Lewis Lazare: We wish we could fully understand why it has been so hard for Levi's, the iconic jeans company, and its ad agency BBH/New York to develop an ad campaign that reflects this brand's enduring qualities, while providing real, of-the-moment reasons why every avid jeans wearer should have a pair.
Lewis Lazare: To the surprise of no one, United Airlines wound up mired in red ink when it reported its second-quarter financials on Tuesday. Putting aside some $2.6 billion in special accounting charges, the Chicago-based carrier lost $151 million, or $1.19 a share. That compares to year-earlier earnings of $274 million, or $1.83 a share. Revenue rose 3 percent to $5.37 billion.
We're still sick to our stomachs days after CBS let it be known it hopes to air a new reality television show about jingles in the advertising industry. The idea of a TV show about jingles isn't what made us ill. It was the revelation that the 21st century poster woman for all that is worst about the ad industry has been retained as an advisory panelist/judge for the now-in-production series simply called "Jingles."
As first tipped here in May, Vanessa Hudgens of Disney's "High School Musical" fame has turned up as the star of Sears' elaborate 2008 back-to-school ad campaign. And Hudgens -- so popular with millions of adolescents who relish the Disney Channel series -- has arrived none too soon to help a retailer that desperately needs to drive customers into its stores.
The Chicago Bulls, as it turned out, was one of several local professional sports franchises that went through the arduous, nail-biting (at least for the ad agencies involved) review process within the last year to determine which shop would work on the team's advertising going forward.
It wasn't a game-changing moment, necessarily, but we got the feeling the unique character of the agency formerly known as Hadrian's Wall/Chicago shifted a bit when -- in late 2006 -- it became a branch outpost of the Toronto-based agency called Zig.
Did you think "Got Milk?" would let an event as momentous as the Beijing Summer Olympics happen without proper acknowledgment from one of the ad world's highest profile campaigns? Not on your life.
From posh German sports cars to mattresses, Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago has a client roster that definitely runs the gamut. And that can't be a bad thing, because it gives the agency's creative department -- still overseen by C-K vet Marshall Ross -- the opportunity to demonstrate its creative range too.
Lewis Lazare: The silence was deafening Monday at the Aon Center, where DDB/Chicago is housed. No comment was forthcoming from the agency in the wake of the news late Sunday that InBev had triumphed in its takeover bid for the iconic American brewer Anheuser-Busch, for which DDB has long been the lead roster ad agency.
For baseball fanatics, it's never too early to start fantasizing about the October playoffs and World Series.
Lewis Lazare: Howard Schultz, who masterminded the transformation of a lowly Seattle coffee shop into a global java giant, remains hellbent on turning around his ailing Starbucks. Schultz's latest effort to revive his sputtering coffee company's fortunes begins Tuesday with the introduction of a new line of made-to-order protein shakes called Vivanno.
Have we mentioned yet that the Beijing Summer Olympics are fast approaching? With the games less than a month away, more and more American companies are playing up their Olympic connections.
Lewis Lazare: Anheuser-Busch -- that great American icon among brewers -- looks ready to fall into foreign hands. Reports surfaced Friday that Belgian-headquartered beer giant InBev had upped its offer for the American brewery to $70. That was up from the previous $65 per share, making the takeover more palatable to Anheuser-Busch's board.
Lewis Lazare: Dare we say it? McDonald's is on a roll with its marketing initiatives. The fast-food behemoth discovered a while ago that it could attract a lot of buzz via innovative, award-winning outdoor efforts from its roster ad agency Leo Burnett/Chicago. Remember the clever fresh salads display with real lettuce that sprouted next to Wrigley Field last year?
Lewis Lazare: As far as White Sox marketing honcho Brooks Boyer is concerned, Mayor Daley is "a natural." Acting talent, that is. Daley plays a key role in the newest ad for the White Sox, which breaks this week. A spokeswoman from the mayor's press office said the White Sox spot marks the first time Daley has appeared in a commercial that wasn't for political or governmental purposes.
