In a shift that is sure to be much commented on by the advertising industry, Yahoo has tapped Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to take the lead for creative, advertising, digital marketing and strategic planning efforts.

The San Francisco-based Goodby, which is owned by the Omnicom Group (OMC), is known for its innovative ideas and has done such memorable campaigns as the Slowsky turtles for Comcast (CMCSA), the weird folk of Emerald Nuts, owned by Diamond Foods (DMND)–as well as campaigns for tech companies such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Adobe Systems (ADBE) and Netflix (NFLX).

Also, of course, the terrifically memorable “Got Milk?” campaign.

Perhaps a “Got Yahoo?” campaign is in the future?

Until now, the top job of goosing Yahoo’s tarnished brand, as part of a recently launched $100 million marketing push, has been helmed by Ogilvy & Mather, a unit of the WPP Group (WPPGY).

While Goodby will lead on creative initiatives worldwide, Ogilvy will remain in the mix, Integrated Marketing and Brand Management SVP Penny Baldwin told BoomTown in an interview this afternoon, focusing on international marketing efforts, including all upcoming brand launches in France, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Brazil and Indonesia.

And, via it Neo and Mindshare units, Yahoo said, Ogilvy will also run all media buying for the Internet giant globally.

Yahoo (YHOO) is also keeping strategic branding firm Landor & Associates.

Goodby, Ogilvy and Landor will apparently form a Brand Advisory Board at Yahoo, run by Baldwin.

Baldwin stressed that the move was a broadening of its outside marketing advisers and was not a replacement of Ogilvy, or any indication that the current new marketing campaign needed to change.

She said internal reports on the effectiveness of the overall big theme, “It’s Y!ou,” launched last month, have been strong.

Nonetheless, Baldwin added that the new agency is sure to bring more ideas to the mix in the massive effort, which has included television, print, outdoor and online ads.

And, she noted, the location of Goodby’s HQ in San Francisco, not far from Yahoo’s Sunnyvale digs, was also a plus.

“Goodby has the caliber to serve worldwide needs,” said Baldwin. “And with the way the Web moves so fast, we thought it was also important to have deep resources locally.”

Up next, she added: to “root our brand strategy with more hard-hitting” messages about Yahoo.

“This is far more than just an advertising effort,” said Baldwin of Yahoo’s efforts to revitalize itself in the eyes of consumers–and, while she did not say so, to the digerati of Silicon Valley. “This is a business transformation.”

Here is Baldwin’s boss, Yahoo CMO Elisa Steele talking about the company’s marketing efforts of late in a video interview with Nicki Dugan on the company’s Yodel Anecdotal blog in a new feature called Yodelcast (sorry, Nicki, but it is simply too professional and unjiggly for BoomTown’s seal of approval):

And here are two examples of Goodby’s creatives–Comcast’s Slowskys and Robert Goulet for Emerald Nuts:

Even if it never makes any money, Twitter certainly does provide fabulous material for television spoofs.

So far, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have done several funny bits on Comedy Central, deftly mocking the microblogging service.

And now, Conan O’Brien is doubling down with two skits so far dubbed “Twitter TRACKER” on GE (GE) unit NBC’s “The Tonight Show.”

In them, a loudmouthed voice delivers pointless celebrity tweets as a flock of blue cartoon Twitter birdies is murdered in various ingenious ways.

What’s not to like?

O’Brien, who is nicknamed CoCo by the Twitter TRACKER bully, hardly needs to work hard to make fun of real tweets like Ashton Kutcher’s mundanities, such as “Going to the grocery store need some fixins for a salad.”

There is also, of course, a snark-laced Web site and a Twitter page, so it looks like this Tweet-beatdown might just go on and on.

It should, if only for terms like: “Schprechen sie Tweetenshlize!”

Here are the online spoof videos so far (and click here to see the full interview with the Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams onstage at the D7 conference):

Here’s the video of Twitter co-founder Biz Stone with Stephen Colbert last night on the Comedy Central cable television show.

Stone–the spokesmodel for the hot microblogging service–does very well and is even charming, even though Colbert nails the problems of the San Francisco-based Twitter cold in the lively interview.

“How would you make money?” asked Colbert, after some preliminary joking with Stone about Twitter’s 140-character limit.

