Calling attention to the nastiness of the Holocaust for the University of Colorado, Boulder's Holocaust Awareness Week, is starkly dark campaign, created by TDA Advertising & Design, that reminds us of the horrors that time brought. From freakish experiments on the body to pressure chamber torture to showers of gas, bulletin board postings, door knob hangers and shower hangers slap students in the face with this message of remembrance. A radio spot featuring a sickly twisted fairly tale accompanies the campaign. There's nothing pretty about this campaign and that's as it should be.
See the campaign components here and listen to the radio spot here.
We're always open to a time-waster. TAMBA gets all competitive by hopping in on Comic Relief's Digital Challenge, where they launched a new game called Red Lead in honour of Red Nose Day 2007.
The idea is to get the Red Noses from one side of your monitor to the other without getting stabbed by a sharp pencil. Different sorts of noses, like the golden ones, are magical. In case you wondered, there is a cause attached to this.
Note image to the left. Then consider what we said here. The game is cool and all, but are we destined for one sensory violation after another today?
We like these stylized print ads that are part of a new campaign for Asics footwear. We like the photographic effect and the attention it commanded when found browsing thorough the sea of fashion ad sameness in the March issue of GQ. The campaign pits you against a running partner who's either your alter ego, a Harvard sculling team, a man you will never meet or your friendly dog who interupts your run with his morning business. See all four ads here.
Quitting alone is perilous, so say three ads that demonstrate how sporadic and undependable "cold turkey" really is. Catch spot one, spot two and spot three.
Created by Wongdoody for the Washington State Dept. of Health, Cold Turkey builds upon the previous No Stank You! campaign.
The whole pimply uncooked bird gimmick is weird. And what's wrong with cold turkey, anyway? Cold turkey's helped us quit hundreds of times. As any experienced smoker will tell you, quitting hundreds of times is way better than starting hundreds of times.
While this campaign appears to be real, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume it's just another one of those drop and shoot deals where the campaign is captured photographically but never actually appears for any length of time. Apparently, Mumbai agency Everest Y&R placed what appear to be explosives inside a clear plastic bag on which copy reads, "It is obvious if your are alert. If you spot anything suspicious, please inform security. Dummy Explosives. A public service initiative by R Mall." Well, at least they stated the obvious. Still, we can't see these things making an appearance for any length of time before they get snapped up by security. And it goes without saying how Boston might react to this one.
Make the Logo Bigger points us to this :15 ad tag-team featuring Geico's perpetually frustrated existentialist caveman.
As a bonus he also points us to the Phil Sims golf spot that preceded the Super Bowl. The inclusion of the caveman in the good-sport world of green hills, khaki shorts and pompous conversation is priceless. "What is this, youth soccer?" he barks competitively. We almost died laughing.
It's easy to criticize an ad that tries to be cool. But when an ad tries to be corny, we're kind of at a loss for what to do.
Corny Moments, a Coca Cola Light spot created by Santo Buenos Aires, can only be described as "an ever-expanding corny moment" according to the eloquent Brentter. We still haven't worked out how we feel about it, but Caterpillars, another spot from the same campaign, gives us chills. Does this mean Coke succeeds?
There's a sense of violation associated with being made to experience a corny moment. It's something we wouldn't wish upon our worst enemies, a stop-the-world-so-I-can-get-off feeling akin to what you experience when someone unexpectedly touches your belly button. It's not cozy.
Spots directed by Nes Buzzalino. The Corny Moments song is by Diego Grimblat Music.
We've all dreamed of being scouted by someone who happens to notice the pure geniosity of our existence. Most grow up to chock this dear wish off to fancy, but the fantasy actually became reality for Matt Harding.
It's a weird story. The 30-something gamer travels the world with a few buddies and does a goofy dance on tape at every stop they make. Probably because of people sitting at desks all day, the video goes viral. Then it's picked up by Stride Gum, who likes Matt's dance so much they're sending him around the world again.
We dig Matt but don't know how the jig will help hock gum. Will he be chewing and dancing at the same time? We see some liability issues there - some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time. The risk of injury is in fact so vast that chewing gum was banned in Singapore.
