Energy Savings Gets the RPG Treatment

The Ad Council and the US Department of Energy are using a new ad effort to build a new "energy ethic" for tweens. The campaign's called "What's your excuse?" and was created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

LoseYourExcuse.gov is stocked with tips for saving energy, desktop background downloads and the like. I really love the game, though. Been playing it all afternoon.

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Horny? Can't Cook? 'Cooking to Get Lucky' Is Here to Help

"A lot of girls out there love healthy food. If you want to get into bed with one, check out our debut episode!"

That's the premise for the mDialog-produced show Cooking to Get Lucky. Its purpose is to turn men into gourmet cooking machines that create meals guaranteed to get the girl. OK, so there isn't necessarily a guarantee but that's the hook upon which the show hangs.

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Ask.com Targets Ritual Cannibals that Can't Walk in Heels

An hour or so ago I read a grisly article about some Russian kids that killed and ate their goth friends. After scrolling down to the end of the piece and feeling appropriately perturbed, I came across the Ask.com video ad at left.

"How can you learn to walk in high heels?" it burbles cheerfully. "Get the answer." I played the video out of morbid curiosity and watched a pair of legs walk, with sass, up until the grand finale -- when the owner of those legs topples over with a scream, followed by cries of dismay.

It remains unclear whether she was eaten after her plummet from grace.

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Billboards Grow Green for Academy of Sciences

For the California Academy of Sciences, Heat/SF launched a series of outdoor executions that highlight the institution's eco-friendly design and emphasis on sustainability.

To tie in to the "green" roof over the Academy's new facility -- which actually sustains some wild animals and vegetation -- outdoor ads include a "living" bus shelter and billboard, upon which grass or other greens have been planted. See them in San Francisco. TV and digital work will also supplement the campaign.

McDonald's and Ford have also done the living billboard thing. Tell me, minions: is this America or is this Hobbiton?

'Heads' Brings a Little Bit of Art to Advertising

"Heads," an ad where people around Los Angeles sport art instead of faces, brings Magritte to mind -- in part because the images echo certain work of his, but also because they share a muted texture and feel. "Heads" is subtle and almost unsettling.

The tagline, "Getty. It stays with you," weds imagery to action. By M&C Saatchi for The Getty.

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Yawn. Dita Von Teese Teases For Wonderbra

All that can be said about breasts, bras and bra advertising has been said. Does anyone really want to read about breasts, bras and bra advertising when they can simply look and enjoy without some ad dude trying to write idiotic double entendres that just fall flat and are indicative of some sort of freakish ailment? Of course not. That's why all you have to do to see the new Wonderbra ad starring Dita Von Teese is click here.

Oh, but you should know Dita has a Flickr page and a Wonderbra site.

Arnold Helps City Year Say 'Change the World'

Last week Arnold Worldwide launched several new PSAs for City Year, an organization of 17 to 24 year olds with diverse background who mentor, tutor, clean up neighborhoods and generally do good things.The spots are full of "we are change"-iness but that's to be expected from an organization that's out to, well, change things.

The spots were shot by Redtree Productions documentary filmmaker Josh Seftel who's received his fair share of independent film awards. All the spots can be seen at the City Year website here.

Target Uses 'Web 2.0 Aesthetic' to Peg College Kids

I recently saw this cute rich media ad for Target's "Happy Together" campaign, targeted to college kids.

Its composed of harmonious extremes that appear one after the other, like flash cards: planner + dreamer, night owl + morning bird, extrovert +introvert. The accompanying illustrations remind me of the work of Liling Yu, who created Twitter's FailWhale.

Yu's art totally personifies the Web 2.0 aesthetic: bug-eyed animal friends, soothing pastels, and non-confrontational sans-serif typefaces, all culminating in brands that seem to want to play with us. That Target knows to tap into all this is part of what keeps it young, fresh and lively.

High Culture Got You Down? McCafe to the Rescue

In the latest TV spots for its McCafe label, McDonalds surrenders the art house crowd to Starbucks -- and liberates the crusty, football-loving Joes that never quite fit in.

This ad starts with two guys in a typical cafe scene, reading books and sipping coffee out of wide cups. One haughtily asks, "Did you hear McDonald's has cappuccinos now?"

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Naked, Taped Jessica Alba Wants You to Vote

There are stranger ways to encourage people to vote but this one from Declare Yourself featuring an undressed, taped up Jessica Alba -- which is somehow supposed to suggest only you can silence yourself (i.e. not vote) -- is up there on the strange list.

So are we supposed to be encourage to...rip the tape off Jessica so we can ogle her naked body? That might actually distract one from the necessary concentration required to make in informed decision when in the ballot booth.

Like clockwork, cause groups are outraged...OUTRAGED over the ad.

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