B-A-D-I-D-E-A:

June 7, 2002: “According to Samir Husni, the head of University of Mississippi’s magazine program, “There may be many, many large women out there, but they don’t necessarily want to focus on that aspect of themselves. That’s why there is not a successful Divorce magazine.” (LA Times)

December 5, 2003: “Here’s a fun topic for a magazine: Ruined marriages. Divorce Magazine comes to Florida this month, offering advice about breaking up without going broke or being miserable. The premiere issue features stories about dividing property and coping with children’s reactions and a primer on Florida’s divorce laws. It’s also packed with ads from divorce lawyers.” (Palm Beach Post)

As Tammy Wynette said, “I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E”

It’s a lot like speaking gibberish: Regarding online “editorial packages” created for advertisers (online advertorials), Internetnews.com’s Susan Kuchinskas reports:

It’s a lot like custom publishing, says Gayle Troberman, director of custom solutions for MSN and a former agency-side exec. “We’re seeing advertisers come to publishers and say, ‘Help us create a brand experience.’ We built the experience, they built the advertising.”

Huh? Advertisers come to publishers and say, “Help us create a brand experience.” Do they talk like that? Do advertisers think MSN is the place to go for the creation of “brand experiences”? Okay. I’ll stop there. I’m too busy creating brand experiences for our clients.

(Claification: Actually, I do think that custom publishing is about creating, “brand experiences.” I have this belief (perhaps it’s from reading too much Doc Searls) that people who use terms like “brand experiences” have no idea what one is, much less how to create one.)

Looking for clouds in silver linings: Defying logic (when in history has ad spending been down in a Presidential-election/Olympic year?) and a Niagra Falls of economic evidence that advertising spending will increase in 2004, MediaPost reports that a stock analyst predicts ad spending will be flat next year. Wait a minute, when did we start believing stock analysts again? The article also says Merrill Lynch analysts predict (based on their surveys) that advertisers will be wrestling more “control” of agency compensation. Bottomline: Don’t make 2004 investment decisions regarding media stocks based on recommendations from the clueless Merrill Lynch’s equities research team.