When Stone went on about how Twitter planned to be a “strong, profitable, independent company,” Colbert was ready with a zinger.

“You and Pets.com.”

Still, it was semi-cute when Stone told Colbert that “if i have a son, I should name him Flint.”

Yabadaba–don’t, Biz.

(Stone’s actual first name, by the way, is Isaac.)

Here’s the video:

Stone (pictured here)–who has clearly become the chatty spokesmodel for the hot microblogging service at public events all over the place of late–is set to be a guest on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”

Stone, of course, just updated everyone about the show on Twitter and also on his blog site.

“It’s past 2am here in NYC and I’m battling email until I pass out—tomorrow, I’m on the Colbert Report! I’ll keep you posted. 9 minutes ago

Just landed at JFK with my wife, @livia (who grew up in Manhattan) — looking forward to a couple days in NYC! about 4 hours ago

Normally I’d fly @jetblue but since I’m headed to NYC to be on Colbert tomorrow night I’m flying American (flight is delayed) about 11 hours ago”

I have no doubt it will be snarktastic, especially given the bulls-eye piece Stephen Colbert’s comic twin, Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” did on Twitter recently, nailing the unholy media obsession with tweeting.

Until the show, which we will post later, here is a very funny video Colbert did for our 2007 D: All Things Digital conference about the Internet, when Viacom (VIA) head Philippe Dauman was interviewed onstage, so Biz can better prepare for his comic grilling, um, interview.

And Stewart’s Twitter-bashing video is also below.

Stephen Colbert:

Jon Stewart:

I just got to Park City, Utah, for my annual visit (well, this will be my third year here) to the famous film festival that takes place in this lovely mountain resort.

While I like a good movie as much as the next person, I am no film aficionado, nor do I have a screenplay stuffed in a drawer, nor do I hope someday to direct. I do like celebrity sightings, of course.

I am here because the Sundance Film Festival has understood early and often that technology is becoming increasingly important to the future of the film industry.

Because of that, they’ve been expanding additional offerings in the digital arena with panels throughout the festival.

The panel I will moderate is a great one about online video, called “Webolution!–Hollywood Adapts to the Web.” It will take place tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. at the New Frontier on Main here.

Here’s the description:

“The writing is on the wall–the industry must adapt to new media or face extinction. Today’s studios and independents are finally embracing the challenge of porting content and revenue to new distribution strategies. Join Hollywood power brokers and new media superstars to discuss their strategies for the Web.”

The panelists include Ted Sarandos (Netflix), Dmitry Shapiro (founder and CEO of Veoh.com), Dan Glickman (MPAA), Jason Kilar (CEO of Hulu.com), Mike Volpi (CEO of Joost.com), Erik Flanagan (EVP Digital Media MTV Networks/Comedy Central/South Park Studios) and tech strategy adviser Phil Lelyveld.

Videos, of course, to come, along with visits with various tech players here, who are increasing in number annually. And, maybe, a Hollywood celeb or two.

They say that only the grass gets trampled when elephants fight. And that grass might actually turn out to be Yahoo in the epic battle between Microsoft and Google.

While the New York Times spilled a lot of ink earlier this week in a very long piece about that massive mano-a-mano, the true fallout in the online ad space, at least, could be more painful for the No. 2 player–Yahoo–which sits smack in between No. 1 Google and No. 3 Microsoft.

Yesterday, that was clearly in evidence in a kind of round-tripping ad deal Microsoft struck with Viacom, a five-year strategic partnership that was valued at $500 million by the two parties.

It’s pretty simple, really. Microsoft dips into its massive cash coffers and buys ads on Viacom’s many online and offline media outlets and it also licenses Viacom content–from places like MTV and Comedy Central–for its online MSN and Xbox 360 services.

Viacom scores!

For that, Viacom has agreed to use Microsoft’s digital ad-serving technology and also will let it sell some of its display ads on its–who knew?–300 Web sites. (Of course, Microsoft handed Viacom yet another one of those economically unsound guaranteed ad deals that both it and Google are so fond of doing these days.)

Viacom scores again!

Naturally, Google was not in the competitive mix, given Viacom is suing its YouTube unit for $1 billion over copyright-infringement issues.

And Viacom also got to smack Google again, since it dumped DoubleClick–the online ad network that Google is in the midst of acquiring–and replace it with Microsoft’s Atlas service (which the software giant picked up in its recent purchase of aQuantive).

