Trojan No Go On Fox and CBS

CBS and FOX confuse me a bit. They are telling me that they do not support safe sex-that is exactly what they just said to me in not so many words. "When pigs fly" I can hear that coming out of one of the senior executives. Everyone has a say so in what is aired on thier network and who they take money from. Perhaps they have good reason and I am just blind to it-after all I am not a broadcaster nor have the expertise found at these networks. Considering that Gen X and Y are going to be the money makers and shakers in the not to distant future and are considered one of the hottest demo's to reach in the current market-why would you shoot yourself in the foot? I asked Steven Miller a well known media executive and friend his thoughts on this, he says; "Money talks. You know that right now inside the CBS & Fox corporate walls there is a huge debate about, as they see the money windfall, going to the other networks. In typical fashion....PR will spin it, creative will change it up a bit and in the next flight or campaign it will fly". Could not have said it better myself. Perhaps, the rejection from Fox and CBS is better for Trojan; because the controversy will get much greater coverage ("for sure," suggests Trish, as I read out loud) than the spot ever will.

Lastly, be sure to visit Miller's story in similar fashion at Steve Miller Musings: GoDaddy Super Bowl Ad a "No Go" with ABC I guess every now and again it is important to flex your muscle and remind advertisers who's boss eh?

Pigs With Cellphones, but No Condoms
NY Times

In its rejection, CBS wrote, “while we understand and appreciate the humor of this creative, we do not find it appropriate for our network even with late-night-only restrictions.”

“It’s so hypocritical for any network in this culture to go all puritanical on the subject of condom use when their programming is so salacious,” said Mark Crispin Miller, a media critic who teaches at New York University. “I mean, let’s get real here. Fox and CBS and all of them are in the business of nonstop soft porn, but God forbid we should use a condom in the pursuit of sexual pleasure.”

Networks accept ads of a not-so-subtle sexual nature for erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, often restricting them to the wee hours.
NY Times Full Story

Kraft Shifts From JWT......and more..

JWT and Kraft. Kraft very well may have invented the grilled cheese sandwich, I am sure they did from the archives I have researched. I had a discussion recently with a retired agency executive, followed by an hour talk about his career and work for JWT. I learned a lot about the history of Kraft advertising and media use, no secrets though-maybe next time.

Being Shifted From JWT
Kraft Foods is again demonstrating its unhappiness with its largest agency partner, JWT, by shifting the creative duties for six brands to other agencies. Kraft spent more than $160 million to advertise the brands in major media last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a division of Taylor Nelson Sofres that tracks ad spending.
Full Story

Great Study on Top Exec's

By far one of the most relavant reseach studies I have come across in the last few months-really enjoyed this one- undistorted and precise!

Mediaedge:cia: BlackBerry a Top-Exec Must
John Consoli
MARCH 26, 2007 -

"The BlackBerry has become an “umbilical cord” for many chief executive officers, who check it constantly throughout the day, even when all other devices are turned off, according to a study by Mediaedge:cia of senior business executives. "

But the study also found that BlackBerry communication “is regarded as business, not advertising, because business e-mail is for the CEO a means of control and situation monitoring.” That study added, “Irrelevant or non-urgent messages are passed over and unsolicited commercial communication is treated as an unwarranted interruption.”
Full Story

Verizon FiOS

Time Warner get ready!

Verizon FiOS to Launch D.C. Local TV News Channel
Katy Bachman
MARCH 29, 2007 -

"In a nod to local cable news channels, Verizon FiOS' will launch Friday its first local TV news channel in the suburban Washington, D.C. area. Called FiOS1, the channel will serve up local weather, traffic, news, sports and community features. "

Full Story

Burt's Bees: Smart

A company that is smart in its use of media, sampling and POP advertising. Burt's places thier products in exactly the right places in every store I visit-it is amazing, maybe I just like the products and the niche they have captured. The product is steller and so are thier profits. This is a brand that I am proud of!

