CBS Striking Out With Advertisers Over Kid Nation

CBS is not having much luck with their new reality series, "Kid Nation." Over half of their top ten advertisers have already taken a pass on the show that is already beeing seen as controversial. Kid Nation is a program that features 40 kids between the ages of 8-15 who are stuck in a remote location where they are forced to build their own society. Does it sound like something you want your brand associated with?

Click here to read the article.

NFL Creates Ad Campaign To Help Tarnished Image

The NFL has had a busy off-season. It began with the half year suspension of WR Chris Henry, then the year long suspension of Pacman Jones, and how could we forget about Michael Vick. There were several other incident this off-season which made Commissioner Roger Goodell cringe. However the NFL has decided to try and save their image by hiring ad agency BBDO Worldwide to create a campaign that shows the positive side of the NFL.

Click here to read the article and see the spots.

Julie Roehm's Lawsuit Dismissed By Michigan Judge; Unclear If Lawsuit Will Continue

A Michigan judge dismissed Julie Roehm's law suit this week and it is inclear whether the case will continue. The judge ruled that the case should be tried in an Arkansas court, closer to where the case took place. Of course for those of you who are a little behind in this story, I urge you to get ahead and Google Julie Roehm's name. The short story of it is, she was hired as the CMO, then fired shortly after for acting inappropriately according to Wal-Mart standards. Inappropriately means getting a little too close to vendors, and one of those just happened to be Howard Draft(Draft FCB); something about an Aston-Martin can do that to anyone. Does that make you want to read the full story?

Anyways, click here to read about Julie Roehm's latest drama.

Will Advertisers Come Back To Imus?

Don Imus reached a settlement with CBS Radio yesterday and it appears the shock jock may be on his way back to doing radio soon. The question remains, will advertisers come back to Imus? This is a rather large gamble that WABC radio appears to be interested in taking.

Click here to read the article.

My answer to this question is yes, advertisers will follow because they are as fickle as they come. If they believe that Imus can create a show with strong ratings again then there is no doube in my mind that the blue chips will be lining up at the sales door. This shows you that in this day and age, all that matters is ratings.

Jack-in-The Box Will Continue To Air Ads Targeted At Rivals

A district judge ruled today that Jack-in-the Box can continue to air ads that poke fun at Carl's Jr. and other rivals. Their "Angus Beef" advertisements have created some controversy because they are specifically targeting competitors who are focusing on Angus Beef. Click here to read the article.

Banned Trojan Commercial

Trojan had the commercial below banned and it has stirred some serious debate. What do you think?

Carl's Jr. Angry With Jack-In-The-Box Advertising

The Los Angeles Times is reporting today that Carl's Jr. is not happy with Jack in the Box's new advertising campaign that rips "Angus Beef." Carl's Jr. of course advertises their burgers as 100% Angus Beef and being the edgy above the curve advertiser that Jack is, they have decided to attack this angle.

Click here to see one of the spots.

I happen to find the spots extremely successful for brand recall and they are extremely funny as well. I've always been impressed with any of the Jack in the Box spots and this campaign is not only funny, but also timely as well. Several other restaurants are advertising their 100% Angus Beef burgers and Jack has capitalized on a timely and relevant name.

It also doesn't hurt the fact that Carl's Jr. is making a wave about the spots; all press is good press.

Advertisers Boycotting XM Radio Show

Call it the reverse of the Don Imus situation. Advertisers are boycotting XM radio after they suspended shock jocks Opie & Anthony. The suspension came after a tirade filled with explicits and a discussion about rape. You can read the translation here from Jim Teacher's blog.

Advertisers "Nashville Coffee" and "adameve.com" have both pulled their advertising and are calling for other sponsors to do the same. Several XM Subscribers are cancelling their subscriptions because of the suspension.

Isn't satellite radio supposed to be non-censored? Don't people pay money to listen to their favorite shock jocks rant about anything and everything without worrying about what the FCC is going to regulate?

In my opinion, the Opie & Anthony show was wrong and they probably do deserve to be repromanded or suspended in some way. However, since they are on XM radio, I feel they should be given some reprieve here. I'm sure 99% of their audience that particular morning was Adults 18+ who know what they are getting in to when they listen to that program. This is the reason the advertisers are so angry. XM radio is supposed to be held to different standards. Just ask Howard Stern.

Imus To Sue CBS Radio?

Don Imus apparently has hired a lawyer which leads us to believe that he might sue CBS Radio. Here is the link to the full story:http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/03/imus.cbs/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

The Julie Roehm Story

For those of you who are unaware of the Julie Roehm story, er should I say saga. Let me catch you up to date, and start by saying, I've followed this from the beginning because like a good train wreck, you have to continue to watch.

Julie Roehm who was once named "Automotive Marketer of the Year" by Brandweek has found herself once again in the headlines. The two previous articles I've posted refer to the lawsuit that is just beginning, as well as the beginning details of an alleged juicy affair between her and Sean Womack, but let's back up and review for those of you who are unaware of the story.

