A Remarkable Resource For Ideas

If you haven't already, you owe it to yourself to check out http://www.ted.com/. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual conference in Monterey that invites a select group of innovators, scholars, artists, and others to exchange ideas and share research.

Topics can cover everything from anthropology to zoology. And there are a number of gems for advertising folk. Without trying hard, I found four interesting "Ted Talks," presentations that last 20 minutes or less. How about Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink and The Tipping Point) discussing how one man's ideas about spaghetti sauce changed how food industry consumer research is done. Or Alisa Miller breaking down news coverage in the United States, and discovering, that even though we have more access to news from around the world than ever, we may actually be getting much less coverage of issues that concern us.

If you're interested in ideas and how the mind works, brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor shares her experience of living through a stroke--and how the event allowed her to better understand the ways the two cortices of your brain act independently of each other. And if you are trying to understand other cultures and language, National Geographic's Wade Davis talks about all the languages and cultures around the world that are dying out, and why we may be losing some very important gifts of diversity.

There's lots more. And a few minutes of exploring the site may help spark some new creativity and ways of thinking for your own business/life/spirit.

Projections for 2009

Take a look at this article in the Financial Times. A few multinational ad agencies are forecasting a not-so-positive 2009 for our industry. Two thoughts from the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville: 1) Results, ROI and measurements of campaigns will rise in importance, and 2) Now is the time to be a loud voice in the marketplace - resist the temptation to pull back. Instead, dial up your advertising and marketing efforts and let your competitors pull back.

Never Been To An AAF Knoxville Meeting? Take a Gander at Us At The Crown and Goose

If you've wondered what the Ad Club in Knoxville is all about, you're about to have your chance. This Thursday, October 23, we're kicking off our membership drive at the Crown and Goose in the Old City. Our merry band of Mad Men (and Women) will be on premises at Knoxville's Gastropub from 5 until 8pm.

Better yet, it's free.

So come and answer those nagging questions in your brain, like:

• Do all advertising guys look like Don Draper?


• Do we get paid extra for subliminal ads on our eyelids?


• Just what the heck is a "sparkling drop of retsyn?"


• Is the ad biz as fun as it looks on TV?

We think the answer to the last one is no--it's actually even more fun than the small screen can even begin to depict. But see for yourself. You don't necessarily have to be in the ad biz currently to come visit. We'll be glad to have you.

And seriously--we can explain that whole retsyn thing.

Just Curious--What Happens Next?

If you've seen the latest iPhone ad, you're no doubt impressed by how simple it is to download plenty of useful applications to your phone.

In fact, you can be speaking Mandarin in a matter of seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9jKAiUEgXE.

This, of course, is pretty cool. You can almost instantly walk up to a native Mandarin speaker and impress him/her with your command of the language. Just like Mike Myers impressing Tia Carrere in Wayne's World, when he learns to speak a few phrases of Cantonese. Schwing!

But then something struck us: once you ask the question about a restaurant recommendation, what happens next?

Chances are, the native Mandarin speaker is going to reply in a tone that, for him or her, is a comfortable pace, and for you is something akin to ludicrous speed. Are your ears capable of picking up the words fired back at you and typing them into your iPhone for translation? After four years of Spanish, trying to understand the normal conversation flow of native speakers was still way past my skills.

It's probably not completely fair to pick on Apple for this one--the ad does demonstrate the simplicity of downloading apps. But there are plenty of other apps that are a lot more mainstream that might have been better choices for the demo. According to digitalreview.com, the top 3 iPhone apps are: 1. EBay, SaveBenjis (web price comparisons), and iDrink (a digital cocktail recipe book). Things many of us understand.

Bickering

It's great when agencies compete. But how about when one of them picks a fight with another one through advertising? I'm not sure that's altogether healthy for our industry. Check out this article about an agency going after CP+B. As AAF-Knoxville has told several of our members, we all do better when we compete, which we do every day. But our organization provides a forum for us to come together on common ground to advance our industry.