McCain Invades Pork With facebook Game

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John McCain, the man who doesn't use a computer and has his wife tend to all his computing needs, has launched a Facebook game called Pork Invaders.The point of the game? Who cares but, damn, ain't McCain gettin' all jiggy with this internet thang!

by Steve Hall    Jun-23-08    
Topic: Games, Political



Armor All Plays Hot or Not with Champion Racecars

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Need a brainless diversion? Visit Choose the Champion.

Think fast: two cars pitted against each other. Who wins? Your click makes a winner. Questioning your value? Track your progress. Feeling aggressive? Upload your own car shot. Need a friend? There's a message board, too.

The whole thing is one big fat promotion for Armor All, brought to you by the immortal folks at Clorox.

Coupons available here.

by Angela Natividad    Jun-20-08    
Topic: Brands, Games, Online, Promotions



'Get Smart' Whored, Mommy Scolds McCain, Man Conceives Soda, Jack Hits the Track

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- matrixx pulls a fast one: to score coverage for a cross-promotion between Vespa, Subway and Get Smart, it produced a write-up for us. "Please do feel free to use or rewrite the whole thing," the matrixx rep said generously. What a nifty guy. And here we were thinking we had jobs to do.

- David and Goliath put together Jack's Track, a racing game that makes the most of Jack Daniel's NASCAR sponsorship.

- MoveOn says this anti-McCain ad is its most effective ad EVAR. It involves a baby. Meh.

- Bun in the oven? Learn how to troubleshoot.

- What a strange way to market a cola. I'm disgusted. But also sold.



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.

more »

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



Mentos Continues Kiss Fetish With Kiss Fight

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Unless you''re into rough play or S&M, fighting and kissing usually don't go together. Unless, of course, the fighting and kissing take place during Mentos' Kiss Fight. So if you're bored, like to repeatedly press your keyboard's arrow keys or just didn't get it on they way you thought you would with that hottie of your dreams this weekend, have a go at Kiss Fight and get your kissing needs met.

It's a little less sick than Mentos' earlier effort, Kiss Cam. But not much.

by Steve Hall    Jun-15-08    
Topic: Games, Good



Life Changing Box For Sharp Aquos TV?

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The promise of the extraordinary. The surprise of something new. The power to bring change. It's... It's... It's... Life Changing Box, a Lowe-created site and Facebook game that involves a box, co-ordinated game play and prizes. Beginning today and running for a month, no one's saying who it's for right now so, if you care, you're just going to have to play the game and wait.

It's all fairly intricate but here are some overview points from the release:

  • There are 10 boxes total in the game
  • To gain possession of a box, users use a currency called a Touch
  • All players get 24 "Touches" per day
  • Each Touch enters the player into a Round
  • At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players who entered that Round
  • The player given the box holds it for the entirety of the Round, which lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application
  • If the box doesn't open in a Round for the player, a new Round will begin and everyone must Touch the box again to participate
  • 20 prizes will be awarded with values ranging from $400 to $14,000
  • If you invite a friend to the application and they win, you win a duplicate prize

Let's hope it is actually life changing and not some lame promotion for some lame brand. All the details are here, the box is here and the game is here.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-12-08    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Games, Online, Social



Lingerie Localized, Faith Pops Corn, Wii Wins, Drivers Challenged

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- Oh we've all seen this intentional censorship thing before in countries that don't love skin but hey, in the name of providing comprehensive coverage of the worldwide advertising landscape [Ed. Huh? You've got to be friggin' kidding!], we must share with you these CHANGE lingerie ads which were designed for the Saudi Arabian market.

- Here's an interesting sound mix from DDB Londo for Volkswagen. The agency (more accurately, it's production company the band, Orbital) did a quick shot edit of the commercial using sounds generated within and around the car.

- Faith Popcorn thinks "'Sex & the City: The Movie' comes at just the right time for a nation exhausted politically, emotionally and financially - and signals a growing desire to escape that idea-strapped marketers can use to their advantage." OK.

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by Steve Hall    Jun- 6-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Games, Industry Events



Coins Shot, Creative Boxed, Coal Hyped, Game Trailered

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- Hey if shooting's your thing, Wild West Coinfest might be to your liking. It's for something.

- The Year Of Creativity Box is an AdmCom initiative meant to encourage people
to reinvent themselves every day and stimulate their creativity.

- If you're thinking about a career in coal mining, these videos might just push you over the edge...or cause you to run in the other direction.

- The PSFK Conference in San Francisco, to be held July 17, is lining up some great speakers including, yes, George Parker, David Armano, Gareth Kay and Rohit Bhargava.

- A trailer for an online game? Yes, indeed. Buffalo Wild Wings is debuting a new game June 2.

by Steve Hall    May-29-08    
Topic: Games, Industry Events, Video



Toyota Prank Call Campaign Gets Double the Mileage Out of UGC

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In exchange for a little bit of personal information, Toyota Matrix will trick one of your friends into thinking that some nightmare stalker version of you wants to live with them.

But that's not the best part!

Promote this effort in a video ad and turn it in here. If your video goes live on Current.com, you could win $2500. And if Toyota decides to use it somewhere else, expect to cash in on up to $60,000, depending where the spot appears.

The campaign is called "Your Other You" -- which I guess is apt, since it's the "dark" you that will be freaking out your friends, and the lame aspirational Ashton Kutcher-wannabe you that will be proliferating the idea on video.

Way to ride the same mule twice, Toyota.

by Angela Natividad    May-26-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Games, Online



DC Commuters Play Hopscotch for Rail Safety

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I bet subway stations are among the most bountiful wellsprings of suicidal feelings. They are generally ugly, reeking of piss and bad food, and we get stuck at some such place for longer than we'd like, contemplating the person and/or creative career we failed to pursue.

No wonder people fling themselves into the tracks.

Exit10's "Life is Fun" campaign for Washington, DC METRO gives commuters games like hopscotch and I Spy to pass the time. The message: "Life is fun. Keep on living. Use caution around the tracks."

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by Angela Natividad    May-13-08    
Topic: Cause, Games, Good, Outdoor