Yep. Viacom. Scores. Yet Again. (Except the Microsoft-Viacom deal probably has now provided Google with some air cover about complaints–leveled by Microsoft to government regulators–that it had a dangerous monopoly over online advertising with its DoubleClick purchase, which means it is more likely to be approved now.)

While this is all very clash-of-the-titans, with most of the benefit accruing to Viacom, one has to wonder where this leaves Yahoo–considered the longest-standing and doubtlessly most experienced seller of display ads–in this war.

Viacom did pick Yahoo to manage its search-ad business earlier this year, and this deal with Microsoft will not impact that.

But Yahoo’s game in the future is not in the monetization of search, which Google dominates, but in turbocharging its graphical and video ad business, an area in which it has the best shot at differentiating itself. It should have been in this fight, but it was not mentioned once.

And watching Viacom work the Microsoft-Google Cold War, it feels a lot like what Facebook did recently when it expertly played the bickering pair against each other over its financing and the right to sells its international ads.

Given Yahoo keeps losing in this kind of warmongering (to be fair, it can’t even contemplate competing in what will surely turn insane), you almost want Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to get while the getting is good and auction off his company’s crown jewel–its search monetization business–to the highest bidder.

If that was the case, if Yang was bold enough to do it and willing to swallow a little pride, I would think we haven’t nearly begun to see just how high both Google and Microsoft can bid.

In my post yesterday about the deal “South Park” creators Stone and Parker (pictured here) made with Viacom related to creating a new kind of digital hub for the show and also other content, I used a Stone quote from a New York Times interview in which he noted that the only quick place to get an episode of the raucous animated series in some places was to download it illegally.

I then slightly mocked him for not getting on the fast-moving viral bandwagon sooner and coming up with legal and easy ways for fans to get great copies of shows.

Sam (who apparently has no last name) of the Web site South Park X, where one can apparently get such copies he notes, took exception, pointing out that the pair has always been pirate-friendly.

Wrote Sam to me in an email:

Many many times in the past Matt Stone and Trey Parker have defended our sites, and while many believe we are ‘illegal download sites,’ we have not once been contacted by ‘South Park’ or Comedy Central lawyers or representatives.”

Well, Viacom, owner of Comedy Central, where “South Park” airs, might have had its hands full with suing someone with a bigger wallet, like Google, but Sam’s point is well taken.

From an interview in December 2006 with Reason Magazine, Stone and Parker had the following exchange:

Reason: When it looked like Comedy Central wasn’t going to rerun the Mary episode, people were still able to download it illegally online. Did you see that as a victory for free speech, or did you think, ‘My God, these people are stealing our intellectual property’?

Stone: We’re always in favor of people downloading. Always.

Reason: Why?

Stone: It’s how a lot of people see the show. And it’s never hurt us. We’ve done nothing but been successful with the show. How could you ever get mad about somebody who wants to see your stuff?

Parker: We worked really hard making that show, and the reason you do it is because you want people to see it.

That’s pretty clear, though I am sure Viacom’s busy lawyers might beg to differ.

It’s all part of the three-ring circus that the copyright-infringement lawsuit between the Google-owned video-sharing unit and media giant Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, where “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” air, will likely become.

Viacom is suing Google for $1 billion for allegedly letting stolen content proliferate on its service.

Viacom’s imperious chairman and main shareholder Sumner Redstone is also on the Google witness list, a deposition that will likely be comical in its own unintended way. But we want a front-row seat for Stewart and Colbert, who probably like how popular their material is on the Web.

Now, thankfully, Viacom is providing a lot of embedded clips from both shows and I am guessing really wants to settle this and get on with the job of monetizing its video trove (doubtlessly, with Google’s help).

Google, on the other hand, is ridiculously stubborn enough not to settle, even though it probably should, as its execs seem to want a solid decision on the issue, even if it turns out badly for the company.

In any case, video flourishes on the Internet, despite all the rancor. And it is even funny.

Here’s a recent example of an embeddable Stewart video on the departure of Republican political impresario Karl Rove:

And here’s a very funny intro video Colbert did that ran before an onstage interview I did with Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman at D5 (by the way, it got ripped into YouTube in about 14 seconds after we put it up on our Web site on May 31):

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.