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Watching CNN Will Warn You, Distract You While Robbers Clean House?

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Our first reaction to this Turkish CNN ad by DDB&Co., Istanbul, was "Hey, they're staring at us." Our second reaction was, "...Hey, that's mean." (See variations uno and dos.)

Consequent two-second bummed feeling aside, we thought the in-the-box effect was mighty clever. But one could probably argue CNN more distracts than informs, because while the watchers idly admire us looking doe-eyed and confused, their houses are being robbed/hit by helicopters/scorched.

Slogan: "Be the first to know." Right, so you don't find out during 15 minutes of consequent lame, post-disaster.

by Angela Natividad    May-31-07    
Topic: Brands, Magazine

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United Colors of Benetton Returns From Dead With New Campaign

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The United Colors of Who? Oh, Benetton. Sorry. It's just been years since we've seen anything from the clothier. In fact, we figured they went out of business but no. They are back and this time they are taking on the cause of domestic violence. Each ad stylishly coordinates their clothing line's colors with the bruises on women's faces to drive home the message. Damn. Did we just say "drive home the message?" Sorry, we thought we left that in the conference room years ago after realizing a message can't actually be driven and that saying stuff like that makes one appear to be an idiot. OK so maybe mobile billboards are an exception but we digress.

Benetton is back and they have a message. And as a bonus, maybe the campaign itself will deliver its own version of violence in the form of a slap upside the head of fashionistas who are more concerned with how they look than the plight of women around the world. Damn, that was bitchy.

UPDATE: Surprise, surprise. They're fake. Yawn.

by Steve Hall    May-30-07    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Good, Magazine

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EA: School Sucks, Come Play Potter

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For EA's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game, Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam remind school kids why lives of fantasy can be way better than everyday education.

See another variant on the print campaign here.

We remember grade school. It was hard enough to drag our asses to class without having to deal with moving stairs, talking pictures and breaks in which we may actually be, well, broken.

Otherwise, the print images speak a thousand favourable words for the quality of the game.

by Angela Natividad    May-25-07    
Topic: Games, Good, Magazine, Poster, Promotions

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Mylanta Campaign Borrows From Harry Potter

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Looks like someone watched a Harry Potter movie right before concepting this ad campaign for Mylanta. Just as Harry blew up his aunt until she floated away in the second (I think) Harry Potter movie, Colenso BBDO, who, we're told, created the campiagn, has people blowing up with gastrointestinal gas and floating away. Mylanta, of course, is there to rescue. See all the ads here.

by Steve Hall    May-24-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Good, Magazine

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Rich Man Still Stands, Virgin Flys, Seinfeld Jumps, Young Read

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- The City Desk examines the 60 year history of the Richman Spectacles rich Man iconic neon sign that sits atop the Deputy Tyrone Campbell Building on Pearl Street. The area was once called Squint Alley due to the overwhelming brilliance and quantity of neon signs that once graced the area.

- Virgin Atlantic Airways has put its account in review. Crispin Porter + Bogusky has had the account since 2003 and will not defend.

Catch Seinfeld promoting Bee Movie by jumping off an eight story building in Cannes.

- Oddcast is having fun with its Baby Mail.

- Cynopsis reports, "The CW is planning on not selling traditional commercials in the new trend-watching series CW Now on Sunday nights. Instead, the network will integrate marketers into the show as sponsors for specific segments such as fashion, beauty or music. This fall, The CW will also sell five-second spots called "cwickies" to advertisers, in particular movie studios, three times throughout a show or during the course of a night, followed by a longer-form commercial, like a trailer. "

- Apparently, new research suggest young adults read more magazines, not less.

- Check out the Creativity Award winners.

by Steve Hall    May-18-07    
Topic: Agencies, Celebrity, Guerilla, Magazine, Outdoor, Research

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Superpower Screw-Ups Get Revisited for Smart

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Vlan! points us to some ads for the Smart car, a vehicle that, however practical, looks just as awkward as the expressions crystallized in these winning moments for icons like Saddam and Bush.

Awkward.

Smart's slogan: "Open your mind."

We wonder who they're talking to. We're pretty sure none of these foiblers suffered from lack of imagination - they all did some zany things that ended up upsetting most everybody in the world.

Could it be that we're supposed to identify with them? If that's so, the tags on the ads aren't deeply encouraging. For example, the line just above Clinton's frowny face reads, "Interns and cigars. Not smart." No shit, Sherlock.

by Angela Natividad    May-16-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Magazine

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Back? Knee? Head? Butt? Stomach? Gigantic Breast? Vaseline Doesn't Care

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It's a back. It's a knee. It's a head. It's a butt. It's a distended stomach. It's a gigantic breasts. It's a...wait...should we have to work that hard to figure out what a visual is in an ad? Of course not but in this case it really doesn't matter because this is an ad for a skin care product. And back, knees, heads, butt's, stomach and gigantic breasts all have skin. In this ad for Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Butter, the marketer keeps us guessing which, when you think about it, is one great way to get people to pay attention to your ad.

by Steve Hall    May-15-07    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Good, Magazine, Strange

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Doc Martens: Will Dead Idols Revive Sleeping Brand?

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When a hot rock star dies young, idolatry takes an immortal leap. Hoping to piggy-back this star-crossed love is Doc Martens, who tapped Saatchi & Saatchi, London for this U.K.-based poster campaign.

Fallen stars Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer compose the centerpiece of this print and poster collabo.

Writer Andrew Petch tells AdCritic, "We wanted to communicate that Dr. Martens boots are 'made to last,' and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them. Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots' durability perfectly."

Well, let's hope customers think "durability" and not "premature death."

by Angela Natividad    May-11-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Magazine, Poster

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7 Eleven Helps Adrants Balance Editorial Coverage

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Thank you, 7 Eleven! Finally, we can feature an ad campaign that objectifies men. Rather than scantily clad women, we have scantily clad men vamping for 7 Eleven in Australia to promote the chain's frozen Slurpee. With gleeful abandon, the men in the ads are given the full beefcake treatment and portrayed as poolboy, pole dancer and maid. Contrary to what one might assume, this reverse double standard-ish campaign was not created by a bunch of giggling female creatives sitting around the conference room table but by five guys at Leo Burnett Melbourne...who probably also giggled madly while sitting around the conference room table. This ought to keep us editorially balance for at least another year, don'tcha think?

by Steve Hall    May-10-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Creative Commentary, Good, Magazine, Racy

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Chivalry's Not Dead, Cosmo to the Rescue

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Most of us have done that (transparent) thing where we text a friend and beg them to call with a life-altering emergency so we can ditch a date.

To rid us of the inconvenience of praying for follow-through, Cosmo hosts a call-back service that enables serial daters to pre-set a time for the phone to ring.

Because the ringing effect just ain't fancy enough, you can select the type of caller you want, too.

Consider the potential. This doesn't just make date-ditching easier; it also makes check-skipping more convenient. And it would probably make a unique morning wake-up call too.

The function is powered by Moderati and can be accessed at the mobile component of the Cosmo site. The service costs a dollar and, we suppose, saves you some dignity.

Thanks go out to Snackable Content, who knows how the single do suffer.

by Angela Natividad    May- 4-07    
Topic: Magazine, Mobile/Wireless, Online, Trends and Culture

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