iPhone Gets Monolithic Spec Treatment

Here's some iPhone spec work from Ryan Landels, Director for a Santa Monica production company. Landels has taken the scene in the movie 2001: A Space Odessy where the astronauts first discover the monolith which Landels has replaced with the iPhone. It's a nice piece of work that could certainly be a part of Apple's official iPhone campaign.

Campaign Launched to Save Ford's Marketing

Boston area marketer Kevin Glennon, in response to an article he wrote about Ford's marketing which received hundreds of responses but none from Ford, has launched Helping Hank, an effort to convince Ford to make an actual Bold Move: hire him as its Chief Marketing Officer. More than a ploy for employment - which Kevin doesn't need having launched his own successful business years ago - Kevin has written a letter to Bill Ford calling his attention to the article he wrote in which he urges Ford to think differently and offers up such suggestions as partnering with Lowe's and/or Home Depot to provide a Zipcar-like rental service.

Whether it's crazy or brilliant, you can decide for yourselves as Kevin has set up a full blown online campaign and weblog to support and continue his efforts towards improving Ford's marketing efforts. If we didn't know Kevin, we'd figure this was some sort of elaborate stunt blog marketing efforts so favored by some ill informed brands a few years ago but it's not. It's an honest effort by a smart guy who thinks he can improve a companies marketing. Only you and Bill Ford can decide if the effort is worthy.

AMC Brings Back Good Old Days of Advertising With 'Mad Men'

Hey old timers, remember when there was this thing called the three martini lunch? When men ran the office without fear of women climbing the ladder? When advertising was unfettered by annoyances such as fees, unbundling, the Internet, agency consultants, sequential liability, TiVo, consumer-generated media, Donny Deutsch? Yes, there were once simpler times in the ad business. When men were men and a handshake was better than a 300 page contract.

Susannah Breslin tells us Cabler AMC plans to bring back those day with its Mad Men, a series about the New York ad business in 1960 from the executive producer of The Sopranos. The trailer promises the show will be every bit as sexist as it supposedly was back in the day. Of course, we're sure they'll be the required current day tweaks to make it all more palatable so as not to completely alienate the now overly sensitive society in which we now live.

Jessica's Dribbling Ice Cream, Head on Head Promote Lucky Chuck

Ah yes, the dribbling vanilla ice cream cone. The barely seen head of a woman near the other head of a smiling man. Ah, yes, the late summer oddity known as Good Luck Chuck, a movie about a guy named Cahrile who has sex with women which then brings them luck. That is until he meets Jessica Alba and his luck forces him to, well, not sleep with her but with others so, well, following summer bubble gum movie logic, Charlie gets the hottie of his dreams. Watch the trailer. It makes sense. Sort of.

Oh, and we're thinking these posters are a a bit less than official. Either way, see both posters here.

New iPhone Ads OMG!!!

If there's one thing we can say about Apple, we'll say it knows how to set the stage. iPod ads feel completely different from Mac ones without deviating too far from the ruling Apple geek-meets-hipster-osity.

With that in mind, the prospect of seeing the new iPhone ads was really exciting, especially since the debut draws near and the bar was set so high with the nostalgic Oscars piece.

Check them out here: Never Been an iPod, How To, Calamari.

Though the style was a little too minimal (did some kid bang out that tune?), by the third ad the whole concept had grown on us. Like, really. Like, check out the functionality on that sexy beast.

We only wish they'd shown off that spinning-straw-into-gold component we keep hearing about from friends who jizz all over our shoes before they're even done saying the word "iPhone."

Cows Picket for Udder Relief, Bovine Rights

Apparently having "unalienable rights" can mean more for the common cow than just avoiding aliens. The fine folk at Sustainable Table have launched a campaign called Cows Unite, in which our bovine buddies battle it out for organic sustainability.

Check out the Bovine Bill of Rights, which states, among other things, that cows have the right to dignity and joy. Well, hey. Unlike the citizens of most countries, they clearly know what to ask for. No wonder the aliens are always abducting them.

We wonder what cows themselves would actually have to say about how much personality we project onto them. Would they laugh? Would they demand royalties in grassy knolls? Would they become self-conscious about their spots?

Hardee's Celebrates Booty-Less Women With FlatBuns

Not to be left out of the whole Angus Burger thing, Hardee's has crafted FlatBuns, a cheesy, Geocities-style site that worships Flat-Bun Bettys or, girls with no ass. Celebrating pancake butts, miss six o'clocks, and boney bottoms, FlatBuns makes it known every female isn't born with a Jennifer Lopez or Hayden Panettiere-like butt. It's all part of their promotion the the chain's Patty Melt Thick Burger...with grilled, flat rye bread.

Your Girl's Gonna Get Wet

Any campaign with the headline, "Your Girl's Gonna Get Wet," is bound to cause a bit of attention and make one think, "Hmm, I better be there for that," which is why the payoff to the headline is "Make Sure You're There Too." OK, then. We will be there. If only we knew where "there" was.

Ah, yes, the glorious teaser ad. While the association of girl, wet and tease together is oh so witty, the visual in the teaser get's one's mind out of the gutter in time to realize it's probably an ad for some water park. You decide. The posters are placed around a mall in Toronto.

HBO 'Big Love' Campaign "Tricks" Viewers With Spoof Fragrance, Viagra Ads

If you haven't watched HBO's Big Love, you really should. It doesn't matter that the show's about a polygamist family focusing on a guy with three wives and three houses and they're battle to "fit in" while navigating the difficult restrictions "their own kind" place upon them. What matters is the show's keen ability to make other lifestyles seem as normal and everyday as your own. Aligning perfectly with that notion or normality is this campaign from Seattle-based Creature which spoofs fragrance and Viagra ads in a way that makes the lifestyle seem normal while also poking fun at it.

The spots (here and here) have been released on YouTube and fake ads have been placed on the HBO Big Love site. Spoof-like print ads are also part of the campaign and will be placed in sections relevant to the individual ad's focus.

Nike Builds Spanish 'Momentum' with Carnal Drumbeat

We're taken by the infectious pulse of this Spanish Nike ad by Villarosas and production team Agosto. Dubbed Momentum, it showcases an underground battle between famous sports stars, flanked by gypsy drummers.

The audience, which ranges in flavor from urban grit to the polished elite, share a proud-faced intensity that pretty much embodies the emotional Nike ethos.

The press release calls "Momentum" a recognition to "the optimum moment that Spanish sport enjoys." Nice way to put it.

Translation of the closing challenge: "Are you brave enough to be the next?"