Thursday, February 7, 2008
is google a feminist?
Thanks, Google, for misdirecting a searcher in Chicago to my site instead of telling him how to say u stupid broad in chinese.
february 7, 4706
It's Chinese New Year today, Happy Year of the Rat, the most industrious sign in the Chinese zodiac. In tribute, here's an inexplicably Chinese-themed industrial video, circa. 1946. It's a sales film for Fairbanks Studios, a Hollywood house famous for creating hilariously stagy and overdesigned post-war corporate videos. The cast of this one includes a copywriter "whose paycheck isn't very big because his copy has to be toned down before it reaches the printed page" and a film starlet demonstrating time-saving advances for the kitchen like (too bad this didn't catch on) a table that slides handily out of the wall, pre-set with dishes and silverware.
For more industrial-strength goodness, go Internet Archive where you can download Once Upon a Honeymoon, a musical made in 1956 to promote color telephones as a decorator accessory and Brink of Disaster which shows how 1960s activism threatens American moral, religious and ethical principles.
And don't forget to stop by Why Advertising Sucks, where Joker is passing out fortune cookies.
For more industrial-strength goodness, go Internet Archive where you can download Once Upon a Honeymoon, a musical made in 1956 to promote color telephones as a decorator accessory and Brink of Disaster which shows how 1960s activism threatens American moral, religious and ethical principles.
And don't forget to stop by Why Advertising Sucks, where Joker is passing out fortune cookies.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
identity politics
The question of anonymity is generating some heat in my little corner of the blogosphere today.
It started with a post over at Marketing Conversations which observed that when social media types blog they give you all of their contact info: their emails, their places on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter... and that, by contrast, most ad industry bloggers post anonymously.
Agency Spy threw out a call to ad bloggers this morning: Why are you anonymous? and Daily Biz admitted in an eloquent post that his main reason for anonymity was so he could write about a co-worker he had a crush on without letting her know. (He's since blown his cover--to no avail.)
Agency Tart guessed that anonymity=her job because You can’t really cut and paste internal emails on the internet and have your boss be okay with that. (She's right to worry. Check this out, one of her many hilarious cut & paste email posts.)
Tangerine Toad, sagely observed in a comment that 'out' bloggers (e.g. Ian Schafer, George Parker, Joseph Jaffe) work for themselves while those of us who remain anonymous work for somebody else.
Jane Sample concurred (in inimitable Jane style): Being anonymous gives you more freedom in your writing... Man, if I think of the watered down shit I would be writing under my own name …. ugh.
Where's My Jetpack protested I’m not THAT anonymous. A few links on my blog reveal who I am. (Really?)
On a FAQ page for Multicultclassics, HighJive attributes his anonymity to avoiding the political retaliation that often accompanies speaking the truth.
Why is Ad Broad anonymous? For much the same reason. I don't want to have to tote a company line which I'd feel beholden to do if I were "out" and fearful of blogging the hands that feed me. (How does Scamp do it?) Plus, I don't want coworkers, bosses, friends clamming up in my presence, suspicious that I am looking to libel them.
And let's not forget that, like all copywriters, I'm accustomed to writing under an assumed name. Ads don't have bylines.
If I were a journalist or social media type, I'd eagerly post my real name in the hopes that some eagle-eyed editor (do editors read these things?) might contact me for an assignment or a book proposal, even. If I were a journalist, I'd have something to gain. But what do I gain by giving Ad Broad my name? Who ever heard of an ad agency CD hiring a freelance writer on the strength of her blog? From an agency's POV, blogging isn't added value, it's a giant red flag of a liability: no agency fancies running the risk of letting its underwear flap in the blogosphere.
Tonight, in a comment on DailyBiz, the writer of the original post, Jonathan Tannen (presumably not an ad guy, writing under his own name) said: I love the fact that I have no idea who most of you are. But there’s a certain sadness to it... For a supposed push-the-envelope industry, sticking one’s neck out individually seems to invite derision.
