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Homeless man With Golden Pipes Lands Gig With Kraft

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In an interesting confluence of events turned publicity goldmine, Ted Williams, the famed homeless man with golden pipes, has been hired by Crispin Porter + Bogusky to voice a new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial set to air Sunday during the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on ESPN.

Of CPB's choice of Williams, Kraft Spokeswoman Lynne Galia told Advertising Age, "Like many others, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and our ad agency was moved by Ted Williams' story. His amazing voice is perfectly suited to our campaign. We were in the middle of making our TV spots and in a unique position to help Ted use his great voice to gain employment."

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by Steve Hall    Jan- 6-11    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Commercials, Good, Opinion

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Who Knew a Kia Optima Was So Dreamy?

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We love the tagline of this new David&Goliath-created Kia commercial, "No one ever dreamt of driving a mid-sized sedan. Until now." This tagline follows the mystical adventure of a boy whose bed turns into a moving vehicle that takes him on a magical tour into the night towards a very dreamy looking San Francisco.

As he crosses the Golden Gate, he's accompanied by a white horse, a couple of knights and a very Hogwarts Express looking train...filed with animals and a very cute looking little girl.

The boy and his bed then zoom through a tunnel and reappear as Kia Optima and grown man.

Hey, it's just a car commercial but it's far more engaging than most of the other automotive crap out there today. Thanks, David&Goliath...who had wondrous production assistance from Beacon Street Studios and director Lance Accord.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-10-10    
Topic: Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good

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Epic Burp Ruins Epic Beauty of Epic Beer Commercial

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Almost reminiscent of the epic Carlton Draught Big Ad (which you absolutely must watch again), Clemenger BBDO is out with another epic Australian beer commercial. The ad begins with epic music accompanying an epic journey through epically beautiful Brewtopia to an epic Parthenon atop the epic Mount Utopia which offers up even more epicness like a white flying horse and epic looking pure blonde beer babes dressed in flowing white robes who serve up Pure Blonde beer.

It's all...well...epically epic. That is until one guy is epically rude and destroys every last bit of epicness with a tiny burp which turns epic as it echoes through the mountaintops until it causes the epic destruction of the previously epic Mount Utopia.

All that's left standing are the two guys, their two beers and the dress one guy ripped off the epically beautiful pure Blonde beer babe.

Epic.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-19-10    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good

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Man Kills Alligator With Golf Tee Pea Shooter to Make Shot

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OK so blowing up kids in a classroom didn't go over so well but when it comes to using menacing alligators to sell rum, all is well. And funny.

In this commercial for Bundaberg Rum, which, for a few seconds gets lost in an overly long and complex set up, a man, looking to make a putt, is aided by the very gentleman who invented Bundaberg Rum...from an oversupply of molasses.

Just watch. The spot works. at least it works for us. We have no idea what PETA's stance on this will be though.

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by Steve Hall    Oct-22-10    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Strange

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FedEx Prevents Airport Security From Sleeping on the Job

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BBDO is out with some new work for FedEx. Four commercials highlight...wait a minute. What the hell is there to explain about FedEx that everyone doesn't already know? Nothing. Why does the brand still advertise? We have no idea. Oh wait, yea, we do. Because people are so fickle that if you don't slap them upside the head with your message 3,000 times a day, they'll defect to your competition.

Now that we have that out of the way, our favorite spot is called Airport Security. While the PowerPoint joke has been done to death, this one still gets a laugh. "I'm yawning. I'm still yawning. ZZZZZ." Hey, it's pretty basic but, much like a fart joke, some things just stay funny.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-13-10    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good

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Smokers Spontaneously Combust in Non-Smoking Ad

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Of all the anti-smoking ads that have made the rounds over the years, this Swedish ad is one of the more stylish. With fiery, slo-mo action, the ad is accompanied by the mysterious yet hysterical lyrics, "I'm naked. I'm numb. I'm stupid. I'm staying. And if Cupid's got a gun, then he's shooting. His bang. You're my drug. We live it. Your drug. You need it. Reload."

The commercial lulls you into its morbid metaphor yet is actually a pleasure to watch. Over and over which, admittedly, is a bit twisted but the message is so perfectly delivered it's hard to turn away.

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by Steve Hall    Aug-25-10    
Topic: Cause, Good

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Torpedoes Aren't the Only Danger to A Submarine

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We love Specsavers. More accurately, we love their advertising. If you've seen the submarine movie Das Boot (or the Matthew McConaughey version of it), you'll appreciate this commercial. But you won't see the end coming. Though if you use your imagination and understand that Specsavers ads are always about what can happen if you don't have the right specs, you just might figure it out before the reveal.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-13-10    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Strange

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Wake Up and Smell the Hottie in Your Bed, Idiot

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You can interpret this Lynx commercial with Jessica Jane Clement in two different ways. First, the guy is just an absolute clueless idiot. Over and over, he kills his chances at having a continuing relationship with one of the hottest women in the world. And the fact he and his idiocy are even remotely associated with Lynx would cause one to avoid the product at all costs.

Second, they guy is still an absolute clueless idiot but so is every potential Lynx users because, according to this commercial, they have to be hit over the head again and again and again before they realize all they need to do is use Lynx to get one of the world's hottest women. Which, of course, is one of the most idiotic notions in the world.

Either way, the entire thing is an idiotic premise. Of course, that doesn't make it unfunny. Not at all.

by Steve Hall    Jun-25-10    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Good, Racy

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If You Cannot Come to Wrath of Cannes, Wrath of Cannes Will Come to You

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Steve mentioned earlier that there are some Wrath of Cannes shirts going around, and yeah, those rumours are true: the other day the Wrath's Kristen Bryan found me, handed me a Grand Coney tee and asked me to strike a "sexy" pose.

Not sure what one of those looks like, since I by nature just ooze sex out of my pores, so I whipped out some creepy awkward fist-to-face thing that was probably planted in my subconscious by AsianPoses.com.

Ask Wappling, who took the picture at left, also sported a shirt, as did Rafiq from ihaveanidea and Brett McKenzie.

The real Cannes is officially invaded. New goal - to actually experience Wrath of Cannes live. Someday.

by Angela Natividad    Jun-25-10    
Topic: Good, Guerilla, Industry Events

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Unilever Dispenses Ice Cream for Smiles

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Following up on the Coke Zero Happiness machines imagineered for Cannes in '09, this year SapientNitro plugs Unilever's ice cream brands - with a machine that dispenses the frozen desserts when a person smiles at it.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-24-10    
Topic: Brands, Good, Industry Events, Specialty

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