Play Land Campaign Turns Everyday Objects into Flights of Fancy

Rethink, Canada put together these clever little ads on behalf of Play Land. In addition to lending new perspective on mundane everyday stuff, the series reminds us of what it was like to be so small that you actually crawl into household items and pretend you were airborne.

Play-Doh Brings Reading to Life!

DDB, Milan orchestrated this neat campaign for Play-Doh. The copy reads "The world needs children's dreams." Advertising for Peanuts has more images along the same vein.

We happen to like this campaign a lot because we did something similar with our own Play-Doh. The only difference is, we only had the colour green and were later fined by the library for defacing public property. See, that kind of stuff doesn't happen in the sanctioned world of ads.

Carnivorous Eyeball Draws Gen Y to High Culture

The under-25 demographic can't be talked into a museum unless they're enticed with weird imagery, like clawed eyeballs that eat things and violently relieve themselves.

Thus advised by agency Bailey Gardiner, the Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego launches Feed the Greedy Organ, a mishmash exhibit of international artists. There's a nifty film component and a Thursday Night Thing where deejays and eclectics can gather 'round and prep for the pompous cocktail parties of tomorrow.

And because they need still more coaxing to get their asses through the doors, museum entry is free for anybody under 25, courtesy of QUALCOMM.

Thankfully the campaign seems to be working. In its first month the program's redemption rate has already tripled. Not that it quite means anything over the short-term considering admission is free, but maybe today's jeunesse will become tomorrow's nostalgic loyalists: Honey, let's swing by the museum. They used to have this awesome man-eating eye...

VW Does Forrest Gump

We loved the plain innocence-bordering-on-stupidity of Forrest Gump and Sao Paulo Brazil agency AlmapBBDO has borrowed that notion for a new Volkswagen Golf commercial which highlights the scene in the movie where Forrest decides to run back and forth across the country. This time, he does it in a Golf.

Not Many Junkies Make it to the Nursing Home

Now here's an intriguing take on anti-drug marketing. We're not sure if it's as powerful as the recent Montana Meth campaign but it does highlight one important fact about drug use: it can lead to a young death. So, seeing a bunch of old folks toke, shoot and snort accompanied with the tagline, "There's no such thing as an old junkie," is an intriguingly powerful message, indeed.

Levi's Offers Up Ripped Abs, Stripping Dudes For the Ladies

Now here's one for the ladies and for everyone else who enjoys watching ripped men take their clothes off in a locker room. Oh yes, there's the occasional female prancing about as well but she keeps her clothes on. Clearly, this is not Virtual Bartender. Silly Girl Ariel points us to the new Levi's Lady Style site where the latest female denim styles can be checked out while ogling men seductively preparing to take a shower. Apparently, it's not all that exciting as Ariel dubs it's presented "in the most yawn-garnering fashion."

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Paloozaheads Proliferate Internet for Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza kicks off August 3-5 with an awesome line-up including Modest Mouse, Lupe Fiasco, Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Interpol and others.

Heavily sponsored by AT&T, which wants really badly to shake its rotary vibe in favour of something more Cingular, the event courts Palooza enthusiasts by inviting one and all to "tell us what you'd like to see, hear, eat, feel, drink, buy or hug." (Because it's not just any Lollapalooza, it's your Lollapalooza.)

To whet the appetite, throw together a PaloozaHead, an animated widget that features your face or a mash-up of favourite band members. Yes, it's creepy but no creepier than anything else already out there. (That Mel Gibson menorah still gives us the shakes.)

Watch for the laggage, though. We checked the backs of our computers at least four times to see if someone had wedded us back to 56K as some sort of nasty joke.

Wired Says 'Get Naked, Rule World'

Here's a pearl of wisdom that strippers have been leveraging for as long as they've existed. The most current issue of Wired invites enterprising voyeurs to take a peek at radical transparency -- new buzz for an old strategy that, every few years, gets re-toted as the Grail.

Open up to rivals? Get honest with customers? Admit failures? Who does this stuff? Wired says smart businesses do and it's "sweeping boardrooms across the nation"! That may be true, and blogs and wikis may dramatically contribute to the eye-opener, but it's hardly a new game. Warren Buffett's been doing it forever (ever read his love letters to the shareholders?) and Santa from Miracle on 34th St. (circa 1947) did it too, to Macy's chagrin. Oh, and then there were strippers. Don't forget the strippers.

Lux Shines with Vegas-Style Animation

Post-Evolution, soap ads strike us as a bit lacking in the imagination department. But Lux Provocateur goes above and beyond the call of duty.

We were dazzled by their charming and innovative stop-motion stint, and they win us over twofold with Neon Girl by Santo, Buenos Aires, the same heartstring bandits responsible for the previous ad, and Danny Kleinman of production company Rattling Stick.

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Gay Stars Help Support Gay Stars with New PSA

Ogilvy art director Dustin Duke pairs up with the team at Mr. Wonderful to put together some PSAs for Out in TV and Film (OTF), an organization whose URL is as unwieldy as feelings about coming out of the closet.

The object is to get gay and lesbian members of the entertainment industry to go public about their sexual preferences, providing a buffer of support that strengthens as others step out too.

The spots will air at the Queer Media & Entertainment Conference and on the OTF website, in addition to the LOGO and here! Networks. Check out the first two, featuring actress and comedian Judy Gold and veejay Kim Stolz of mtvU. They're candid and occasionally funny, so here's to hoping they do the job.

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