United Colors of Benetton has a quarterly publication for young people called COLORS Magazine. Each issue is themed and outfitted with occasionally controversial imagery, multicultural flair and an underlying desire to connect people through shared quirks and charming differences.
We don't think all print magazines are going to die, and we hope COLORS is one of the survivors. The content sometimes feels a little too self-conscious, but we dig its global roaming eye and its interest in burrowing into uncomfortable or strange topics -- like boys that like to wear skirts.
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French Vogue's set off the sensitivity meter with its decision to paint Dutch model Lara Stone black for the October issue.
Another thing that bears mentioning, if only for its strangeness: after painting Stone brown, the makeup artist painted parts of her white again for some shots.
This is racking up the usual stink about racism in advertising (Birth of a Nation comes, unbeckoned, to mind). Commentary ranges from "Why not just use an African model?!!" to arguments that the move is a statement on the complexity of race and identity. Some people also think this is a knee-jerk reaction; one user observed that the rag once dressed a woman up as a man, and nobody complained.
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- The Michelin Man is getting makeover. He's transforming into a "tire-chucking superhero." OK, then.
- WONGDOODY: The company, along with a few lucky staffers, will be featured on next week's Oct. 14 episode of "America's Next Top Model" as part of a "challenge" experienced by the season's petite models.
- Ooo. Ooo. Here's a good one from a reader: Bridge Worldwide, an ad agency in Ohio, is having employees spend the day selling the CMO's new book, Marketing With Meaning. They've sent my company four unsolicited emails about it, in addition to spamming social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Marketing With Meaning? I don't think these people understand what irony is.
- This is what those New York creatives who charge $750 per hour do with the money.
- Outside Magazine enters the world of Harry Potter moving media.
- Check out Milkquarious. It's about a rock idol, White Gold, who swears by the power of milk for strong bones, hair, teeth and nails.
- Yellow Pages guerrilla marketing campaign hits the target.
Fresh out of Singapore, and under the catchy slogan "Safe no matter what you make," Play-Doh's launched a series of magazine ads that depict weapons of suburban destruction made out of the claylike substance.
We like it, but only because we've relinquished all ties to the Kingdom of Heaven. On the serious though, the ads are running in at least one alt weekly rag that caters to free-thinking cafe-goers that are okay with this kind of humor without necessarily being god-awful parents.
See variants below the drop.
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Milk's seen a fine trajectory: from nondescript white cereal enhancer to mustache marks on famous faces.
Ladies and gents, we have come a long way from the Dixie Chick days. In partnership with X-Men Origins, Wolverine's whipping out his indestructible talons for the Body By Milk campaign.
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This new ad from McCann Erikson Duddeldorf for the Dusseldorf Panthers borders on gross but hey, it's advertising and we like things that are different. And this is different. We're not quite sure how it actually promotes football...uh American football...as in NOT soccer...which...is actually called football in Germany.
Confused? We were too for a minute. OK so the ball in the guys arm is clearly not round which is the point the ad tries to make. As in American football...not European football...as in NOT soccer...as in the game where grown men collide with each other on purpose in order to move a ball down the field.
Oh that's so Neanderthal compared to the ever so graceful soccer...uh football. Oops, that would be American soccer. Wait, what? Football? Soccer/ We are so confused.
What would a week of controversial ads be with a little Dov love. The UK's Vice magazine ran an American Apparel ad on its back cover which one, repeat, one reader was offended over. The country's Advertising Standards Authority then responded by banning the ad. Even though the model was 23-years old, the sexually suggestive nature of the ad was deemed too much. AA's British operations manager Brent Chase:
"Our models are real girls who are often employees or friends of the company. They do their own hair and makeup and aren't Photoshopped. From time to time people are made uncomfortable by this, and it occasionally causes an unfortunate reaction."
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...a yellow sousaphone. Everybody! FirstBank of Lakewood, Colorado seems to be doing okay in times like these because they're spending a lot of money on free. Outdoor executions from TDA in Boulder include interstate billboards, urban locations and backlit airport dioramas. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. Online, rich media versions are also planned. Check out all the versions after the jump.
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Hey, I'm trying to sex this stuff up, gimmee a break. It may not be as thrilling as Steve's AdTech booth babe pics, but this new campaign for the Aspen Skiing Co. that got sent in here seems to have an identity crisis. Maybe because the article is full of target-rich marketing speak. (Maybe because I'm also killing time until Steve's pics get posted.) Is it geared towards locals, or, everyone looking for a great ski vacation, or, people who are feeling the crunch, or... I'm not sure. "The new ads strive to get across the idea that people need to "reward" themselves during the recession" Hmmm.
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Adrants reader Gareth sent over Levi's tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy. It appeared in the Sunday editions of the Times and the Globe and sports a rambling and whimsical quote from the Sen. ("The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die"), then a message from Levi's itself: "Let us continue his legacy of faith in the people and faith in the work that has yet to be done."
Wordy but loaded with gravity. We like that it remains sparing and casual; apart from the text, a hand-sketched version of the Levi's logo appears over its current tagline: "Go forth," part of a campaign primarily targeted to meatheads at uni.
The ad reminds us of Kenneth Cole's "Different Shoes" campaign, and it's a wonder to us that KC hasn't seized this opportunity to add Kennedy to its list of creative-friendly quotables.
It could just be that we didn't look hard enough though, so if we're wrong, send that bad-boy over.
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