Thursday is always an interesting day of the week. With Friday teetering ever nearer, despondency grows and the tips start coming in. And because of that, we get to play fill in the blank. So, with no further adieu:

— "consider comparing the number of employees at _________ from last year to now and you might find a story about perhaps _________'s largest agency layoff that went more or less unnoticed. they did it stealthily and no more than a handful at each time but the numbers add up. everyone from junior _____ to three ___'s have left, plus the ___ of course."

— "__________'s ________,__ office just had another round of layoffs due to changes in _________'s digital advertising budget."

— "CP+B is in a WORLD OF PAIN over Whopper Virgins, have you heard about that shit?????????" (Ed's note: we've received a dozen or so of tips that say basically the same thing, which is nice.)

— "i am hearing a rumor that the lone chicago marketing/advertising reporter, lewis lazare at the chicago sun-times, is no longer. he just published an article today, and i'm not finding any coverage of this, but the chicago ad industry is abuzz. not sure if it's true or false." (ed's note: it's false. we e-mailed Mr. Lazare earlier today, and he told us there's "no truth" to this rumor.)

— _________ of ____ announced today s/he plans to get a sex change to become a man/women, so s/he can get the __________ (a client of ______) and better understand the consumer mindset (Ed's note: this is clearly someone's attempt at sullying his/her name, but we thought it was a funny way of doing so, hence it's placement here)

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A spy tells us that Conde Nast has allegedly put all its Web site launches on hold for the time being. Hmm, not a bad idea for a publisher in turmoil. Nonetheless, the effects of that move would be felt by at least one ad agency, Razorfish, which is rumored to be int he process of building a Web site for Details magazine.

What would that look like, anyway: about 10 million pages, each of which contains be-hipstered, chachily-mustachiod men? Can't wait! Holding our breath for word from our Razorfish spy to get the details. Pun?

More: "Razorfish Redesigning Details Web Site?"

A report published by Experian Simmons found that just 28 percent of the eyeballs watching/absorbing ads during news programming, on news sites et al will trust/be inspired/get life enhanced/socially interact/have a personal time out. See what that means, below. Compared to media in general, ads that pop up in news media aren't as effective.

— Inspirational: If a media program, magazine or internet site ranks high in this dimension, it means that consumers are inspired by it and have an emotional connection to it.
— Trustworthy: A high score for this dimension indicates that consumers trust a particular program, magazine or website and believe it is telling the truth without sensationalizing.
— Life Enhancing: A high Life-Enhancing score indicates consumers feel they are always learning about new things and places from a particular program, magazine or website. What they learn, in turn, helps them make better life decisions.
— Social Interaction: A high score in this dimension means that a program, magazine or website constantly provides fodder for conversations with friends and family.
— Personal Timeout: Programs, magazines or websites that score high in this dimension provide an escape for consumers, who like to relax and unwind while reading or watching them.

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Remember that time Kevin Costner was in Dances With Wolves? Those were good times. A representative for NASCAR let us know that the now-pretty-old Costner is slated to donate his likeness, voice, et al to NASCAR.

In all, Tin Cup will do some voice-over for a NASCAR movie and show up at the Sprint Cup Series Awards banquet to do something. Host, maybe? In return Costner's band Modern West (yeah, who knew) will debut its first ever music video on NASCAR dot com, which is apparently some kind of MTV + CMT for older folks. That or neither of the aforementioned networks would touch the thing, and it was NASCAR or nothing. We're guessing the latter.

It strikes us as semi-funny that NASCAR has chosen such a b...c...d-level actor to help them out. Hell, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are bigger celebs than Robin Hood (remember, he was in that too). Nonetheless, the Cup has been called, and he shall answer. And sing. Check out the video above, of one of his songs.

One last note: "Costner and his band Modern West released a country album, Untold Truths, on November 11, 2008 on Universal South Records. The album debuted and peaked at #75 on the Billboard Top Country Albums." - Wikipedia

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You knew this was coming sooner or later, but before we get the joint rolling, we want to know which agencies you think should be on the list.

Here's the deal: we're making two polls that aim to determine which agencies you all think are the best at what they do. Screw the Cannes judges, we're putting the power in your hands.

But before we get started, help us get a lay of the ad-land by commenting below on which agencies you think should be in the running. No shop is too small, we want these polls to be long and all-inclusive.

Keep it to digital or traditional (and be sure to tell us if the shop you mention is dig. or trad, in case it's one we're not aware of), and try not to repeat shops that have already been listed. Later this week or next week, when the comments have been compiled, we'll post two polls (one for each category). Sure, it's kinda-sorta based on popularity but this is AgencySpy and we want to know what you think. Could there be anything better?

