Advertising Agency & Marketing Industry News

Latest Ad & Marketing News

Yahoo Kills Livestand After Just Six Months

Yahoo is shutting down Livestand, its mobile newsstand app, only a little more than six months after it launched.

News \ Creativity Pick of the Day

VW Uncovers the Origin of Classic Film Moments

Volkswagen continues its "See Film Differently" campaign supporting independent film with a trio of hilarious new spots out of DDB London and directed by Ivan Zacharias, through Stink.

The Week in Twitter: Protests and Social Media Reprise Their Feedback Loop

Don't worry, though -- Twitter isn't only being used for social justice.

See the Spot: Muse Communications to Run Hard-Hitting Diversity Ad During AMC's 'The Pitch'

Muse Communications is participating in 'The Pitch' -- and running an ad slamming the industry's lack of diversity.

Barrie D'Rozario Murphy, TargetCast Pick Up Lands' End

Lands' End had selected Minneapolis agency Barrie D'Rozario Murphy to handle creative and TargetCast to handle media duties for the brand.

Zeno Adds More Sears Business to Its Roster

Sears Holdings is shifting the bulk of its PR business to Daniel J. Edelman's Zeno Group.

Social Data, Used Well, Can Add Years to a CMO's Tenure

Fox Sues Dish Network Over Ad-Blocking 'Auto Hop' Service

PayPal Snags 15 Retailers for In-Store Payments

Five Questions With Adam & Eve/DDB's James Murphy

News \ Creativity Pick of the Day

Nike Takes Plus to Golf With New App

How Facebook Can Take Photos Beyond Its New 'Camera' and Instagram

The Mobile Circus Is Coming to Cannes

Pom Uses Quotes From FTC Case as Latest Ad Testimonial

Plenty of Burgers in 'Fast Food Mania,' But Not in Ad Breaks

What Burger King, Nike, McDonald's, the iPhone and... Sun Drop (?) Have in Common

From Around the Web

P&G to add latches to make detergent packs safer

The maker of Tide Pods will create a new double-latch lid to deter children from accessing and eating the brightly colored detergent packets.

Picked by Natalie Zmuda

Sugar ad: your diet is depriving your kids of vital sugar!

Here's an undated ad from "Sugar Information, Inc" (our old friends), warning mothers that if they include their kids in their sugar-free, dieting lifestyles, they will be depriving the poor kiddlees of vital sugar and exposing them to "exhaustion." Obviously, this was before the cancer scares and other stuff about artificial sweeteners, because surely that's [...]

Picked by Ken Wheaton

SmartBlogs

What you can learn about Pinterest from Whole Foods

If you're still confused about how to use Pinterest for your restaurant or business, take a look at Whole Foods Market.

Picked by Natalie Zmuda

WSJ.com

Goldman Sachs Joins Twitter

Goldman Sachs, in an ever growing era of openness, has joined Twitter this morning. What does THAT mean?

Picked by Michael Learmonth

Washington Post

News site's gun giveaway

The Daily Caller is giving away a gun a week to readers who sign up for emails.

Picked by Nat Ives

CNET

Meet the tireless entrepreneur who squatted at AOL

Eric Simons secretly took up residence inside the Internet giant's Palo Alto, Calif., campus, eating free food, enjoying gym access, and building a startup in the process.

Picked by Natalie Zmuda

The Atlantic

Clone Wars: Sherman vs. Berman in California Race

In which two guys who agree on just about everything face off in one of the most expensive House races of 2012

Picked by Ken Wheaton

The Detroit News

GM: CFO's Wife Part of Ad agency That Worked on Chevy Centennial

General Motors Co. said it recently learned that Pernilla Ammann, the wife of Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann, is an officer and a parter in an advertising agency that received about $600,000 for services last year to a GM subsidiary.

Picked by Judann Pollack

National Retail Federation

Graduation gift giving to top $4.7 billion in 2012

Consumers are planning to spend more on high school and college graduates this year, with total spending expected to reach $4.7 billion.

Picked by Natalie Zmuda

Reuters

Best Buy Names New Communications Chief

Best Buy announced that Matthew Furman is joining the company as senior vice president, Communications and Public Affairs.

Picked by Natalie Zmuda

More From Ad Age

News

McDonald's Shareholders Defeat Proposal to Weigh Impact on Obesity

McDonald's Corp. today voted down a proposal that would have led it to assess its impact on public health, particularly childhood obesity.

Media

Mindshare Retains Unilever's $1.38 Billion U.S. Business

The consumer packaged-goods giant made the decision not to review its media-buying account in the region as it continues its market-by-market evaluations.

Digital \ The Viral Video Chart

Hot Pockets Hacks Its Way Onto the Viral Video Chart

How does a brand create a viral video? Hot Pockets seems to have found the answer: pay the people who make viral videos to make one for you.

