• by John Gaffney , August 1, 2002

OPRs Of The Week:

The Account Of The Millenium. Who Wants It?: The White House will set up a new office to try to salvage America's plummeting image abroad, as an independent taskforce reported that even the country's allies saw the US as "arrogant", "hypocritical" and "self-absorbed". This autumn, an office of global communications will take over the job of selling "Brand America" from the state department, which the White House believes has failed to do the job effectively.

Dude, Type In ‘Bankruptcy’ On Google. It’s Time To Freak: Veteran technology journalist John C. Dvorak, who writes a column for PC Magazine, told the SFGate about Ziff-Davis bankruptcy: "They have to restructure the finances of the company. It looks like business as usual at PC Magazine, so I'm not freaked out by it."

Headline Of The Week:From The New York Times profile of new Bertlesmann boss Gunter Thielen: “A 'Bland' but Powerful Type of Person Is Taking Over.”

Dennis Miller On Fraud: “One reason for the recent corporate scandals is that the late 90s boom years created a culture in which a company's head honchos could basically do whatever they wanted. They were their own moral compass. They could make their own rules, and break their own rules, and go as far outside the box as their restless spirits longed to soar. They were living in one nonstop SUV commercial.” (From HBO.com)

And The Oprah Book Burning Starts At Nine PM: Shannon James, writing in the summer issue of the Independent Women’s Forum, totally trashed Oxygen content and marketing and then opined: “Though Oxygen persists in its attempt to create a pink ghetto for the “sisterhood,” it’s to women’s credit that they’re not moving in. For the sake of said sisterhood, Oxygen’s pajama-party founders should take the network off the air.” Check it out.

Reader Riff Of The Week: David Adams, of StrategicNet in Dayton, OH reacted to my riff about the Bush administration’s lack of effort in protecting key ad categories from restrictive legislation: “Warren Buffet said the last time the economy tanked like this in the early 60's, it took seventeen years to recover. It's cyclical. There are short down turns, and this isn't one of them. There are a lot of whiners who call themselves salespersons. If they rely on old techniques for selling, they are going to produce the same results. Their managers are too caught up trying to juggle unrealistic sales quotas handed them by their greedy robber baron VC's or the out-of-the-loop accountant from their parent corporation. Managers no longer manage creativity or run brainstorming sessions. How about some incentive based creative promotion that brings in $500,000 in new business? Does anyone take the time to put together a thoughtful, creative sales and marketing plan by cooperating with a client’s Marketing Manager, or enlisting the assistance of the Account Manager at an Ad Agency? I'm sure there are still some creative salespeople out there. But, I'd bet they aren't the ones bellyaching about the economy and advertising alcohol.