Heads up, Mr Fosters Adslogans database, with the Advertising slogan hall of fame has not only co.uk but now also .com. Best part, you don't need any uneccisary triple-w's on either URL.

Vince Cullers founded Vince Cullers Advertising in 1956, the first black-owned agency, with the daring idea to tailor ad campaigns marketing specifically to black people. He made the bold move of marketing Afro sheen in Swahilii with the tagline "Watu wazuri" (beautiful people). Vince Cullers Advertising enjoyed succes and debuted as the fifth largest firm on the first BE Ad Agencies list in 1973 with $2.5 million in billings, paving the way for many more black owned agencies after his.

"What was fantastic about what Vince did was that he approached corporate America with the idea that rather than integrating black people into a white concept of advertising, advertisers needed to buy into the idea of creating messages that resonated only with black people," says Ken Smikle, president of the Chicago-based research and information company Target Market News.

When Vince fell ill last year his son Jeffery took over the company and reorganized it under the name the Vince Cullers Group.

You've seen those banners everywhere - hot pink, shades of blues and black silouettes of people with iPods dancing. Apple launched that print and web campaign in September - and last night on West Wing (US telly) the commercial in the campaign made it's first appearance.

The commercial is exactly like the print campaign, with a soundtrack added. No more clean white backgrounds - flashy colors are here to stay? Perhaps it was the 'homage' that BuyMusic did which made apple switch from white backgrounds once and for all?

click to get to apples ads.

H. Mitchell Kanner (IEG), Irwin Gotlieb (Group M), Devery Holmes (Norm Marshall Group), Sandy Climan (Entertainment Media Ventures) and Michael Nyman (Bragman, Nyman, Cafarelli) recently got together at L.A. edition of Digital Hollywood (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) to discuss the evolving beast of film and TV brand integration campaigns.

Here is my weekly opinion column that resulted: Madison & Vine

The maytag man has retired to the big theatre in the sky - Gordon Jump died Monday at the age of 71. He only just retired from his Maytag man role in July, and will be missed by many fans both adgrunts and theatregrunts.

Maytag.com has redecorated their website in Gordon's honor, stating they mourn the tragic loss of him.

Jump came to appreciate the attention he got for the ad campaign and the steady work it provided, Wagner said. But his heart was elsewhere professionally.

I thought that someone here might have something to submit - to Maverick Media [via MarketingWonk]:

"Maverick Media has been commissioned by the Sci·Fi channel to produce a new viral strand for transmission as part of their new late-night series, “HEADF**K”, which premieres from Friday 12th September at 11.35pm.

Interesting communication. To announce the $25 million reward for the former Iraqi leader, blood red posters showing Saddam, and his two sons - crossed out - go up in Baghdad.

Read more to see the poster.

Schick is unveiling the four blade razor sometime in the next month...

Ooh... with a $120 million commercial push!

Gillette's (the makers of the Mach 3 razor) response? Sue 'em!.
Hat tip to Claymore who ranted on adlist.

The Oscar-winning film director Sam Mendes has signed with RSA Films and intends to devote himself to directing commercials for the next year.

With a little luck this mean we'll get to see some really good ads.

Though Director Lee Tamahori gives some advice:

"Full features and commercials are completely different disciplines. I did an advert recently and realized just how much I had forgotten about it."

As long as memorable images such as babes bathing in rose-petals are used, I'm sure Mendes ads will be as good as, well....., good ads.

Sideshow, one of the few surviving New York City-based post companies, has opened a new office in L.A. announced partners Scott Mantel and Mike McCall today.

Grapefruit Design created the new version of AbsolutAd.com, a web site dedicated to the Absolut art phenomenon and fandom, as part of a project that envisages long-term support of the said site.

Atari is back!

Thirty years after the Atari name first began a revolution in entertainment, Infogrames has returned the beacon of innovation to the forefront of the gaming industry it launched. Holding company parent, Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) announced today that it has decided to adopt the legendary brand name of Atari for its global commercial operations, effective immediately. The company’s U.S. operations will now be known as Atari, Inc., and will trade on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol “ATAR.”

We are a new production company started by established members of the film community. We are in search of new and fresh directors for representation in the world of commercials and music videos. We are not in the position to develop brand new amatuer directors that have no reel, but have clients interested in viewing new talent.

If you have some projects a reel and are interested in expanding or growing your recognition nationwide, we'd love to see your work.

Please email us at newdirectors@hotmail.com

Thanks.

We look forward to hearing from you.

PUMA AG Statement regarding unauthorized "bad taste advertisement" (posted here February 25):

It has been brought to our attention that several unauthorized, sexually suggestive advertisements portraying the PUMA brand have been released over the Internet. We are appalled that images like these would be created and distributed under the PUMA name. As a brand, we seek to take a unique perspective toward our advertising in an effort to challenge the boundaries of our industry; however we would never consider using these tactics.

We are in the process of researching the circumstances and reserve any legal steps available.

Kim Gehrig and Caroline Pay, creative duo from London based ad agency Mother are responding to posts in the YCN Think Tank on the 3rd of April.

YCN.org.uk

the link to the short film about the short sad life of an advertising idea has disappeared, but a new one has stepped up to take it's place. So if you're looking for the link to send to someone who hasn't seen it you can now find it here:

http://www.ihaveanidea.org/bessies/bessies.html

Reebok has backed out of talks with Kobe Bryant for a sneaker contract, because of financial situation, so the main Reebok basketball guys are the 5 from the commercial which debuted on TNT during NBA All-Star weekend, Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, & Baron Davis. There should be individual commercials in production soon advertising those players individual sneakers.

Sadly, the free ads.com has closed its doors to their collection of streaming RealAudio films. A notice on their page states: "Unfortunately, we weren't able to raise the funding necessary to continue providing the service."

The Seattle Pi reports: "The Seattle start-up, which maintained an online database of more than 1,500 television commercials, employed 15 people and raised $5.5 million during its short run."

Damien Hirst will apparantly be the first artist in outer space - that is, if you don't count the Arecibo message as "art".

By December next year, Hirst's painting will be on Mars, hitching a ride on the Beagle 2 spacecraft......

You can get a chance to see the artwork as it will be exhibited at the White Cube in London's Hoxton from Friday 29.

Gapingvoid.com are cartoons drawn on the back of business cards, and they've got cynical Manhattan nailed down completely. Created by New York copywriter Hugh MacLeod, adgrunts the world over will recognise the characters all too well: The annoying film student, the desperate-to-get-laid-no-hoper, the evil drunk crying into his beer. We are dead pleased to present Gapingvoid.com cartoons as a regular feature of adland from now on.