Adweek.com's Top 10 Advertising Stories of 2011

Here are the 10 most-read advertising and branding stories published on Adweek.com in 2011:

 

10. Fashion's Power 25
    The people and platforms that truly matter in the world of style
    By Emma Bazilian
    The hot things in fashion tend to burn out quickly, but Man Repeller shows no signs of giving up its status as the "It" blog. The love it receives has helped founder Leandra Medine snag design collaborations with brands including Dannijo and Gryphon.
    Read full story.
11. The Next Great American Consumer
    Infants to 3-year-olds: They're a new demographic marketers are hell-bent on reaching
    By Brian Braiker
    Jenny Gill was in New York's Cornell Weill hospital earlier this year for the birth of her son, Jack, when a photographer stopped by to take snapshots of the mother and newborn. The practice is common in hospitals, but what the photographer did next surprised Gill.
    Read full story.
12. Summer's Eve Pulls Controversial Talking-Vagina Videos
    The online clips had been accused of being racially stereotypical
    By Tim Nudd
    Summer's Eve pulled three videos off its website and YouTube on Wednesday following claims that they were racially insensitive.
    Read full story.
13. Diet Coke Gets New Look for Fall
    No. 1-selling diet soft drink will debut limited-edition can design in September
    By Robert Klara
    Coca-Cola turns 125 this year, and while that's good news for employees, shareholders, and fans of Coke, it's likely rather a bitch for the design team. After all, how is anyone supposed to keep a brand portfolio that's sold in 200 countries and consumed 1.7 billion times each day looking fresh? In the case of Diet Coke—introduced in 1982 and the first product extension of the Coke name—it means (for now, at least) a limited-edition can slated to hit stores in early September.
    Read full story.
14. Ad of the Day: Dermablend
    A concealing makeup's impossible mission: covering up Zombie Boy's tattoos
    By Gabriel Beltrone
    Next time you need to hide your face tattoo, consider Dermablend Pro. The L'Oréal-owned cosmetics brand hired Rick Genest, perhaps the world's most recognizable full-body canvas, to star in its new spot from Montreal agency Agence Tuxedo—to prove just how well its makeup can conceal anything.
    Read full story.
15. Steal This
    'Tis the season, ye merry retailers, for shoplifting
    By Robert Klara
    As America's retail brands gear up to welcome hordes of holiday shoppers, here's a little something they might keep in mind: One in every 11 people who walk through the door are likely to walk out with at least one item he or she didn't pay for. Given that retailers are likely to lose $119 billion to shoplifters this year (1.45 percent of total sales), it's not surprising that the loss-prevention folks have studied this problem from every angle. That's how we know only 3 percent of shoplifters are "professionals" who'll fence the goods, and most offenders are amateurs whose crimes are ones of opportunity.
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16. Trends: Digital Advertising
    The six most transformative in online marketing
    By Anthony Ha
    A vast array of technologies and trends are transforming online marketing. Because it's hard to wade through the changes, we've whittled them down to six that are significant.
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17. Top 10 Digital Media Buyers (30 and Under)
    With large budgets to work with for marquee brands, these innovators are hardly as green as their ages suggest
    By Katie Feola
    Perhaps more than any other agency department, media is a place where young hustlers—go-for-broke buyers and planners who have grown up playing across digital platforms—can make a mark. Below we look at 10 buyers 30 and under who are capitalizing on the best possible usages of the myriad media outlets available to get their clients' messages to consumers in creative ways.
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18. Is Digital Killing the Luxury Brand?
    The democratizing power of the Web means figuring out how to go online without going downscale
    By John Ortved
    High-end fashion brands have a problem. Let's call it the "Kreayshawn quandary," after the young Bay Area rapper made famous by the Internet and her hit song "Gucci, Gucci," which has gotten over 16 million views on YouTube. Sample lyrics: "Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada...the basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother."
    Read full story.
19. The 10 Best Commercials of 2011
    The year's most impeccable craft and storytelling in advertising
    By Tim Nudd
    Many people groaned last winter when it became clear that Super Bowl XLV would be packed bumper to bumper with automotive ads. It's not a category that's exactly wowed with its creativity in recent years. It was a pleasant surprise, then, when many of the car spots proved not only tolerable but wonderful. Now, with the year almost passed, it's become clear that two of those ads in particular—Chrysler's "Born of Fire" by Wieden + Kennedy and Volkswagen's "The Force" by Deutsch—weren't just among that evening's best spots. They turned out to be among the year's best.
    Read full story.