brick by brick

A division of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mathers Worldwide, OgilvyOne Worldwide, has conceived an interesting concept to bring advertising back to its roots. OgilvyOne has created the "Search for the World's Greatest Salesperson", a that honors the company's namesake David Ogilvy, by having contestants resort to their most basic sales skills in order to sell a basic product - a standard red brick.
David Ogilvy made a name for himself selling kitchen stoves door to door in Scotland in the 1930s, he relied on salesmanship and connecting with a customer, and lived by the motto, " No sale, no commission. No commission, no eat."
OgilvyOne is conducting the contest to counteract the modern reliance on technology and art used in advertising, and focusing on replacing it with a repetoire between product and customer.
Contestants from 12 countries will submmit a 2 - 3 minute ad on OgilvyOne's YouTube channel advertising the standard red brick - chosen because of it's universality. Winners will earn a 3 month fellowship at OgilvyOne, along with an opportunity to speak to some of the world's most influential ad-execs at the 2010 Cannes Advertising Festival.

Musicians Wanted

As a companion to this past week's South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, YouTube has launched a program called Musicians Wanted to aid undiscovered musicians. The program, which at the moment is only working with US bands, is accepting applications from bands to have their (original) music become accesible to a larger audience. Through the YouTube channel, the bands will be allowed to collect revenue from advertisements the play on the screen as viewers are watching their clips.
YouTube is certainly one of the fastest and easiest ways to get a message out there, and it has already launched the careers of several other artists like Ok Go and Justin Beiber. The venture will surely be successful for both YouTube and the artists involved.

Conan Sells Out

Conan O'Brien, already a well known star in his own right, has become even more of a public figure in the past few months due to the drama between he and Jay Leno's late night talk shows. O'Brien, however, is using the massive following the conflict has garnered, paired it with twitter, and turned it in to a nearly sold out nation wide stand up tour.
The comedian and his team prepped their tweet days in advance, alerting his 600,000 followers that he would be "in their town" and directing them to his website for tickets.
The use of twitter and other popular websites have made celebrities accessible, and results like O'Brien's comedy tour are indicative of how they affect the audiences,a nd resulting ticket sales.

internet access as a human right

A recent poll by the BBC shows that 4/5 people view internet access as a human right. Over 25000 adults were polled. Several countries have already ruled that the internet is fundamental, and hte UN is pushing for universal internet access. The argument is that the internet is part of humanity's right to communicate. The study also stated that a large about of users believed the internet also needed to be regulated, with government involvement.
I do believe that the internet has become an inalienable right. It allows for the widespread transference of ideas and information, and has become a new level of connection and communication. I don't think, however, that any form of government should have the ability to restrict the information it's users can access. Internet users should be able to police what they view, and should take their own measures in protecting themselves against viruses, fraud, etc.
I found the article interesting, because after I read it I realized that I hadn't ever considered the internet as anything other than a right.

Nissan and NBC strike a deal

Nissan and NBC have reached an agreement to feature Nissan advertisements and plugs in NBC's new and well reviewed program Parenthood, which debuts tonight at 10. The show will feature 4 custom ads for Nissan during its premier, and the Nissan Altima will be shown in the pilot episode and several subsequent episodes. The premier will otherwise have limited commercial interruption.
This kind of all access marketing is a good move on Nissan's part. Embedding the product within a television spot that has a huge amount of buz and advertising going for it already will lead to massive exposure for Nissan. Also, doing the alternative style commercials involving the cast of the show and integrating the plot of the show will be a refreshing change from the average ad, and may be less obnoxious or intrusive into the program.
I was planning on watching already, and this alternative marketing strategy will make it interesting to follow.