to a real trend that's happening in the market," he says.

Witnessing The First Official Turn of the Engine of Hope

No marketing posts today.

There are only a handful of moments in our lives where we witness events that truly, fundamentally, change the world, and thus change our lives.

I've been around long enough to witness (at least via television) the funeral train of Robert Kennedy. I watched live as man stepped on the Moon for the first time, and listened as President Nixon resigned "...effective at noon tomorrow." A Pope was shot, a People's Princes was mourned, and today, I will watch as the engine of HOPE begins to move.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday

To honor Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope you'll set aside a few minutes to listen to the full speech Dr. King gave from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963:

Victoria Follows David Beckham Into Armani Underwear Ads

Victoria Beckham has followed in husband David's footsteps with an Armani underwear shoot. Source: Huffington Post:

Tabasco Launches Pizza Box Sampling Effort

Tabasco is one of those brands like Xerox, Jacuzzi and Kleenex. It is a brand name, and a category definer. The company has been tremendously successful in creating a product that's as good on a taco as it is on scrambled eggs.

Now, in another extension of its reach, Tabasco is hoping that you'll want to start using its famous hot pepper sauce on your pizza. Thousands of pizzerias are participating in an effort to distribute over 5 million Tabasco samples. In addition to the samples, pizza boxes will carry a $1 coupon off a 5-ounce bottle of original Tabasco sauce.

More at Brandweek

Crest Shifts from One Publicis Agency To Another

Procter & Gamble has shifted creative duties for its $200 million-plus Crest oral-care account in North America and Europe to
Publicis Worldwide from Saatchi & Saatchi.

And yes, Saatchi & Saatchi is a Publicis company, so "shift" is a good word for the announcement.

Century 21 To Shift Marketing Budgets Online

Realtor Century 21 is pulling most of its national TV budget for 2009 to focus its marketing efforts online. While franchisees will be able to place ads on local TV, the focus will be on digital marketing.

The company's SVP for marketing, Beverly Thorne, is quoted in AdAge as saying:

"There are a lot of possibilities online, not only classic display advertising but a lot of methodologies with search, enhanced listings for real-estate properties and enhanced technologies.

Ms. Thorne said Century 21's decision to shift its focus to the web was a strategic one and did not reflect the current economic situation. The company like most others, has been watching every dollar it spends "to ensure maximum return for our brokers and agents," she said.

Kellogg Issues A Premptive Warning On Its Peanut Butter Snacks

Peanut butter produced by Peanut Corporation of America, one of several peanut butter suppliers to the Kellogg Company, has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has affected at least 434 people in 43 states, according to federal health officials and reported by Causecast.

“Kellogg Company’s investigation has not indicated any concerns, nor has the company received any consumer illness complaints about these products,” the Kellogg statement said.

“Nonetheless, Kellogg Company is taking precautionary measures including putting a hold on any inventory in its control, removing product from retail store shelves, and encouraging customers and consumers to hold and not eat these products until regulatory officials complete their investigation of PCA and Kellogg provides further information as to the resolution of this issue.”

Now that's how to crisis manage a situation. Nice job Kellogg's

Facebook Squashes Burger King's Whopper Sacrifice Promotion

Recently, Burger King launched a whopper (note lowercase pun) of a promotion, utilizing a Facebook application to hand out free coupons for their Whopper sandwich. The program asked Facebook users to remove 10 Facebook friends to get a free coupon. A reported 233,906 Facebook friends were removed by 82,771 people in less than a week.

Chalk one up for Burger King (and advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky).

Unfortunately, Facebook, apparently miffed that the promotion encouraged a shrinking of their networking engine, chose to ban the application siting privacy issues. Tech Crunch quoted Facebook:

We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications follow users’ expectations of privacy. This application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend. We have reached out to the developer with suggested solutions. In the meantime, we are taking the necessary steps to assure the trust users have established on Facebook is maintained.

As Mr. Homer Simpson would say, Doh.

Again, from Tech Crunch:

Did anyone talk to the sales department before pulling the trigger on this? All that happened is the user being dissed got a message telling them, which helps the application spread virally. Without that feature the app is far less powerful. There is no real privacy issue here, just a policy decision by Facebook that people shouldn’t be notified when you remove them as a friend.

Are Baby Boomers Changing Their Spending Habits?

Baby Boomers have long been viewed as the spend-thrift, conspicuous consumption generation. But as they age (the first Boomers have begun to turn 60 recently) and as the economy tightens up, will Boomers change their spending ways?

Adweek takes a look at this generation, their past spending habits, and how changes in the economy, and their age, may affect brand loyalties. Here's a couple of excerpts:

"Boomers are not only pinching pennies at the checkout lines, they are radically reversing their wastrel ways. Americans, who in recent years have had negative savings rates, could save as much as 6% to 10% of their income this year, according to Goldman Sachs."

"Ben Kline, chief strategy officer at Allstate agency Leo Burnett, says it's not just a matter of cutting back, it's about boomers reassessing what's important. "We're seeing a shift from a trade-up culture to a trade-off culture," Kline says. "'What brands are going to be part of my life, which ones are indispensable or dispensable?'"

 

Mini Calls For Global Agency Review

Reports are that Mini is searching for a global advertising agency.

Brand Republic reports that process is in its early stages, with a small number of London shops selected for credentials meetings.

Historically, Mini would work with a roster of agencies that would pitch global campaigns on a project-by-project basis. This new plan suggests that the winner of the review will create global brand campaigns that will be adapted by Mini's roster of agencies in local markets.

London agency WCRS has created the lion's share of Mini's recent global ad campaigns. 

Emma Lowndes, the marketing manager for Mini UK, said: "We are looking at an international agency but we don't envisage it impacting local agencies at all. All commercial organisations need to take a look at new ways of doing things and it is our strategy to make sure we're doing the right thing for the brand."

"Digital Sampling Strategy" Employed For Launch of Showtime Network's "United States of Tara."

Subscription cable network Showtime is employing what it calls a "digital sampling strategy" to whip up excitement around the premiere of a new series from Steven Spielberg called "United States of Tara."

Showtime plans to release the premiere episode across a wide variety of media--from Netflix, to more than 100 websites, theaters in 25 markets and mobile phone platforms to outreach beyond its subscription-based audience.

By offering the first episode for free, the campaign is designed to drive customers to subscribe to the network by giving them a little "taste"" of what is being offered on Showtime.

It is not the first time Showtime has emplyed this strategy, having launched "The L Word" and "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," with a similar cross-media program.

By making the premiere episode free through so many media outlets, Showtime hopes to reach 170 million people.

Source: Media Post

Coke Trims European Ad Agency Roster

Last summer Coca-Cola moved to a pan-European strategy for its Diet Coke account, and assigned Mother London to the task, while Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt won a similar assignment for the Sprite brand.

Now, Coke has turned its attention to its flagship "red" brand, launching the Coke Red European Agency Network.

For Coke red, this means slashing the number of agencies working on the European advertising business from more than 20 to just four as part of a strategy to run more efficient marketing campaigns.

The emaining ad agencies are: Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, Mother London, McCann Erickson Spain and Senior Rushmore Madrid.

The UK Guardian says Coca-Cola hopes to achieve "much bigger creative thinking" as well as a more efficient process for pan-European work;

"We will continue to evolve our agency model to get the most compelling, effective and scalable work we can on behalf of our global brands," said a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Europe. "That may entail using fewer agencies overall, while instilling greater agency collaboration to drive truly integrated marketing communications."

The new marketing strategy follows the appointment of Guy Duncan, as European creative excellence director. Duncan is a former advertising agency client services director at WPP brand agency Coley Porter Bell.

Ikea to Promote "furniture fit for a president"

In a promotion called' "Embrace Change '09" IKEA has created an out-of-home campaign in Washington, D.C. to run during the run-up to the inauguration. The promotion includes mobile, bus shelter and billboard advertising that will catch a local, and tourist audience visiting during the inauguration.

At Union Station, a mock oval office furnished with its products, and on the streets, a mock motorcade of vehicles will be touring the D.C. area Jan. 15-16. Ikea will strap "furniture fit for a president" on top of vehicles to symbolize the incoming president and his family moving into their new home.

