South Park Totally Nails Our Ad-Blocking, Sponsored Content Culture
“South Park's 19th season has been unusually strong, thanks to a season-long storyline involving topics like political correctness and gentrification. "Sponsored Content," last night's episode of the Comedy Central hit, was one of its best yet in 2015. Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone hilariously took on several of the issues advertisers have been grappling with, including ad blocking and sponsored content. In the episode, the elementary school's new principal, PC Principal, informs the student editor of the school newspaper, Jimmy, that he can no longer distribute the paper in school until the content is pre-approved. Jimmy refuses and instead delivers it door to door, to the delight of parents who are finally able to enjoy news stories that aren't obstructed by ads.” Full story at Adweek.
Epica Judges Award Top Honor to Victim of Paris Attacks
Judges for one of the most prestigious awards in the international advertising industry unknowingly gave top honors to a man who was killed in the Paris attacks just days before. Fabrice Dubois, 46, of France, served as the copywriter on an animated video advertisement "Go anywhere, Go everywhere" with the Publicis Counseil advertising agency in Paris where his LinkedIn profile says he worked for nearly 13 years. For more visit USA Today.
The Copyranter Explains the Difference Between the Art and Science of Advertising
“In 1947, creative director Bill Bernbach wrote a resignation letter to ad agency Grey New York. Two years later, Bernbach started his own agency, which started the advertising creative revolution that transformed the industry. And, as Bernbach predicted, Grey went on to become a hacky data-driven sweatshop — much like your digital/tech agency, only bigger. You should read the letter. Wait. What can tech gurus learn from a 68-year-old typewritten letter by a man who died in 1982, without ever using a computer, even once?” Read more at Digiday.
Check Out AdForum’s #AdoftheDay
Job of the Day: Resource Manager, Strategy & Planning, at Grey New York
The Resource Manager is responsible for the allocation and management of all Strategy/Planning resources. Reporting into the Chief Strategy Officer, the Resource Manager will be the central point person of the team, knowing and helping to direct the entire department workflow at any given time. Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and leadership skills, as well as the ability to take initiative are an absolute must. This position calls for an ability to adapt to, and resource against, changing requirements. The ideal candidate has a good sense of workflow and a comprehensive understanding of allocations/utilizations related to staffing. He or she is a natural problem-solver. Details at Grey.
Dame Helen Mirren Joins Age UK and John Lewis to Call for Action on Loneliness This Christmas
“Age UK today launches the next stage of its Christmas 2015 partnership with John Lewis to call for support for the million older people who can go a month without speaking to anyone. John Lewis’s Man on the Moon advertising campaign which launched on Friday 6th November has raised awareness of the issue of loneliness and helped drive support to Age UK. Today, Age UK is calling for more people to help by donating to the Charity. Donations will fund services that help some of the one million older people who go for a month without speaking to anyone and have nowhere else to turn.” Full story at AdForum.
Agency of the Week
Ogilvy & Mather: “We sell. Or else.” These words of David Ogilvy sound simple, but are deeply meaningful to us. David began the agency in 1948 and built Ogilvy & Mather into one of the most legendary branding companies in the world. Underpinning this is the philosophy of “divine discontent” — the simple belief that in order to be creative one must be permanently dissatisfied and always seeking to be better than good.
