You Sleep When You Die

Thanks to @casegilbreath for providing one of this week’s top questions. Remember, get your questions about advertising, business, the economy and more answered every Wednesday by posting comments to blog posts or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.

Jordan – what are your thoughts on performance marketing, affiliate marketing, CPA advertising?

Have you ever been standing in the freezer section of your local grocery store, trying to decide which brand of ice cream to buy, when someone walks up beside you and starts talking about how much she loves the Friendly’s brand?

Have you ever been sitting at your kid’s little league game and started talking to a nearby parent, only to find out he’s treating his son’s team to White Castle after the game?

Both of these are examples of cleverly placed ‘buzz agents:’ people whose job is to influence your opinion about a particular brand or product, all without your knowledge. If done correctly, buzz agents make potential customers stop and think, “If they’re doing it, maybe I should too.”

The U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform legislation has been called a success by Democratic supporters and a parliamentary sham by Republicans.

As an advertising executive, I call it a failure.

A recent Ad Age article announced an effort to re-brand New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration as “clean and wholesome.” The goal is to position Mardi Gras as offering more than drunkenness and debauchery. Those involved with the effort say that in addition to the more well known aspects of the celebration, Mardi Gras actually offers family-friendly activities such as parades and great food.

Of course New Orleans is a great city. It’s got history, architecture, culture, sports, cuisine, events and more. But aren’t those the same things that make Mardi Gras so FANTASTIC in the first place?!

Retailers are jumping ship in record numbers. They’re tossing out incumbent agencies and shopping for new ones, even going to “a creative shootout strategy between a roster of agencies.” In the past few months, Wendy’s, Volkswagen, Microsoft, Zappos.com, General Motors, Taco Bell, Wrigley’s and dozens of others have put their accounts into review or have hired new agencies.

Why?