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PI Rock Radio Station Lacks Requisite Rock Savvy

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AdFreak drew our attention to this ad for Philippine rock radio station NU107, which betrays pretty negligible knowledge of rock music. And logic.

The text reads, "The 80's: When looking like a ladyboy got you all the ladies." Imagery: what looks like a Kiss band member ... with boobs. (An homage to Marilyn Manson?)

More creative -- and a small dissertation on Kiss, Poison, rock-dandy dress codes and lack of actual boobage among male '80s rock band members -- at AdFreak.

It's really too bad everybody can't be Chuck Klosterman.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Bad, Poster, Radio, Strange



Paris Hilton Wants A New BFF, Ziff Davis Bankrupt, Ad Age Socializes

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- On the outs with Nicole Richie for some time, Pars Hilton wants a new BFF and MTV has launched a new reality show to help her find one.

- DDB Barcelona brings out hand string games to somehow illustrate how its cars are built. We sure hope they're made of something stringer than string.

- Ziff Davis Media, publisher of PC Magazine among others, filed for bankruptcy citing falling print ad revenue and subscriptions as the reason.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Celebrity, Magazine, Social



Was That Xanadu or A Nomis Soccer Shoe Ad?

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If you want to see a really, really weird ad about Nomis, logos, trophies, attention, sponsorship, endorsements and boots then you really need to watch this quirky video for Nomis boots (we call them sneakers here). The ad was created by Johannes Leonardo, a new agency founded by former Saatchi & Saatch EVPs Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico.

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Good, Strange, Video



Kenneth Cole's 'Awearness' Whores For Peace, Love and Understanding

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Rehab, the cats behind Gap's Sound of Color effort, just produced a series of videos for Kenneth Cole's most current campaign "We All Walk in Different Shoes," put together by Kenneth Cole's in-house creative crew.

As always with Kenneth Cole, the campaign exploits the language of fashion to raise awareness for popular social issues. (Or maybe it's the other way around.) At left is the creative for Regan Hofmann's HIV video. See other shorts -- including stories about a Sikh businessman and a duo of Israeli and Palestinian film directors -- at KennethCole.com/Thinkers.

And here's the campaign blog, Awearness, which generated winces all around with the all-caps tagline, "To be aware is more important than what you wear."

We dig Rehab's audio/visual spin on an old Kenneth Cole agenda. But we can't say we're crazy about using tacky puns like "Awearness" to generate trendy cause mojo.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Campaigns, Online



Agency 'We Are Gigantic' Resurfaces As 'Tremendous'

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Over two years ago, Bernard Urban rebranded his URBANadvertising company to become GIGANTIC. Last April, agency We Are Gigantic was born out of an MDC consolidation of its MFP and Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners agencies. We Are Gigantic was headed by Neil Powell who was formerly a partner at the now defunct MFP which suffered significant client loss.

Urban sued MDC for trademark infringement and recently won, effectively ending the existence of Niel Powell's We Are GIgantic. Oddly, the We Are Gigantic site, though taken down as part of the court decision, is now back up. It seems, Powell, or someone, is trying to get whatever business they can out of this drama. The We Are Gigantic site's contact section says "We've moved" and a telephone number leads a company called Tremendous, which, following We Are Gigantic, is pretty funny.

We've left a message for clarification on all of this and will share that with you as soon as we have a response.

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Agencies, Policy



Exeter Hospital Celebrates 'Art of Wellness' With Beds and Babies

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While we're not sure what making a bed has to do with a hospital's ability to successfully perform a hip replacement or being ranked tops among all hospital responding to a heart attack, we do like this new commercial from Boston-based Winsper for Exeter Hospital. Oh wait, we get it. Attention to detail. After all, a well made bed is certainly as important as performing open heart surgery.

OK. We jest. We get the analogy. Besides, the spot is just very soothing and who doesn't want to be soothed when faced with a nerve-racking hospital stay? Not us. We've been there.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Newspaper, Online, Outdoor



Paper Cranes Stimulate Savings while Saving the World

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To hock its wares, Virgin always aims for just left of left-field. Looking for a flight? Seek thee out the least enthusiastic of the bunch. Need a mortgage? Geriatric sex should get you off. Investment aid? A pyromaniac ballerina can help you with that.

Virgin Money's latest campaign is no exception. It takes a kooky idea and makes it totally logical in context.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good



If You Want That Hot Plumber to Visit, Don't Buy A Kohler Toilet

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OK, guys. Admit it. You know you've done something similar before. OK, maybe not as goofy as the guy in this Kohler commercial but when it comes to finagling your way into crossing paths again with that hot chic you just saw, let's just all admit the high school in all of us makes a bit of a return. So if you simply must have that hot female plumber who's doing work in the apartment next door, make sure you don't have a Kohler toilet. They ruin all the fun because, well, they just work.

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Commercials, Good



Penny Denialer Makes Solo Debut on Sweetspot and Elsewhere

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Penny Denialer, the well-preserved materfamilias of Mackenzie Investments' "Denialers" campaign, began appearing in rich media ads on popular Canadian websites last week.

See her on Sweetspot.ca (you'll have to scroll way down). When engaged she'll say something decidedly wise like, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness was obviously shopping at the wrong website. Look at that." Then she'll stare with vacant Valley awe at the content of the page.

The ad invites traffic to burnrate.ca, where they can meet the Denialers, watch money burst into flames, and find out how to keep theirs from going up in smoke.

Put together by Lowe Roche, Toronto.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-17-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Good, Online



SXSW is Over But the Pictures Live On

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Having returned and recovered from SXSW last week, it's time to share some pictures from the week. If you have any interest in the festival which focuses on interactive, film and music, you've probably already read everything there is out there about the show. And if you've missed anything, all one has to do is entered SXSW or SXSW2008 into Google for thousands of results.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar-16-08    
Topic: Industry Events



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