Thank gawd! It's taken me forever to find a copy of this ad by Ogilvy for Cisco and their Human Network campaign. I could only find the Italian dub, but here's the gist: a skateboard executive sends around a prototype of a new board to a bunch of skate rats. The skaters send back pictures of alterations like shortening the board, adding better wheels and then, large design elements. The executive goes to his board and presents this totally different prototype. Everyone is excited, thrilled even. Why? Because the got a board completely designed for them for free using the human network! They've saved themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars by not releasing their original prototype. Plus, they don't have to pay a dime to the actual creatives, the skaters themselves. Sweet!

Yes, I understand the ad is about the power of the Cisco Human Network, collaboration and how it transforms your business. Some of the other spots aren't bad, but this one - It's a bit of a shit, ain't it? Call me sensitive, but way to alienate every creative who has ever had some massive corporation steal their idea, but could also use the brand's human network to connect with their collective, pitch concepts and manage their freelance career. These people are everywhere; creative class and all that. Check out the website You Thought We Wouldn't Notice as a primer.

Digital. The conversation continues.

AdWeak is reporting today about the shift in media buying to focus on digital and the upcoming American Association of Advertising Agencies' media conference, "Digital Changes Everything."

"A lot more decisions are starting with the media strategy as opposed to starting with the messaging," said Antony Young, president of Optimedia U.S. "Digital has put a big fat wedge in the way we have to approach communication in campaigns."

Meanwhile, March 11th is the 4th Annual “Verge – Ogilvy Digital Summit." The one day event, which someone from Agency Spy will be live blogging, features journalists, analysts, technologists, marketers, publishers, content creators and key Ogilvy leaders and clients, presenting engaging and provoking information all things digital. This year the roster includes:

George Bodenheimer, President ESPN and ABC Sports
Kevin Liles, EVP, Warner Music Group
Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman NBC Entertainment & NBC Universal Television Studio
Shelly Lazarus, Chairman & CEO Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
Martin Nisenholtz, SVP Digital Operations, The New York Times Company
Scott Kurnit, Chairman, Kurnit Inc, Founder, About.com
Mark Kvamme, Partner, Sequoia Capital
Laura Klauberg, VP, Global Media, Unilever
John Battelle, Founder & Chairman, Federated Media
Nick Denton, Publisher, Gawker Meida

David Ogilvy has a little of the Alfred Hitchcock him, right? Listen to that voice! He also has a touch of President Franklin D. Roosevelt with his whole fireside chat vibe. In this short video, Ogilvy talks about the difference between direct response advertising and general advertisers. He speaks frankly and directly and we love him for it. He makes predicitions during a moment in advertising when things were in flux. He calls for integration.

"In the advertising community today there are two worlds. Your world of direct response advertising and another world - the world of general advertising. These two worlds are on a collision course."

"The general advertisers and their agencies know almost nothing for sure, because they cannot measure thei results of their advertising. They worship at the alter of creativity."

"The trouble with copywriters and general agencies is that they don't really think in terms of selling. They've never written direct response. They've never tasted blood."

Change a few words and the old adage holds true: "somethings never change."

DraftFCB is looking to bolster its data and analytics programs. AdWeak is reporting that this is due to a "growing demand among clients such as Citi and CA and has recruited OgilvyOne's Ira Helf to run it."

Ira used to be the Managing Director of Marketing Analytics at OgilvyOne. His new title at DraftFCB is executive director data and analytics.

Helf, 55, is an analytics man. He was VP at Claritas, The Nielsen Company; a senior analyst at IRI and a department manager at CACI with a degree from Stanford (statistics, marketing, mathematics). At Draft, Helf will report to one time colleague Peter DeNunzio, former general manager of OgilvyOne.

"The DraftFCB model is built on extracting consumer insights through data and the demand for our ability to analyze [such data], has never been greater," DeNunzio said. DraftFCB is alway touting their analytics program, since they are a direct marketing shop at heart. Helf will direct 20 to 30 strategists and technologists with growth sounding like a definite.

Hey, not a bad move for Draft. The agency should focus on the data, because the creative thing just isn't their strong suit.

First ever, ever, ever. From Ogilvy Paris.