The weather’s not the only thing that seems to be warming up.  The relationship between the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) also seems on the up-and-up.  Just before the weekend both parties announced a tentative two-year deal was reached. 

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On Valentine’s day, in the midst of global Fashion Week madness, YSL released its Spring/Summer 2009 Manifesto by distributing heart-shaped USB keys and branded tote bags on the streets of Paris, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo and Hong Kong to the first 2,000 passersby in each city.

Each USB key contains the 20-page…

“Madison & Vine recently spoke with [Doug Scott, President of OgilvyEntertainment,] to find out where branded entertainment is prioritized in clients’ budgets for 2009; what’s happening with the evolving metrics model; and why product placement should no longer be the focus of advertisers’ branded-entertainment strategies.” 

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What’s a brand to do in these dastardly times?

It all comes down to thinking more about consumers than about your brand.
(Ah yes, thinking about others – A crazy notion in the context of advertising.)

Consumers aren’t dumb. They never were. Gullible for a time, perhaps, but now they’re cynical–if…

Agency Disintermediation. It’s a scary thought for those of us in the agency business. A client wakes up one day and thinks to him or herself, "Why do I need my agency?"

While agencies are still out there and ads are still getting made, there is no question that the agency business is under…