October 13, 2008
My dad started Advertising Age in the beginning stages of the Great Depression (only he didn't know it was the beginning of the Depression), so I've always been partial to new businesses that get started in less-than-ideal times.
September 29, 2008
The financial meltdown that brought great institutions to their knees was a defining moment for Crain Communications -- one that brought our internet coverage to the forefront.
September 15, 2008
Lost your sales momentum? Chances are you've also lost your nerve to make decisions that can get your company going again.
August 25, 2008
If you were traveling in your car for a day or more, wouldn't it be great to be able to pull into McDonald's and get a little plastic bowl of water and a ration of dog food along with your Quarter Pounder?
August 04, 2008
The International Advertising Association, as part of its "responsibility" mantle, is sponsoring a poster contest on climate change. It shows, among other things, that the ad community is concerned about important life-threatening developments instead of focusing on itself and its own problems.
July 21, 2008
I almost got a scoop when I interviewed Andrea Alstrup, recently retired VP-advertising at Johnson & Johnson, newly inducted to the Advertising Hall of Fame.
July 07, 2008
As the skirmish between prescription-drug companies and the government over Big Pharma's ad practices continues, marketing directors are taking the rap for dragging their heels.
June 16, 2008
The investment-adviser market is undergoing some major changes as baby boomers start reaching retirement age.
June 02, 2008
"The most insecure species of our race are the creative people." So said Keith Reinhard, newly minted member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, who penned "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" and "You deserve a break today" for McDonald's.
May 19, 2008
If you're acquisition-minded, now is a good time to be in the ad-agency business.
May 05, 2008
New technology has empowered the consumer to call the shots, and that goes against editors' traditional view that they know what's best for readers.
April 21, 2008
Maybe we need products to convince us that our society and country can regain past glories that make us feel better about ourselves as a nation.
April 07, 2008
In his acceptance remarks at the Advertising Hall of Fame induction, Allen Rosenshine delivered what he called his equivalent of President Eisenhower's parting shot to "beware of the military-industrial complex." Allen's admonition was: "Beware those who would have us believe that advertising has become irrelevant. It always was, and always will be, as relevant as we make it. The geeks will not destroy us. Only we can do that."
March 10, 2008
What concerns me most about some of the ad blogs that have been in the news these days is that their anonymity can lead to real troublemaking -- as can anonymous sources in the general press.
February 25, 2008
In Uruguay, you can drive up to a busy intersection in Montevideo (or the resort Punta del Este) and the traffic light turns red. Hanging next to the traffic light is a rectangular screen about 3.5 feet by 2 feet that immediately starts flashing a sequence of images and messages in a very intense red against a black background. The messages move sideways like the signs do on Times Square.
February 11, 2008
My daughter Heather's solution to the Sears meltdown: Be more like sibling Kmart.
January 28, 2008
If tough economic times are ahead, advertising has to change. Claims had better reflect reality because consumers will become especially cautious and critical.
January 14, 2008
Advertising Age editor-in-chief Rance Crain interviews Newsweek chairman Rick Smith in this first episode of the new Ad Age video series, "Executive Session With Rance Crain." In the nine-minute video, Mr. Smith discusses the dramatic impact that the exploding world of blogging, instant analysis, consumer-generated content and opinion overload is having on the core reporting function of mainstream media journalism. "Talk is cheap," he said. "Opinions are cheap. Reporting is extraordinarily expensive. All news organizations are under cost pressures these days, and too often it's the reporting that's getting sacrificed."
December 10, 2007
Al Ries and I have come up with the only practical solution to the Mexican immigration problem. Merge with Mexico.
November 26, 2007
Tylenol had a lot to lose when it shifted gears and tried to show how the product was much better than cheaper alternatives because it was made with love.
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