Dear Rance Crain: It's Time to Fire Bob Garfield

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Last week, we were sent a funny ad from AMV BBDO in which Mr. T guns down a speedwalker because it's just too goofy for Mr. T's style and, seemingly, for Snickers. Bob Garfield just reviewed it, gave it zero stars and called the thing...huh...homophobic? What a minute. What the fuck? Homophobic?? I'll be the first one to crap on an ad that is overtly homophobic but, seriously, WTF?? This is the furthest thing from homophobic. Homophobia NEVER crossed my mind when I reviewed this.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-21-08    
Topic: Commercials, Opinion, Worst



Apple Removes Mad Men's Cigarrette

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In what can only be described as supremely idiotic, the cigarette in the hand of the man who appears in the famed Mad Men promotional image was digitally removed when it was placed on iTunes to promote the sale of Mad Men Season 1. WTF? Does Apple think everyone who downloads this show will then run out to the store and buy a pack of smokes so they can smoke while watching the show? Are people actually this stupid? WTF?

by Steve Hall    Jul-18-08    
Topic: Promotions, Worst



Without Fellini's Finesse, Peroni Does No Justice to 'La Dolce Vita'

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Peroni's PR dude sent us the pitch for "Calendario," a new campaign tasked with depicting Peroni as a "timeless classic" and "Italian style in a bottle." (Well, hell. If you can get Italian style in a bottle, I suppose you would find it in the liquor aisle of your local grocer.)

We were then given a link to the Peroni website, where we found zip-zero on "Calendario." What we did find was Peroni's branded rendition of La Dolce Vita: 60 seconds long, stuffed with Peroni billboards and loaded with second-rate models that lack the five o'clock shadow and fleshy life of Federico Fellini's original cast.

That's what you'll find here -- if you can wait long enough for the damn page to load.

by Angela Natividad    Jul-16-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Worst



Truth Campaign Continues Broadway Musical-Style Idiocy

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It's getting really painful to write about the Truth campaign. It's become so horrifically bad, it makes one want to digitize one's hand, shove it deep inside the internets until it finds the neck of the entity that created this horror show, squeeze really really hard and put the entity out of its misery. You know who you are Arnold and CPB people! Do you seriously believe this stuff is any good? Damn, it makes one wish you'd bring Derek Beckles back!

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by Steve Hall    Jul-10-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Commercials, Worst



Philadelphia's 'The Weavers' Painfully Dull

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As part of the Philadelphia Tourism campaign, Red Tettemer found (created) a bunch of geeky bike weavers and adopted them for inclusion in the campaign. For an excruciatingly boring experience, check out The Weavers here. Maybe there's some witty twist at the end of the video but after three minutes of outrageously geeky lameness, patience was expended and attention moved elsewhere.

Apparently, there's more to the tourism campaign which will, hopefully, redeem the boredom The Weavers have caused.

by Steve Hall    Jul- 9-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Strange, Worst



Smooching Hubbies Targeted by Christian Group -- and the Ad Hasn't Even Aired Yet!

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The American Family Association has convinced Heinz to suppress a Deli Mayo ad that hasn't even appeared on American TV.

The spot features a male couple kissing good-bye. And unlike the trashy Snickers kiss ad, which generated national backlash during Super Bowl 2007, it takes a step toward normalizing the gay family:

Morning sun pours through an ordinary kitchen. Two kids dash downstairs to collect lunch from Mom, who turns out to be a man with a deli cap and a deep Brooklyn accent. Dad, a British businessman, yanks on his jacket and prepares to head out the door, when Mom goes "Hey -- aren't you forgettin' somethin'?"

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by Angela Natividad    Jul- 2-08    
Topic: Brands, Cause, Commercials, Television, Worst



Technology Advances, Draft Dorks Out, Yellow Pages Take Shot in the Dark

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- On her grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, a Millennial reflects on how the advancement of technology in the last century have made life different.

- To distract from its increasing irrelevance, the Yellow Pages is engaging in a few guerrilla stunts. Nothing we haven't seen before.

- Draft FCB is a new breed agency with great analytics. It's gonna transform this industry in a modern way -- and that means holistic offerings with a strong Return On Ideas, not to mention rad rock music and awesome whitewash camera tricks. And then we choked on our rapidly-escaping brain cells and died. From George "Fuck Louie, that's some 'Analytics' you've got there!" Parker, via MTLB.

- Some mothers want John McCain to keep their babies out of war. Others are begging him to take theirs. (Via.)

by Angela Natividad    Jun-30-08    
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Guerilla, Political, Spoofs, Video, Worst



Morbid Press Play Capitalizes on George Carlin's Death

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Today, not more than a few hours after word of George Carlin's death spread across the internet, this atrocity arrived in the Adrants inbox:

"Today, we learned of the passing of comedy great George Carlin, an unintentional champion of freedom of speech.

Over the years, the discussion of WHAT CAN BE SAID on TV has raised eyebrows, and court gavels. From "period" to "pregnant," how are companies talking to their audiences these days and how has it changed since years before.

An editor at [redacted] is available for commentary on this new media culture, including:

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by Steve Hall    Jun-24-08    
Topic: Magazine, Online, Opinion, Strange, Worst



JCPenney 'Endorses' Teenage Sex (Not Really, As It Turns Out)

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Come on. You know you can remember it. You were in high school and your boyfriend or girlfriend was on the way over to visit and the anticipation was killing you. Killing you! Your heart was pounding. Chills were running through your body from head to toe. You couldn't wait to see her/him when you opened the door. And when you did, a gush of warmth filled your body and you smiled a big smile. And then...you couldn't wait to tell your mother you were "just going down to the basement to watch some TV" so you could....go down the basement, each tear your clothes off the other and embrace with an urgency words can never describe.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Best, Brands, Commercials, Worst



'Son, I'm Glad You Like Your New Phone, But Let's Discuss Your Window-Wanking.'

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To promote the Secret touchscreen and 5-mp camera phone, LG puts it in the hands of a stalker who uses it to "interact" with a sleeping woman in another apartment. Wait for the part where he sighs, and the phone shakes, and the covers come off!

Engadget's take: "early-90s softcore voodoo porn." But it gets better. No promo porn is complete without the cheap comedic ending that makes everything feel safely commercial again. Well, unless you're P. Diddy.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-19-08    
Topic: Brands, Promotions, Racy, Strange, Video, Worst