Brunch Forum: Apple’s Big Reveal, Foxy Emojis, NatGeo, Bank of America, Uber Talk, Mekanism & More

Enjoy AdForum’s daily round-up of the latest news, trends, and notable work in the advertising industry.

The Martin Agency Helps McCann Worldgroup Land American Airlines

“The Martin Agency, best known for its abundant and popular work for Geico, appears to be its parent company's best bet for retaining the American Airlines account. American, which is in the process of retiring the US Airways brand after acquiring the rival carrier, launched its global agency review in July.” Read more at Adweek.  

Apple’s New iPhone Draws Same Old Cynicism and Jibes from Haters

“You will hear some carping, in the coming days, about a lack of revolutionary upgrades in the new iPhone. At its media event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Apple added just a handful of features to its latest smartphones, the 6S and 6S Plus, including a pressure-sensitive screen, better cameras and a new color — pink, or ‘Rose Gold,’ in Apple’s marketing argot. It’s the same kind of carping that happens every year.” Read the full story at The New York Times.

Wired Breaks Down the Good and Bad from Apple’s Big Reveal Day

The world stood still yesterday – as it always does – for another big-time Apple event where CEO Tim Cook revealed the latest product updates and functionality evolutions that will define the newest generation of iEverything. Thanks to Wired for the detailed analysis of yesterday’s highlights. “From 3D Touch iPhones to the giant iPad Pro to an Apple TV you can talk to, we’ve got the perfect recap on what you need to know.” 

High-flying Advertising: Cadillac Airlifts New Vehicle Over Manhattan

In a stunt that certainly gained the attention of residents on the west side of Manhattan, Cadillac airlifted one of its new luxury vehicles over Gotham, to which jaded New Yorkers probably responded, “meh.” For more details, visit Ad Age. 

Fox Advertises New Fall TV Lineup via Instagram and Emojis

“Fox is going to Instagram to spread the word about its fall shows using a new kind of ad called Marquee. The network launched the campaign yesterday to promote its latest television programs, ‘Scream Queens,’ ‘Grandfathered,’ ‘Grinder’ and ‘Minority Report.’ Instagram introduced these new 30-second Marquee video ads for brands to use especially for launches and premieres for new shows and movies.” Full story at Digiday.

Droga5 Closes Office in Sydney, Australia

“Despite a series of big account wins in the United States and the media adoration that comes with being top dog, Droga5 is having a harder time in Europe and especially Australia. This week the agency announced that it will be closing its Sydney office before the end of the year.” More at AgencySpy. 

Rupert Murdoch Buys National Geographic, Ignites Speculation Over Brand’s Future

“Executives at Fox and National Geographic underscored that the new partnership — which will be governed by a board with an equal number of representatives from each organization — would not affect the magazine’s standards of reporting.” Visit The Washington Post for more. 

Job of the Day: Senior Consumer Researcher at Critical Mass in Calgary

The Senior Consumer Researcher will be an integral part of an exciting special research team that provides primary research to support a variety of Critical Mass client accounts. The team’s role is to provide greater insights into consumers; needs, wants, behaviours, preferences and motivations. The role focuses on both qualitative and quantitative research, with preference given to candidates with experience in both skills. Visit Critical Mass for more details. 

The Pinnacle of Advertising: Uber Becomes Part of the Lexicon

“If you've ever told a friend you would "Uber over" to meet them, you've helped the ride-hailing company reach that rarest of brand-name achievements: becoming a verb. It's one thing for a market-dominating product like Kleenex, Jacuzzi, or Coke to become the default noun for a category, but ascendance to Google- or Xerox-like verb status is the ultimate level of a brand's infiltration into its customers' physical existence. Visit Fast Company for the full story.

Copywriter’s Corner: Behold the Grammatical Structure of Famous Sentences

As they say in writing, “You can teach the craft, but not the muse.” Copywriters throughout the ad industry should take a few moments to appreciate this artful dissection of some of literature's must successful sentences. Visit Mashable for more. 

Bank of America Invests in Billy Idol and Christopher Guest Bringing the Funny

“Bank of America and Christopher Guest would like to remind you ad people that there is, in fact, such a thing as a bad idea. And the argument, which doesn't need much help to start with, gets an assist from none other than Billy Idol in a new campaign from Hill Holliday. Five spots feature three Bank of America execs in a conference room, brainstorming ways to promote the company's ‘preferred rewards’ for consumers. It's precisely the kind of idiocy that gets funnier as it goes along, reaching a high point as the marketing drones debate the wisdom of handing out free shrimp to customers." Read the full article at Adweek.

Industry Experts Break Down Content Challenges

“Say we have a piece of content and we put it on our site, on Vine, on Snapchat. Each time we put it somewhere new, we have to format and cut it a little differently and think about how that content fits on each platform. And all of that takes time. You have to be able to prioritize which platforms are going to be the most impactful. A part of my job is guarding my team from distractions and make sure they’re doing the things where there is a big opportunity. Sometimes we’re wrong.” - Dorth Raphaely, gm, Bleacher Report. Read more at Digiday. 

Agency of the Week

Mekanism creates advertising at the intersection of technology, design, culture and brand stories. We help brands build loyalty, authenticity and love. Mekanism boasts 80+ employees across two offices (San Francisco and New York) with key clients including Pepsi, Ben and Jerry’s, Jim Beam, Nordstrom Rack, The North Face, The White House and the NFL. Learn more about the creative culture and talented people at Mekanism by visiting their AdForum profile.

Because it is Thursday, you need to watch this ad (below) with a dog barking at a disco ball in the woods. 

(Bloody Mary photo courtesy of Anthony. Thank you! It looks delicious!)