What can I do to trade the awful and endless “Viva Viagra” ads for something more like this? Seriously, I’m desperate.

Creative

“Ridiculously Thick Yogurt” is the tagline but really it’s not really needed, the image says everything. The branding partnerships are great, the executions are simple, intriguing and address product attributes. A really winning campaign all around.

Recent inside-cover flap of the New Yorker

Older executions

Creative

Yahoo is set to launch a new product they’re calling ‘Rich Ads in Search’ on monday. This new effort is clearly an attempt to wrestle some market share from Google which only allows text ads on its search engine result pages. Brand advertisers will especially like it but consumers could be turned off. Either way, kudos to Yahoo for trying something new and beating Google to this innovation.

Industry News

Two pics, a guy looking for ad agency work in the 1930’s and his contemporary counterpart.

via Tribble

Economic Meltdown

InBev is shaking things up with Anheuser-Busch’s agencies by moving from retainer based compensation to paying agencies for work rendered. This is a move being played out across many industries as just about all marketer’s attempt to cut cost.

full story at Ad Age

Economic Meltdown, Industry News

Coca-Cola told investors yesterday that it has delivered on its promise to reduce marketing costs by reducing its agency roster worldwide. CEO Muhtar Kent said Coke has slashed its agency roster by more than half.

“We have consolidated our agencies,” he said. “Agency numbers have gone down by more than half, and I think we have driven a lot of efficiencies in our marketing, our market research costs, in our marketing over the past 12 months.”

Economic Meltdown, Industry News

Having recently given up the ghost on their print ad business Google recently announced they are abandoning their radio advertising business too.

“While we’ve devoted substantial resources to developing these products and learned a lot along the way, we haven’t had the impact we hoped for,” Google vice president of product management Susan Wojcicki wrote in a post. “So, we have decided to exit the broadcast radio business and focus our efforts in online streaming audio.”

Economic Meltdown, Industry News

Deft Agency favorite Barbarian group is number 29 on Fast Company’s Fast 50 list for 2009. This announcement comes on the heels of being named digital agency of the year for 2008 by Creativity Magazine. Well-deserved accolades, keep up the good work guys.

Industry News

Starbucks is set to launch a new ’soluble’ coffee product next month. ‘Soluble’ is of course a euphemism for ‘instant’, which carries a stigma for many people, especially in the United States. Is Starbucks trying to overcome the low-end image of instant coffee, making an international play or just grasping at straws?

Industry News

It’s unlikely you’ve heard of many of these but it’s only Feb. 9. List copied from Folio.

Advanced Manufacturing
Ascent Magazine
Asian Week
Bank Advisor Magazine
Book World
Chiropractic Products
Cigar Report Magazine
Comic Foundry
Corporate Leader
Country Home
Criticas
Dealmaker
Digital Graphics
Domino
Electrical Contracting Products
Florida Designers Review
ForbesLife Mountain Time
Furniture Style
The Good Life
Green Business
IndyCar Series
Ignite Your Faith
Metal Edge
Metal Maniacs
Network Cabling
JPG Magazine
Locus Suspectus
Longboard Magazine
New York Look
NWA WorldTraveler
Pacific Magazine
Players Club, The
Private Air
Realms of Fantasy
Redmond Developer News
Relix Magazine
Scrye
Sign Tech
Simple Scrapbooks
Smart
Teen
Timber Homes Illustrated
Trader Monthly
Traffic World
Wondertime
Workplace
Wraps

Economic Meltdown, Industry News