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Adidas Campaign Just Impossible to Deal With

adidas_impossible.jpg

We can kind of see the esprit de coeur behind this Adidas wish-I-were-a-viral by glue London, but beyond that the sound effects drove us fucking insane.

It also takes more than an uploaded head and some doodles to imbibe the notion that impossible is nothing.

We know. In times of angst, we have exhausted the limits of Paint a number of times.

The PR guy's spiel:

"Slamdunk the moon and eat a flying shark in your own incredible adventure. Impossible Story lets users create a totally personalised animation in a matter of seconds. Anyone can be the star. Simply upload a picture of their head and use the A-Z keys to make your character achieve one unbelievable feat after another and then share your journey with your friends."

Fail.

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Brands, Online



That Angels O'er My Shoulder Thing is So Early '90s

planned_parenthood.jpg

Okay. If safe sex were as sexy as this burnout MTV-style Planned Parenthood ad wants to make it, why is the safe sex guardian angel so detestably unsexable? And who's the other one - frigid buzzkill angel? Way to go, guys.

The spot's called Angel and it's the result of a Spy Post, kaboom productions and Hoi Polloi mash-up. They call it "irreverent." We call it "10 years ago."

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Television



Smirnoff: It's Been a Long Trip, Baby

smirnoffdeuce.jpg

Everybody loves a good dramatic epic. Smirnoff, thinking it has one, gives us this.

(If you're wondering what "this" is and are too lazy to click, it's called Signature and it's by JWT. Coming to a movie pre-roll near you.)

Is it really that serious, Diageo? Is it really?

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Commercials, Television



Rubik's-Solving, Body-Building Bikini Babe Sells ... Gradient Sunglasses?

From Clipboard.jpg

Forging on with the twisted but potentially viral Never Hide campaign, the folk at Feed Company befuddle us with Bikini Body Builder vs. Rubik's Cube.

Watch it. Really. Your life probably won't change but at least you'll have some reasonably amusing fodder to toss across the bar whilst drinking like a fish:

"So, like, there's this bikini bodybuilder, right..."

"Ew, gross! Those girls look like guys, ugh!"

"No, let me finish! She was wearing Ray Bans and that Borat swimsuit--"

"The balls-hugger?"

"--and dancing around to some African drums--"

"God, STFU!"

"--and solving a Rubik's Cube!"

Silence.

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Online, Video



Vodafone Manual is Lacking, Kind of Like their Brand Equity

vodaphone_ad.jpg

Draft New Zealand justifies this Vodafone campaign like so: "Installing [Vodafone's vodem] is simplicity itself."

Because installation of said product (their wireless broadband modem, tinnily dubbed vodem) is so self-explanatory, the agency deluged potential clients with manuals whose 8 pages are blank except for the front covers.

We love how it takes 8 pages to demonstrate the absence of information.

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Direct, Mobile/Wireless



Doc Martens: Will Dead Idols Revive Sleeping Brand?

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When a hot rock star dies young, idolatry takes an immortal leap. Hoping to piggy-back this star-crossed love is Doc Martens, who tapped Saatchi & Saatchi, London for this U.K.-based poster campaign.

Fallen stars Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer compose the centerpiece of this print and poster collabo.

Writer Andrew Petch tells AdCritic, "We wanted to communicate that Dr. Martens boots are 'made to last,' and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them. Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots' durability perfectly."

Well, let's hope customers think "durability" and not "premature death."

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Magazine, Poster



Truth Campaign Stretches Truth Again

truth_blacks.jpg

OK, OK. We get it. Big tobacco company's suck but trying to apply old demographic assumptions tobacco companies may have made about African Americans in the past to today's African Americans is stretching it a bit but that's the premise of the latest Truth campaign Whadafxup spot. While we dig Truth spokesman Derrick Beckles' new look as he interviews MTV's Nick Cannon, these spots continue to grate.

We're not defending tobacco companies but we're sure if a little digging was done, every company would be guilty of some sort of stereotyping of its audience. After all, marketing isn't about individuality (yet) and the purpose of demographic targeting is to categorize, label and assign certain attributes whether or not those labels correctly reflect the actual brand's customer.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-11-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Opinion, Trends and Culture, Worst



Equinox Activates, Eggs Hatch, Brand Love is Stupid, Primetime Past Prime

equinox.jpg

- Copyranter puts the overly wordy, overly aspirational Equinox gym in its place telling them their "Life=Activating Destiny" headline is a load of crap.

- Shawn has no idea what this "babes and boys in eggs" ad is all about. Neither do we.

- Cynopsis reports: "News Corp.'s Fox Sports and MySpace announced a sponsorship deal with the NFL that will give advertisers a broad web presence during the Super Bowl, a little added value for $2.7 million they'll have to spend next year for a thirty-second spot. Advertisers will be able to offer "calls to action" after their spots run online, according to The Wall Street Journal, with coupons and links to their own sites."

- In NBC upfront news, Friday Night Lights will return for a full season, the Bionic Woman makes a return, Chuck will be about a guy with a computer for a brain, Lipstick Jungle will follow the lives of three successful New York women, Journeyman will be about time travel and Life will be about a wrongfully convicted police officer who returns to work.

more »

by Steve Hall    May-11-07    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Super Bowl 2008



Female Pleasure, Pain Get Guy Home in Axe Filmercial

axe_hay.jpg

When we heard there was yet another Axe viral...uh...branded entertainment thing floating about, we were fully prepared to hate it, figuring it'd be more of the same, lame tickle/dress/undress/ogle the hottie trivialized trash. But after viewing Let the Game Continue, a multi-part full-blown movie that follows the travails of a guy whose car has gone up in flames and the escapades he experiences with various women on his way home, we were truly stunned by its entertaining goodness. We watched the whole thing...every bit of it...all the way to the end. That in and of itself earns this effort very high marks from us.

Since this is a commercial, Axe does make several appearances in the movie but they are fully part of the story line and do not detract from but actually add to the the subtle humor that carries through the film's plot. Damn, I just called it a film. Hate that. Anyone for Filmercial?

by Steve Hall    May-11-07    
Topic: Best, Brands, Creative Commentary, Video



Draft/FCB Celebrates Glorification of Bad Ass Mofo Stereotype

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George Parker has the inside dope on Draft/FCB's excitement for the recent account win and work it did for the new Electronic Arts game, Def Jam Icon, yet another "Yo mutha fucka, you fuck with me, I beat the shit out of your sorry ass" cultural stereotype that makes one particular segment of people look like pea-brained idiots with nothing better to do than self-genocide themselves out of existence. In support of that stellar accomplishment and lauding the agency's teamwork, Draft/FCB's three top dudes, Howard, Jonathon and Lawrence, in an internal memo, blather platitudes such as "tearing down geographical silos, tapping into cross-office expertise and growing our business" and "working together seamlessly in our new agency model...as a result of a global creative rumble." This is the genius it took win the account and promote a game who's sole purpose is to let kids idolize bad ass mutha fuckas as some class of hero? Eesh. Be careful what you attach your internal memos to.

by Steve Hall    May-11-07    
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Commercials, Opinion, Trends and Culture



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