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The Boogie Man is Just Some Guy -- Until NIGHT Falls. For Sylvania Light Bulbs, JEH United/Bangkok created a spot that makes highlarious use of Thailand's mythological monsters. And one transvestite. The premise: when the lights are on, nothing seems to be scary. Slogan: "Light is your true friend." Heavy Gets Heavy With Heavy Ad Units OK. Here's some Independence Day humor...if there is such a thing: "The Heavy Men's Network, the first premium male-focused online video network and a part of The Heavy Corporation, today announced in honor of Independence Day the creation of the IAB Supersize Me package for online advertisers--an environmentally friendly ad package with six times the firepower of standard IAB units! Oh Look! It's A Flash Mob Staring at a Ray-Ban Billboard! Now that Ray-Ban has all but used up its viral video tricks, its now turned to culture jammer Ron English who recently unveiled a giant billboard in New York, part of the brand's Project Colorize campaign. To add to the unveiling, flash mobs (yes, like trucker hats, they go on and on) were organized beneath the billboard to simply look up and stare at the board...while wearing Ray-Bans, of course. Animal has pictures and a video of a New York Post interview with Ron English Marketing Jobs
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Xeni Jardin Takes the Heat on Boing Boing Conference Call Quick backstory: Boing Boing removes all mention of sex columnist Violet Blue from its records. The news comes out, all hell breaks loose, Boing Boing talks back, but fans are unimpressed. Soooo... Yesterday Boing Boing held a conference call with Xeni Jardin, David Pescovitz, Joel Johnson, John Battelle of Federated Media, and The LA Times. Apparently they talked for over an hour. Here's parts one and two of the convo. The short and sweet: Xeni Jardin takes the blame for removing the posts. She also shares a little family history -- and I'm wishin' she didn't, because it feels like a cop-out (here's a little inside-shit for all the inside-shit you're not getting!). Then the Boingers talk "editorial autonomy," John Battelle puts Boing Boing's growth spurt in perspective, everyone discusses the philosophy of "site" and "content" ownership, and nobody says sorry. The end. PS. For a directory of "formerly wonderful things" that included Violet Blue and were whipped off Boing Boing, check out VioletBlueVioletBlue.net (via those naughty naughty gossips at ValleyWag). Wait! Wait! We Forgot the Viral! So the Mullen creative department just finishes presenting their work for the New England Aquarium shark exhibit to the 12 year old AE they are forced to work with because, ya know, it's a pro bono-ish account and the little tyke says, "Well I like it but where's the viral component? Every great campaign has viral, right?" Coors Could Use a Little Help with that Zany 'Interactive' Concept Somebody didn't think this one through. I saw this banner ad for Coors Light. It attracted me because of its weird copy: "GRAB A COLD ONE. When the mountains turn blue, it's as cold as the Rockies." I was like, what?! and then I noticed some other text that read, "COLD ACTIVATED BOTTLE." Then I said, "Awesome! I can frost this Coors!" so I started clicking all over the ad to make with the frosting. Ha! Ha! Ha! Now Can We Finally Leave This Concept on the Floor? Sort of like fart jokes, the tampon in a pool joke never gets old. That is if you're a 14 year old boy...or a creative director at an ad agency. Nike Soccer Releases Ad-Infused Video Widget Eyeblaster, AKQA and Mindblaster put their wands together to create a video widget for Nike See widget here. Basically it streams a selection of Nike ads: watch 'em one after the other, or browse from a playlist. There are also embed options for social networks. I'm not convinced anyone wants a video widget pre-loaded with Nike soccer spots, but given that it starts with "The Next Level" by Guy Ritchie -- which makes my brain throb -- I'm glad it default-launches on mute. Way to go, Eyeblaster. But really, the idea behind widget technology is engaging people without them having to leave the website they're on. AKQA, couldn't you have snuck in a soccer game or some shoe-customizing awesomeness? The Social Path Takes Buzzwords, Superiority and Hype Out of Social Media David Griner of AdFreak fame has convinced his agency, Luckie & Co, to launch The Social Path. It's a clean, uncomplicated and sane place for learning about social media. The blog went live Sunday. I don't want to gush much, but I spent most of the last half-hour reading the entries. If you're looking for rants or hype-ridden