Shoot Clays, Cure Leukemia; LiveBar for Lifeless Websites; Pink Palin Kippahs; Crest Slogan Contest

- LiveBar makes static websites instantly interactive. Hooray! No work for you.

- Twenis. Hilarity.

- Yahoo tries hard to be kooky. "That's the problem with Yahoo: It thinks it's an iPod -- universally loved and carried around. But it's really a Mac -- a fine product nevertheless rejected by many."

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Copywriters Cross Country, Surrender Bladders -- for Love of BioWillie

Copywriters Brian Pierce and Nik Bristow of Fitzgerald+CO/Atlanta are embarking on a wince-worthy mission: following the route of the Cannonball Run, they'll drive across the nation without a single stop. Not for fuel ... not even to pee. (Although I'm sure at some point they'll gracefully pause in order to switch seats.)

All this to promote Willie Nelson's brand of biodiesel, aptly named BioWillie. The mission's been dubbed WillieRun and you can follow the hijinks (of which I'm sure there'll be many) from their blog.

Seriously though, no pee break? I refuse to believe it. You guys have gotta be carrying empty Gatorade bottles or somethin'.

Find out for yourself at their kick-off party, which takes place Sept. 22nd at the XR Bar. More details at the blog link above. And big-ups to Brian Thompson for passing this news along.

Crispin Exchanges MSFT/Seinfeld Ads for Potentially Worse Idea

Well, everyone got what they wanted. Those zany Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld ads (see 1 and 2) are out of the picture and now we'll never see what they were building up to. That upsets me. Then again, I didn't whip out the $10 million for Seinfeld.

In their stead, Crispin's hired a dead-ringer for John Hodgman, the stodgy but lovable "humorist" who personifies PC in Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads. (See Hodgman pose as free pizza in the most recent spot. He's so cute!)

According to Engadget, the new effort is a direct rebuttal to the "Mac vs. PC" ads, which have become part of popular culture. One even starts out with the John Hodgman lookalike saying, "Hello, I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype."

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Oasis Contracts Street Musicians to 'Leak' Album in Subway Stations

For its album Dig Out Your Soul, which debuts October 7, Oasis gathered 15 street bands and taught them the lyrics and sheet music for four of its new songs.

Lat week, the bands were then deployed all over the city -- mostly to subways -- to perform the music with their own flavor. Each performance featured a little sign that said, "You are the first to hear this new Oasis song" -- bringing a little bit of magic to busy commuters, and some eclectic street charm to Oasis's new oeuvre.

Nice to see the high-profile artists disseminate their music with such an open-arms, interpretive approach. Feels so human. And dare I say it? -- social. Watch video here. See more at Creativity. Execution by BBH/NY. The Malloys of HSI helped direct.

Microsoft Boots Jerry Seinfeld From Campaign

While Microsoft claims it was always part of the plan, the software giant is bidding farewell to Jerry Seinfeld after just two commercials. After all that hype? After spending a reported $10 million? After just a few weeks on air? Yea right, it was always part of the plan. The ads sucked and Jerry Seinfeld was a poor choice. Someone finally woke up and smelled the stench.

It seems the outcry against the ads and the overwhelming WTFness they generated has caused Microsoft to question the direction of the campaign and, perhaps, realize Seinfeld was not, in fact, the right choice for the company's Save Vista effort.

On Thursday, Microsoft will make the announcement official and introduce what they are calling phase two of the campaign.

Metallica Album Cover Art Not What It Seems

Brandweek reported the album cover design work Coke agency Turner Duckworth did for the new Metalica album Death Magnetic with perfect journalistic integrity. In our coverage, we aren't going to display such perfect manners because, well, we're Adrants, not Brandweek.

Falling squarely into the What Were They Thinking category, the work brings to mind something very different from the intended imagery of a hole with a coffin in it. Yes, look at the picture and if an entirely different kind of hole doesn't come to mind then you are to be applauded for your fine, upstanding Beaver Cleaver mindset. Oops. Poor choice of words. In today's world, Beaver Cleaver doesn't exactly represent what it did 40 years ago. Now it sounds like some kind of gruesome horror movie title doesn't it?

Wait. What were we talking about? Oh yea. Holes. Hairy holes. While hairy holes do have several very important functions, selling albums was not thought to be one of them. Until now. The band sold half a million copies of the Death Magnetic album in three days.

Get Into Mischief During Advertising Week

If you're in New York for Advertising Week, be sure to catch the Mischief Party Monday night at the Hudson Hotel at 336 West 58th Street from 7PM - 11PM. Sponsored by Interference Inc, Fuel Industries, Oddcast, Desedo films and Adrants, the party will piggyback the GiantStep Monday's party.

So come and hang out, drink, shmooze, listen to the sounds of DJ Rekha and enjoy the amazing center terrace. You have to RSVP. Send an email to rsvp@mischiefnyc.com.

Social Media is Real! Formation of Trade Group Proves It!

Those following the social media gospel must be storming the altar like fanatics after a faith healer, following the announcement of the formation of The Social Media Advertising Council.

