HEAR MARK CUBAN'S DIRE WARNINGS ABOUT YOUTUBE
In one of the livelier sessions of Advertising Week, Mark Cuban issued dire warnings about the potential legal liabilities awaiting any company considering the acquistion of YouTube. He said anyone who buys the viral-video-sharing site "is a moron."BRAND ICONS PARADE THROUGH TIMES SQUARE
As always, this year's Advertising Week ended with a motorcade of brand icons through Times Square, giving throngs of camera-toting tourists an unexpected treat. See what it all looked like.HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S BIG REGRET AT MIXX MEET
In an interview with Charlie Rose at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's MIXX Conference and Expo, Harvey Weinstein spoke of how much he regretted selling his Miramax studio and said that never would have happened if Jeffrey Katzenberg had not left Walt Disney.OMNICOM CHIEF JOHN WREN'S LIFE STORY
In a rare and candid interview conducted on stage, Omnicom Group chief John Wren narrated his life from his childhood in New York to his eventual ascendance as head of the world's largest advertising-holding company.MITCH DAVIS OF MASSIVE ON ADVERGAMING
Taking the audience inside the business of advergaming at the Advertising Week Microsoft Xbox Live session, Massive CEO Mitch Davis and two other top execs noted the importance that 70% of North American males aged 18 to 34 play digital games.THE DIVERSITY HEARING NOBODY ATTENDED
The white elephant in the middle of the room of this year's Advertising Week was the agency diversity hiring issue. New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook held a hearing on the matter but no agencies showed up. Mr. Seabrook, chairman of the Council's Human Right Committee, was quite angry.THE MAN WHO TRIGGERED THE DIVERSITY PROBE
In late 2003, radio talk-show host Sanford Moore filed the complaint that triggered the current New York City Human Rights Commission's investigation of diversity hiring in Manhattan advertising agencies. He testified at Tuesday's City Council hearings on the issue.MADISON + VINE: THIRD-SCREEN OPPORTUNITIES
Doug Dobie, chief marketing officer of Amp'd Mobile, a presenter at Advertising Age's Advertising Week Madison + Vine Conference, emphasized that the mobile phone industry is looking for marketer-backed episodic programming.MARTHA STEWART'S GREAT WAFFLE OFF
Advertising Week 2006 kicked off Monday with a breakfast hosted by Martha Stewart, who defeated Andrew Robertson, president-CEO at BBDO Worldwide, in an on stage waffle-making competition.NBC CHIEF BOB WRIGHT'S ONLINE COMPETITORS
When asked which of his competitors was doing the best job in the area of new media, NBC chief Bob Wright said: "Google and Yahoo generate all the heat. MySpace and Facebook, they are the programming hits."