Media

TV Networks Ponder Fridays as Chance for Niche Shows

Major TV networks are moving little-watched shows with signficant DVR audiences to Fridays, testing whether the technology can help programs like "Community" make it on a night with few viewers.

blogs \ DigitalNext

EU Cookie Law Could Be the Death of Digital

The law, as it stands, does not consider its impact on the industry. Forcing these requirements on marketers lead to huge erosion in the quality of web experiences for consumers -- the very constituents it hopes to protect.

The Cable Show

Netflix: OK, Maybe We're Cannibalizing Something

"We have billions of hours of viewing, so we are going to take away from something," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said on a panel with cable executives.

See the Spots

John Malkovich Gets Philosophical in Apple's Latest Siri-Starring Ads

After enlisting Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson, Apple continues its celebrity ad series with a new pair of iPhone spots starring John Malkovich.

Agency News

Omnicom Group's DDB Acquires London Hotshop Adam & Eve

The management team of Adam & Eve/DDB will comprise the Adam & Eve partners and members of DDB U.K. management. It will be led by James Murphy, who has been named CEO of the newly combined shop.

News \ People & Players

People on the Move: Jack Bamberger to Head Digital for MEC North America

Also on the Move: Annette King, Adam Mirabella, Steve Marino, Shonali Burke, Mark Stewart, Scott Parker and Qian Qian.

Media

Cable Execs Root for TV Everywhere, But No Timeline on Mass Adoption

Consumers have been slow to adopt TV Everywhere in large numbers.

News \ Creativity Pick of the Day

A Therapy Session Takes a Fashionable Turn in Roman Polanski's Prada Short

Roman Polanski directs this short film for Prada featuring Ben Kingsley as an easily distracted therapist and Helena Bonham Carter as his patient.

Digital

Facebook IPO Scrutiny Grows as Morgan Stanley Defends Role

Massachusetts subpoenas Morgan Stanley, SEC and FINRA may review the IPO and investors have filed suit.

blogs \ DigitalNext

The Summer Road Trip Went Digital. What's Your Strategy?

Special Report: Best Places to Work 2012

Allen & Gerritsen Tops Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

What's better than topping Ad Age's Best Places to Work list? Easy: topping it two years in a row.

Full Article

Mr Youth Is No. 2 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

This is Mr Youth's second year on Ad Age's Best Places to Work list, and a culture where people are close to the work has contributed to that accomplishment.

Full Article

Tris3ct Is No. 3 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

Independent Tris3ct has been growing more than 50% for three consecutive years, not only in headcount but also in new business.

Full Article

Big Spaceship Is No. 4 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

The staff enjoys revenue sharing for revenue-generating intellectual property, as well as outings to local bars and sporting events.

Full Article

Eric Mower & Associates Is No. 5 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

Collaboration is everything at Syracuse, N.Y.-based Eric Mower & Associates. It can be seen throughout the agency's infrastructure, employee orientation and strategic approach.

Full Article

Red Door Interactive Is No. 6 on Ad Age's Best Places to Work List

In a loft with views of downtown San Diego, the Padres' ballpark and the bay, employees at Red Door Interactive operate under tenets like "share," "exceed" and "100% jerk-free."

Full Article

Read More Special Report: Best Places to Work 2012
Special Report: Agency A-List

Agency of the Year McGarryBowen Proves Solid and Reliable Beat Fast and Furious

McGarryBowen is turning heads for solidly proficient work appreciated by its clients and a new-business record envied by nearly everyone in the industry. And with a staggering 60% growth in revenue in 2011 it's a clear pick for Ad Age's Agency of the Year.

Full Article

Droga5 Is No. 2 on Ad Age's Agency A-List

The 5-year-old agency, with 120 employees and two offices, is sweeping awards shows and nabbing clients ranging from Amstel to Prudential with its avant-garde thinking.

Full Article

BBDO Is No. 3 on Ad Age's Agency A-List

In 2011, BBDO won every global pitch it participated in and about two-thirds of its U.S. pitches. Revenue is up 15%, while globally, revenue has increased 18% to an estimated $2.4 billion.

Full Article

Razorfish Is No. 4 on the Ad Age Agency A-List

Digital-agency acquisitions rarely result in the kind of success this shop has had since landing at Publicis Group in 2009.

Full Article

72andSunny Is No. 5 on the Ad Age Agency A-List

72andSunny's approach is far more democratic than that of most agencies, and an understanding prevails that a great idea can come from anywhere, not just the creative department.

Full Article

Alma Is No. 6 on Ad Age's Agency A-List

That knack for matching Hispanics' passion points with online efforts helped Alma's digital revenue soar 300% last year. Overall, revenue grew 10%. Last year alone, the agency succeeded at bringing home 10 new accounts.

