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Via adsoftheworld

Advertising Agency: Publicis Conceil, Paris, France
Chief Creative Officer: Olivier Altmann
Copywriter: Thierry Lebec
Art Director: Bénédicte Potel

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Deutsch NY promoted Stephen Murphy to executive VP, customer and data strategy and a host of others. link

Brent Smart was named EVP/MD of BBDO West. link

-Twitter reaches out to its premium accounts. link

-Luxury brands are embracing the web. link

-YouTube adds auto-captioning. link

-The ad industry added 800 jobs in September. Phew. link

-Conde Nast unveiled an initiative to build digital mags. link

-Digital firm Tribal Fusion welcomed former Yahoo! Europe Head of Ad Product Strategy, Tim Brown, as European General Manager.

-Digital media predictions for 2010. link

-You want your Black Friday list? You got it. link

More: "Thursday Odds and Ends"

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Forgetting to turn the caps lock off, Jerks in Your Area has another amusing post from this guy:

YO THIS SHIT IS THE BOMB IST A FUCKING DOPE ASS MATTRISS N THIS SHIT IS MAD COMTFORABLE!

I BET DIS SHIT LIEK 2 G'S AT SLEPY'S OR SOME SHIT BUT YO SINCE I FOUND IT BHNED THE PIGGLY WIGGLY IM JUS SLEEING IT FOR LIKE 12 BONEZ. I JUS GOT TO GET DAT CHEEZ T GET MY BLUNT ON YA HEARD!

N YO THIS MOTHERFUCKR IS FULL SIZED SO FUCK THAT TWIN SIZE SHTI!!!

Hair gel, the club Hunka Bunka (kid above for reference) and terrible grammar seem to be a plus.

More: "Your Contextual Ad Flub of the Day"

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Mother NY appointed Farfar alum Nicke Bergstrom as creative director. Bergstrom--who co-founded Swedish firm Farfar in 2000 and won a Cannes Lion Grand Prix in the process--will report to ECDs Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom and will serve with CDs Michael Ian Kaye and Tom Webster.

kstrong>More: "Mother NY Welcomes Eugene Fuller to the Fold"

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If you're Apple, Microsoft, etc., you might want to take advantage of pooing on this Google-branded toilet paper. While the Mountain Valley, CA giant hasn't said anything, Engadget offers a slogan that seems lost in translation: "Very long, soft, smooth. Of high vacuum, because you always!"

Via HuffPo

More: "Rupert Murdoch Wants to Boycott the Digital Newsstand"

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Gitamba Saila-Ngita asks "Is Advertising Irrelevant?" in a post on his posterous, above a quote from Tim Manners' book, "Relevance: making stuff that matters". We'll be the first to admit that this quote is taken out of context, so the point of this post is not to lay it on Manners, rather discuss the proposition as a means to clarify where the business is currently sitting. Philosophy, sorta.

"...Advertising is no longer relevant and therefor no longer accountable because, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it does not help anyone solve any problems or live a happier life. It is simply an annoyance. Instead of addressing the question of how to make themselves relevant to consumers, advertisers tend to go in the opposite direction, which is to dream up new ways to disrupt our lives with their irrelevant messages." Anyway, communication is an ongoing process with a lot of noise and even more differentiation, to the point that it's often difficult to discern ads from news from phone calls. But that doesn't really matter because at the end of the day we only pay attention to the messages that a) move us or b) we have to pay attention to because it's our job or detrimental to our lives some how.

So how does advertising fit in and in what ways, if any, is it still relevant. This is your chance to anonymously defend what you do. But pretend your name is on the answer &#151 and let's see what you're made of.

More: Love the comments in this story

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Lord help us, it's like the Wii but only holier. A new (faux) ad for some organization called Mass We Pray lets loose with some family fun in the name of crucifix-wielding, pew-sitting, rollicking good time. It's for a game called Dante's Inferno, but can't we just go back to Scrabble?