Other components include a site,  where Ikea fans can design their own Oval Office using a drop-and-drag click tool, and a $1,500 gift card giveaway to visitors who log onto the site.

Source: Brandweek

Unilever Adding Corporate Logo To Its Product Advertising

Unilever, the maker of everything from Lipton soups and Slim Fast, to Vaseline and Dove, has been slowly incorporating its corporate logo into marketing,

Unilever ads in Asian and Latin American markets have recently begun to feature corporate branding, but it has not been applied consistently.

Now, Unilever has unveiled plans to feature its logo in all consumer advertising throughout the UK and Ireland.

The plan is to leverage the value of its corporate reputation.

A spokesman for Unilever has been quoted: "Our research tells us that people who already buy one Unilever brand will buy others, if they know they come from the same maker."

Of course, corporate branding could have a negative affect as well. If there is a negative perception of one brand, that could infect others as well.

And if you need any proof, check out this amateur mash-up of Unliver brands Axe and Dove marketing:

Source: Brand Republic

NBC Universal Assembles All-Star Women's Panel

The head of NBC Universal's Women & Lifestyle Networks, Lauren Zalaznick  has pulled together a group of more than 25 high-powered women from the entertainment field to advise NBCU and its clients on how to more effectively reach women with their marketing campaigns.

The group includes Maria Bartiromo, Meredith Vieira, Tori Spelling, Susan Lyne--former Marta Stewart CEO and Ogilvy & Mather Chairman-CEO Shelly Lazarus. The panel of women will offer marketing and general business advice to NBC Universal and its clients on how to reach women.

Advertising Age reports the group will also blog, write and appear on air for the media company's women-oriented properties and contribute to a quarterly newsletter, "Power of the Purse," covering marketing to the demographic and the latest female trends. The panel will convene for the first time Feb. 10. In effect,

"it could become the most powerful female-focused agency in the country."

Shocking GlaxoSmithKline TV ad shows life from a vagina's point of view.

GlaxoSmithKline is launching a TV campaign for its female hygiene brand Lactacyd that let's viewers see life from a vagina's point of view.

Yes, you heard me right.

The campaign is scheduled to run in the Netherlands, where such things are a little less surprising that if they had decided to run the ad in the States, or any number of other spots on the globe.

The camera gives viewers the perspective of a variety of situations encountered by a vagina, such as shaving and sex, to show women that they are exposed to numerous threats everyday--encouraging consumers to use Lacatacyd in their daily routine.

Elisa Beenakker, a creative at Grey Amsterdam, said: "This commercial takes Lactacyd from feeling like a medical product to feeling like an essential part of a woman's personal care routine.

"It's unapologetic and instead unashamedly confident and energetic in the way women today are."

The following ad may be NSFW viewing, if you live outside of the Netherlands:

20 Advertising Bright Spots For 2009

Advertising Age identifies nearly 20 ad and marketing segments that are likely to defy the poor business outlook for the year. The segments include: Washington, D.C., lobbying, public affairs and policy ads; beer; pets; luxury recycling; mobile;  online video; Hispanics; and DRTV.

Ben & Jerry's Creates Obama Inspired "Yes Pecan"

"YES PECAN! An Inspirational Blend! Amber Waves of Buttery Ice Cream With Roasted Non-Partisan Pecans."

Ben & Jerry's is renaming its butter pecan flavor "Yes Pecan," honoring the president-elect's campaign theme "Yes, We Can."

Newsday is reporting that the company is partnering with Common Cause, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process. Proceeds associated to the sale of "Yes Pecan" will go to Common Cause's Education Fund.

"Common Cause is excited to work with Ben & Jerry's to spread a spirit of activism and optimism that we believe can make our government work for the common good as it tackles the big issues of the day," said Common Cause chief executive Bob Edgar. "An engaged citizenry is crucial for a healthy democracy."

Ad Agency World: "Still A Closed Society"

Kelloggs To Raise Prices on Cereals and Pop-Tarts

Many CPG companies have been shrinking the sizes of products in an effort to avoid price increases. Most companies need some way to offset the ever-increasing costs for key ingredients like corn and oil.