True, the ad business may be a push-the-envelope industry, but those of us in it know it's not exactly populous with push-the-envelope types-- genuine renegades aren't generally good at coping with commutes and time sheets and deadlines and dress codes. To survive in this business, you've got to make yourself fairly agreeable-- able to endure inane client comments, endless copy revisions, impossible deadlines, counterintuitive research results that kill a spot in production.
So I don't think it's sad that ad bloggers are anonymous. I think it's fortunate, a matter of survival. We've got a place to vent our true thoughts and feelings without the risk of being fired or shot. Take Joker who must have had a meeting today with clients from hell. Without his blog, he might be in custody for manslaughter.
It started with a post over at Marketing Conversations which observed that when social media types blog they give you all of their contact info: their emails, their places on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter... and that, by contrast, most ad industry bloggers post anonymously.
Agency Spy threw out a call to ad bloggers this morning: Why are you anonymous? and Daily Biz admitted in an eloquent post that his main reason for anonymity was so he could write about a co-worker he had a crush on without letting her know. (He's since blown his cover--to no avail.)
Agency Tart guessed that anonymity=her job because You can’t really cut and paste internal emails on the internet and have your boss be okay with that. (She's right to worry. Check this out, one of her many hilarious cut & paste email posts.)
Tangerine Toad, sagely observed in a comment that 'out' bloggers (e.g. Ian Schafer, George Parker, Joseph Jaffe) work for themselves while those of us who remain anonymous work for somebody else.
Jane Sample concurred (in inimitable Jane style): Being anonymous gives you more freedom in your writing... Man, if I think of the watered down shit I would be writing under my own name …. ugh.
Where's My Jetpack protested I’m not THAT anonymous. A few links on my blog reveal who I am. (Really?)
On a FAQ page for Multicultclassics, HighJive attributes his anonymity to avoiding the political retaliation that often accompanies speaking the truth.
Why is Ad Broad anonymous? For much the same reason. I don't want to have to tote a company line which I'd feel beholden to do if I were "out" and fearful of blogging the hands that feed me. (How does Scamp do it?) Plus, I don't want coworkers, bosses, friends clamming up in my presence, suspicious that I am looking to libel them.
And let's not forget that, like all copywriters, I'm accustomed to writing under an assumed name. Ads don't have bylines.
If I were a journalist or social media type, I'd eagerly post my real name in the hopes that some eagle-eyed editor (do editors read these things?) might contact me for an assignment or a book proposal, even. If I were a journalist, I'd have something to gain. But what do I gain by giving Ad Broad my name? Who ever heard of an ad agency CD hiring a freelance writer on the strength of her blog? From an agency's POV, blogging isn't added value, it's a giant red flag of a liability: no agency fancies running the risk of letting its underwear flap in the blogosphere.
Tonight, in a comment on DailyBiz, the writer of the original post, Jonathan Tannen (presumably not an ad guy, writing under his own name) said: I love the fact that I have no idea who most of you are. But there’s a certain sadness to it... For a supposed push-the-envelope industry, sticking one’s neck out individually seems to invite derision.
True, the ad business may be a push-the-envelope industry, but those of us in it know it's not exactly populous with push-the-envelope types-- genuine renegades aren't generally good at coping with commutes and time sheets and deadlines and dress codes. To survive in this business, you've got to make yourself fairly agreeable-- able to endure inane client comments, endless copy revisions, impossible deadlines, counterintuitive research results that kill a spot in production.
So I don't think it's sad that ad bloggers are anonymous. I think it's fortunate, a matter of survival. We've got a place to vent our true thoughts and feelings without the risk of being fired or shot. Take Joker who must have had a meeting today with clients from hell. Without his blog, he might be in custody for manslaughter.
