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Opinion
The keyboard warrior of Twitter
In this guest post, NBN staffer Scott Rhodie writes an unofficial, personal view on his experience with a hostile Twitter critic.Last night I had a strange incident. While on Twitter I noticed someone saying that Australia’s NBN is already outdated. I wrote a small note back explaining they were incorrect.
And their response? The lovely gentleman (whose Twitter profile says: ‘Father of 5 kids, Loving Grandfather of 10 Grandchildren,and 2 Great Granddaughters. love to give heaps to Pollies and Poofters’) said to me: “Go and lick Gillards C*** out U commie Prick”
What's in a name?
In this guest post, Moensie Rossier wonders about the power of names for brands and marketers.
Brands have been having a bit of fun with names lately, not to mention a fair bit of success. Interbrand just named a headhunting firm Cloak & Dagger. And ‘Share a Coke’ showed how much power there is in a name.
The Coke campaign effectively short-circuited the usual mechanics of communication. It undoubtedly stroked people’s egos. But, I believe, its success stems from the fact that it directly and automatically affected people’s behaviour, rather than doing so indirectly by shaping attitudes.
Best ads from Super Bowl 2012
The Super Bowl is all done and a team from North America won. But as well as some sort of sporting event, it’s the world’s biggest advertising showcase. See the best of them right here… and please tell us what you think.
How to debunk media myths
In this post, UWS’s Ullrich Ecker, John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky argue that cognitive science can help PRs form strategies in managing media misreporting.
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone.
How about simply focusing on what consumers want?
In this guest post, Peter Mountford argues that brands should think more about what is really going on for consumers
Who here is hoping their favourite brand of toilet paper is going to be organizing a flash mob on their way home from work today?
What the Optus web copyright victory means
In this analysis first published on The Conversation, RMIT’s Marita Shelly examines the implications of Telstra’s defeat over the online rights to the AFL broadcast deal
This week’s Federal Court ruling that Optus customers are able to view sporting matches minutes after they are streamed live without breaching copyright is a landmark decision that alters our understanding of copyright law, and has significant implications for the AFL’s broadcasting rights deal.
Does Gina Rinehart’s bite of a chunk of Fairfax make her an oligarch?
In an article that first appeared in The Conversation, Mark Rolfe wonders whether the mining magnate’s move could turn Fairfax into something resembling America’s Fox network.
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has moved to increase her stake in Fairfax Media, owner of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and a number of radio stations. Rinehart has already shown her desire to play a role in public life, campaigning against former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s aborted mining tax. She has also demonstrated a willingness to make media investments to ensure her pro-business worldview is promulgated.
What does this latest move by Rinehart mean?
Gillard's Australia Day crisis
PM Julia Gillard’s media adviser Tony Hodges has been forced to resign over the Australia Day tent embassy debacle.
It came after it emerged he had revealed opposition leader Tony Abbott’s whereabouts, leading to both politicians being rescued by police in ugly scenes.
Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes and advertising practitioner Jane Caro debate the topic on Weekend Sunrise’s masters of Spin segment:
The biggest cock-up I made in business
In this guest post, Chris Savage urges agency staff to live the brand.I still shudder when I think about how incredibly stupid I was when I made the biggest stuff up of my career. And then, 18 years later, I did it again. Do not make this mistake with your clients. Ever.
Hey Groupon. Thanks for fucking up email
In this guest post, Daniel Monheit warns that group deal overload is devaluing email marketingEmail marketing used to be fabulous. Back in the heady days of 2010, brands would work hard to build up well qualified databases, upon which they’d bestow carefully crafted correspondence filled with information, offers and incentives. The recipients, of course would be delighted: “Oh look! An email! From one of my favourite brands! And it’s 40 cents off at Woolies this week!”.
The staggering sway of Harold Mitchell
The Power Index today names Aegis Media chairman Harold Mitchell as the most powerful person in Melbourne. Andrew Crook profiles him.
Harold Mitchell takes pride in dispensing with the niceties. When The Power Index visited his South Melbourne private office before Christmas, fresh remains were scattered all over the boardroom table.
Share a Coke with… the moronic masses
The most-read story on Mumbrella last year, with not far off 100,000 page views, was a fairly humdrum yarn about the launch of Coca-Cola’s name-on-a-bottle campaign.The headline, “Coca-Cola puts people’s names on bottles in ‘Share a Coke’ campaign”, though hated by any self-respecting sub-editor, was loved by Google. And in rushed what can be politely described as the public.
