MillerCoors awards their $400MM media account to Initative, DraftFCB and Kinetic. via AdAge

MillerCoors today awarded its $400 million-plus media account to Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Initative, DraftFCB and Kinetic, which will handle the business in a new unit called MC Media. The Interpublic trio, which had previously handled Coors Brewing Co.’s business, beat a group of Publicis Groupe agencies led by Starcom USA, which had been Miller Brewing Co.’s incumbent, in a pitch.

Here’s some fresh news from AdAdge that Barack Obama has been awarded the AdAge Marketer of the Year award, edging out Apple and Zappos. 36.1% of all votes went to Obama, compared toApple’s 27.3% and Zappo’s 14.1%. (Via Marketing Conversation)

Just weeks before he demonstrates whether his campaign’s blend of grass-roots appeal and big media-budget know-how has converted the American electorate, Sen. Barack Obama has shown he’s already won over the nation’s brand builders. He’s been named Advertising Age’s marketer of the year for 2008.

Mr. Obama won the vote of hundreds of marketers, agency heads and marketing-services vendors gathered here at the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference. He edged out runners-up Apple and Zappos.com. The rest of the shortlist, selected by Ad Age’s editorial staff, was rounded out by megabrand Nike, turnaround story Coors and Mr. Obama’s rival, Sen. John McCain.

I don’t know but this all sounds like “grassroots” campaigning and politics to me; that said, the Barack Obama campaign has a certain level of religiosity and passion that might just have welled into campaigning, using AdAge as a platform.

I wonder.  I might be wrong.

It’s just a little fishy. Sounds a little bit of memetic engineering mixed in with a high passion base rolled into a high probability that modern ad men and ad women are urban liberals and might use the awards to make a vocal statement.

Again, I might be wrong.

Mind you, if this is a conspiracy of Barack Obama campaigning and pro-Obama activation, then the success in fact proves and reinforces the award as rightfully — and with passion — belonging to the Obama/Biden ticket.

What do you think?