• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 9, 2009

There's a timely YouTube video rapidly being passed along to industry in-boxes that argues the upfront -- and by extension network TV -- is moribund thanks to the digital revolution. To the tune of Don McLean's 1972 hit "American Pie" comes "Mad Avenue Blues," carrying the chorus:

"So bye, bye those big upfront buys
Pitched my client who was pliant
But the pitch didn't fly
And old ad boys were drinking martinis dry
Singing 'Tech has taken us for a ride'
'Algorithms got me cross-eyed.'"

As "Mad Avenue Blues" is sung, there are slides matching the lyrics. One offers up the major broadcasters' logos next to a man sitting on a toilet.

"Blues" goes on to poke fun at magazine salespeople who used to close deals on the golf course, but are now suffering from budgets "so damn lean." It jabs WPP CEO Martin Sorrell for failing to grasp social media, while needling the heads of Time Warner and Comcast for struggling with the digital sphere. "So come on: Jeff be nimble, Brian be quick ... Neither guy is earning much from the click."

No surprise: Google founder Sergey Brin is seen with a conquering smile.

How fast is "Blues" moving as a viral video? It's picked up at least 11,000 views in the past 24 hours. Since being posted June 3 (a plug from Gawker no doubt helped), views have climbed to nearly 50,000.

"A work of genius," one agency exec called it. "Not sure if it's hilarious or makes me want to hang myself," said another. "Who the heck had the time to do this?" said a third.

YouTube provides no insight. The video carries just an LMcDuff08 handle. Semi-officially, it's L. McDuff.

Could the producer be a laid-off creative looking to strike back?

Negative. It's a New York investment banker occupying a cushy Midtown office. One who harbors the two calling cards that make "Blues" so compelling: profound industry knowledge and an acute sense of humor.

By day, the 46-year-old is a specialist in advising the world's largest media companies on how to capitalize on the could-be digital gold rush. Semi-frequently at night: he's a veteran Manhattan stand-up comic.

Before "Blues," McDuff unleashed two previous sardonic YouTube successes: "Wall Street Meltdown I and II" (a third may be coming, but he hopes the economy recovers to save him the trouble).

But the engaging investment banker has chosen to remain anonymous, hiding behind a moniker derived from the name of his yellow Labrador. Which begs the question: Why not take some credit for the clever and canny lyrics in "Blues"? Or get some ups for masterminding the production with little more than an iMac?

"I don't want any fame... I'm not really interested in anything except doing more business," he says.

To McDuff, "Blues" is essentially a new-business tool -- the equivalent of a sizzle reel that an agency might show at a pitch.

Last week, he debuted it at a digital-media conference he hosted for 250 CEOs. And he's sent it to other select top executives.

"They're like, wow that was brilliant, that really demonstrates creativity."

So McDuff says: "You should see what I can do for you in the boardroom."

The Wall Street veteran says the biting commentary about the future of the upfront -- which has traditionally been in full swing by June -- had no bearing on when he released the video. And he says he was not looking to persuade CEOs to abandon network TV.

In fact, McDuff says he's hardly a "naysayer" about the ancien régime. "I believe (digital is) where the future is," he says. "That said, I think the old world of media has got a long way to fall."

As McDuff watches the reaction to the "Mad Avenue Blues" video from behind a veil, there is one frequent response that frustrates him no end. A version came in a YouTube post this morning: "Very clever, but some people clearly have too? much time on their hands."

Yes, "Blues" is upwards of nine minutes long. And McDuff admits that's "ridiculous for online video." But he says out of respect for McLean's "American Pie," which has 19 stanzas, he felt compelled to use the same structure.

He wrote and composed the full video in a respectable 19-and-a-half hours, working from 8 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. overnight on April 12. (The singing was done later by a Billy Joel back-up singer and then mixed in.)

Over the nine minutes, "Blues" lays out the problems facing big media and Madison Avenue in the evolving landscape. So, perhaps it's only fair for a Martin Sorrell to say, "Hey, McDuff, that's kinda easy. How about a video telling me how to solve things?"

"My answer to that is, stay tuned," says the cloaked one.