11.16.00
Medici Meltdown
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Art for Ad's Sake
Independent, noble, undefiled: these are words that leap to mind when pondering that bastion of integrity that is the art world. Nope…you won't see product placements or underhanded endorsement attempts here. If anything, the arts and their creators provide us with a corporate culture antidote, right?

Well, let's just say we've come a long way from Medici family values when it comes to art patronage. Consider the current Giorgio Armani exhibit at NYC's Guggenheim Museum, for example. Accompanied by an audio tour featuring the thunderous throat emanations of Samuel L. Jackson, the show displays Armani's clothing designs on over 400 mannequins. Sure, some purists are peeved by the idea of clothing design as art (clothes are so...what's the word?...utilitarian...yuck!). Other than that, what's the hubbub? Well, it just so happens that the Mr. Armani himself, the famed dresser of Michelle Pfeiffer, Jodie Foster and the Alitalia flight attendant crew, has also donated some fashionably phat funds to the Guggenheim -- $15 million to be exact. Of course, that has nothing to do with the fact that the Armani exhibit is the largest ever to be devoted to a single designer by an art museum.

As featured in National Public Radio's 11/7 Morning Edition report, with New York correspondent, David D'Arcy, the exhibit's catalog (just $49.95 for the softcover edition) is filled with pictures from Armani ads. And, "in another instance of corporate cross-promotion [the show is] sponsored by Time Warner's InStyle magazine which monitors fashion trends mostly through its advertisers including Armani."

In an interview for the broadcast, the curator of the "Face to Face" exhibit at New York University's Gray Gallery, which is sponsored by and comprised of "images of beauty in the advertising of the Shiseido Cosmetics Company of Tokyo," seems to think of this as a natural and acceptable progression for gallery exhibits. "A number of artists have looked to both fashion and to the commercial arts for inspiration, so I think that the number of exhibitions that have come around, in a sense, reflect that it's coming from the arts itself."

Some arguably less deluded folks disagree, according to the story. In fact, it notes that critics see the funding of an exhibition by its subject as a "rental" or a "media buy." Hmmm...maybe that Super Bowl ad splurge can be put to better use at the local house d'art this year.

A slightly defensive Thomas Krens, of the Guggenheim, apparently feels that the financial benefits outweigh the virtue reduction factor. "[A] relationship developed with Armani that was -- what am I going to say, no? My job, in part is to bring a lot of resource and excitement, but also money, to the institution."

All right, the guy's obviously grappling with the negative impact of ducking to the dollar's devilish powers. Hey, I've got a great idea for his next corporate sponsor: those sniveling Napster sell-outs!

Adtifada
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Brand Bigots
Does that elusive target demographic continue to evade your firm's brand building efforts? You may think you've tried it all, but have you considered an appeal to your audience's prejudices? Sure, it seems controversial to say the least -- almost slimy, ya know? Hell, only politicians would stoop that low. Well, don't be too sure....

Retailers all over Cairo, Egypt are doin' it. As featured in the 11/4 issue of The Economist (Cairene shoppers' intifada), anti-Israeli sentiment has spurred sales as well as brand boycotts. According to the story, "Sympathy with the Palestinians is running at fever heat in Egypt. One result has been a rash of consumer boycotts against what are perceived as symbols of western collusion with the Jewish State." You guessed it: that means McDonald's and Coca-Cola, among others including a popular Procter & Gamble-made detergent unfortunately called Ariel (Israel's Likud party is led by instigation-specialist, Ariel Sharon). It's even reported that Egyptian high school kids have taken to boycotting Pepsi because of an obviously contrived acronym: Pay Every Penny to Save Israel. Hey, despite the anti-Semitism, if this means that Egyptians will be more apt to choose traditional fare as opposed to American taste-bud assaults like fast food, I'm all for it.

Not surprising, some violent tactics have ensued as well. In fact, rumors of pro-Israel support on the part of multinational retail chain Sainsbury's prompted schoolboys to throw stones at Egyptian store outlets in October. So, "As part of its counter-offensive, the British retailer posted advertisements, signed by '4,800 Egyptian employees', stating that it was a publicly-owned company that had invested [$145 million] in Egypt and did not support Israel. A rival chain quickly responded by advertising that it was 'proud to be 100% Egyptian.' " Hmmm...that same idea could be applied to a McDonald's campaign to regain support by Egyptian boycotters. I can see the slogan now: "McDonald's Hamburgers Are Proud to Be Made from 100% Jew-Hating Cows"....

Digital Doves
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Can't We All Just Get a CD-ROM?
What will it take to promote the message of peace among Palestinians and Israelis? A smooth-talkin' lame duck tried and failed. A dove-like, hawk-faced Secretary of State didn't have much luck either. It's amazing that until now, nobody's considered the obvious multimedia missive route: CD-ROMs!

It looks as though New York-based Seeds of Peace has come to the conclusion that technology truly can be a means to a war-end. According to an 11/13 Industry Standard brief (Sowing the Seeds of Peace by Jennifer Greenstein), the "nonprofit group is distributing six hours of video testimonials that it hopes will help diffuse the bitterness." In addition, the story notes that, "The program also helps students create their own homepages...."