miracles, you will probably be disappointed. What it will do is simplify topics that have become extremely noisy. And then it will walk you through them while clasping your hand -- not as an "expert," but as a person learning alongside you. For a sense of what I mean, read his second entry, Five Myths of Social Media. It's a great place to get started. Santa Has a Social Network! On Ning! Gone are the days when earnest, slightly manipulative letters to the North Pole get lost in the USPS ether. Now you can join Santa's social network and hit him up whenever. He even has a blog! That's sweet and stuff, but the Santa I remember -- the one from Miracle on 34th St. -- wouldn't be sending repeated emails asking me to join "Santa live now." There's something freaky and subservient-chickenish about that. Why Go the Long Way? Take the Career Path Express. If you happen to be a "..." seeking "...?", you're in luck! NYU's Career Path Express has your number. The Career Path Express is a co-branded program between NYU and NavAgility, which I guess helps full-time students or people with families get back on the fast track to DoctorLawyerville. Smooching Hubbies Targeted by Christian Group -- and the Ad Hasn't Even Aired Yet! The American Family Association has convinced Heinz to suppress a Deli Mayo ad that hasn't even appeared on American TV. The spot features a male couple kissing good-bye. And unlike the trashy Snickers kiss ad, which generated national backlash during Super Bowl 2007, it takes a step toward normalizing the gay family: Morning sun pours through an ordinary kitchen. Two kids dash downstairs to collect lunch from Mom, who turns out to be a man with a deli cap and a deep Brooklyn accent. Dad, a British businessman, yanks on his jacket and prepares to head out the door, when Mom goes "Hey -- aren't you forgettin' somethin'?" FailWhale Has a Fan Club, AND He Gets the Girl If you can't fix what's broken, make it a golden calf. In futile retaliation against users that are defecting in frustration, die-hard Twitter fans erected a site dedicated to FailWhale, the bird-borne character that appears whenever Twitter tanks. Buy merch, add FailWhale on Twitter or join his Facebook group. Get this: the group is marked "consumer product." When did failure become a commodity? In response to the madness, Yiying Lu, the original designer of FailWhale, created Eve Whale. The dreamy FailWhale love interest blows little birds out of her air hole. You Mean it Builds Buzz AND Kills Plaque? Check out the Aquafresh interactive mobile, complete with virtual tooth-brushing games and free teeth cleaning duds. The only thing that would make it cooler would be if you could step inside a giant mouth and bounce on its big foamy tongue while getting slightly high on a fresh-breath smell. Powerset Purchased, McCain Sells Service, Facebook Shills Advice, Starbucks Shutters Stores - Microsoft bought Powerset, which is single-handedly trying to bring "natural search" back into vogue. (Frankly, it shoulda died with Jeeves.) - Oronjo makes funny with McCain. Meh. - Guess free wi-fi isn't so popular after all -- or maybe it was just too little too late. Starbucks is cutting 12,000 jobs and closing 600 stores. "At this point, management has decided that 2008 is a wash and to throw in everything but the kitchen sink to get ready for growth in 2009 and beyond," said one analyst. 2008 IS A WASH? We're only HALFWAY THROUGH. - On Fuzzwich, I found a one-eyed hot-dog shaped man. He grew hair right before my eyes. He had very small pants. - Riffing off the success of its last macro veggie-message, McDonald's launched a wholesome Happy Meal ad depicting kids working the fields to a cheerful whistle. Then the camera pans out to reveal gardens in the shape of chickens and cows. By Leo Burnett. - Facebook Ads launched a newsletter. Remember, folks: use keywords, stand out, optimize. Uh, thanks. Philly Does Single-Stream Recycling. Oh Boy Philly's doing this "single-stream recycling" thing, a convenience ploy to make urbanites more earth-friendly. Single-stream recycling is when you take all recyclable goods and put them in one bin. We've been doing that in Walnut Creek for years. Here's what ends up happening: everyone disregards the rules and starts putting damn-well whatever they please into those bins. NASA Astronauts Talk TV at Zero Gravity If you've ever wondered what astronauts discuss while floating around doing jack, 72andSunny has the answer: like any other dude at a dive, they're probably talking about TV. Here are three spots, each of which is for a different Discovery Channel TV show. Guess which promotes what. Answers on AdGabber. o "I'm