• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 11, 2011

Sometimes the right combination of words can just wake up the seemingly sleepy panel at a media conference:

"Fuck Procurement" is a good start.

Or, for a TV pressure group responding to a new network TV show, say with a provocative title: "Good Christian Bitches."

Or, for a Hollywood studio, when one of their TV producers is verbally attacked, by this comment: "He's a stupid, stupid little man and a pussy punk that I'd never want to be."

OK. I'm listening.

The first example signals that advertising executives can have foul mouths -- though Don Draper always seems to reign it in at the right time.

During the 4As Transformation conference, Howard Draft, chairman of Interpublic Group of Cos.' DraftFCB, merely expressed what many ad agency and marketing executives may think of procurement executives at companies, who are seemingly in control of all costs, including media and marketing.

"Procurement" being a grenade-loaded word, signaling, for many, a cutting back on already hard-pressed financial compensation formulas for ad agencies. Draft said, in response to an sharp attack that media agencies aren't keeping up with the industry:

"Why are you blaming the agencies? I would blame the clients. ... Everybody talks about procurement. Fuck procurement."

Second example comes from our good friends at ABC -- in a big need for another prime-time hit.

What better way than to grab viewers attention with a big, big title of a proposed TV drama: "Good Christian Bitches." (Yes, that may be a working title.) Maybe it's a start of a franchise and other faiths will get whacked around in the same way. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out one well-known television pressure group would immediately have a strong opinion against it -- which all seems by design.

The third example might seem lamer than the first two. Charlie Sheen taking aim at his "Two and a Half Men" executive producer Chuck Lorre, which could have the biggest monetary consequence. Reportedly, Sheen's contract with Warner Bros. for the show states he cannot disparage the producers he works for. No matter, Sheen just sued Warner Bros. and Lorre for $100 million.

Good sound bites? No. This are heavy-duty claws, ready to draw blood and other bodily fluids. They intend to sharply define issues -- on the air and behind the scenes.

Are we upset, entertained, or ready to sign on? Taking the temperature of the marketplace, I'm sure there will be some energetic takers.