Proof that Advertising is At Least as Informative as Fox News.

One Chicago-based furniture store is happy to admit it sells more seats than Governor Blagojevich -- and at a better rate, to boot.

High-la-rious. But oh, does it beat Virgin Mobile's technicolor spin on Spitzer?

Women, Men And Their Walk-In Preferences

Nothing makes a woman scream more than a well-stocked walk in closet. All those shoes in perfect alignment. All those jewels perfectly displayed. All those clothes perfectly hung.

And if that premise is played out in a Heineken commercial, the guys would be just as excited. Except it would have nothing to do with shoes, jewelry or clothes.

Agency Slaps Recession Upside the Head With Holiday Positivity

Were we to honor an advertising agency for creating the best holiday card of 2008, that distinction would go to Cleveland-based agency Brokaw which we once described as a place which "just drips with wit."

In a nod to the toilet bowl in which the advertising industry now swims, Brokaw created a "holiday card" that's reflective of the harsh economic climate but, at the same time, offers up a ray of hope replete with a wink and a smirk.

While three pieces of popcorn aren't going to solve the industry's woes, we applaud Brokaw's positive spirit and "cost-effective" creativity.

GCFD Introduces Spaghetti ... Pour Elle.

With help from production firm Dictionary Films, Leo Burnett launched a TV spot for "Food Shouldn't Be a Luxury," an effort to encourage locals to donate supplies to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The ad's put together like a generic perfume ad, with occasional flashes of a boiling pot and some random pasta fondling. We seriously winced when the model sexily purred "Spaghetti" in her fake Kate Moss-for-Eternity voice, but it got the point across: Okay, okay! Food shouldn't be a luxury.

Make a donation or volunteer time at Every1Can.org. Unlike the prints (see first link), the spot doesn't invite users to text donations over. Not sure if that means the texting thing didn't pan out, or if Leo Burnett just doesn't think people keep phones nearby while watching TV.

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Charity Holiday, Enemy Gameplay, More Than Words with Alex B.

- Top 10 virals of '08, courtesy of the guys that brought you this.

- Digitas Health donates to charity for the holidays, as does RAZ PR (which told us via paper card). Meanwhile, comScore pledges trees.

- "Unprecedented economic waters" (nice euphemism!) means no FedEx retardation during '09's Super Bowl. One less thing to look forward to. Honestly, anything involving Burt Reynolds makes us happier people.

- Remember that crazy/beautiful, semi-schizophrenic media orgy titled Game, Game, Game and Again Game? The sequel is called I Made This. You Play This. We Are Enemies. Creator Jason Nelson promises "More strange hand drawn creatures, with screen shot anchored levels and all the poetic bits known." And then we kissed him.

- Crowdsourcing horror.

- Beancasting Steve and Bill. Among other things, they talk online video marketing, Pepsi suicide ads and diversity (lack of?) in the industry.

- Learn to shred with CP+B. "But yeah, the biggest thing people will go after is Alex giving lessons on how to play Extreme's More Than Words." Sounds like a winner to me.

Mortar's Recession Solution: A Spork, Some Booze and Pocket-Sized Luck

Instead of sending over a typical holiday card, Mortar went the extra mile and sent us a Holiday Recession Kit.

It is amazingly practical.

Tools for survival include Top Ramen ("It got you through college, it'll get you through this"), a Magic 8-Ball, a Spork ("Perfect for Top Ramen, or digging your way out of prison. Or defending yourself in prison"), matches, edible packing material, and a wee bottle of VooDoo Spiced Rum, which is pretty self-explanatory.

All it's missing is a single cigarette and some rope.

Ad Banner Catches Text on Fire

Here's an inventive online (and offline) creative implementation to promote heating device maker Gaz Metro. On the internet, the text surrounding Gaz Metro banners turns red when it the mouse is rolled over.

Offline in newspaper, ads at the bottom of the page were integrated with editorial so that text, as it was online, is altered to, in one case, turn red and, in another, blur as if heat were rising from the banner.

The agency, Touche PHD, tells us the altered text in the newspapers was part of the actual editorial rather than it being either a fake story or greeked.

PG Tips Monkey Dons Queenly Drag, Gives Christmas Speech

...while trashed! "Mmm, tasty pies." That naughty knitted-sock simian.

The work -- which precedes a full-length ad that debuts on Christmas day -- riffs off the speeches Queen Elizabeth occasionally gives via YouTube, but we swear the script flubs were inspired by these orgamsumumic outtakes for this Lavalife ad. ("Orgamsums? Orgasmums.") By AKQA and Cake.

When last we saw the PG Tips monkey, he invited us back to his place "for a cuppa."

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Popping the Question Made Easy

Amsterdam's Black Magic Marker has made it really, really easy for a guy to ask a girl one of the most important question he will ever ask in his life. With all the pomp and schmaltz of a Hallmark card, reminders of trips to Italy, that love can conquer anything, that new paths in life can be traveled together, no longer will guys have to fret over the most important question in life and how to insure they get the proper answer.

Alabama Gets a Workout from 'Biggest Loser' Roger Shultz

Scale Back Alabama is a yearly campaign to encourage state inhabitants to shake off some love handles. Those that register for the program, which is free, are encouraged to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks -- which isn't improbable to do in a healthy way, provided you have resources and encouragement.

This year, Alabamans are getting a little help from Roger Shultz, a finalist from The Biggest Loser. To promote the effort, Luckie Underground -- the basement-confined baby brother of Luckie & Co. -- launched "Gettin' in Shape," a playful PSA with its own YouTube channel.

Witness while a very large dude dressed like the Heart of Dixie pumps iron and selects fruit with conviction, all under the peppy direction of Shultz.

See that victory dance at the top of the library steps? That could be you, my friend.

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