Walmart put their $570 million account up for review in late December 2005 and hired Julie Roehm from Chrylser to oversee the account review. She officially signed with the company on January 12th, 2006 according to AdWeek. Then began a 1 year tour with all of the major advertising agencies across the country. But now, lets fast forward to December 2006. Julie Roehm is fired after Walmart accuses her of accepting gifts and inappropriately working with a vendor, as well as having an affair with a co-worker, which Walmart has strict policies on. These policies also include that you will not maintain contact with a vendor outside of the meeting rooms. However, back to Julie.

I won't go through the details of what happened because it appears that in a few months we will find out the truth. But what has came out so far includes car rides in Howard Draft's Aston-Martin, expensive dinners at NY hotspots such as Nobu, and an alleged affair with Sean Womack, the VP of Communications at Walmart. The account was awarded to Draft's agency, Draft FCB. However the plug was pulled once Walmart apparently received word that Roehm didn't follow proper policy when choosing the winner.

I've been glued to this story since the beginning. I'm very intrigued by it all. Aside from the alleged adultery and breaking of the rules that Mrs. Roehm has been accused of, I think she is a brilliant marketer. She went on a cross-country advertising tour like a high school kid who tours universities before signing a letter of intent. Can you blame her? Drive an Aston Martin? Sure why not, give me the keys. Dinner at fancy restaurants on someone else's dime? Order me a few extra plates of your finest sushi and top shelf liquor.

She indeed broke some rules while going through an account review. Unfortunately she broke rules at America's most tightly ruled facility, and she's going through hell because of it. I would hire her as my CMO anyday. She broke some rules and will learn her lesson because of it but hey Julie, if you want to come to work for me then shoot me an email!

By the way, for those of you who don't know, Dodge was the original sponsor of the inagural "Lingerie Bowl" in 2004. They only pulled out because shareholders and board members cried out that it wasn't proper for them to be behind such an event. I can see why you wouldn't want to be the top sponsor of an event that is going to draw the eyeballs of 10+ Million men, especially when your slogan is "Grab life by the horns" and your main advertisements revolve around "Hemi's." Yeah, that probably wouldn't catch the attention of your target audience and sell a few cars.

Continue to check back on this story as I can't get enough and look forward to writing more of my opinions on it.

More from the Roehm Fallout

It just keeps getting better and better. More details to follow later:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405396/index.htm?postversion=2007041709

Julie Roehm Article

More to come on this later:
http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003571521

Spongebob No-Pants Creates Controversy

As usual someone has to create controversy from a good advertisement that actually makes us laugh. Here is the link to the ad on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRIOy5byAd0

According to Adage.com, Rev. Donald E. Wildmon is trying to figure out why Burger King would be utilizing an advertisement with adult nudity to appeal to children. However, Rev. Wildmon has obviously missed the point. It is a humurous commercial to reach parents and get them to act upon the Spongebob promotion currently at BK.

The Adage.com article can be seen here at:http://adage.com/garfield/article?article_id=116110

Will the commercial increase sales for Spongebob? I don't think it's going to be a huge success because it really does miss the target audience. But come on, you have to hand it to Crispin Porter & Bogusky for trying to remain original in a time where agencies are under extreme scrutiny for boring content.

I like the ad. Tell the Reverend to find another topic to gain press from.

Patron Advertisement Creates a stir

Here is the link to the ad that has caused a stir with anti-alcohol and advertisement groups across the country. They recently got slapped with their third fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAIHWr59xYw

I think it's a great commercial with strong product placement. That's all I'm going to say. I'll allow you to be the judge.

Imus fired from CBS Radio

No surprise here. For those of you who haven't read or heard yet, here is the link to the AdAge.com article:
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=116076

How are they going to make up the $20 million in revenue each year? Although they lost the major sponsors, you have to think that there were going to be some secondary sponsors who would have come to the table. From an advertising standpoint, if the show would have continued then I think they would have had to of raised their rates. I've never listened to Imus in the Morning but I definitely am curious as to what his show sounds like.

Why is it that we are so attracted to controversy? Was this a case of a publicity stunt that was taken too far? I personally don't think so, although when the story hit the air waves, many people thought it was. If you listen closely then you can hear his producer in the background saying the words that got him in trouble. It's thought that maybe it was a "liner" and was all set up. I don't believe it was set up. It's hard for me to think that a guy who's spent his whole life in radio and dealing with the FCC would have known better than to plan for something like this.

Will Imus win in the end? Many predict that he will end up with some sort of Sirius or XM deal worth much more than he was making. I'm afraid that this will only make him look worse in the end if we see him plastered all over billboards promoting his new Satellite show. It won't make me run out and buy a subscription, although neither did Howard Stern's move to Satellite, and they gave him a $500 million deal to start.

I typically don't have a whole lot of thoughts on these situations when a celebrity or a television/radio personality says something offensive. I do belive that Imus was completely in the wrong and I've actually now reached the point where I'm glad CBS didn't just let it go. For too many years personalities on the radio or tv have gotten away with saying things they later apologize for. Look, if you slip up and say something you shouldn't have said, then apologize right there and let it be known it was a slip. The only time these people apologize is the next day once the story has swept the country. Then they go on a big media tour where they apologize on every show they turn up on and then all of a sudden we look past what they said. For some reason I think it would have hurt Imus's reputation as a shock jock if he would have done a media tour apologizing on every station he showed on.