At Crowd's Command, Getty Shoots a Dwarf. In Skates.

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To maintain its iron grip on the stock photo industry, Getty records searches and commissions shoots when enough people have searched for an image that can't be found.

To wit: a truckload of people recently queried "rollerblading dwarf." As promised, Getty had its photographers whip out the ambient lights and hunt down a highly mobile midget.

The result is at left. And because mass consumption of "rollerblading dwarf" images is just soooo quirky, agency Think Meets Do launched a Getty-whoring Facebook group in its honour: Search for a Rollerblading Dwarf on Getty Images.

Yeah, there probably could've been a better name for that.

Future shoots (those likely to be repurposed as an ad campaign, anyway) include shooting a crying lobster, and a llama in high heels.

by Angela Natividad    Dec- 8-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Promotions, Social, Strange



Yawn. Oh Wait, Not Yawn! It's Time For Another Sony Commercial!

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Balls! Paint! Play-Doh! Foam! Zoetrope! Zoetrope? Say what? Yes, it's time for another grand scale Sony commercial and it's being shot right now in Northern Italy. The ad will feature Brazilian footballer Kaka and the the world's largest zoetrope as vetted by the Guinness Book of Records. The zoetrope, a device invented in 1834 by William Horner which creates short films out of static images, measures 30 meters in circumference and 10 meters in diameter.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 4-08    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Social, Weblogs



MINI's 'Creative Use of Space' Extends to Promote MINI E

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Extending the Creative Use of Space campaign for MINI, which just won an Epica Silver Award, Berlin and Frankfurt-based Kreative Konzeption is out with a new promotion fo the MINI E, an electric powered version of the famed MINI. Housed on the campaign's Mini Space site, a design competition - the third for the campaign - called Electrified seeks to extend the original campaigns goal of encouraging creative use of space.

From site design to MINI rooftop design, entrants can submit their designs and view those of others on the Mini Space site. Four hundred designs have been submitted to date and a winner will be chosen February 4, 2009 by MINI Design Director Gert Hildebrandt along with the community.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 2-08    
Topic: Events, Good, Online, Social



Newspaper Ad Revenue Plummets, Interns Rock, Kmart Gets Buzz

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- The Newspaper Association of America reports newspaper ad revenue fell 18.1 percent or almost $2 billion in the third quarter of 2008. Online newspaper ad revenue fell as well.

- AdGabber member Buddy Wachenheimer envisions what condom packaging would look like if it were sponsored.

- If your an agency struggling with workload after having laid off half your staff, check out YouIntern. It's always nice to, as YouIntern proudly states in its tagline, gain "freedom from coffee and coffee" so you can work on the more important stuff like sitting in a traffic meeting. Oh wait. Sorry about that. Bad example.

- IZEA is out with a blog campaign for Kmart which is getting a lot of Twitter buzz.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 2-08    
Topic: Agencies, Newspaper, Social



Claus is in Da House. Yes, Santa Gets A Makeover

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Come December, Santa begins to make appearances the world over and since some easily tire of tradition, others are there to shake things up. Actually, no one really tires of Santa and his traditions. Just ad agencies trying to get a nut...and a chance to do something new to something old.

Because smartphones like the Palm Centro are supposedly all the shizzle, Santa, who just got a new one, needs his life upgraded as well. So Seattle-based Creature gave Santa a new haircut, a new suit, a new attitude, a diet and a new name, Clause - pronounced Klouse, of course.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 1-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Creative Commentary, Outdoor, Social, Television, Video



GM/Ford Talk Social Media, B-52's Chime, Cunning Turns Ten

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- Two key players shaping Detroit's social media strategy, Ford's Scott Monty and GM's Christopher Barger, appeared on The BeanCast, this week to talk about their social media efforts for the auto industry, the proposed bailout and that private jet fiasco.

- The B-52s have lent their sound to NBC network's ongoing CHIME IN campaign recording its own version of NBC's chimes, which will air in promo form during the network's primetime lineup.

- Marketing agency Cunning is ten years old. Help them blow out the candles on their virtual birthday cake.

- On Tuesday, December 16 at the ADC Gallery on 106 West 29th Street, The Art Directors Club will host its holiday party where the Art Directors Annula 87 and the ADC Young Guns 6 Annual will be made available for purchase.

by Steve Hall    Nov-25-08    
Topic: Agencies, Industry Events, Podcast, Social, Television



Once Again, Men Are the the Doghouse. Courtesy of Facebook Connect

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As only Alisa Leonard-Hansen can, Razorfish's Saatchi & Saatchi NY's (we are told Razorfish's role in this was small to non-existent) use of Facebook Connect for JC Penney's Beware of the Doghouse gets roundly trashed for what she dubs a really poor use of FBC. Of JC Penney's use of a stand alone microsite with Facebook Connect, Alisa writes, " Because that is super useful and makes much more sense than say, integrating FBC into the JC Penney online shopping experience and thereby including friend data (purchases, wishlists, etc) into the product merchandising model."

Couldn't have said "missed Opportunity" better ourselves. Though some points must be given for trying.

by Steve Hall    Nov-24-08    
Topic: Bad, Social



Facebook Advertising Isn't Dead

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In an open letter to Facebook dovetailing, in a way, with recent comments from P&G's Ted McConnell regarding the inappropriateness of traditional advertising on Facebook, iCrossing Senior Social Media Analyst Alisa Leonard Hansen explores the social graph, Facebook's place within it, the value exchange it offers marketers and consumers and why Facebook really does have the "golden ticket" to the perfect monetization strategy.

by Steve Hall    Nov-19-08    
Topic: Opinion, Social



iJustine, Karen Get Lost in America With AT&T

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Surprisingly, there hasn't been much press on AT&T's Lost in America, a Wal-Marting Across America-style (sorry, Justine) travel blog program fronted by Justine Ezarik, a.k.a iJustine and Karen Nguyen. For a few months now, the pair have been "lost" in America and exploring Alaska, Austin and Chicago.

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Like, OMG, Chelsea OMG Goes to London!

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OK, so like. Oh My God. Wait, what? Like, scratch that. We, like, can't even, like, fake the lameness of Chelsea Puck, the bimbo, like, fronting a Bebo web series called Chelsea OMG which, like, has the American airhead in London, like, acting all stupid and, like, shit.

Sure. Chelsea's full of bubbleheaded cuteness and we'd definitely hire her as an intern at Adrants. If only to have her in videos, like, OMGing about ads and, like, stuff. But, like, OMFG, she gives us a headache! Check out all her video goodness here as well as on YouTube. Especially endearing is her Cloverfield-like freak out at the London Bridge and her Palin impression.

As pseudo bimbos go, we much prefer the cheerleader bimbo who did several videos to promote the move, The Comebacks. But we still wouldn't kick Chelsea out of...oops...sorry, that's disrespectful.

by Steve Hall    Nov-18-08    
Topic: Online, Social, Video