Wine Vendors Make Festive Ads Without Grapes or Sun-Kissed Leaves

In the spirit of Halloween, Quebecois wine purveyor SAQ is conducting a rabais mystere (mystery reduction) promotion. We think the print ads are satisfyingly creepy considering other wine companies hedge their bets with shots of vineyards that go on forever and that's about all. See another version of the ad here. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Candystand Flirts with Slightly Sexier Animation in Mini Putt

Candystand may not feature a sex-ridden, Adrants-inspired carwashing game featuring the blonde Wrigley's twins anytime soon, but after seeing the trailer they sent us for the Mini Putt game that's coming out we're more certain than ever we can convince them.

Video game females are so unrealistically, deliciously contorted. Better still, you can change their outfits before they get out on the green. Oh, and the music is cool too. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Dominos' Oreo Desert Pizza the New Obesity Drug

It's official. Burger King and McDonald's are no longer the whipping boys for obesity. If pizza alone weren't enough to add mass to your body, Dominos, with help from JWT, has created a serious food oddity: the Oreo Desert Pizza, which, along with adding to one's body mass, will also, according to this commercial, give one an Oreo Desert Pizza Mustache. Or goatee. Or beard. Or whatever. Gross. Probably tastes really good though and the commercial's funny. Directed by The Perlorian Brothers.

Advercan Introduces Biodegradable Can-Top Label

Back in October of 2004, we wrote about Advercan, a company that affixed labels to soda can tops so marketers could place advertising on cans. While we liked the idea, we chided the company pointing out all those labels would do a good job keeping landfills busy. Making nice, the company has now introduced a new labeling product that is pulp-based, biodegradable and completely hygienic. Advercan is working with Innovia, 3M and Alcan as well as beverage companies pepsi, Coke, Cadbury Schweppes, Miller and others to make cans a viable advertising medium. Not a bad idea since no one watches TV anymore but everyone still drinks flavored sugar water from a can.

Movie Trailer Touts KLM 'Fly for Fortne' Online Game

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has introduced an online flying game called Fly for Fortune in which players fly to catch certain objects and avoid others. Those who are successful, are eligible to win tickets to anywhere in the world. There's a great movie trailer-style video that promotes the game and features a Cars-style talking airplane. Hmm. Disney? Maybe KLM will license their lane boy to you for your next animated blockbuster.

Sprint Brings NFL Mobile Message to People's Feet

For its client Sprint, Organic teamed with Reactrix Media Network, the company that places those six foot by eight foot interactive floor videos in malls, movie theaters and other public spaces, to develop a new game. In the game, anyone passing by the projection can kick teed up footballs in a virtual football stadium while - this is advertising, after all - Sprint branded images and the tagline, "The Power to Make Every Day Sunday. NFL Mobile, only from Sprint" appears. There's even a Sprint branded blimp in the background. The game ends with a message that urges people to visit the Sprint retailer nearby for more information about NFL Mobile.

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FDR Ad Compares Stem Cells to Penicillin

Continuing the stem cell debate that's risen into public salience because of the Michael J. Fox ad, this ad asks us to imagine what life would be like if FDR looked at penicillin the way Bush looks at stem cell research.

It's a provocative context to say the least. And not to change the subject or anything, but doesn't FDR sound kind of like the Wizard of Oz? - Contributed by Angela Natividad

McD's Drive Thru Staff Gets Serenaded, to Virtually No Response

McDonald's needs a lot of love now that Fast Food Nation is out, so we'd like to think customers who bother to write a song about them and then sing it to their droney drive-thru guy would get a better reaction. All the clerk says in response is "Um, I missed everything, just ... all I got was the M&M McFlurry part. $2.26 at the first window."

Come on. In the words of Heather from another controversial movie, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?!! - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Second Life Versus First Life Advice Offered

Swivel Media's Erik Hauser offers us this column on his in-depth experience with Second Life, ahead of the curve work for Wells Fargo and his companies creation of Stagecoach Island a virtual reality world based on Second Life. He offers sage advice to marketers with Second Life on the brain.

Retro-Marketing
Marketing to People in Their First Life

By Erik Hauser 10.25.06

I can vaguely recall the days when things were very different.

People spent their time in a world filled with oxygen. It seems just like yesterday - OH MY - it was yesterday! Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we? The date is Jan 1st 1997, and people are starting to spend some time on this thing called the internet. Within a couple of years there was a hyper-saturated web with niche sites that had everything from exclusive glues to websites designed as destination locations for people in their mid 30's that had an affinity for poodles. Certain people claimed they would never leave the house again, and vowed to radically change their behavior.

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Reel Asian Toys with Dog Eating Stereotype

We're tickled by this ad for Reel Asian which plays on the stereotype about dog-eating Asians. Or is it dog-serving Asian restaurants? We can never get the two straight. You have to admit Leopold was cute enough to ... oh, forget it. - Contributed by Angela Natividad