Archive for March, 2006
Here’s some Hollywood meets the Ad Jungle grist for the rumor mill.
Yesterday, while working on a radio production at Reel F/X, we noticed that something odd was afoot.
Reel F/X, the postproduction/animation studio that slaved away on one of my team’s yet-to-be-released-for-air Gatorade spots, is located in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district.
Deep Ellum is a funky, dirty, bar and restaurant district that fairly well represents what is left of Dallas’ seamy underbelly. So, after pulling into the Reel F/X parking lot in Matilda, I was a little surprised to see two shiny, black limos idling in the drop-off zone.
Entering the building, I encountered a guy talking excitedly into his cell phone– not an unusual sight, but what made him interesting was the pile of Neiman Marcus bags at his feet. Like the limos, this was just a wee bit out of place in Deep Ellum.
Heading to the recording studio, I bumped into one of their producers and asked what was going on with all of the out of place characters.
It turns out Harvey Weinstein was there for a meeting, and not only was it a big enough meeting to require a couple of limos, he flew in an advance team from his company the day before.
What were the specifics behind what he doing there? I didn’t ask– and I’m sure I wouldn’t have been told had I done so (hell– I wouldn’t have told me if I were in their shoes), but it doesn’t take much imagination to start guessing.
I began working with Reel F/X in 1995 or so when the founder, Dale Carmen, would help me out with motion tracking and camera stabilization postproduction work. Over the years, he’s managed to grow and expand the business and Reel F/X now employs a few hundred people in their animation pits in Texas, California and Florida. Reel F/X has also recently begun to create their own branded content through their new production studio, Exclaim Entertainment. Exclaim’s first big production is Boz the Bear, an education and morals effort akin to Barney, only furry, green and Christian.
Knowing that the Weinstein Brothers have produced animated features in the past (and have a few currently in the pipeline) and knowing the type of content Reel F/X produces and assists on, astute readers probably won’t have to go very far out on a limb in connecting the dots.
Of course, with all the Neiman Marcus bags, he could have just been here for the chocolate truffles.
UPDATE: A couple of interesting notes; specifically, a couple of interesting investors in the Weinstein’s new company. It turns out, not only is WPP an investor in the company, but so is Mark Cuban. Cuban founded Broadcast.com here in Dallas and later sold it to Yahoo! for somewhere north of a cajillion dollars. Broadcast.com’s headquarters, that later became Yahoo!’s headquarters, was sold to Reel F/X when Yahoo! consolidated operations back in California.
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Friday, March 31st, 2006 at 02:09pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Monkeys, Monkey Town | add this post to del.icio.us
Had a good radio production today for 7-11. Let’s just say we’re gonna’ sell a boat load of Laffy Taffy Melon Madness Slurpees (insert registration mark here) to all the kids out there. If you are in possession of a twelve year old, and said twelve year old happens to consume an aforementioned Laffy Taffy Mango Melon Madness Slurpee, please do not hold me personally responsible for any damage that might occur in their sugar rush-induced state of agitation.
I work in advertising. I’d only feel bad if I sold real crack, not just the candied stuff.
The production turned into a post-production par-tay-tay that, itself, turned into a post-production par-tay-tay with the client. Good times.
Without any sense of irony or sarcasm, it’s probably best if I now turn in for the evening, passing out softly aginst the soft, downy goodness of my favorite pillow. There’s only so much celebrating I can manage at this state in my liver’s life age.
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Thursday, March 30th, 2006 at 09:53pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle | add this post to del.icio.us
Sorry, but I can’t help but feel a little smug about my investment abilities, especially when it comes to Interpublic (”IPG Sees Stars,” 03/22/06).
IPG’s been all over the news. First, you’ve got FCB’s Steve Blamer tossing out ideas Chiat/Day used to win harness racing track accounts in the 1970s. Then there’s Lowe’s Stephen Gatfield telling a crowd, “Most of you have already asked me this question: ‘Why don’t you put a bullet in Lowe already?’” And, oops, did I mention that IPG’s CFO, Nick Cyprus, is being terminated from his position but is being given a $2.5 million severance package?
