Dashboard Rock Could Excel a Bit Better at Rocking

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Dashboard Rock, which represents Mazda's attempt to cash in on the popularity of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, vibes like Dance, Dance Revolution for your fingers. You can also download 15 songs as you move through the game.

Now here are all the setbacks.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-17-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Campaigns, Games, Online, Worst



Facebook Profiles (And Their Friends) Auctioned on eBay

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It's unclear whether or not this is a joke but someone has placed ten Facebook profiles for sale on eBaby. The profiles, created by the same person but reflective of ten different types of people, are said to each have a minimum of 200 friends. Each profile was then actively integrated into the Facebook community through forums, events, networks, groups and all the other spider legs Facebook has to offer.

The seller is offering control of these profiles to marketers, writing, "Under the right conditions and for a fair price you will receive full control of these personas, as well as associated emails."

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by Steve Hall    Jun-12-08    
Topic: Social, Strange, Worst



ONDCP Puts Hispanic Parents on Drug Alert ... by Villainizing Their Children

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Coinciding with the (coincidental!) release of a CDC survey that found Hispanic teens more likely to use drugs and try suicide than black and white kids, the Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) launched this really weird campaign.

The heading above the girl at left says, "I sell drugs during recess." And here's one where a sheepish-looking boy divulges, "Yesterday, I offered marijuana to your daughter."

The effort will appear in print, on TV and over the radio.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-10-08    
Topic: Cause, Magazine, Poster, Worst



DVR Usage to Blame for Idiotic, Invasive Intrusions

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We did it to ourselves. Yes we did. With help from our much-loved DVRs. We started a war. A war between those who want to skip commercial and those who want people to see them no matter what technology exists to skip them. The latest in an increasing list of tactics comes from TBS which is running promotions during programming which involves pausing the show while an ad runs on the lower third of the screen. Right now, it's just station promos but, seriously, how long before we see paid advertising in this space? We did it to ourselves.

Some have pointed out the intrusive promotions are simply mirroring what's being promoted; the Bill Engvall show in a TV remote is a prominent plot element. Still. There's no doubt, after seeing this, every marketer will scream, "I want one!"

by Steve Hall    Jun- 5-08    
Topic: Cable, Television, Worst



Budget Elicits UGC from Budget Travelers ... and Totally Fails to Budget Wisely

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I don't really know what this video's all about, but I'm pretty sure it isn't worth $25,000 in prize money.

By the way, what a completely insane amount of dosh for a UGC contest. I mean seriously, way to piss off your bottom-line guys.

"Hey, chief. Uh, yeah. Not only did Budget not win new car rental customers, but our low-budget 'Travel Budget!' marketing strategy also cost us over 25 grand."

Just because you're not spending $2.5 million on TV doesn't mean you should wipe your ass with the savings.

UPDATE: It turns out the video linked above was made by Budget employees in a deluded effort to encourage more users to enter the contest. How. Very. Sad.

by Angela Natividad    May-23-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Online, Worst



Meth Airs Whine Reel, Chevy Laughs at Citroen, Yahoo Extorts for SEO, MoveOn Outs Hitler Lover

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- I thought this Meth Minute video would be a wacky cartoon about abusing methamphetamines. But it was just a reel of complaint calls.

- Oprah's Angel Network and Free the Children have formed the O Ambassadors project, which "encourages young leaders to dream."

- MoveOn wages war against Pastor John Hagee, who said Adolf Hitler was a God-sent hunter of Jews. Hagee is one of McCain's "key backers," and McCain is currently MoveOn's pet project.

- Chevy considers how impractical a dancing car would be.

- Yahoo offers an under-the-table paid program where you provide the description ad copy for the ORGANIC RESULTS of your website. And it'll only cost you TWENTY CENTS per click. This is because Yahoo's spiders might fail to properly process your SEO efforts. Little wonder Jolie O'Dell calls it "frikkin criminal." (We second the motion.)

by Angela Natividad    May-23-08    
Topic: Brands, Online, Political, Strange, Video, Worst



You Can't Blame InGrid for Trying. You Can, However, Resent It

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InGrid Home Security recently tapped video site National Banana -- whose online offerings include "Gay 4 Obama" and "Spitzer Call Girl Resigns" -- to help build some saucy new ads.

Yeah.

See the results of the collabo on InGrid. The idea behind the spots is to compare InGrid's sexy "wired" home security with the cumbersome systems of yore. The out-of-touch dad/embarrassed-young-daughter gimmick was not lost on us.

Horrid.

by Angela Natividad    May-13-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Online, Television, Worst



It Goes to Show: Video Games will Shrink Your, Uh, Manhood.

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Or possibly just turn it into a thumb. TBWA\Wien, Vienna: what were you thinking?

Gizmodo, which is now an Xbox convert, says the PS3/Playboy ad was not formally approved by Sony. That's nice and all, but it's still repelling people right and left.

At times like this, it's not enough to say "Sorry, this ain't ours." Contrary to popular belief, a crappy ad can adversely impact sales. Sony needs to pull some Vatican crap and deploy a creative assassin. Or maybe some sort of secret weapon, like the Giant Mouse of Minsk.

by Angela Natividad    May-13-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Poster, Worst



If You Don't Like an Ad, Call Your Lawyer. It's the American Way

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Oh for fuck's sake. Get over yourselves! You want to sue because a marketer pokes fun at your business? Can we just kill all the lawyers now? Or, rather, the stupid laws that enable them to file lawsuits for the most ridiculous reasons?

OK, so no lawsuit has yet been filed but Rico Gerardo, owner of the San Francisco restaurant Taqueria, wants to talk to his lawyer because Comcast SportsNet has placed an as near his restaurant which reads, "I don't know where a good burrito is, but I know where the A's are"

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by Steve Hall    May- 9-08    
Topic: Strange, Worst



Creative Manager Pro Gets All Whatchamacallit Whosiwhatsit Workamajig-y

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This has to be a joke. Seriously. Creative Manger Pro, the agency software package that helps manage the creative and billing process, has changed its name to - um yea...this makes a hell of a lot of sense - Workamajig. Why? Because...um...as VP Ron Ause says, "The old brand did not properly reflect the product and organization behind it. Our old brand was too straight laced and did not properly convey what we are all about."

So...it's a product to help creative professionals manage the creative process and Creative Manager Pro doesn't properly convey that?

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by Steve Hall    May- 9-08    
Topic: Agencies, Tools, Worst