Crazy Buzz

Top 25 Twitter Cartoons

2009-03-02T00:11:00.000-08:00

What is Comedy?

2008-09-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

1.5 Million Australian Students Dump Outlook/Exchange For Gmail

2008-06-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

Source: TechCrunch.

I love TechCrunch! All you want to know in the world is there. I found this interesting news there and want to share it with you...

Google just took away one of the world’s largest Outlook/Exchange installations for 1.5 million students at Australian schools, and replaced it with Gmail. More information is here.
The cost savings are substantial. The Outlook/Exchange platform involved a AU$33 million contract and took four years to go live, although it’s unclear why it took so long. The Gmail/Google Apps rollout, which is being completed by subcontractors, will cost just $9.5 million and should be live by the end of 2008. User storage will increase from 35 MB to 1 GB.

This is being called the largest single deployment of Gmail in the world, we’ve emailed Google for a comment.

This won the Cannes Yesterday....

2008-06-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

A public service ad done by contract advertising.

Agency: Capital Advertising

(Click on the image to see the news and the enlarged picture)

It’s a great ad, deserves to win.

The only problem is it doesn’t work in real life.
It’s a scam done by people who don’t understand female foeticide. (The ad preaches to the converted, basically.)

I am fine with scams for FMCGs (they’ll sell their soap anyway, regardless of whether the advertising is good or bad, so I don’t care).

I have a problem with scams for public service that preach to the converted instead of even attempting to understand the problem.

The media doesn’t highlight female foeticide, there are more important things like Shahrukh Khan to talk about.
Ad professionals have a responsibility to try and change negative mindsets, but all they do (there are honourable exceptions) is do one-offs for themselves and their agencies. (‘X from Y agency wins gold!!!’)

Source: Shubho

Free MSN Emoticons

2008-05-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I generally hate online chats, but being in Internet Business, one cannot really ignore the connectivity and ease it can provide. I use MSN chat and I am a emoticon person. If you like using various cute and funny emoticons like me, go here and get some for free:

Have fun!

Verve Earth: Calling all bloggers

2008-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Gaurav form the famous Gaufire wrote this post on VerveEarth that I also found interesting. I cannot say it in better words than him, so I'm using his words. You can read Gaurav's blog here.

If you found VerveEarth intriguing when you first saw it, then you know what it can become. There are ultimately tens of millions of bloggers who could populate the map making it a vibrant reflection of our world. Imagine for a moment if VerveEarth had millions of users and blogs. You could zoom off to a faraway land and find interesting people in an instant. You could find and read the blogs of people on the ground in crisis zones, like Baghdad and Darfur. You could forge connections with bloggers in your home town. You could go to where the news is that day, whether it's tragedy or a World Series victory, and read the accounts of those affected.

But the feat of building VerveEarth must begin somewhere. The most successful websites all began with a core group of patrons. MySpace started with music junkies seeking a new vibe; Facebook was erected by college students looking to socialize. Bloggers are telling the story of the world, and VerveEarth is meant to be a canvas for their voices. We lack the resources to send out millions of invitations, so bloggers efforts to share this site with others will decide its future. If you think the site looks interesting, take a minute to let fellow blog authors know, and then watch it grow.

Here's some ways to contribute: 1) Email or drop a comment to fellow bloggers, 2) Add the VerveEarth medallion to your blog (see the "stats" link on your profile), 3) If you think it's relevant, mention us in your blog and 4) Share content with friends through the site.

JOIN TODAY TO PLACE YOUR BLOG ON THE WORLD MAP

I agree with Gaurav (Actually I agree with almost everything he says, he is just brilliant!) Go check it out!

Amazing Billboard!

2008-05-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Now, you cant miss this one.
Taken form billboardom, my new 'find' of the day! :D

Free Website Analytics, Realtime Web Stats

2008-05-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

www.w3counter.com

W3Counter is your free, hosted website analytics solution for answering the key questions about your website: who's your audience, how they find your site, and what interests them. There's no installation, no configuration, and tracking starts as soon as you copy-and-paste a snippet of code into your website.

