An article in last weekend's Financial Times showcasing an auction of antique designer dresses and accessories includes the sub-headline “Provenance is the most enticing factor." Kerry Taylor Auctions' "Passion for Fashion" in London on December 8^th included an Audrey Hepburn collection, and interest was high: The black lace Givenchy cocktail dress Hepburn wore in How to Steal a Million fetched £60,000, more than three times what was estimated.

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A couple of weeks ago, Dare Comics, the UK publisher, auctioned the "world's first perpetual advertisement" offering "a full page advertisement in every single one of Dare Comics' online publications in perpetuity."

Dare claims 75,000 online readers of The Hunter, averaging 1,000 new readers every day (which is kind of jusitfied by the stats on the download page). But does 74,303 page views actually equal 74,303 readers? Not really. Nine people have subscribed, which is probably a more accurate indicator of its popularity. Adam Hamdy, Dare Comics founder, said "This could be the smartest media purchase anyone ever makes." I'd say it could be the smartest PR move Adam Hamdy ever makes.

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$22 billion was spent on Google Adwords in 2008. According to Econsultancy, Adwords represents 85% of the paid search market, making the entire market worth $26 billion. That's a lot of money. The same Econsultancy report also indicates that there is an increasing shift in emphasis from natural to paid search. What a mistake.

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I was reading in The Independent last week about a simple new test that can detect the onset of Alzheimer's with 93% accuracy. The fact that this test can be perfomed at home without medical supervision prompted me to see what other home testing kits existed.

I was expecting to find blood pressure monitors, pregnancy, allergy and cholesteral testing kits but was amazed to discover home tests that can detect conditions including colon cancer, prostate cancer, stds, the menopause, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid problems, anaemia, stomach ulcers, diabetes and the list goes on.

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I was one of five folks on a panel at Digital Hollywood in Santa Monica this week (4 May). The panel was titled "Advertising Next" and was about emerging platforms/new media, including social media and so on. The audience was the usual 150 or so digital marketing types. They were respectful and attentive. No food throwing at all.

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A couple of months ago, I did something a little bit sad. I Googled myself.  I can’t be alone in having done this, can I? We’ve all done it, right? Whatever. I did it.

I was nowhere. For one thing, my name is Richard Parker, which is a name that has 13 entries on Wikipedia (none of which are mine) and includes:

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I’ve been working on this post for more than a week. I’m beginning to suffer from the writer’s version of Stockholm syndrome—I’ve been taken hostage by my own ideas and I’m starting to identify with them even when they’re bad. So I’m going to abandon the notion of explaining everything to everybody and just try to make my main point. In case it’s gets lost, by the way, my main point is that traditional media need to get their heads out of their hidebound histories and redefine what advertising is. (You heard me: redefine advertising, not journalism.)
(Photo by Jason Greenley.)

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Transmedia storytelling is one of those monikers that runs the risk of being added to a Bullshit Bingo card some time very soon. On the other hand it could just be the saviour of brand communications. Google it and you'll get all sorts of definitions that talk about evolving non-linear brand narratives, brand communities and deeply immersive narrative universes.

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I seem to be defending unpopular companies at the moment. Bit of a theme. Look out for "Enron - actually, they were the smartest guys in the room" next week....

Anyway, a while back, when the news was dominated by stories about how fat we are instead of how poor we are, McDonald's came in for some severe flak. Now, being honest, I really like McDonald's - try their coffee tomorrow morning and tell me that whatever italian-named italian-sized rubbish you drink in order to pretend you're an urban sophisticate is actually, definably better. Go on, do it. (If you go to a proper Italian coffee shop run by an old man and his son who source their coffee directly from an old family friend, consider yourself exempt and I apologise)

Sorry, I'm digressing again...

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We will find the story at the heart of your brand

We will tell it in weird & wonderful ways

Across the best channels

In the way they are told best

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Sarah first came to my attention a few years back in 2003, when she was named a Hasselblad Master, alongside the likes of Joyce Tenneson & Patrick Demarchelier. Intrigued, I discovered she graduated with a Masters in Photography from the School of Visual Arts here in NYC, and my alma mater.  As often happens, I filed her info away, since I had little call for a fashion & beauty photographer at the time.  This past year, I have been fortunate to work on ILORI sunglass campaigns with a...

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Look, it isn't that we don't love print, y'know. We do, with all our hearts. But newspapers are in a bad way. It was with a heavy heart that I read a new report from the Media Standards Trust (in the UK). People trust newspapers less than banks. That's right - people trust newspapers less than banks. Declining sales, declining trust - maybe these are linked? And how did it get to this?

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