Via

More: "The Death of (Direct)TV Means the Resurrection of Jesus, Heath, JFK"

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As of today, a certain shop has restricted employees' use of the inter Webs by blocking a few sites that require high volumes of bandwidth. The move is being pushed as a money saving strategy that in reality probably will do just that, despite leaving employees without access to content that is arguable valuable to their work.

We're told employees of this shop's offices can say goodbye to: YouTube, BBC, iPlayer, Spotify, Channel4, SkyPlayer and Google Videos &#151 each of which will eat bandwidth like a whale sucking krill.

First off, let's not worry about which shop is doing this. The question I'd like to pose is: does having access to these sites improve your ability to know what's happening out there or does it make it harder to do your work? Probably both, but let's pick a side, shall we?

Update: The agency just got back to us and informs that they're not blocked as of right now.

More: "Brand Loss Eckos Thru the Web"

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(Courtesy The Empty Quarter, Dubai)

'Tis the season for Paris Photo, where 102 galleries and publishers from 23 countries are taking part in the world's leading photography fair. This year's fair, which runs through Sunday at the Carrousel du Louvre, spotlights Arab and Iranian photography with a three-part project curated by Catherine David. Among the first orders of business was the announcement of the winner of the BMW - Paris Photo Prize for contemporary photography, a $15,000 award given annually to an artist whose work best embodies a given theme. The 2009 theme, tied to BMW France's ad campaign, was "When was the last time you experienced something for the first time?"

The winner is Karijn Kakebeeke, a Dutch photographer who is represented by Dubai gallery The Empty Quarter. Kakebeeke, 35, is known for photojournalistic images like "Khadija's Dream" (2006, pictured above), her prizewinning work that records the moment when a girl named Khadija first played with a soccer ball. Today Khadija is a member of Afghanistan's first female soccer team. For Matthias Harder, curator at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin and a member of the 2009 BMW - Paris Photo Prize jury, the image shows "a glimpse of happiness," he said in a statement. "Kakebeeke's genre scene convinced the jury owing to the controversial nature of the topic chosen and its relevance to the given theme."

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Method brand cleaners might stare at you as you stroll through target, but at least they don't reside in your bath, waiting for you to sexily step in the shower (whilst nude), only to behave like a semi-drunk man who likes watching ladies in the shower. Also known as everyone.

More: "Mick Jagger's 17 Year Old Daughter Half-Nude in Hudson Jeans Campaign"

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Tips are trickling in telling us Campbell Ewald is laying people off today. If you know more about what's going on, please email agencyspy at mediabistro dot com. You can also Tweet us via @agencyspy, IM at agencyspy or call our tip line, 212.547.7935.

Update: Confirmed. Still no details.

Update 2: We've managed to get some details from an anonymous source. Word is about 30 people will be let go today, and the process will be similar to the last time &#151 ie cardboard boxes are prepared and people are being asked to leave immediately. Not sure if they'll be allowed to box up their things and leave or if they'll leave the boxing to HR. If you recall, the last round went this way, and laid off employees came back to the office and were handed their boxes outside. Like a drive-thru.

We're also hearing that EVP, Director Human Resources Debbie Osborn is not in the office today and that someone else is swinging the proverbial ax. That glass door must feel extra heavy today.

No word on how much severance is being doled out.

More: "Tony Hopp's Email to Campbell Ewald Staff About Chevy Review: Timid"

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Last night was the launch party for Barry Diller's latest venture, Notional. You may know this young production company for their show 'Chopped' on the Food Network. The shop's lead, Ricky Van Veen, is best known for co-founding CollegeHumor.com. Ben Silverman, formerly of NBC Entertainment, will play a role as well &#151 though what that will entail is yet to be revealed.

In an interview with PRNewser's Joe Ciarallo, Van Veen explains the platform distribution model for his company's content as well as how he hopes to market the work. "We know how to market &#151 how to get the Web excited," said Van Veen, who is in his late 20s.

