Table of contents for Dec-07-15 in Adweek

The Wiz Live saved Christmas! Or, at least, NBC’s annual December tradition of airing live musicals. Last Thursday’s production scored a 3.4 rating in adults 18-49 and was watched by 11.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s overnight ratings. The number was especially impressive given the stronger-than-usual Thursday night competition, including CBS’ Thursday Night Football broadcast (3.5 in adults 18-49, 12.9 million viewers) and ABC’s CMA Country Christmas (1.0 rating, 5.8 million viewers). NBC said that The Wiz resulted in its second highest-rated Thursday in more than five years, behind only The Sound of Music Live in 2013. While The Sound of Music attracted an astounding 18.6 million viewers and a 4.6 rating among adults, last December’s Peter Pan Live managed less than half as many total viewers—9.21 million—and just…

Following a review, Omnicom Media Group last week added Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz in South Africa and held onto its business in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where it was the incumbent. Mercedes-Benz has bundled the four markets into a single media region to yield greater efficiencies. Spending across the region tops $75 million. In the pitch, run by Ebiquity, a marketing analysis firm, OMG bested at least two other global agency groups to land the assignment.…

More than three decades ago, Ridley Scott’s 60-second ad for Apple, “1984,” shook up advertising forever and helped establish the Super Bowl as a destination for the most ambitious marketing campaigns. Now, the Oscar-nominated director of Alien and Gladiator wants to rewrite Hollywood’s marketing playbook. With his latest release, 20th Century Fox’s The Martian, Scott went beyond the usual mix of trailers and TV spots, producing, with his content marketing agency 3AM, digital shorts that immersed audiences in the world of the film. At the same time, it was important to “bring brands in early enough [so the agency] could make sure that their brand story fit with the story that we were telling,” said Jules Daly, president of RSA films and 3AM managing partner. An ad created in partnership…

Tubular Labs pulled data for Adweek from 40 big brands, including Dunkin’ Donuts, GE and Mountain Dew, to measure which platforms they post videos to. Some 2,500 videos were posted to Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Vine between September and November. DUNKIN’ DONUTS 49 total uploads 34 YouTube 9 Vine 6 Instagram 0 Facebook MOUNTAIN DEW 54 total uploads 30 YouTube 21 Facebook 3 Instagram 0 Vine GE 67 total uploads 35 Facebook 28 YouTube 4 Instagram 0 Vine LOWE’S 101 total uploads 71 YouTube 22 Facebook 4 Instagram 4 Vine…

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME The FAA approved the use of drones for film, TV and commercials in fall 2014, in part to halt runaway production. But restrictions, both local and federal, remain. Hint: no flying near airports. Make sure you and your drone operators are schooled in all regulations. CURB YOUR COSTS Shooting with drones can cost as little as a few thousand dollars a day, including operators and permits, or as much as $15,000 for a high-end production. That’s still less than a helicopter and crew, which runs at least $25,000. SPUR YOUR CREATIVITY Drone-mounted cameras can shoot above or below the vehicle’s blades, meaning they can capture 360-degree angles. Patrón tequila used drones combined with virtual reality to show viewers the flying perspective of its bumblebee mascot.…

Specs Current gig Chief commercial officer, Discovery Communications Previous gig Evp and chief revenue and marketing officer, DirecTV Age 54 You’ve been on the job for two months. What are your priorities? It all starts with the business objectives that you’re trying to achieve as a company. For Discovery, not unlike DirecTV, it’s about sustained high single-digit revenue growth and profit growth. So everything I try to do has to be looked at through that lens. There’s three different strategies that can perpetuate that. One is to do what you can to keep people in the MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) ecosystem, and mitigate cord-cutting and cord-shaving. So pursuing our TV Everywhere agenda is a big initiative. Will last week’s launch of the Discovery Go app help keep these customers?…

THE TOQUE Doughboy’s resemblance to Casper the Friendly Ghost led Pillsbury to make him a model. The chef’s hat helped further distinguish the character. THE CRAVAT Doughboy has worn a gingham oven mitt from time to time, but the neckerchief (which no proper chef does without) is a permanent fixture in his wardrobe. THE WAVE Ever since the first TV spot in 1965, Doughboy has either waved hello or had both hands in the air—a sign of his friendliness, per the company. THE BELLY TV spots invariably ended with a human finger pressing Doughboy’s ample, dough-like stomach, coaxing a signature “Hoo hoo!” that became famous. Rudolph Perz first saw the dough boy in his own kitchen. It was 1965. The Leo Burnett copywriter, working on the Pillsbury account, was at…

About.com is one of those early Internet destinations that is often remembered as being rooted in an era of 56k modems, AOL email addresses and Angelfire webpages. But unlike some of those late-’90s relics, About.com is still relevant—as of October, comScore ranks it as the 35th most-trafficked site on the Web, ahead of both The New York Times and Netflix. Founded in 1997, the 18-year-old site, which publishes articles and videos covering more than 1,000 topics, is now an IAC property with a sleek midtown New York headquarters. “The No. 1 thing we want in our space is good energy, which I think we have achieved, and the space has a really nice flow and balance,” said CEO Neil Vogel. “It’s bright, open, creative, collaborative, somewhere you’d want to come…

Big changes are coming to Publicis Groupe. Following three years of lackluster earnings, chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy announced a major restructuring and several top management changes that will pave the way to naming Lévy’s successor when he retires in 2017. Effective Jan. 2 of next year, Publicis brands will be divided into four hubs specializing in creative, media, digital and healthcare. Publicis said the shakeup was aimed at “putting the client at the heart of the organization.” The reorg brings a handful of promotions—among them, Arthur Sadoun was named CEO of Publicis Communications and Steve King was upped to CEO of Publicis Media, which houses all the company’s media agencies. Meanwhile, SMG CEO Laura Desmond will become chief revenue officer, supervising a team of chief client officers still to…

