Business and Advertising

She don”t like Cocaine, but marketers get go-ahead to unleash.
It comes as a Sydney-based company began advertising a controversial American energy drink called Cocaine on a billboard straddling Parramatta Road at Strathfield. It has already drawn complaints to the advertising watchdog, which said the ad might breach its code on health and safety grounds.

The billboard is likely to draw yet more heat to an industry already under pressure. Earlier this week a government-appointed health taskforce recommended bans on junk food advertising on television before 9pm and the promotion of alcohol in live sports.

A spokeswoman for the company behind Cocaine, Wize Guys said it had not received any complaints. The chief executive of the Advertising Standards Bureau, Fiona Jolly, said the ad would be considered at the next board meeting later this month.more

For trailers, green now means watch carefully.
‘For example, mature advertising content may be placed only on specific Web sites with more adult demographics or behind age gates or other devices designed to limit access to younger audiences. Some stronger advertising may be restricted to sites with similar themes and content.’

But Linn points out that many parents will be ‘falsely reassured’ when the word ‘appropriate’ pops up on the familiar green background. ‘When the trailers turn up on the Internet, without any context, “appropriate” has no meaning,’ she said.

The vagueness of the term ‘appropriate’ and the subtle revision of the green-band screen also concerns Kimberly Thompson, adjunct associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who directs the Kids Risk Project and has studied and testified on the movie ratings system.more

Will tough privacy regulations hurt startups?.
In his opinion, the impact of the level of regulation that is being demanded ‘would be enormous for companies relying on online advertising’.

In a blog post, he suggests that restrictions on behavioral targeting will make it harder for ad networks and online publishers to monetize.

Now I”m no fan of overzealous government regulation. In general, I think such regulation ends up hurting businesses and consumers. When it comes to online privacy, however, it”s not hard to understand why proponents of regulation find support: companies are amassing large amounts of valuable data about individuals online, most of the time without their express knowledge.

It”s safe to say that the average internet user does not know what data is being collected by whom, how it”s being used and what he or she can do to opt-out.more

Mohawk Gasoline neon single-sided porcelain sign realizes $30250.
Matthews Auctions, LLC, has another big sale planned, for Saturday, Oct. 16, when it will hold its annual Fall Peotone Petroliana & Advertising Auction in Peotone, Ill. The event, starting at 12 noon, will be held the day prior to the start of the Fall Chicagoland Advertising Show (Oct. 17-18). On Nov. 7, the firm will conduct a smaller petroliana and gas station collectibles auction, in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

Matthews Auctions, LLC, based in Nokomis, Ill., is always accepting quality consignments for future sales (to include the Oct. 16 and Nov. 7 sales). To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (217) 563-8880 or (217) 259-7059. Or you can e-mail them at info@matthewsauctions.com. To learn more about the firm and its upcoming auction dates, log on to www.MatthewsAuctions.com.more

Exec applies thespian skills to ad industry.
Hammerstrom has helped Merrick on advertising campaigns in which Columbia Heights rentals were introduced to clients via drinking contests at bars to emphasize their ‘hip, urban professional’ style. Another campaign reached out to environmental-minded renters, drawing them from farmers markets and organic-food stores to fill energy-sustainable apartments in Chicago.

Merrick employs 60 people and provides services to clients in numerous industries, including commercial and real estate development, property management, energy and engineering

‘In advertising, you have to find out who”s your audience and what keeps them up at night. Then you go where they are,’ Hammerstrom said, emphasizing that he often visits locations Merrick advertises to get to know the people. ‘We offer clients a different perspective than what they”re expecting; we market in the lifestyle of the product.’

He said his previous career contributes to that perspective, helping him engage with clients as an audience and providing him with easy access to performers to promote campaigns.more

Spikes Asia Pays Tribute To Yasmin Ahmad.
With a career in advertising spanning over 25 years, Ahmad”s work accumulated over 150 awards including Golds at the Clio Awards, the Andy Awards, London International Awards, Kancil Awards and momentously at Cannes Lions, where she became the first Malaysian winner of a Gold Film Lion in 2008 for Tan Hong Ming. Yasmin was inducted into the Malaysian Advertising Hall of Fame by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia in November 2008. Commenting on her career at Leo Burnett, Jarek Ziebinski, President of Leo Burnett & Arc Asia Pacific said, ‘Yasmin was a brilliant star at Leo Burnett and the whole creative industry. Her works truly reflected humanity and love. They touched people”s hearts and inspired them to change and to make a difference in life. We are thankful to Spikes Asia for acknowledging Yasmin and allowing all who love and admire her to pay tribute to her at the event.’ Festival Chairman Terry Savage said, ‘Yasmin Ahmad made a real contribution to Asian creativity.more

ADVERTISING HIM.COM - Body Advertising is conquering the world.
Some incredible news has just come: Tom French and his team at Advertising Him.com have just launched one of the craziest adventures on the web: Creating a human wall of advertising and having him travel around the world. Indeed, since 15 August 2009 at 00.00 a.m. (GMT - 7 / New York), billions of users and advertisers have at their disposal a human billboard who will be integrally ‘ads-body-tattooed,’ one of the most incredible steps imagined until now in the world of advertising. This man is Tom (tom@advertisinghim.com)! The young entrepreneur, through multiple meetings across Europe and research in the field advertising, has observed that only extreme innovation coupled with better communication techniques is a guarantee of distinction in the current marketing jungle. He succeeded in surrounding himself with the punchiest specialists in order to follow through on these innovative steps: always further, always more original media, and identifiable in each country around the globe.more

Historicist: Labour Day “29.
The Telegram reported that many homes in lower Parkdale sported cards advertising parking space. ‘In the area comprised within the bounds of Dunn and King Streets and Springhurst Avenue were about 3,000 cars parked on front lawns, generally not more than three each.’ Some of those car owners may have made their way to the new Automotive Building, where a wide variety of 1930 models from North American car makers was on display.

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Why can”t correspondence be letter-perfect?.
More than anything else, excessive advertising has ruined the mail. I think we should find a way to charge companies more when they try to sell us something through the mail by appealing to us in what passes for a ‘letter.’ Not one in maybe 50 pieces of mail I get is a real letter from a real person. How did we let this happen?

I don”t mind advertising. It makes the world go “round, but I don”t want a lot of junk in my mailbox.

I think that, overall, we”re paying for too much of everything with advertising revenues anyway. There”s no doubt that advertising is the lifeblood of publishing, broadcasting, and now the Internet. I think there are too many ads in almost every publication. It would be great to find a way to present material with less advertising. There”s no way to determine how many people read less of the copy in a publication or watch less on television because of the proliferation of advertising.more

Questions for Andy Hunn of Political Ad Net, Resonate Networks.
It”s ramping up its staff with Internet advertising veterans such as former Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive exec Deborah Correa, who was hired a month ago as Resonate”s VP advertising operations. The company expects to grow from its current 15 employees to 25 by the end of the year.

I spoke with COO Andy Hunn last week about the challenges and surprises of the company”s early days, and what we can expect as the 2010 elections approach.

Q: What sort of reception have you received from the political and advocacy market since launch?

For the public affairs and political markets we focused on at launch, we”ve run north of 30 campaigns at this point…and we”re often running campaigns in a 2 to 4 week cycle…. The deal sizes are quite large. I think they”re running on average around $125,000.more