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- "Real" champagne takes another swing at Calif. bubbly
The battle continues between French interests keen on distinguishing bubbly from the Champagne region of France from foreign competitors' sparkling wines, especially those from California. The latest volley comes from the Champagne Bureau USA trade group, which is running ads with a champagne-formed question mark and the copy "Maine lobster from Kansas? Of course not. Champagne only comes from Champagne, France." Beverage consultant Arthur Shapiro is unconvinced that the ads will resonate. "California has great sparkling wines, and the bubbles are the same. This concept is foolish because the French growers are talking to themselves," he says. Adweek
(2/21)      
| Agency News | | |
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- Digital agency Attention is bringing retro social design to its site
Digital agency Attention is reproducing the look of the original, 2004-era Facebook on its own site, replete with a shot of Martha Stewart's arrest and a profile of Curtis Hougland, the agency's founder. Hougland says the Attention is trying to "prove the point that tech comes and goes, but social behavior is permanent. We're trying to contrast how short-lived tech is, but how long-lasting the needs to socialize and share are." The campaign will continue with reproductions of an old-school AOL Instant Messenger chat box and a Friendster profile. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)
(2/21)
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- Hyundai draws on film world for Oscar-night pitches
Hyundai's "Big Voices, Big Places" media strategy matches up well with the Academy Awards telecast, writes Karl Greenberg. The exclusive auto sponsor of the awards will air two preshow spots and seven commercials during the show. Three new spots for the night all play off movie themes: An ad for Equus parodies movie trailers, a spot for Genesis has the sedan being followed by paparazzi and the Elantra is touted using a Hollywood-type "elevator pitch." MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily
(2/21)
- CeeLo Green helps bring his sake brand to TV
Ty Ku is launching the first national TV campaign in the U.S. for a sake brand, writes Andrew Adam Newman. The Filter Creative Group spots star singer and brand co-owner CeeLo Green, who introduces the Japanese tradition of pouring sake for others with the tagline "Share on." AMC, BET and the Food Network are running the spots initially. "We want to be the first premium sake call brand," says Andrew Chrisomalis, Ty Ku's CEO. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(2/21)
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- NBCU's Curve Films spotlights growing "Indie Women" demo
Curve Films, the NBCUniversal unit created to provide innovative ways to communicate metrics information to potential ad buyers, has unveiled its second short film. "The Indie Women" focuses on the phenomenon of women in their late 20s and older who are single and do not have children. More than 30 million American women are part of the demographic, and they "overindex in the consumption of certain products: fashion, travel, household products, health and nutrition," says Linda Yaccarino, NBCU's president for ad sales. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Media Decoder blog
(2/21)
| Trends & Research | | |
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- Clouds are parting for packaged-food executives
Executives of packaged-food companies, meeting for a conference in Boca Raton, Fla., were optimistic about an improving economy -- as well as opportunities to trim marketing budgets. "Consumption is up 8% in the first half; advertising spending is actually down 18%," said Denise Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup, who credited football-themed marketing of its Chunky soup brand. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)
(2/21)
| Marketer News | | |
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- Mattel huddles with moms about buying Hot Wheels for their sons
Mattel executives met with moms during the recent Toy Fair in Manhattan about how to engage with their sons while they play with Hot Wheels. Mom "has never played with them. She doesn't get why cars, engines, and all the shapes and crashing and smashing are so cool," says Mattel Vice President Matt Petersen. But moms still buy most of the toys, and Mattel is finding commercials for Hot Wheels and other toy car brands increasingly less effective, writes Matt Townsend. Bloomberg Businessweek
(2/21)
| Technology | | |
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- Barneys revamps its mobile strategy with optimized-site shopping
Barneys New York is touting its shopping-enabled, mobile-optimized site for the first time in its latest campaign running in the New York Times' mobile fashion section. The black-and-white mobile banner simply reads "Shop now" alongside the brand's logo. "Offering a mobile-optimized site is a solid strategy for most retailers, since consumers are on mobile devices. This is especially important for luxury retailers," writes Erin Shea. Luxury Daily
(2/22)
| Association News | | |
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Poll Results: Which digital industry topic are you most interested in reading about in 2013?
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Mobile |
40.43%
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Social media |
31.91%
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Big Data |
27.66%
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NYC Seminar Alert -- How to Sell Creative Work to Clients
Sell your creative ideas effectively to achieve your goals. Join Filament President Mark Schnurman for this all-day workshop hosted at 4A's headquarters in midtown Manhattan, where you will learn persuasive techniques to better sell traditional and digital creative and establish your credibility. Become more engaging and enthusiastic and find out how to respond to difficult client questions.
Member and non-member pricing available for this Feb. 28 event. Sign up today.
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Sponsorship Opportunities Available for Transformation: The Idea Effect
 Become a sponsor at one of the biggest industry conferences of 2013 alongside Facebook, Tumblr and Google. Transformation is back for its fourth year and runs March 10 to 13 in New Orleans.
A host of major advertisers, along with senior agency and media executives, are on the 2013 conference schedule, including: Brian Colbert, vice president of mobile at Pandora; Laura Lang, CEO of Time Inc.; Michael Zimbalist, vice president of research and development operations at The New York Times; and Nancy Hill, president and CEO of 4A's.
Visit the conference website for more details.
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