Denver Wants Ego, Effie Calls Green, Absolut Does Vaginas

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- The Denver Egoist, which covers the Colorado ad scene, is in search of an additional writer and is holding an essay contest. Check it out here.

- It seems American Idol judge Paula Abdul along with Madonna may perform during the Super Bowl. No one at FOX is confirming or denying anything and it's unclear when (and even if) either of them will make an appearance.

- Maybe because it's now OK to make movies about girls who have teeth in their vaginas, it's OK to develop an ad that looks just like the body part.

- The Green Effie Awards has announced its call for entries which will be due February 15. The Green Effies honor eco-marketing campaigns. Info here.

by Steve Hall    Jan-17-08    
Topic: Industry Events, Publishing, Strange, Weblogs



Gawker Eschews Ad Networks For 'Non-Ad' Gawker Artists Ads

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Gawker Media, publisher of the famed Gawker, Defamer, Lifehacker and other blogs, has, over the years, experimented in various ways with generating advertising revenue. One of the tactics they put in place a while back was to forgo the use of ad networks to fill its unsold, remnant space and, instead, offer it to artists with its Gawker Artists programs.

Gawker Artists is a collection of Gawker-published artists who benefit from the wide reach of Gawker Media blogs, gaining awareness they'd otherwise have to pay for. You see, Gawker Media doesn't charge for the ad space or for the artist's appearance on in Gawker Artists website.

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by Steve Hall    Jan-11-08    
Topic: Cause, Tools, Weblogs



The Harry Situation Gets Hairy

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On Shake Well Before Use, Social Media Insights Consultant Ariel Waldman has written a detailed analysis and review of a campaign hair care company Garnier has launched which involves blog briber PayPerPost (now hiding behind the walls of social media company IZEA) and what is purported to be a new TV show called The Harry Situation. On the show's website, clips highlight the sexual innuendo and double entendre-laden theme of the show. It also covers what's being sold as dispute between the show's creators and Garnier who pulled their sponsorship because of the show's racy content.

Of course, the controversy isn't real. Either is the show. It's all part of an elaborate ad campaign complete with what appear to be paid blog posts and a YouTube video featuring Garnier SVP of Sales Steve Lutz who explains why the company pulled their sponsorship.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-13-07    
Topic: Bad, Online, Opinion, Social, Video, Weblogs



Wal-Mart Blogs Again, Road Kills, MEC Wins, Getty Awards

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- Walmart's doing the blog thing again. Hopefully they'll get it right this time.

- PETA might not like this crazy road kill lady but we do. Except for those nasty teeth of hers.

- Cynopsis Digital reports, "NBC Universal added another platform for its download-to-own content - SanDisk's flash memory aided Fanfare service scheduled to launch in January. Fanfare is yet another PC to TV device that simplifies the transfer of content by allowing video to be downloaded to a USB drive then walked over to the TV."

- OMMA has announced its 2007 Agency of the Year Awards and has crowned Mediaedge:cia's MEC Interaction top honors.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-12-07    
Topic: Industry Events, Video, Weblogs



Vetran Blogger to Rock LA Times' World

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I've known Tony Pierce since Adrants was a part time gig started while I was between jobs and was read by one person. Me. That was early 2001. Now, in late 2007, Adrants is, if we can be so egotistically blunt, a major contender in the ad world. Now, in late 2001, Tony Pierce, who was most recently Editor at the LAist is moving on to the LA Times where he will oversee the newspaper's 25 blogs. Times do change.

I think the LA Times' decision to hire Tony is an amazingly astute choice. Newspapers know they have it tough these days and they need to explore new publishing channels. In an exit interview with LAist News Editor Andy Stemberg, Tony cuts through the crap and tells it like it is. Bloggers are bloggers and journalists are journalists. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. Pierce examines this in his interview and refreshingly steers clear of early days, blogger-bashes-MSM rhetoric. For as much as blogging has contributed to the world of information transferral, mainstream media still holds the cards when it comes to infrastructure, extensibility, expertise and a lot of other things.

