Incredible Inc: Punny, Less Incredible

Incredible Inc -- which is angling for that vintage comic book feel reeeeally hard but totally missing it -- is a promotion for Xerox's ink printers. Observe how the superheros have been subtly clothed in standard print cartridge colours: cyan, yellow, black and magenta(ish).

Objectively lame.

Inspirational Gashapons Promote Artist-Centric Shopping Mall

For Delay No Mall, a shopping center that supports artists, Leo Burnett/Hong Kong gave away 5000 creativity-sparking Gashapons in Causeway Bay.

"Gashapon" is the word for those toys that come in eggs. (Off-topic, do L'eggs count as Gashapons? It didn't occur to us until just now how weird it is that women can buy stockings out of gigantic plastic eggs.)

Anywho, the Gashapons contained plasticine mushy stuff that people could use to create something on the fly.

The street team then took the pieces back and instantly had 5000 creative ideas. Like this seahorse.

Neat. If you're planning a Silly Putty Sculpture Jamboree. (Which we're kind of hoping Delay No Mall is.)

Want Some Spider with that Sweet Corn?

Arg! Get a load of this print ad for the Travel Channel.

And gross! Watch the spot with the cow heart vending machine.

The funny thing is, something about the slogan -- "One man's weird is another man's wonderful" -- makes us hungry.

The spots were composed by the very weird, slightly wonderful Moroch.

Kaleidoscope Group Unlocks Secrets to Multi-Faceted Femme

Having fielded studies, interviewed researchers and read "over 50 books" (!!!!) about marketing to women, Hoffman York has launched Kaleidoscope Group, a girl goddess think tank.

The website greeted us with an actual kaleidoscope of women and some Lilith Fair music that stimulated the growth of our leg hair follicles.

The group coined what it calls the "Time Zero Effect," which posits that even one negative element in an ad to women will blow your brand out of her periphery. (0x0=0. Get it?)

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Yo, Homie. Don't Play That Incremental Scatter CPM Crap With Me

What? The guys over at Ripe Digital are fast! No sooner do we share the 'fact' rap is one of the top ten ways to get your online video to go viral do we receive this raptastic expression of love for the almighty monetized content syndication. Entitled Ripe Revolution, this video turns the media negotiation process into what it truly is: a drug deal between buyer and seller.

It's a bit cheesy but if you've ever been to a trade show and heard the actual human beings that do this sort of thing, it's a pretty accurate representation. Don't miss the shout outs to the agencies at the end of the video.

Because Your BFF is DYING to Paint Your Nails in St. Louis

Perhaps inspired by The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Hoffman|Lewis sent us this creative for the Missouri Division of Tourism.

Cheesy tag: "It's amazing what a body of water can do to keep a group of friends from drifting apart."

Alternatively: "It's feeding time for the Fishpersons!"

Goofy Food Romp Has 'Painful' Ending

Like a mashup between FreshDirect and Froogle, the United Kingdom's MySupermerket will compare prices across several supermarket chains and offer up the best deals. To promote this new service, Keta Keta created a video in which a couple share a goofy sex romp with food with rather than eat then. Well, until the "painful" end, that is.

And what is it with that Marmite stuff? Do people actually eat that crap?

In the Mood for New Media? Yeah, Baby ... Yeah.

MarketingSherpa does this annual ad:tech survey of internet marketers: what works, what doesn't, how does social media make you feeeel (besides sticky)?

Here's a breakdown of the results, complete with charts. We'll give you a quick play-by-play.

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Whole Grains Escape Boredom, Experience Thrills

Supposedly whole grain are the "world's least exciting edible." AMV BBDO and production company Outsider decided to change that with this commercial for Walkers Sunbites snacks which gives the lowly whole grain a dash of excitement. It's nothing to send Clio but at least it doesn't bore us to death with endless shots of whole grains being poured from a burlap sack onto a grain elevator or into some cereal box.

Top Ten Rules For A Successful 'Viral Video'

With a double edged sword, video guru Kevin Nalts offers up ten tips to marketers interested in doing that cool, viral video thing. From stealing ideas to using MC Hammer to predominant use of boobs to always using rap to making sure management approves the effort to not giving a shit about what people say about your brand, Nalts' tips will assuredly guarantee you success on that awesomely cool viral video idea you are planning.

Yet Another 'Viral Video' Bores, Wastes Precious Moments

Well that was a lot of money wasted just to tell us hiring a professional photography studio is better than using speed cameras to get the shot. and doesn't everyone just love a "viral video" that bores you for 1:15 and then causes you to utter "WTF?" during the last few seconds? But don't listen to us. We don't know anything. We're just a lame ass ad critic. We're sure there's at least a handful of people out there that will like this and that's all that matters.

Support HOPE. Join Obama's Digital Patchwork Quilt!

If you're bummed about your creative inability to contribute a musical mash-up to Obama's viral war chest, we're found your solution.

Become part of the fabric of "Yes We Can"! Yeah, the video looks all screwed up and snowy for a reason. Mouse over the images and you'll see snapshots of upload-happy Obama worker bees. Just hope they vote, Obama!

The site was put together by Syrup for will.i.am, according to A Source of Inspiration.

In Russia, Love Costs. Even for Google.

Here's an ad for Gmail by Saatchi, Moscow (thanks for sharing, Armando). Like these Stateside spots (1, 2) it's got that "collaboration makes us whole!" feel -- except in Russia, Google had to pay an agency to contrive it.

Guess it's tougher to find free evangelists and moon-eyed employees outside the motherland.

With Scion Handy, Biz Markie Wanders Old Haunts

"Stomping Grounds" is a half-hour romp through the childhood of Biz Markie. Crawling the streets in a Scion, Biz explores his apartment in Harlem, favourite restaurants, old friends, and the place where he first started recording.

We like it. Oddly though, it made us nostalgic for Cribs. Maybe it's the exit scene.

The vid was produced by Inform Ventures, which promised the tour would lend an "authentic perspective into the artist's back-story."

Well, "Stomping Grounds" is definitely more authentic than the Nelly storybook for Panraven.