Alex Bogusky Attacks Soda Brands With Parody Video

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Since he once worked on the Coke business while at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, one could argue Alex Bogusky is being hypocritical in creating an anti-soft drink video for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The four minute video, which features Coke-like polar bears, is a litany of facts and figures about how sugar is wreaking havoc on humans.

Or, one could argue he's simply providing awareness to the other side of the story; the story told by various cause groups that don't have enough clout to counter the billions spent on messaging by soft drink brands.

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by Steve Hall    Oct-10-12    
Topic: Cause



Belgian School Girls Forced to do Hard Labor

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Well this would certainly be a surprise. At several Belgian schools, Duval Guillaume pranked the girls into thinking they would be doing something special for the day while the boys headed to class. Well after thinking they'd be doing something fun, the girls were informed they'd be peeling potatoes, washing floors and cleaning toilets. Of course, they hated it.

When asked why they were being made to do these tasks, they were told, "Because you are girls." And when the boys wondered where the girls were, they were told, "The girls do girl things and the boys do boy things."

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by Steve Hall    Oct-10-12    
Topic: Cause



First World Problems Are Not Third World Problems

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Water Is Life, with help from DDB New York, is out with a new PSA that llustrates just how entitled and lame most of us in the first world are as compared to those in the third. And now that we're mentioning the first and the third world, why doesn't anyone ever talk about the second world? Is there one? If so, who lives in it and, for that matter, where is it?

Anyway, we like this PSA. Watch it and you'll feel like an idiot the next time you bitch about getting pickles on your burger when you asked for no pickles or when your phone charger cord isn't long enough to reach your bed.

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 5-12    
Topic: Cause



JWT Tests, Sun-Maid Spoofed, Fathers Emasculated

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- Pretty girls (and guys) test new JWT Amsterdam website.

- Here's an interesting Sun-Maid spoof.

- Tribal DDB created a site for VW to which people can link their Facebook profile and end up with a customized, personalized story.

- Yet another commercial that portrays fathers as irresponsible blithering idiot.

- Not an ad but worth the 14 minutes you will need to watch this short called Plurality which deals with privacy, surveillance...and time travel.

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 3-12    
Topic: Agencies, Cause, Commercials, Strange, Video



Relationship Violence PSA Created in Honor of Yeardly Love

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The One Love Foundation, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the Michael and Kim Ward Foundation, have launched "Be 1 For Change," a new campaign to combat relationship violence among 16 - 24 year olds. Created by Renegade Communications, the campaign is in honor of Yeardley Love, the University of Virginia Student who was murdered by her boyfriend.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-24-12    
Topic: Cause



Mental Illness No Laughing Matter in This Video

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A new PSA for the UK Department of Public Health takes a long, hard look at mental illness and really hits home by illustrating just how unfunny it is how how deeply it can affect one's life. In the video, a student stands up and shares with his classmates just what his life is like. The class, initially laughing at the boy's antics, begins to understand what he's all about and what he's trying to survive. Powerful and engaging.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-19-12    
Topic: Cause



Women Trampoline Topless For Male Breast Cancer Cause

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To call attention to the fact "men get breast cancer too," MCAC and CoppaFeel are out with with a promotional event called The Topless Female Trampolining World Championships. Yes. Seriously. Why should female breast cancer have all the boobie-based fun? OK, it's not a real event but the promotion, the girls and the cause are very real.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-17-12    
Topic: Cause, Racy



Nicole Kidman, Willie Mays Discuss Importance of Role Models

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Nicole Kidman, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Moore, baseball legend Willie Mays and other Hollywood celebrities have lent their voice to a new PSA for Futures Without Violence's Respect Challenge. The PSA calls importance to role models in young people's lives.

The Respect Challenge was made possible by AKQA who provided strategic consultation and secured $400,000 in donated online advertising space for the campaign and contest, by Wildfire which volunteered its services to design and implement the Facebook application and by America Online's in-house creative team who offered their services to create online banners and advertising units.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-11-12    
Topic: Cause



UNICEF Pinterest Board Raises Awareness of Third World Needs

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Calling attention to the plight of children in Third World countries, Weapon 7 has created a Pinterest board for UNICEF that highlights the items the world's poorest children around the world need. The Pinterest board was created using the profile of Ami Musa, a real 13-year-old girl living in Sierra Leone but the focus of the effort is to call attention to children like Ami all over the globe.

All of the pins lead to a UNICEF site on which people can make donations towards helping these children. Admirable effort

by Steve Hall    Sep-11-12    
Topic: Cause



Comedian Asks For Hereditary Breast Cancer Support

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Comedian Steve Hofstetter, whose birthday is today, decided to use the day for something serious. He made a video discouraging his 8 million followers from birthday wishes, instead asking for donations to a cancer org that helped his wife during a difficult time.

Eighteen months ago, Hofstetter's wife, Sara, was diagnosed with BRCA, a genetic mutation linked to breast cancer. Over the past year, Sarah underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. She has recently fully recovered and has reduced her chances of getting breast cancer from 85 percent down to two percent.

Hofstetter would like to thank the organization, FORCE, that helped him and his wife through these difficult times by asking everyone to donate one dollar for the cause. We thought having been affected by the C word ourselves (no, not that C word, dummy), we'd help spread the word as best we could.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-11-12    
Topic: Cause