Mother's NHRA Campaign Meets 'Days of Thunder.' Except Not

nhra_bw_full_throttle.jpg

To kick off its first season as the NHRA's series title sponsor, Coca-Cola's Full Throttle, with help from Mother New York, has launched a six-spot TV campaign that looks at the sport's history, heroes and that thing that has become known as drag racing. Shot at the Pamona raceway in California by Mother's Linus Karlsson and produced by Greencard Pictures, the spots - in black and white - do the whole Rocky fight prep thing. Except way less Rocky.

Each aspect of the sport is highlighted in that...Tom Cruise/Days of Thunder opening credits way. Except...way, way less Days of Thunder. Except...kinda like Days of Thunder...minus the over-blown self-importance of the eighties.

See all the spots here (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

by Steve Hall    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Good



ANA Study Reveals Recession-Induced Horror Show

recession_bra.jpg

We are loathe to report bad news because, you know, Adrants is all about the FUN in advertising, right? Who wants to be bogged down with minor details like tens of thousands of layoffs and millions of dollars of budget cuts? Right? No one but, hey, we wouldn't be doing our job if, despite all the FUN, we didn't offer up a bit of reality every once in a while. So, without further ado...

Um, how do we say this tactfully. The economy sucks and the advertising industry is undergoing decimation. A recent study from the Association of National Advertisers, in a follow up study to one completed in August, found 93 percent of companies are in cost saving/reduction mode (compared to 87 percent in August) and 37 percent are reducing budgets by more than 20 percent (compared to 21 percent in August.)

more »

by Steve Hall    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Research



Twitter Tweaks, Speeding Kills, Power to the Pot -- Oh, and Phelps Too.

mac-baby-jane.jpg

- Speeding could turn you into Haley Joel Osment.

- The Marijuana Policy people are boycotting Kellogg's for firing Phelps for smoking pot, even though he's been nailed in the past with a DUI. They feel this is hypocritical because pot doesn't necessarily kill; it just makes you real, real sleepy.

- So Good is boycotting Kellogg too, as is HuffPo.

- Guerrilla Comm rebrands.

- Twitter to charge brands for use. No word on how.

- Dame Edna for MAC.

- French billboard rage.

- Radiohead licensed House of Cards one of its songs to a homeless shelter for an ad, dubbed "House of Cards," that breaks this month.



Agent Provocateur Goes -- Wait for It! -- Social.

ms-provocateur.jpg

We don't know why we're writing this up, given that "going social" is not difficult, or costly, or even all that imaginative anymore, but hey -- if the PR people went out of their way to put this on the wire, then by gad we will honor their service.

Requisite quote candy:

"This is the first time a luxury fashion brand has launched a provocative social media campaign tying together their various data-linked platforms, like a multi-entry daily blog, twitter feed and facebook."
-- Scott Goodson, CEO, StrawberryFrog

more »

by Angela Natividad    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Social, Trends and Culture



Enjoy what you've read? Subscribe to Adrants Daily and receive the daily contents of this site each day along with free whitepapers.

'Because Nothing Says Forever Like Up to 6.4 Terabits per Second.'

cisco-vday-2009-thumb.jpg

A valuable lesson from Cisco: it doesn't matter who you are or what you're selling. Like Hallmark and Disney's made-for-TV movie department, you can turn any holiday to your advantage.

In this case, Cisco takes cheesy expressions of Valentine's Day love and wraps them around its ASR 9000, "the first in a new series of edge routers in nearly a decade" -- and more importantly, the fourth way to say I love you.

The video is presently circulating YouTube with FIVE out of FIVE stars! so far. It's the culmination of a months-long campaign in which pseudo-reporter Ira Pumfkin roamed Cisco's halls in pursuit of a big story. See the blog at Tech Edge Weekly (the link also appears at the end of the vid).

more »

by Angela Natividad    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Guerilla, Online, Social



D&G Bring the Boys Back to the Harbor

dg-west-side-story.jpg

New Dolce & Gabbana ads, brought to us by Jeremy Dante. In this fresh rendition of West Side Story Meets the Park Avenue Chippendales!, a confrontation simmers between two well-coiffed wolfpacks from different sides of town. Or maybe just different sides of the same yacht club.

Alternatively, each print may feature the same group of guys, dressed in their afternoon vs. evening duds. (You know what mama said about wearing sandals after 7pm. It's just not done.)

by Angela Natividad    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Magazine



Alrin Makes that Next Inhale a Little Too Strong

alrin-nasal-thumb.jpg

Heh. To promote the "extra strong" qualities of Alrin nasal spray, Young & Rubicam/Tel Aviv nailed it with "Umbrella" and "Newspaper" -- two spots that demonstrate what happens when your nasal passages get too liberated too quickly.

The human vacuum concept also makes a lot more sense here than it did that one time Justin Timberlake got sucked across town by a Pepsi drinker.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Feb-10-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Television



Hope in the Slammer, Witch Buddies, Ad Poetry

wicked-witch-bff.jpg

- "Twitter for sports." And then our eyes rolled back in our heads, and then we died.

- BFFs with the Wicked Witch of the West. She seems fun. DDR, your house or mine?

- The question we all must ask. Sometime.

- Shepard Fairey, the guy who did that Obama/Hope poster we all love to wheatpaste on walls that don't belong to us, gets arrested before his first solo art show. Duuuude. Sux.

- Scroll down to the part that reads "cb with a Flair."

- Intern sweatshop haiku.