gonna go with lunar golf." o "Y'ever blow up a zeppelin?" o "Okay, I think we'd call it Money. With an exclamation point. As in 'we're making tons of money,' and 'we're so money at crabfishing'." One thing I don't get is why the astronauts have Earth for a face. Maybe it's a logo thing. Anyway, it's unsettling. Foster's Beer SCUBA Can't Be Any Worse than Beer Pong To promote its Star Trek-caliber bubble-killing beer cans, Foster's gives us Ride the Scuba, where you can leap into a virtual SCUBA tank and pop bloated bubbles. Enter this email/password to beer SCUBA from your desk: ridethescuba@gmail.com/thankyou. Our connection's pretty slow, so we spent most of our SCUBA time hovering near a Foster's billboard, sort of like dead fish. The game was put together by the UK's Play. Props to MTLB, who was all, "C'mon, play beer scuba with me, c'monc'monc'mooooon" until we finally said "Fine, but only if we get a peanut tube." Violet Blue Purged from Boing Boing, Boing Boing Talks Back Nothing rawks the blog world like a scandale. Here's one for the hour: Boing Boing has been removing posts written by, or in reference to, Violet Blue, a sex columnist for the SF Chronicle. Rumors of Polar Bears' Deadliness Are Grossly Exaggerated The polar bear was recently added to the Department of the Interiors' list of endangered species. In response to this tragedy, National Grid tapped Mullen, who apparently plans to save them by encouraging children to adopt them as pets. I'm sure Grizzly Man would weep with (either indignation or) longing. Bear envy? Get your own. Firstborn assisted with the digital components of the campaign. Th1ng Saves London, Flash Searched, Millennials Charge, FailWhale Merched - Th1ng was chosen to whore "London's outstanding cultural and business successes" and "its film industry and talent" for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Sounds like hard times in the Mother Country. - With the launch of Facecard, edo teaches Millennials how to confuse money with plastic. I wish I'd had a self-interested big brother who cared enough to teach me how to charge. Oh wait, I did: Wells Fargo. Hard Abs Go Soft, Bowflex Powers On Earlier today I happened across this testosterone-tacular Bowflex Revolution pop-up. I can't believe Bowflex is still around! There are so few women that would actually go for Mr. Oily Abs -- but the sight of a perennial Bowflex man turns any guy I'm with into a socially inept troglodyte. My dad, once a self-proclaimed man of steel, used to watch Bowflex infomercials late at night and go, "When I'm old and retired, you will bring me that machine as a gift." And because I was five and had no idea how dangerous a delusion could be, I would assent. He's still waiting for one. The Denver Egotist Has Sure Got a Big Staff. "I am the Denver Egotist and I will be back on Monday ... maybe Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It depends on when I wanna kick yer ass." In an email titled "We're coming out," the Denver Egotist sent us the above video, which reveals its identity, or at least the way it wants to be seen. Definitely less disappointing than that one time KISS removed its makeup. AgencySpy, another site that does does the "we are everyone and everywhere and nowhere -- bwahahaa!" thing, dug it. Coldwell and Banker Revisit Home Affordability After reviewing the campaign launch earlier this year, we haven't heard much from the chatty portraits of Coldwell and Banker. But it looks like the dead founders have been busy. 10 videos aired since February?! See Deja Vu, which launched a little over a week ago. It playfully ties the real estate slump to Coldwell Banker's century-long past. Kind of a Cartoon Network feel. That spot is reinforced by Prediction, which I don't quite get, but which is also kinda Cartoon Networky. Anyway, nice stick-to-itiveness by McKinney/Durham on what I originally thought was a one-hit wonder. Jet Blue Sports Leather to Regain Respect Royale leaps to the aid of JWT, whose "Happy Jetting" campaign for Jet Blue has been poorly received -- and not - just - by - us. "Jetting" is set to ELO's Mr. Blue Sky and has a poppy feel-good Target vibe -- except, you know, more blue. It's also jam-packed with effortful Jet Blue-isms like "Jetting is decked out in leather," "Jetting means business," "Jetting isn't flying," and "Jetting thinks you deserve a snack." Aww, Jet Blue gave us a coooookie.
by Angela Natividad
Jun-30-08
Comments (3)
File: Agencies, Bad, Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Opinion, Television
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Source: Viral Video Chart
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