HP Exploits Idle Hands with Idolhands Contest

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HP is looking for the world's most talented hands.

Entrants to the Idolhands contest could win $10,000 or one of four TouchSmart PCs. Contest ends February 28.

Having sat through five or six of these, we don't imagine the expectations are super-ambitious. If you're Vera Wang or Jay-Z, that is.

Other brands have have relegated talent to fancy fingertips include Guinness, Elle MacPherson (in panties, no less!), and Phaeton.

Oh, and Campusfood, if soliciting handouts counts.

by Angela Natividad    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Consumer Created, Online



One-Man Dodgeball + Flash = Shake & Bake Advergame

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Here's an advergame to promote Roscoe's Shake & Bake, which debuts February 8 for Universal Studios.

Austin-based Q1Media put it together in tangent with Makai. It's simple: all you have to do is dodge the food being thrown at Roscoe.

We've had more fun plucking our eyebrows. With quad-edge razors. It'll probably generate a lot of one-hit plays though, because it loads fast and is simple.

by Angela Natividad    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Games, Online



Samsung Makes Colors Pop with Good Ol' Crayons

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Cheil Worldwide put together this ad to illustrate how Samsung brings 40 percent more color to your screen than other HDTVs. The image, chosen because of its nuance in colour, is composed entirely of crayons. It ran in the Wall Street Journal and will appear in Newsweek's Feb 18th issue.

Very cool. (Avoid direct sunlight.)

by Angela Natividad    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Good, Magazine, Publishing



Dutch Elderly Make Naked Protest of Rotating Homecare

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Adfreak pointed us to this homecare ad for the Dutch Socialist Party. In it, an 86-year-old woman undresses for the camera eye to demonstrate displeasure with the government's new policy of rotating personal helpers amongst the elderly.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Human, Policy, Video



Ripped Abs, Bikinied Bodies Celebrate Positives of Global Warming

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There's no reason the debate over global warming has to center on films created by former vice presidents when it can include guys with six packs and girls with impossibly hot bodies. That's the direction LAVA Communications' Steve Hirst took with a new Australia-based campiagn he's placed on the social campaign site GoShout.

The campaign's video depicts winter in the year 2079. While one might expect to see bleak, snow covered imagery, we, instead, are presented with what turns out to be a pool party complete with bikinied booty and bare chested six packs. Because, ya know, global warming has eliminated winter.

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by Steve Hall    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Good, Racy, Social, Video, Viral



Victoria's Secret Super Bowl Ad Most Viewed

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Irrespective of how well it ranked in this week's multitude of Super Bowl commercial lists, Nielsen found the Victoria's Secret commercial to be the most viewed spot in the game reaching 103.7 million viewers when it ran at 9:44PM. Following Victoria's Secret were Amp and a promotion for FOX's American Idol which tied for second place with 103.6 million viewers. These figures are based on Nielsen's live plus same day DVR viewing.

Because the game's outcome came down to the wire, the fourth quarter was home to the top ten most viewed ads, all of which achieved 100 million views or more.

by Steve Hall    Feb- 8-08    
Topic: Research, Super Bowl 2008



Mazda Courts YouTube Car-Lovers with YouTube-Esque Demo

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Maybe because it has so much trouble getting people into actual cars, Mazda is inviting users to test-drive its virtual cars on Southern California roads: Angeles Crest, Arroyo Pkwy, the Pacific Coast Highway and Decker Canyon.

There's an explanation for the odd action angles (for example, the one where you get a birds-eye view of the front wheel). Mazda observed that on YouTube, car enthusiasts strap cameras to the sides of their cars to show you how gears shift and such.

Okay, then. Now excuse us while we head back to Problem Playground.

by Angela Natividad    Feb- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online



Keley Hazell Heats Up London in Bikini For Lynx Body Spray

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Maybe because the recent Lynx (Axe) Chocolate campaign needed a bit of a kick in the ass, British hottie Keeley Hazell was snagged for a photo shoot with the chocolate flavored dudes themselves.

Wearing a chocolate colored bikini, Keeley likely gave passersby an uplifting experience as they watched her cavort with the chocolate dudes on the lawn in front of London Bridge. My God that girl is hot. See more here.

by Steve Hall    Feb- 7-08    
Topic: Celebrity, Good, Promotions, Racy



Poorly Received Super Bowl Ads Draw More Online Traffic

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The Super Bowl ads people claimed to dislike more than others, or that performed poorly in ad popularity studies, turned out to perform quite well in terms of acquiring website visits. GoDaddy, Salesgenie, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Audi, Gatorade, Under Armour, most of which weren't too well received, saw significant gains in site traffic the day after the game, according to Hitwise.

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by Steve Hall    Feb- 7-08    
Topic: Research, Strange, Super Bowl 2008



Video Chat With Adrants During 'My ooVoo Day'

OK so we're going to do this group video chat thing with ooVoo, a new company that's out with a group video chat product that is said to have higher visual quality. Because ooVoo allows for six people to chat at the same time, we're going to host several group chats during which readers of Adrants can chat with myself, Steve Hall, and/or Co-Editor Angela Natividad.

The event, called My ooVoo Day, will occur February 12, 13 and 15 at 2:30 and 2:45 PM EST each day. During the 15 minute chat sessions, we'll gab about ads, the Super Bowl, your work, those Salesgenie ads and anything else you want to talk about.

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by Steve Hall    Feb- 7-08    
Topic: Announcements, Events