• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 5, 2014

An ad man in Aukland has pled guilty to possessing and exporting sexually exploitative images of young girls. He has been granted permanent name suppression, which means his name cannot be made public. However, at the time of sentencing, Judge Eddie Paul said: “The public are entitled to know what this man has been doing on a computer, on the internet, in his home.” Ruth Money, a spokeswoman for Sensible Sentencing Trust said: “The community has a right to know who this predator is in order to protect young girls. Your 6-year-old daughter could be having a sleepover at his house in the following months and there is no way for you to know; this decision is a serious public safety mistake. Furthermore, he could be working on inappropriate brands and products in his role as an advertising creative. Imagine if he is working with kids' brands and holding focus groups about nappies, a kid’s snack, or toys, etc. This decision is an absolute travesty and we urge all ad agencies out there to publicly issue a statement that their agency does not and will not employ this man." What about it New Zealand ad agencies?

It's always interesting to see where people who have left the advertising industry end up. Okay, well, at least it's interesting to me. Anyway, former Initiative Worldwide CEO Richard Beaven who quit the business back in 2012 has remade himself as a documentary photographer. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and he's published a book that features photography of Angus cattle ranchers. But once a marketer always a marketer. Beaven just launched a food line called MadeinGhent from his family farm in upstate New York. What will you do after you retire?

Wrapping up some of last week's Advertising Week news, there are two items to share. Dentsu was named Agency of the Year at the Clio Awards, The agency's Dentsu Creative X Inc. Division was named Production Company of the Year. Dentsu Group combined took home seven Gold, seven Silver and three Bronze statues. Also in important news, Generator Honey, for the second year in a row, won Advertising Week's Battle of the Ad Bands. I've seen them. They are indeed very good. But Generator Honey consists of employees from law firm Davis & Gilbert. They're not even an ad agency. Because they're law practice focuses on advertising, somehow a stipulation allows them to compete. Hey, I'm not really complaining. But as long as these guys compete, ad agencies are going to have a tough time winning ever again.

It's hard to say whether or not Marissa Mayer has done good for Yahoo. On the one hand, the company has been on an acquisition and partnership binge in an effort to make itself more relevant. Think Tumblr. Think Katie Couric. Think Bobbi Brown. On the other hand, it has experienced 6 consecutive quarters of revenue declines. But now Yahoo is seeking an ad agency to create a consumer brand campaign. The company has reached out to several agencies and asked them to pitch ideas later this month. Is it too late? Can Mayer make it work?

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