Table of contents for Aug-17-15 in Adweek

Broadcast, cable and streaming networks spent 17 days trotting out their new and returning fall shows to journalists at the Television Critics Association’s Summer Press Tour in Los Angeles. On the final day, NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt succinctly summed up the big TCA trends: “Too many shows, not enough monetization, fractured audience, Netflix doesn’t report ratings. What did Nielsen do this time?” Of the freshman crop, the panels for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW), The Muppets (ABC), Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS), Grandfathered (Fox) and The Grinder (Fox) charmed many reporters present, while those for Truth Be Told (NBC) and Blood and Oil (ABC) were more problematic.…

NBCU’S AUDIENCE TARGETING PLATFORM Buyers like the “depth and scope” of its products as well as access to Comcast set-top box data. VIACOM VANTAGE Its two-week optimization, far ahead of any other company’s, was praised by buyers. TURNER DATA CLOUD Less optimization and a smaller portfolio than NBCU and Viacom, but it remains far ahead of other nets.…

Chris Northam didn’t know what to expect when he set up a giant, ersatz X-ray installation at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif., this past Valentine’s Day. But what he ended up with turned into one of the most beloved public service ads in recent memory—the iconic and award-winning anti-bias message “Love Has No Labels” made by R/GA for client The Ad Council. “Obviously, the subject matter of what was going on might be polarizing for certain people, so there was a bit of a worry going in of what that could stir up in the crowd,” says Northam, one of the executive creative directors of video, the crown jewel of The Ad Council’s broader “Love Has No Labels” campaign. “It was overwhelmingly positive, which was really interesting…

Production ANIMATION “Silent,” CAA Marketing/ Moonbot Studios for Dolby Laboratories. Two street performers stumble through cinema history in a magical movie theater. CINEMATOGRAPHY “The Game Before the Game,” R/GA for Beats by Dre. Neymar and other futbolers go through prematch rituals to the strains of X Ambassadors’ “Jungle.” COPYWRITING “The Advertising Prophet,” DigitasLBi for Funny or Die. Shown at the NewFronts, this hilarious skit both skewered and celebrated digital marketing prowess. DIRECTION “Tinder Plus,” Magna Carta. A young woman meets a man and travels the world falling in and out of love. Shot over 10 days in four countries. (See story on p. 18) EDITING “The Game Before the Game,” R/GA for Beats by Dre. The spot also features other soccer giants, including Fabregas, Schweinsteiger and Suarez. LIVE VIDEO PRODUCTION…

Consumers are looking to their brands to deliver world-class experiences and engaging content. What better way to provide that than by setting a Guinness World Records title? Businesses and brands of all shapes and sizes have been turning to Guinness World Records to help them create irresistibly engaging, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for their audiences. These experiential events don’t only set records and grab media headlines; they also create viral content that generates greater brand awareness and an influential following of genuine brand advocates. “We work with a wide range of brands, agencies and organizations that want to engage their fans differently—with entertaining, shareable experiences that can also end up making history,” says Peter Harper, SVP Americas, Guinness World Records. Here are a few examples of how brands are doing that: FXX:…

Closing date Bonus Distribution 8.31 Design Issue NEW! Exploring the spaces that translate culture and inspire talent through design. 9.7 Media Plan of the Year Celebrating over 30 years of the most innovative and effective media plans of the year. 9.14 Social Issue The social media graph and who is making it matter today. SPECIAL SECTIONS SOCIAL MARKETING GUIDE ADCOLOR AWARDS 9.21 Invention Issue Project Isaac winner showcase — hailing the stand-out inventions in media, technology, marketing and advertising. Featuring FALL TV PREVIEW 9.28 Advertising Week New York A complete run down of what not to miss at the industry’s biggest meeting of the minds. 10.5 Young Influentials Twenty up-and-coming superstars from media, marketing and tech — all under 40 years old, and blooming fast. ALL CONTENT IN PRINT,…

Specs Age 42 Claim to fame Star of She’s Funny That Way (in theaters Aug. 21) and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit (Sept. 11); guest stars as Rabbi Raquel on Transparent (Season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime Dec. 4) Base Los Angeles What’s the first information you consume in the morning? Besides the contents of my fridge, I would say The New York Times is my homepage—that’s the first thing I check—and I do love Vulture. Tell us about your social media habits. I am not on any social media. I don’t have a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Instagram seems really appealing to me and I’m always kind of lurking on there. I’m such a grandma. When you’re lurking online, what blogs or websites do you look at?…

In his inspiring Oscar acceptance speech for Milk, the 2008 film about the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and openly gay city official Harvey Milk, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tossed down the gauntlet for LGBT rights—and he’s been a tireless fighter for the cause ever since. Along with crusading for marriage equality, Black has chosen writing and directing projects that reflect his commitment to social justice. “I’m drawn to making films that in some way move the social conversation,” he said. “I want them to entertain, but for me, I can’t really get up in the morning and do all the hard work and keep pushing if I don’t feel like in some way it moves the needle.” Black was recently tapped by Pereira & O’Dell to direct…

