Jennifer Wells surveys the best Canadian commercials aired during the Olympics, critiques a new ad for Coca-Cola and reports on a guerrilla promotion for Fido.

Read More >> The use of in-store digital ad screens that target customers based on where they are, what they touch or what time of day it is growing. And the marketers behind them are thinking big.



YCD Multimedia, a company that provides Dunkin' Donuts with its digital ad screens "is in the midst of deploying facial-recognition technologies that can classify people into certain demographic groups by identifying their approximate age and their sex."

Read More >> Interbrand-creation Brandchannel.com has just announced the winners of its fourth annual Brandcameo awards.

"A total of 52 films were No. 1 during their respective weeks at the U.S .box office during the period of January 2007 through June 2008. Several films reigned for more than one week.

"In these..., [we] spotted 1,251 brands. This works out to approximately 24.1 discernable brands per film, completely average for the millennium."

Read More >> Creativity's recent round table on the state of ad production is a long read but a good read for anyone with skin in the game.

The sister publication to Advertising Age brings together some of the industry's top players to uncover how "the duties of the production company and the producer--on both the 'traditional' and interactive side--have become more demanding and diverse."

Read More >>

Jennifer Wells profiles Montreal-based agency Sid Lee and, in Created, commends a new Weston Bakeries ad that depicts winsome young Canadians preparing for the 2010 Games.

Meanwhile, in Noted, Wells reports on the reunion of aHarrod & Mirlin founders Brian Harrod and Ian Mirlin.

Read More >> Last week, we told you about a BusinessWeek story that claimed some megabrands were rethinking Olympic sponsorship. This week, we bring you another BusinessWeek article--one with a decidedly more glass-half-full POV.


In Learning from the Olympics, the mag looks at the benefits of being part of the Games, particularly when a company has an innovation to flaunt.

Read More >> Monday's Ad Age includes What Obama Can Teach You About Millennial Marketing--a meaty little piece that tries to explain why Obama's marketing is so effective with young people but also how it could backfire with older voters. At the same time, writer Peter Feld manages to extrapolate from this example to a bigger picture that reflects subtle distinctions between connecting with Millennials and doing it with Gen Xers or Boomers.

Read More >>

Grant Robertson brings us a Toronto-based agency with its roots in Winnipeg and its future in...Dubai? It's an intriguing look at what sells and what doesn't in the Middle Eastern ad world (hint: sex doesn't).

As well, David Michaels gives us his takes on Universal Pictures and NBC's trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and an Old Spice ad that features Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser, M.D., fame.

Read More >> Because it might be Casual Friday where you are, something about dress codes.

In particular, a story in which The Globe's Amy Verner compares the codes of 60s-era Mad Men-style agencies and those of today, where it seems pretty much anything goes.



Read More >>

Some current Olympic sponsors have opted out of supporting the next set of Games, BusinessWeek reports.

Among them are Lenovo and Kodak, while Johnson & Johnson and Manulife Financial have yet to commit one way or the other.

Why opt out of another chance to strut your brand in front of a riveted global audience? For some, the payoff's just not there.

Read More >> How sad. Another brand bites the dust.

Reuters reports that Ascendia Brands, owner of iconic brands like Calgon and Mr. Bubble bath foam, "filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday."

In lieu of a moment of silence, those old enough to remember the following might just want to sing along.



Read More >>

Friday's Persuasion page includes Jennifer Wells' article about River West Brands, a company that specializes in bringing dead brands back to life, and Grant Robertson's take on ads for the Chevy Volt.

Read More >>