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Product Design Firm Gets Attention of Ogilvy New York by Placing A Billboard Right Across the Street

Now here's a little item that might start a trend. Because, as we all know, everyone in this business copies everyone else. Not that this is the first time this was ever done. But still. To garner attention for itself, DC-based product design and development consultancy (because everyone's doing *that* right now) Intridea purchased a billboard for a week right across from Ogilvy & Mather's offices in New York. The billboard reads, simply, "Ogle this, Ogilvy" and directs the agency to a custom URL which is filled with a collection of wacky animated gifs (keep reloading the site) and the copy "Made you look. Now hire us." So did it work? Apparently so. Intridea says it was contacted by Ogilvy New York CEO Lou Aversano and OgilvyOne Managing Director Dimitri Maex and a meeting has been set for September 3. Is that awesome or what?

Havas Worldwide Kazakhstan has issued an apology for an ad it created for a gay club in Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty. The ad, for  Studio 69, shows 19th century composer and folk singer Qurmanghazy Saghyrbaiuly, kissing Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin. The usual uprising from anti-gay groups and activists ensued with a lawsuit filed against the agency on August 25 claiming the ad "insulted both Kazakhs and Russians." Homosexuality was a criminal act in Kazakhstan up until the 1990's. Havas issued an apology for the ad on its Web site and Facebook page.

Well, it's about time, people! A new survey from STRATA found that 45% more ad agencies now have a keen interest in online video and streaming. Currently, 67% of ad agencies claim video is a primary focus. Yet while interest and implementation of video is on the rise among agencies, 40% are still unsure as to the effectiveness of digital video ads. Of the findings, STRATA President Joy Baer said: “While dollars continue to flow to the traditional advertising mediums, our agencies continue to ask for better ways to buy digital video advertising. We are seeing long-form digital video content increasingly mirror the 30-second TV ad experience, further blurring the lines between devices.” Separately, the same study found 39% of agencies are not convinced that they entrust programmatic with their media-buying needs. But 89% plan to forge ahead with Facebook programs because, let's be honest, Facebook rules the world.

Okay - this is nice. California agency Nice Advertising and TubeMogul have announced a deal to streamline the agency's video ad-buying. Nice will utilize TubeMogul's full software suite to plan, buy, optimize and measure video ads across devices. Of the deal, Nice Advertising Director of Media & Analytics Eliot Kent-Uritam said, "Video is the ideal medium to tell Jelly Belly's [a Nice client] story to fans and newcomers alike. Doing digital video properly requires alignment of targeting and content with the story telling. TubeMogul helps us do this better.

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1 comment about "Product Design Firm Gets Attention of Ogilvy New York by Placing A Billboard Right Across the Street".
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  1. Walter Sabo from SABO media, August 27, 2014 at 7:48 a.m.

    OLD NEWS. Radio stations have been pulling the "put the billboard across from the competitor" since 1925.

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