'I Fell Down Some Stairs' Abuse Excuse Used In Ambient Campaign

Abuse seems to be a theme lately. First, it was last week' boxer-themed One Man Fight video for Amnesty International. This week it's ambient (OK, OK, we'll start using that term) placements near the top of Boston T (subway) station stairways that read, "I fell down some stairs" for Endabuse.org.

Staring During Poker - OK, Staring While At Urinal - Not

There are just certain situations where staring is simply not advised: at the urinal, in the elevator at someone's disgusting facial blemish or if you are an overweight, wife beater-wearing, ice cream licking slob looking at two teens making out in a convertible. It is, however, OK to stare during poker as indicated in these Fallsview Casini Resort/World Poker Tour commercials by BBDO Toronto.

Relative of Talking Horse Mr. Ed Shills For Drug Company

Taking the phrase, "straight from the horses mouth," literally, Merial, a drug company for horses, has launched a promotion for its ulcer prevention medicine UlceGard and employed a talking horse to do it. On the site, visitors can pick their horse or upload any image of their choice, type in a phrase and have the horse speak it. Who knew horse ulcers could be so much fun?

College Students to Create Chevrolet Super Bowl Commercial

Chevy is amping up its obsession with consumer generated media and has launched a contest for college students to enter competition, create an ad for the company, get it produced and have it air during the Super Bowl in 2007. With teams of three students, the focus will be on the automaker's Aveo, Cobalt, HHR and Equinox. Students will submit their concepts to Chevy and five will be chosen to present to Chevy and its ad agency in the Fall. The winner will participate in production. No mention was made regarding just how much creative control students will maintain once the idea is handed over but we're pretty confident Chevy will be honorable in this area.

Agencies Make Plans to Face Diversity Issues

In a move to avoid embarrassment during Advertising Week, several Interpublic and WPP agencies, have promised to set goals for increasing black representation at their firms and signed agreements with the City of New York that call for the agencies to provide reports on hiring, promotion and retention and to develop recruitment programs. The City's Human Rights Commission has plans to hold hearings beginning September 25 at which agency executives would have to testify to their company's position in the area of diversity.

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42Below Held Its Cocktail World Cup

This past weekend, New Zealand vodka maker 42Below held its its 42Below Cocktail World Cup.which took place in the mountains of Queenstown New Zealand and involved bungee jumping, rafting at 80 MPH and sliding down snow covered mountains all while mixing drinks. It's yet another way the cheeky vodka maker has a bit of fun while, at the same time, gaining some publicity. For the event, 42 bartenders from around the world battled it out. Winners will be named September 16 at the Cocktail World Cup Finals.

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Koch Media's Crusty Demons Culture Jammed

Heeding the culture jam call, Dr. Strangelove took it upon himself to have a little bit of fun with the recently launched Koch Media Crusty Demon online promotion by editing together the various tattoo strip videos the site enables people to make. If you want to get the full force of the Crusty Demon promotion all in one sitting, check out Dr. Strangelove's creation. It's good. The music bed is also the creation of Dr. Strangelove.

Wearing a Condom Makes A Big Difference

With the tagline "you have no idea what a difference that makes" applied to both sex without a condom and the choice between living healthy or living with AIDS, this video showing two men in the throes of getting it on sends a powerful message and hopes to raise awareness in the country of the increasing spread of HIV in the gay community.Created and released virally on the web by AddictAD, the video has been viewed 200,000 times since launching less than a month ago. A heterosexual version is planned as well.

Trash Trucks Are The New Green

While we're quite sure, if given the choice, most waste management companies would be happy as a dog tearing apart a trash bag full of food to simply dump their waste in a good 'ol dump of yesteryear. But with the rise in environmental awareness and creation of lengthy rules defining exactly what trash is and what isn't, waste management companies like the appropriately named Waste Management must now adhere to these strict guidelines and appear to be as green as Greenpeace when it comes to the environment. So it is without surprise, in this commercial, we see a great green Waste Management truck doing the winding mountain road thing alongside a flying bird and "lush expanse of green" as if the truck were right at home with nature. The spot was created by Fogarty Klein Monroe and directed by Plum Productions' Eric Saarinen.

Abuse Is A One Man Fight

Just when you begin to wonder WTF is going on in this commercial, One Man Fight, which shows one boxer getting the crap beating out of him by another, you realize there's an important message here from Amnesty which reports one in two women murdered are killed by their male partners, often during an ongoing abusive relationship.