Morning Update: Paris attacks claim lives of three industry vets; Publishers underwhelmed with Apple News app; More Christmas ads
AdAge: Paris Attacks Claim Lives of Three Industry Vets
“Publicis Conseil is in mourning. A great man is gone. Regards to all who loved him.” So wrote Valerie Henaff, CEO of Publicis Conseil on Twitter, regarding Fabrice Dubois, one of the dead following Friday’s attacks on Paris.
Dubois was a senior copywriter who spent nearly 13 years at Publicis Conseil in Paris, according to his LinkedIn profile. The agency confirmed his death on its Facebook page. “Fabrice Dubois, victim of the attack in Bataclan, left us last night. All the agency’s upset. He was a very great man, in every sense of the word.” According to news reports, he was 46.
Publicis, as well as other shops like Havas’ BETC, are praying there are no more victims among their employees. But sadly, according to news reports out of France, two other ad industry vets have so far been identified among the dead. Yannick Minvielle, a creative director at RED/Publicis, was reportedly killed at the Bataclan, as was François-Xavier Prévost, who joined LocalMedia in April after five years at Havas Media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OPJambrnME
AdWeek: Campaign Brings a Magical Story to Life Across TV, Digital and Its Stores
Target’s taking kids and grown-ups alike on a “holiday odyssey,” one that brings shopping and storytelling together in digitally fueled new ways.
The Minneapolis-based retailer’s 2015 campaign from 72andSunny is rooted in a digital children’s book narrated by actor Neil Patrick Harris. The story—produced in partnership with MediaMonks and illustrated by Invisible Creatures—also inspired five spots in an ongoing narrative that will be released throughout the holiday season.
“There is a metaphorical journey we all go on through the holiday time,” 72andSunny CEO John Boiler told Adweek. “We’re all anticipating the mystery and challenge of the holidays in front of us. But it does have twists and turns.”
AdAge: Volkswagen’s New Ad: ‘We’re Working to Make Things Right’
In its first significant marketing response to the emissions scandal, Volkswagen of America on Sunday will begin running ads in major U.S. newspapers declaring that “we’re working to make things right,” while plugging a customer goodwill program.
In the ad, VW Group of America CEO Michael Horn states that “over the past several weeks, we’ve apologized to you, our loyal customers, about the 2.0L VW diesel emissions issue. As we work tirelessly to develop a remedy, we ask for your continued patience.”
The ads are by VW’s U.S. agency of record Deutsch, L.A. and mark the shop’s first noticeable involvement in the automaker’s effort to reclaim trust in wake of the scandal. The ads will run in more than 30 newspapers, including USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. Digital banner ads are also planned.
Digiday: Publishers are underwhelmed with Apple News app
When Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp expressed frustration with his company’s performance on Apple News last week, his complaints apparently were just the tip of the iceberg. Other publishing execs are unhappy about everything from the traffic they’re getting from the two-month-old news aggregation app to the user experience to the data Apple’s giving them.
It’s hard to really know how much traffic to expect from a new platform. But when Apple launched the mobile app Sept. 16, it was baked into the home screen for iOS 9, which reportedly has had the fastest adoption rate ever for Apple, with 66 percent of iPhone users having upgraded to it, as of Nov. 2. So given the adoption rate and Apple News’ coveted real estate, publishers pumped a lot of their content into the app, seeing strong potential to reach new audiences. (Apple said last month that the app has 40 million users.)
The Drum: Fallon founder Pat Fallon dies aged 70
Pat Fallon, founder of the Minneapolis, London and Tokyo advertising agency Fallon, has died aged 70.
“Fallon is deeply saddened to announce the death of its founder and chairman Pat Fallon, who passed away with his family at his side on Friday, November 13,” the agency said on Saturday.
Fallon co-founded the agency, originally known as Fallon McElligott Rice, in Minneapolis in 1981 – determined to not only beat the recession but prove you did not need to be on Madison Avenue to run a major advertising agency.
Mumbrella Asia: Ikea Singapore interactive video lets viewer choose intensity of Christmas carol singing
Ikea Singapore has launched an interactive video that enables the viewer to choose the intensity of their Christmas celebrations as the festive season approaches.
By clicking on three different options on the screen, from minimum to maximum, a family at home singing ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ is transformed from a small, subdued gathering to a large, almost raucous throng of singers.
The Guardian: BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti: how the great entertainer got serious
Daphne’s, in the heart of London’s swankiest shopping streets, could be on the list if BuzzFeed were ever to post an article on Restaurants Least Likely to Attact Technology Moguls. In his power nerd uniform of crew neck, check shirt and jeans, BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti seems as out of place amid the lunching women wearing sunglasses indoors as dancing dogs once were on news sites.
When asked why his team chose this unlikely, if lush, venue for an interview, a traffic jam away from Buzzfeed’s London offices, Peretti laughs and says “Heads will roll”. with his tortoisehell glasses, Peretti is like a sort of Californian Q, but it is the spectre of Buzzfeed’s ambitions to be a huge global media company rather than a repository for cat listicles that are causing waves through the media industry.
Campaign: Aldi “#AldiFavouriteThings” by McCann Manchester
Aldi has opted for a traditional Christmas campaign this year, presenting an altered version of My Favourite Things, the song from The Sound Of Music.
McCann Manchester created the TV spot, in which Aldi’s festive wares are described in song, in a rewritten version of the classic Sound Of Music track, and also showcased in a variety of magical Christmas scenes. While this is the budget supermarket’s first official Christmas ad of the year, Aldi’s August bank holiday TV spot was derided on Twitter for looking like a Christmas ad and, as such, for being premature.
