Fidolls: Not Your Typical Bubble Wand Fare

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To supplement the use of big balloon dolls (dubbed "Fidolls") in its guerrilla campaign, Canadian wireless firm Fido deployed whimsical floating Fidoll-shaped bubbles into the air.

Charming -- even if, after the Bravia bubbles effort, it falls a little on the scant side of sudsy.

In addition to repping Fido to both the earth-bound and the airborne, the campaign -- which invites users to text 411 to 10987 -- invites users to free "Fido Sessions," which cover topics like art and design. Artists involved in the sessions have included The Dark, Nicholas Di Genova and Jamie Campbell.

Nice to see a wireless provider -- whose services are so integral to city-trawlers' daily lives -- engage users in a way that enlivens their own creativity.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-27-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Guerilla



Ice Cream Man Seeks Beautiful People, and Hopefully Some Paparazzi

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I just got word that Ice Cream Man, which I guess hocks freezer pops to indie bands and starlets, is looking for events to sponsor. In addition to being liberally photographed with all the right people, the company's mission is to travel the world giving ice cream away for free.

Wish they were around when I was a kid, because seriously, those suburban ice cream truck guys were stingy. They wouldn't take pennies, for a start. If you're gonna make a living driving 2MPH and playing a repetitive tune in order to bait children into racing over to your goddamn truck, don't act like you're selling ribeyes in SoHo.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-27-08    
Topic: Events, Guerilla, Promotions



Xperience Uses Trivia to Jazz up Ford/Microsoft SYNC Tour

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Red-blooded brand Ford partnered with Microsoft to produce SYNC, a 28-city nationwide tour that kicked off at the 2008 Super Bowl. The power pair tapped Xperience Communications -- which either ran out of Xtra Es or pulled its name out of a retro hat -- to help fuel tech enthusiasm.

The tour sought to educate attendees about Microsoft technology in Ford vehicles: hands-free calling, audible text messages, voice-activated music, instant voice recognition (one would hope), automatic phonebook transfer, and multilingual capabilities, among other exciting distractions.

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by Angela Natividad    Aug-26-08    
Topic: Events, Guerilla, Outdoor, Promotions



Crop Circles Promote Whole Wheat Pizza

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To advertise its 100 percent whole-wheat pizzas, Papa John's flattened about six acres' worth. The delectable crop circle at left was created in a wheat field in Commerce City, so in- and outbound Denver International passengers can get a nice big eyeful of pie in the sky.

For those that may find this particularly inspirational, a company called Circlemakers specializes in producing crop circles for brand names. Clients have included Microsoft, Nike, Greenpeace (nothin' like a single serving of in-flight guilt), Hello Kitty, BP, and The History Channel. Oh yeah, and there's also Ad-Air, a gigantorama billboard maker that's infinitely less creative than a crop circle, but it could probably cover up a bad wheat-shaving nick with ease.

Many thanks to Keith at HR Bartender for the Papa John's tip.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-26-08    
Topic: Brands, Guerilla, Inflight, Outdoor



Jack Daniels Toasts Conventions With Wild Postings

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Arnold, with help from Yeehaw Industries letterpress, has launched a campaign for Jack Daniels consisting of wild postings near the Republican and Democratic national conventions as well as newspaper and a Discobama promotion at Denver's Lip Gloss. The creative, with headlines such as "Sometimes common ground is small enough to fit on a cocktail napkin," Drinking champagne is a perfectly acceptable way to celebrate being elected president...of France" and "Jack supports all parties," is presented with a 50's and 60's looking political campaign style.

by Steve Hall    Aug-26-08    
Topic: Guerilla, Outdoor, Poster



I Want Some Ass, Dammit!

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Calm down. Calm down. Maybe it's been a while since you've had the pleasure but let's conduct ourselves like the adults here and discuss this rationally. Humans, perhaps as a sick joke by our creator, were seemingly programmed to be obsessed with ass. Though when you think of it, an ass obsession is really kind of gross. After all, an ass's purpose is nothing more than a built in cushion upon which we can sit and rest our weary bodies from time to time. Oh and the gross part? Well let's just say it's home to that area through which unneeded refuse passes. And that's just nasty.

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by Steve Hall    Aug-25-08    
Topic: Guerilla, Racy



Pet Butler Van Sports Wishful Thinking on the Rear

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To better leverage the company van, Pet Butler's marketing director built a pair of eye-catching rear-end displays -- one with a dog reading on the toilet (tagline: "Until then, call us"), and one with a giant glob of poop steaming on an astroturf lawn ("Friends don't let friends scoop poop!").

The industrious MD says he catches people snapping pictures of the displays all the time.

Kentucky-based Pet Butler shovels and sanitizes doggy doo so clients won't have to. Funny service, but I guess it's in demand: it now serves over 1500 cities. (They probably don't do babies, but I'll bet that's an expansion option. Check out the website for more amusing imagery, cheesy puns and even some Pet Butler radio.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-25-08    
Topic: Good, Guerilla, Outdoor



UK's Channel 4 Explores Sunnier Side of Islam

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Channel 4 enlisted London-based doctor Farrah Jarral and filmmaker Masood Khan to discover what it calls "the sunnier side of Islam." (Not to be confused for the Sunnier Side of Truth, which is slightly more musical.) The pair went out to meet 500 men named Osama over the course of 50 days. Each was asked the question, "What do you love?"

This Osama loves freedom and that Osama loves life, family, photography, friends, snow, skate, surf, music, art, "being me" and flashing gangsta-gangsta peace signs.

See more at the Osama Loves website. This one is probably my favorite. He ought to be bearing a sign that screams "Osama loves CUTE OVERLOAD!"

by Angela Natividad    Aug-20-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Guerilla, Packaging



Giant Dolls Encourage Canadians to Change Mobile Providers

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Or not.

To harvest new users, Canadian wireless firm Fido deployed white male and female figures -- refugees of rebel bathroom signs? -- across Toronto. They've appeared as chalk art, or hanging from trees, and recently as big-ass balloon dolls, quietly coaxing viewers to text 411 to 10987.

The effort's been toted as the first Canadian use of "flogos" -- flying logos.

Rubberneckers that text 411 to 10987 get invitations to upcoming "Fido Sessions." Some, like the Art Sessions, seem infinitely cooler than the guerrilla campaign itself. See artist The Dark put up some wheatpaste art from an Art sesh. (Why Fido wants to teach art, I don't know, but if it keeps those crazy kids with knives off the streets...)

Organized by Bos, Toronto, which previously did a really neat thing for Fido where billboards threw snowballs at each other.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-20-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Guerilla



Modernista's Packin' for Handgun Violence Campaign

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Modernista! takes its contrarian methodology to the streets with a gigantor WE SELL GUNS! billboard and interactive campaign for Stop Handgun Violence.

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by Angela Natividad    Aug-20-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Guerilla, Outdoor