Thanks to my friend GB for sending this to me. It's also all over the advert world, but GB was one day ahead of the curve.
I tried to embed the full object, but can't seem to get it to work. Trust me, click through and then click the banner again once you get to the next page, or view it here.
In case you missed it (and considering that most of you don't work in advertising, my guess is you did) the Obama campaign took home some major prizes at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Fesival this past weekend.
For the ad biz this is a big deal. In fact, Joseph Jaffe thinks that it helps prove his point and used the occasion to declared the 30 second spot officially dead.
I for one can't believe that Obama for America took home a top advertising award. I mean who would have ever thought that the campaign represented not just a shift in politics, but also a massive shift in the integration of branding, advertising, social media, web 2.0, brand advocacy and a constant, clear and singular "call to action"?
I hate to me a cynic (really I do), but I have to say that when I heard of Billy Mays passing today, one of my first thoughts was how many meetings this was causing in the media and advertising world.
You see, as the more "main stream" brands have seen revenues drop in this recession, they have pulled their ads. This in turn has caused ad rates to go down. Who as swooped in to pick up these discount rates? Direct response marketers who sell things like OxiClean. And who pitches a ton of these products? Billy Mays.
All over America today Media Directors were on the phone with networks and buyers talking about what the hell they are going to do with all this purchased time. And on my side of things, Marketing Managers were calling Account Directors and editors to talk about how quickly they could re-cut new creative with as little of Mr. Mays as possible (at least until they can shoot new spots). I am betting this caused a lot of meetings.
As for Mr. Mays, my thoughts go out to his family. This week we have seen the deaths of three huge celebrities who's work and success is easy to recognize. Billy Mays on the other hand had a less recognizable contribution.
Now I am not saying the Billy Mays is anywhere near as important to American culture as Michael Jackson. But I recently heard this segment on the NPR show On the Media that draws a direct line from Billy Mays all the way back to the old school "pitch man" selling hair tonic on the Jersey Shore. Mays claimed to be the last in this line and after hearing this I realized that he and his ilk are very much a part of our culture, for better or worse. I recommend you read or listen to it.
I have tried my hardest to bring MLTU up right. Up until today I thought I'd done a fairly good job. After all, she appreciates good food and good music, she has a vivid imagination and she roots for the Yankees.
So you can imagine that my heart broke in two after this transaction:
FAU: [Pausing MLTU's TV show] I have to check the weather to see when it might rain.
MLTU: But I want to watch Max and Ruby.
FAU: Just one second. [Seeing sports is on and realizing that weather is next] Look, we can watch baseball while we wait.
MLTU: Nooooo! I hate baseball.
FAU: *Takes knife through the chest*
I actually could have lived with "I hate the Yankees" or "I love the Red Sox". It would have been sacrilege, but at least that's just team specific. But "I hate baseball"???? The whole sport??? And hate?? Not "I don't want to watch baseball, I want to watch Max and Ruby"???
No, "I hate baseball. The rebellion begins.
You have got to be kidding me
The truth??? If you are looking for "the truth", I am not sure that you're going to find it in the teachings of a nut job hack science fiction writer. I have to assume they have some sort of media budget, because Em told me that she "saw that on TV". Ummmm....WHAT??? This is running on television...where my children can see it?
Sometimes I hate my chosen profession
There are two more at AdFreak.
You get better results asking for stuff when you talk to the right ear
Fun fact about FAU: I am deaf in one ear.
As a 14 year old boy I was struck in the head by a bolt of
lightning while on top of a mountain in Maine.
Luckily for me the only permanent damage I sustained was an almost total loss of hearing
in my right ear.
So when I saw this post on Boing Boing I immediately took notice. These results explain a lot to me.
When you are deaf in one ear you essentially have no hearing “depth perception”. If someone calls to you across a field you do not know where they are standing because you don’t have the perception to figure out where the sound is coming from.
For almost 20 years I have found that I need to focus very hard when I listen to people and try to make sure I am not distracted. Background noises (like the TV or radio) easily pull my attention away from conversation and I can’t listen to two things at once.
Now I learn that it is a double whammy. I am not only deaf in one ear, I am deaf in THE MORE IMPORTANT EAR. Well, at least this gives me yet another excuse when Em says I am not listening to her: “Sorry honey, I only have one (sub par) ear.”
Em just had a birthday. Aunt C and I bought her a new iPod Nano as a gift while Aunt S and Em's Mom gave her a subscription to Audible (Em loves audio books).
So Em decided to give her old Shuffle to MLTU. The theory is that if MLTU has the Shuffle she can listen to kid’s music with her headphones while Em listens to books (or music).
Now, I am all for Em getting to listen to the things she wants to hear while avoiding Steve Miller Band or the Bob the Builder theme for the one thousandth time...but the thought of a three year old with an iPod freaks me out a little.
Maybe I am a Luddite after all.
(I'm out of coup puns)
A lot has been happening with our State Senate up here in the Capital Region. The long and short of it is that the Governor is forcing the Senate into session every day, a move that he can make now that the official session is over. The Senate is finding ways to simply hold a quick session and do nothing.
Gov. Paterson has also been openly hostile to his former colleagues, accusing them of letting petty personal turf wars get in the way of "the people's work".
Then this afternoon this situation took just one more bizarre turn. Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn, who less than a month ago was indicted for assaulting a New York Post photographer called the Paterson the "coke-snorting, staff-banging Governor". That's right now BOTH of the State Senators under indictment for assault have claimed the moral high ground.
Massachusetts is looking good right now.
Yesterday the Academy (come on, there really is only one) announced that it would expand the field of Best Picture nominees to 10 movies!!!
10? Really? Oh dear lord.
Not only is this going to make the Oscar Pool that much harder and (as NPR pointed out) make that telecast that much longer, it will also give us twice as many chances for some overly sentimental schlocky hack film like Crash or Million Dollar Baby (there, I said it) to win the top prize.
I suppose that I could hope that with more options the Academy voters might have better choices, but what is more likely to happen is that we will see an animated film get the nod each year along with two or three independent films. While this is good because it will raise the profile of the independent films, it is bad because it will spread out the votes of the Producers and Directors (i.e. those with taste) giving those damn sentimental actors (who I am convinced pick the schlock year after year) even more power than they already have.
This move would be fine if the Academy would also limit voting for Best Picture to those who get the awards (the Producers) like they do with every other category. Let the actors hand out awards for sentimental schlock in the four categories they already control.
I think I'm done with this awards show.
Gov. Sanford to Reimburse His State for Trip to Argentina
Just to be clear, this is not the trip he just returned from. I don't think that one was paid for by the state. If it were, maybe people would have known his location for five days.
"[W]hile the purpose of this trip was an entirely professional and appropriate business development trip, I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with,” Mr. Sanford said. “That has raised some very legitimate concerns and questions, and as such I am going to reimburse the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of this trip."
No, this is the LAST thousand mile booty call the the Governor took to South America in June of 2008.
Much like Angry Young Dem, I not only question the motivation of these guys, but I question their level of stupidity and how in the world they have time for elaborate affairs like this.
I'll give it 3-to-1 odds that this guy is out by the 4th of July.
