Ramsey Rants, Carla Charms, Double Clicks, MySpace Matters

This morning when I examined the pile of business cards I had collected Thursday night at ad:tech in San Francisco, I found a card from a company called My Car Service and wondered if I had somehow awakened from a drunken stupor only to realize I had mistakenly gone to some limousine driver bash instead of an ad:tech party. But, as I went through the rest of the pile, the familiar company names brought me back to reality along with the fact I didn't drink much the night before. Anyway...

On the second day of ad:tech around 6PM when the exhibit hall was closing, a group of us gathered at the bottom of the elevators below the very cool DoubleClick stairway and discussed what we'd do Thursday night. As always, there were far too many parties for any one group of people to hope to attend in a single night. So, we didn't try. Some went to dinner, some back to their hotels and some over the to SF BIG (Bay Area Interactive Group) party at 111 Mina. The place was packed with friendly, familiar faces and, unlike many parties, the bar staff actually kept up with demand. There, I caught up with Noreen Sullivan who writes for the ad:tech blog and a few people from Tribal Fusion including Lindsey Frankenfield and consultant John Nguyen. It really was one of the better ad:tech parties. Not too crowded. Not too loud. Not too bright. Not too dark and just the right amount of red hair.

A wholly different AdTech

Earlier today I heard someone talking about this AdDrive party tonight at The Mezzanine. They called it Fight Night: Melee at the Mezzanine. The conversation went something like this:

Isn't that place some kind of actual boxing place?

Yeah, I think so. But I'm sure they are just making it into some kind of club/lounge thing for tonight.

Yeah, they wouldn't actually have people fighting.

Yes, they would. And did.

A group of AdTech attendees I would swear I've not seen before had made their way to 444 Jesse street to witness a real brawl up close. The loud music and drinks were the same as any AdTech party, but the high levels of testosterone, the clouds of cigar and cigarette smoke, and the two big guys duking it out in a ring were something new.

A few people I met today were incensed by the "girls gone wild" party. "It's a total insult to women." I'm pretty sure I know how they'd feel about the g-string clad ring card girls of Melee at the Mezzanine.

Party Options Grow For Thursday Night

If you haven't heard, there's usually a lot of parties at ad:tech. While we're sure we don't have a complete list, we'll share with you what we know as of Thursday afternoon. Mediawhiz is having a party at Dragon Bar at 8PM (invite only). San Francisco's Interactive group BIG is having a party at 111 Mina. We don't know the time yet for either. Skylist is having a party at the Drake Hotel at 450 Powell at 7PM. It's invite only. AdDrive is is having a [artty called Fight Night which will feature boxing at the Mezzanine beginning at 9P. DoublClick is having a party at Terra at 511 Harrision from 7P-10P. We're sure there's more and we'll tell you about them when we know.

Bad Party Planning Makes For So-So Wednesday Night

Somehow the schedule of parties on Monday night at ad:tech San Francisco didn't make it very easy to slide from one to another with ease. Following the exhibit hall closing at six, prior to which a few booths were serving a random beer or two, unlike former shows when Tribal Fusion would serve the whole hall, the ad:tech opening party began in a big room adjacent to the Moscone center exhibit hall. Crowds of 2,000 or more swarmed the food tables where one could find mini-burgers, all kinds of pasta - which was very good, finger food and cookies. The bar was open for the first hour or two and served pretty much anything anyone could want. Oddly, when they decided to convert to a cash bar, they minimized bar service down to a quarter length of the bar but left all the former bartenders standing there twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do but point people to the end of the bar where beer and wine were being served. In fact, the human bar mannequins wouldn't even serve ad:tech chair Susan Bratton a glass of water.

MSN Customer Appreciation Shindig

Immediately after having a little fun with MSN for their banner placement, I headed over to the W Hotel for the MSN customer appreciation get together. Apparently word was out that free drinks could be had at the W, because it was quite the popular spot. Brody, our MSN contact, graciously fixed me up with a Vodka Tonic, despite my banner posting - all news is good news right? By the way, you won't find MSN on the exhibit floor this year, but I'm sure they'll make a showing after AdCenter is out of Beta.

Girls Go Wild, ad:tech Parties Flourish

Just as we finished commenting on the amped up exhibit floor booth attractions and the lack of booth babes, no sooner did they show up en masse, roaming the hall, promoting the hydramedia/Girls Gone Wild Bash taking place at The Rouge in San Francisco beginning at 8:30. So if girls gone wild are your thing, get your wet t-shirt on and head over to the party.

If for some reason that's not your thing, there's always the x+1 hosted after party at The Cellar beginning at 10 PM. Or, if you want to skip both those parties as well as the "official" ad:tech after party at Moscone, you can head over to the Outrider/Offermatica Bay Cruise. The ship sets sail at 6PM. Do we detect some sort of water theme here?

Outrider, Offermatica Host Bay Cruise

Search marketing firm Outrider and web optimization company Offermatica are hosting a Bay Cruise Wednesday night, April 26 from :6:30P to 10P. It will be aboard the San Francisco Spirit and feature cocktails, dinner, jazz and more. ad:tech attendees can register to be considered for the Evening Bay Cruise or the Outrider/Offermatica VIP Room by visiting www.outrider.com/VIP.