Google's new humorous spot from Arts & Letters for its Chromebook shows White Walkers from "Game of Thrones" making a Slides presentation to organize their army. "If You Want to Conquer Westeros" is set to "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner and shows the Night King logging in to his account and selecting "Iceberg" as a font.
ESPN Creativeworks and AT&T/DIRECTV, with Big Block, have partnered on a series of 30-second spots that will air during each "College Gameday" show this season. The ads show college football fans demonstrating quirky ways of celebrating their teams.
American Express' new push from Digitas stars Tina Fey humorously explaining why the brand's Pay It Plan It credit card feature is the sensible choice for large purchases. The campaign is aimed at debt-averse millennials and is running across digital, social, over-the-top, mobile and traditional TV including Comedy Central, ESPN, CBS, Food Network and NBC.
Turner has unveiled an internal creative unit to help advertisers create original content across its networks including truTV, Adult Swim, TNT and TBS. Turner Ignite Studios will focus on creating "social-first" and "client-first" branded content spanning drama, animation, comedy and live action.
Alison Weissbrot reviews how three of the biggest ad holding companies have sold off assets in the third quarter, including Omnicom's disposal of 19 companies that has led to a 7,000 headcount reduction. WPP has sold 15 companies, including AppNexus and Globant, to save $867 million, while Publicis is shedding its health care division.
Startups and traditional brands are still investing in direct response TV ads because they are a cost-effective way to reach mass audiences and provide better targeting and measurement than traditional TV spots, writes Bill Cogar. "With creative messaging, frequency and the right channels, DRTV campaigns have the potential to reach and engage potential and existing customers in a relevant, customized manner," he writes.
Four key traits of a great leader are trustworthiness, emotional intelligence, authenticity and ability to manage conflict effectively. Co-workers and managers are constantly judging these characteristics to gauge future management potential in those around them, points out career coach Warren Wright.
