The ad guys

At OPA, Esther Dyson asks advertisers whether they are being disintermediated by Google and/or users. Rishad Tobaccowala, the master of the media soundbite and head of Publicis’ new Denuo, says no one is being disintermediated. The people want power — I believe he said we want to be entertained, connected, and empowered — and we will do what we do and marketers and media have no choice but to align with it. He gets applause.

Rishad talks about overdoing the age of relationships. “I want my headache to go away, I don’t want a relationship with Tylenol.”

I’ll paraphrase: Don’t overvalue brands. Don’t overdo CRM. Think human.

Asked about the value of research and measurement, Rishad says the results are in: Digital works.