by Herman Manson (@marklives) Two very interesting but diverging stories ran on Thursday, 7 November 2013, in, ironically, two media products that also shares a newsroom. Both cover the MetropolitanRepublic/Loeries awards scandal, which saw the agency stripped of its awards for entering work that did not meet entry criteria, and then blaming its juniors, the broader ad industry and the Loerie organisers when caught out (it did eventually take full responsibility for its actions).
Monthly archives: November 2013
Creative Circle sanctions MetropolitanRepublic
On October the 28, 2013 the Creative Circle received a letter of complaint from the Loerie Awards regarding the recent behaviour of one of our members, Metropolitan Republic, hereafter referred to as MR.
Shelf Life: Dove mirrors positive reinforcement for women
Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s pick of new product, packaging and design launches this week: caring for moms and tots — Mommy Care launches in South; Africa; Pyrotec has the on-pack label market zipped up; Dove mirrors positive reinforcement for women; and Hungry Lion hunts with Moving Tactics.
The Ad Contrarian: The ‘engagement’ farce at the YouTube Music Awards
by Bob Hoffman (@adcontrarian) Online advocates have been trying to convince us that the proper measurement of online success is “engagement.” Engagement is a very imprecise and confusing term. Nobody can agree on what engagement means, how to measure it, or what value it has.
Design Annotator: Bilingual reklame and African design
by Uno de Waal (@Unodewaal) In our roundup this week we bring you: Mack Magagane Photography; print ads by Joe Public Ignite for Bryanston Parallel Medium School; Russian Bear #UrbanExpressions campaign; Southern Guild at MOAD; Braamfontein coffee shop Vélo; controversial Patrick Dinneen; creative property developer Jonathan Liebmann; and the inaugural Cape Town Art Fair.
Ad of the Week: Stop, start. Cry, sleep.
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) VW’s a brand with considerable experience and wisdom, which is possibly why the vehicle manufacturer manages to be both self-effacing and to create a charming commercial, “Volkswagen — Think Blue: Baby” from Adam&EveDDB, that beautifully positions its new, green innovation.
Media Future: BlackBerry’s corporate battery dies
by Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) If you like rollercoaster rides, you should ask BlackBerry for a job. Not that it’s hiring off the streets right now, but the CEO job is available, for one.
Thorsten Heins was fired on Monday after presiding over the collapse of BlackBerry’s customer base during the past two years. His interim replacement, John Chen, is best known for turning Sybase from a failing business into a leading enterprise systems company by taking a massive bet on mobile at a time when it was dismissed by most.
How Twitter challenged the illusion of journalistic omniscience
by John Jewell, Cardiff University. Twitter values itself at US$12 billion and expects to raise up to US$1.3 billion in sales. But let’s forget about the money and think about Twitter’s impact in its relatively short lifetime of seven years.
Letter from NY: Matthew Bull’s house rules for entering award shows
by Matthew Bull (@StixBull) When it comes to entering awards with our work, we have a simple set of house rules we like to remind ourselves about. Here, for the first time ever, we publish them.
Africa Style: Why marketers can’t just delegate the Big Idea
by Masingita Mazibuko. It’s as easy to confuse the romance of the wedding day with the realities of marriage as it is to think that, once you’ve hit upon a communication idea that excites you, the job is done.