Advertising Age - Latest News

Eric Silver Becomes Majority Owner of Amalgamated, New York

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Eric Silver is trading in big-agency life to run a small, indie shop. The former top creative at Omnicom Group's DDB is taking a majority ownership stake in 34-person Amalgamated, New York, and will serve as its chief creative officer.

Uniqlo's U.K. Twitter Campaign Looks to Be a Perfect Fit for Retailer

LONDON (Adage.com) -- Japanese clothes retailer Uniqlo has found a novel way of encouraging U.K. shoppers give the brand a big presence on Twitter -- by reducing the price of clothing pieces every time someone sends a tweet about an item.

Dentsu Design Ninjas Specialize in Wacky Ads for Japan

Long Slogans Are Absolutely, Positively More Effective Than Short Ones

In spite of the success of long-form slogans, the marketing industry seems fixated on the idea that when it comes to slogans, the shorter the better.

What You Missed on 'Mad Men'

In Victorian fiction there were marriage plots that were all about getting the heroine to the altar. In "Mad Men" episodes featuring Peggy Olsen there are work plots wherein it is predetermined that the the young copywriter will, often at some boy's expense, end up slaving away at some tagline or another.

Kimberly-Clark Wants to Save the Planet -- One Flush at a Time

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- In an unusual green-themed promotion backed by national TV, print and in-store advertising, Scott Naturals this month and next is giving away 750,000 Scott SmartFlush toilet-tank inserts, which the brand claims can save a typical family 2,000 gallons of water a year.

Toyota to Push Safety in Upcoming Ad Blitz
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Its image still bruised by driver complaints about unintended acceleration, Toyota Division has decided to revamp its marketing message and shift the focus to safety in a big way, top executives told Automotive News last week.

GM's Ewanick: Sell the Brands, Not the Deals

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Joel Ewanick is rebuilding a marketing staff at General Motors Co. that has been shaken by last year's bankruptcy and subsequent turnover. He sat down with Automotive News editors and reporters to answer some of their questions.

Green-Car Marketers Revving Up in Race for Eco-Friendly Drivers

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Car advertising is about to take a turn -- for the green. Come this fall, drivers -- and not just Americans, but global drivers -- are about to feel the onslaught of a new crop of eco-friendly auto brands, some independent and some backed by the big car makers. Here's what you need to know about who's in the marketing seat at seven of these companies and how they're positioning themselves to consumers.

What Big Brands Are Spending on Google

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Before BP could stem the oil gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, it unleashed $100 million in ad spending, largely on network TV, to stem the damage to its image. But it also started spending heavily where it had never spent much before: buying ads in Google's search results.

We Can't Move Forward if Cautious Marketers Stand in Way of Innovation

The marketing mantra has always been to give the customer what he or she wants, but that approach pretty much precludes giving consumers things they don't know they want or haven't thought of. And are marketers sometimes "held captive by their customers" -- proclaiming they don't want an improvement or new technology because it would be too disruptive to their normal behavior?

Recycled Fiber a Buried Treasure for Marcal

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- In an interview with marketing chief MJ Jolda explained why "light"-green consumers -- those who consider the environmental impact important, but give as much or more weight to other factors such as price and performance -- and an appeal to value, along with environmental concern, are making a difference for Marcal.

10 Marketers Who Transformed American Culture

Looking at American culture throughout history, iconic images come to mind. Some are turning points in history, forming our nation. Others are people who shaped our freedoms and laws. And some are brands that affected how we eat, shop and pass our time. Each was once an idea that has grown into a national -- and in many cases, global -- force to be reckoned with. Below are 10 examples of these people and their ideas that have grown far beyond expectations.

Ad Age Spends a Day With Hyundai -- Yes, Hyundai

PHILADELPHIA (AdAge.com) -- Ad Age spends a day with Hyundai during the automaker's fourth stop on the 10-city "Hyundai Uncensored" national tour. This leg of the tour, held at the home of the Philadelphia Phillies and its fans, aims to turn locals into Hyundai fans by putting them behind the wheel of a Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, taking them through their paces with a course consisting of hairpin turns, evasive maneuvers, high-speed straightaways and conditions that mimic icy roads.

Back-to-School List: Notebooks, Pens, Endocrine-Disrupter-Free Hand Soap

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- When students arrived at PS 107 in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood this year, their parents were asked to provide a "triclosan-free" liquid hand soap. While it's a relatively new trend for students to be asked to contribute cleaning supplies in addition to the usual notebooks and pencils, it's an even newer trend for districts to be picky about the brands' green credentials.

