Trolls Probed, Politics Ascend, Cuil Explores Sexuality

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- The New York Times wrote a SEVEN PAGE STORY about /b/ and online trolls: people that make a satisfying career out of hurting your widdo feewings.

- Campaign.com decided voting is a superpower.

- Cuil turns quantum researchers into gay porn stars. Hur-raaaay.

- The Center for Public Integrity launched a new blog called Papertrail. It promises to be "the hard-hitting, investigative blog that Washington is missing." Also, there's poetry and music.

- The Gay List Daily is promoting the Details Mens Style Manual, which teaches you how to be a flawlessly-dressed man. If you're not a man, or are already quite flawless, learn how to market to one. And if you can do that too, then shucks, you must be God. In cashmere.

- Every heel and toe of Cole Haan's sassy new Air Donovan dress shoes has the power of many Michael Jordans behind it.



Yeah, Those Would Be Breakdancing Bees

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For every beehive lost, a b-boy somewhere goes up in smoke.

Put together by Feed Company for client Haagen-Dazs, which hopes to raise awareness about the high rate of honey bee deaths. (The shorthand: honey bees are dying in increasing numbers. We depend on them for one-third of our food supply, so if they all die, well ... let's just say no more ice cream for you.)

Visit Help the Honey Bees to read more. Cute site. Sad how the little bee just falls into the grass and dies, though. Kinda reminded me of this.

Luckily (maybe?) for future bees, the breakdancing bee video is generating steam from breaker fans. See YouTube comments. Then hey, go buy ice cream. (Chocolate peanut butter is smooooth.)

by Angela Natividad    Aug- 1-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Online, Trends and Culture, Video



One Man Dares to Sing Opera Before Simon Cowell.

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His name was Paul Potts. During his unexpectedly spellbinding audition on Britain's Got Talent, he touched the hearts of viewers everywhere. (Really. I don't know if it was his voice or the pop show context or what, but I've never seen anything like that on American Idol.)

The crescendo: Before he went on to win the show last year, he was a mobile phone salesman. So now T-Mobile's using his defining moment in a German ad campaign. (Nice touch with the little girls and businessmen crying over their mobile phones.)

The closer (translated from the German): "Life gives us extraordinary moments. The beauty of it is that we can share them." What a charming lesson in opportunism.



Women Make Less, and You Can Take That to the Bank

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To make a point about how women make less money than men in the work force, Miljopartiet de grona -- the green party in Sweden -- ran a print ad that compares currency featuring men to lower-value currency featuring women. The tagline: "Different gender, different worth."

Commercial Archive observes the idea's been done before; moreover, income disparity is slightly more complicated than some male-chauvinist exec going "Hey, a girl, I'm gonna SAVE."

On a casual YouTube quest for gender-disparaging videos, I found this clip about penis power. Please watch it. It will make your whole day. (Yes yes, SFW, but plug your headphones in.)

by Angela Natividad    Jul-25-08    
Topic: Cause, Magazine, Newspaper, Trends and Culture



Saatchi's 'The Breakfast Club' A 'Mean Girls' Failed 'Fetch'

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Saatchi & Saatchi's The Breakfast Club campaign for JCPenney has been crapped by everyone on since it launched. Today, it's Rebecca Cullers' turn. On AdFreak, Rebecca does the math, writing, "I was 3 years old when The Breakfast Club came out in 1985. I didn't know the film existed until I was in college, where it was included in a class on culturally significant movies for Gen X. Now, there's more or less a decade separating me from today's incoming high-school students. Does anyone really think they will get the reference?"

She is absolutely correct in her analysis of the problem and for anyone at Saatchi or JCPenney not to have realized this is further confirmation far too many advertisers and their agencies, despite believing the contrary, are completely out of touch with reality.

more »

by Steve Hall    Jul-24-08    
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Brands, Campaigns, Opinion, Trends and Culture



Sorry, Quiksilver, We Already Have One Self-Esteem Fund

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Quiksilver's inviting Real Women! from All Walks of Life! on a Creative Journey! to promote its new line of women's clothing. The subsite includes a hyper-bohemian product preview and postcard gallery, where you can download warm fuzzy (and pink!) messages like "Sometimes finding your destination means trying on all the options." Gotta love a clothing pun.

The campaign is targeted to fresh-outta-college women in a state of quarter-life crisis. "Our purpose was to inspire not only the apparel Quiksilver was going to design for this journey, but create a brand idea that celebrates the experience of defining yourself in the world as an intelligent, creative, independent woman," rambled John Boiler of agency 72andSunny.

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by Angela Natividad    Jul-18-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Trends and Culture



Tat Yer Teeth, Swig Vodka with Tim and Eric, Talks Stocks with Bingo Players

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- Nonesuch Records redesigned its site so artists can "directly" interact with fans. Created by Sisu and branding partner Axiom.

- We were checking email and minding our own business when Gay List Daily suggested we put a cock in our mouth. "Or 32 if you're feelin' crazy." It was appalling. And then we realized they were talking about tooth tattoos -- the low-key variation of a rapper's grill, but just as expensive if you're fickle.

- ABSOLUT Vodka is doing some weird shit right now. Its current online video campaign features Tim and Eric from Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job. (It's totally off-putting, but you gotta stick with it.) "I only made cookies for three..." Bloody hilarious. If you're not down with Tim and Eric, you're making baby Jesus cry.

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Coke's i9 Blogger Outreach Program Debated

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America isn't the only place where brands use blogs and bloggers for their marketing needs. Recently, in Brazil, Coke introduced a new drink, i9, and partnered with nine prominent Brazilian bloggers to promote the drink. As part of the promotion, coke redesigned the bloggers' pages and gave each of them miniature refrigerators with a bottle of i9 inside.

As predictable as a fake ad getting submitted to Cannes (and winning), negative reaction to the promotion ensued with other bloggers crying foul and the creation of an "I am not a rent a blogger" manifesto, similar to the "ad free" manifesto that circulated American blogs a few years back. The gist of the negative reaction was that providing free product to bloggers would taint their objectivity and, perhaps, cause them to write an overly glowing product review.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-11-08    
Topic: Opinion, Social, Trends and Culture



'Goodfellas,' 'Peanuts' Used to Promote...

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Goodfellas Peanuts!

You will smirk until the last Peanuty-tense moment.

by Angela Natividad    Jul- 8-08    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Good, Online, Trends and Culture, Video



The Twitter Versus FriendFeed Debate? No One Cares!

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Writing on Tasty Blog Snack, Justin Ezarik comments on Michael Arrington's gloating over convincing half of his Twitter followers to follow him on FriendFeed. Justine also expresses a a long-held belief we've had around here at Adrants that most of this social media, web 2.0 crap is fleeting and mostly invisible to anyone outside the geek club.

Seriously. No one outside the insular geekfest gives a shit or ever will give a shit about Twitter or FriendFeed or which is better than the other. Or why they absolutely MUST use them. Apparently, the geek squad are an incestuous bunch and simply CAN NOT live without their shiny new toys. And that's OK. That's they we are. But they are a minority and always will be.

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by Steve Hall    Jul- 7-08    
Topic: Opinion, Social, Trends and Culture