Specs Current gig Chief news anchor and managing editor of breaking news at Fox News Channel Twitter @ShepNewsTeam Age 51 It’s been 10 years since you reported on Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Is there part of what you saw that doesn’t go away? I don’t like thinking about it. I don’t like thinking about 9/11, I don’t like thinking about my mom dying, I don’t like thinking about Katrina. I love New Orleans and the people there. Sometimes things are just so big and so frustrating, you don’t want to think about them, and I don’t really like thinking about it. It’s been 10 years, and everybody’s thinking about it. I’m willing to think about it, but I’m not willing to like it. I don’t know what I gain…

Attendees at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past January had no shortage of stunts to engage with: 15-story-high banners; the oldest surviving Ford vehicle; brand ambassadors with selfie sticks; VR headsets to simulate a drive; not to mention the regular cadre of concept cars and new model unveilings. Every booth seemed to have some option for pushing social shares. Nothing summed it up like a feature at Scion’s booth—an Instagram-powered vending machine that gave out gifts for posts to personal social media accounts. Tens of thousands of Scion-related Instagrams got shared via the hardware. Welcome to the new world of experiential marketing, where the in-person event doesn’t happen unless someone posts it to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or some other social channel. Events are now planned to…

THE HIP The original contour bottle had wider hips, but Raymond Loewy lengthened the bottle design in the mid-1950s and streamlined the profile. THE GLASS Called “German Green” before WWI and later changed to “Georgia Green,” the original bottle glass was so thick that a bottle of Coke weighed 1 lb. THE LABEL In the early days, Coke embossed its script logo into the glass itself. By 1950, Coke opted for the easier method of stamping its name on the glass instead. THE FLUTING In 1914, designer Earl R. Dean specified thick corrugation of the bottle’s drum to imitate the ridges of a cacao pod. Despite design revisions, the feature survives. You’ve probably never heard the name of Earl R. Dean. Or, for that matter, the Root Glass Company of…

Just weeks ago, Kim Kardashian told a packed house at Cannes that she wouldn’t do Instagram ads. But she quickly flip-flopped, promoting the morning-sickness medication Diclegis on the social media app as she and Kanye West are expecting their second child. Everyone understood, and the development flew under the radar. But the Food and Drug Administration last week told Kardashian and Diclegis to knock it off because there was no required disclaimer on the Instagram post. Kardashian was quick to push the “delete” button. (Ugh, reality TV is so much easier.)…

Data dominated this year’s upfront presentations, as each network claimed it had the best data platform to help advertisers and media buyers enhance TV buys. Now that upfront business has finally wrapped, we asked several buyers to anonymously review the networks’ individual data offerings and separate the contenders from the pretenders. Their conclusions: It’s a three-horse race. To buyers, three players stand out: NBCUniversal, Viacom and Turner. They gave low marks to ABC, CBS, Discovery and A&E for supplying little more than the data they and their clients already have access to. Said one buyer: “All ABC is doing is optimizing your prime-time inventory, which you could do on your own.” Optimization less than optimal. One buyer praised Viacom’s willingness to optimize its data every two weeks, though another said…

Specs Claim to fame Stacy Minero, head of content planning at Twitter, food lover, aspiring world traveler and insomniac, checks her Twitter timeline at least 50 times a day and was an Adweek Media All-Star in 2013. Base New York Twitter @sminero Recognizing there is life after the :30, brands earlier this year began experimenting with different video lengths to showcase their products and connect with consumers. Now, in short order, the focus is shifting to new video formats —everything from the short animated GIF, to the six-second Vine, to long-form video and even livestreaming broadcasts through platforms like Periscope. Brand marketers are starting to see they can be effective at any unit length if the creative is compelling. Nike, for example, is a brand that consistently pushes the limits…

BEST HOST AWARD TALENT Joel McHale THE SOUP Treetop Cat Rescue (yes, that’s a real show), the sad demise of hitchBOT, Lenny Kravitz’s penis—all topics covered in just a single episode of E!’s The Soup. “As you can see, it’s a very high-brow show,” deadpans Joel McHale, who has hosted the pop culture-skewering series since 2004. Every week, a team of 14 staffers spend the week with their eyes glued to the tube in search of the most buzzworthy moments. “These poor people have to watch so much television they’re going to shoot themselves in the eye,” cracks McHale. As with any topical TV program, having an online presence is a must. But since many of the clips The Soup uses are owned by other rightsholders, the show has to…

FACT Stand-up paddleboarding was the fastest-growing outdoor activity in 2014, per The Outdoor Foundation. Pop Inflatable Paddleboard $999 So you want to get in on the stand-up paddleboarding trend but don’t have the desire to transport (not to mention the space to store) an 11-foot-long board? The solution: Pop Paddleboards’ inflatable version. Made from the same material used for inflatable boats, it can be filled up to 15 psi and features a nonslip traction pad to help keep you stable, an adjustable paddle and an ergonomic handle for easy carrying. When not in use, the deflated board can be stored in a travel bag. And did we mention that both the hot pink (shown here) and bright blue colors are ridiculously stylish? Buy it: poppaddleboards.com Hit the Beach Zuzunaga Beach…