You Sleep When You Die

October 3 marks the beginning of National Customer Service Week, an annual event sponsored, since 1991, by the Customer Service Group. This special week is designed to encourage companies in all industries to reward their very best customer service reps by launching celebrations that shine a spotlight on best practices…As we enter National Customer Service Week, I want to ask you: What company is your hero when it comes to customer service — and why?

Beginning in September 2012, the FDA will, at long last, make a serious attempt to get you to put the cigarette out. How? By requiring much larger, much more prominent, and much more graphic cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States. The labels feature no-bullshit images like that of a guy smoking through his tracheotomy hole.

Does that gross you out? Good. Smoking is gross.

See more… my interview on FoxBusiness on the same topic

Take a look at a recent Nissan spot, one that I was particularly proud of. It uses gentle humor to hit two powerful “hot button” issues: the rising gas prices we are all facing these days … and the Nissan line’s impressive record of fuel economy.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, broadcast network executives are “anticipating a robust gain in ad revenue of $600 million to $800 million” in the upfront market…

Personally, I am dubious about the numbers these people are throwing around, because broadcast advertisers have a long history of being way off base on this kind of thing.

A few days ago, there was movement as Ad Age reported that there will now be Lions given out for advertising effectiveness. At last, Cannes will be celebrating work that works. While part of me wonders what took them so long, I will simply tip my chapeau and say, “Très bon!”

Well, sort of…