Jennifer Wells looks at the Cube, a new car from Nissan that will be introduced to Canada using no traditional media at all. In Created, she tells us that Telus' Koodo campaign has been refreshed a year after launching. And in Noted, Wells reports that a new line of private label men's activewear from Quebec retailer Simon is about to hit the market.

Read More >> LIKE A DRAG QUEEN MISSING A TOOTH, Times Square has three blank billboards, and they've been that way for about a month. Ordinarily, signs in New York's glittery canyon are rarely vacant for more than a day.

A sales representative for Lamar Outdoor Advertising said he expects the signs to be booked within a few weeks, according to Mediabuyerplanner.com. The price is $100,000 (U.S.) for four weeks, but Lamar is willing to negotiate.

The outdoor media industry is hurting in the United States; overall revenue for both CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor slipped about 15 per cent last quarter.

Read More >> Because it's Friday, and because the Sandbox is still celebrating Barbie's birthday--something fun.

Read More >> MRI Starch Communications has just named its 10 most-engaging print ads of 2008 in Ad Age.

The firm, which specializes in market research about print advertising effectiveness, "considered 8,076 one-page and two-page ads that appeared in 202 magazine issues. It then selected the top ads in each of 10 major categories. All the selected ads were thoroughly read by more than half of those who initially noticed them," MRI Starch senior VP Michal Galin writes in the magazine.

Read More >> Our friends at Media in Canada have introduced a new series that's sure to be of interest to marketers, advertisers and, of course, media buyers and planners.

As they put it:

Every Friday, MIC is inviting guest curators to round up the best and brightest examples from the mediaverse for a little show-and-tell session--everything from the campaigns that most impress them to revolutionary new tools--called MICpicks. We know media is cool, so we're giving it a cool-hunting forum to share Really Important Things That Are Happening Out There, and/or identify the work that exemplifies Really Good Media Thinking.

The feature kicks off with Mike Sharma, VP and GM of Fjord Interactive, the online business unit of Cossette.

Read More >> Jennifer Wells interviews Venture Communications president Arlene Dickinson, a Season Four backer on CBC's Dragon's Den. In Created, Wells reports that Fido has adopted "a very eggy yellow" as its new signature colour. And in Noted, Wells scolds the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, which has just released its list of Obie nominees, but neglected to post their entries on its website.

Read More >> OH, JOY--INTERNET MARKETERS, IN AN effort to pump life into Web advertising, are experimenting with bigger, bolder, more interactive formats.

The Online Publishers Association this week released the formats, and 27 top U.S. Internet publishers--including The New York Times, CNN and ESPN--say they will use them, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The three new types of ads are the "fixed panel," which looks like part of the page but scrolls up and down as a user does; the "XXL box," in which users can turn pages within the ad; and the "pushdown," which opens to display a larger ad.

Read More >> The Chronicle Herald's Roger Taylor recently chatted with Bank of Nova Scotia president and CEO Rick Waugh, who maintains that Scotiabank has no plans to abandon its "You're Richer Than You Think" slogan.

Taylor writes that "Waugh says the bank is happy with the campaign, even in these tough times; it builds confidence by encouraging people to not be afraid to take a look at their investments because the situation probably isn't as bad as they think."

Read More >> Here's something to perk up your Monday morning: a short history of Barbie TV ads, courtesy of Slate.

After all, it is her birthday.

Read More >> LOOK OUT, FACEBOOK IS MAKING CHANGES AGAIN. In a redesign to debut next week, the social media website will give brand marketers more flexibility--and possibly the power to annoy average users.

Branded pages, which until now have been passive destinations, will more closely resemble the average person's Facebook profile.

In addition, public figures and companies will soon have the ability to become more active publishers, broadcasting frequent messages in real time as regular users do.

The key to social harmony here is whether brands can be trusted to restrain themselves. Predictions, anyone?

Read More >> Jennifer Wells looks at the state of cinema advertising and concludes that Canadian advertisers may be missing out on an opportunity. In Created, Wells brings us KFC's video response to the pot-shot Mel Gibson took at the company during a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance. And in Noted, Wells wistfully reports that the awards gala for the Obies, "the oldest creative award in the world of advertising," has been cancelled.


Read More >> Marketers who push the boundaries of social media are among our industry's boldest trailblazers.

But you know the old saying about trailblazers: "You can always tell who the pioneers are because they have arrows in their back."

Now that its Skittles home page has been revamped to include posts from social-networking sites and other user-created content, Mars might be one such pioneer.



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