It will be very interesting to see how Tony marries the two worlds. If his past successes are any indication, newspaper publishing and blogging are going to become and even more delicious cocktail than they already are. Congrats, Tony.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 3-07    
Topic: Newspaper, Publishing, Weblogs



Imported Oranges Not Good to Eat But Good For Ear Muffs, Knee Pads

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Now here's a campaign that knows how to have fun. There's not many products you can slam while at the same time touting them as superior but that's what Florida's Natural is doing with its Orange Diaries. On a blog and in videos farmers Dave and Gus find all sorts of uses for imported (read, bad) oranges from using them as knee pads, ear muffs, pencil holders and a yo-yo. Simple. Amusing. Different.

by Steve Hall    Nov-13-07    
Topic: Brands, Good, Video, Weblogs



Lunch Lady Blogs, Ad Air Explained, Gydget Gadgets

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- You know a magazine is having a tough time when it hosts a promotion allowing potential subscribers to name their own subscription price.

- Here's a video explaining the launch of Ad Air, the company that recently placed a gigantic board on the ground next to the Dubai airport.

- If you're a fan of widgets, you might like Gydget. You can use it in you marketing programs to spread your brand throughout the world of social media.

- Survivor's got a lunch lady but Wieden + Kennedy's got a lunch lady blog!

- To promote its service from Sao Paulo, Emirates Airlines created a commercial the length of the flight, 14 hours and 40 minutes.

- If you like NBC's Bionic Woman - which seems to waffle between decent TV and crap not worthy of air time - you can visit NBCs Bionic site to see how...uh...bionic you are? Huh?

- Teen makes commercial for Apple iPod Touch.

by Steve Hall    Oct-29-07    
Topic: Magazine, Outdoor, Weblogs



Verizon Creates Reality Show Out of FiOS Installations

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In its quest to boot cable out of the home and replace it with FiOS, Verizon has launched a home upgrade reality show of sorts, My Home 2.0, which will be aired on TV as well as the web and include social media concepts such as blogs and YouTube videos. Five families in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will have a team of techno types come to their homes and outfit it with the latest and greatest Verizon has to offer.

The installations and block parties held in each neighborhood will be recorded and placed on the My Home 2.0 website, YouTube, Facebook and Verizon's FiOS on-demand cable channel.

If a reality show about people living on an island can sustain itself, we suppose a show about people getting new home technology toys could fair just as well.

by Steve Hall    Oct-11-07    
Topic: Good, Social, Video, Weblogs



Adam Blogs, TV Guide Gowns, AT&T Mobilizes, Old Folk Socialize

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- Aquent is hosting a webcast on September 27th entitled "Getting it all Together: Best Practices in Planning for Coordinated Print and Web Initiatives." which will examine how to make print and online work together better.

- The recently formed Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) will hold its first in-person meeting at the Podcasting & New Media Expo in Ontario, CA. The meeting will be held at 7:30 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 28, 2007 in Ballroom A.

- A new eMarketer report examines the value of social media and whether or not the hype meets with the reality.

- Website uptime monitoring company has gotten cute with its homepage turning it into a modified 404 page.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-12-07    
Topic: Events, Industry Events, Research, Social, Weblogs



Serena Williams HP's New 'Get Personal' Spokesmodel

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Following Vera Wang, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Mark Cuban, Mark Burnett and others, tennis champ Serena Williams is HP's nexy "achiever" in the company's "The Computer is Personal Again" campaign. Coming courtesy of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the campaign breaks today with a spot on USA, ESPN and online at SportsIllustrated.com, ESPN.com and Yahoo.

On August 31, a Serena-focused website will debut with all sorts of goodies like a blog, ring tones, videos, clothing and a documentary. Yes, it's all about achievement.

by Steve Hall    Aug-27-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Video, Weblogs