Look, I'm doing this because I know Steve would want me to. WE COVER IT ALL HERE. What do you do to lift a sagging campaign? CLEAVAGE TRANSIT POSTERS AND BUS SHELTERS. Okay, maybe there's no bus shelters, but a new poster for the upcoming general election in Germany features German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and Vera Lengsfeld along with the words "We have more to offer." Hmm, I bet. Wonder what possible American politicians could do this. Hillary & Ted Kennedy? I KID.
YOU COULD WORK AT... (insert dream shop). So it's come to begging. Forget Twitter RFPs, stand back and watch as thousands compete for just four paid 30-day long creative gigs at major agencies. Just have your resume and portfolio ready along with a YouTube clip (below). Oh, and the clip has to be you humiliating yourself in public saying the words "I deserve a Big Ad Gig."
Their logic: "Whether you choose The Mall of America or your local petting zoo, the important thing is to make your declaration loudly and proudly to the general public: since they're going to be the ultimate judges of everything you create in Advertising, it's only fair that they be the first group to evaluate your work." (Because the public is always right there with you at 1:00 am when you're coming up with concepts.)
Ennnnyway, the winners of Apprentice Knockoff 2 will be announced Sept. 24th during next month's Ad Week 2009. For more details, check out the rules here.
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I swear AdRants gets the best PR releases. An earlier one from today was probably the best so far: ELTON JOHN MAKES GUEST APPEARANCE ON NEW ALICE IN CHAINS ALBUM. Yes, PR people are still screaming at me in all caps. But better than Elton covering Would? is Gary Coleman, french fries and Facebook. It's either the lowest point in pop culture or a watershed moment as William Shatner appears to have passed the baton of shame down to the next generation. Canadian french fry chain New York Fries and agency zig out of Chicaga has enlisted my hero for its 25 year anniversary. Before you go "Fries in a cup, what the fu...?," trust a half-Canuck: We love fries in a cup--and we put vinegar on everything. Coupled with Gary predicting your Fry Cup Fortune on Facebook for a coupon, what's not to love!
Here's to you Mr. Coleman.
I'll get to the actual spot in a sec, (viewable after the jump), but I really don't know how any cable provider can lay claim to either faster and/or lag-free performance these days. Having used everything from Dish to DirectTV to the majority of cable providers, I don't think any of them have it right yet. At some point, there's almost always an interruption of service.
As for the spot, it's high-energy, looks slick and all that. But that's the problem with most brands like Time Warner trying to own a value prop that, oh by the way, the rest of the universe is also trying to own. What else can you do but make a kick-ass spot? Using Oakley's amazing HD RED camera, they've recreated a nice video game scenario, although the press release claims the two 20-something players are teens. Whatevuh. Point is, as creatives, there's only so much you can with a generic brand positioning that doesn't give you much to work with.
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Having exhausted all contacts, (okay, I asked one person I knew), I'm going under the assumption that what I got sent to me is actually a viral campaign for Target, because, well, THERE'S BIG RED LOGOS EVERYWHERE. I appreciate a good one-line gmail stealth campaign as much as the next person, but if this is actually for the retailer, an otherwise clever idea and simple execution of the awkward price proposition was absolutely wasted.
To go through the trouble of avoiding brand mentions but then give the idea away right as you enter the site seems like a waste. If this isn't for them? It's okay. I'm an ad blogger. Facts don't matter with us when compared to real journalists. Either way, it's still a whacked site and props to the creators.
Apparently London hates vanilla. (That's as far as I go with the references--for now.) The UK based Icecreamists have come out with the next step in custom ice cream evolution. Billed as natural Viagra, the ingredients are supposed to stimulate almost nealry closely as good as the little blue guy. The ice cream weapon of choice summons punk rock royalty too: The Sex Pistol. Other naming greatness from the group includes God Save The Cream.
My work here is done.
While Steve's away playing at conferences, I debated running the latest nude Lego print ad from Istanbul--or chumming the waters and pissing off as many blogging groups as I can. What to do, what to do. *flips coin* Paid reviews and Mommy Bloggers it is!
So the FTC and the National Advertising Review Council are set to announce what they intend to do with blogs and the issue of disclosure.
Basically, Big Blog... Brother will be watching.
To be fair, it's not just MBs, but any blogs where ads, promotions and reviews are involved. Then there's the issue of whether compensation affects objectivity or not. You can't discuss the topic of monitoring blogs for questionable things like hidden endorsements without also mentioning the groups most likely to warrant that increased scrutiny, namely, paid reviewers and... Mommy Bloggers.
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According to the background, this pimple climbing wall in Israel which I will now lovingly call Mt. Zitmore, is supposed to get teen boys thinking about Clearex in a unique way. Hmmm. And here I thought the last thing teenage boys wanted to be reminded of were. the. zits. they. had. From Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Y&R Interactive in Tel Aviv. Look at interactive going experiential! Way to think outside the zit!
(Full image after the jump.)
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