Monday, February 4, 2008
sorry, charlie
I loved (envied) the Coke balloons but the Superbowl spot I most admired was Tide's Talking Shirt because it was made (unbelievably) for a packaged goods company and without a budget that exceeds the GNP of some nations. That's why I also love this spot from Argentina which IMHO was better than any that ran last night. (Thanks, GardenBroad.)
Agency: Grey, Buenos Aires
Agency: Grey, Buenos Aires
Sunday, February 3, 2008
superbowl for grammarians
A few weeks ago, teams of linguists, lexicographers and etymologists faced off in Chicago to determine the American Dialect Society's annual Word of the Year. Among nominations for 2007's most notable new word or phrase:
connectile dysfunction -inability to gain or maintain a connection
bacn -impersonal email such as alerts, newsletters, and
automated reminders that are nearly as annoying as
spam but which one has chosen to receive.
Googlegänger -a person with your name who shows up when you google yourself.
Happy Kwanhanamas! [Kwanza + Hanukka + Christmas] -Happy holidays!
NINJA -real estate term describing mortgage candidate with no income, no job or assets.
quadriboobage -appearance of having four breasts caused by wearing a brassiere that is too small.
tapafication -tendency of restaurants to serve food in many small portions
toe-tapper -a homosexual. From Senator Larry Craig's experience last June in a public restroom.
vegansexual -a person who eats no meat, uses no animal-derived goods and prefers not to have sex with non-vegans.
If I'd had a vote, I would have opted for wrap rage which means anger brought on by the frustration of trying to open a factory-sealed purchase.
But the word most compelling to grammarians was subprime- used to describe a risky or poorly documented loan or mortgage.
Last year's winner was pluto (to be plutoed means to be demoted or devalued) which somehow prevailed over lactard, a person who is lactose-intolerant.
In 2005, it was truthiness (what one wishes to be the truth regardless of facts) although nominations included tantalizing choices like whale-tail (the appearance of thong or g-string underwear above the waistband) and crotchfruit (a child or children.)
Full accounts of past winners and nominations can be found on the Society’s website. In case you're in need of random distractions before kickoff.
[thanks to the lingual vigilance of visualthesaurus and grammar-geek Ellen]
connectile dysfunction -inability to gain or maintain a connection
bacn -impersonal email such as alerts, newsletters, and
automated reminders that are nearly as annoying as
spam but which one has chosen to receive.
Googlegänger -a person with your name who shows up when you google yourself.
Happy Kwanhanamas! [Kwanza + Hanukka + Christmas] -Happy holidays!
NINJA -real estate term describing mortgage candidate with no income, no job or assets.
quadriboobage -appearance of having four breasts caused by wearing a brassiere that is too small.
tapafication -tendency of restaurants to serve food in many small portions
toe-tapper -a homosexual. From Senator Larry Craig's experience last June in a public restroom.
vegansexual -a person who eats no meat, uses no animal-derived goods and prefers not to have sex with non-vegans.
If I'd had a vote, I would have opted for wrap rage which means anger brought on by the frustration of trying to open a factory-sealed purchase.
But the word most compelling to grammarians was subprime- used to describe a risky or poorly documented loan or mortgage.
Last year's winner was pluto (to be plutoed means to be demoted or devalued) which somehow prevailed over lactard, a person who is lactose-intolerant.
In 2005, it was truthiness (what one wishes to be the truth regardless of facts) although nominations included tantalizing choices like whale-tail (the appearance of thong or g-string underwear above the waistband) and crotchfruit (a child or children.)
Full accounts of past winners and nominations can be found on the Society’s website. In case you're in need of random distractions before kickoff.
[thanks to the lingual vigilance of visualthesaurus and grammar-geek Ellen]
Saturday, February 2, 2008
the bald and the beautiful
Are most people who stalk celebrities bald? Why else would this site be sponsored by this one?
I googled the question and look what I found:
[via Freakingnews]
I googled the question and look what I found:
[via Freakingnews]
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