The upfront

It is upfront buying season for the major ad agencies, and the networks are putting on their annual song and dance. Over on NYTimes, Stuart Elliot looks into this year's pitch from ABC, FOX, NBC and CBS to see how they're trying to keep viewers watching when the ads come on.

AdAge reminds us that the shift that began last year is continuing this season and that the titans continue to sound off:

In what could signal a broadening of the revolt begun last year after Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola Co. pulled out of the TV upfront, another package-goods giant with a half-billion-dollar-plus budget is re-evaluating its position. This time it's Unilever's turn to startle the TV sales chiefs.

"We're discussing our upfront strategy," said Laura Klauberg, VP-media, Unilever Americas. "We're weighing all our options in the upfront. The process has existed forever and may have been very appropriate for business as it was conducted 10 years ago. Clearly, the market has changed a lot." Like the others before it, Unilever is citing as reasons for considering a scale-back the difficulty of making upfront buys well in advance of its calendar fiscal year and the fact that its marketing approach has become less TV-centric.

What will keep viewers viewing? I'd suggest they start with good creative and take it from there. Otherwise, you may as well put dead flowers on advertising's grave.


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