Bob Garfield has never had kind words for what we do here at Adrants. And we've rarely had kind words for what the man does over at Advertising Age. But, he's been around forever and he deserves our respect. And he's going to get.
We're going to kindly mention he's out with his long-awaited new book, The Chaos Scenario. It's an expanded version of several essays he wrote a few decades ago (OK, years) about how the drastic changes in the media landscape are killing advertising as we know it. Or at least that's what everyone says it's about. We haven't read the thing yet.
The book will be out on Kindle in July and will release August 3 as a paperback. What, Bob, no hard cover?
Like Howard Stern used to intone "permanent record" as part of a shtick, Garfield, on the promotional site, intones, "The Powers That Be" as he refers to the shifting changes occurring with mass media.
So, like a dutiful advertising media outlet, we urge you to check out Bob's book and his website. We're sure you'll hurry back and let us know what you think.
So why is that non-U.S. based commercials are so much better/stranger/odder/funnier/quirkier? Hmm...oh yea. It's because they're "foreign." And there's that whole different culture thing. The altered sense of humor. Reference points are different. The environment is different. The language is different.
Or. Maybe they just make better commercials than we do. Or weirder ones.
This one's from DDB Stockholm and it's for McDonald's.
As if there aren't already enough pointlessly stupid Facebook applications already, Colle McVoy has launched yet another one for its client, Caribou Coffee. It's called Wild It Up (screenshots) and it lets you...yea..."wild up" any photo by adding goofy clip art.
So what's the point of it all? Supposedly, it will get people to try Caribou's eight new Wild Cooler drinks. And it just might work because all people have to do is print their wild'd up image and present it at any Caribou Coffee for a free drink.
Hmm. Sounds like a simple coupon would have been much easier and cheaper. Oh, OK, coupons are terribly boring and everyone just throws them away. So, yea, Facebook app!!!
If flying was actually this metaphysical, mundane details such as legroom and baggage check fees would be irrelevant. But, it's not and that's why this new work for Swiss Air leaves us with a big, "Huh?"
Created by Publicis Zurich, written and directed (and voiced) by Marc Forster ("Quantum of Solace," "Finding Neverland," "Monster's Ball") and edited by Cut + Run, the spot aims to describe "modern day travel via air.
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Getting all power of the human spirit on us, Nike is out with Back Your Block, a $650,000 grant program developed to support local communities and schools and to "unlock the potential of young people through programs that focus on sport."
Social marketing (formerly youth marketing..but, ya know, they jumped on the bus just like everyone else) agency Mr. Youth, created the campaign website, a promotional video, blog outreach and activated an army of 250 Task Force influencers to pimp the effort buzz marketing-style.
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One of the most interesting people I met at Cannes last week was Herve De Clerck, who runs Ad Forum and Act Responsible.
In this video he talks about how Ad Forum operates, and in great length about Act Responsible -- its humble roots out of the ashes of 9/11, and how it's pushing to do two interesting things:
o Encourage the advertising industry to contribute its talent to social and environmental causes
o Promote the work of those that do
"Every year we gather the work for social and environmental issues ... and every year, we put on an exhibition," he said. The exhibition was held with support from DraftFCB, on a sunny terrace alongside the Palais, where you could grab a coffee, check out the beach and stroll at leisure through a wide-open gallery of interactive and print-based cause work from around the world.
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