Our apologies in advance. It appears something is amiss with our Permanent Arcticle Archives and Permalinks (including comments and trackbacks).

We hope to regain normal operation shortly.

From Adweek:

Volkswagen said it has named MDC Partners' Crispin Porter + Bogusky to handle creative chores in the U.S. and Canada.

Havas' Arnold here had previously handled the business for the past 10 years.

Arnold has done quite a lot of good and memorable work for VW over the years, but as VW sales have been slipping lately, this serves as a potent reminder that no agency-client relationship is ever safe.

The other thing that's interesting here is that Arnold & Crispin collaborated for years on the anti-smoking "Truth" campaign, so these two agencies have a history together.

And Crispin has resigned the MINI account due to the account conflict. That'll be fought over, I'm sure.

Brand New Day: Advertising agencies are generally viewed as nothing more than organized, high priced hucksters. But here is what one agency did, quickly, to dispel that stereotype. Austin, Texas shop GSD&M called the Ad Council on Wednesday morning, when the rest of us got the full picture of how awful the situation is, to volunteer to put together radio and television advertisements for the Red Cross.

By Thursday morning, the ads, which featured celebrities such as New Orleans native Aaron Neville, were done. Next, the agency is sending people to Louisiana over the holiday weekend with clothes and supplies for shelters.

As reported by the Austin American Statesman: "The ads show hurricane footage with a series of red minus signs, followed by the words "home," "electricity," "food" and "water." The next frame shows two people hugging, with the sign of the Red Cross and the word "hope," and a voice-over that says: "Hope is more powerful than a hurricane."

The Hidden Persuader posted this Neil Frenchism last week.

"The answer to making an ad is always in the product, if you look for it. Our task is not just to find that answer though - it's to make the answer relevant to someone who, at present, doesn't give a shit about it. So first I look at the product and deconstruct it ... what Robin Wight used to call 'interrogating it until it confesses to its strenghts'."

Perhaps French and I are old-fashioned, if not old, but I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment. My favorite works always reveals a product attribute in some new way I wouldn't have considered.

For instance, Starbucks bottled frappuccino drinks are currently supported by a spot where a woman walks through her office place while burdensome objects magically attach themselves to her as she progresses toward the kitchen. The product benefit here is that Starbucks can help?if only temporarily?remove stress from your day. It's a memorable and modern take on the time-honored coffee break.

Burger King's advertainment angle, care of CP+B, takes another approach?one that has nothing to do with BK's inherent advantages over McDonald's and Wendy's. I'd love to see the Coconut Grovesters come up with a refreshing spin on flame-broiled. Mr. French might enjoy that, as well.