Agencies (re)Imagine the Stop Sign

"What if there were no stop signs, and a major corporation was charged with inventing one?"


via moneyries

Music broadcasts more than sound waves

We decided recently to expand our department's musical repertoire beyond Murray's ever-thumping playlist. So last week some Vampire Weekend, Jay-Z, and Amy Winehouse floated from various speakers.

However, new research indicates that we were unwittingly exposing ourselves to association with personality stereotypes based on our selections.

Peter Rentfrow and Samuel Gosling, two longtime researchers in the field of music and psychology, found in 1996 that certain personality traits are associated with music preferences.

This year, their research took those findings one step further to explore the stereotypes associated with certain types of music by asking evaluators describe personality types associated with various genres.


Serious job implications here for the department-wide playlist. Start editing!

Evaluators were also asked to rank perceived drug use among fans of different genres:



(More editing....talk about an unspoken glass ceiling!)

via Cognitive Daily

Ad Agency Deathwatch: NYC Taxi TV

Today's Spam Spotting revealed this bit of obnoxious commercial grafiti: NYC Taxi TV. Our cabbie informs that these monitors are forcibly inserted into driver's cabs and the noise is rather annoying and distracting. As he points out: "how would u like someone to come to your office or place of work and blast some ads to your clients all day?" Good point Mr. Cabbie. I don't think I'd enjoy that much at all.

NYC's taxi drivers have no control as Taxi TVs activate full blast upon starting the fare meter. He says that most drivers, incl himself, plead riders to just shut the TVs off (top right corner button) and enjoy some quiet respite, to talk to co-riders, cellulate, or just vegetate.

So, the takeway is that this medium is prob not being watched at all (though I am sure a "view" is still tabulated and billed upon every meter activation nonetheless). Sucker clients. Sucker agencies. Note too, cabbies are not cut into the revenue pie for this brave new advertising medium (and they pay for their cabs remember)...so guess what? They have few qualms advising customers to just shut the box off.