By putting dimples in the bottom of jars, and shrinking package sizes in other ways, CPG brands deliver less food to consumers, but keep the same price. Cah-ching.

Now Kellogg Company is trying a different strategy, and has made the big step raise prices on the majority of its cereal brands and Pop-Tarts toaster pastries because of high costs for commodities such as food and oil.

The increases, in the low- to mid-single-digit percentages, are effective nationwide at all retail outlets, including discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Rumors are that General Mills Inc. may follow suit if Kellogg's increases pass through with little difficulty.

Men's Vogue No Longer In Fashion? Conde Nast Pub Put On Life Support

Looks like Conde Nast's Men's Vogue is going dormant for the winter of this economic downturn.

Women's Wear Daily is reporting that Condé Nast has found a way to keep Men’s Vogue alive after shrinking the title to a twice-a-year publication. I received noticification (via postcard) that my subscription was being terminated, but that the spring issue would be delivered free of charge.

From WWD: The future of Men’s Vogue was still in flux after Condé Nast shrunk the title from a 10-times-a-year schedule, as the recession forced publishers to rethink investment in their properties. Though the company had said it would publish two issues of the men’s title in some form, Men’s Vogue subscribers were already being informed they would receive Details or Portfolio instead. The reverse-bound distribution helps Vogue on several fronts: through distribution to Vogue’s more than 800,000 subscribers, Men’s Vogue more than doubles its circulation, which was 350,000 as a monthly title, and Vogue gets the boost in ad paging from having Men’s Vogue in the issue. Finally, according to Florio, the experiment might help revive another fledgling Vogue spin-off: “If it works, there’s a chance you could see Vogue Living come back sooner than we thought,” he said. That’s, of course, if the Vogue reader still has a home to live in come time for publication.

Is "Plan B" Appropriate To Advertise To The MTV Generation?

Audience demographics are being questioned once again.

Alcohol and tobacco brands have been dealing with how to target age-appropriate audiences for decades.

Now, a conservative group called "Concerned Women of America" is questioning the MTV.com target demo, and whether or not an 18-and-over prescription-only contraceptive should be allowed to advertise on the network.

"Plan B," also known as the 'Morning-After Pill' is an emergency contraceptive and requires a prescription for users under age 18.

The drug maker says only 15% of MTV.com users are under 17 and that both it and agency DraftFCB "take very seriously" the job of placing ads for the product before an appropriately aged audience.

Advertising Age says "the company is running a banner ad for Plan B on the popular MTV website, where media-measurement firm Quantcast found that nearly a third of users are younger than 18. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA disputes that estimate. But age does play a role when it comes to marketing. Girls 17 and younger need a prescription to get the drug, which must be stocked behind the counter and dispensed by pharmacists."

National Geographic Meets-up With the Geico Gecko

The Geico Gecko has a new gig

The National Geographic Channel has inked a deal with the Geico insurance company to serve as the presenting title sponsor of two programs on the channel: "Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr" and "Wild."

Mediaweek reports that the Geico deal includes a series of four 30-second vignettes, as well as branded content across NGC’s digital platforms and a customized insert in the March issue of National Geographic magazine.

But of course, the brand tie-up is due primarily because of Geico's brand mascot--its Geico Gecko.

“We found a unique way to take Geico’s signature campaign and integrate it with one of NGC’s popular series and most recognizable talent,” said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO and founder of Horizon Media. “What makes it even more engaging is the multiplatform execution in so many different media vehicles.”

Teleflora To Run Ad On Super Bowl

With an advertising strategy of encouraging men not to forget to send flowers on Valentine's Day, flower delivery company Teleflora will be running an ad during the Super Bowl on February 1.

Teleflora will be the first florist in 20 years to run an ad during the Super Bowl.

Brandweek reports that the spot, "which is reminiscent of office sitcoms, shows a man giving a box of flowers to a mousy female coworker. Soon, the flowers start insulting her. In the unfinalized commercial the flowers said: 'Have you ever considered rhinoplasty?'"

"Don't send flowers in a box," the ad warns. "You don't know what they'll say."

The commercial, which will run in the game's second quarter, is tagged with "The Teleflora Difference." and directs viewers to Teleflora.com.