(By the way, George Parker over at AdHurl got this one wrong. Cyprus isn’t being terminated “for cause” (with or without the exclamation point), but rather, “for reasons other than `for Cause.’” Had he been terminated for cause, Cyprus would have lost out on his golden parachute.)
All of this took place at IPG’s Investor Day dog and pony show where IPG Chairman Michael Roth tried to spin his way to a better future by offering up a plethora of buzz words but little in the way of red meat financial data. If there’s one thing Wall Street hates, it’s all garnish and no steak.
By all accounts, the investors weren’t impressed. AdAge said it best:
Interpublic stock closed today at $10.05, down 39 cents or 3.7% on moderate volume. The stock slumped at the opening bell and continued to drift lower as today’s presentations continued, closing at its lowest price of the day. (AdAge)
The good news? The falling price will make IPG even more of a Morningstar value. Right up until they lower the valuation of the company, that is.
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Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 at 08:33pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle, Ad Nauseam | add this post to del.icio.us
If you work alongside Hispanics in a creative environment, you work in a space wherein spontaneous soccer games break out like cold sores inside an adult cineplex.
In a World Cup year, it gets even worse.
A new Podcast from Dieste Harmel & Partners, “True Fans Speak Up on World Cup Soccer,” has been released. The moderator and guests are all fellow ad monkeys (and all fellow creatives) here at the agency who eat, drink and cagar fĂştbol– er, soccer.
You can find it on iTunes (search for “Dieste”) or by downloading it from our web.mac.com repository.
Oh. And go team U.S.A.
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Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 at 04:41pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Monkeys, Ad Jungle, Audio, Grupo Gringo | add this post to del.icio.us
…as bad publicity.
Millions Thousands A few horndog men (and at least a few ladies) have tuned in to the new P.R.-loving-no-bashing-no-loving blog, “Strumpette,” as the author, one Amanda Chapel, began playing strip poker with the industry this weekend.
Two posts in and she’s already created quite a stir. Now that’s public relations.
As for this ad monkey (who’s now safely back from a weekender in Austin), it’s purely prurient interest in a sister profession. I swear.
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Monday, March 27th, 2006 at 04:45pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Blogroll | add this post to del.icio.us
I’m in Austin this weekend with the she monkey, reliving (and re-drinking) old glory days, and being leisurely about it too; taking Monday off with a return set for sometime tomorrow evening.
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Sunday, March 26th, 2006 at 10:01pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: No Really, A Life, Monkey Travel | add this post to del.icio.us
eBay’s PayPal service has announced a “text to buy” feature that will allow users to purchase goods and services, using their PayPal accounts, via their cell phones.
Suppose I’m at a garage sale and want to buy a copy of Benjamin Graham’s Security Analysis. On my cell phone, I can text message PayPal or call 1-800-4PAYPAL. I specify the amount for the purchase, the recipient’s phone number, and confirm my PIN number (for security purposes). PayPal then notifies the seller, and it’s a done deal. (Motley Fool)
The feature can also be embedded into advertising. Advertisements for widgets that include the option to text to buy should simplify direct response by several factors. No fussing with credit card numbers or giving someone your mailing address– PayPal takes care of everything in the background.
Super smart.
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Friday, March 24th, 2006 at 11:19am
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle | add this post to del.icio.us
…an approval notice. Got one today on the final, marathon-process Gatorade spot. Now we wait until summer for it to air. It’s like a pregnancy, except I can drink.
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Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 at 09:57pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle | add this post to del.icio.us
In an update to “Powerade misfires,” AdAge is reporting that PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have settled their dispute over Powerade performance claims out of court.
Today’s settlement “follows an agreement by Coca-Cola to terminate the airing of one Powerade Option commercial and modify the language in a second ad to address the concerns expressed in the lawsuit pertaining to carbohydrate calorie content and relative energy benefits of Gatorade and Powerade Option,” said Gatorade spokeswoman P.J. Sinopoli. (AdAge)
The article also quotes a Coca-Cola spokesperson who claims that, “Powerade Option was created and is marketed based on what we’ve heard from consumers -– that there are many occasions when a full-calorie sports drink adds back more calories than people have just burned off.”
