In perhaps the best buzzword-laden non-response to an industry-mate's predictions for 2015, R/GA London VP and managing Director Matt Lodder -- in response to Jam Managing Director Richard Costa's outlook -- said: "The shift in the creative leadership is less about a changing of the guard in adland and more about wider seismic cultural and economic change. Leading brands are ripping up the procurement rulebook because they need agencies that combine the best of both traditional and digital. This isn’t a procurement thing. It’s a matter of survival predicated by the complex demands of the connected age."

I don't often comment on creative efforts in this column, but you've got to hand it to Droga5. For the second year in a row, the agency has turned the typical Super Bowl advertising effort on its head. Last year the agency enlisted Anna Kendrick for its Newcastle Mega Huge Football Game Ad. This year, the brand is at it again and has hooked up with deadpan comedian Aubrey Plaza for an effort called Band of Brands. The agency's effort marries crowdsource-style collective funding with the Million Dollar Homepage silliness in an effort to get as many brands …

Mediaocean CEO Bill Wise says TV and video are not converging. They are "vastly different" media, he says.

Did you go to CES last week? Were you one of the sea of 150,000 people who descended upon Las Vegas for a week-long technology-fueled orgiastic experience of epic release? If so, you might be familiar with some of these trends. If not, read on. Digital media consultant and journalist Susan Kuchinkas braved the sea of flesh and returned home to pen a piece entitled CES 2015: Five Trends That Could Change Advertising for Portada. She cites connected watches and quotes Essence Director of Mobile Jeremy Sigel who told her, "While smartwatch ads may start there (on …

In a rant worthy of comparison to a 60 Minutes Andy Rooney tirade, marketing expert David Murdico penned an iMediaConnection piece in which he pondered whether or not brands are squandering the YouTube ad platform. TL;DR? Yes, they are. While enjoying a video of Bette Midler's The Rose, he was presented with a Janis Joplin version of the song...and ads for gun control and laundry detergent. Of the apparent disconnect, Murdicao wrote, "I'm not one to cast aspersions on anyone, but Janis Joplin is the last person I would place laundry detergent ads against, unless you were …

While everyone is all aflutter over whether or not that Justin Bieber Calvin Klein ad was Photoshopped or not, Anheuser-Busch is amping up their Super Bowl efforts to snag Millennials before its aging beer-butt customer base dies off. Of the effort, Anheuser-Busch VP of U.S. Marketing Jorn Socquet said, “We’re going very hard after Millennials. We have to win with these consumers and we know with the Super Bowl, we have their undivided attention.” To which we say, have you heard of that whole multitasking thing that's so prevalent among Millennials, Mr. Socquet? Yeah, you know, that thing …

You do know that when a new CMO steps in at one of your client accounts, it's time to dust off the resume and look for a new gig, right?

DDB Chicago is pleased with its American Cancer Society win this week. The organization has selected the agency to handle all of its creative and digital needs. Of the win, DDB Chicago CEO Paul Gunning said: "We have an immense amount of pride to be working for the American Cancer Society. This is a cause that's very personal for many of us, which makes us all the more passionate about working with such a worthy organization. We believe a strategically sound proposition and a brilliant, break-through campaign will engage more people and also enable more donations to help …

Yeah, we've all seen this before. The big pivot brands make when they think there's a better trend to ride. And after all, social media is so...2011! It's all about video now, baby! Or at least that's what Facebook would like us to think...ten years after YouTube grabbed that spotlight. Speaking to Australia's Mumbrella, Facebook Australia Head of Agency Sales Elli Rogers said: “People ask us are you a social network? Are you a mobile platform? What we’re saying now is because of the rise of video we’re actually a video platform which is perhaps quite an unexpected …

"Procurement-led." Perhaps the last thing any agency participating in an account review wants to hear.