In the end the Germans lost

Spain rightly beat Germany to win Euro 2008. I watched it in a club in Barcelona. The Catalan capital has a schizophrenic relationship with the national team as it sees itself as a near independent nation.
Last night, however, the Catalans seemed as elated as the Madrilenos at the fact and manner of victory which finally [...]

Wars not yet won – the gates remain open

The battle for Yahoo stands at advantage Google. The juxtaposition of what seems like a pivotal moment in the web advertising space and the the semi-retirement of the greatest businessman of the second half of the 20th century begs the obvious question of what’s next.
Remarkably a number of commentators have drafted early versions of Microsoft’s [...]

Wall Street Journal 3 Screen article

Phone Giants Roll Out
‘Three Screen’ Strategy
Video Programming
And Ads to Be Served
On TV, Cellphones, Web
By AMOL SHARMA
June 26, 2008; Page B7
 
Rob’s comment….
I suspect I can’t claim to have been misquoted here but I WAS partially quoted. What did not make the piece was the next sentence…..”As penetration of telco TV services increases their offer will be compelling but [...]

Your nation’s capital

Washington DC looks like a capital city, it reminded me of New Delhi in which the institutions of government and power are laid out with formaility and ceremony that makes it clear to the populous that the place has a distinct purpose.
A day or two in DC interacting with government is an intriguing and rewarding [...]

a word the world needs

Teetotalitarian (adj)
A state ruled by an unelected government that forbids the consumption of alchohol.

Vacation in Brighton Beach

If you don’t live in New York you might be forgiven for thinking that the four boroughs other than Manhattan are places you go to use airports, ball parks or find out where the Staten Island ferry goes. The same is true for most people who actually live in Manhattan.
Excursions to the other boroughs (Brooklyn, [...]

My Space re-design from LA Times

MySpace aims for big bucks with site redesign
9:27 AM, June 18, 2008

MySpace is getting ready for its close-up.
The social network, which seemed to have drawn its Web-design inspiration from Jackson Pollock’s splatter-it-all-over-the-canvas look, today took on a more refined (dare we say Facebook-like) approach.
The redesigned homepage (pictured above), where millions of people come every day [...]

Tiger Woods – 14 is great, only 19 is greatest

Tiger Woods’ outstanding and remarkable hobble around Torrey Pines has raised the debate once again about his status relative to 18 major winner Jack Nicklaus.
The debate will be settled when he hits 19 and not before.
The delay in the coronation is necessary as we think back on who Nicklaus competed with in his pomp. In [...]

My new job??

June 17, 2008
 
Mr. Fred Wilpon
Owner
New York Mets
Shea Stadium (for now)
Queens
New York, NY
 
Managerial vacancy
 
Dear Mr Wilpon,
 
I wish to put my name forward for consideration for the post of Team Manager. I should first explain some issues that may be a barrier to this appointment.
 
Firstly I have no baseball managerial experience in the Major Leagues or [...]

See it? Keep it? Share it?

It’s interesting to speculate on how the creative brief needs to evolve to reflect the opportunity presented by digital formats and channels.
Historically we created advertising to be seen, remembered, appreciated and acted upon. We never had any expectation that people would snip an ad from the paper or record it on the VHS. We really [...]