Circus is this brilliant boomer lifestyle magazine that describes itself like this:
"Debate, discussion and controversy. Let's talk about the over 50s."
The third page of its February issue featured this gorgeous image of Sophia Loren perched just above the lower margin, drawing plenty of attention to the articles around her (mainly because we were scouring the text going "Who is that girl?!").
We also got to check out the magazine. It includes raunchy boomer poetry, sex and business talk, and spiffy little featurettes like The Ad that Never Ran. (Think Thatcher and Scottish oil. Feeling greasy?)
Anyway, it's refreshing to see a senior publication that's not splattered with AARP messages and bladder control ads. It also looks like an awesome resource for boomer culture.
Here's to hoping they're still around when we're pushing 50 and looking for saucy reading material.
Hrm. While colas try brewing competitive energy drinks, Red Bull -- arguably the best-known of them all -- has decided to launch its own soda. We give you Red Bull simply Cola.
No word on when it's appearing in the States, but it's au naturel, with 23 unmolested ingredients and slightly more caffeine than most sodas.
To promote simply Cola, Red Bull is distributing leaflets that serve two purposes:
- Highlighting the drink's ingredient list (none of which is the taurine that made them famous. Although there's mustard seeds and cardamom for kick)
- Justifying its entry into the market. Because this isn't just any cola. It's special cola: strong and natural (says them, not us)
Well, hell. We'd drink it.
Remember that van that looked like it was dipped into the dyeing vat of a private school uniform purveyor? Last year it motored through the East Coast converting heathens to Web 2.0; this year it's going West.
See tentative dates.
About four months from now, the Plaid van will stop at agencies and companies to preach the gospel of social media. Along with new ideas, they will come bearing Twinkies and shirts. (Email Darryl [at] thinkplaid [dot] com if you'd like them to pop by.)
The roadies need sponsors so if you can pitch in some cash, a hotel room or a new fashion tip for that chocolate ride, they'd be much obliged. (So would we.)
There's just something about follow ups to great work that, well, just fall flat. Not that this new Clemenger BBDO-created commercial for Carlton Draught is a bad ad but it's no Big Ad. Clearly, the ad, which brings back the crowd of yellow-dressed men, is trying to recapture that Big Ad feel and it gets some of it but never quite recaptures the originals. Of course, that's why originals are originals and sequels are sequels.
We admit to liking the guy at the end who, sitting on his couch with his wife, comments, "wouldn't make me buy it" after seeing a recap of the skydiving extravaganza on TV just before...well...just watch the commercial to find out.
Have you ever been to Build-a-Bear? You know how the employees give you a little heart pillow to wish on and put inside your bear, right before it's sewn up?
Graft that process onto your daily run. Put a piece of Nike in your shoe.
We didn't really get this ad so we read the pressie for clarification. This is what it says.
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Wired wants your best Star Wars tribute photos. Contrary to what you might think, this isn't because George Lucas needs more love. (We've heard that when your net worth is cushioned with many zeroes, life can be quite cozy.) This is actually in honor of Fanboys, an Ernie Cline homage to Star Wars fandom.
Why doesn't anybody ever ask for our Spice Girls tribute photos? We have big shoes! Dolls! Slutty skirts! Dresses made out of the Union Jack! Unsavory images of ourselves in pout-mode! Come ON, guys.
- True to form, Bob Garfield reviews a fairly good Sprint commercial and then rips the shit out of it for what he deems dizzying camera work. Bob, you almost Puked? Seriously. You need to see a doctor or use your walker when reviewing commercials.
- Catalyst, the "marketing capital" firm launched by John Durham and Cory Treffiletti is rolling out a new Emerging Media Buying Service (EMS) that will provide planning and buying expertise for online video, mobile, social media, widgets, and gaming.
- Writing on AdFreak, David Griner, whose mom worked at NASA for years and was acting director of the Marshal Space Flight Center for a time, tells us about four NASA workers who are trying to "re-ignite the enthusiasm for space by reaching out directly to today's hyper-connected youth."
