Breaking News

Tobacco companies are running TV ads for e-cigs
The tobacco industry has returned to the airwaves more than 40 years after the federal government banned cigarette ads on radio and TV. Blu eCigs, a unit of Lorillard, aired ads in October with actor Stephen Dorff, and R.J. Reynolds in August will run commercials for its Vuse e-cigarette. The category is being regulated at the local and state level, with rules also anticipated from the federal Food and Drug Administration. CNNMoney (6/11)

Company News

Dove scores a second viral hit
Unilever's Dove has scored a rare second viral hit with its "Real Beauty Sketches" campaign from Ogilvy Brazil, already one of the most shared and viewed videos of all time. There was an eight-year gap between that hit and its predecessor, however. "I don't think really great creativity is ever easy," said Steve Miles, global senior vice president. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (6/11)

GM endorses Interpublic's Rogue concept with Cadillac creative
General Motors has handed Cadillac creative to a new Interpublic consortium called Rogue, composed of talent from Campbell Ewald, Lowe and Hill Holiday working in multiple cities. Cadillac was moved to Fallon three years ago by Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick, who has since left the company. The Wall Street Journal (6/11)

Market Trends

ComScore: Most display ads go unseen
A combination of "technical glitches, user habits and fraud" resulted in 54% of all online display ads not being seen by anyone, writes Suzanne Vranica on a comScore study covering a recent nine-month period. "We were shocked to see what was out of view, and when we go after a certain demo, what is not hitting a certain demographic target," said Heather Dumford, global marketing manager at ConAgra, whose ads displayed in non-viewable areas of the screen 30% of the time, according to the study. Google is working to eliminate the problem, and Unilever is among the brands who improved viewing by addressing the issues with publishers. The Wall Street Journal (6/11)

Auto industry is expected to spend $7.80 billion on digital by 2017
Digital advertising by the combined U.S. auto industry is expected to rise from $5.07 billion this year to $7.80 billion by 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 12.8%, according to eMarketer. Direct-response advertising makes up the lion's share at 60%, with brand-oriented campaigns making up the rest. Meanwhile, auto dealerships have shifted spending from newspapers to other media, including Internet advertising. eMarketer (6/12)

Interactive

Oreo's interactive mobile campaign captures attention
An interactive Oreo Cookie vs. Creme mobile ad campaign nearly doubled user interaction by shifting from standard banner ads to ones that called for users to swipe and tap their screens. "Marketers must look beyond the standard mobile banner ad because it's a non-optimized advertising experience that fails to deliver an innovative experience that has positive impact from a branding perspective,” said Cella Irvine, CEO at Vibrant Media. Mobile Marketer (6/12)

Twitter, Everyday Health target health-trend tweets
Twitter has signed on with Everyday Health, a publisher, to send out health alerts and targeted advertising based on the monitoring of 2 million daily tweets related to health. "We'll be looking at the key health terms flaring up every day, and when something is indexing in an abnormal way we'll let Twitter know and we'll supply content about what to do," Everyday Health President Michael Keriakos said. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (6/11)

Jell-O's "Jigglevision" shakes the dust off the old decoder ring
Crispin Porter + Bogusky's "Jigglevision" concept for Jell-O allows people to send coded messages to friends via Facebook. An online coder scrambles the message such that it can only be read through a red Jell-O snack lid. Adweek/AdFreak blog (6/11)

AAF Spotlight

AAF Thought Leadership presents: The 2013 Digital Resource Guide
Industry trends and best practices from digital executives of top brands and agencies. Featuring a special report from Google: "The Engagement Project."

The guide is available to download for FREE.

2013 Diversity Achievement and Mosaic Awards & Forum
The AAF hosted its first Mosaic Awards & Forum program in 2001 to recognize successful multicultural marketing and diversity efforts. In 2004, the AAF and its District Two joined forces to host the Diversity Achievement and Mosaic Awards & Forum during Advertising Week New York. The partnership has proven to be very successful and the Diversity Achievement and Mosaic Awards & Forum has established itself as Advertising Week New York's premier diversity and multicultural event.

View the Diversity Achievement award categories and submit your work today!

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Connie Frazier, chief operating officer, at cfrazier@aaf.org or (202) 898-0089. Read more information.

SmartQuote

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance." -- Bruce Barton, member, Advertising Hall of Fame Share: