"Hi, Billy Mays here. From beyond the grave."

One day last week, after a meeting in Boston, I went back to my hotel room to relax before joining my colleagues for dinner. I turned on the TV and started unpacking my laptop, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

The voice screaming at me was instantly recognizable.

"HI, BILLY MAYS HERE FOR THE JUPITER JACK. THE MOST CONVENIENT HANDS-FREE DEVICE FOR ANY CELLPHONE, GUARANTEED!"

I felt like the kid in "The Sixth Sense." 
"I see dead people," I thought to myself, "and they're yelling at me."

There he was, the dead pitchman, pitching at me with all the vigor of an extremely live pitchman. And unlike in his other spots, he was driving a car while doing it!

It was a bit unnerving. Billy seemed so alive, so eager to sell this amazing little miracle product!

Never before had I been held so entranced by a hardcore direct response commercial. I practically had to fight myself from picking up the phone and ordering a few of the damn things.

Why was I so much more captivated by this infomercial than any other I had seen?

Then it hit me. For an infomercial, this was the perfect storm: A famous dead guy driving his car – possibly with cocaine in his system – while pitching a product that he promises could save your life.

What could have more stopping power than that?

(Okay, the only thing that might have made this spot even more unsettling is if he had crashed into something as he spoke to the camera.)

Later, I read that this spot was Billy's last. I suppose the next time I see it, I won't be so caught off guard.

Unless he starts to decompose more with each subsequent airing...

-Mark

A Title Wave

This week, Advertising Age ran an article about how Alex Bogusky, of Crispin Porter Bogusky, would be expanding his role beyond his own agency and working with parent company MDC to improve the creative output of all its agencies.

The title Bogusky gave himself at MDC is "Chief Creative Insurgent."

While some in the trades have been having fun with this title, I quite like it. It clearly states his mission – to shake things up creatively – in a way that is inherently more creative than "MDC Executive Creative Director" or the like.

Way back in the last decade (13 months ago, to be exact), my partner Dorothy Wetzel and I named our new agency "Extrovertic" because we felt it accurately reflected who we are and what our business is all about.

Since our mission is to help companies become more extroverted in their customer engagement, "Extrovertic" just seemed like the perfect monicker for our firm. And when it came to giving titles to ourselves and our staff, it made sense to carry the theme down to a personal level.

Dorothy is our "Chief Marketing Extrovert." I am the "Chief Creative Extrovert." We have a "Chief RM Extrovert," a "Marketing Strategy Extrovert," a "Strategic Planning Extrovert," a "Client Services Extrovert," and so on. We even have an "Associate Extrovert" – our intern from York College.

I've had a couple of colleagues in the business tell me they're not sure about these titles. But most prospective clients, upon receiving our business cards, seem to find them refreshing and reflective of who they're meeting with for the first time. It really sets the tone for a more relaxed, unstuffy meeting.

Non-traditional titles seem to be gaining popularity all across the corporate landscape.

When I was at Ogilvy, we had a "Minister of Culture." The head of Aol's matchmaking service holds the title, "CEO of Love." Yahoo! has a "Yahoo! Evangelist."

Some companies refer to their receptionists or call center operators as "Directors of First Impressions."

Even a company as conservative as Berkshire Hathaway has a "Director of Chaos" (the person responsible for putting together its annual event-filled annual shareholder get-together).

And while Steve Jobs' official title at Apple is CEO, he prefers the title, Chief Know it All.

In today's business world, 9:00 to 5:00 has become 24/7 and the office has become anywhere you can pick up a WiFi signal. So why not rethink people's titles, too?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

– Mark

An Old Force of Nature Meets a New Force of Kindness

This is the second time since we started this blog that I've posted about the use of social media after an earthquake.

Of course, the quake in Haiti was a world apart from the one last year in Italy, and not just in terms of geography. It appears that the devastation caused by the Haitian quake may be unlike anything we've ever seen before.

And this, in a country that was already considered by many to be a disaster zone on even a normal day.

While Twitter was once again the first media source on the scene, social media is now earning accolades for its power to raise a whole lot of money in a very short time. Almost instantly, musician Wyclef Jean was on the news shows appealing to people to text the word "yele" at 501501 to make an automatic $5 donation.

The Yele Haiti fund reached $1 million today.

Soon, it seemed every humanitarian aid group was collecting money this way. The Red Cross has raised $4 million through its $10 text number. The White House has a number, as does UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam and countless others.

Usually, donations take weeks to get where they need to go, but with these texts, it's instantaneous. And without having to write a check or pull out a credit card, people seem to be much quicker to donate.

"It's shattered any record that we've seen with mobile giving before," the Red Cross's social media manager told CNN.

It appears that in the aftermath of a tragedy of such immense magnitude, texting technology is now helping to untap generosity of perhaps an even great magnitude.

– Mark

Maybe It's Time For Ad Age To Change Its Name?

I logged onto AdAge.com for my weekly perusal and couldn't help but notice that there are basically only two types of stories on the home page.

One group of headlines focuses on the dire state of the advertising business as we bring down the curtain on the first decade of the millennium:

"Ad Spending Heads Into Tepid Recovery"

"2009 Set to Show First Revenue Decline for Nation's Top 100 Media Cos."

"More Firing Than Hiring at Ad Agencies"

The other is about everything in which the advertising business dabbles, beyond the making of ads, themselves:

"Five Best Branded-Entertainment Deals of 2009"

"Branded Virtual Goods are Presents for Marketers, Too"

"Five Keys to Branded-Entertainment Success"

"Twitter at a Crossroads: Audience Growth Won't Be Enough in 2010"

"Want to Innovate? Then Create a Rich, Holistic Brand Experience"

"Ad Age Launches Mobile App for iPhone, iPod Touch"

"GMC Partners With Social Network Tangle.com as More Marketers Target Christian Demo"

"Looking For a Second Career? Consider Being a Community Manager"

What does this tell me?

That what was once the future is now the present: Digital. Social Media. Brand placement. Brand experiences.

Advertising as we knew it is over. It sure was fun while it lasted.

And while old ad guys like me might shed a tear or two as the thirty second commercial goes the way of the Giant Panda, we should also keep our eyes on the bigger picture:

It's really not an end, but a new beginning. A whole new world of technology, insights and the myriad opportunities that come with both.

The king is dead.

Long live the king.

– Mark

Logo? Or Loco?

Last month, after the FDA held its hearings on establishing guidelines for social media for pharma, I wrote a piece somewhat supportive of phARMA's suggestion that the industry establish an FDA "seal of approval"- type logo.

Since then, I've had numerous conversations on the subject with many very smart people who are either directly or closely involved in the FDA discussion and am starting to get more of a handle on how such a solution could possibly work.

As Dan Solomon, CEO of Virilion (the "V" in our new joint venture, EV Healthcare) points out, the electronics industry has long been policing itself for safety standards through the auspices of the independent product safety certification organization, Underwriter Laboratories.

Since the early 1900s, the "UL" logo has appeared on everything from fire extinguishers to washers and dryers, to show consumers that the products on which it is stamped have been proven to be in accordance with Underwriters Laboratories' strict safety standards.

According to the UL's own website, "The UL Mark on a product means that UL has tested and evaluated representative samples of that product and determined that they meet UL requirements. Under a variety of programs products are periodically checked by UL at the manufacturing facility to make sure they continue to meet UL requirements."

In turn, UL testing has to meet the standards set by the federal government's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

So if the electronics industry, which bears the responsibility of preventing countless injuries and deaths of consumers by electrical shock and fire, can police itself this way, is it such a stretch to ask the pharma industry to do the same?

Couldn't pharma, in conjunction with the FDA, come to an agreement on what the standards of responsible marketing should be, and then create its own FDA-authorized governing body to uphold them?

And couldn't every piece of pharma-created marketing material – both online and off – proudly wear a seal of approval, stating that it meets the highest standards, and that the FDA is more than welcome to come kick the tires?

Just a thought.

– Mark

Sending Out an SOS to the World

This is an update to a post I wrote on September 26 about SingSOS! (sing Songs of the Spectrum), the incredibly caring and committed group whose members have been spending every waking hour of the week – month after month – for a couple of years now – putting out an album of songs they've written about the experience of living with a child (or being a child) on the autism spectrum. (Along with a specially selected treasury of must reading for anyone interested in this growing issue.)

Well, the songs have all been recorded by a fantastic roster of well-known and emerging artists, including Jackson Browne and Valerie Carter, Dar Williams, Ollabelle, Richard Julian, Teddy Geiger, Marshall Crenshaw, Jonatha Brooke and many more.

It sounds terrific, and looks terrific, too. Thanks to the many submissions received from some very talented artists with autism who vied to have their works chosen for the CD's cover, which has been designed by former Atlantic Records creative director Liz Barrett.

Now here's the real news: the SingSOS! site is now up and running. You can listen to and read about the songs, look at photos of the artists, click links to other informative sites, and most importantly, purchase the music –in your choice of digital download or physical CD package.

But you get to choose more than just how to receive the music. You can also choose which leading autism group gets your donation. All the major groups are represented in a drop down menu as you make your purchase. If your favorite group isn't there, there's a box in which you can suggest one to be added later. There's also a form for groups themselves to apply.

Ninety percent of all proceeds will go to these groups. All SingSOS! asks of them is that they promote the CD among their memberships. (The remaining ten percent goes to production costs and a war chest for another push in April, which is Autism Awareness Month.)

Great music and great information. All put together by people who really care about this growing issue.

Please buy the album. Or at the very least, spread the word.

Let's help these folks put out a much needed SOS.

Thanks.

– Mark

What We Were Hearing About the Hearings

On the 12th and 13th of last week, the FDA held its hearings on establishing guidelines for social media for pharma.

Or, as it was officially titled, the much catchier, "Promotion of Food and Drug Administration - Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools."

As expected, it was a big event for the industry, with over 800 people trying to register online for the 300 available seats and everyone and their mother offering opinions across the Twittersphere.

Ironically, though, nobody could tweet directly from the hearings themselves. There was no WiFi available in the room where they were being held.

The big news the first day seemed to be phARMA's recommendation of a "Seal of Approval"-type logo that would go on all social sites that meet the FDA’s guidelines for fair balance, non-promotion of off-label uses, reporting of adverse effects, etc. A very smart and extremely simple opening salvo by the industry.

Of course, to back this idea up, every pharma company would have to actively moderate every discussion and respond quickly and forcefully in the event of an off-label suggestion or the mention of adverse effects. It's where things are going any way. Might as well grab the bull by the horns.

From what I picked up, the second day of the hearings seemed to be a little more confrontational and less kindly towards the industry's point of view.

Considering all the data that shows how much people depend on the Web for their healthcare information, you'd think the FDA would want itself and pharma to all be on the same page when it comes to helping people make smart, educated decisions on what could literally be matters of life and death.

At least the discussion has begun.

– Mark