Confirming the well known fact that there are no more new ideas and that the sincerest form of flattery in advertising is to copy another's work, Starbucks is the second company, after Netscape, to copy the office cubicle microsite thing, apparently originated by Hostway in April. Now, for those who like to snoop, yes, Starbuck's version of the office cubicle site, called DoubleShot, resides on a site that was registered way back in 1998 but an informant tell us the cubicle creative was recently launched. No doubt, Adrants readers will correct any errors in this assumption.
The site itself has all the usual stuff from a lame video to a picture of parents that say "hello" to a gadget sweepstakes to voice mail messages to a ceiling darts to a number you can call to reach "Hank" who, of course, isn't answering. It's all been done before. Done. Done. Done. But, why is it that we spent so much time on the site engaging in "brand immersion" as those account management types like to call it? maybe the office cubicle is the new :30. Hey, the :30 worked forever. Why not the office cubicle?
Kosher.com has launched a little promotional cartoon, created by Dan Meth, which does a great job clearly explaining the Kosher.com offering. From mentioning the foods they carry by name and showing them to explaining where they came from to telling you how can buy them, Kosher.com makes it clear they are they place to go to when Kosher food is what's for dinner. It's not rocket science but, unfortunately, too many commercials try to be and fail. This one doesn't and, pleasantly, succeeds.
The verdict is in. No one likes the new Lee Iacocca/Jason Alexander Chrysler commercial. Well, at least no one in the ad industry that is a member of the Adrants discussion group. Even so, wondering whether bringing Iacocca back was effective, one member did an informal survey of people under 40 and found none knew who that old, gray-haired guy sitting behind the desk was. When told it was Lee Iacocca, the man who saved Chrysler from extinction, many replied, "Oh, whatever."
Again, we question the wisdom of trying to recreate a previous success. Whether it be an idea-less Hollywood remake or an attempt at mirroring the cult-like success of a previous ad campaign, rarely, if ever, does the follow up come anywhere near the success of the first effort. Having Alexander approach Iacocca from behind as he did many times the back of Steinbrenner in Seinfeld is simply layering another has been success on top of another. Iacocca should have said no to this. Alexander should have said no. Those who came up with the idea for this should have said no. In spite of these failures occurring over and over and over, it never seems to register with those who insist upon borrowing from past successes (think Hilltop/Chilltop) instead of creating something original.
With barely legal curiosity and longing, the young girl in this ad dreams of the day when a very large Durex condom will come between her and the ripped prince's burgeoning bulge her eyes wistfully yearn. With the headline, "One day you'll wish you had a Durex condom," the ad hearkens early innocence and an "I wonder what that would feel like" eagerness only experienced early in life.
Some might label the ad overly racy or a poor attempt at humor but they would be wrong. The ad is extremely honest conveying natural human desire and sexuality which, all too often, are portrayed with snickers, avoidance and censorship.
HBO has launched a new campaign in Latin America with the tagline "Si no fuera por HBO, no escaparíamos de la rutina (If it weren't for HBO, we would not escape from routine). The campaign, which consists of five (three of which can be viewed here, here and here) spots, shows a series of individuals having a bad day (a visit from auditors, a difficult legal case, a traffic ticket) but when they think of HBO, they realize life isn't so bad and there's always a way to get out of the routine.
The background music for the campaign is the David Bowie song "Heroes" which gets all aspirational. The spots are beautifully shot and, while HBO is certainly not going to solve all life's problems, the campaign does a nice job making a connection between powerful things that happen on the screen and powerful things that can happen in life.
The campaign was created by which worked with Trebejos Films. Future efforts along this vein are planned for the remainder of 2005 and into 2006.
Adrants readers Steven Hirst points us to this new commercial, billed as unreleased and called "Ouch!", for Xbox which pits an ex-girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend against each other in increasingly ridiculous stunts to make the other jealous. Thankfully, Xbox Live is there to offer a healthier form of combat. The ad is served from a site that asks a few questions about the spot, asks viewers what's the most painful thing they've done and collects contact info for entry into a drawing for prizes that include an Xbox consoles with video camera and games, a Samsung TV and a Samsung MP3 player.
It's a nice tie in between the notion of X's fighting and Xbox's ability to provide a platform for the fight. Clearly, someone at LAVA Communications, the agency that created the piece, wrote a creative brief that plainly illustrated the product benefit.
Preconceived notions the session entitled "Kick Ass Creative" would be drenched in self-congratulatory praise for pet creative work and new age strategies were clearly confirmed. The session, led by Ad Age Publishing VP and Editorial Director David Klein, included panelists Carat Interactive EVP Creative Director Mike Yapp, Agency.com Creative Director Dorian Sweet, Avenue A/Razorfish ECD Brooke Nanberg and Organic Inc. ECD Colleen DeCourcy.
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Why we didn't find this first is beyond us but we thank Adland for pointing to it. Ad agency poster child Crispin Porter Bogusky has created Pink Panty Poker, a strip poker game that's easy to play and quick to reward with hot models tearing their clothes off for your viewing pleasure. An admirable effort. CPB copywriter and VP Creative Director Scott Linnen explains the project to Adverblog here.
An ad for London-based Accurist watch company which ran in Glamour and showed a near naked woman reclining in a chair with her left hand in her crotch above the tagline, "Me Time," was banned by the Advertising Standard Authority which deemed it sexually suggestive and likely to cause serious or widespread offense to readers. Accurist, apparently not having seen their own ad, denies the ad has any association with masturbatory imagery. One reader who complained seems to think masturbation is somehow offensive and demeaning to women. It seems both sides are having difficulty facing reality with Accurist plainly denying a near naked woman with her hand between her legs might possibly be interpreted as sexual and the complainer refusing to admit we've progressed beyond the pre-Kinsey world where masturbation was taboo.
Of course, this doesn't mean masturbating women in ads is a good thing but let's not mince words. In the ad it looks like she is. And, there's nothing wrong with masturbation which is certainly not demeaning to women.
Accurist has a series of these ads on its website including another crotch grab ad.
Unilever has launched a site called Introducing Domestic Donald which features a cartoon body topped with Donald Trump's head. Spouting off Trumpy one-liners, The Donald wanders about a kitchen responding to requests to do the laundry, wash the dishes, prepare dinner, wash clothes and mop the floor. The whole thing's a sweepstakes offering for a "Luxury Weekend With Donald Trump" that requires the entry of a code found on stickers affixed to promotional packs of All detergent.
This is the kind of online promotion we like. Simple. Uncomplex. Moderately amusing. And quick enough to get through without having to waste too much time. And painless enough to be done with before becoming annoyed
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