The Results Are In

The final results of ad spending during the recent political cycle are rolling in.Politicians spent about 50% more on advertising in the 2008 elections than they did in 2004. In 2004 they spent $1.7 billion. In 2008 they spent between $2.5 and 2.7 billion.And the big winner in all this added spending had to be the web, right? Wrong.Television got a huge share, with about 85% of all ad dollars ($

Schizobranding

I know two guys named "Tommy."One is funny, cheerful, and charming. One is sullen, negative, and unpleasant.The name "Tommy" has no singular meaning for me. It denotes two different people who are completely unrelated.I know two companies named "Taco Bell."One is on television. It is clean, cheerful, and makes nice looking food.One is in my neighborhood. It is dirty, disgusting, and I would never

6 Things A Creative Director Needs To Know

TAC has been making presentations and missing airplanes all week. Here's an oldie.Six things you need to know if you're going to be a happy, healthy creative director.1. Hiring is everything.If you have terrific people, the advertising business isn’t that difficult. If you have mediocrities, advertising is impossible. For your own self-preservation you must get rid of bad people and hire good

Joy Of Eavesdropping In San Francisco

An overheard conversation between two 9-year olds:Gabe: Dude, I saw the coolest video... this 5-year old dribbling, and like real low and between the legs...Leo: Dude, I can do that.Gabe: Dude, you're nine.Leo: Dude, I could do it when I was 5.Gabe: Dude, this was girl.Leo: Dude, that's sexist.Gabe: No it's not.Leo: Yes it is. Girls can dribble just as good as boys.Gabe: Dude, that doesn't mean

Ad Agencies Still Don't Get It

The Ad Contrarian mantra goes like this:"We don't get them to try our product by convincing them to love our brand. We get them to love our brand by convincing them to try our product."However, most agencies and most marketing mavens still believe that "branding" is something separate from selling.A perfect example of the tortured logic of branding can be found in this video of a big agency

2009: Best Year Ever For Alibi Advertising

Yesterday we described alibi advertising, and predicted 2009 would be its shining moment.Here's why:1. When business goes bad, companies go crazy. Activity passes for progress; delusions pass for ideas.It's so much easier to be reactive than to develop a strategy. There is not a company in America today that isn't considering throwing away/canceling/radically reducing its ad program. However,

Alibi Advertising

Alibi Advertising: a bogus advertising program created on the cheap with the intent of fooling the gullible into believing something useful is being done.

There are two kinds of alibi advertising.

I discovered the first kind when I was working on wine accounts.

Each year, wine marketers would have us create storyboards. Then they would have us create extensive media plans. They would take