Rosie Gets All Snot-Nosed Over Blogger's Choice Awards

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Ever wonder what celebrities (including ourselves) do with the promotional packages you send them? Rosie O'Donnell put her reactions on video, for no less than a gift package from the Blogger's Choice Awards. We like how she gave us a full-face Chris Crocker shot for, like, two seconds.

Uh ... we don't think that's a giant pencil, Rosie.

by Angela Natividad    Dec-18-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Industry Events, Opinion, Video



Publicis Macedonia, Vision Firm Show Love For Same Stock Photo

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We've had fun over the years enjoying the pitfalls of stock photography and the seeming inability of those using it to, when warranted, sign for exclusive use. So it is with great pleasure we bring you yet another stock photography goof courtesy of Publicis Macedonia...or BlueStepStudio which had a hand in developing the Publicis site...or Ultralase, the laser eye treatment company that used the same photo.

Yesterday, we were tipped to the striking resemblance (um, identical match) of a model used in an Ultralase ad found on an AOL UK page and another used as the background image of the Publicis Macedonia homepage. Yup, there she is. Looming large, peering out from behind a frame created by her fingers akin to a film director framing a shot.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-18-07    
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Online, Opinion, Strange



Arnold Continues Stripper Fixation With New York Pravda Party

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Perhaps taking a cue from Arnold's Boston office holiday party last year during which stripper antics were performed on a pole in Creative Director Pete Favat's office, Arnold New York management hired five strippers for its New York office party held at Pravda reports Agency Spy reports.

It seems the ladies stripped down to nothing but pasties and thongs leaving employees, Agency Spy reports, "shocked and horrified" with female employees "alienated" and male employees "guilty." While a full on strip show might not be the best entertainment of an office holiday party, pictures of the event make it all look like a harmless, burlesque-like show. In fact, the one lone female caught observing the so-called strip tease is smiling. Yes, smiling. Hardly indicative of "shock and horror." OK, so it's only one picture and to be fair, hardly indicative of the entire evening.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-17-07    
Topic: Agencies, Opinion, Racy



The Harry Situation Gets Hairy

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On Shake Well Before Use, Social Media Insights Consultant Ariel Waldman has written a detailed analysis and review of a campaign hair care company Garnier has launched which involves blog briber PayPerPost (now hiding behind the walls of social media company IZEA) and what is purported to be a new TV show called The Harry Situation. On the show's website, clips highlight the sexual innuendo and double entendre-laden theme of the show. It also covers what's being sold as dispute between the show's creators and Garnier who pulled their sponsorship because of the show's racy content.

Of course, the controversy isn't real. Either is the show. It's all part of an elaborate ad campaign complete with what appear to be paid blog posts and a YouTube video featuring Garnier SVP of Sales Steve Lutz who explains why the company pulled their sponsorship.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-13-07    
Topic: Bad, Online, Opinion, Social, Video, Weblogs



Hot Lips Spout Merits of Social Networking in UK

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Look, a pair of plump red lips telling you what she wants ... from marketers and content providers. And she's got a British accent.

In terms of ambition, the video is a lot like this, except you're watching lips move instead of a cursor. Guess there's something to be said about that.

This would-be viral is brought to you by Redwood Publishing, which hopes to spark a discussion about what users really want, and what our future may look like.

by Angela Natividad    Dec-11-07    
Topic: Opinion, Publishing, Video



What Would Advertising Be Without Thongs, Fishnets, Miniskirts and Pumps?

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Been meaning to get to this one for a few days. it's a campaign for ArriveAlive, an organization created by a father whose son was killed while driving drunk. The site touts the importance of the decisions and consequences that affect one's life. Calling attention to the site is a bathroom stall campaign which adheres images of drunken women to the floor and wall.

One woman is on her hands and knees in front of the toilet apparently puking. Another woman appears to be sitting against the wall in the mens room next to the urinals. Both are dressed slut-like with exposed thong, fishnet stockings and pumps. While no one really wants to look at a fat ugly drunk woman (or man for that matter), Copyranter wonders if we're supposed to think only sluts get drunk.

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by Steve Hall    Dec-10-07    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Opinion, Outdoor, Racy



Ken Convoy Rants Rich About Agency Arrogance

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Ken Convoy's got a few agency-ready business models proven to save tons of money and make clients love you more. He can do it all at a fraction of the cost most agencies can, and with less than 10 people involved.

What are these big ideas?

We don't know.

Who is Ken Convoy?

Um ... a dude who runs a one-man agency in Santa Barbara, CA.

But hey, Ken is willing to convey his winning, proven models to any kingpin agency willing to talk to him. The problem is, nobody's passed him more than a few friendly emails, followed by the inevitable brush-off.

In this post right here, Ken (sometimes eloquently) details his attempts to penetrate the iron curtain of "agency arrogance" with zero luck.

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by Angela Natividad    Dec- 7-07    
Topic: Agencies, Opinion



Omnicom Touts Cutting Edge Capabilities...With 2006 Work

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This is the perfect time to use George Parker's BDA acronym which stands for Big Dumb Agencies. Adrants reader Lauren tipped us to a story in AdWeek about Omnicom's John Wren touting the holding company's "non-traditional" work.

The story miffed here a bit and she wrote us, "Congratulations Omnicom and welcome to the digital age. This article really bothered me because it seems like the advertising trades are so obsessed with covering any bit of news coming out of holding companies that they are missing the real news, the real trends and maybe even the cool interactive work that's being done now, and not in 2006. And (gasp) maybe, just maybe it's not the holding companies that are ahead of the game this time..."

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 6-07    
Topic: Agencies, Opinion, Trends and Culture



McDonald's Stoops to New Low With Report Card Advertising

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Hey kids! Guess what? If you study hard and get good grades, guess what you'll get? No, not a college scholarship, sillys. That would be too boring. No, if you get good grades on your report card, you'll get a Happy Meal coupon on the card that you can use to get fat...uh...have a free lunch.

Yea, people, you read that right. In-school advertising's idiocy has spread to report cards. Yes, report cards. For covering the paltry $1,600 printing cost of Seminole County Florida's 2007-2008 report cards, McDonald's was able to place the coupon on the report cards of kids who received all A's and B's. Yes, you also read that right. Only smart kids are allowed to get fat.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 6-07    
Topic: Brands, Opinion, Specialty, Worst



Agency Full of Ego-Fueled Self-Aggrandizement

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Now here's something you wouldn't generally expect to read on Adrants. After all, we're one half horny male ad slut, one half dystopian ad tyrant but when we were pointed to Amalgamated's website as an example of advertising's boys club hubris, we couldn't leave it alone. Yea, the site's been that way for a long time but we're too busy looking at actual work to check out every agency's site on a regular basis.

This site is so over-the-top, too-cool-for-school and testosterone-laden, it makes Mad Men look like an AWNY convention on steroids...uh...progesterone. Who do these guys think they are? Just check out the imagery on the site. Could it be any more packed with stereotypical pompousity? Even setting aside the quaintly anachronistic portrayal of men and women in the office, the whole things reeks of grandiloquent pretense.

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by Steve Hall    Dec- 5-07    
Topic: Agencies, Opinion