Reminiscent of the Lexus ads of a few years ago that showed tropical forests and coastlines and nothing else (I think it was Lexus at least -- feel free to correct me if needed) -- comes W+K's latest ad for Honda.

Sure you can drive traffic to the website mentioned in the ad (and this is going along with the whole "integration" theme that agencies work with their clients) -- but I don't see the point to the entire thing.

It is one of a series of ads themed around skydiving -- but someone please tell me what it has to do with selling cars -- or cars in general, at all?

On April 4, we forgot to say Happy 10th to Wieden And Kennedy London!

Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai has just moved into. We agree with the Welcome To Optimism blog. It looks very cool.[source]

W+K hired Jason Clement as their director of search. Seems like Jason might have his work cut out for him beginning with the agency's own website. Tribble, the blog devoted to advertising agencies and their SEM/SEO capabilities (or lack there of) has taken a closer look at the Wieden website. Ah, the digital era is just to fabulous, no?

"The site fails to rank for it's industry terms such as Advertising Agency or Ad Agency . It appears that W+K is spamming as well, with misspellings to boot."

Get a look at their source code and read further analysis here.

Wieden + Kennedy is getting into the game of search in um, err, a creative way? Apparently, the agency is looking to bring search into the creative process. Only at W+K, kids. Only at W+K. The agency has hired its first director of search, Jason Clement, who was a Partner, Director at Neo/Ogilvy, as well as Associate Director SEM at Carat Fusion.

"We're getting invested in this because we think creativity in search is an area that hasn't been exploited at all," said Renny Gleeson, global director of digital strategies told Adweek. "It's a sad reflection of people's inability to get over the fact that it has long since graduated from being a DR tool."

Swear. The kids at Wieden can't help, but climb up on that intellectual soap box every chance they get. Yes, you guys are the geeks who made good, blah, blah, blah. So, what is this "creative strategy" the agency plans on applying to search?

"Gleeson sees search being used not just to translate ideas into keyword lists and tagging, but also to come up with creative strategies. For instance, search trends give clues to customer behavior that can be mined for strategic insights."

OMG! Shut up! Noooo way! Search gives clues to consumer behavior? Shut the fuck up. Shut up. No, seriously... like, I don't believe you. Adweek goes on to talk about some other tactics in the business that any proper search company has been pushing for ages, such as search for TV and mobile and cross media searches. However, W+K isn't trying to compete with SEM firms. Instead, it sounds like this is a bonus package for existing clients. An add-on if you will. It's also a way to extend Wieden's practices now that digital is a key discipline for all agencies. Nice PR move, W+K. Hell, you kids are pretty smart, ain't ya?

Disney is "is looking for BIG ideas that break the traditional movie-marketing concepts," according to a document issued to agencies that Brandweek got its hands upon. This brief goes on to say that Disney "will pay $50,000 for your time and own all your ideas and concepts." Agencies preparing for presentations in this project based review include Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners; Droga5, StrawberryFrog and Wieden + Kennedy, Cutwater in San Francisco; and DraftFCB in Chicago.

Rewind. Excuse us? For $50K, you get totally powned. They want to own your ideas, forever and ever and ever. Make millions of them, while you struggle to pay the staff who created those awesome concepts. Other brands have gone this route including Hilton, and Kraft. We're not against brands attempting to own your ideas. That's business. This is the jungle baby. In many cases, maybe some of these folks just want to add Disney to their roster, boost their agency profile and so, lie down for the lion. Two unnamed agencies pushed back. We're going to guess one was Droga. We applaud whoever they were. However, this is a no-no. Don't do it! If you guys go in for this, then Disney knows it really does hold the industry by the balls. Other brands will follow suit and, and, and... this is the way it has always gone. It's cyclical and totally depressing.

Seriously? You guys are gonna go for this? Yes, it's great to have Disney on the client list and yes, maybe you have some groundbreaking idea for movie marketing you want out in the world, but you guys are willing to set the course of I.P. ownership for the rest of the advertising business?

Main entry: Sell Out

Pronunciation: \ˈsel-ˌaut\

Function: noun

Date: 1859

1: the act or an instance of selling out 2: something sold out; especially : something (as a concert or contest) for which all tickets are sold 3: one who betrays a cause for personal advancement.

We very rarely use the word sell out. It no longer applies in many instances considering the time we live in, but in this case? SELL OUTS!

Something else totally depressing? Julie Roehm is involved. Back from the media cyclone, Julie was contacted to help pick the initial list of agencies. She was on the phone calls for the agency briefings, but supposedly, is no longer involved in the process. This just gets ickier and ickier.

Feh Tarty who has just returned from blogging the Andy's judging process has changed teams according to the W+K blog. Bye to Goodby, hello to WK London. Okay, now look down below this posting. Yes, not to far. Right there. See that there? That's a posting about Mark Wenneker leaving Goodby for Mullen.

Now, if we can just get one more body to bail today, it'll be a sign that all is balanced in the advertising eco-system. Oh wait. We didn't fully read the subversive print, as we were blinded by the news about sweet faced Tarty. Pat is also sayanora. When we say Pat, we mean Pat McKay.

Well, that's that then. The prophecy has been fulfilled and all is well in advertising (for some people).

In September, W+K announced they were setting up shop in India. Here's some snaps of their new outlet in Delhi from one of the many Wieden blogs. The young lady in the first shot is Nusrat Madraswala. We just love the last shot. There's something about that rocking horse...

Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, founders of the notorious agency, are still crazy. Yes. Funny guys. In this recently posted video, they talk about how they got started, crack some jokes about the 60s, about being a "floating piece of shit on the ocean" and generally, act pretty lovable. We just watched it while eating our very late lunch and were quite entertained. Enjoy!

After almost 18years at Wieden Kennedy, Andy winning producer Jennifer Smieja (which we're guessing is Swedish) is leaving the agency. The folks at W+K really love her. Like, a lot, lot. She does look nice, right? The best part is certainly the tail end with the dance montage. Must watch.

Jen, we wish you luck. If you can inspire this much love, hell, we'll throw some your way too.