I can’t imagine what physical activity their consumers were engaged in that required a sports drink but didn’t allow them to burn 40 calories. (Hint: you don’t need the rehydration a sports drink provides after stumbling to the refrigerator in your doublewide, people.)
I would have thought Wieden & Kennedy, who created the spots and who handles Nike (and who I respect, by the way), would have provided better advice to their client in this area.
Perhaps they did and the advice was ignored.
The Coca-Cola spokesperson goes on to say that, “As the No. 2 player, we want to set ourselves apart from the category, but we want to compete in the marketplace, not in the courtroom.”
Gatorade weighs in at holding close to 80 percent of the sports drink category while Powerade stumbles across the finish line, in 2nd place as they rightly claim, with only 18.6 percent (stats from Beverage Digest).
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Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 at 09:19am
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle, Ad Nauseam | add this post to del.icio.us
“Wrightoff,” who as far as I can tell is an Australian copywriter, nails another one (in the present example, why our clients deserve our sympathy) in his standard-fare-equals-hilarious sort of way.
He’s worth a read. I’ve already passed this one around the office.
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Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 at 10:03pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Monkeys, Ad Jungle, Blogroll | add this post to del.icio.us
I woke up this morning to an email in my in box from Morningstar alerting me to the fact they’ve elevated Interpublic shares to a “five-star” ranking.
I know it’s been a tough few years for you, but before all you Lowe and FCB ad monkeys out there send up a collective cheer, you should know that Morningstar hands out its stars based on value. In other words, if a particular stock has a fair market value of $10 and it’s price is currently way down in the trenches and selling for $5, it gets more stars.
That’s the case of what’s happening to IPG.
I work for an agency that has an ownership stake held by a small large grotesquely gargantuan holding company, so I like to keep an eye on the other guys, and IPG is one of the other guys.
IPG has had a rough time of it, as of late.
Interpublic was a darling of the 1990s’ bull market. During this time, advertising spending grew faster than the economy and Interpublic turbocharged profit growth by making scores of acquisitions, many of which did not make a lot of sense. Not only that, Interpublic lacked the proper controls to accurately account for much of this growth, especially when it came to non-U.S. acquisitions, leading to improper accounting, financial shenanigans, and, ultimately, several years of accounting charges, asset write-downs, and financial restatements. (Morningstar)
WPP and Omnicom have benefited greatly at IPG’s expense as clients have fled the financially troubled waters and mergers and buyouts have taken their toll (like when PepsiCo bought Quaker and moved the advertising duties for Gatorade, et al, over to Omnicom-roster shops and away from FCB Chicago).
To be fair, by all outward appearances, they’re trying to clean up their act. Michael Roth has a business background and appears to be trying to do the right thing, though it should be noted he was head of the audit committee during IPG’s years of dubious bookkeeping.
And now they’re getting five stars which, in the big scheme of things, means the market either isn’t buying– or hasn’t yet caught up to– the fact that their fair market value is higher than their current share price.
I certainly wish them well, but can they pull it out?
Interpublic is still in the midst of a turnaround and we wouldn’t rule out additional surprises. Beyond that, the advertising scene is changing quickly and Interpublic has not shown that it’s successfully adapting. Rivals could continue to steal market share and limit Interpublic’s growth. (Morningstar)
IPG could very well be a value right now, but I don’t plan on becoming a shareholder.
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Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 at 07:40pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle | add this post to del.icio.us
I just answered an interesting email from Steve over at Adrants asking me if our current Gatorade campaign (breaking in a post earlier today) was affected by the very-much-present-tense legal wrangling between PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.
The short answer is NO and the long answer is, you must be crazy. (Not you, Steve, but you know what I mean.)
I’ve seen two spots in the Powerade campaign. The first involved a shoe that had 50 eyelets vs. a shoe that had 10. The message: 10 is fewer than 50, a reference to calorie count.
The second spot, and the subject of the recent suit, involved a farmer hauling 50 bales of hay vs. one hauling 10, but took the same “10 is fewer than 50″ message into the realm of performance.
