Father's Day Brings Yet Another Contextual Goof

We love a good contextual advertising screw up. We've seen more serious bloopers than this one but the placement of a Father's Day ad within a long article about domestic abuse probably isn't the best placement The Mirror could have chosen for this ad.

Redhook Gets Its Package Shortened

Red Hook is out with a new billboard, print and online campaign to tout its new shortneck bottles and give the bottle some 'tude. Created by Frank Unlimited, campaign headlines include, "Redhook is ok with you staring at his new package," "Redhook likes his new label, but he'd rather go commando," "Redhook looks forward to the whole spanking thing on his birthday" and "Redhook isn't the type to use 'party' as a verb. This year he'll make an exception."

The bi-coastal campaign includes thirteen different headlines. In the Pacific Northwest, they will appear in alternative papers including The Stranger, Seattle Gay News, Seattle Weekly; on urban and highway 14' x 48' and 20' x 60' billboards, and wallscapes; and on websites (eight banners only) including ESPN, Yelp, SeattleTimes, SeattlePI, Pandora. In New England, print placements are still to be determined, as are planned radio spots and P-O-P and event marketing.

Alzheimer's Ad Illustrates Zero Percent Survival Rate

Earlier this month, the Alzheimer's Association ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal with the headline, "We'd show an Alzheimer's survivor here, if there were one" and the copy, "0% survival. 6% the funding of cancer. 100% insane."

It's a powerful message and a clever concept. And an advocacy group for Lou Gehrig's Disease wonders where its powerful ad is.

Globe and Mail Redefines Itself. And Canada Along the Way

OK so why is it when we view this over-serious woman on a bicycle prattling on and on about how great Canada is, the only thing we want to do is reach out and unzip her sweatshirt? OK, yea,. it's out trademarked perversion. We all know that but this sounds like a State of the Union speech.

The woman asks us not to focus on current definitions of Canada but to look forward to things that haven't yet been done that will, one assumes, create a new definition of Canada. Oh, and by the way, the Globe and Mail will be there to help. Well, as long as they can get us to not focus on the death of the newspaper but on some news entity not yet invented.

Well, perhaps it just got invented today., Because today, October 1, is the day the Globe and Mail unveils a new look and direction.

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LA Times Angers Readers With Front Page Ad, Offers Lame Defense

On Wednesday the LA Times ran a full page ad on the front page of the newspaper for Law & Order: Los Angeles. While a wrap, the ad mimicked the actual paper's front page including the masthead and carried the headline, "Media Icon Hit by Crime Wave." To say the least, readers were miffed. One reader, Jesse Taylor, told ABC News, "I think it's irresponsible journalism but if their goal is to just shock then they did their job."

USC Creative Media Professor Doe Mayer derided the paper and NBC for the ad saying, "I think they've said something by what they've done. I think their actions speak far louder than any words that they can say. They've said that the commercialism of this, the financial implications of this are more important than what journalism should mean in our society"

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Smart Car Asks Belgians to Choose Black or White Clan

Maybe there isn't anything akin to the KKK in Belgium or maybe their whole outlook on race isn't so sensitive that they have to over analyze every last piece of creative before it goes out the door. Which is possibly why this Smart Car newspaper ad slid out the door without a " Wait, what?"

A newspaper ad taking the form of two adjacent columns asks readers to become a member of the white clan or a member of the black clan.

And as if to make some sort of riff on Ford Model T's classic color choice scenario ("you can have a car painted any color you want so long as it is black"), the copy reads, "white or black is probably the only question you still have."

The campaign offers a similar choice on a website as well.

Is this really a big deal or a creative means to offer up color choice?

Specsavers Offers 'Goal Line Technology' to World Cup Refs

Now this is just funny. Specsavers has taken advantage of the controversial disallowed goal during the England Germany World Cup match Sunday. It will run in The Sun, The Daily Star, The Daily Express and The Daily Mail today.

Pat Fallon Gets AAF Hall of Fame Status

- On March 25, 2010, Fallon Worldwide cofounder and chairman emeritus, Pat Fallon, will be inducted into the prestigious American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Fame.

- "The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue," an exhibit that celebrates the contributions made to advertising and popular culture by the real stars of Madison Avenue, will travel to Chicago for its first public showing outside of New York City. It opens at The Congress Gallery at 33 E. Congress, 1st Floor Gallery in Chicago on April 7, 2010 and will run until the end of the month.

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New York Times Awards Gothamist's Hatred With Massive Ad Buy

Apparently, Gothamist editor Jake Dobkin has no love for the New York Times and he made that very clear with scathing post on his Facebook page last month. That didn't seem to dissuade the Times from tossing a bunch of money Gothamist's way for a site-swallowing wallpaper ad. Nor did Dobkin's hatred of the Times stop his organization from accepting the Time's money.

You see? There really is a separation of church and state. That or, as Gawker posits, "Bitch, we OWN you."

Today Panera Bread Solves the World's Disagreements

Isn't there enough fighting and disagreement in this world? Enough wars? Enough celebrity battles? Enough high school clique battles? Enough brand wars? Enough feuds? Yes, there certainly are.

Panera wants it all to stop and, this holiday season, has invited everyone to make up and break bread. At one of their stores, of course. Created by Mullen, Panera ran this full page ad in USAToday this morning.

Among many of the feuds out there, the ad asks The Secret Service and The Party Crashers, The Mac Guy and the PC Guy, Rosie O'Donnell and Tom Selleck, Yoko and the remaining Beetles, Prius drivers and Hummer drivers, Kanye West and anyopne with a TV, Jessica Simpson and Perez Hilton, the FiOS Guy and that other cable guy, Housewives in Orange County ans Housewives in NYC, Dick Cheney and Hunters and Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas to put aside their disagreements and head to Panera.