Integrity and Internet

2008-05-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

“America Online customers are upset because the company has decided to allow advertising in its chat rooms. I can see why: you got computer sex, you can download pornography, people are making dates with 10 year-olds. Hey, what's this? A Pepsi ad? They're ruining the integrity of the Internet!” – Jay Leno

Reply: Ogilvy on Client Servicing

2008-05-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

To Shubho's mail, one of my senior Client Servicing guy replied with a point and I completely agree with Reem on this. Here's what he had to say-

Theres nothing wrong in what Ogilvy said. The problem is I think far more acute in offline than in online.
Suits in online also have to do the planners function and sometimes the buying as well. Our company deliberately has the title "client consulting" simply because the nature of the work should be similar to that of what Ogilvy had in mind.
In the Online ad world, suits also need to have two other qualities:
Diligence and Speed:
You can train suits in the above plus host of things like planning, organizing.

But sadly no one can train anyone to be Curious (or "inquisitive" as mentioned your mail). Thats a natural trait. Those who have it, have it.
Good creative ppl I find are always highly curious ppl. Theres a wanting to "know" more about something... anything.
When the suit is more curious than the client, he/she ends up having more info about the brand than the client. And the client slowly starts "depending" on the suit, and this dependency is a powerful force for suits to have. Clients should "want" to spend time with you. You can't "learn" anything without being curious.

One external symptom of lack of curiosity is the dreaded "Headphone"
disease. I have seen suits work in office wearing headphones the whole day. Its just stupid, as so much learning in India happens by just listening to the way good suits "manage" real clients - real problems on the phone or discuss stuff with creative/buying etc. (Besides, headphones also ruin your ear-drum).

Client Servicing: Online Advertising and Offline Advertising

2008-05-09T03:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I have been very lazy and I hope to be regular now on. What made me write this post is the verrry interesting topic: is Client Servicing redundant in Advertising Agencies?

My creative director, Shubho, wrote a mail to a few of us in the client servicing dept of our 'digital advertising agency'. The mail said 'Client Servicing: Take in positive spirit'. lol

So the mail said:

Originally said by David Ogilvy but tweaked to present day conditions.
Client servicing is dead as we know it. Clients do not want
co-ordinators or glorified waiters and neither does the agency. What
clients and agencies need are people who can create value and
demonstrate value. It is not client servicing in the traditional sense
but smart account management which can demonstrate accountability to
the client and agency. The disparity in the compensation packages
between agencies and clients have witnessed bright minds from
b-schools and good institutions migrate to client companies.
Gone were the days when brand managers aspired to be account managers,
and gone are the days when good account managers knew more about the
brand than brand managers.

The problem is three fold, firstly the current crop of young folks
think they know a lot about marketing and communication and refuse to
learn and increase their knowledge base. We are in a knowledge economy
for heaven’s sake & if we can demonstrate to clients how our knowledge
can empower him/her, they will pay us more. Secondly, all of them want
to be millionaires in a couple of years without wanting to dirty their
hands. They dread the thought of getting into the market where the
marketing wars are being fought. They think they are good planners but
the plans they write are extremely sketchy and lack focus and
creativity. Thirdly they lack passion for the industry they are in. If
they are offered a job in another industry at a ten percent increase
they will lap it up.

Clients have changed over the last fifteen years and have become
extremely demanding. They want their agencies to be accountable for
every rupee they spend and demonstrate value and return on investment.
They want their agencies to be the “Voice Of The Consumer” and
therefore demand their agencies to hire personnel who understands
branding and adept in planning apart from cutting edge creative
solutions. These days clients come out for lunch less often, pay
agencies lesser, wants jobs delivered quicker and with more options.

From advertisers' view point, it boils down to account management having business acumen (ie)
understanding brands and how it can be a value multiplier, good
planning, organizational & leadership skills. Good communication and
presentation skills are mandatory and are taken for granted. Having a
positive attitude and good people skills are essential in the people’s
business we are in, as well as passion for the business we are in.
Having an inquisitive mind is also a pre-requisite. If brand and
management consultants can charge a bomb for their services why
should’nt communication consultants ? If communication is the critical
tool by which one builds brands, we need to be compensated fairly.
This can only be demonstrated via account management/account planning.
So go head and demonstrate value and how communication has impacted
the clients business and ask for a just compensation. So good-bye
client servicing and say hello to brand communications management.

I certainly do not agree and I will post my reaction in the next post.

Any reactionsform anyone?

Are you Blogging this?

2007-07-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

Scooby and Beckham: Adidas Commercial

2007-06-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

SCOOBY AND BECKAM - Funny videos are here

The truth in Advertising

2007-06-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Funny : Photograph

2007-05-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Via email from Mr.Suvir.

