Advertising Age - Rance Crain

Here's a Transformational Idea: Adapt Web Aggregation to Print

Newspapers need to become aggregators of information by outsourcing their news holes to others already producing the material.

Weakening Economy Strengthens Resolve Among Marketers at ANA

The emphasis of this year's ANA conference, in these uncharted and perilous times, was on peeling back the complications of getting to the marketplace in the most direct and efficient way.

Smart Business Ideas Can Thrive Even in Perilous Economic Times

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.

Amid Meltdown, Crain Websites Delivered What You Needed -- Fast

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.

Path to Growth Is Paved With Courage, Consistency and Risk

Lost your sales momentum? Chances are you've also lost your nerve to make decisions that can get your company going again.

McDonald's Could Sniff Out New Ground With Yappy Meals

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?

Ad Industry Should Follow IAA's Lead in Furthering Responsibility

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.

Andrea Alstrup Talks Tylenol, Family Fare and the Ad Future

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.

Big Pharma's Change of Heart on Ad Ban Is Too Little, Too Late

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.

When It Comes to Investments -- and Google -- It Pays to Be Clear

The investment-adviser market is undergoing some major changes as baby boomers start reaching retirement age.

Reinhard on Culture Clashes, Big Brands and Creative Conservatism

"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.

Big Agencies Can Learn From the Mower Model of Collaboration

If you're acquisition-minded, now is a good time to be in the ad-agency business.

In a Consumer-Controlled World, Journalists Should Be Marketers

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.

To Restore Civic Pride, Try Some Joy, Inner Peace and Deodorant

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.

Hall of Famer Rosenshine Talks Geeks, Brands and the Big Bang

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."

I'm Going on the Record When It Comes to Anonymous Bloggers

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.

In Uruguay, a Red Light Means Stop -- and Read the Ad

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.

Lampert Should Redlight Sears and Back the Blue Light Instead

My daughter Heather's solution to the Sears meltdown: Be more like sibling Kmart.

It's Time, Ad Industry: Stand Up and Hold Marketers to Account

If tough economic times are ahead, advertising has to change. Claims had better reflect reality because consumers will become especially cautious and critical.

The Scoop Might Have Lost Value, but Advertisers Still Need the News

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."

Why Not Merge With Mexico Rather Than Fight Immigration?

Al Ries and I have come up with the only practical solution to the Mexican immigration problem. Merge with Mexico.

Hold the Love, J&J -- We'd Rather Have Honesty in Our Tylenol Ads

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.

From Drug Ads to Auto Spots, Rance Answers All Your Queries

It's time for the second installment of Ask Rance. Keep those questions coming, readers.

Ad Question Driving You Crazy?

Do you ever wonder about the story behind the commercial -- who did the music, whether it was a tough shoot with a lot of outtakes? Well, so do I. And I'm trying this Q-and-A format to answer questions about marketing strategies that have piqued my interest and, I hope, yours. Of course, these questions are my own, but I'd be very pleased to try to answer yours in subsequent columns.

The Key to Success in Business Is to Find and Tap Your Hidden Strength

One of the biggest challenges ad agencies grapple with is how to differentiate from their competitors. It's basically a losing battle because most agencies end up looking and acting just like the other guys. So the main difference is who can offer the lowest price.

Maybe the Russians Are Right: Advertising Can Be a Bad Thing

Because advertising in Russia is a relatively new phenomenon, and most consumers regard it with the same disbelief they did communism, there is much more discussion about its social and ethical implications. I find that very refreshing, and I submit we should emulate the Russians in this regard.

Why Russian Ads Are Attacked

I asked two of the organizers of the Worldwide Advertising Forum in Moscow last week what they were trying to accomplish. "We want to start to think in other ways," said Boris Eremin, president of the Russian chapter of the International Advertising Association. His colleague, Vladimir Aksionov, VP of IAA's Russian chapter, laughed and added, "To start means that we haven't done anything up to now."

Product Recalls, Financial Schemes Could Spawn a New Ralph Nader

The series of Chinese product recalls, especially the Fisher-Price debacle, has the capacity to spawn a new Ralph Nader, according to the former Washington editor of Advertising Age, Stan Cohen, who was my first (and best) boss. And, I would add, the interest-rate manipulation schemes that triggered our current housing meltdown only add to that impetus.

Ad Industry Has Another Chance to Respond to Financial Fraud

The subprime mess is, in large part, a failure of communications, and communicating effectively and clearly is the job of advertising -- at least it should be. The sad truth is that many financial marketers don't want prospective home buyers and mortgage holders to understand the downsides of their transactions -- that interest rates can go up without notice, that buyers are taking on too much debt, that housing values don't always go up.

Dow's Corporate Ads Have Great Chemistry, but Will Respect Follow?

Dow Chemical Co. has a modest goal for its corporate ad campaign: to be acknowledged as the largest, most profitable and most respected chemical company in the world. The "Human Element" push, now a year old, has boosted Dow's brand-equity rating, as measured by Core Brand, 25%, but here's how Dow's CEO Andrew Liveris reckons the campaign will be successful: when a Dow employee in a bar anywhere in the world can tell the guy next to him where he works and get the response, "Oh, Dow. That's good."