Campaign Targeting Black Gay Men Pulled

Claiming the campaign "demonizes black male sexuality" Black Gay Men's Leadership Council Treasurer says an AIDS ad campaign featuring a black man in cross hairs currently running in Philadelphia scares people rather than urging them to go get tested. The ad has been pulled from the city's buses, the campaign's website and posters and post cards have been pulled back.

Human Rights Campaign Says Be Nice

Here's a collection of human rights ads from Youth For Human Rights International which teamed with the Church of Scientology to create 30 PSAs, each of which focuses on a specific "human rights rule." Human rights aside, these ads just remind us how it's just much better to be nice to other people than to be mean.

Yet Another Blithering Idiot Used to Sell Something

Watching these new spots for Starz just reminds us there must be a lot of people in this business with an apparent inferiority complex. That's the only conclusion we can make after seeing so many ads that feature blithering idiots for the sole purpose of making the rest of us feel better/cooler/smarter/hotter. Does is really require an idiot to sell everything? Are we so insecure we need to see dumb people just to make us feel better? Please. Enlighten us. See yet another dufus in action here and here for Starz.

Heidi Klum AKA 'The Body' Launches 'The Body, AKA New VS Bra

We're a week behind on this but Supermodel Heidi Klum has signed a deal with Victoria's Secret to lend her nickname, "The Body," to a new bra the retailer is introducing which will be called, yes, "The Body." Klum tells us "this is probably one bra that every woman wants to have because it is so comfortable. It comes in eight different colors, it has no seams, no stitches. It is not the super sexy, lacy bra, but this is something functional that you want to have every day that is super comfortable and just great." The ad began airing nationally last week.

Explosive Pinkness Now Primary Method of Selling Bubble Gum

Apparently in acknowledgment that every method to sell bubble gum has been done to death, Toronto-based agency Youthography chose to go with a decidedly different approach for its client Bubblicious. Celebrating the gum's pinkness, the spot gets a bit orgasmic with the stuff in that odd. nonsequitor sort of way. Print accompanies.

Go! Retire Your Tired Wardrobe And Go Shop!

Creating a shopping mall campaign is usually right up there with creating a BRC for LCGC magazine but it looks like the folks over at Minneapolis-based Colle+McVoy had fun with this campaign for the area's Taubman Center shopping malls. The campiagn has a simple message: "Go." Go shopping. Poking fun at those who haven't shopped in years hence own a wardrobe worthy of a 50 year old trying to look fashionable as a chaperon at a high school dance, the campaign's message shame people into updating their wardrobe.

The campaign will appear outside of the shopping malls and consist of customized signage, door hangers, Transtops, train wraps, hot air balloons, coffee cup wraps, dry cleaning bags, bowling clearing arms, restroom mirrors and a Website. Check out the creative here.

Yet Another Fashion Brand Signs With Yet Another Supermodel

No sooner do we publish a piece on the ad industry's addition to sex and debate the merits of using one's beauty to better one's life and sell products for marketers, fashion brand Rampage has signed a deal with Petra Nemkova to appear in its fall print and online ad campaign. Created in-house, the ads will break in September issues of InStyle, Elle, Cosmopolitan and others. Anyway.

Chipotle Honest About Serving Dead Animals

It isn't usually expected that a restaurant be so honest in its ad campaign as to admit the product it serves kills animals but that's exactly what part of this Chipotle campaign does in a humorous manner. The campaign tag, "Honest Ingredients," ha s double meaning. It refers to Chipotle's goal of serving only meat that is "naturally and humanely raised and free of added growth hormones and antibiotics." It also refers to the company's progress towards these goals as reported in the print advertising, which states that given current availability and market pricing, "all Chipotle pork, about one-half of Chipotle chicken, and about one-third of Chipotle beef meet these standards." Check out all the creative here.

You can even create your own billboard copy at this site which has nothing to do with the company other than to have some fun with the ads.

Avis Sponsors New York Yankees, Try Really Hard

We all know Yankee fans are a rabid bunch but Avis, who is 'The Official Car of the New York Yankees" is even more rabid. They're not just corporate sponsors. They're fans. Two spots created by McCann New York and produced by Reginaldo make that points in a quirky but clear manner.

Chrysler Bites Back At Ad Age Over Ask Dr. Z Campaign

Chrysler is mad as hell at Advertising Age and isn't going to take it any longer. Reacting to a story by Jean Halliday on Chrysler's Ask Dr. Z campaign in which she pretty much trashes the campaign saying it didn't do much for the automaker, Jason Vines wrote an article on the company's The Firehouse press blog entitled "Truth Takes A Halliday." In the article, Jason lays out data which contradicts Halliday's article and claims the campaign is doing just fine. Since, in the inimitable wisdom of Vines who publicly promoted the blog when it launched but limited it only to "known and established media organizations," we can't link to the story so we'll just reprint it in its entirety here until Jason asks us to remove it. You'd think he'd want more than just press to see this good stuff. And Jason, we're not anonymous. Just click the About link above.

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