One Freak of an Awards Show in Coney Island

The Wrath of Cannes Promises Big Ideas, Clean Bathrooms

Posted by Rupal Parekh on 05.14.08 @ 10:43 AM

Recession woes mean your can't afford the flight to Cannes next month? No need to sulk. While big shots and fancy pants swarm the French Riviera for the biggest ad awards show of the year, Madison Ave. rejects can just hop on the subway to Cha Cha's on the boardwalk, where attendees are encouraged to "stay in tightly packed groups, don't wave money around and please do not go home alone."

New York indie agency Woods Witt Dealy & Sons is back with its anti-Cannes awards bash, Wrath of Cannes. After making its debut last year, the gang is taking the event to new and freakish heights, with the help of client sponsors such as IRO Bicycle and Butternuts Beer & Ale.

Talk Dirty in Spanish!

A Useful Language Book

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.13.08 @ 11:17 AM

Laura Martinez, one of our bloggers in the Big Tent and a contributor to Ad Age, has just dropped a new book with coauthor Alexis Munier. It's called Talk Dirty Spanish: Beyond Mierda: The curses, slang, and street lingo you need to Know when you speak espanol. Now Laura says it's not a marketing book, but it seems to me if you're a marketer looking to tap the Hispanic market, this might be just the kind of book to give you a little street cred. It's certainly better than slapping sombreros and mustaches and dude and calling your effort "Hispanic."

Celebrities, Poop Jokes and Candy: Gets 'Em Every Time

The 2008 One Show

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.12.08 @ 11:56 AM

As Interpol has forbidden me to set foot in France, over the past few years I've made the One Show my big event of the advertising award season. After all, it is the self-described Oscars of the advertising industry -- minus the long speeches. And the red carpet. And the celebrities. Unless you count Burger King's King as a celebrity (I don't). Or Martin Agency's Creative Director Andy Azula, who I think qualifies as a true celebrity, as he's got cool hair and stars in the UPS "Whiteboard" spots.

Go Sell Crazy Someplace Else ...

The 'Resistance' Announces Starbucks Boycott

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.08.08 @ 10:55 AM

File this one under ridiculous press releases. Mark Dice and his group -- which calls itself "The Resistance" -- will be boycotting Starbucks for its sluttly mermaid. "The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute," explains Dice in his press release. "Need I say more? It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves, Slutbucks."

Way to stay classy guys.

I did not reach out to Starbucks for comment as... Well, where to begin. The mermaid's boobies are covered by her hair. As she is a mermaid, she ain't got no legs to spread. (Though Dice claims she is a Siren, not a mermaid). And, finally, The Resistance is made up of a whopping 3,000 people who probably don't go to Starbucks as we all know that's Starbucks is simply a front company for SkyNet which is collecting all our information. (Dice also goes by the name John Conner.) Besides, how much time can the group committ to Starbucks when they have the Roman Catholic Church, the VeriChip, Tom Cruise, Fifty Cent, Jessica Simpson and Duke University to protest? (Hmmm, Tom Cruise and Duke... maybe Dice is on to something. After all, he does have a point when he writes in his book: "What happens when people commit crimes with robots such as theft and even mass murder, or if the robots go berserk and become a threat to all and everything in their path?")

And I didn't reach out to Dice because all my phones are tapped.

ThinkPad vs. MacBook Air: The Envelope Test

Apple Left a Few Things Out of the Envelope

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.02.08 @ 09:18 PM

The Onion Weighs In on Newspaper Death Watch

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.02.08 @ 03:55 PM

An excellent headline. Dying Newspaper Trend Buys Nation's Newspapers Three More Weeks

Nails Never Fails, but Sometimes He Forgets to Pay His Bills

Posted by Ann Marie Kerwin on 05.02.08 @ 01:03 PM

Former New York Met Lenny Dykstra has spent some time recently in New York reinventing himself as a magazine mogul. His partner, Doubledown Media, is helping him produce The Players Club, a title aimed at guiding professional athletes toward a secure retirement befitting young sports stars accustomed to living the good life. Dykstra seems to be the one in need of financial, and legal, advice these days.

Is an Actors Strike in the Cards

SAG, AMPTP Have Funny Way of Not Going Public

Posted by Claude Brodesser-Akner on 05.01.08 @ 11:13 AM

Hollywood might be headed for an actors strike after all.

Late on Thursday, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers posted an oblique "Notice to Companies represented by the AMPTP in the 2008 SAG Negotiations" on it's website.

Facebook Brought to Life

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 04.30.08 @ 02:31 PM

This video will remind you of every thing that's wrong with Facebook.

Disney Underwear Ad in China Makes VF Look Classy

Billboard Features Pre-Teen in Skivvies

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 04.30.08 @ 12:07 PM

You're going to have to go over to Slate for the details. I'm going to the men's room to scrub my eyeballs clean.