FIFA’s sponsors continue to put pressure on the scandal-plagued global soccer organization. Last week, five key brand partners—Adidas, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa—sent FIFA a strongly worded letter demanding “independent oversight” of its reform process and stressing the need for “cultural change.” FIFA said its sponsors would play “an important role” in reforms, adding that it is “committed to working with them to embrace positive changes.”…

Dec 7 Agency of the Year A celebration of the best and boldest global, U.S. and digital agencies of 2015! SPECIAL SECTION EMAIL MARKETING GUIDE Dec 14 Adfreak Issue A look back on 2015’s best and worst in advertising, branding and design! Featuring ADS OF THE YEAR THE YEAR IN REVIEW Jan 4 CES Issue A guide to making the most of your time at this year’s international CES. Jan Media Agency of the Year A salute to 2015’s standout media agencies. Jan Super Bowl Issue A preview and review of the brands taking the field during the big game. Feb Mobile Issue A deep dive into the latest on innovations and trends in mobile media and marketing. ALL CONTENT IN PRINT, ONLINE & TABLET To advertise contact your Adweek…

Specs Claim to fame British by birth, Chicagoan at heart, Lionel Knight is svp of planning at Chicago-based marketing agency Upshot. Base Chicago Twitter @Chawton I’ve always had a problem with generational marketing, by which I mean the assumption that you can lump millions of people together just because they’re more or less the same age. Generalization marketing might be a better term. Millennials are, of course, today’s “generalized” target for almost every brand outside big pharma and things like annuities. And on a macro level it’s easy to see why. There are a lot of them, and they’re open to new ideas, brands and lifestyles. But while it’s true that people in their 20s and early 30s have some commonalities, it’s a huge mistake to assume that millennials are…

Bluesmart Carry-On Suitcase $399 Looking to take some of the hassle out of your holiday travel? Connected-luggage startup Bluesmart has you covered. The company’s soon-to-be-released carry-on suitcase features integrated Bluetooth, GPS and 3G trackers, so you can track it anywhere in the world using the Bluesmart app (and get alerted if you ever leave it behind). Other features include a built-in 10,000 mAh battery—good for fully charging your smartphone up to six times—with two USB ports, a TSA-approved wireless smart lock that can be set to automatically lock when you’re not with your luggage and a built-in scale that displays your bag’s weight via app. Buy it: bluesmart.com ILLUMINATE Let There Be Light Lumenplay App-Enabled Lights Starter Set $60 Ditch the tangled web of broken holiday lights and upgrade to…

Specs Age 34 Claim to fame Model and actress; longest-running Victoria’s Secret Angel in the brand’s history (the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs Dec. 8 at 10 p.m. on CBS) Base Miami Instagram @adrianalima What’s the first information you consume in the morning? My children. I check on them and give them a kiss, say good morning, make sure they get dressed and go to school. I don’t pick up my phone right away; I’m the type of person that jumps straight out of bed. What’s your go-to social media platform? Instagram. I try to share something besides my work. You can see what I do when I’m on TV or in a magazine, so I share my personal life—people and things that I love, places that I go,…

If social media were like high school, YouTube would be the queen bee—and Google+ would be eating alone in the cafeteria. That’s according to a Forrester Research survey, which asked some 3,800 consumers aged 12-17 which social media platforms are the coolest. YouTube was No. 1, followed by Snapchat, Instagram and Vine. Facebook ranked No. 7 out of 10, while Google+ was dead last. “They wouldn’t know fair and balanced if it hit them in the ass with a fish.”ROGER AILES ON A NEW ABC COMEDY, FAIR AND BALANCED, THAT POKES FUN AT FOX NEWS CHANNEL…

It’s not often a tire company burns a path across the Internet the way Pirelli did last week when it took the wraps off its 2016 calendar. Instead of the usual scantily clad fashion models, Pirelli’s new calendar features “women of outstanding professional, social, cultural, sporting and artistic accomplishments.” That means so long to Kate Moss, Isabeli Fontana and Guinevere van Seenus, and hello to Amy Schumer (pictured), Yoko Ono and Fran Lebowitz. Pirelli got kudos from all over for spotlighting women who have made actual contributions to the world, as opposed to merely winning the genetic lottery.…

Two years ago, Twitter-owned Vine was growing like kudzu. It was widely embraced by both consumers and marketers who sought to push the envelope with creative six-second clips. But the explosion of new video formats on Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube, which all now boast sizable scale, has caused top brands to quietly slip away. “Over time, it became difficult for many marketers to achieve scale [on Vine],” explained Tyler Hissey, senior digital strategist at Hill Holliday. “In the last six months or so, brands have started to de-emphasize Vine as a channel because of the targeting capabilities on all these other platforms.” Data is proving this out. Video analytics firm Tubular Labs reviewed Vine, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts of 40 major brands, including Coca-Cola, Target and Dunkin’ Donuts. Between…

In a year that will be remembered for the tens of billions of client dollars that switched agencies, our three Agencies of the Year—Grey for Global AOY, BBDO for U.S. AOY and Heat for our first Breakthrough AOY—demonstrated stability while also showing off serious creative chops. Grey enjoyed its best year ever at Cannes, BBDO balanced harmony with speed across its U.S. offices, and Heat delivered controlled insanity for client EA. The independent Heat embodies the elements of our new Breakthrough Agency of the Year category—punching above its weight, ready and willing to influence culture, and unafraid of risk. Congratulations to all three agencies for a successful year.…