A World Without Advertising

Keith Blanchard, 11.25.2009

Keith Blanchard is the North American Executive Director of Story Worldwide.

Whether the average person is exposed to 3000-4000 commercial messages a day or 5,000 or some other vague, suspiciously round number, it seems abundan...

Do Whateveryouwannukah? Why I Won't Be Fa-la-la-la-la-ing In To The Gap This Holiday Season (VIDEO)

Cathleen Falsani, 11.24.2009

Chicago Sun-Times columnist and author

I'm all for inclusiveness and multiculturalism, as much as I am for inexpensive cotton T-shirts and reindeer-themed boxer shorts. But this year's Gap "holiday" ad campaign just rubs me the wrong way.

Mad Men: Three Seasons On and Looking Forward

William Bradley, 11.22.2009

California-based Political Analyst NewWestNotes.com

I've been thinking about the arc of the series, from 1960 to 1963. Where has the series been, where is it now, and where might it be going with creator Matthew Weiner?

Poop Culture

Robert Rosenthal, 11.20.2009

Food Writer, Producer, Host

It seems inevitable that the potty is going public and the continued descent into indignity will be fed by our insatiable consumption of crap TV and tabloid fodder.

"Fat Chick" Finally Gets Its "Fat Chance"

Lorraine Duffy Merkl, 11.19.2009

Author, "Fat Chick"

At age 51, I never thought I'd be "debuting". In fact, I thought I'd be on the downward slope of a successful advertising career. But, plans were meant for changing.

Leo Burnett USA Chief Creative Officer Susan Credle on The Interview Show

Mark Bazer, 11.19.2009

Mark Bazer writes a syndicated humor column and hosts The Interview Show in Chicago

Susan Credle, the new chief creative officer for Leo Burnett USA, stopped by The Interview Show, hosted by Mark Bazer, at The Hideout in Chicago, to d...

Strike a Pose with Daffy's Dancers

Neal Rodriguez, 11.18.2009

Online Marauder

Daffy's launched an advertising 2.0 campaign with their live "Fitting Dance" mini-musical. Prior to a screening of the new film Amelia, Daffy's dancer...

Will Obama Help Change Asia's Racism?

David A. Love, 11.21.2009

Writer and human rights advocate based in Philadelphia

President Obama's visit to Asia showed how long a journey it's been since the 1955 Bandung Conference, the historic meeting of African and Asian states striving for self-determination.

Mad Men and the Decline of America

Vivian Norris de Montaigu, 11.16.2009

Based in Paris and holds a PhD in Cinema Studies

As Don Draper reminds us again and again, love is something a guy like him creates to sell us nylons. We buy, we consume, we dream, but we need to build something real again.

Marketing in Disguise

Sarah O'Leary, 11.16.2009

Author: BRANDWASHED, Fall '09. Owner: Logic (thelogicagency.com)

When marketers knowingly play in the darker parts of the gray to drive sales, they're doing a disservice to the consumer and the industry. A good deal not a good deal when it misinforms consumers.

Digital: Beyond Our Control, But Within Our Reach

Chris Curtin and Bob Greenberg, 11.10.2009

Marketers should create campaigns and branded platforms that explain how to get more value out of products, and "why" someone should have them in the first place.

Come To Think of It -- eBay?

Fortune's Stanley Bing, 11.03.2009

Fortune Magazine Columnist

What do you think? Will "Come to think of it -- eBay" drive you like a hot, dry lemming to the ocean of objects on sale at that worthy destination?

Setting the Record Straight on the FTC's Testimonial and Endorsements Guide

Mary K. Engle, 10.30.2009

Director, Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Advertising Practices

Randall Rothenberg recently took a shot at the FTC on the Huffington Post for its newly introduced Testimonial and Endorsements Guide. Here is our response.

How the Internet Got Lost and Why Google's GPS Won't Show Us the Way Out

Michael Wolff, 10.29.2009

Author of Newser.com's Off the Grid column

What we have here is a perfect example of the great Internet ad paradigm: Make something nifty, make it free, get a lot of people to use it, and then sell some ads around it.

Targeted, Hyper-Personalized, Real-Time Ads - Please Come to Me!

Tanja Aitamurto, 10.28.2009

Silicon Valley-based Finnish writer

Are clicks the right way to measure the efficiency of online advertising? And, is online advertising efficient at all? In my case, it doesn't seem to be.

Social Purpose Becomes the New Social Status in Business

Mitchell Markson, 10.21.2009

Global Chief Creative Officer and President of Brand Consulting, Edelman

While full-on capitalism may still be our love story (I hear you Michael Moore), a kinder, gentler, more benevolent and yet still profit-driven form of marketing and business is on the rise.

Target Women: Beauty Contraptions

Sarah Haskins, 10.18.2009

Host of “infoMania’s” "Target Women" on Current TV

Beauty is an important part of American culture. But so are machines. And when they get together...wow.

Living In the Real World

Jarvis Coffin, 10.14.2009

CEO & President, Burst Media

Advertising must live in the real world. Occasionally, that means dealing with the abuses of the unscrupulous. At some point, it also has to mean dealing with reality.

Mad Men: "Wee Small Hours" -- HuffPost Review

William Bradley, 10.12.2009

California-based Political Analyst NewWestNotes.com

Listening to Martin Luther King on the murder of four girls in a Birmingham church, Betty opines that maybe this civil rights thing is premature. But Betty should know that a dream deferred can dry up like a raisin in sun.

What Michelle Obama Can Teach Us That Models Can't

Adia Colar, 10.14.2009

Publicist, Freelance Writer

When I was looking at a lot of the models from Fashion Week, I thought the same thing: She looks like girls I met in treatment. She needs to be hospitalized right now. In an inpatient facility. For months.

What Brands Can Learn From Online Dating

Christine Huang, 10.12.2009

Head of Cultural Trends at GlobalHue

No one likes to be talked down to -- whether by a suitor or a company. Speaking with humor and candor will sometimes work; but in general, what we want and expect is intelligent messaging.