eBillme Lavishes Cash on Video Contest Whores!

We smell something fishy behind the eBillme Confessions contest.

The $20,000 grand prize winner for eBillme Confessions was a girl who bought her boyfriend a Plasma TV so he'd give her an engagement ring.

Is it just us or does her boyfriend look suspiciously like this dude, who won $1,000 just weeks ago?

Adrants declares shenanigans!

Think Joost is Too Ad-Heavy? Wait'll You Start Getting Bubbles

Coca-Cola has just released the first commercial widget for Joost. It's called Coke Bubbles and you can get it on the Coke Bubbles website. It enables people to share and comment on Joost programming -- with Coke bubbles!

Bubbles can be sent to members of your address book. The idea is to generate spontaneous conversation around TV. You know, the way people used to when they actually hung out and didn't just hole up with their laptops, working on that sexy pallor.

Innovation at its best? You tell us.

WooMe Blends 'Net Flirts in Speedy (Sponsored!) Fervor

New take on the speed-dating thing. We give you speed introductions, courtesy of WooMe.

Hoping to drag the power of the first impression outside the domain of quick-fix courting, WooMe users join little clusters of users segmented by interest, sex and age -- not necessarily for romantic reasons. (There are "ladies' night" and sports fan groups, for example.)

When the music starts, you've got about a minute to video chat each group member, one at a time. After that, you decide which users you dug and click "I'm Woo'd." If you're woo'd by somebody who's been woo'd by you, the pair of you drop a dollar for contact info.

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RCRD LBL Means Free MP3s -- Sponsored by You, Of Course

We just found out about an online music label called RCRD LBL, which lets users download MP3 tracks from new and seasoned artists for free.

This is a decent contender to what's already out there for the following three reasons:

- It's legitimately sponsored, and sponsors don't mess with the tracks
- It's not all ad-heavy and slow like OHHLA.com
- It's gritty and cool without feeling seedy as hell like AllofMP3.com before it got pwned by The Man

On iTunes, just below the album art and above the artist name, you get a little line of text that says, "Get free music at RCRDLBL.com." That's something we can live with.

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Goodyear Ditches Dirigible, Obscures Roads Instead

This Thursday Goodyear plans to announce its official sponsorship of the Philadelphia Marathon. And because blimps possibly lost their luster after blimp lover (and, um, embezzlement king) Lou Perlman fled the scene, the company plans to help runners "get there" with a branded Philly marathon rig, which you can see in all its glory here.

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LeBron in Grayscale Reads Like Makings of a Legend

Alongside agency Wieden + Kennedy, Nike put together this two-part print campaign featuring LeBron James. Part I is at left; Part II is right here.

Ahh. Nike is never too pushy. In this spread you've got all the force and drama of a Jay-Z song, except the neighbors won't complain.

If the World Has to Be Divvied, It Might As Well Be for a Sport

Nike and Major League Baseball play on the United Colors of Benetton to give us the United Countries of Baseball, a world segmented by team allegiances instead of by states or countries.

The idea is to map the "borders of fan loyalty." Each baseball-playing country has its own map, alongside posters with player nicknames specific to each territory.

The campaign was orchestrated by Cole & Weber United.

We actually didn't think baseball had a rabid fan base any longer. Post-steroids scandal, it looks like basketball is taking the whole "American Dream" torch. See recent promotions for Dwyane Wade and Monta Ellis.

Dwyane Wade Love Letter Becomes Promotional Vehicle for Converse

Aww. Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade's letter to basketball reads like an earnest, and early, version of Common's "I Used to Love Her," a love letter to hip-hop.

But unlike hip-hop, the game doesn't start turning tricks in adulthood.

The letter is the inspiration for a Converse promotion by Anomaly. The spot, "From Robbins, Illinois," started airing on October 28th. Around that time, the Wade 3 signature basketball shoe was also released.

See the spot and behind-the-scenes footage here. The :60 piece does a good job of capturing a moment that apparently meant a lot to him.

Also, Wade is really into triangles.

Some Ads Just Don't Age Well. We Blame the Music

We realize how old this DHL ad is, but we're going to review it anyway because it saddens us that over the past few years we have paid DHL's efforts no mind whatsoever, and now it does next to nothing ad-wise. (Unless you count this, but we sure don't.)

Point of fact: If every DHL delivery actually did come with a passel of ass-shaking Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, the First World may actually use the service. It could be like a sassy singing telegram.

Second point: Disclosure is important. But sometimes, it can be sad. (See comments section.)

One more: Any ad that tries making serious use of an MC Hammer track is just begging to be associated with 1990. And not too much happened there. (Unless you count Manuel Noriega's surrender and the first McD's to open in Moscow, but we sure don't.)

Budweiser Turns NFL Fans into Stars by Proximity

This is the type of campaign that's always fun to talk about. To give back to the fans and kick off football season in Canada, NFL has teamed up with Budweiser to bring passionate personalities closer to the sport they love.

Ever wish you could be a cheerleader bodyguard for the Dallas Cowboys, or a leap guard for the Packers? Here's to hoping you win more than a shirt.

Toronto's Downtown Partners put together the Superfans campaign to ensure just that. One of the TV spots for the effort features Ed Anzalone, a big Jets fan, berating an oblivious neighbor for allegedly talking down about his team of choice.

It and two other Superfan ads now appear during NFL broadcasts in Canada.