Ad Age recently honoured 16 of media's "most innovative thinkers" at its annual Media Mavens luncheon.

During the event, the trade mag collected "six bits of wisdom..., including what...clients are looking for, what the necessary elements for a successful social media campaign are, how to evolve a well-known brand into a services company and what technologies have the potential to be successful marketing mediums."

Read More >> Pantone LLC, "the global authority on color," announced yesterday that you can colour 2010 turquoise.

Not just any turquoise, of course. Rather, the colour of the coming year will be Pantone 15-5519.

Read More >> It's that time of year again. No, we're not talking about holiday office parties and Secret Santa shopping (although those are pretty big right now too).

December is when media enterprises announce their "Best Of" lists for the 12 months that have passed, and gaze into their crystal balls for the 12 to come.

Among these enterprises is SEO.com, which announced its top 10 Internet marketing strategies for 2009 earlier today.

Read More >> Marketing magazine has just announced "its coveted 'Of the Year' titles: Sid Lee is Marketing's Agency of the Year, the Canadian Tourism Commission is Marketer of the Year, and CBC was named Media Player of the Year."

In a separate profile of Sid Lee, Marketing agency reporter Jeromy Lloyd reports that the Montreal-based agency enjoyed a stellar 2009. In addition to several groundbreaking campaigns, the firm "opened a production company, Jimmy Lee; launched Sid Lee Architecture; acquired a minority stake in a 'nutri-cosmetic' company and won new accounts with eight major international brands, including Eurostar, won by its Paris office which opened earlier this year."

Read More >> Simon Houpt reports on the campaign for the upcoming climate change campaign conference in Copenhagen. In Created, he brings us two online ads for Budweiser that use saucy double entendres to make their points. In Noted, he writes that Ross Petty's "annual holiday pantomime at Toronto's Elgin Theatre revels in its blurring of art and commerce: Product placement is, according to the critics, sometimes the most entertaining part of the show." And in Quoted, Houpt asks, "Can you tell the difference between a luxury handbag and a fake?"

Read More >> Emboldened by our new-found frugality, it seems we consumers now want downtrodden companies to actually pay us to watch their ads. A global survey by marketing research firm Synovate finds that although more than two-thirds of us think there are too many ads on television and try to avoid them by flipping channels, 42 per cent of us would gladly watch more ads if companies would make it worth our while, perhaps in the form of a lower cable or Internet bill. So just to recap: Lower our cable bills and we promise not to use the skip function on our DVRs.

Read More >> Because it's Friday, something fun. And also because, hey, who doesn't like hamsters?



The video is part of a larger campaign for Drench, a bottled water that "comes from a spring deep within the rolling hills of Yorkshire."

The company's website invites you to "meet the band," and watch videos of hamster hopefuls who auditioned, but didn't quite make the cut.

Read More >> In a special report for Brandweek, Brian Morrisey looks at some the best branded iPhone apps, as well as some missed opportunities.

Morrisey, who is sister publication Adweek's digital editor, praises offerings from Amazon, Bank of America, Kraft and more in major consumer categories like retail, financial services and consumer packaged goods.

He also offers some advice for brand managers and agencies trying to capitalize on the iPhone app phenomenon.

"One mistake brands make is thinking they can, in essence, create their own media properties," Medialets CEO Eric Litman tells him.

Read More >> Rumours about the true cause of Tiger Woods' car accident aren't likely to seriously damage his value as a corporate spokesman, Brandweek reports.

A number of experts and existing sponsors have already come out in support of the golf icon, the trade mag says. "The only danger for Woods involves any offers that are currently on the table."

But the CEO of Leverage Agency, isn't even convinced that future deals will be jeopardized. "'Look at the other stars that have had worse incidents that have dampened their reputations [and rebounded],'" he says.

Read More >> Simon Houpt profiles Virgin's iconic Richard Branson. In Created, he commends Heineken's KnowTheSigns.com, which aims to prevent holiday merrymakers from overindulging. In Noted, Houpt reports on "a clap-happy little ditty for a Credit Canada commercial, sung by the little-known artist Michelle Hardin." And in Quoted, he brings us a study that finds that "digital moms, on average, spend 3.1 hours per day, six days a week, using the Internet for leisure purposes."

Read More >> Ketchup maker to Heinz it up
You know ketchup is savoury, but did you know it's also a saviour? (For the ad world, that is.) Heinz said this week it will spend about $400-million (U.S.) on marketing during the current fiscal year, an increase of about 15 per cent from last year and almost 50 per cent more than five years ago. The company said the recession has eaten into profits because consumers are showing a preference for less expensive private label products over national brands. Are we the only ones thinking Heinz is missing an opportunity to remind people that, in tight times, they can always afford ketchup soup?

Read More >> Because it's Friday, something fun.

In this case, a video that promotes travel in a non-cliched way. To wit:



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