Direct Mail Musing, Infiltrating McCain, Toothpaste Autopsies, Ironic Artstuffs

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- GI Direct hopes to inspire direct mail marketers with Creative Formats, a visul muse that makes direct mail seem rad as scrapbooking. Search by feature, format, market sector or size of run.

- MoveOn.org goes behind enemy lines in hopes of, I don't know, making McCain implode. Meet Billy Mires, bus driver of the "Straight Talk Express." He'll pass on charming yet ironic factoids like how John McCain invented the BlackBerry.

- The anatomy of toothpaste. What you see at left is Colgate Total Mint Stripe. Was it Andy Warhol who said art is whatever you can get away with?

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by Angela Natividad    Sep-16-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Online, Strange, Trends and Culture



Chris Blake Uses Digital Angst to Promote Weepy Ballad

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Art, movies, TV, books and music have probably depicted the break-up from every possible angle. So if you're an indie artist trying to ride a power ballad to fame, what's a homie to do?

Tap the zeitgeist. Pun intended. For his song Someone Else, Chris Blake claims to have Googled "biggest regrets" and cobbled the results into a music video, which he then posted on YouTube.

Regrets range from provocative ("My reluctance to hold my daughter") to banal ("Spending too much time on Facebook"). I dig the contrast between the words and backgrounds.

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by Angela Natividad    Sep-15-08    
Topic: Online, Promotions, Trends and Culture, Video, Viral



Mr. Mehri Goes to Madison Avenue. White Agencies Beware!

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Just as the proverbial Mr. Smith went to Washington to clean things up, it seems top civil rights lawyer Mr. Cyrus Mehri is on his way to Madison Avenue to clean up the ad industry's diversity mess. A top civil rights lawyer, Mehri conducted a study of diversity in advertising agencies and found it woefully out of whack when compared to diversity in other business sectors.

While the study is still underway, it seems Mehri may already be setting his sights on an industry he says has only paid lip service to the issue with hearing, conferences and hiring efforts. He claims the problem isn't lack of interest in advertising among minorities as some have surmised, rather the seeming unwillingness of agency management which he sees as a closed country club filled with white men who just don't want to address the problem.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-15-08    
Topic: Agencies, Cause, Industry Events, Opinion, Trends and Culture



Martha's Vineyard May Become Haven for 'Upscale' Advertising

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I know two things about Martha's Vineyard: 1) It's remote, and 2) it's where WASPs flock to decompress, especially since cohabitating co-eds have completely overrun the Hamptons.

But sometimes even plush places need sponsorship. The Martha's Vineyard Airport commission -- which does brisk business, since the island is only accessible by boat or plane -- is contemplating selling ad space inside and around the airport. Luxury Media Partners presented it with a 16-page handout earlier this month, outlining an upscale print and video ad package that covers indoor, outdoor and landing strip displays.

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by Angela Natividad    Sep-14-08    
Topic: Outdoor, Poster, Specialty, Trends and Culture, Video



Sifting Through the Debris of PhotoShelter's Collection

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"Ok, so this picture is a metaphor of-sorts," began Rachel Hulin in her last post for PhotoShelter. "You see, those are beautiful balloons. And we had a wonderful New Year's. But eventually the balloons floated to the floor. And then the cats ate them.

"And it's with this bit of knowledge that I sadly depart as stewardess of Shoot! the Blog."

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by Angela Natividad    Sep-12-08    
Topic: Online, Social, Specialty, Trends and Culture



McCain's Real Change Comes in Fun-tastic Refreezable Bags

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What's McCain's campaign for real change? Bringing politics to more humble roots: the frozen foods market. It's McCain Potatoes -- now in three lovable styles! Because can you honestly call sweet potato fries crusty and old?

Didn't think so. "Go for the BLUE bag."

Thanks to Adrants reader Tom for the tip. Don't look now, but this might actually be funnier than VPILF.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-11-08    
Topic: Online, Political, Spoofs, Trends and Culture



Divorced? Divorcing? Hoping to? We've Got Your Card!

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Check out the "new face of divorce." FirstWivesWorld.com aspires to be the go-to social network for divorcees -- or women that expect to be divorced soon.

The site is chock-full of social media distraction, like blogs and videos from other casualties of wedlock. And like jilted partners trying with vigor to keep their outlooks sunny-side-up, desperately gleeful headlines shout, "A Single, Liberating Act: Reclaiming My Maiden Name" and "Divorce is the Best Thing Ever, Says Kate Hudson"!

But there are also practical lessons, like an old-fashioned schooling on the meaning of "honeytrap" and -- finally! -- a near-solid response to that irresistible question: do men have an infidelity gene? (Apparently some do.)

It's like the '50s! 2.0. With the most crucial difference being that while you drink alone, your charmingly redecorated home will ring with the slightly-delayed warmth and pixellated cheer of spankin' new digital chums.

Still perplexed? See video tutorial on why First Wives World exists.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-10-08    
Topic: Online, Social, Specialty, Strange, Trends and Culture



Miley Cyrus Stripped, Michelob Reinvigorated, Copyranter Quits (Again)

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- Copyranter calls it quits. Again. Don't worry, he'll still be writing for Animal New York, and he's open to sponsorship.

- Speaking of sponsorship, HBO whips out some wad for web celebs like lonelygirl15. The network is rounding up YouTube headliners for a web series called Hooking Up. Witness the lameness.

- Degourget doesn't like Esquire's first-ever digital magazine cover, which was sponsored by the "ugly-assed Ford Flex." The price we pay for bells and whistles.

- Clear Channel Radio hosted an event called Stripped, where artists play "stripped-down" versions of songs in a jammy "unplugged" setting. Why is this news? Because Miley Cyrus performed Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, that's why. Everything involving Miley Cyrus is news, especially when the headline reads "MILEY CYRUS STRIPPED."

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Milk Sold in Japan...With Classroom Chalk Fight

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Every country's culture is different from another's but Japan's always has an enjoyable bit of quirk to it which, like any country's culture, makes itself quite evident in its commercials. In this ad from the Japanese Dairy Council, a chalk fight of epic proportion breaks out between a student and a teacher.

Sadly, if this sort of spot was attempted in America, some cause group would rise up and cry inappropriate student/teacher interaction! Too Violent! To...who knows but they's come up with something.

by Steve Hall    Sep- 9-08    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Strange, Trends and Culture



Mrs. Butterworth Plays Wingman to Geico Customer

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Think only experienced TV spokespeople wield influence? Yeah, Geico agrees. So to supplement the tale of an apparently ordinary customer, it ensured success with an old-school icon: Mrs. Butterworth. (You know, the maternal maple syrup bottle.)

I love how she tosses in that random "hot pancakes" reference. Good stuff by The Martin Agency.

by Angela Natividad    Sep- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Trends and Culture