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UPS Meets Its Deadline, Falls Short Elsewhere For client UPS, agency Doner and production firm Psyop imagine a helpless protagonist braving the challenges of a cardboard world to meet a deadline. The ability to print remotely liberates him in the end. The imagery is inspired but the ad suffers from mediocrity of narrative and a weak message. Next! '...and That's Why They Call It Continental Drift!' Australia's Kettle Chips tries its hand at self-aware gratuitous advertising -- the trick's that's fast become a must-do for any brand that wants to demonstrate it's down with savvy ad-saturated users. The piece is, blatantly enough, labeled "Commerce Blatantly Parading as Entertainment" by Ads of the World. It features a rich douchey guy reading a storybook to a harem of hot girls at a party. They show off their ironic smarts, and he reminds us more than once what the score is. "Tonight we are reading the tale of the hare and tortoise, and we'll attempt to relate it to Kettle Chips, who are paying for this ad..." 'Mirrors' Brings Enchantment to Sequestered Princesses Brazilian retailer Lilica Ripilica, which is like a more palatable Limited Too, is embarking on an effort under a new tagline: "Enchantment." Its first piece, "Espelhos" ("Mirrors"), depicts a little girl who slips into a pastel fantasy world where petals turn into butterflies and you get dressed in ribbons. An Agency Spot For... An Agency Well, you never heard of Danish agency We Love People until now but they've done one thing nobody in the industry has that we know of: Run a TV spot for themselves on national TV. Desperate move or why didn't I think of that headslap? It's not that the spot is memorable (below). At most, it's thoroughly generic, safe and disposable, like the majority of consumer advertising here. But it is notable for the self-promo move, something that raises another issue with the industry here. How long before American shops start advertising themselves that directly? The unwritten rule is/was that the work you do is your calling card. No agency would've left any type of signature on the work. But, times be changing and all, and maybe this is what small - mid shops have to start doing. An earlier tourist campaign by Red Tettemer included their name in the credits. Small move to test the waters perhaps. Advertising Jobs
This Season's Trend in Gamer Marketing? Necromancy. A spankin' new ad for Beatles Rock Band features the Fab Four alive and well, loitering with fans on Abbey Road. There's even an almost-convincingly-cut scene of George Harrison strumming alongside a kid with a Rock Band guitar. The frothy setting -- utterly devoid of the angst that made them not-a-band-anymore -- melts into animated versions of the Beatles themselves, beating their instruments over the coloured Rock Band bars that tell you what string to hit. Song featured in the ad is Come Together off their Abbey Road album. No strong feelings of disdain here; it's certainly a lot less callous than that one time Saatchi used All You Need is Love to sell diapers or the time Ben & Jerry's distilled the spirit of John Lennon in a hippie ice cream. Oddly -- and we might change our minds about this later -- the ad made the notion of bringing the Beatles back as an animated pleasure-band a lot less traumatizing than watching a stilted cartoon Kurt Cobain play marionette for Guitar Hero. It's cheesy, sure, but it could have been a trainwreck. Identity of the agency behind the ad remains a mystery for now. Word has it there'll be a reveal after the game comes out. Anyway, whoever you are, nice job; we'd be liars if we said the work lacked charm.
by Angela Natividad
Aug-31-09
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Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Promotions, Television NBC New York Plugs Local Cred with Quirky Shut-Ins We're not really sure what New Yorkers read to give them that Big City somethin'-somethin', but NBC New York wants the crown for itself. So it turned to Mother, which in turn conceived "Locals Only," a campaign that spotlights the website's granular take on the city. It's the spots that compelled us to visit the site, where we discovered it's a lot like HuffPo for deep-Manhattanites with a PG palate (more for NBC's sake, wethinks, than for the city's). Yesterday's big story was a taser-toting robber grandma; today you've got a happy ending to a very old kidnapping story. We also think the changing header -- "NBC New York [is intrigued by nude models]" -- gives it a personable touch, lending sass to a rag that, while not as gritty as NEW YORK POST, may well hold its own in the city's dense circle. But enough about the site; let's move on to the weirdos. The punchline's cheap, and the news tidbits at the end feel a little shoehorned in, but the caricatures are wicked. Discover Gives Cash Back, Advocates Buying More ...I guess that makes sense, although the five spots featured for Discover's new "Get Back" campaign do occasionally, if feebly, try suggesting you can also "get back" buddy time and family time and youth. But this really all just comes down to buy more shit. By the nonetheless well-meaning folks at The Martin Agency. The brand isn't strong in the first place; it's only natural that the message be blurry in equal measure. 'Sometimes I Think the Polar Bear ... is Just a Myth.' The Toronto Zoo has completed a brand-new habitat to accommodate the return of its polar bears. No, not sure where they're returning from, but it must've been some awesome digs because their just-finished gilded cage is 10 acres across and outfitted like the Tundra. To promote the exhibit, Lowe Roche is disseminating this spot in which a square but well-meaning dude mistakes the habitat for the real thing, then penetrates it and goes off in search of adventure and meaning. No Worries, Gamer. Time Warner Understands About the Laggage. If you've ever played a massive multiplayer online game -- or at least watched that one episode of South Park -- then you're well-versed in the frustrations of laggage. Lag is when you're in a crucial scenario in the game, but a crappy connection speed leaves your character in a vulnerable position just long enough to compromise you and your team.
by Angela Natividad
Aug-25-09
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Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Television, Trends and Culture Montel's Daughter Promotes Vegetarian Cafeteria Options If the children of celebrity chanteurs can draw a crowd to a promo, why not the children of celebrity talk show hosts? In an ad slated to debut tonight during ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 14-year-old Wyntergrace Williams will urge Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to require the inclusion of vegetarian options in school lunch lines.
by Angela Natividad
Aug-24-09
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Topic: Cause, Celebrity, Commercials, Political, Television 
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Source: Viral Video Chart
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