Continental Airlines Advertises On Chopsticks

Following Ella Blache Paris' draping nude women over chopsticks to promote its "skin good enough to eat," Continental Airlines has placed wraps on chopsticks in New York City Japanese restaurants which read, "Sticking it to the competition." Maybe Continental should hook up with sushi bars that promote their establishments with their food draped over nude models.

Heineken Sends Us Beer, Launches Campaign

The other day, we received our very own, specially packaged bottle of Heineken Premium Light. We promptly did our job by taking a few pictures of the packaging to share with you and then placed the bottle in the fridge for future enjoyment. Well, that future came and we can tell you we liked what came out of that bottle.

In terms of promotion, Heineken Premium Light is getting $50 million thrown at it in the form of a national marketing campaign with simple layouts of a Heineken Premium Light bottle and taglines such as "Succumb to Smooth." There's also an out-of-home component to support the wider distribution of the beer and national television advertising kicks off on April 17.

Unilever's Sure Unleashes the World Cup Beasts

Unilever's Sure Sport is getting Football (soccer) fans all worked up with a new video clip featuring all manner of wild animals and site that has anything and everything a football fan cold possibly wish for. Spend some time with it.

Advertising Age.com Redesigns

Advertising Age has a very cool new design. It feels much more contemporary and easier to dive into. It's taken on a wider width as many recent relaunches have. The headlines are easier to read. The redesigned email newsletters look great too. The contents of the print edition will be available to subscribers Sunday night. It's all a welcome change.

Mark Cuban Says Bring Back The Fifties Live Commercial

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says the future of television advertising is in its past. He says bring back the live commercial so the viewer (nor the advertiser) will know what to expect until it happens. Calling them Reality Commercials, Cuban claims implementing such a thing would not be a technical challeng or a creatyive one but it would entail a whole lot more work. He cites a couple of examples which does get the mind thinking. After all, a commercial riffing unexpectedly off what the viewer just watched would be far more interesting and integrated than a canned spot. And, oh, the potential for screw ups....that alone would keep a fair amount of people watching.

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Wieden + Kennedy 12 Create Ad For Portland's Wordstock

Wieden + Kennedy's 12, the program that gives people the chance to break into advertising, have created a promotional spot for Wordstock, a Portland area book festival. We like it.

Subway Gives Reggie Bush Commercial, Blog

Subway has has signed a deal with USC running back Reggie Bush who is featured in the chain's recent commercial which just launched today. The commercial, which we like very much but aren't really sure why, promotes a...wait for it....yes, a blog called SubwayFreshBuzz. The blog launches April 8 and will feature 2-3 daily posts from Reggie (or someone writing for him but let's hope not) offering us his thoughts as he enters his rookie year. There's also chat, videos and other good stuff about Reggie and, of course, promotion of healthy eating habits via Subway's healthy menu. You can view the ad here.

Birth Control Pill Promoted With Trashcan Babies

We've all heard the horror stories of young girls or women, overwhelmed by the thought of giving birth, who've chosen, instead, to dump their baby in the nearest bathroom stall or trashcan. Drug company Schering has co-opted the horror and turned it into an ad campaign for its birth control pill. The ad is an outdoor installation in the form of trashcans - placed near universities in Bankok - with motion sensors that, upon sensing the motion of a passerby, deliver the sound of a baby crying. Once the top of the trashcan is opened, the passerby is presented with Schering's message. OgilvyOne did the work. Hmm. We're not sure whether to say, "Damn, that's great advertising" or "That's disgusting. What the hell were you thinking?" See additional images here.

Southern Film Festival Gets Southern Stereotype Treatment

Adding a southern twist to ads promoting the Carolina Independent Film Festival, BooneOakley "re-worked" movies posters from Breakfast At Tiffany's, Moonstruck, Red October and Scareface. See all the redneck action here.

Fishing Magazine Helps All Kinds Fish Better

We like the double meaning of this print campaign from FCB Sao Paulo for Pesca Magazine, the encyclopedia of fishing. The images connote, at least to us, the animals in the ads - a bear, a cat and a seal - wearing glasses to both study up on how to better catch fish and to better see the fish they want to catch. See the other two ads here and here.