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'Free the Bowl' Contest Aims to Eradicate Super Bowl Beer Ads

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"I'm drunk as hell and I'm not going to take it any longer!" Or something like that. One imagines that's the sentiment behind an new effort from alcohol industry watch dog Marin Institute called Free the Bowl. In response to what it calls "oppressive beer ads," Free the Bowl is a contest for 13 to 20 year olds which asks for the submission of videos aimed at asking brewers to stop advertising (wasting mony?) in the Super Bowl.

*old school sound of needle sliding off the record*

Um, say what???! Like that's got a snowball's chance in he...wait...isn't there a better metaphor for this? Hmm. That's as likely as an SUV getting manufactured in January. Oh wait. That's got as much of a chance of the U.S. government EVAR paying off its deficit. Hmm. That's as likely as Janet Jackson ever appearing in another Super Bowl half time show. Uh. That's as likely as George Parker not saying fuck for an entire day. That's as likely as an ad blogger never again using Donny Deutsch's Speedo picture. That's as likely as no one in the ad industry getting laid off in January. That's as likely as Advertising Age ever letting Steve Hall write for them. OK, this is getting boring.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 9-08    
Topic: Cause, Opinion, Super Bowl 2009

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The End of the Beginning is the Beginning of the End

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If teenagers knew the consequences of unprotected sex before they engaged in it, would it make them think twice before succumbing to desire? That's the question this teen pregnancy commercial ponders. Following the actions of a teen couple as they party, drink, hook up, have sex and deal with the consequences in reverse, the commercial shares the possible negative outcomes of having unprotected sex.

The bigger question is, given the quick-cut/ADD mentality so prevalent among, well, everyone these days, will anyone remember the beginning (end) when they get to the end (beginning)? Wait, what? Exactly.

The commercial was created by DLKW London for COI.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 8-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Racy, Strange

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Would You Buy Brad Pitt's Chewed Gum?

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That question is rhetorical.

Brazilian actor Caua Raymond is auctioning off a hunk of chewed Trident that he kept in his mouth, just for the fans, for exactly 15 minutes.

Video below! Hope you speak Portuguese. Diggin' how Raymond has a dude with a tray and a glass receptacle, hanging around for moments like this one.

For reasons I sure don't understand, the vid is the most-viewed on YouTube Brazil today (280,743 views and counting). The "winner" of this spit-saturated dream-pebble gets to meet Raymond in a ceremony, where the money raised from the auction will be donated to charity.

So Trident, I guess that highlarious mastication movie just didn't work out for you...?

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by Angela Natividad    Dec- 4-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Online, Promotions, Strange

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Dog With Cracked Chest Explores Dangers of Cocaine Use

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Drug use is a serious issue. Drug PSAs are usually hard-hitting, in your face, depressing and emotionally draining. Apparently the UK-based national drug information service FRANK didn't get the memo when they had their new campaign created.

The campaign centers on a dog called Pablo who is a drug mule. In a commercial, Pablo mixes and mingles with drug dealers and users all while his chest is cut open because he was a mule.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 4-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Strange

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There's More Than One way to Skin a PSA

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No sooner are we lauding the importance of honest, graphically intense PSAs, we get this from Strawberry Frog, "ChangingThePresent.org seeks to make the world a better place one gift at a time by connecting givers with 350 non-profit organizations offering 1,600 gifts and to a universe of 500,000 registered philanthropic organizations. The two :30 spots spoof traditional holiday commercials by poking fun of gifts like bow-topped cars by replacing it with a sheep adorned by a big red ribbon (supports the Heifer Project International), and a beautiful jewelry box containing a polio vaccine (UNICEF)."

Without belittling the very important objective this campiagn seeks to accomplish, it just feels like the wind has been removed from the sails. Or maybe it's just the sudden emotional shift from empathetic compassion to tongue in cheek humor. Both are good. Both can work. Let's just hope the two campaigns don't appear back top back which, of course, they won't becasue one is UK based and the other American. Just sayin'.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 2-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Good, Opinion

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Ugly Reality of Child Abuse Rears Its Head in PSA

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It seems public service advertising is the only kind which contains any sort of meaningful drama or that's allowed to depict reality without being glossed over by meaningless creative pontification. All other forms of advertising pale in comparison. Mostly because PSAs depict real life. And real life is a far cry from the kind of fairy tale life painted inside the cozy confines of an ad campaign.

British children's charity Barnardo's is out with a powerful commercial in which a girl is repeatedly subjected to the after effects of child abuse. As the commercial progresses, the girl's troubled life is repeated with increasing intensity until it culminates with the rapid fire reality of child abuse, a cycle that, if unchecked, is doomed to repeat tself over and over again until dramatic steps are taken to prevent it.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 2-08    
Topic: Best, Cause, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Opinion

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Stripvertising, Social Media Etiquette, Pot-Driven Cautionary Tales

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- Hurtin' for love? Advertise on a stripper's apple bottoms. Dolla make you holla! (Via.)

- BU needs money too.

- Mind your social media Ps and Qs.

- The rumours are true: it snows in Switzerland.

- Ivanka Trump blogs for Brides.com.

- Bogus Nike discount code. Boooo. (Hoooo.)

- Maybe that dam is somebody's house.

- Possibly the best marijuana PSA evar. If you watch it while high on 4/20, the universe will fold in on itself. Also, just for the record, I have ironed my hair while under the influence. It is so, so dangerous.

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Starbucks Goes (red).

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Late to a party long populated with the likes of AmEx, Apple, Converse, Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, The Gap, and Giorgio Armani, Starbucks finally joins the Product (red) brigade, spearheaded by U2's Bono to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Buy a Starbucks exclusive beverage, save lives in Africa! If the watch-worthiness of the ad isn't equal to the cause, it's at least a tribute to the crippling mediocrity that halos brands grown lazy and slow. Way to go, BBDO!

If I'm shocked, it's only because this didn't happen sooner. Really. This has to be a record for the amount of time a top-heavy "lifestyle" company's spent resisting the rejuvenating call of Bono.

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by Angela Natividad    Dec- 1-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Commercials, Promotions, Television

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Because PB&J Should Be More Democratic than It Is.

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Here's a pretty idea. To drive donations to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Leo Burnett/Chicago and Starcom remind shoppers that "food shouldn't be a luxury."

To illustrate the point, ordinary items -- soup, broccoli, PB&J sandwiches -- are positioned as luxury goods, languishing in the manicured hands of luxe porcelain models.

The bottom portion of each piece invites viewers to donate what they can to the Depository. "Text MEALS to 90999 to give $5," it adds -- simple enough to do on impulse.

If you're in the Chi, expect to see these on CTA buses and rail cars from now to December 31st.

by Angela Natividad    Nov-25-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Good, Outdoor, Poster

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Kristen Johnston Nude. For PETA.

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Here's a confusing metaphor. B-list star Kristen Johnston poses as Lady Godiva -- who rode a horse naked through Coventry to win a break on her husband's taxes -- in order to raise awareness about the hazards of horse-drawn carriages.

"Don't get taken for a ride," the ad reads. "Horse-drawn carriages are cruel."

I guess. Good fodder for the portfolio though -- a Maraschino cherry topping fine oeuvres like Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me and Strangers with Candy.

by Angela Natividad    Nov-25-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Magazine, Poster, Strange

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