NanoooNanooo: Is that how you spell that stupid catch phrase Robin Williams used to yap on Mork and Mindy? It’s not showing up on SpellCheck. Anyway, I want to use it as a lead in to make some
points about technology and advertising. I hear AdTech in New York this week had a good energy. I’m also reading a lot about wireless internet and its potential as an ad vehicle again. I even heard a
report on NPR yesterday about a Nanotechnolgy conference. Nanotechnology is the big thing, if you haven’t heard. It will make all portable devices more portable by focusing on quantum mechanics. I
have always felt that advertising technology runs two years ahead of advertisers and five years ahead of consumers. Look how long it took the internet business to get rid of the banner. Look how long
it’s taking TV to break out of the :30 second spot. With this marketplace, technology is not the way out. New technologies are going to need to wait on solid consumer spending and a firmer foundation
among the top 200 brands. Wireless will wait. ITV will wait. Everybody else, Internet included, is open for business.
To Da Moon Alice: I was reminded by an old writing teacher last
week that characters drive content. TV seems to follow that like it or not. The great characters over the years, seem to bring ratings and ad revenue with them. Friends, Seinfeld, Oprah, Michael
Jordan, Ralph Kramden, Archie Bunker, Tony Soprano. I think the current focus on reality TV and crime risks leaving great characters out of the equation. That’s a very barren landscape where anybody
with a camera has a chance to be successful.
Parting Shot: What did I tell you about Michael Vick back in September? That he was the next endorsement king. Any naysayers?
