French lingerie maker Sloggi has teamed with car-maker Daewoo in this Netherlands contest where women with the hottest asses can win a new car. Those blessed with perfect curvature can submit a photo of their string-clad back side to the Sloggi contest website which is then ranked according to some pseudo-scientific backroom method which probably consists of a bunch of horny old men salivating over asses they'll never come close to in real life. But hey, it's fun. Via Adland.
A billboard under contract by FOX from Boardworks Outdoor Advertising and directly across from the Atlanta offices of CNN is in the news again. The board currently reads, "Come Home Connie. CNN Needs You." Now, FOX wants to post a board that reads, "Now That CNN's Ratings are Gone With the Wind, Our Work on This Board Is Done. We Love You Atlanta. Brought to you by your friends at FOX News Channel."
Boardworks is refusing to put the copy up and FOX is throwing a fit. It's an odd fit though because they are threatening to sue the past owner of the board, Camfaux, not the current owner, Boardworks. Did FOX legal forget to check that little ownership detail before sending a threatening letter to Camfaux which reads, "Should you choose not to put up the billboard immediately, we will consider all options available to us, including, of course, legal options." Somebody call the FOX fact checking department.
With angry baseball fans saying no to the "here today, gone tomorrow" "Super Man 2" Major League Baseball sponsorship and the recent formation of the Mother's Council, consumers are renewing their battle against advertising. After all, two makes a trend, right?
The Mother's Council seeks one on one, parent to parent meetings with top agency executives and industry groups to implore them to think twice before launching campaigns targeted to children. The group will not engage in uppity legal wranglings nor government regulatory issues but appeal to the moral fiber of industry execs. Oh wait, there's no moral fiber there - see this story.
Mother's Council sponsor and Director of the Motherhood Project at the Institute for American Values Director Enola Aird said, "We have no desire to demonize anybody. All we want is to engage the ad industry on its own terms. Though a valiant effort, Aird is in for quite a bit of double-speak and broken promises as industry executives placate the organization's wishes one day and bow to the power of the almighty dollar the next.
Just one day after announcing a sponsorship deal that would plaster "Spider Man 2" imagery all over Major League Baseball playing fields, the League has cancelled the sponsorship in reaction to an outcry from fans. Ad Age has more here.
A recent study found, unsurprisingly, that those who work in the advertising industry fail to see the ethical ramifications of their work and choose not to discuss the moral implications of their work. While the study, done by University of Texas Associate Professor Meme Drumwright and University of Notre Dame Marketing Professor Patrick Murphy, focused on the morality of the advertising profession, Drumwright said, "Our thinking is that the problem extends to other industries as well." Comforting. At least we know we're in good company with the rest of the world's morality-challenged executive slime.
In a new Sprint PCS ad campaign, the wireless company attempts to explain the various rules of cell phone calling plans to a bunch of kids who, of course, react with confusion. It's Sprint's way of letting consumers know they feel their pain and they have a solution. That solution is the new Sprint PCS Fair & Flexible Plan which automatically adjusts a customer's plan based on usage maximizing the customer's savings. The work was done by Publicis & Hal Riney of San Francisco and will include radio, newspaper, magazine, collateral, direct mail and online efforts.
