Shop Talk

Here's to the Crazy Ones: 'The Natural' - We Need 'Wild and Wacky' The always-competing siblings in the Omnicom family are typically loath to give each other any credit. But when the moment came for BBDO's Phil Dusenberry to give the opening talk at the 4A's Creative Conference in Miami, "The Natural" chose to speak in the language of sister shop TBWA/ Chiat/Day's "Think different" campaign for Apple. Reflecting on the past and musing about the future, the famed creative director said one thing that shops need to do is "make more room for the crazies." Said The Duse, "If we can turn back the clock, we would be well advised to make more room for the wild, the wacky, the creatively insane. We need these people. It should be requirement for membership in the 4A's." The problem? Craziness is not encouraged at shops these days. "We are an evermore disciplined business at a time when raw joyness, uninhibited creativity should be sprouting all around us." Meanwhile, Korey Kay's Allen Kay had a salty analysis of the difference between the new and the old guards--the younger generation curses a lot more, he says. Just call them "Generation F." K ----------------------------- The Roswell Incident: "What do you think you are--a rocket scientist or something?" As of New Year's Eve, one ad executive will be able to say yes. That's the day when Frank Costantini, a former CD at J. Walter Thompson, plans to launch "Starlite"--a service that enables consumers to fire their own personal ads into outer space. His group plans to drop a giant laser into a former nuclear missile silo in Roswell, N.M., where they will blast away. "The beam is as thick as a telephone pole," enthuses Costantini, a sci-fi fan who dropped out of the agency business to pursue the project. "Our greetings are a deal. They travel into deep space at the speed of light--and they last an eternity in the form of photons." Billed as "the first privately funded communication laser to the stars," Starlite charges $19.95. In return, senders receive a holographic certificate verifying their missive was launched. The Web site, The Starlite.com, is getting messages ranging from "Hello, space creatures!" to "SWE (single white earthling) wants to meet E.T. for friendship and maybe more." Ever the adman, Costantini has his sights set on corporate clients. "Hey, Coke, you want some real exposure? Send your stuff into space." How do you know E.T. doesn't drink Pepsi? K ----------------------------- Ad Exec sues U.S. Customs: SpikeDDB's Yvette Bradley Wants $500K The American Civil Liberties Union is calling it a case of "flying while black." SpikeDDB senior art director Yvette Bradley says it was the most humiliating experience of her life. In April, the African-American Bradley was searched by U.S. Customs officials at Newark Airport after returning from a Jamaica vacation. She says black women on the flight were disproportionately singled out for a luggage search on suspicion of carrying drugs--and that a customs official sent her to a private area for a full- body search when she spoke up. The 32-year-old turned to the ACLU, which is seeking $500,000 in damages. "It's a problem, and nobody wants to hear it," Bradley says about racial profiling at airports and highways. Layne Lathram, a spokeswoman with U.S. Customs, says the organization does not comment on litigation. One official told Bradley she was hassled because of her headpiece, she says. "I happened to be wearing a $300 Anna Sui hat," Bradley said in a statement on the ACLU's Web site. "But during the course of my search, none of the officers involved ever asked to examine the hat or even asked me to remove it." K ----------------------------- Quote: "I've never seen people look [at an ad] and say, 'Man, that's the most complicated thing I've ever seen. I think I'll go buy that product." Young & Rubicam's Jim Ferguson on the beauty of simplicity.

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Michael Mccarthy

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Michael Mccarthy