Renault in France has launched a website that does nothing but feature the company's ad campaigns, old and new. Called, On reclame la pub!, which is hard to translate wordplay hard the loosely means both "we want ads" and an old school version of "We advertise ads," the site appeases what the car maker dubs "brand fans and advertising addicts." Well, that would be us but not sure about the rest of the world. The site also has a newsletter that announces new campaign launches, screensavers and wallpapers. So if you love Renault, this site is for you. You just better be able to read French.
This is just not that exciting but we give kudos to Sony Europe for rehashing the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon commercial style for the 72 billionth time.
Now here's a Hyundai commercial that's just funny enough it doesn't matter whether or not you can understand what language it's in. The idea is clear: reclining seats are a very important feature and one that can save a marriage. Painfully, it's in Real Video. Thanks, Rick.
Sling Media is promoting its Slingbox, a device that connects to cable, satellite and DVR devices and allows for watching TV on a remote, Internet-connected computer anywhere in the world or in the next room, with a humorous spot, created by Hub Strategy, set in a church. While watching a football game during a funeral, the comments made by the guy in the spot don't quite mix with the tone of the service until all the other church goers chime in thinking the guy is commenting on the deceased rather than the game he's watching on his laptop.
Commercial aside, this Slingbox is very, very cool. For $250 and no monthly fee, you can view and control your home TV from anywhere in the world.
Random Observations points to the new MTA "Holiday Bonus" ads which offer bonuses on New York's buses, trains and subways from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. It's that warm holiday feeling all over again.
OK, forget Citroen's robot dance or its many spoofs. Sony has latched on to the trend and applied the concept to an ad which promotes its product line of various electronic gadgets from compact stereos to TVs to laptops to cameras to its new PSP. Are there any new ideas out there, folks?
UPDATE: We screwed up. According to Engadget, this is a spec spot created by an 18 year old. On the upside, this is a great example of consumer created advertising.
Why we haven't seen this before we do not know - or perhaps we did and filed it aways with the other 300 ads we see every day - but in July Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig, working for Fallon, filmed 250,000 multi-colored balls being dropped from huge cranes and shot out of cannons creating an avalanche of color streaming down the streets of San Francisco to promote Sony's bravia LCD TV. It's exquisitely beautiful. Thanks to Emily over at Eatmail, there's a behind the scenes video of the shoot.
To promote its new electric razor that automatically dispenses Nivea cream while using the razor, Phillips, has launched an ad, created by Tribal DDB, in the UK which pokes fun at the razor wars with a freakish razor called the Quintippio, a 15-bladed razor that's so large it would be impossible to use. Funny. And not far off the mark. After all, if Gillette and Schick already have four blades, what's to stop them from one-upping to five, then six, then...well...insanity.
Closely following the Lugz/Apple story in which an Apple commercial featuring Eminem was called similar to a 2002 Lugz footwear commercial, AdFreak reports it has been told by Lugz the company has sent Apple a cease and desist letter asking Apple to stop running the Eminem spot. Stay tuned. We're sure there will be more to this story.
We don't really understand the whole Bad Hair Day thing but, apparently, for women, it's a big deal. The trip home from the hairdresser can be a very traumatic experience causing grief and distress. Adjab tells us Tetly Tea understands that not all change is good so that's why they've limited their changes to package design and not the flavor of its tea.
