Aquent Studio Smackdown 2 Winner Announced

Aquent's final round of Studio Smackdown 2, the second edition of the marketing and communication company's interactive online design talent competition was won by Melissa A. Phillips. The four-week elimination contest ended October 18, 2005. Results of the challenge, which pitted five motion graphic designers against each other, can be viewed at www.studiosmackdown.com.

Besides scoring the grand prize of $5,000 and getting to keep the Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Canon MiniDV camcorder that were provided to each of the five challengers, Phillips says the second greatest thrill was the thought of so many people seeing her work. "It's like an instant international portfolio," said the Milwaukee resident. "The hardest part was meeting all the deadlines while still working a full time job." We wonder what her boss now thinks about that.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Industry Events, Online



Neil French Defends Himself to Ad Age

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In an interview with Ad Age following comments regarding his belief some women in advertising are crap because of their inability to commit themselves 100 percent to the job due to childcare issues, WPP Creative Chief Niel French defended himself. Unfortunately, he just dug a bigger hole with his answer to Ad Age's last interview question:


So you didn't use the word "crap," then, in reference to women?

"Oh, of course, I did, yes. But I didn't say all female creative directors are crap. If you can't commit yourself to any job then, by definition, you're crap at it. If you can't commit 100 percent to your job, don't pretend you can. Nobody deserves a job unless they can commit to it."

To most people, the world does not revolve around their jobs alone. That era is gone. There are far more important things in life. French is out of touch with reality. Martin Sorrel should be happy he's leaving. Of course, now a debate over the definition of "commit" will likely ensue.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Agencies



Mountain Dew Launches MDX Energy Drink

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Mountain Dew has introduced a new energy drink, MDX, and will launch a BBDO created ad campaign called Be Nocturnal, consisting of two spots, "All Night Long" and "Sunglasses At Night," October 22 during the World Series to introduce the drink. Print and radio will accompany the television. Check it all out here.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Campaigns, Magazine, Radio, Television



Game Conference Session to Discuss Sex

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The Game Initiative has announced game industry veteran Brenda Brathwaite will deliver an adults-only talk on sexual content and video games at the October 26 - 27, 2005 in Austin, Texas. From flirting in MUDs to hardcore sexual simulators to the emerging field of teledildonics, sex in games is, for sure, a topic of much interest. The talk won't be limited to sex in games but will touch on the infamous E3 booth babes who are as much a part of sex in games as the characters that walk through game worlds. Now that's a conference session worth attending.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Games, Industry Events



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Food Marketers Free From Fatty Lawsuits

Fast food fatties who like to blame fast food establishment like McDonald's and Burger King for their weight gain may soon be out of luck. The House of Representative passed a bill banning obesity-related lawsuits against restaurants and food makers. Urging people to get their lazy asses off the couch, supporters of the bill said the purpose of the bill is to place responsibility for one's own weight squarely where it belongs - with the person who controls their hands that place food in their mouth - and not makes of food even if the food is horribly unhealthy and dangerous to one's health. The point being, restaurant and food manufacturers haven't yet found a way to force feed humans. Until that time, it's the individual who will be in control of caloric intake.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Policy



Gambling Viral Thanks God For Football

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Wicked Chops points to a viral campaign for online gambling site Bodog which consists of three outlandish videos involving unlikely wagers all which close with "Thank God There's Football...So We Can Bet On Things That Really Matter"

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Viral



Blulithium Announces ad:tech New York Wrap Party

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Get ready for another ass-throbbing, body-shaking, wall-busting, floor-thumping, booty-gyrating ad:tech party. yup. Bluelithium has officially announced it's ad:tech New York 2005 Day 1 Wrap Up Party to be held at Glo. This is Bluelitium's third ad:tech party which is certainly a track record to be proud of. See you all there.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Industry Events



Giant Couch Promotes New Debit Card

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This morning at New York City's Grand Central Vanderbuilt Hall, Bank of America held an event to promote its new debit card product, "Keep the Change," which rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar and places it in a saving account for the card holder. To attract attention to the new card, a gigantic, 20 foot long, 10 foot high sofa was placed in the Hall where people could climb on and reach beneath the cushions to find prizes such as MetroCards, Starbucks cards, restaurant gift certificates, retailer gift certificates and Apple store discounts.

This promotion, created by Jack Morton, aligns quite well with the whole money-stuck-under-the-couch-cushion thing. More photos to follow.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Brands, Guerilla, Promotions



Honda Wants 'Cog' Success Again

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Honda and its agency Weiden + Kennedy are hoping two new spots currently in the works called "Impossible Dream" and "Choir" can match the success of the company's "Cog" and Grr" spots. The "Impossible" spot has a car morphing into a bunch of different vehicles including a boat and a hot air balloon. The "Choir" spot is being created by the team that worked on the "Cog" spot. We can't wait.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Commercials



Pirelli Grabs Jennifer Lopez For Calendar

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Tire maker Pirelli has selected Jennifer Lopez to appear on the cover of the 2006 edition of its famous calendar. Lopez joins. Kate Moss, who was recently shunned by marketers for her coke snorting escapades, will also appear in the calendar.Even though production of the calendar had passed the point at which Moss might have been booted, Pirelli UK Communications Manager Julie Naylor says the company would not have bailed on Moss even if were able saying, "There was no chance that Kate would have been dropped from the calendar. We decided to stick with her because professionally she has always been great for us and a wonderful ambassador. What she does in her private life is no concern of ours." The calendar's fame began in 1964 when it was simply a lowly trade calendar. The 2006 edition will be released in Paris on November 18.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Celebrity, Poster



Watchmaker Taps Claudia Schiffer for Ad Campaign

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Watch company Ebel, which has featured Nicole kidman, Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Uma Therman and Meg Ryan in its ads, has added supermodel Claudia Schiffer to the list. The black and white ads were shot in party capital Ibiza by photographer Patrick Demarchelier

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Magazine



'60 Minutes' Sells Entire Episode to Philips

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Philips Electronics is paying CBS $2 million to be the sole sponsor of 60 Minutes this week. The show will kick off with a 90-second ad followed by two stories in the first half of the show. During the second half of the show will have two ad breaks. Total ad time will clock in at 6 1/2 minutes versus the usual 12 with affiliates dropping in a few local ads.. There will also be an opening sponsorship billboard.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Sponsorship, Television



Energy Drink Says No to Sugar

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Here's an intriguing campaign for New Zealand-based energy drink V. In the ads, hot models (naturally) scold a cube of sugar as it tries to read Penthouse, electrocute itself by sticking a fork in an outlet and attempt to camcord a topless sunbather. It gets the idea across quite well. See all the ads here. And for the detail nudges out there, don't get all up in our boxers about whether these ads are new or not. We have no idea nor do we care. We just like them.

by Steve Hall    Oct-20-05    
Topic: Campaigns, Magazine