Archives: November 2008

GM Pondering Brand Cuts

Posted by: David Kiley on November 28

The Detroit Free Press reported today that General Motors, in its attempt to put forth a workable restructuring plan to keep it from going bankrupt, is looking at killing...

Get Your Free Dr. Pepper Today

Posted by: Burth Helm on November 24

Last night a Guns N’ Roses-obsessed friend of mine sent me an email: “Don’t forget to burn Dr. Pepper today for doubting Axl.” He was referring, of course, to the...

J. Crew Turns Michelle Obama Into An Unofficial Spokesmodel

Posted by: Burth Helm on November 12

This sponsored link was at the top of my Gmail account this morning: It leads to this Michelle-inspired J. Crew landing page. Cool, huh? Public relations meets direct advertising. I...

Obama Great For Newspapers

Posted by: David Kiley on November 05

One thing about history is that it's great for news-stand sales. I stopped at six outlets in my town of Ann Arbor, MI and everyone was cleaned out of...

Ranty Denis Leary Is New Voice of Ford Trucks

Posted by: David Kiley on November 04

Denis Leary is the new voice of the Ford F-Series pickup truck. The new effort, from WPP’s Team Detroit, attempts to leave behind the ubiquitous feats of strength one-upmanship that...

Memo to David Brooks: Obama is a Boomer

Posted by: David Kiley on November 04

I think The New York Times' David Brooks is about the most readable conservative writer of our times. But his column today stopped me after the second paragraph. “Nov. 4,...

New Starbucks Ad From BBDO: A Coffee Break From Political Fighting

Posted by: David Kiley on November 04

Now that I have seen a TV ad from Starbucks, I wonder why it took the chain so long to embrace regular TV advertising. The coffee chain broke its first...

MediaVest Projects a Barack Obama Win Will Be Official at 11pm Tuesday Night

Posted by: Burth Helm on November 03

While everybody wants to know who will win the presidential election Tuesday night, advertisers want to know when the winner will be declared, i.e. the moment when millions of consumers...

An Open Letter To CNN's Amy Holmes

Posted by: David Kiley on November 01

I was watching the 10/31 installment of "Real Time With Bill Maher" during which the discussion naturally centered on the election. Guest and conservative commentator Amy Holmes, who is a...

Wieden & Kennedy Cries "Ripoff"

Posted by: David Kiley on November 01

One of the oldest stories in the ad world is “That guy stole my ad!” Sometimes when an agency complains that another has ripped off its ad, it has a...

NRA's Last Gasp Against Obama

Posted by: David Kiley on November 01

The National Rifle Association has an idea to get it's anti-Obama message out at the last minute. The NRA wants to buy space on the plastic bags that newspapers use...