Subscribe to RSS

Julie Roehm, Sean Womak Gush Lustful Thoughts Over Email

julie_roehm_urtwj.jpg

Oh please. Do we really need to know what Julie Roehm and alleged lover Sean Womack said to each other over email? Reading other people's email is never a good thing. Especially when it has to do with interpersonal relationships. It's like watching your parents have sex. Some things should never be shared.

Having to read Roehm gush things like, "I think about us together all the time. Litle moments like watching your face when you kiss me. I loved your voice mail last night and love the idea of memory and kept thinking/wishing that it would have been you and I there last night. So there's a little head action for you," is just not necessary. And it's especially not necessary to read Womack reply, "That was some good head action for me." Ew. Please. This stuff just belongs between two lovers. Not in court documents.

by Steve Hall    Mar-20-07   Comments (12)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Policy

Day Rider Puts Unimpressive Spin on Knight Rider

knight_rider.jpg

Ugh. We're not sure what Carsguide was thinking when they agreed to launch this campaign by Cummins and Partners out of Melbourne.

Animated by Firehorse Films, the guys who did bro'Town (NZ's response to Family Guy), this film, called Day Rider, is a kitsch-ridden, awkward spoof on the '80's series Knight Rider. Naturally the car becomes the protagonist's worst enemy.

Because for some odd reason watching an '80's hoopty go bad will inspire you to possess one of your own, Carsguide ties the campaign in with an opportunity to win an '84 TransAm.

We're trying to think of more mean things to say but we're too sleepy and bored, so we'll just move on now.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-20-07   Comments (10)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Campaigns, Online

Face Rubbing Ass Clad in Red Speedo Somehow Sells Gum

trident_speedo_red.jpg

According to one Adrants reader, this commercial for Trident Spearmint Watermelon Splash is "plaguing" Canada. We can certainly see why. It's not a stretch to assume opera goers - or anyone for that matter - would take too kindly to a guy strolling into the auditorium wearing nothing but a red Speedo and rubbing his ass in people's faces as he made his way to his seat. Somehow this is supposed to sell gum. We're at a loss to see how.

by Steve Hall    Mar-17-07   Comments ()    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Strange

Krispy Kreme, Busty Jogger Have Holes to Fill

busty_kreme.jpg

"Looks like we've both got a whole that could use some filling." Couple that statement with imagery of a lecherous donut and busty jogger drinking from a fountain and you've got yourself copy which passes as acceptable these days. While there's nothing wrong with wanting to fill holes whenever one has the chance, imagery like this in a donut ad is just plain creepy. Especially if you're watching the ad while sitting next to anyone other than your very, very significant other. Well, we guess Krispy Kreme is doing all they can to keep it up. Their business, that is.

by Steve Hall    Mar-13-07   Comments (6)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Commercials

Leaked: SC Johnson to Introduce New Ziploc Product

ziploc.jpg

Not that anyone cares about the latest and greatest plastic wrap - except, of course for freakish fetishists - but an attendee at a recent focus group at which product names were explored for a new Ziploc product leaked a few of the considered names to Copyranter. As usual, they are all meaningless using stupid additive names like Duron, Fortex, DuraMax, Freshlastic, Durapreme, Reliashield which convey absolutely nothing about the product which is, supposedly, just a better, more sticky plastic wrap.

by Steve Hall    Mar-13-07   Comments ()    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Brands

Want Vagina with that Bagel? Hit Boise

bagels_vagina.jpg

Oh, ick. Adfreak points us over to this ad for the River City Bagel and Bakery in Boise, Idaho. Apparently they wanted to get a little clever and tie their product to the Vagina Monologues, which is playing in the area.

We're not prudes about anatomy but the thought of quim over our next lox shmear brings us close to queasy.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-12-07   Comments (9)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Newspaper, Strange

Red Campaign Tanks Bringing in Just $18 Million

red_campiagn_1.jpg

Oops. That feel good Red campaign isn't working out after all. It seems it took up to an estimated $100 million to bring in $18 million for the charity effort. Not exactly the best ROI for a campaign of any kind. Groups such as Buy Less Crap which we wrote about here have derided the campaign claiming it's stupid to make people spend money to buy stuff when they could just give directly to charity far more efficiently. It's true. While many businesses may need a middle man to function properly, charity is most certainly not one of them.

The star studded campaign which was fronted by Steven Spielberg, Bono, Christy Turlingon, Chris Rock, Oprah Winfrey and others seems to have been a flop. Global Fund Private Sector Head Rajesh Anandan defended the campaign telling Advertising Age, "Red has done as much as we could have hoped for in the short time it has been up and running. The launch cost of this kind of campaign is going to be hugely front loaded. It's a very costly exercise."

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar- 5-07   Comments (12)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Campaigns, Celebrity

Microsoft Wakes Slumbering New Yorkers, Residents Lash Out

msn_zune_stereo.jpg

Feel like showcasing your marketing savvy with a public guerilla campaign? Post-Boston, be careful - The People are sensitive of late.

At least that's what Microsoft's discovering with its recent ground-floor attempt to push the Zune.

A blast of music from the tricked-out Zune-mobile sparked sleep-deprived residents in Lower East Side Manhattan, not to drop their iPods, but to seek restitution on a scathing site called Wake Up Microsoft.

To start with, they sarcastically thank the big blue company for their "noise terrorism." Noise terrorism? Is that anything like Lite-Brite terrorism? While Microsoft deserves a wrist-slap for thinking they could start a spontaneous block party, this certainly isn't the only shockwave of moody distaste they've inadvertently triggered lately.

Update: Cliczune's post on the Zune SUV includes the comment of at least one user who wouldn't mind being jarred out of sleep at 3 AM by the system's impressive clarity.

by Angela Natividad    Mar- 2-07   Comments (2)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Brands, Guerilla, Promotions

Disney Makes Better Use of Scarlett Johansson Than Reebok

scarlett 07 layout 1a1.jpg

Now if ad*itive and Reebok had chosen, oh, say, Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan instead of Scarlett Johansson for the company's new Scarlett Hearts apparel and footwear campaign which carries the headline, "I Am More Than A Cover Story," the ad might have carried more weight. While Scarlett is certainly cover story material, it's not like she captures the mind of America like some of the more famous starlets we have.

She's much better suited to the new Disney World campaign that just broke in GQ and other mags in which she appears as Cinderella along with Beyonce Knwles as Alice, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare, Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter and David Beckham as Prince Philip.

by Steve Hall    Mar- 1-07   Comments (1)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Campaigns, Celebrity, Good, Magazine

Friendly's Restaurant Offers Free Happy Ending

friendlys_happy_ending.jpg

In the pantheon of unintended hilarious road signage comes this image from Adrants reader Andy Malis who passed by a Maryland Friendly's on his way to work and simply had to turn around and capture the image for us. Family friendly Friendly's is now providing its patrons free sexual satisfaction as long as they buy five new sandwiches. We think this sign will be coming down soon.

by Steve Hall    Feb-28-07   Comments (8)    Bookmark and Share     
Topic: Bad, Outdoor, Racy, Strange

follow-us-on-twitter-bird-160.jpg
    @adrants
    @stevehall