Assumptions kill creativity
In this guest post, Gual Barwell disagrees that the sales success of the Old Spice social media campaign was overstated.Yesterday’s post from Cathie McGinn suggested the Old Spice campaign failed to connect with consumers. Based on the facts and figures, I disagree.
What Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy has done and done phenomenally well is to create a franchise.
The SMH's readers (are wrong) editor
We are now about five months into the reign of Australia’s first readers’ editor. And I don’t think it is working.
It struck me at the time of Judy Prisk’s appointment to the Sydney Morning Herald that the fact that her boss was editor-in-chief Peter Fray was not going to be ideal if she was going to be the independent voice of the reader.
The emperor's new fragrance: Old Spice’s campaign failure
In this guest post, Cathie McGinn slays a sacred cow of 21st century marketing – the highly awarded Old Spice campaign.One of the biggest myths of recent times (by which I mean a story of great heroism and triumph we’d all like to believe but deep down know to be untrue) is the Old Spice social media campaign. It’s been much lauded and awarded as an example of outstanding content, a creative and collaborative way of connecting with consumers and driving a record increase in sales.
Labor’s last push: Kid’s drawings of Abbott the dinosaur and Julia Gillard the angel
The final stage of Labor’s online election push features the drawings of an 11-year-old called Harrie.
The ad features a child’s drawing of a dinosaur to represent Liberal leader Tony Abbott and a smiling redheaded angel (or possibly fairy) to represent Labor’s Julia Gillard.
After the dinosaur digs up a capsule labelled Workchoices, the Gillard angel waves her magic wand to destory the dinosaur.
With TV ads now banned until after the election, Labor has also done a home page takeover of YouTube.

Dr Mumbo
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Comments
20 Aug 10
12:05 pm
thats just a new low….
well done if thats what they were after.
20 Aug 10
12:14 pm
Are you fucking serious
That is possibly the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in all my life.
God help us all
20 Aug 10
12:30 pm
Matches the maturity of the people running each of the campaigns. Atrocious all round.
20 Aug 10
12:43 pm
Just made my mind up based on that… My dear God a number of senior ALP people would have had to approve this piece of shit. And you want us to trust you with running the country ??
20 Aug 10
12:45 pm
That is a ridiculous ad! Who are they trying to appeal to? Under 18s don’t vote remember!?
20 Aug 10
1:30 pm
Smart kid, must have read “Battle lines”.
20 Aug 10
1:44 pm
How pathetic – I wish they had of run this earlier. Ether a case of child abuse or maybe Harrie is actually a 58 year old Labor power broker who thought this might work. I also thought the “poof” effect would have been a good way for Julia the Angel (or is that Julie with an Angle?) to talk about gay marriage.
20 Aug 10
1:45 pm
Sign that kid. CD for some agency for sure!
20 Aug 10
1:46 pm
That is worse than cancer, the 2004 tsunami, World War 2 and Two and a Half Men combined.
20 Aug 10
1:49 pm
Thanks to Labor’s creative agency after this Australia will have a new government and we can all drink to freedom.
20 Aug 10
1:58 pm
DISGUSTING!
20 Aug 10
1:59 pm
Has anyone else found that on the YouTube homepage right now the Labor ads are clicking through to doubleclick.com ?
I’m in IE… maybe major YouTube adserving #FAIL ?
20 Aug 10
2:00 pm
Haters. Harrie can colour in better than any of you.
20 Aug 10
2:36 pm
And the winner of the “Race to the Bottom” goes to Labour who came in a crayon’s length ahead of Liberal…
20 Aug 10
2:38 pm
How is this any different to any of the other ad campaigns this election? If anything, it’s honestly at being childish is refreshing. Of course I wouldnt base my choice on this ad, but anyone who bases their decision on who they want to run the country from a single TV ad really shouldn’t be allowed a vote…
20 Aug 10
2:56 pm
Maybe they can hire Harrie back to do a follow up ad for “stopping the boats”……….
20 Aug 10
3:27 pm
This must be a joke.
Keely – you must be a joke.
20 Aug 10
3:38 pm
Vote early. It’s the easiest way to avoid all this crap.
20 Aug 10
3:50 pm
Hmmm. 244 views on Youtube. That covers the 243 kids at Harriet’s school and the numpty who thought up the idea
20 Aug 10
3:52 pm
Keely,
Your an idiot and presumably a labor voter. If not a pom thats not allowed to vote here anyway. Go home.
20 Aug 10
5:57 pm
I want some of that sprinkly shit to make this election disappear.