The Seeds of Peace website elaborates. "Using the latest technology, the CD ROM includes in-depth 3 dimensional tours of Palestinian and Israeli homes, 6 hours of video answers on teenage life and perspectives on the conflict, the first joint Palestinian and Israeli historical timeline, tours of refugee camps, Jerusalem, holy sites, settlements and much more."

As the intifada death toll rises, these Seeds of Peace CDs really foster hope for an end to this life-shattering conflict. Sadly, though, Mid-east Lowbrow Lowdown sources report that the CD-ROMs have come to be known by rioters as "flying death discs."

Get Out the Smokes!
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Gore Campaigners Lure Homeless Voters
He's hoed it. He's dug it. He's shredded it and he's sold it. At least that's what he said back in 1988 in his soliloquy before an audience of folks who farm it. Then again, he bemoaned it years later in a speech at the Chicago convention; after all, his two-pack-a-day sister did die from it. And now Al Gore's campaign cronies have been caught on video tape distributing tabaccy to would be voters.

Yep. Prince Albert's outta the can. According to the 11/6 TheMilwaukeeChannel.com coverage, "Milwaukee's WISN 12 News caught workers for Vice President Al Gore's campaign giving packs of cigarettes to homeless voters that they had transported to cast absentee ballots." Could it be possible that Milwaukee's best weren't planning to visit the polls on election day itself? And since when does being out-of-your-head qualify for an absentee ballot anyway?

Damage control was quick to come when an official response was issued by Susan Lagana, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Coordinated Campaign. "These volunteers were from out of state," she stated, "acting on their own and this was not part of any official Democratic 'get out the vote' activity in Wisconsin."

One wonders...were these misguided Gore campers concerned that their campaign wasn't convincing enough to prompt supporters to the polls?

As the report notes, most of the folks had, in fact, planned to cast their votes for Gore before campaign volunteers requested their early votes. Also, those interviewed stressed that the cancer-stick gifting wasn't brought to their attention until they'd reached the absentee ballot destination. Anonymous Lowbrow Lowdown sources, however, reveal that once the down 'n' out dems discovered that the free cigs were Capri Lights, anti-voting picket lines quickly formed. Apparently it was the cries of "Hell, no, we won't vote" that attracted WISN 12 News in the first place....

Got Screwed?
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Sock Puppet Shaft
From the Web world to the Bizarro world, licensed properties are often the subjects of heated disputes. And so, it comes as no surprise that with its recent cage-door-shutting announcement, Pets.com's beloved Sock Puppet has become a pup of contention.

Evidently, the TBWA Chiat/Day creation is quite the hot commodity these days. As featured in an 11/10 MSNBC.com article, John Cummings, Pets.com's director of investor relations boasts that "everything from toy companies to media companies say they are interested in buying it." Can you believe this guy has the audacity to refer to the Sock Puppet as "it"? You'd think the guy would have more respect for the cash canine.

The real bone of contention lies with the fact that TBWA Chiat/Day "won't receive a dime from the sale." According to the piece, this arguably unfair lack of compensation stems from the ad industry's good ol' days when agencies received a 15% commission on every dollar their clients paid towards ad buys. "In exchange for the commission, agencies usually gave up all rights to the creative work they produced for the client."

Since the agency's "Got Milk?" scald, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' co-chair, Jeff Goodby, is "convinced...that the compensation rules have to change. Advertising people are stupid about this, and I include myself in that bunch," admits Goodby. "In the heat of winning the piece of business or being able to do the new campaign, we sign contracts that aren't necessarily equitable." To play devil's advocate, does it follow that agencies should take a pay-cut if spokes-characters fail to become pop-culture icons?

Hey, I've got a possible solution! The sock puppet and the Energizer Bunny might join a traveling circus sideshow by which the spokes-folk would attract more eyeballs than ever before. In the end, proceeds would go towards the development of an "Agency Execs Are People Too!" PSA campaign, promoting the message that ad agency execs aren't the stereotypical sycophants they're rumored to be. On second thought, they could always avenge the injustice by burying the sock puppet in a shoebox in the backyard....

Marketplace Masterpiece
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Ticker Symbol Schlock
Do you ever wonder what artists really do with their grant money? Surely purchases of gesso, scrap metal and the occasional eight ball may be involved. Yet, would you believe that Carey Young, the winner of a London art grant, put that cash to capitalist use?

I'm seriously, guys. As featured in the 12/4 issue of Red Herring (ART: When the value of art outweighs life. by Kenneth Neil Cukier), this chick actually put 1,000 quid "into the dot-com delirious stock market." Her stock picks were anything but arbitrary, though. Young's "choice of shares underscored the symbolism behind the decision. She split the windfall evenly between one stock with the ticker LIFE and the other ART...."

Hmmm...that's clever. I think I'll join Young in her infiltrative system-buck by purchasing a few shares in CRAP, ART, YOU and SUCK.

A while back, the marketing department staffer hit a First Tuesday networking event and was inspired to "set up a call-center, dedicated to herself, crisscrossing the notion of the individual as persona, whereby human beings are reduced to business brands." Wow, that's so tompeters! of her. Perhaps Young ought to celebrate her worthwhile accomplishments by splurging in a few more stocks. How are BIG and EGO doing these days, anyhow?