McCain Invades Pork With facebook Game

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John McCain, the man who doesn't use a computer and has his wife tend to all his computing needs, has launched a Facebook game called Pork Invaders.The point of the game? Who cares but, damn, ain't McCain gettin' all jiggy with this internet thang!

by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Games, Political



Undies Are Fun, Binge Drinking is Not, Vodka Goes Phallic

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- Kmart says it's more fun in your underwear. That is if the world were made up of perfectly toned, 20-something hotties.

- You wouldn't start your night like this so why end it that way?

- Hmm. If you wished you could market your vodka brand with futuristic female robots but were saddened to realize a competing brand already does that, there's always the phallic route with cherries standing in for balls sucked by women with big red lips.

by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Commercials



JCPenney 'Endorses' Teenage Sex (Not Really, As It Turns Out)

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Come on. You know you can remember it. You were in high school and your boyfriend or girlfriend was on the way over to visit and the anticipation was killing you. Killing you! Your heart was pounding. Chills were running through your body from head to toe. You couldn't wait to see her/him when you opened the door. And when you did, a gush of warmth filled your body and you smiled a big smile. And then...you couldn't wait to tell your mother you were "just going down to the basement to watch some TV" so you could....go down the basement, each tear your clothes off the other and embrace with an urgency words can never describe.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Best, Brands, Commercials, Worst



Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Meet (and Match) Again

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For KahloRivera100, Ken Carbone of Carbone Smolan Agency created a playful print that riffs off the King and Queen of Hearts.

"I chose to emulate the structure of a playing card, as it best demonstrates the duality of this royal couple in the history of art," Carbone said.

Some backstory: Kahlo and Rivera, lovers, political agitators and artists, got married and made each other completely miserable until Kahlo's death (lots of cheating and general ego-clashing). They apparently loved each other too much to really separate.

Carbone's work piece is especially appropriate in light of a recent video sent to us by BC Dairy, which depicts the Queen of Hearts cheating with the Jack of Spades. (Frida is reputed to have cheated on Diego with Trotsky, who was murdered with an ice axe. Okay, maybe this connection is kind of a stretch.)

KahloRivera100, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Kahlo's birth and the 50th anniversary of Rivera's death, is sponsored by Alliance Graphique Internationale. It will feature over 100 contributions, including this one, and will appear at the Club de Banqueros de Mexico AC in Mexico City this July.

by Angela Natividad    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Agencies, Celebrity, Events, Good



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The Werewolves are Coming ... and They Want that Awesome-Smelling Bucket

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Here's to hoping weepy bobby soxers, blood-splattered chicken and scowling Brits get your appetite going. This spoof trailer for pulp film Night Hunger is an (unofficial!) ad ploy for guess-which-fried-chicken-company. (Catch subliminal branding action around 1:25.)

The film was shot by director Ben Whitehouse of RSA Films, the parent company of Little Minx -- the wild and wonderful folks that hope to make film gods out of ad directors. Guffaw.

by Angela Natividad    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Spoofs, Strange, Video



Wake Up Ad People! Cannes is Over And Ad Spend Sucks!

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Ick! I'm still scrubbing the Advertising Age Cannes photogasmic sleaze off my sleeve as I'm slapped upside the head with the reality the same publication that offered up gratuitous ass is now reporting Top 100 U.S. advertiser spend increased but a paltry 1.7 percent last year. Obviously no one is Cannes cares for such dreariness but after a week of expense account shenanigans, it's time to get back to work and realize things aren't as great as they somehow seem to appear in Cannes.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Research



It Didn't Air Awards Showcases Ad Killed by Account Execs, Clients

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We've got the Speckies. Why not the It Didn't Air Awards? Yup. Jumping on the trend (or long-running fact depending upon who you ask) of awarding ads that never appeared, The London International Awards has, with help from Xhang Creative, launched a campaign to promote the award show for radio creative that never aired.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Industry Events



Note to Chicago ad:tech Sponsors, Exhibitors: Have Better Parties

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Dear ad:tech Chicago Sponsoring Companies and exhibitors,

Year after year, thousands of people go to ad:tech conferences in New York, San Francisco and Miami and year after year they are treated to booty-shaking parties that satisfy that certain urge to just get stupid and dance your ass off. But, sadly, when they go to Chicago for an ad:tech conference, they are repeatedly subjected to little more than Fulton's and the Rock Bottom roof top bar year...after year...after year...after...well, you get the point.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Industry Events



Where the Hell is Matt? E V E R Y W H E R E !

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Matt Harding, the guy who quit his job in Australia and, after hooking up with Stride gum, traveled the globe to film himself dancing in 39 countries (courtesy of Stride), has recently completed a second journey. This time, Matt visited 42 countries over a 14 month period and, in addition to filming himself dance, filmed the people of each country dancing along with him.

The result is an amazingly feel-good video that, in a small way, brings the people of the world closer together. I dare you to watch it without feeling at least the tiniest bit of hope that, someday, every human being on this planet can live in peace together.

Kudos to Stride.

by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Best



UK Stifles Sure Girl for Failing to Buckle Up

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Gotta love the UK. This Sure Girl deodorant spot was banned because it depicted girls dancing in a van without seatbelts on.

Parent company Unilever: "The van was stationary!"

The Ad Standards Authority: "We don't give a damn!"

But seatbelts aside, there are so many better reasons to ban it:

o The lack of a driver.
o Gratuitous use of Don't Cha and pigtails at the same time. McConnells Advertising, why?!
o All that sordid peer pressure. "The fun stops when the sweat starts!" You'd think Girl 1 and Girl 3 never had gigantor 'pit puddles before.
o Use of disembodied arms to apply deodorant spray. That scene merited a big hearty "WTF!"

by Angela Natividad    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Commercials, Television, Trends and Culture



Because Why Inhabit Dish When You Can Live in Jolt Central?

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Remember when Half.com and the DISH network got two towns to rename themselves after their brands? It's a terrible move for the high school football teams, but consider the perks! -- free computers, free cable, free money? You might change your name too.

With help from agency Cenergy, Jolt got Barrow, Alaska to change its name to Jolt. The town got neither cash nor technology in exchange. They got cans of Jolt on June 20, the longest day of the year.*

That lowered the standards significantly.

At left is a shot of some Barrow/Jolt townies with their fancy new moniker. The man in blue is the Mayor. Don't they look energized?

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Brands, Guerilla, Strange