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The video above was created by SoHo London based Rubber Republic, part of Team Rubber. Founded by Chris Quigley, Andrew Parkhouse and Matt Golding, the company does all sorts of creative work, including this fun execution for The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) called, "Creatives grow better in the South West".

The gist: creative types are grown on farms, in this case, in southwest UK. We get a tongue-in-cheek walk around of the "creative juice harvesting" process, from seeding to harvest to juicing to distribution. But don't drink the pure creative juice, or it'll blow your head off.

What's with Brits taking the piss out of advertising these days? We don't mind; self-deprecation is a sparse commodity.

More: "Confessions Of An Advertising Insider"

A lawsuit has been filed against Wal-Mart in the trampling death of a temporary employee, 34 year old Jdimytai Damour. It alleges that a lack of security coupled with pre-Black Friday marketing caused shoppers to go into a frenzy as they entered the store. It's a terrible tragedy that won't soon be forgotten. What do you think: did advertising play a role in the man's death?

Per AdAge: the suit "claims that besides failing to provide adequate security, Wal-Mart 'engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem.'"

If true, what would such a finding mean for the industry? Well, for one that advertising actually works. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing here. Compared to other advertising ventures that have been hindered by deaths, the Wal-Mart case doesn't have much going for it. We're talking about cigarette advertising of yore. Smoking kills 438,000 people per year, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, according to the CDC. As such, cigarette advertising has changed drastically, including myriad anti-smoking campaigns. So, one death (and numerous unreported injuries throughout the years, we'd suspect) don't amount to a guilty verdict in this court.

At the root of this issue is the age-old question about the relationship between media and audience. Journalists and advertisers will say that news and advertising are a reflection of the world we live in. Accordingly, what you see on the news and in Sunday circulars (etc) is a reflection of the audience — their needs, wants, happenings and so forth. Well, that is if you're in the journo/addy camp.

Sociologists, ombudsmen, and the general public argue the opposite — that advertisers and journalists choose for the audience, effectively telling them what's important, what to buy, et al.

No matter how you look at it (and the "reality" is likely somewhere in the middle), communication is a persuasive art. By its nature, all communication, no matter the medium, is meant to be convincing. Even if its simply informative, that's the deal. Even in everyday conversations you have: I'm going to the store; I'm hungry; I need to shower — even simple messages are meant to convince someone of something. So, with that as the basis of communication (and advertising), the plaintiff's attorney would have to prove that Wal-Mart's advertising somehow told people to stampede the front doors on Black Friday.

That's an unlikely conclusion, and would be like blaming a soccer team for inciting a riot. In our opinion, the crushing mob was likely more an element of the situation at that store than the advertising that preceded it. Otherwise, wouldn't there have been dead temporary employees all over the country? Or at least, tons of broken bones and crushed spleens? Anyone who has ridden public transportation, especially the NYC subway, will tell you that when people are corralled, all bets are off.

Also consider the current economic situation, coupled with Wal-Mart's long history of great deals. By default, Black-Friday was going to be a busy day for the retailer. With the holidays around the corner and Main Street low on cash, this situation was almost inevitable. The question a court will have to answer is how prominent was Wal-Mart's advertising in the equation. Was it fuel to the fire or the spark that lit it? Use the poll below and tell us what you think.

Another day, another pen full of rumors to share with you all. Let's play some fill-in-the-blank, shall we?

— "pending layoffs at wpp/________ due to automotive ties to ___... may be happening today."

— "Hey guys I don't know if this is the appropriate spot but with all the recession talk a bit of good news never hurt anyone. Maddock Douglas is an agency in Chicago that has been expanding like crazy. They have hired 13 people in the last 3 months and are posting more job listings."

— "TBWA Did _____ Leave a Hole bigger than anyone could have possibly imagined? The suits that cheered when he left probably aren't cheering now"

— The two cubicle bangers have been fired from ____.

— "Element 79 had more layoffs yesterday. Can you say toilet bowl"

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Ian Schafer is the CEO over there at Deep Focus. He likes to blog sometimes, and tweet, and watch commercials so we asked him to dissect the LeBron James + Nike 'Chalk' spot that's been airing, oh, everywhere lately. He posted his thoughts on his blog, but we nabbed part of it and posted it below. Click through to IanSchaefer dot com to see the rest.

Take it away, Ian.