Responding to an article written by Glenn Sacks who claimed an Arnold-created ad for Fidelity in which a father jumps up and down with joy after beating his daughter in ping pong is insensitive to men and cause for Volvo to remove the agency as a contender in its ongoing agency review, Arnold CEO Fran Kelly responded, saying, "On the one hand I feel silly even commenting on a story like this, on the other hand, Arnold is known as an agency with strong values and relationships with our clients and important prospects like Volvo. We take our responsibility to be insightful, honest and aspirational brand communicators seriously. Our track record promoting family vacations for Royal Caribbean, driving down teen smoking rates by 22 percent with 'Truth' and raising funds to help put musical instruments in children's hands via Fidelity's Music Lives program speaks for itself."
While we've had our say on the topic of men portrayed as idiots in advertising, the trend may simply be due to the fact that, in a politically correct society such as ours, there's no one left to offend.
We were waiting for somebody sitting high on the rapier-wit scale to catch the UPS whiteboard campaign (featuring pseudo-indy band Postal Service) and spoof to heart's content. Thankfully it didn't take long.
Shawn of Shedwa points us to some savory whiteboard madness. The mail order bride one is an instant UPS classic, but our favourite is monkey sex. "Let's give this little guy a banana," the demonstrator says pleasantly after explaining UPS vaccinates monkeys and kills neighbors.
What does it mean when a spoof can elicit more satisfaction than the service itself?
This is both bittersweet and deliciously cheesy at the same time. Hopefully, the anit-suicide folks will leave it alone and allow its...um... beautiful poignency shine through. As two lovestruck geckos embrace each each other atop a ceiling tile, Cliffhanger-style drama ensues leading to a bittersweet ending observed by three chess players, one of whom should have chosen Shera Ceiling Board instead of cheap substitutes. It's oddly endearing.
Shawn Waite send us this ad, which, while watching, causes a certain transfixation of the mind and causes wonderment as to what could possibly be going on (that is, if you don't read the title of the video which give the whole damn thing away). While many men from time to time are told to "grow some balls," the balls in this commercial are probably not what most had in mind. Unless, of course, they plan to become a disgustingly prolific, over-producing porn star who loves to provide the kind of facial you don't get at the salon. Eew. Sorry.
Gratuitous sex sell alert! Now you can't say we didn't warn you. Apparently hot girls and erections are now the method of choice for financial services recruitment. It seems a position with Optiver allows one to have a successful, rewarding career in financial services without burning out or losing one's lust for life. One of these two men on the park bench who watch the ubiquitous hottie prance by in this ad has, as clearly illustrated, not lost his ability to raise the bar.
On Tuesday, we reported Jennifer Love Hewitt would be reprising her role as Hanes spokeswoman to promote the company's All-Over Comfort Bra. Hewitt will appear in :15 and :30 commercials as well as in print. The television commercials, breaking tonight on American Idol, feature Hewitt struggling with ill-fitting bras during a photo shoot until she she finds the perfect Hanes bra. The entire campaign will direct people to www.hanes.com/photoshoot for additional behind-the-scenes footage and commercial outtakes, an interactive "Bra Toss" game and sweepstakes for consumers, as well as a blog where consumers can vent about their biggest bra challenges.
You can see the new commercial, view the out takes, play the game, share bad bra stories and see more of Jennifer Love Hewitt in all her glory here.
Just what happens when every other agency in a $100 million account pitch, except yours, drops out? Do you open a case of Heineken and celebrate? That's a bit unclear for Berlin Cameron which finds itself in that position right now as every other agency has dropped out of the $100 million Heineken account pitch. Weiden + Kennedy was the latest agency to throw in the towel claiming "a difference in strategic direction" as told to Advertising Age. Berlin Cameron already handles Heineken's Premium Light account but neither Heineken nor Berlin are commenting yet on the status of the pitch.
Now if ad*itive and Reebok had chosen, oh, say, Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan instead of Scarlett Johansson for the company's new Scarlett Hearts apparel and footwear campaign which carries the headline, "I Am More Than A Cover Story," the ad might have carried more weight. While Scarlett is certainly cover story material, it's not like she captures the mind of America like some of the more famous starlets we have.
She's much better suited to the new Disney World campaign that just broke in GQ and other mags in which she appears as Cinderella along with Beyonce Knwles as Alice, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare, Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter and David Beckham as Prince Philip.
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