Women Imprisoned for Wearing Dangerously Sexy Lingerie

Here's a really, really...REALLY bad lingerie ad but since out charter requires us to cover any and all use of sex to sell, we are obligated to share this drivel with you. You can just hear the thought process of the concepting session for this ad: "Dude, let's riff off the women in prison thing. It will be so hot!"

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Gap Returns to Original Logo

Backpedaling from one of the biggest marketing gaffs in recent history, Gap, following overwhelming public pressure, has, unsurprisingly, announced it will box it's new logo and return to the original design. Announced last week, the new logo, designed by Laird & Partners, was roundly mocked by the design community, especially when the brand asked designers to "crowdsource" new ideas (un-related to the new logo the brand insists) for free.

A statement on the brand's Facebook page now reads, "Ok. We've heard loud and clear that you don't like the new logo. We've learned a lot from the feedback. We only want what's best for the brand and our customers. So instead of crowdsourcing, we're bringing back the Blue Box tonight."

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Benjamin Moore Offers Freedom, Simplicity and...Um...Versality?

Unless you can find the word "versality" in the dictionary, it looks like a Benjamin Moore POP suffered a proofreading oversight. Writing on Dumb As A Blog, Susie Felber wrote, "What is Benjamin Moore's marketing department on? And do they need a new copywriter? 'Cause I am available." Well, BM, give Susie a call because it seems you need a better copywriter. Or at least a proofreader.

9/11 Memorialized With...Lottery Balls

Over the weekend, 9/11 memorials were held across the nation. In New York, one such memorial was held at at City Hall Park. Organized by inventors Steven Brandstetter and James Devlin of J&S Gaming, the event featured the pair's Lottery Ball Characters which were turned into life sized costumes to represent the likeness of a police officer and a fireman.

According to the press release, the purpose of the rally was to "pay tribute to the men and women who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect and serve our communities." Brandsetter and Devlin put the rally together with the consent of retired NYPD police officer Stan Jefferson who was reportedly forced into retirement because of an illness he contracted while working at Ground Zero.

Apparently, the government isn't doing all it can do and the rally aimed to bring that to the attention of the public.

The campaign also brought something else to light. The sad fact some people are so lacking in the common sense department, they have no idea when something grotesquely oversteps the line of acceptability. To diminish the lives of those lost during 9/11 to a couple of stupid lottery characters - as if the event were sponsored by Tony the Tiger or something - is deplorable, inexcusable and plain idiotic.

That is all.

Idiotic 'Rename Crowdsourcing' Project Down to 12 Finalists

In the It's So Stupid It Could Only Happen in Advertising category, we have an update on GeniusRocket and 99 Designs' attempt to rename crowdsourcing. The effort to do so was launched back in May. It was stupid then and it's stupid now.

Whether a proponent crowdsourcing or not, the process already has a name and its a perfectly good one. This renaming project just reeks of late 90's high tech companies which, over and over, just made up new names for categories they wanted to own hoping they would stick. OK, so some terms did stick but renaming a category isn't something you take on lightly. And not for a stupid $1,000 prize.

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Nokia Outted As Purveyor of Plagiarism in Cannes Video Contest Scandal

Here is a personal statement sent to us from Jemma Lyon, the woman who was accused of plagiarism for submitting what appeared to be a direct copy of a previous video created by Will Tribble. We covered the story originally here. As it turns out, Nokia is said to have sent a rep to help Jemma Lyons shoot her video submission for the contest. According to Lyons, the rep used Tribble's video as a template and told the actors to simply do what they saw the actors do in Tribble's video.

If anyone's to be accused of plagiarism here, it is Nokia. If Lyons claim is true, there is simply nothing Nokia can say to explain this away. Nothing at all. There's been some very bad social media moves over the past few years but this one, by far, will go down as one of the most egregious.

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Ogilvy Mexico Gets Grand Prix Yanked For Double Entry

Sadly confirming there are many in this industry who continue to lie, cheat, steal and bend the rules for their own gain, The Cannes Press Grand Prix winner, Ogilvy Mexico for Mattel Scrabble, was disqualified by the jury because it was discovered the campaign had been entered previously. Malicious maneuver or innocent mistake is unclear at this point. Gold winner Almap BBDO for Billboard Magazine has been elevated from Gold to Grand Prix.

Is it any wonder the public still ranks us right up there with car salesmen when it comes to honesty and integrity?

UPDATE: And unsurprisingly, two other double dippers have been discovered; one from the very winner of this Grand Prix, Almap BBDO.

Volvo (Very Poorly) Partners With Twilight Movie Saga

This is, by far, the worst car commercial brand partnership ever. Suburban yuppie-mobile Volvo and teen/tween sensation Twilight Eclipse. Yea. Seriously. It's as if someone placed a Jack and Jill Went over the Hill soundtrack on top of a Rob Zombie movie. Yea, it's that's odd.

OK, so yea, the Twilight character's parents might drive a Volvo but just watch this commercial and marvel at how bad the pairing is. Actually, it's the comparison between raging hormonal desire, lust, love...and a piece of metal. OK, so yea, we equate emotion to automobiles all the time but just watch this ad and watch how bad the pairing is. Yea, we wrote that twice. Because this commercial is twice as bad as any car commercial we've seen in a long time.

We blame Arnold, EuroRSCG 4D.

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Yawn. Microsoft Does Flash Mob For Office Launch

When will Microsoft realize there's absolutely nothing it can do to associate even the tiniest bit of cool with its brand? In yet another lame attempt, we get this flash mob stunt the brand did yesterday in New York's Lincoln Park for the launch of its new Office product.

It's as bad as that in-store dance disaster they did last Fall.

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Chevrolet to Ban Use of the Word "Chevy"

Earlier this week, Chevrolet's VP of Marketing Alan Batey sent a memo to Detroit employees instructing them to stop using the word "Chevy" to describe a Chevrolet. The car maker aims to promote uniformity and believes the word Chevy dilutes the Chevrolet brand.

Claiming it's all about consistency, the memo read, "When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple for instance, one of the things they all focus on is the consistency of their branding. Why is this consistency so important? The more consistent a brand becomes, the more prominent and recognizable it is with the consumer."

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