Ad News and Views from Around the Web

Real moms; weird ad stories; online video tips; world’s worst B-roll, and more

The rise of the “real mom”
The redoubtable researchers at Ad Age have put together a pretty compelling white paper on today’s mothers—focusing on Gen X and millennials. They’ve come a long way since Virginia Slims said that they’ve come a long way… “baby.”

10 weirdest ad stories of the month
The six or eight weeks after Christmas is usually a slow time for most businesses, but it’s a busy time in the ad world. You’ve got the holidays themselves, plus the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day coming up fast. BNET’s Jim Edwards recaps some of the oddest agency and advertising stories of the last 30-odd days…and those days have been pretty odd, ad-wise.

ClickZ’s round-up of round-ups from ’09
It’s not the end of the decade, people! That happens Jan. 1, 2011 (look it up). But it is the end of the year, and that means it’s round-up time. ClickZ looks back at the most interesting items from its ’09 oeuvre and finds that digital is—surprise!—big, and that mobile’s looking more and more grown up. This, we applaud.

10 ways to drive consumer action with online video
OK, so digital’s big and mobile’s big. How about online video? In a word: Huge. But online video’s a tricky medium. You’ve got to not only tell a story, but make it relevant, accessible and sharable. Marketing Prof’s Bud Rosenthal offers ten ways to make it work for consumers—and for you. So we guess this Bud’s for you. (Sorry, Mr. Rosenthal, we just couldn’t help ourselves.)

14 Things to help inspire your digital marketing in 2010
Not to be outdone on the New Years numbered lists, iMedia Connection’s Jonathan Richman proposes 14 tips on how to get your digital creative team inspired for the 12 months ahead. The synopsis: simplicity, technology, engagement, creativity, community and nine other things that mostly have to do with social media. (We hear social media’s big these days, too.)

Creative Spotlight: In need of some B-roll
Last year was pretty rough, so we could all use a laugh before we settle down with our spreadsheets. Advertising Age’s AdAges blog points us to a fun faux ad for a “B-roll” warehouse that looks like it’s staffed by WKRP in Cincinatti’s Herb Tarlek. It’s pretty chuckle-worthy.