In the best showbiz tradition, the White Sox and Energy BBDO/Chicago, the team's ad agency of record, saved their biggest splash for last in the "Share the Passion. Show the Swagger" ad campaign that commenced at the start of the 2008 baseball season.
Lewis Lazare: Sharpie, the little marker pen that has become synonymous with the so-called autograph experience, is launching what may be its most ambitious advertising push ever -- a global effort fronted by soccer superstar and chief spokesman David Beckham, who now resides in the United States.
Lewis Lazare: The cheering -- we have no doubt -- is just beginning. But with a corporate name like Bank of America, it makes sense that the giant financial institution -- now a major presence in Chicago -- would want to get in on all the Olympic hoopla earlier rather than later. Which is probably why BofA is among the corporations that have begun doing their Olympic marketing thing well ahead of the games' opening ceremonies next month in Beijing.
Lewis Lazare: Allstate is getting personal. When it comes to communicating a message via advertising, that's usually a good way to go. Real people in both the metropolitan Chicago and Detroit markets and their financial circumstances are the focal point of a new print campaign from Leo Burnett/Chicago that is aimed squarely at what Allstate refers to as "middle-market consumers."
My, how a plot can thicken in a hurry! As readers of this column know, it didn't take us long to hear from Alex Tiknius, the ardent Chicago Cubs fan who identified himself as the dejected young man in a new Nuveen Investments billboard ad (June 27). Tiknius is seen standing alone in the Wrigley Field bleachers after a Cubs playoff loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last year. The Nuveen Investments billboard campaign is now up at Wrigley Field.
Travelers should prepare for even greater sticker shock when they purchase a ticket: United said it will impose another $20 fuel surcharge on most domestic routes. With the new additional increase, the fuel surcharges will total between $30 and $170 on most domestic flights, according to United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.
Lewis Lazare: Like several other high-profile sponsors that have attached themselves to the very high-profile Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, Oak Brook-based McDonald's is using the world's premier sporting extravaganza as a showcase for its marketing prowess. And it's giving everyone who is interested an opportunity to see exactly where McDonald's advertising is at circa 2008.
Lewis Lazare: It's hard to grab the attention of kids nowadays. But the Brookfield Zoo and Zig/Chicago are trying to do just that via a new "Animal Attention" campaign that kicked off Tuesday. While youngsters can see plenty of animal-related stuff every day, Brookfield and Zig want to remind the target audience there is nothing like seeing animals in the flesh.
Energy BBDO/Chicago has found its new chief creative officer, Dan Fietsam, a creative leader with deep ties to the Chicago advertising community. Fietsam, 42, most recently was executive creative director at Publicis in the West/Seattle, where he moved after a long tenure at DDB/Chicago.
Lewis Lazare: Is DDB/Chicago zeroing in on a new leader for its creative department? Sources report the agency could be seriously leaning toward tapping Jonathan Hoffman as the agency's new top creative, a position that has been vacant since Paul Tilley's tragic suicide in February. A DDB spokeswoman said "we won't be commenting on particular candidates along the way."
Energy BBDO/Chicago has found its new chief creative officer, Dan Fietsam.
Lewis Lazare: In a world where advertising is too often cheap and degrading, we never cease to be amazed and thrilled by the potency of a simple, smart idea executed with the utmost simplicity and taste. So we found ourselves in a deliriously happy state when we first looked at a remarkably simple and rich new outdoor campaign from Fallon/Minneapolis for Chicago-based Nuveen Investments, a sponsor of the (currently) high-flying Chicago Cubs.
Times are tough. And competition within the mobile phone service category remains as brutal and cutthroat as ever. U.S. Cellular, which recently moved its advertising account to Publicis & Hal Riney in San Francisco, is hoping a new ad campaign with lots of uplift will help it win new customers, while reassuring current U.S. Cellular users they are connected to a caring company.
Paul Brourman's fledgling Sponge/Chicago has scored big. The boutique shop has been named ad agency of record for AutoZone, the auto parts retailer founded nearly 30 years ago that now has more than 3,600 stores nationwide. Billings on the account were not disclosed, but Brourman indicated it is a substantial piece of business.