First, I think (in my very humble, non-legal-eagle opinion) that PepsiCo is correct in stating that there’s no way Coca-Cola can substantiate this performance claim. In other words, suit on.
Second, and specifically in regards to the calorie claim, I say so what?
Core consumers of sports drinks, or at least Gatorade, are leave-it-all-on-the-field athletes who are extremely conscious of nutrition and its effect on their bodies. These same core consumers are using sports drinks during peak physical performance.
Let me repeat that. Peak physical performance. As in, “Holy crap, I’m burning a ton of calories chasing this soccer ball around the field.”
It’s at precisely those times when you’ll need several things in order to maintain peak performance, including calorie replenishment.
Now, if Powerade’s core consumer is some guy who only ever sits on his sofa picking lint out of his navel while the big game is on TV somewhere in the background and who drinks Powerade in hopes of feeling like he’s a part of it all, then I suppose a “10 is less than 50″ message might be meaningful to him (assuming he even gives a shit about his body).
But to the person who leaves real blood, sweat and tears on the playing field or who leaves that same blood, sweat and tears on the ground, out under the hot sun, doing the jobs that keep the wheels of commerce nicely oiled? Screw it. Give me those 40 extra calories, I’m burning more than that for every hour of exertion.
I suspect Powerade’s latest campaign is more a reaction to PepsiCo’s gains that came about, specifically, due to increasing sales of Gatorade. And it will come at the terrible cost (to Coca-Cola) of undercutting any sort of “we provide the stuff atheletes really need” equity Powerade might have built.
Good luck with that, guys.
Sorry Coca-Cola, but you’re about to bleed red. If you need replenishment, I’d suggest a nice frosty bottle of Gatorade.
UPDATE: There’s been a “Sports Drink Settlement.”
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 at 10:05pm
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle | add this post to del.icio.us
NEW SPOT ALERT (April 17, 2006): After you’re finished with this spot, head on over to this post where you can find an even newer Gatorade spot called “Skyscraper.” Now on to the previously posted, uh, post about the Rolando Cantu spot for Gatorade.
It’s a good day in the Ad Jungle when you’re able to see your work on the air.
Today’s a good day. We have a new spot breaking for Gatorade starring Rolando Cantu, a roster player for the Arizona Cardinals (and who also happens to be the first player selected from a Mexican university by a NFL team).
It was shot at the Cardinals’ training facility in Tempe, AZ and was directed by Josh Taft (HSI) and edited by Jonathan Edwards (Red Car). Roberto Saucedo, my agency partner at the time, gets credit as the AD/CD on the job and I get a CW/CD credit. Ignacio Romero was the CW, Jason Tisser was the AD and, of course, Aldo Quevedo is our ECD.
The spot represents one half of a broadcast effort for Gatorade that began with an agency internal shoot-out back in September and ended with the completion of a 2nd spot just this week that will air later in the summer (you can view some stills from the second shoot, shot in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil, over in my photoblog, AdVantage).
For now, though, you can view the first spot here:
Gatorade - Chosen - :30
The file is 6.3 megs and, I beg of you, please don’t link directly to it.
(Also, if you prefer su publicidad en español, you can view this version.)
UPDATE: I discuss the legal dust-up between Gatorade and Coca-Cola’s Powerade (and why Powerade’s latest campaign only manages to undercut their own equity) here in a post titled “Powerade misfires.”
UPDATED UPDATE: There’s been a “Sports Drink Settlement.”
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2006 at 11:44am
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Jungle, Video | add this post to del.icio.us
Technorati Tags: Advertising, Gatorade, Rolando, Cantu, Arizona, Cardinals, NFL
A new Podcast from Dieste Harmel & Partners, “Growing Up Hispanic,” has been released. The moderator and guests are all fellow ad monkeys (two from creative and two from account service) here at the agency.
You can find it on iTunes (search for “Dieste”) or by downloading it from our web.mac.com repository.
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Monday, March 20th, 2006 at 11:11am
Mack Simpson
Entry Filed under: Ad Monkeys, Ad Jungle, Audio, Grupo Gringo | add this post to del.icio.us
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