Stuart elliott

Stuart Elliott's In Advertising: Characters Welcome to Cut a Rug (or Cle... http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2010/04/12/business/advertisingemail...

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April 12, 2010

CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT

Characters Welcome to Cut a Rug (or Clean One)
By STUART ELLIOTT

WEBDENDAPeople and Accounts of Note in Advertising
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

The USA cable channel, in promoting series like “Burn Notice,” “Psych” and “White Collar,” proclaims, “Characters welcome.” That could be a motto for Madison Avenue, too, as more commercials feature recurring characters who can help spots stand out amid the clutter. Examples of characters who emote 30 seconds at a time includethe Postal Service employee extolling the virtues of Priority Mail flat-rate boxes (“If it fits, it ships”), the lonely Maytag repairman, the three amigos whose ardor for Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch and Raisin Bran Extra cereals gets them into comic predicaments and the over-enthusiastic pitchwoman for Orbit gum. Go to Complete Article
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Samantha Allen, who founded and ran PulseCommunications, Sydney, Australia, part of the Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide network, is moving to New York to become managing director for the global consumer marketing practice at Ogilvy Public Relations. She succeeds Barby K. Siegel, who left to join the Zeno Group, part of Daniel J. Edelman Inc., as chief executive. Ogilvy Public Relations is part of the Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide unit ofWPP. Mark Archer joined WorldLink, Los Angeles, in a new post, vice president for sales development. He has worked at companies like Adlink Interconnect, Comcast Spotlight Sales and NCC. More People and Accounts of Note

Media This Week
ADVERTISING

The Incidental Video Screen Is Seen by More Viewers Than Prime Time
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

Those who provide randomly encountered video — inmovies, gas stations and elsewhere — hope to get part of broadcasting’s ad dollars.
Accounts, People & Miscellany

Q. & A. With Stuart Elliott
A question here last week, asking why light beer commercials “always make their customers appear to be so stupid,” drew more comments than usual. What follows below are e-mail messages on the subject from a couple of agency creative executives. Q: (Reader)On the subject of beer ads, you’re right in your reply to the questioner that brands would be smart “not to depict everyone in beer ads as insensitive clods.” Because they aren’t: Ethnographies and in-bar research conducted by Y&R Chicago finds young men and women multidimensional, intelligent and craving to be portrayed in a more modern way. This is our summary of what they tell us: All guys arenot the same, so don’t treat us that way in advertising. We are a diverse bunch with varying interests and intelligence levels. We are not unilateral in that we all think nagging girlfriends, bimbos

News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

Sites that once embraced anonymous comments are revising their policies to hold users more accountable.

After iPad, RivalsOffer Variations on a Theme
By ASHLEE VANCE and NICK BILTON

Google, Microsoft, Nokia and Hewlett-Packard are developing products that show a desire to expand beyond their respective core businesses.

Viewer Age Rises With Leno Return
By BILL CARTER

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13/04/2010 19:53

Stuart Elliott's In Advertising: Characters Welcome to Cut a Rug (or Cle...http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2010/04/12/business/advertisingemail...

and pratfall humor is funny. And while we do think it’s funny once in a while, it’s not all the time. We may love “South Park” and “Family Guy,” but we also love Jon Stewart and “30 Rock.” So are beer commercials really the arena where the battle of the sexes should continue to rage? Are men really more interested in a relationship with their beer than...