Advertising Industry Archive

January 2009

Every single category of magazine advertisers reduced their ad budgets in 2008, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages fell nearly 12 percent in total. The biggest declines were autos, down 20.5 percent to $1.6 billion; and drugs, which declined 14.5 percent to $2.2 billion. PIB’s description of the downturn is interesting because it doesn’t mention the web. The...

More...

American Apparel has built a fast-growing empire on some of the most risque, porn-influenced ads ever seen in mainstream media. Those ads appear to have been successful: The chain reported a 3 percent sales gain in December when other retailers tanked; and said it will post a 10 percent same-store sales gain for the full Q4. But not all is well inside American Apparel. A closer look at the...

More...

Mini calls global review — WCRS, which has been the UK agency of record for the last 8 years, has not been tapped to participate. [Source: AgencySpy] Publicis buys Bulgarian agency — Communications chain Publicis MARC Group owner Nikolai Nedelchev said he will sell his majority stake in the company to its global partner, Publicis Worldwide. Publicis Worldwide executive director...

More...

A company advertising coffee at 700 Exxon gas stations in Germany will tear down its posters because they inadvertently used the same slogan as that which stood at the entrance to the Nazis’ Buchenwald concentration camp. The slogan was, “To Each His Own.” The phrase was originally coined by Cato over 2000 years ago according to Australia’s Herald-Sun, but the German...

More...

Cliff Freeman Loses Bonefish Grill – Quiznos also shaky. Shop appears to be in freefall. (Cliff Freefall?) BNET noted turmoil at the agency on Nov. 19, 2008. [Source: Ad Age] Ogilvy CEO Miles Young gives Q&A — Wants five year plan, has a strain of “Marxism” in him. [Source: Economic Times] T-Mobile pulls TV spots starring Charles Barkley — Basketball great was...

More...

Omnicom gave CEO John Wren 1 million stock options as a Christmas present just 13 days after he laid off 3,500 employees at his agencies. The options have a strike price of $25.48. The options have a face value of $25.4 million. The stock can only be sold according to a staggered timetable, and Wren has to buy it first. OMC is currently trading at $26.14, meaning that the options are...

More...

Lamar Advertising is likely in for a year of depressed revenues simply because companies are cutting back on advertising, and therefore the billboards that the company provides, in the recession. What this means for Lamar’s future, however, is an open question judging by recent maneuverings in its stock. Charlie Bottle, writing on Seeking Alpha, is shorting the stock for eight reasons. He...

More...

Mercedes-Benz taps Razorfish — New digital agency of record comes after a quiet review, Steve Cannon, VP-marketing at the automaker, said. Mr. Cannon would not reveal spending, only to say that the business is worth “millions and millions of dollars.” The incumbent was Critical Mass, Toronto. [Source: Ad Age] BBDO Launches new campaign for Monster.com — ads are humorous...

More...

The deal for the break up of Aegis and its absorption by Havas seems to be shaping up. According to Brand Republic, the Synovate market research unit of Aegis is being prepped for sale. (The bank doing the pimping is Merrill Lynch, according to MRWeb.) The remainder of Aegis, its media buying operations, will then be absorbed into Havas. Havas boss Vincent Bollore is preparing a 90p per share...

More...

UPDATE: It turns out Jarvis did achieve something on his watch: Dell settled for $3.35 million with 34 states over the deceptive advertising of its warranties and financing terms. Dell CMO Mark Jarvis, who left the company recently, took a $1.225 million severance package with him. The news came in an SEC filing. My BNET colleague Erik Sherman noted the news on his Tech channel. What, exactly,...

More...