Maybe the most interesting part of the conversation came from Ciarallo's first question. Catching Van Veen somewhat off guard, Ciarallo asks the Web entrepreneur to explain his company in 10 seconds. Van Veen has said in previous interviews that if an idea can't be explained in 10 seconds or less, it won't make it on the Web. Increasingly, Web success is the overall marker for WIN, so be sure to watch and see what he said.

More: "College Humor: Exceedingly Legit"

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Way back when in 2007, we were one of the first outlets to tell you that Robert A.M. Stern had been hired to design the George W. Bush Presidential Center, then again earlier this year about its sudden increase in size and Laura Bush finding a landscape architect for the project (who, while we're mentioning Michael Van Valkenburg, was also just hired to work on Chicago's Grant Park). But other than those little bits and pieces, there hasn't been much news coming out of Southern Methodist University, where the center will be built. But now you can expect a lot more talk in the coming years, as this week Mrs. Bush revealed the plans for the new building and its surroundings. Personally, our review of Stern's work is that, well, it's fine. Perfectly pleasant, but likely nothing that future generations will be studying or getting excited about. That seems to be the consensus among most professional critics too. Christopher Hawthorne starts his review "George W. Bush was a lightning rod of a politician. His presidential library is meant to be anything but" and seems to keep to that theme throughout. Here in Chicago, Blair Kamin reports mostly on the news of the release, but does offer some small bits of evaluation, saying that the plans are slightly less than traditional, but "they are by no means as boldly modern as the bridge-inspired William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum in Little Rock, Ark." We're not anxiously awaiting its completion, like we are with some projects, but we'll hold off on any complete judgment until the building is finished, which is currently projected to be around 2013.

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Today's guest was author and Fortune Editor-at-large Geoff Colvin, whose book 'Talent is Overrated' leans on 30 years of scientific evidence to show that our belief that talent is inherent is misplaced. According to Colvin (and aforementioned research) talent tends to be fleeting whereas true skill is honed over hours and hours of training. The best example of this is probably Tiger Woods.

Practically speaking this means we can all aspire to greatness, with enough training. How much? If you believe Malcolm Gladwell, 1,000 hours a year (or about 3 hours per day) for 10 years. Sounds daunting because it is &#151 and ultimately it means most of us will only be marginally proficient despite our aspirations for greatness. Moral of the story, says Colvin: practice.

More: Episodes of the menu

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Last week marked the opening of starchitect Zaha Hadid's Maxxi, a museum housing contemporary art, in Rome. The NY Times resident critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff decided to open his recent (and glowing) review of the new building, "What would Pope Urban VIII have made of Maxxi....? My guess is that he would have been ecstatic." Funny that he should mention popes, because while Hadid couldn't go back in time to meet Urban VIII (she doesn't want to reveal that her spaceship has a time machine just yet), she is set to join a delegation of 262 artists to meet Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday in the Sistine Chapel. Granted, given the size of the visiting party (other participants in this very mixed bag include Andrea Bocelli and Salieri himself, F. Murray Abraham), Hadid and his holiness probably won't get to speak much ("Hey, I dig your building!" "Thanks, man!"), but it's still a nice mental picture to carry with you this weekend. For more reading, we recommend checking out the Providence Journal's David Brussart's anti-modernism screed against Hadid and her ilk, wherein he asks the pope "to not fall victim to the smooth rhetoric of modernist propaganda."

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Sad news to start off the day with. Late yesterday, it was reported that Jeanne-Claude, the French artist who was married to and collaborated with Christo on a wide-variety of massive projects that largely involved huge installations, like "The Umbrellas" in Japan and "The Gates" in New York's Central Park, has passed away due to complications from a ruptured brain aneurysm. Although frequently controversial, the pair showed incredible perseverance with their projects against what always seemed like insurmountable odds, and in the end were often rewarded with praise, even if not everyone passing by fully understood what they were going for (it wouldn't seem like it, but for some nice remembrances, check out their "Common Errors" page and read through the pages of misconceptions). On the artists' site, Christo has said the couple's work will continue, which we can assume he's referring to their planned work in the UAE and in Colorado. The Washington Post has put together this slideshow, taking a look at Jean-Claude's life. Here's a bit from the NY Daily News about Michael Bloomberg's response:

Mayor Bloomberg said Thursday he offered his condolences to Christo in a phone call. He praised them as visionaries who brightened the city and showed the world how art can transform an everyday view into something magical.

