Get Good Karma, Get Your Ass Out and Vote

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In an effort to get young adults to give a shi...uh...volunteer, vote, give to charity and all those other things that beget good karma, the Ad Council, along with agency WestWayne, have launched GetGoodKarma.org, a feel good site that explains how people can do things to improve their karma and avoid bad karma such as this and this.

The program was developed in association with the Federal Voting Assistance Program which urges adults 18-24 to give a shi...oh wait...get out and vote as that demographic segment makes up the largest group of non-voters according the the U.S. Census.

by Steve Hall    May- 9-07    




SWAT Lays Law Down on Puppets, Mountain Dew Absorbs the Shock

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Andrew at Puppetvision tells us it's against the law to perform puppet shows from windows in New York. Hrm.

Because somebody had to, BBDO New York did this off-colour Diet Mountain Dew spot in which the SWAT team executes a puppet bust.

Inadvertently sucked in, we felt pretty thrown (in a good way) when the shot zipped over to the green-suited guy holding the Mountain Dew. It was a little like how we felt when the Tanqueray appeared except it didn't take 10 fuckin' minutes.

by Angela Natividad    May- 9-07    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Television



Corona Shares History of Corona Beach

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When one thinks of beer, one doesn't usually think of island birthing itself from the sea 2 million years ago unless you're a beer advertiser that's already done a similar thing backwards or you're Corona who wants to illustrate how its Corona Beach was born. Debuting Sunday on CBS's Survivor Fiji finale, the spot, called Finishing Touch, was developed by Cramer-Krasselt and will begin with an erupting, undersea volcano and progress 2 million years into the future resulting in the pristine Corona Beach.

Following the initial airing, a 30-second version of the spot will air during programming including Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live and ESPN Sports Center over the course of the summer. It'll also be available online at www.coronagetaways.com on Monday, May 14...or right here on Adrants' Adgabber.

by Steve Hall    May- 9-07    
Topic: Commercials, Good



Expedia Sends 35,000 Troops to Iraq

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Joining our long list of contextual advertising oddities is this reader-submitted Expedia.com ad residing next to a CNN story about 35,000 American troops receiving deployment notification for late 2007. If the Air Force and the Navy can't get them there, Expedia is, it seems, happy to help.

by Steve Hall    May- 9-07    
Topic: Online, Strange



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Ask Gets Cryptic, Too Cryptic, to Push Equally Cryptic Algo

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We were trawling SF during ad:tech when we saw the ad at left, except smaller and on some kind of relief kiosk. We wondered whose it was and suspected Ask after seeing another billboard that said, "The algorithm killed Jeeves."

Bitter much? The butler was awkward. If the algo didn't kill him, Ms. Dewey would have anyway.

Anyway, Make the Logo Bigger asked the question we didn't and found all the alleged background information for this Ask.com campaign by Crispin.

The hope is people will be inspired to hunt around for the campaign online, thereby tickling the very algorithm that so escapes them. Well, one out of three ain't bad.

by Angela Natividad    May- 9-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Online, Outdoor



Big Brands Support Naked Breasts...Depending on Context

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In what could be labeled either a twist-the-story rant or an insightful examination of the double standard brands may or may not apply when they associate themselves - or choose not to - with nudity. Drunken Stepfather's Jesus Martinez is miffed marketers won't advertise on his site because he occasionally features nude images but they will advertise on Jane's Get It Together blog where, recently, fully nude images of woman's breasts have been proudly displayed alongside national advertisers such as Thermasilk, Oakley and Dove.

Should the morality police be called for this serious transgression of double standards or should we all relax because, in this case, context is everything. Drunken Stepfather, an endlessly amusing site focusing on celebrity news, features somewhat racy imagery and occasional nudity. Jane's Get it Together blog features reader-submitted nude pictures highlighting breasts as part of the magazine's Guide to Breast Health. Again, context. Breasts as arousing sex object versus breasts as body part in need of care just like any other body part.

more »

by Steve Hall    May- 9-07    
Topic: Brands, Opinion, Publishing, Racy, Weblogs



Smoking is Child Abuse, Says Maryland ALA

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Exit10 created this spot for the American Lung Association of Maryland to discourage parents who smoke around their kids.

We've seen some provocative, bizarre and just plain stupid anti-smoking efforts in our time. This is probably the first occasion we've had to wince, though. Check it out.

If smoking is child abuse, then so were our mothers' Like a Virgin-inspired outfits, because those damaged our health in so many ways.

by Angela Natividad    May- 9-07    
Topic: Good, Television



Harry Enfield Shows Us How to Advertise

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We really dig this classic spoof from the Harry Enfield Show about the proper execution of "advertisement breaks."

It's never too late to learn from the slickest society-shapers out there, of which the spot includes three: liquor, tobacco and child advertising in general. Put together, they're even more compelling.

And look - no colour or jingles! Beat that, Old Navy.

by Angela Natividad    May- 9-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Good, Online, Spoofs, Television



Crash Test Humans get Their Due in Finnish Seat Belt Ad

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In an intriguing role reversal, a world of crash test dummies wakes up, gets ready for work and begins the workday by launching crash test humans down a path toward an immobile cement wall. It's all part of a Finnish Ministry of Transport campaign created by Publicis Helsinki to combat "the growing attitude problem amongst youth" or the rise of increasingly belligerent idiots called teens. The campaign's goal is to get kids to wear their seat belts

The beginning is oddly reminiscent of Jim Carrey's The Truman Show but we're thinking the ending isn't violent enough. If adver-death is becoming the norm, we'd expect to see far more blood and guts from these sorts of "wear your seatbelt campaigns."

more »

by Steve Hall    May- 9-07    
Topic: Commercials, Good