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Why would you abandon a shopping cart? Do you like raising their hopes and dashing them? Did someone once abandon you? Or is your heart cast entirely out of ice?
Cart whisperer Liberty Fillmore wants to know. Watch as he guides estranged metal baskets back into the sunshine and absorbs the therapy bills that, by all rights, YOU should be paying.
Oh, if Mother could see you now.
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... in the world according to Wienerschnitzel. (Push play on the right-hand side.)
Well, maybe the vibe is less like rape and more like cannibalism. Either way, it's malicious and creepy.
To demonstrate the irresistibility of its wieners, Wienerschnitzel's running an ad where a talking hot dog tries convincing Eskimos to move beyond an all-blubber diet. Horrors ensue when they look to him for comfort.
Neither funny nor appetizing.
Created by Wieden + Kennedy, CareerBuilder has launched a four part video series called Office Worker Survival Series which aim to "humorously instruct the disgruntled worker how to navigate the treacherous waters of corporate America."
In the first video, Gauging Your Workplace Worth, the worth of an employee is examined based on how elaborately their birthday gets celebrated in the office. From time of day to location to attendance to food to whether or not your co-workers sung happy birthday to you, the CareerBuilder Birthday Celebration Observational System gauges the liklihood you'll be considered for a promotion in the future or tossed out the door at the first sign of a downturn.
And no, we didn't miss the nod to bra sizes in the Lesson labeling system. We are, however, very interested in how big the lessons will become as the series progresses.
The childish wit within agency creative departments never ceases to amaze. Oh wait, this billboard for Playboy is actually funny. Or is it? We can't decide. Though we're pretty sure childish wit, Playboy and its depiction of a singular female body part are perfect bedfellows.
A bit predictable what with the last 20 years of men taking shit for all those years they gave women shit but hey, let's not be bitter and just be grateful to all the mother's of the world this Renault ad aims to appreciate. Besides, what man wouldn't want to be carried into his new home after drinking too much at his wedding reception and sharing a little too much intimacy with that bridesmaid about which he's always fantasized.
Isn't Mother's Day like two months from now? And what's with calling it "Woman's Day?" Must be a bad Italian to English translation. The ad is from Publicis Roma, Italy. Do they even have Mother's Day in Italy?
Who knew? Really. Who knew Obama Girl would amount to anything more than a one-off from some random YouTube chick with a "crush" on Obama. Well, it seems a good percentage of the nation has a crush on Obama and that crush might get him all the way to the White House this fall.
In the latest Obama Girl video from Barely Political, Amber takes down Hillary and urges her to stop hating on Obama. Amber tells Hillary her quest is becoming hopeless, that America is Obama Nation, and that her continued attacks are just making the McCain option look better which, of course, is not good for the Democrats' cause.
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We just love how the same old thing gets a new name every few years. Retard? Mentally Impaired. Handicapped? Physically Challenged. Midget? Little Person. Indian? Native American. Oriental? Asian. Stewardess? Flight Attendant. Waiter/Waitress? Food Server. Mankind? Humankind. Mailman? Letter Carrier. Unemployed? Job Seeker. Boob flash? Wardrobe Malfunction. Genocide? Ethnic Cleansing. Garbage Man? Sanitary Engineer.
And now. Focus Group? On-Demand Customer Collaboration. Well that's a fucking mouthful but that's what Chrysler's labeled its foray into web 2.0-enabled conversational goodness with the launch of ChryslerListens. Yup, Chrysler now gives a shit what its customers and potential customers think.
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With money to burn from Hanes, a scruffy guy called Dave -- who's clearly approaching midlife with misgivings -- is challenging celebrities to games like Rock Paper Scissors or wrestling. (Somewhat more entertaining than watching Sarah Chalke moan off a wedgie.)
Dave has so far lost challenges to Cuba Gooding, Jr., Reggie Bush and Nelly, among others. But he did win a Comfortsoft Pose-Off against Paris, who unwittingly forfeited the game when she just didn't bother to look at him twice.
We'll clarify. She looked at him once, then tore him to shreds with her stare and publicly forgot he existed. It was superhuman.
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