UK Outdoor Campaign Says: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".

The other day, the UK "Advertising Standards Authority" banned ads promoting a nasal spray which claimed to delay male sexual ejaculation. Today, they're after atheists.

The advertising watchdog is logging consumer complaints from members of the public and religious groups about the Atheist bus campaign running on the sides of 800 buses across the UK, trying to determine if there is enough public outrage to launch an investigation, based on the campaign being offensive to Christians and other religions.

The billboard headline reads: "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life".

The campaign was launched following an appeal by a Guardian newspaper blogger, Ariane Sherine, who challenged readers to raise enough funds to run an ad telling people "there's probably no god" on a single central London bus route. In the end, enough money was generated to cover 800 buses across the UK and the tube network.

Source: Brand Republic

Whopper Sacrifice: So, who would you trade Facebook friendship with for 10% of a Whopper?

First there were Whopper Virgins, now, of course, it is time for a Whopper Sacrifice.

The fine folks at Burger King have launched a Facebook Application that asks users to "sacrifice" 10 friends from your profile. In return, you'll get a coupon for a free Whopper.

You choose. A Whopper, or 10 of your friends.

The deal is: Install the app in your Facebook profile, delete 10 "fair-weather web friendships", and Burger King will give you a free Whopper.

And yes, everyone will know whose company you like less than a meat-ish patty, as the "sacrifices" appear in your Facebook feed.

According to the site, as of right now, 10,030 friends have been sacrificed.

NAACP Launches "The Madison Avenue Project"

Here's more news on efforts to reform minority hiring and promotions practices within the advertising agency business.

The NAACP; along with a civil rights lawyer have introduce what they call "The Madison Avenue Project," designed  to foster increased diversity in the ad industry.

The campaign is likely to seek the help of the top 100 national marketers to lobby agencies to enhance diversity within their industry.

More at USA Today

British Ad Watchdog Group Bans "Want Longer Lasting Sex?" Ads

The British ad watchdog group, the Advertising Standards Authority wants to ban ads promoting a nasal spray that is said to delay premature ejaculation.

The reason: the product is a prescription drug.

While consumers are complaining of the distasteful nature of the ads, the ASA says the Advanced Medical Institute (AMI) should remove the ads as prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to consumers. They said that the campaign needs to be removed in the interest of public safety. It has the power to remove the ads if AMI refuses to co-operate.

The ad headline reads: "Want Longer Lasting Sex?"

AMI Europe's medical director Dr Michael Spira said the company would not be taking down the posters and described the ASA's action as "bizarre".

Source: Brand Republic

Walmart and Preservationists Square-off Over Civil War Site

Walmart wants to build a Supercenter in a plot next to a Civil War site where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first fought.

Preservationists say, "those be fightin' words."

According to the AP, a who's who of historians, including filmmaker Ken Burns and Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough, sent a letter last month to H. Lee Scott , president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores  Inc., urging the company to build somewhere farther from the Wilderness Battlefield. o "The Wilderness is an indelible part of our history, its very ground hallowed by the American blood spilled there, and it cannot be moved," said the letter from 253 scholars and others.

Walmart says the 138,000-square-foot store would be right behind a bank and a small strip mall, a full mile from the entrance to the historic site.

Local leaders want the $500,000 in tax revenue they estimate the big box store will generate for the county.

Seems everyone wants a piece of this debate.

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Says Los Angeles Outdoor Ad Ban OK

The city of Los Angeles wants to ban billboard advertising, and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals says that's OK.

The city (and many others across the country) have been trying to ban outdoor advertising as an eyesore and public nuisance--as they distract drivers. The city's elected officials want to limit the size, location, brightness and sheer number of new signs.

In a win for the city, the court reversed a lower-court ruling, saying the city's 2002 prohibition of outdoor advertising does not violate a sign company's 1st Amendment right to free speech.

Outdoor advertising company Metro Lights LLC had argued that the city could not prohibit new "off-site" signs -- images that advertise products not sold on the immediate property -- while at the same time selling advertising space on city-owned bus benches and kiosks. Metro Lights had accused the city of auctioning off "1st Amendment rights to the highest bidder."