Full Article

Read More Special Report: Agency A-List
CMO Strategy

Hats Off to These 10 Forward-Thinking Clients

Here's a ranking of 10 forward-thinking executives, and some takeaways that may help you become a better client. And we included five to watch for the near future.

Full Article

Respect, Trust Key to Healthy Ad Relationship

Agency-client relationships are like a marriage. They can start to wear during the months and years ahead as the difficulties of daily life set in, but how you manage those things is what matters.

Full Article

Bacardi CMO Shares Agency Advice From Simon Clift

Bacardi Global Chief Marketing Officer Silvia Lagnado invited former Unilever CMO Simon Clift to talk to her team. Mr. Clift shared his major points with Ad Age. A few are listed here, along with observations from Ms. Lagnado.

Full Article

The Secret Behind the Long Union of Allstate, Burnett

How have Allstate and Burnett maintained their long partnership? To get some insights, Ad Age sat in on a late-December meeting and interviewed key members of the Burnett-Allstate team. Here is what we found.

Full Article

How to Be a Better Agency Client

Major marketers talk about their resolutions for making the most of their company-ad agency relationships

Full Article

Marketer Resolutions: PepsiCo's Jakeman Will Be Busy, Fit and Talkative

PepsiCo's Brad Jakeman has three tips for making your brand messaging creative and effective.

Full Article

Read More CMO Strategy
Special Report: Hottest Global Brands

William and Kate: Elevating the Royal Brand

William and Kate quietly leading the modernization of the British monarchy, a brand that has been reinventing itself since the first William sat on the throne in 1066.

Full Article

Majolica Majorca Sets Out to Prove Every Woman Can Be a Princess

Even the name of Shiseido's cosmetics brand aimed at young women is supposed to evoke a fairy spell.

Full Article

After Decades of Effort, Jagermeister Lands on Top 10 List of Premium Spirits

Jagermeister is No. 8 on Impact Databank's Top 100 Premium Spirits List this year, just behind megabrands such as Smirnoff, Bacardi, Absolut and Johnnie Walker, and ahead of better-known products such as Bailey's, Gordon's and Jim Beam.

Full Article

Racy Approach Brings Axe Full Control Sweet Victory in Latin America

Thanks to a 'Premature Perspiration' campaign out of Ponce, Buenos Aires, sales of Axe antiperspirants rose by 11.7% in Argentina, a striking performance for a brand that is already a market leader.

Full Article

Moshi Monsters Enter Real World to Become Global Marketing Marvel

The online social-gaming network that aspires to be a Facebook for kids, already has more than 50 million players around the world and one signing up every second, but it's just getting started.

Full Article

Rock in Rio Connects Music Lovers and Advertisers

This year's weeklong music festival, in late September, drew 700,000 people-55% of them from outside Rio-and a horde of marketers. The eclectic mix of headliners included Shakira, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Coldplay and Metallica,and Brazilian stars such as Milton Nascimento.

Full Article

Read More Special Report: Hottest Global Brands
Special Report: Marketer A-List

Marketer of the Year: Coca-Cola

It's a marketing model not just for mega multinationals looking to share best practices from around the world but also a case study for how upstart and mid-size brands, of which Coca-Cola has amassed many, can use creative stunts and strategic partnerships to get a lot done on a smaller budget.

Full Article

For Amazon, a Focus on the New Helps Push Sales of the Old

Like Walmart, Amazon.com sells food, clothing, media and electronics -- the old-school foundation of modern retailing. But Amazon keeps reinventing its business by coming up with new lines to sell, some of them tangible, some of them the stuff of imagination not too long ago.

Full Article

Kardashians Prove Family That Enterprises Together Stays Together

Out of a sex tape flourishes a brand that becomes the linchpin for three TV shows, a clothing boutique, books and a wedding whose rights sold for $17.9 million.

Full Article

Crown Deserves a Toast for Big Sales in Bad Times

In a year where big brewers continued to lose ground, Crown Imports stands out for one simple reason -- it is actually growing sales, overcoming a tough economy with aggressive advertising on Corona and new investments in surging smaller brands.

Full Article

With a Fearless and Willing to Fail Attitude, Diamond Foods Emerges as Powerhouse

Scrappy little snackmaker wins Big -- and aims to get bigger by scooping up Pringles.

Full Article

Humans, Not Tech, Define a PC-Free IBM

IBM's path to marketing success began strangely enough with a retreat from the very thing most consumers knew it for best -- the personal computer. Since the 2004 decision to divest the business to China's Lenovo and focus on business services and analytics, the IBM brand has never been stronger.

Full Article

Read More Special Report: Marketer A-List