Yes! Yes! YES! Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Hallelujah and yee haw! The segment of the internet that has spawned an endless procession of conferences, self-made gurus and a lot of hot air will now recede from the Wild West into a more subdued entity with...OMG...rules and standards!

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Ellen Degneres Joins CoverGirl Celebrity Parade

Oh look! Ellen DeGeneres is going to be the new spokesmodel/person/woman for CoverGirl cosmetics and confirmed rumors of such on her show yesterday. She also dispelled apparent rumors she was pregnant and she went toe to to with McCain on gay marriage.

While Degeneres isn't a typical choice for the beauty brand, a recent harris Interactive poll ranked her the most popular celebrity in the world. No a bad finding if you're going to front a brand.

No. Those Are Not the Twin Towers

So how do you let people know your website is all about real estate? You turn a keyboard into a cityscape, of course. That's what Tel Aviv-based Shalmor Avnon Amichay did for Globes, a large Israeli financial newspaper.

And don't go all "twin towers" here. It's just a skyline.

Yet Another Hair Care Product Causes Women to Orgasm

Not quite as blunt as the long-running Herbal Essence campaign which has no problem trying to make us believe its hair care products will give women thunderous orgasms, this new Euro RSCG London-created campiagn for VO5 Hot Oil more subtly eludes the the notion, somehow, hair care products do, in fact, give women orgasms.

The print campaign, with headlines like, "It took my by surprise in the shower," The best 60 seconds in my life, "I glowed afterwards, " It hasn't felt this good in ages" and "Oh. My. God," aims to "reinvent the cult status of VO5 Hot Oil as a miracle product in a manner similar to that women's exercise product on Mad Men which, yes, gave women orgasms.

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Seven Tips For Publishers Joining Ad Networks

Guest contributor Frank Sims is Senior Vice President of Publisher Services for Viralytics Media and has compiled a list of items of which publishers seeking acceptance from ad networks should be aware. If you think because he runs an ad network this piece is self-serving, you may be right. Then again, heeding his suggestions would certainly seem to increase your chances of acceptance.

With the big Ad Networks touting ever expanding reach and a firm grasp of the "Long-Tail", it almost seems like a slap in the face when you receive that denial letter stating that "your site is not a proper fit for our network at this time". Well don't worry, it may not be due to the fact that your site has an unpleasant design or inferior content - you may have just broken one of the ad network's 7 deadly publisher sins.

To help guide you through the treacherous submission process, here is a list of the seven things to be aware of when applying to the big CPM networks.

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Man's Obsession With Breasts Harnessed For Good Cause

Just what is it with man's obsession with the female breast? OK, that's a stupid question with no logical answer and attempting to assign some sort of intelligent explanation would be a pointless endeavor and an embarrassment to man(and I do mean man in this case)kind. So let's not and just enjoy these two new Partners Film-produced breast obsession-related commercials from Toronto's John St. for Rethink Breast Cancer's Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign.

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LGBT Seniors Invade Bus Shelters, Print Ads, Subways

I have never seen an ad campaign targeted to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual (LGBT) senior citizens. It's a miserably underserved demographic.

Under the slogan "Because there is no expiration date on a full, active life," Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) ferreted them out for an ad campaign. Warm, approachable images of them -- as actors! families! Dianic priestesses! magicians! -- will be used on subway metro cards, in print ads, in phone kiosks, and on bus shelters.

"The LGBT community - like the general population - has a growing segment of aging adults, and this campaign gives voice to the seniors who have a full life [...] enhanced by being a SAGE member," said SAGE executive director Michael Adams.

Loves it. Brings a spark of life -- and yes, a broad spectrum of color -- to the typically dire topic of aging. See more here. Ads by Double Platinum/NY.

Fuel Pulls a Trojan Horse on City of Miami

Cheesiest email-based PR pitch ever: "Let's hope your tequila comes with a sunrise in Miami, cause now ALL of their public bus shelter advertising is illuminated by solar panels. Check out the pics I attached."

Apparently Fuel/Miami "donated" 600 solar-powered bus shelters to the city of Miami in exchange for an exclusive 20-year advertising contract on those shelters. Hear the plops? Those are three dead birds, shot down by one stone: Fuel contributes to the community, demonstrates its commitment to the environment and scores insanely pervasive ad space FOR 20 YEARS.

More chummy PR chatter: "For real though, I guess if I have to have a Spanish Heineken ad in my face while waiting for the bus at night, it might as well be solar powered." Ha. Ha. Smarmy, yo. Smarmy.

More pics here and here.

Suzuki Will Do Whatever it Takes to Bamboozle You into a Driver Seat

Even sabotage your car, just so you'll accept one of its new models.

Also see "Pinned," where a girl wanders into a parking lot to find her car sandwiched into oblivion -- just in time for a Suzuki rep to hand her the keys to a 2009 Suzuki SX4 Sedan.

Both ads are part of Suzuki's deliciously desperate "Whatever it Takes" campaign by john st. Given that Suzuki vehicles aren't known for their inherent awesomeness (unless you live in Lebanon), the company might wanna rethink this approach.