london proves actions speak louder than taglines

What is it about London that inspires out-of-the-telly-box thinking? I'm not just talking T-Mobile's flashmob events, such as in January when Saatchi sent breakdancers diguised in business clothes to Liverpool Street Station where they flabbergasted commuters by breaking into dance on the platforms. Or, last Thursday when they text-messaged their customers to gather in Trafalgar Square, drawing 13,000 into what was surely the world's loudest karoake rendition of Hey, Jude...

I'm talking the quieter but just as engaging McDonald's digital display at Piccadilly Circus, one of the world's most photographed locations, where 1.1 million people who visit a week can now snap photos against an ever-changing backdrop that makes it look like they're blowing out birthday cake candles, avoiding a bop on the head or wishfully thinking about (what else) fries or a burger. Agency Leo Burnett cleverly extends engagement by inviting consumers to post photos to a branded Flickr page.  Because as every marketer knows, one CG photo is worth 1000 words of copy.

reflections of a mad man, IRL

Bill Blackshaw joined BBDO in 1960 when the agency was working on Nixon's campaign. He claims Matt Weiner got a lot of things right: like the 3 martini lunch which "was invented by the ad business." And the elitism that existed in the industry then. Top brass "always had their last name first, like Thurston Charles McGee." He recalls presenting a media schedule to a Pete Campbell-like account exec who couldn't believe buys included Sunday afternoon radio spots on Long Island because "Everyone will be at the polo matches!"

One discrepancy, however. The bottle wasn't brought out in the office nearly as often as it is on the show. And usually didn't make its appearance until late in the day. (Presumably, just in time for commuters to knock back one for the road before pointing their cars--without seatbelts-- towards the Long Island Expressway.)

Footage lovingly shot by Bill's son Pete Blackshaw, EVP at Nielsen, a few months before his father passed away. Thanks for preserving this firsthand account of ad history, Pete. (And thanks, Randall Rothenberg, for posting the link.)

a lady's guide to facebook etiquette

More and more friends are migrating off Facebook. "I'm tired of being contacted by people I didn't like years ago. Why would I like them now?" one told me before closing down the account she'd had for a couple of years. Another bailed after receiving a friend request from the first person she'd fired, back in the 80s.

I'm more of a Twitter person, myself. Because I think of Facebook as the place for meeting people you used to know; Twitter for meeting those you want to know now.

But in my role as social media evangelist, I talk to plenty of FB newbies. Over 45 million signed up for Facebook in January alone. Where teenagers now make up no more than 12% of the population. In fact, the fastest growing FB demographic is women over 55. Which may be why this dandy Etiquette Guide is styled to look like a 1950s-era instructional film. (Props to YourTango.)

social media is like sex

I was trying to explain social media to a friend in advertising the other day. She's one of the smartest art directors I know, who can ferret out meaning from the most obtusely written brief.

"I don't get social media," she said. "What the heck is it, anyway?"

I told my friend not to feel bad. Lots people still don't get social media. Even those who claim that they do. I quoted something making the rounds on twitter recently: Social media is like teen sex. Everyone says they're getting it, but few really do. (An adaptation of another tweet from a Google analytics guru.)

As I began describing Twitter streams and Facebook widgets and analytics and vlogs, her eyes glazed over. And I realized another reason social media is like sex. You can talk all you want about the mechanics to people. But until they do it, they can't know what all the fuss is about.

Last week Joseph Jaffee wrote a piece on social media for Adweek. Many commenters accused him of being condescending to ad agency types by writing a primer too basic for them. Some of the comments were personally insulting and Alan Wolk referred to this backlash in an article on a new era of meanspiritedness on Madison Avenue. Surely, for negative commenters, the piece was too basic. But I think those of us immersed in SM often overestimate the degree of conversance normal people have with it.

Ad agency revenue models are still tied to client spending on media. And social media is still perceived to be free. (Fred Wilson called it "earned" media, but isn't that PR? How about the more robust CGM--Consumer Generated Media.) Not surprising if creatives at global AORs are still encouraged to think of social media as just one more shiny charm to add to their campaign bracelet.

fail whale on twitter and it can cost you

With copywriters streaming jobless into the streets, how hard can it be to find one to ghost-tweet for you, posting random observations a few times a day in no more than 140 characters? The job might seem like a cinch, but remember--in the twitterverse, authenticity reigns. Posers and pushers are quickly called out. Which is what happened to Hugh Jackman the other day when "his" tweet mistakenly referred to the well-known Sydney Opera House as the Opera Center. The blooper is apparently costing him $100K, which he's offering to donate to some lucky tweeter's charity of choice. (Presumably, so he can get the tax write-off.) Got a nonprofit you want to pimp? Tell Hugh about it. But be brief. Very brief. Say, 140 characters.

world's first twitter ad agency?

Yeah, it's a recession. Ad agencies all around us are downsizing, reorganizing, even shutting their doors. (RIP, JWT/Chicago.) So, um. Yeah. What better time to start up a new one. We met as twittering Mad Men. Now we're forming a Mad Men 2.0 agency. Same convenient initials as Sterling Cooper. Supporting Characters. It's a consortium of social media players I'm proud to be part of. Advertising veterans. PR strategists. Creative technologists. Futurists. To help brands achieve relevance in digital space.

Yesterday, Ad Age posted a video piece about it and my partner, Carri Bugbee (aka @PeggyOlson). Ad Age called us the world's first twitter ad agency. But we won't do only twitter. In fact, we'll sometimes advise against it. Because we believe that a technology platform ought to be the last choice you make when designing a social media campaign. We'll talk more about this and other hard-won insights in our Social Media Road Show. Coming soon (hopefully) to a conference room near you.

1 day, 7 hours, 30 min, 50 seconds to save a killed idea from permanent death

You know that brilliant ad campaign you did for a client who loved it until his global manager weighed in? The amazing interactive concept you came up with that the CD in general just didn't get? The TV idea that would have gotten you to Cannes, if only cost consultants hadn't nixed the production? Now there's a way to make them live. Send them to Killed Ideas, the first awards competition for creative that never saw light of day. Steve Hall (of Adrants fame) is looking for DOA concepts not only in advertising, but graphics, industrial, package and interactive design. The best will be compiled into a book called Killed Ideas, a project of Blurb, a publisher working with artists, photographers, designers and agencies. Unlike most competitions, submissions are free. Just upload here. But hurry. Entries are due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 7th at midnight PST. (Lucky East Coast procrastinators get until 3 am) No more extensions. The fake deadline's already come and gone, sorry. If you don't make this deadline, your dead concepts will stay dead. Or sitting in a dark drawer or notebook, waiting to be revived by some other client. Same thing.