Not your typical advertising blog

There have been a few posts on various ad blogs about F*** Death, a web site with an odd video out there. Look it up if you want. I did. But in doing so, I came across Illegal Advertising, a pretty cool blog dedicated to bringing you "the very best in underground online advertising, illegal, banned and rejected commercials, spoofs and very virals, director cuts, underground campaigns and exclusive previews."

There is some interesting stuff on there. Stuff you won't find elsewhere. Including the "F*** Death" spot.

More cool work from Paul Safsel

My buddy Paul Safsel and his partner at Grey did this for the AAAA's O'Toole Awards. Even though Paul sent it to me last week, I didn't think to post it until another friend, copywriter Joe Pistone, sent it to me. Presence of mind is a fleeting thing for some of us.

I have a lot of talented friends. I wish some of it would rub off . . .

Why people want lottery accounts

Via Make the Logo Bigger blog, this spot for the New York Mega Millions Lottery is pretty entertaining. Some of the more uptight folks on YouTube had some stereotyping issues with it. Bada-Bling: mobsters and rappers. Interesting mix.

Do this. No, really. Do it.

That's if you haven't already, based on an earlier post about the Seth Godin "curiosity" video.

Go to Monday9am.tv and sign up to get a wonderful new video every single week.

Nic Askew (pictured) does great work.

Now go. Go. Do it.

Letitia Baldridge where are you now that we need you?

Is there a place for manners in business? I’d like to think so. Am I fooling myself when I think a good relationship with a client implies some sort of, um, “relationship”, and the various courtesies and considerations that go with it? Could be. But to many in business, the agency is just some vendor. No respect required.

Two of the things I hate are when I have to let somebody go and when I have to tell someone who applied for a job that they didn’t get it. My guess would be that among those people I had to let go are folks who don’t much care for me, think I made a mistake, think I handled it poorly – or all three. Goes with the territory. But believe it or not, it’s not something anybody likes to do.

That doesn’t mean you don’t have to do it. You do. And you have to tell someone why they either didn’t get or no longer have the job. If nothing else, it’s good manners. It’s what adults do. Some clients feel that way when they end their relationship with you. Others don’t feel the need.

Nobody on either side of the ball thinks a client is going to be a client forever. That’s not reality. And there are any number of good and bad reasons why a client makes a change. You’ve done a poor job, the chemistry isn’t there, the boss wants to work with his buddy’s agency, or it’s being taken in house. Doesn’t matter what the reason is. The client is the client, and as far as I’m concerned, even if I don’t agree with their decision, it’s theirs to make. That’s business and that’s fair.

But when you’ve worked hard for someone, gotten along well with them, gone the extra mile to save them money or save their ass, been honest in your dealings with them, done your best, and even reached out to help them when they told you they had no money to spend, you’re entitled to something better than to simply wake up one morning and see ads and spots for a business that you thought was your client.

Maybe we’re the only agency that has ever happened to and perhaps we deserved it. I’d be surprised, but I’ll never know. Nobody ever said anything to us and pride prevents me from calling up and asking. (I know, I know. You don’t have to say it. But I’m too old to change now.)

There’s a great line in the movie “All the President’s Men”. Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) helps himself to Bob Woodward’s (Robert Redford’s) copy and edits it. Woodward/Redford tells Bernstein/Hoffman: “It’s not what you did. It’s the way you did it.”

That applies here.

(There. Now it’s out of my system and doesn’t bother me anymore. A blog is a wonderful thing.)

Something smart from another blog

I think there is a lot of free information out there in the blogosphere. One site I like a lot of Hear 2.0. It's focused on the radio business, but Mark Ramsey, President of Mercury Radio Research and the author of Hear 2.0, is clearly a really smart guy and plenty of what he has to say has meaning beyond just radio.

Including this post that went up today. On the surface, it's about why radio is slow to change, but I think it applies to more than just radio.

A very interesting video

Well, I said I was going to visit Seth Godin's blog every day. Today I was rewarded with this video, done by Nic Askew of monday9am.tv. Enjoy.