GM Re-Tags, Celebs Speak, Mullen Jets (Blue), Effies Drink Beer

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- GM's new tagline: Excellence for all. Seriously? Seriously?

- Celebrities speak out against poor fishing practices which harm dolphins.

- JetBlue has selected Mullen as its new ad agency.

- The effie's, along with Heineken, are honoring student creativity with the Collegiate PSA Challenge.

- It's Finnish but its about blogger/TBWA designer Riku Vassinen an his new digital marketing book. It's a cover version of Mobb Deep Shook Ones Prt.2. We heard "Foursquare" though.

- Idiotic ad of the day.

- Former Adrants Editor Angela Natividad, who will be back to cover Cannes for us this year, is covering Social Media and Community 2.0 in Boston this week. Her first post is entitled OMG! We Need to Do Social Media!

by Steve Hall    May- 3-10    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Cause, Celebrity, Industry Events



Oh Look! There's Going to be a Car Crash

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This don't talk/text and drive thing has been done many times before. As soon as the commercial begins you know exactly what's going to happen. It's a forgone conclusion. There is no surprise. But there is something about the impending doom that delivers the message.

But much like ads which urge us not to smoke or drink or do drugs, we humans do not give our habits and vices lightly. And convincing people to put their mobile phones down while driving...even though there are laws against using the devices in many states...is not an easy task. It's kind of like asking people to give up sex. Our love for mobile connection is that strong.

But we wish Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Studios, The Governors Highway Safety Association and The Department of Transport well with their efforts. The Cartel produced.

by Steve Hall    Apr-30-10    
Topic: Cause



College Students Strip For 'Epic Sexy Charitable' Axe Undie Run

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Holy Hot Humanity! Hot college students across the nation will, once again, strip off their clothing and donate it to charity in a ten school competition that promises to, well...be much less hot than it's portrayed in this promotional video.

No, women won't be running around campuses with thongs on. No, women won't be tearing off their shirts to display their bras. No, guys won't be running around in their boxers. No, a girl with "Kelly" written across her underwear won't be riding around on a chariot.

More likely, what we will see are fully dressed college students with kitchen trash bags full of extra clothing walking slowly across campus to place them in Axe drop boxes.

Yea, we know. Ads are always more exciting than the reality they depict.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-28-10    
Topic: Cause, Promotions, Racy, Video



ADC Showcases, Effie's Announce, Bono Pimps FIFA

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- The Art Directors Club has launched YouTube Show & Tell, a "showcase for the best ad/marketing content on YouTube." The ADC will pick the content and a rotating panel of reviewers made up of top creatives and designers will lend commentary.

- Each agency participating in Portfolio Night 8 has created a video to hype the event in their city. Here are the first three from Ogilvy & Mather London, David & Goliath LA and Perfect Fools in Stockholm.

- If 500 people tweet "@SupercoolAgency #LoseTheCig" the agency will change their logo. On everything. Letterhead, web site, business card, etc. why wouldn't they just do it anyway?

- Here's the third and final Tony Stark Better Living Through Technology videos for the Tony Stark Expo, a promotion for Iron man 2.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-23-10    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Commercials, Video



Creepy Tobacco Dudes Kicks Bunny Out of His Home

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Well here's a new way to convince people to stop smoking. Forget the idea the things can kill you. That's just so yesterday. No. The new way to tell people smoking is bad for you is to pull out a man in a bunny suit and kick him out of the forest becasue 1.5 million trees are cut down every day to make cigarettes. Yea, it's the new green approach to ant-smoking campaigns. And who said there were no more new ideas. Oh yea. Us. Sorry.

Richmond-based Barber Martin Agency created the work for the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation. The spot was directed by LIMEY director Adam Cameron.

by Steve Hall    Apr-14-10    
Topic: Cause, Strange



Patrons Handed $73,000 Bar Tab, Think Twice About Driving Home

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Trying to convince people about the perils of drunk driving has always been a challenge. It's so very easy for one to say, "Oh I haven't had that much to drink. I'll be fine." Or, "All those people who get killed in a car after having a few drinks are just really bad drivers. I can drive fine."

But if you were to make everyone pay for the cost of all those drunk driving injuries and deaths, themselves, you might have better luck convincing people to give up the keys. That's what this campaign from Ogilvy Brazil tried to do.

by Steve Hall    Apr-14-10    
Topic: Cause



Rugby Promo Disguised as PSA

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Covent Garden London, 50 undercover actors, 7 hidden cameras, 3 bananas. 1 song, 1 club, 1 cause. Yea, That's about all you need to know about this orchestral flashmob PSA for England's Help for Heroes. Oh wait. It's just a promotion for some rugby team. Oh well.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-14-10    
Topic: Cause, Video



Bristol Palin Says 'Pause Before You Play'

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In a pro-abstinence PSA for Candie's Bristol Palin wonders what teen pregnancy would be like if she didn't come from a famous family, have all their support or have a lot of opportunities, In the end, she say, "It wouldn't be pretty." Which is a bit of a mixed message.

It's as if she's saying teen pregnancy is OK if you are famous, have support and opportunity. But if your an average person with limited resources and not much of a future, it would be very wise to "pause before you play."

Which is it, Bristol?

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by Steve Hall    Apr- 8-10    
Topic: Cause, Celebrity



Anti-Litter Effort Appeals to Sense of Pride

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"These streets are reflections of ourselves." That's a line in one of the commercials from a new LevLane-created campaign for the Philadelphia Recycling Office. There are five spots in all. Each is the result of a 75-person audition of word performances from Philadelphia area artists.

With the tagline, Un Litter Us, the campaign aims to get people to care about their neighborhoods by informing them they are what the residents make of them.

In addition to TV, radio, transit and, the campaign will also include street poetry events, Facebook and Twitter presences, signage-designated "Litter Free School Zones," and block-by-block community mobilization drives.

Three of the commercial can be seen here, here and here.

by Steve Hall    Mar-30-10    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Commercials



Deutsch Borrows Old Navy Mannequins For Underage Drinking Campaign

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Driving home the point real kids are curious about alcohol, three new Ad Council/SAMHSA PSAs use mannequins to remind parents their kids just might not be as innocent and innocuous as they think.

The campaign targets parents of 12-20 year olds leading up to Alcohol Awareness Month in April. Accompanying the commercials are radio, magazine, newspaper and Web.

See the ads here.

by Steve Hall    Mar-25-10    
Topic: Cause