Orkut Rules!

2007-05-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

No doubt it rules. Check out the creativity in the invitation below and dont miss a word! :D

Image vis email from Debarshi

The Machine...

2007-04-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

Interesting Video.

http://ashes2brands.blogspot.com/2007/04/quote-machine-is-using-us.html

The Ad War

2007-04-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

This is the best Ad war I've come across. Have a look.

BMW kick started this ad: -

Audi answered : -

SUBARU added : -

**Pictures via e-mail from a dear friend, Mr. Suvir Narayan.

Utterly, Butterly Delicious

2007-03-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

My earliest memories of a television are a few hazy ads showing a chubby animated girl with a naughty smile on her face, devouring her favorite Amul Butter. Dressed in her red and white polka dotted dress, the Amul Girl is one of the rare Brand Mascots that has survived the gush of Brand Ambassadors.
I have been in constant love with this thumb sized girl. The public appeal of the little cheerful Amul girl has only grown since 1967, and she is now ready to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running campaign ever. The Amul Girl plays the role of a Social Observer with an ample sense of wit. Here are few of their latest ads, or tropicals, as Amul calls them:

Have a look at all the Amul ads here.

We adore the Amul thumblina for her boundless and exorbitant humor. It proves that in the “Brand Endorser” ridden industry, it is the Brand Mascot that the consumer still emotes with, essentially at the emotional level.

Google YouTubeD for $1bn!!!

2007-03-15T02:57:00.000-07:00

Troubled waters at YouTube yet again! Who hasn’t heard of the conflicts of a few major companies with You Tube over copywriting issues? But MTV owner Viacom Inc. has taken a step forward and declared Tuesday that it has sued Google’s YouTube in federal court for alleged copyright infringement for about $1 billion. Claims are that more than 160,000 unauthorized video clips from its various channels, have been available on the popular video-sharing Web site.

The Viacom - YouTube cold war surfaced last month when Viacom demanded removal of more than 100,000 clips from YouTube, rendering them unauthorized – and this report on MSNBC confirmed Google’s approval on the issue. But the question posed by Viacom is not answered yet; has the “Do no evil” giant “built a lucrative business out of exploiting the devotion of fans to others’ creative works in order to enrich itself and its corporate parent Google.”? YouTube attracts millions of users worldwide and is surly impossible to avoid. Will Google review the policies? Will the other media companies stand against it? Or, more likely, will these companies step into licensing deal with the former?

This way or that, all of us know who will profit in the end. So until next time, Do no evil. ;)

70+ Hours a week???

2007-03-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Now how about working 70 or more hours a week? Crazy, I know. But Americans are working that hard to “get ahead”, according to this report by MSNBC. This 70-hour-work-week is taking a toll on people in nearly all industries – Media to Retail. The survey reveals that in America, 70 percent, and globally, 81 percent; say their jobs undermine their health in terms of exercise, diet and the impact of stress. Also, 46 percent Americans, and globally, 59 percent, say it gets in the way of their relationships and-pay attention- 50 percent Americans say it affects their sex life. Man! "How Extreme your Job is?" the report asks. Exxxxxxxxxxxxxtreme, I'd say.

Reasons? Blame globalization, BlackBerries, corporate expectations and their own Type A personalities. What leaves me wondering here is can a human be productive, actually productive, for that many hours a week? The clear answer is NO. Not at all. So what are these companies thinking? Keeping back these stressed and burnt out employees might not only suck the loyalty for the company, but also self inflict the overall performance.
Suicidal I’ll call it. As the employees awaken, this trend will be washed off, and by the time it happens, the companies involved will lose talent.

I only pray it never happens to me-or this talent will quit. 70 hours?? You must be kidding, right?

P.S.: Read this funny one liner somewhere- “Because I exhausted my sick leaves, I called in dead.”

Introduction

2007-03-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

hmm... introduction might seem funny here, especially after my on going Monologue, the yellow Every Shit, the creative (!) Poetic Me and me at my musical best in Musical Me. Too much of me, I know. :)
But trust me, this one's going to be different. So let me introduce this buzzing blog (its sure to buzz soon) where I plan to share views on the market buzz. 2007 is surely going to be a happening year - lets wait, watch and wonder.
Ciao!