Pulling John, Pissing Ads, Weird PSAs, RevenueScience Becomes AudienceScience

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- There's been movies about boxing. There's been movies about wrestling. Now there's a movie about...wait for it...arm wrestling. Well at least they didn't name it Pulling Johnson.

- Urinal advertising is alive and well as illustrated by these ads
at last week's SMX Search Marketing Cnference in Santa Clara.

- Complete with PeeWee Herman's "Don't Do Crack," The Huffington Post has collected the Nine Weirdest PSAs Ever Made.

- There are five days left to enter the 2009 One Show Interactive and One Show Design. Although the One Show call for entries is now closed, the deadline for Interactive and Design is February 27, 2009.

- Ogilvy does its part for diversity.

- The AD Club is organizing their second All-Access Pass of the Year. The event will be at McCann Erickson on Tuesday March 10 from 6-8 pm, featuring a "roundtable" with Chief Technology Strategist, Faris Yakob.

- RevenueScience is changing its name to AudienceScience.

by Steve Hall    Feb-23-09    
Topic: Cause, Industry Events, Outdoor, Strange



You Remain Anonymous, Criminals Don't

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Hoping to battle the apparent escalation of violence in Vancouver and to encourage people to come forward if they have information about criminal activity, a new pro bono PSA campaign from DDB Canada informs, "You remain anonymous, criminals don't."

The out of home and print campaign for Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers depicts crimes in progress with the criminal in focus and the victims and witnesses pixelated which supports the campaign's tagline.

Explaining the strategy behind the creative, DDB Canada Creative Director Dean Lee said, "Pixelation is instantly recognized and commonly associated with the reporting of criminal activity. But this time it's used to illustrate the anonymity of providing crime-solving tips. People need to realize their tips are completely anonymous, that tipsters have nothing to fear and can make a real difference in helping make Vancouver a safer city to live in."

We like the simplicity of the campaign. It's not over-engineered and it, both visually and sith copy, makes the point quickly.

by Steve Hall    Feb-20-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Good, Magazine, Outdoor



Ominous Helen Bamber Ads Highlight Abuse and Trafficking

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JWT Dubai recently created two spots for the Helen Bamber Foundation. In one, Vows, a couple stand before a priest as if you exchange vows. Vows are certainly exchange but they are not of the normal variety.

In another, Auction, a room full of seedy-looking rich people continue to outdo each other's bids for the auctioned item onstage...which turns out to be a child.

Both spots do a decent job of twisting your perceptions and creating a sense of suspense.

by Steve Hall    Feb-20-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Commercials, Good



Mr. Trooper: Proof of the Social Importance of Cheerleaders

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To demonstrate gratitude to the US troops fighting overseas -- and encourage other people to do it, too -- musician Astara Mink came up with "Mr. Trooper," a smoky, sugary-sweet '40s-style anthem.

The video was done pro-bono and directed by Scott McCullough. It features five all-American sex kittens (including Mink) that occasionally wear teeny little polos, and other times wear nothing but the Stars and Stripes. They do things like simper and dance in tandem. There's even one of those scenes where they lie on the ground and make snowflake shapes with their legs.

Families with a soldier of their own can buy a Mr. Trooper video here. As for the heterosexual female troops, we're sure somebody's coming up with a showtune for you too. Well ... don't hold us to that.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-18-09    
Topic: Cause, Online, Specialty, Trends and Culture, Video



ALS Weaves Debilitating Maze Through Unwitting Hosts

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A few years ago we met a farmer who lost his wife to Lou Gehrig's disease. The process was short but painful: it hit her all of a sudden, and took her in a matter of months.

He ended up publishing their story under the title When the Music Stopped. When we asked why he chose it, he explained that Lou Gehrig's -- or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) -- functions by depriving you first of the muscles you use most. It spreads rapidly to the rest of your body, and finally ends in death. His wife was a piano player; in her case, things began falling apart when she could no longer play.

Imagine it: the slow dismantling of your life, beginning with the loss of your smallest, dearest pleasures. It's a terrible thing to hear, and a worse thing to experience first- or second-hand.

That's the crux of "Head and Shoulders," a powerful ad released by the ALS Society of Canada. Put together by Lowe Roche to the playful, active tune of "head and shoulders, knees and toes," it makes you privy to a father and his family as their universe spirals into painful stillness ... along with him.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-17-09    
Topic: Best, Campaigns, Cause, Commercials, Television



Tweets Go Black to Protest NZ's 'Guilt Upon Accusation' Law

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Avatars on Twitter are going ominously black to protest a new law, Section 92A, that's been passed in New Zealand.

After the 28th, users can get their lifelines internet disconnected "based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny." Because of the unveiled creepiness of that language, the law's been dubbed "Guilty Upon Accusation."

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-17-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Online, Social, Worst



Facebook's Scary Content Stance, Gatorade's Mid-Brand Crisis, 'This is Why You're Fat'

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- Facebook revises TOS, Twittersphere goes apeshit.

- Wisdom from the front lines. Via.

- Gatorade's new packaging and naming conventions betray desperate need to fit in with the minimalist lifestyle 2.0 crowd. Here's an idea! from reader Elinora: "Make a drink that doesn't taste like vomit!" Come on, Ellie, it's not Gatorade's fault; those are the electrolytes.

- Hardees/Carl's Jr. slips into the Daytona via YouTube.

- "Do we need a new internet?"

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-16-09    
Topic: Best, Cause, Good, Online, Packaging, Social



Real Tax Payers of Genius Don't Squander on Ad Divas.

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It isn't immediately clear whether the Maryland Comptroller has an ingenious sense of humor or just really low standards, but "Real Tax Payers of Genius" -- a video effort to get taxpayers to e-file -- definitely left us with a queasy "What hath YouTube wrought" sensation.

Word from a colleague: "I love how the screen says ifile ... and the voice says efile." But it was the papercut scene, and the digitally-enhanced voiceover, that stole our appetites.

We can't hate on something we so deeply pity. So hey, MD, here's some help. (And warm clammy thanks to Jack for molesting us with this audiovisual gem.)

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-13-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Online, Strange



The Internet Makes Bullying Really Easy

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Sort of like that "be careful what you upload" commercial during which a girl finds a less than chaste picture of herself on the school bulletin board and pulls it down repeatedly only to find it put back up again, this German anti-cyber mobbing commercial illustrates the ill effect of online bullying.

Alas, internet or no internet, kids will be kids and kids will be cruel. It's not right but it's just the way it is.

by Steve Hall    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Cause



The Homestead is a House of Cards, Say Radiohead and Shelter

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Two days ago we mentioned Radiohead was donating one of its songs to a homeless shelter. Last night we got the footage.

The song is Videotape from In Rainbows, but the ad itself is called "House of Cards" -- the name of another In Rainbows track. Only the melody is used, adding an urgent tempo to a panning shot of a city, where a number of homes and skyscrapers are composed of cards that slowly begin to plummet.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Commercials, Good, Television