"LeBron James has a pre-game ritual of reaching into the chalk/talc basket near the scorer's table, rubbing it on his hands, then throwing it into the air. It's electrifying, and the crowd usually goes wild. It looks like this:"

"The track in the spot is 'Candyman' from Cornershop (they also scored a charting hit in 1997 with 'Brimful of Asha') which I believe may have gotten a little remix from Lil' Wayne. And that track is several years old, but a hip-hop masterpiece.

The song title, 'Candyman' is usually used to reference drug pushers.

Lil' Wayne made his first few bucks by selling cocaine.

Lil' Wayne is in the stands in the spot.

Lil' Wayne also brushes the chalk off his feet - possibly an allusion to his rise from the streets to fame -- and giving up on cocaine."

Click here to see Ian put the whole thing together.

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Ugh. I find this piss taking BBC video featuring an "ad insider" so depressing. Yeah. Everyone hates advertising. Advertising is uncreative and full of stolen ideas. Advertising is homogenized, blah, blah. It's always been easy to beat up on our industry, but right now, with the economic climate, the internet, mega-brands and broken death star agencies, we're most certainly the lame dog of the pack.

Just as I felt that this pain amplifier of a video was going to crush me, a ray of light appeared.

Near the end of the video, host Charlie Brooker asks the concealed advertising insider what the future of the industry looks like. The insider says "no one knows." And you know what? I thought, hell yeah. No one knows what the future of this business looks like and that's awesome. The future is wide open and waiting.

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Wal-Mart's digital business has gone up for review. Speculation over at Adage is that Resource, Digitas, MRM and R/GA; and Razorfish are in the pitch, but the journo isn't quite sure. Neither are we. Do you know?

Walmart.com was the second most visited retail site on Black Friday right after Amazon.com.

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On November 18th, R/GA ECD Rob Rasmussen e-mailed his coworkers to say he'd be moving on to Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) to "help them evolve their creative product." But the subtext of a recent AdWeek profile of the once-befauxhawked creative and recently obtained insider R/GA info indicate that his departure may have had more to do with R/GA's siloed infrastructure than the article lets on.

From AdWeek: Of his decision to return to the traditional agency fold, Rasmussen points to one of BBH's strongest client case histories, Johnnie Walker. When the agency pitched and won the business in 1999, he says, it distilled the brand's essence into the idea of it having forward momentum, leading to the long-running tagline, "Keep walking." "They didn't say, 'Here are a bunch of executions,'" he says. "They said, 'Here is our POV and everything we do will play off this starting point.' [Digital creatives] need that type of focus. ... I think it's a mistake to say that there's this great technology and I'm just going to connect it to different clients. If you start with a core truth, you can take it anywhere.'"

Click continued to see how this might say more about R/GA than meets the eye.

More: "Rob Rasmussen Departs R/GA for BBH"

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Wieden and Kennedy and designer Joel Gethin Lewis have created a Christmas Card Making Machine. Yeah, well what if I don't celebrate Xmas? Where's my Dreidel making machine, hunh?

The real life version of this Christmas greeting can be found in a window on Hanbury Street if you happen to live in London. The machine allows you to create a likeness of yourself that will then be placed into the tableau and on the web. You can also inject yourself into the scene via the website. The results look a little too freaky for my taste, but hey... happy holidays?

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Perhaps, you've forgotten about Cossette Communications? And perhaps, that's because you don't live in Canada where the shop is always in the news. It's possible, but this year the agency is attempting to up its Stateside profile.

Today, Cossette Communication Group released their year end fiscal results. The shop is up with net earnings at $8.9 million and gross income of $253.3 million. That's an increase of 8.2 per cent from $234.1 million in fiscal year 2007.

"Despite the challenging environment that we faced, over the past year we recorded the highest revenues in Cossette's history," said Claude Lessard, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.

Now, we're sure that very little of that had anything to do with their Stateside office. In October, the shop pinched Bill Oberlander from McCann to fill their CCO role. The shop then quickly picked up the Waterford Crystal account and now, it's a waiting game. Still under their auspice is the Coast Guard and McGraw-Hill. Will Bill be able to finally put the shop back into American headlines with some big wins? We shall see.

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Tim Nolan of Poke and Marco Cigini of McCann Erickson have gotten all Gleaming The Cube on Madison Avenue's ass and formed a skate club. Naturally, the association is called Mad Skate.

To join the cru, sign up go here. How it works: each member pays a little bit of cash to help rent a park such as the The Autumn Bowl in Greenpoint, Brooklyn or the Shield Skate Park in New Jersey. After all the ollies, railsliding and grinding have been done, any left over cash will be given to charity.

What's next? A motorcycle club? Oh snap! That's already happening. Doug Jaeger, the new prez of the Art Director's Club, told us he's already working on the details. Stay tuned...

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