"It gave New Yorkers a whole different view of the city, of themselves. It helped tourism, but more than anything else, it expanded our minds and gave all of us for a number of days a chance to think about how big the world is, and Jean-Claude and Christo have really always thought bigger than the rest of us," Bloomberg said.

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Nothing like blasphemy in the morning, eh? This little girl's argument for the rejection of Christ is a convincing one, but a little weak when it comes to the logic factor. Both Christ and Bacon promise something we perceive as happiness. The former wants you to have forever-happiness (but the faith part means there's no guarantee) whereas with bacon, you get your pay-off immediately. It's a toss up.

As an aside, I happened to catch part of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "End of Days" last night, so I'm a little scared right now.

Via BuzzFeed

More: "KFC Creates Sandwich Stoners Everywhere Invented Years Ago"

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Word came in this morning that Razorfish created a new position, presumably to bring the agency further into the social media fold. The role has loosely been described to us as director of word-of-mouth/social-media, and has allegedly been given to a former Fleishman-Hillard SVP of Digital Communications. We're not sure which.

We've contacted both Fleishman Hillard (a PR firm) and Razorfish but the agencies declined to give a name. Can't ever be sure why with these things, but we thought you should know Razorfish is stepping into that pool. Our best Googling returned only males, and all other indications point to a female.

So who is this mystery person and why has it been so hard to learn her name? Not important, but Razorfish has a social media department. And a patented tool (patent pending!) to measure social media. Our social media is a solid 8 inches. That was a penis joke.

Also, if anyone knows who stole Shiv Singh's signed social media book from Picasso, please burn it. I mean return it.

Also also, a colleague points out that there's a hint of irony to a story about a woman whose new role is word of mouth related, whose employment we learned about through the very same method but couldn't get a word from anyone's mouth about her name. Expect a spash in PRWeek or AdAge post haste.

Update: PRNewser reveals that the new hire is Cristina Lawrence.

More: "Shiv Singh's Wise Words On Social Media"

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-Saatchi & Saatchi NY named AOR for Mead Johnson in the U.S. link

-Leo Burnett will offer pro bono agency services to small business owners who win "The Leos". link

-My big thrashed Greek wedding comes courtesy of Heineken. link

-Digitas puts Ellen DeGeneres in a GMC Terrain. link

-Fox unleashes a branding bonanza for Avatar. link

-Google proposes FDA-friendly online pharma ads. link

-AT&T, BK and Volvo are all buying into New Moon mania. link

-Intel kicks off a digital e-card holiday campaign. link

-Question mark suit guy Matthew Lesko starts an anti-advertising campaign. link

-Seatvertising commences. link

-NYC & Company launched a "hyperlocal, fully experiential holiday campaign. link

More: "Wednesday Odds and Ends"

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Effective January 4, 2010, current Ogilvy NY Chairman/Ogilvy North America CEO Carla Hendra will assume the post of Global Chairman of the agency's new Global Strategy & Innovation practice. According to the announce, the new unit was specifically built "to offer clients multidisciplinary strategic services that combine creativity with rigorous effectiveness."

At her new post, Hendra, who's been with Ogilvy for 14 years, will report directly to Global CEO Miles Young. In a statement, Young says, "Clients fundamentally want insights and ideas that accelerate their brands and business, and it is our goal to deliver on both superbly. As Ogilvy's primary driver of digital services, as well as founder of our strategic consulting business, Carla is the perfect candidate to advance innovation around the globe."

More: "Ogilvy Launches Big Apple Bike Share Program"

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