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Can Big Data Exist Alongside The Big Idea?

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The term "big data" has become quite prevalent in the marketing world lately. In a previous Central Desktop article, I examined the notion of big data and how it pertains to how brands and agencies work today. We started with a simple definition of big data.

In our marketing world, big data describes the plethora of information we have accumulated through the monitoring of consumers as they browse, socialize, search and purchase online. Every time a person visits a website, a cookie is dropped within their browser. Every time a person responds to a call-to-action from a landing page, data from the form they filled out is captured.

That's just a small example of big data's makeup. Dan Zarrella, HubSpot's social media scientist, told me a little bit more about the kinds of data that are important to marketers and agencies - and how marketers and agencies should be using that data.

More...

by Steve Hall    May-21-13    
Topic: Agencies



Axe-Coiffed Hair Turns Women Into Puddles of Submission

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Really, guys. All it take is well-coiffed hair to zombify any woman into submission, make her forget whatever it was she was doing and stare longingly into your eyes and await your command. No, seriously. Axe says so so it must be true! Advertising never lies, right?

Of course, what these four BBH London-created commercials really wants to get across is that guys can't keep their hands out of their hair when in the presence of a hot woman. While that may be true, it would be ever so awesome if women actually did turn into submissive zombies when us guys coiffed our hair with Axe. Because if it was true, guys might actually use the product!

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Racy



Newsflash! Hot Guys Sells Soda

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While it's certainly not the end of rampant objectification of women to move product, recently there's been a spate of male hunk-focused ads and Deutsch is the latest to join the trend with "Josh Button," part of Dr. Pepper's "One of a Kind" campaign.

In the ad, we see male model Josh Button discuss just how hot he is compared to all the other men on the planet. If it's to somehow make up for all those years Mad Men portrayed women as sex objects in advertising, it's really not accomplishing anything. Button, and most men, openly love being ogled. Though being occasionally ogled is quite a bit different than being culturally transformed after hundreds of years of objectification.

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Racy



Personal Assistent Offers to Save Your Ass During Cannes

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As Cannes Lions approaches, you may begin feeling a bit of stress over how you're going to drink all that rose and juggle all your oficial responsibilities with aplomb. What you need is a personal assistent to make sure you covered when you're too drunk to explain how you lost your hotel room key or that things are handled with discretion when you roll over in the morning and have no idea who is laying next to you in bed.

In return for a Cannes Young Lions pass and accommodation, this eager creative student promises to keep you out of trouble and focused. Watch the video below and head over to the Assistant De Cannes Lion Facebook page to find out more.

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Industry Events



HubSpot Lambastes P&G For Blaming Layoffs on Facebook

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Last Friday, the brilliantly insightful Corey Eridon of HubSpot castigated P&G for calling their "Facebook experiment" a failure and for the brand's complete misunderstanding of digital strategy.

In response to the assumption it's somehow Facebook's fault P&G fell on its face and had to lay off 6,250 employees, Eridon wrote, "Yes, it's Facebook's fault. It's not P&G's fault for failing to stay on top of digital trends like learning what EdgeRank is and how it works. It's not P&G's fault for relying on third-party assets to build their brand, instead of investing in assets they can control, like their own website and blog. It's not P&G's fault for failing to create remarkable content that -- and if you know how EdgeRank works you'd know this -- gets you more visibility on Facebook due to reader engagement. It's not P&G's fault for failing to realize no audience is guaranteed, paid or otherwise, and that audiences are actually earned on a daily basis. And it's certainly not P&G's fault for expecting a "new" platform like Facebook to work by slapping on the same old-school ad tactics they've been using (and, based on their rampant layoffs, not using well) for decades."

Whoo! It's like you can visualize Eridon in a cage match schooling an army of P&G mascots on how shit gets done in today's world of digital marketing.

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Brands, Opinion



Production Company Does Agency.com Fist Bump

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Oh how this Rooster Worldwide self-promo video harkens the days of old when Agency.com made fools of themselves with their Subway Pitch Video. First off, it's all well and good for people to have interests outside of their daily jobs but would you really hire an agency that answered the question, "Are you a production company or an ad agency?" with "Oh, you mean that shit we do to pay the bills when we're not skating?"

Or a creative director that describes himself "I'm a creative director, a writer, an actor, a dad. But mostly, I'm just another fucking skater"?

The video is categorized as comedy on YouTube. We hope that's actually what Rooster intended.

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Agencies



Women's Clothing Mysteriously Ripped From Their Bodies Revealing...

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Rob from Wakefield Creative sent us this ad he helped Man+Hatchet create for UK-based clothing retailer Warehouse Fashion. The ad begins quite drearily with women clothed in winter garb under grey skies. Then the sun come out and something special happens.

The drab, dull winter clothing literally explodes off the women's bodies and...no, they don't end up racing through the streets in tiny thongs with their boobs bouncing up and down in cleavage-revealing bras. No. Not even close. The drab, dull winter clothing gives way to light, bright, airy summer fashions. Which,. when you think about it, is the exact feeling most people experience when the first warm day arrives in Spring. Well done.

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by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Commercials



Charmin Wipes NASCAR's Ass With Skidmarks Humor

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We sort of wonder if after viewing this Charmin billboard which is shaped like a pair of tighty-whities, a portion of Nascar fans are going to wonder if the brand has begun selling underwear. That or they're just going to chuckle at the brand's witty display of boys elementary school bathroom humor. The giant underwear-shaped billboard was placed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Sprint All-Star Race. Via.

by Steve Hall    May-20-13    
Topic: Outdoor, Strange



Mondelez Gives Middle Finger to Agencies, Moves to 120 Day Payment

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Get a load of this insanity. Mondelez, that packaged goods company all the social media whiz kids love so much because it's behind Oreo, has now decided it will take 120 days to pay agencies and other suppliers. And get a load of this buzzword-laden bullshit a Modelez stament gives as reason for the move:

"We're continually looking to drive efficiency and improve our processes on a global basis. Extending our payment terms allows us to better align with industry and make sure we compete on fair grounds, while simultaneously improving transparency and predictability of payment processes."

Um, what?

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by Steve Hall    May-17-13    
Topic: Brands



Samsung Helps Guy Realize He's Got A Screw Loose

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You've probably run into people like this before. And it's always an awkward encounter. Because you know they have are just whacked in the head. But you are kind and politely listen as they spout their inanities.

Like the guy in this Samsung commercial who thinks his stuffed animal dog is real. That is, until he saunters by a Samsung Premium Monitor -- with its super awesome, life-like picture -- and realizes he might want to have his head examined.

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by Steve Hall    May-17-13    
Topic: Video



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