Campaign launches ‘ad community’ in New York: first we take Manhattan…

My old alma mater Campaign is planning to launch a US edition, digital only apparently, based in New York.

I can’t recall if this is the venerable UK title’s first effort to crack the States, there may well have been earlier ones.

I can recall lurking behind the arras when Campaign launched a new magazine Campaign Europe, which failed to fly.

Anyway, owner Haymarket says this will be “the first truly digital community for US marketing and advertising communications professionals and will be created by the industry’s leading talent.” Which doesn’t quite sound like journalism.

It goes on: “The site will feature regular contributions from respected communications practitioners, such as the WPP chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer, Keith Weed, and Starcom MediaVest Group’s chief executive, Laura Desmond (all Brits by the way). They will form part of an extensive panel of 50-plus industry experts.”

Campaign’s lately-annointed queen of the world Claire Beale (left), recently returned in triumph from a brief exile as ‘brand editor’ of Marketing, will be in charge with ‘a team’ in New York.

Will Ad Age and Adweek be quaking in their boots?

Probably not, but it’ll be interesting to see what Claire and co. come up with.

But all this ‘community’ stuff is a bit post-Facebook. Will WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell save his bon-est mots for Campaign US when he’s got Bloomberg on the line?

Sorrell says: “It’s about time that Haymarket took the bold but intelligent step of launching Campaign in the US.”

Which is a bit non-committal. Let’s hope Campaign US doesn’t turn into an arse-licking (sorry, ass-licking) exercise which won’t do anyone any good. Or worry Ad Age and Adweek, which are quite practiced in such skills.