Today, Belgium’s ad agencies started a one-week virtual strike to protest the way clients conduct pitches in their country. So far, almost 20 agencies have closed their websites except for displaying one paragraph each of an open letter to clients that runs across their home pages, from one agency’s site to the next (lowe.be). Read More

At the National Retail Federation Convention (NRF) last month, Intel demonstrated prototypes of innovative and interactive digital signage that can customize messages to viewers based on key data points determined through the use of anonymous video analytics.
As a viewer looks at the system screen, the built-in camera technology analyzes data such as gender and age, audience composition, time-of-day and other criteria, which enable the system to display tailored content and graphics based on estimated demographics. Read More

TruTV is revealing its first-ever Super Bowl ad. This Groundhog Day-themed spot was created by Grey and is scheduled to air in the second quarter of Sunday’s big game, near the two-minute warning.
Punxsutawney Polamalu. Odd.

I just hope Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow today. Read More

I was searching for a fun gift for a friend and because she has a bit of a fascination with the green fairy, I tracked down a bottle of Trillium Absinthe online. When it arrived, I was struck by how absolutely beautiful the bottle is in both shape and graphic design. Everything about it, from the shape to the wax covered top, makes me want to try it, even though absinthe has never been of interest to me. Read More

The suspense level is amazingly high. The net is a buzz about what new product will be unveiled by Apple on Wednesday. Apple has been mute on the subject, which seems to be part of the grand marketing strategy because the silence only seems to feed the speculation, chatter and suspense.
Apple issued invitations for a media event scheduled for 10:00 AM Pacific Time on January 27th. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Read More

Saturday, we visited the Durham Museum in Omaha Nebraska to see the American Letterpress-The Art of Hatch Show Print, which is in its final week.
The posters have a wonderfully organic nature to them since each one is hand pulled and therefore has variances within a series. They like to call them monoprints for that reason.
The earlier posters were simple but so impactful and memorable…the overlapping triplicate image of Johnny Cash is one of Hatch’s signature prints. Read More

There’s nothing like a bookcase that has its own attitude.

(via brooklynmutt)
I want one. Read More

What may have started as something that was visually beautiful, has turned into something incredulous.  And it just keeps coming. Read More

The worst decade in the past 50 years. Good riddance. That’s the collective ranking of, and sentiment towards, the oughties in the latest PEW Research Center Study. A mere 27% said their impression of the last decade was positive, compared to 57% for the decade of the 90s. And 50% had an overall negative impression of this decade, compared with just 19% for the 90s.
Given the current financial crisis, it’s not surprising to see sentiment like this in a survey. Read More

The one thing we know is that Ad Agencies that don’t reinvent themselves won’t survive.  In fact that’s been the industry mantra for several years now.  I read at least two articles a week on this topic covering anything from what services should be offered and how they should be marketed to what we should call ourselves.  But the one thing that I haven’t read yet is any viewpoint on how management should be structured in the new world.  Read More