Tip of the hat, or a Bronx cheer part ii

[by Todd] Time for some quickies.

A tip of the hat to BBDO CEO Andrew Robertson, who in his address at the 4As conference now underway in Scottsdale noted:

“We are living in a digital world. Not defined by digital media, but by what consumers can do with digital media... They are either engaged or not engaged. On or off. Their engagement can, increasingly, no longer be bought. It has to be earned.”

Hey, it's a start, but what is your behemoth agency going to do about that Mr. Robertson?

A Bronx cheer to Direct Revenue, which was sued by NY Attorney General for allegedly distributing spyware in the guise of games and search tools. The pop-up ad vendor accused the AG of abusing the public "by creating an atmosphere of hysteria, confusion and inaccuracy" by labeling their products spyware.

So saying you peddling software for unwanted pop-ups is okay. But calling it out  as spy ware is crossing the line?

A tip of the hat to Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., publisher of Elle Girl. Despite healthy ad revenue ($33 million) and circulation growth, the powers that be recognized that ink on dead trees isn't the smartest way to reach today's young teens. So they are killing the printed publication. Instead the magazine will live exclusively online and via mobile phone content.

A Bronx cheer to NBC Universal. While NBC and Starcom deserve some credit for testing whether shorter commercial breaks lead to higher recall, NBC's Marianne Gambelli insisted the experiment "no intention to change any business model."

So why tease us? For those who haven't heard, here's how you can program your TIVO to skip commercials, regardless how long they are.

-Posted by Todd