Burt's Bees Kicks Off Tour
March 26, 2007
By Kathleen Sampey

In January, Durham, N.C.-based Burt's Bees hired Interpublic Group's The Martin Agency after a review.
"NEW YORK It hasn't been a big media spender since its 1989 inception, but Burt's Bees has found an effective way to engage customers the old-fashioned way: face to face.
Last Friday, the maker of natural skin-care products kicked off the "Burt's Bees Bee-utify Your World Tour," the second such undertaking in two years. Working with the AMP Agency, a unit of Alloy Media + Marketing, the company constructed a giant mobile "hive" that is traveling to different events in 15 U.S. cities, where prospective consumers can sample the client's products through on-site hand massages and skin-care consultations. "

Full Story

Apple TV Commentary from www.tvpredictions.com

Commentary
Why Apple TV Will Bomb
The device, which supports HDTV video, has begun shipping to pre-orders
By Phillip Swann

Washington (March 21, 2007) -- Apple has finally begun shipping pre-orders of its Apple TV wireless set-top, according to news reports. The device can stream media stored on your PC to your TV including music, pictures and 720p High-Definition video.

The company has set the price at $299, but I'm here to tell you that it will ultimately have trouble giving them away.

Yes, Apple TV will bomb -- and here's why:

Link

Please calm down, Google has a very long way to go.

Google Planning a TV Ad Takeover?
By Nicholas Carlson

"Google is currently running a trial of test ads on cable as part of its larger plan to move into television advertising. Google didn't offer many details about the trial but in an e-mail sent to internetnews.com, a company spokesperson said the company is running a small, early-phase trial working closely with a small number of partners and advertisers. Google's plan is to "add value to TV advertising by making this important medium more relevant for users, measurable and more accountable for existing and new advertisers," the spokesperson continued.
Google's cable ad test is similar to its beta test of Google Audio Ads in December. The company invited a small group of AdWords advertisers to place 30-second radio ads on hundreds of radio stations across the U.S. The test allowed advertisers to target their ads by location, station type, day of week and time of day. Reports showed when and where the ads ran after they hit the airwaves.

These recent moves to radio and TV are not Google's first departure from online search marketing. Its November print ads test allowed advertisers to bid through an online marketplace for space in more than 50 major newspapers across the U.S. At the time, Google said participating newspapers included the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Denver Post. And in 2005, Google brought its AdSense contextual advertising service to RSS content in a beta test. The test followed Google's AdSense model for Web sites and blogs. "

For the complete story:

Link

SeeSaw Network

SeeSaw Networks Launches First Online Service to Plan, Buy and Measure Out-of-Home Digital Media
SeeSaw unveils the easiest way to reach people where they are

"American Association of Advertising Agencies Tradeshow, LAS VEGAS – March 1, 2007 – SeeSaw Networks, the leading out-of-home digital media company, today launched SeeSawAds.com, the online service that allows media buyers and advertisers to plan, buy and measure out-of-home digital media across the U.S. For the first time, advertisers and media buyers can reach people where they are with customized out-of-home national advertising campaigns across different geographies, demographic groups and markets, all from a Web-based solution.

Until now, media buyers and advertisers have been challenged to include out-of-home digital media as part of their media plans due to the time, expense and complexity of creating a national media campaign with an ever-increasing number of out-of-home digital media networks.

“Given the fragmentation in the market, planning a national or regional out-of-home digital advertising campaign used to be a very complex process with no common set of standards and metrics,” said Peter Bowen, chief executive officer of SeeSaw Networks. “With SeeSawAds.com, advertisers and agencies can focus on reaching people where they are by planning and buying out-of-home digital media campaigns across an extensive national network with a single set of metrics. We are now providing a one-stop-shop marketplace for out-of-home digital campaigns.”

Press Contact:
Victoria Brown
A&R Edelman
650-762-2966
vbrown@ar-edelman.com

For the complete story:

Link

Media New Not Anymore

Media Emerges As Hottest Area Of Agency Search, Starcom Most Searched Media Shop »
Media planning and buying services emerged as the fastest growing area of the agency search business, and Publicis' Starcom MediaVest unit was the most searched shop within that sector. Those are the findings drawn from the past year's worth of data from Adforum.com, a service that provides agency credentials and capabilities presentations to marketers and search consultants online.

feb 13 2007
Adrants