Growth Market as Progressive Schools Push Green Agenda

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When students arrived at PS 107 in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood this year, their parents were asked to provide a "triclosan-free" liquid hand soap, citing suspicions the anti-bacterial agent found in many such soaps is an "endocrine disruptor." Rather than "regular disinfectant wipes" from the likes of Clorox or Lysol with a host of what the school calls "harmful biocides," the letter suggests greener options from Green Works (another Clorox brand) or Seventh Generation.

Lemon-Lime Gets Boost After Years of Neglect
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For years lemon-lime sodas have languished while cola line extensions and emerging categories such as energy drinks and enhanced waters took precedence. Now, Sierra Mist, 7Up and Sprite are all poised to benefit from an influx of marketing dollars as their owners rush to prop up the second-largest carbonated-soft-drink category and target consumers who may be susceptible to a soda that at least seems lighter and healthier.

Obama Mangles Message on Economy

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Back in June, the Obama administration declared that a "summer of recovery" was at hand, as some construction projects funded by the stimulus bill passed 19 months before finally got underway. He ended the summer on a darker note, in a prime-time address from the Oval Office that used some grim rhetoric to describe the state of the economy.

Marketing World Girds for an 'Uneven' Recovery
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A spate of better-than-expected reports on consumer spending, jobs and retail sales last week appeared to take an edge off many fears of a double-dip recession. That's the good news. Here's the not-so-good news.

Why Gen X Won't Save Our Economy
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- A look at why we need Gen X to save us, and why they might not be up to the task.

Holding Cos. Clean House, Consolidate Agencies to Gain Efficiency, Scale
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- This summer, agency holding companies kept busy with a bit of housekeeping. Omnicom Group, WPP, Interpublic Group of Cos. and MDC Partners in the past few months have all streamlined the number of individual shops and agency offices sitting under the same umbrella -- sweeping underperforming entities under their stronger siblings and combining agencies to create scale and expand geographic footprint. And it's not over: CEOs of those companies and observers say there's more to come this year.

Publicis Is Falling Short on Ad Pact With Microsoft
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Publicis Groupe is having trouble meeting its media-spending commitment to Microsoft, according to several people familiar with the situation. The third-largest agency-holding company entered into the commercial agreement last summer when it bought digital agency Razorfish from Microsoft. Execs put the commitment at "a couple hundred million dollars" annually for ad inventory.

'Plants vs. Zombies' Menace Spreads Through Populace

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- "Plants vs. Zombies," with its unusual combination of pea-shooting plants and not-too-scary cartoon zombies, has quickly become a huge hit for casual game publisher PopCap -- and it's about to go bigger.

Sony's PSP Uses Smart Aleck to Lay the Hurt on Smartphones

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- "Marcus don't play that." That's Marcus Rivers, Sony PlayStation's smack-talking front man for its handheld PSP device, referring to mobile-phone games.

Check in Before You Check Out That Show

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- You can now check in to TV shows like you can to your corner bar. But what's a check-in worth to networks if they can't send viewers buy one, get one free happy-hour specials?

Drama! Intrigue! Celebrity! What You Should Know About the Fall TV Season

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- With the arrival of the new fall program lineups comes any number of intriguing challenges the TV networks must face, some together, some on their own. What are they? Ad Age tells you what to watch out for as the 2010-2011 TV season gets out of the starting blocks.

Why Consumers Don't Want to Talk to You

In order to get beyond the uninteresting and, oftentimes, undifferentiating focus on product features, marketers must position their brand not within a category, but within consumer culture.

A Two-Way Dialogue Can Lead to New Insights

When you can get the specific details only two-way dialogue can afford, you're certain to learn a few new details about your audience that could completely change the way you communicate with them.

Hardcore Gamer Gone Soft: Confessions of a 'Plants vs. Zombies' Fan
I am a hardcore gamer. I'm attracted to your average gritty shoot-em-up. Usually I wouldn't give a game with dancing flora more than a passing glance, but something caught my attention. Said flora was slaying zombies.

Under New Owner, Burger King May Spend More on Marketing

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The $4 billion sale of Burger King to 3G Capital Management this week doesn't mean flip for McDonald's firmer-than-ever position as the No. 1 burger chain. But it does present an opportunity to steal back at least some of the share ceded in the past couple of years to the Golden Arches as well as fast-feeders like Wendy's, Subway and Domino's.