Anastasia Ashley and Gretchen Bleiler Seek Old Spice Interns

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Killer Legs Girls

Move over Isaiah Mustafa. Step aside Terry Crews. There's two new hunks...uh...hotties in town to pimp Old Spice. Anastasia Ashley, whom we've loved since she first appeared alongside her surfboard in an Airwalk campaign and Gretchen Bleiler, whom we dubbed "marketing's next It Girl" back in 2006.

Ashley and Bleiler have teamed to choose two interns for Old Spice Adventure, a campaign which will tout the brand's new Fresh Collection line of deodorant. The scents were inspired by the smells found in four locations around the world; Fiji, Matterhorn, Cyprus and Denali. Two of these locations, Fiji and Matterhorn, will be destinations for the two lucky interns chosen by Ashley and Bleiler.

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by Steve Hall    Apr- 6-10    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Promotions, Social, Video



Dr. Pepper Offers Bouncing Cheerleader Boobs on Chatroulette

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Uh. Oh. Get ready for the onslaught of brands on Chatroulette. We just noted Travelocity's appearance on the random chat service which was followed by French Connection earlier in the month. Now we have Dr. Pepper getting into the game for April Fool's day. All we can say is...at least they got a hot cheerleader. Just don't watch all the way to the end. "She" gets much less hot.

In a nod to what's really happening on Chatroulette, one commenter wrote, "I wonder how many penises Dr. Pepper had to wade through to get this done."

by Steve Hall    Apr- 2-10    
Topic: Brands, Racy, Social, Strange



Fiverr the New Playground for Cheap Marketers, Money-Hungry Agencies

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I will come up with a slogan for your website or product for $5. I will hold up a message on time square for $5. I will submit your site to all major search engines for $5. I will print screen your company logo on a t-shirt and wear it for a week for $5. I will consult your business on search marketing for 30 minutes for $5. I will design a custom web banner for your business for $5. I will write a memorable tagline for your business for $5. I will do a voiceover for your podcast/website/business for $5. I will design your Business Card for $5.

Well I won't but hundreds of fiverr members will. fiverr is a site on which people promise to to things for $5. And it's as simple as that. Browse. Click. Buy. If you need some simple, ad-related tasks done, this site is definitely worth a look.

And if you're an agency looking for the opportunity to wildly mark up costs to reap a ridiculous profit, this site is most definitely for you.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 1-10    
Topic: Social, Tools



Travelocity Gnome Joins Chatroulette

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Chatroulette, a random video chat service that's similar to speed dating, now has the Travelocity Gnome jumping aboard the chat-fest. It's not the first brand to try the service. French Connection did that early last month.

Travelocity agency McKinney mans the gnome who holds up signs with various messages including "This would be more fun if we were in Rio." Hmm. How long before some enterprising hacker invents an "auto-next" feature so everyone can avoid chatting with a brand while they are busy having cybersex (remember that term?)?

Regarding some people's natural inclination to work sex into every media form, Travelocity's Joel Frey told AdWeek, "If we run across that type of person we're not going to engage we him. We'll leave it at that. It's something that's a concern with a new and different form like this. As long as we're being disciplined, we can overcome that and keep it to conversations with people who should be thinking about trips."

So here we have a yet another new "social media" service and within months, brands are all over it. Is this a good thing? Is there a place for brands on Chatroulette? Do people really want to chat with a brand? Thoughts?

by Steve Hall    Apr- 1-10    
Topic: Brands, Online, Social, Video



YouTube Overlays, Foursquare Plays, American Apparel Displays

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- Foursquare was all the rage at SXSW this year. And they had a killer party with Ashton Kutcher in attendance. Now a new, location-based app, CauseWorld, allows you to check in to a box of Tampax. And other products. For charity. So it's all OK.

- YouTube now offers something else to distract us from the video we are viewing: ad overlays.

- In partnership with LookBook, American Apparel has figured out how to pimp itself without resorting to near naked teens in underwear.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-18-10    
Topic: Industry Events, Publishing, Social, Specialty, Video



Alex Bogusky Agrees to Facebook Fan Page 'Ransom' Demand

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Six months ago, two dudes from Twenty Three Engagement Marketing created a Facebook fan page using Alex Bogusky's name. They then created a ransom video offering to hand over the fan page if Bogusky would buy one share of the company for $1. yesterday, Bogusky bit and tweeted he'd agree to the offer.

The agency, which bills itself as being "six months old and ready to conquer the world," is drawing up an agreement which will inure Bogusky has no "creative superiority" over the shop. Hmm. As if he'd actually care but, hey, the dudes might as well cover their asses while they can.

File under stupidity.

by Steve Hall    Mar-18-10    
Topic: Agencies, Social, Strange, Video



Your Mom is on Facebook

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Several years ago when Facebook opened itself to the masses after having been exclusive to those with a .edu email address, I asked a college-aged student what she thought of the move. Her answer? "Creepy."

That icky feeling is now represented in a Back of the Class video in which the hair band laments the fact "My Mom's on Facebook."

Almost 200,000 people have viewed the hilarity.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-18-10    
Topic: Social, Video



Video Bible Crowdsourced

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An organization, I Am Not Ashamed, aims to create the world's first video bible. With a campiagn supported by print, online, outdoor and social networking, the organization is asking people to submit video of themselves reading passages from the bible. The goal will be to cobble together all the submissions into one searchable video compendium of the Bible.

So if you see random people citing bible verse on a street corner, don't immediately assume they are homeless kooks or religious freak with nothing better to do than shove their views down other's throats.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-10-10    
Topic: Social, Video



Rapportive's Ad Hijacking Browser Extension A Boon For Brands

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Google's not going to be a fan of this one. Cambridge UK-based Rapportive just released a Firefox and Chrome extension that boots ads off a person's Gmail page and replaces them with Retagr-style social media links and bio info of the person whose email you are reading. It'll also pulls in their Twitter stream.

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by Steve Hall    Mar- 5-10    
Topic: Social, Tools



Carlsberg Beer Wants Your England Team Talk

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Lee Washington sent us this OMD-created campaign for Carlsberg Beer. Hinging the campaign on the World Cup (that would be soccer for us Americans), the agency has created England Team Talk, an online video competition which asks people to show their support for the Three Lions.

Prizes include meting the players and appearing in the brand's next commercial. Here's the promotional video and here's one of the entrants the agency thinks has a good chance of winning. Not that she's talented or anything.

by Steve Hall    Mar- 3-10    
Topic: Consumer Created, Social, Video