The ruling opens up the possibility that other municipalities could ban outdoor advertising as well. The Curcuit Court has jurisdiction in nine Western states -- California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii.

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Omnicom Hires Chief Diversity Officer

The advertising agency world has long been critisized for its lack of hiring diversity. Women, people of color, and those of varying socio-economic status have not necessarily been equally represented on Madison Avenue.

There was a saying when I started out in advertising (at $15K per year): "Advertising's a wonderful profession if your parents can afford to send you."

Through self-awareness, and a bit of legal proding, agencies have, of course, expanded their hiring practices. Now comes word of a big step towards diversity, at one of the largest advertising holding companies.

Tiffany R. Warren, VP-director of multicultural programs and community outreach for Havas' Arnold Worldwide, has been hired by Omnicom Group to be its first chief diversity officer.

The creation of such a position in the C-suite is a clear sign that Omnicom, the world's largest marketing services company, has made it a priority to improve its track record for the hiring and retention of minority ad executives.

Warren is a prime force behind AdColor, an industry group created in concert with the 4A's, the American Advertising Federation, Advertising Club of New York, Association of National Advertisers, Advertising Research Foundation and Arnold to foster diversity in the ad and marketing fields.

Source: Advertising Age

Some Hesitate To Buy Super Bowl Ad Spots, Others Jump At A Chance

 Marketers who are traditionally big ad spenders are thinking twice about spending an estimated $3 million on a 30-second Super Bowl spot this year. But some who have committed see an opportunity to distinguish themselves and their brands.

Scott Keogh, CMO of Audi of America, which is running a minute-long spot during the game said, "If a number of our competitors are locking on the brakes, we feel we can make a lot more brand gains."

From Reuters:

"The Super Bowl remains this incredibly unique advertising opportunity because you get all this focus and all this attention and all the PR buzz around it," says Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University.

"That's huge and that's still the case. The hard part now is it's a tough year to justify the spending and it is a tough year to hit the right tonality on the game," he added.

And, accordingly, NBC has not dropped its prices for the prime spots. With only 10% inventroy remaining, there appears to be no need.

Source: Reuters

Best Ad of the Day: Burger King Introduces The Angry Whopper

I'm not sure how the Whopper Virgins would feel about this.

In the next wave of Burger King ads from agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky we are introduced to the Angry Whopper.

The burger that promises to promises to "bite you back." is infused with jalapenos and onions grown by apparently sadistic farmers.

And, if the Angry Whopper has got you all riled up, you can compose an Angry-Gram on the microsite.

Please note the disclaimer: "Angry-Grams are intended to be humorous and should not be used with an intent to harass."

Absolutely brilliant, BK.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Should Dodge Bring Back The 1957 Lawrence Welk 30 Day Selling Spree?

Here's the promotion sure to save Dodge: "The Lawrence Welk 30 Day Selling Spree"

Honor your television star by selling more cars in one 30 day selling period than ever before.

TNT's "Trust Me" --New Drama About The Business of Advertising

Television shows have used advertising agencies as a backdrop for decades. Think of "Bewitched." "thirtysomething." and Mad Men."

And now there's "Trust Me."

On January 26, TNT will begin airing the new drama about the business of advertising starring Will McCormack ("Will & Grace") and Ed Cavannagh ("Ed"). The show is from the producers of "The Closer" and "Nip/Tuck."

They're calling it a "witty drama"--sounds just right for McCormack and Cavannagh.

Hat tip to our friends at AgencySpy for this behind-the-scenes promo piece:

Leo Burnett Settles Lawsuit With U.S. Army Over Overbilling

Advertising agency Leo Burnett will pay $15.5 million to settle allegations that it overbilled the U.S. Army for work on its "Army of One" campaign. Burnett in a statement denied any wrongdoing and noted that it did not admit any liability as part of the settlement.

The lawsuit, filed in 2004, claimed that Burnett was treating the work of its own internet unit as if it was performed by a third-party contractor, as well as inflating the costs of subcontractors it worked with, in order to increase its profits.

The suit was a result of whistle-blowing by two former Burnett employees.

Source: Advertising Age