We sometimes wonder why anyone in their right mind would want their ass crack revealed for the entire industry to examine but, apparently, someone over at Crispin Porter + Bogusky wants (practically begged) all of us to see Director of Broadcast Rupert Samuel's ass which he bared (sort of) at the agency's recent two office (Miami and Boulder) holiday party. Bogusky himself was on hand as well dressed as Willy Wonka. Oh the things we do to bring you important ad industry news.
Given available facts, when queried on their opinions about whether or not Julie Roehm should have been fired from Wal-mart, the industry is clearly undecided and split right down the middle. Based on a survey of 509 Adrants readers, 250 think she should have been fired and 259 think she should not have been fired. Hardly conclusive and, well, hardly relevant either. It's just interesting to see where the industry sits on this issue.
In an attempt to capture an unlikely audience, London's Time Out has launched two spots directed by Julian Pugsley and edited by Owen Plotkin that take us inside the very weird world of social losers illustrating to us how we'd never, ever want to lead such a life and how Time Out can cure all. Well, at least it can provide places to go. We're not too sure if it can cure the idiosyncratic behavior of the two guys in these commercials.
United Church of Canada's WonderCafe, "home of open-minded discussion and exploration of spiritual topics, moral issues and life's big questions," has, with help from Smith Roberts and UNTITLED, launched a viral-intended video called E-Z Squirrel. In the video, a squirrel is asked simple yes or no questions until he's asked, "which one of the gospels do you think resonates most in relation to the modern world in which we live?" The squirrel answers "yes" leaving the questioner a bit stumped - which is the entire point of the video. When you have want to explore life's big questions a bit deeper, don't ask a squirrel. Go to WonderCafe instead. It's clear. It's simple. It's funny. It works.
Motorola has wrapped itself in the (RED) campaign and is promoting its Moto RAZR V3M phoe with a very odd site called Improve Your Karma on which a dude named Sven Goodsson gts all excited about karma. He'll even analyze your karma using youur MySpace profile as a yardstick. You might want to remove all those porn star...uh...friend profile from your site before you take the test. Tough, apparently, our lame profile registers as "awesome." Have fun.
- AdFreak wraps up the year with its list of the Ten Most Wanted stories of the year, the stories they most enjoyed covering in 2006. From Folger's Happy Mornings to IKEA's dog penis to TBWA's toilet bandit to Bank America's bastardization of U2, it's all there for your enjoyment.
- TBWA\Chiat\Day and Firstborn have created a virtual road trip site for JBL that lets visitors get inside the world of a groupie.
- Shannon from Glossy received a very inventive Advent calendar Christmas card from ACLC. Each of the days on the calendar for the month of December are stages in the development of a campaign. Nice.
- Oh look. An online press kit for Paramount Home Video's The Last Kiss.
- Sean John (Diddy, P. Diddy, whatever) has launched a campaign in Canada to raise awareness of the many counterfeiters who rip off his brand.
- Mobile content company Airborne Entertainment is cuddling with Marc Ecko in a deal that will bring the Ecko brand to ringtones, ringbacktones, message alerts, screensavers and wallpapers to cell phones the world over.
- While the Federal Trade Commission agreed with Commercial Alert that some word of mouth marketing that does not disclose the brand can be deceptive, the Commission declined (pdf) to heed Commercial Alert's request (pdf) the Commission launch a formal investigation into the practice.
OK. We'll say this one more time. Are all you marketers listening? Good. There's a big difference between a teaser campaign and one that maliciously hides it's purpose for long periods of time. And, on top of that, denies its true mission when it's found out. What the hell are we talking about? Take, for example, the teaser billboard. It's usually some irreverent play on words and witty imagery that's then reveled to be part of a larger campaign a couple weeks later. Now take fake blogs. You've heard of them. Edelman knows all about them. They are the things marketers seem to think are the holy grail of this new social media thing. Let's get down with our customers. Let's "join the conversation." Trouble is, a fake blog - one that pretends (badly) to be all hip hop on our ass - is like an idiot that shows up at a black tie event wearing American Eagle cargo shorts and a t-shirt. The natural reaction to that is, "Who the fuck is that idiot?"
more »
Oh the horror! AdPunch points to recent news Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, has appeared in a Land Rover ad wearing a white gown covered in mud with the headline, "Beautifully Poised." Nice ad but it's apparently against royal protocol. Her appearance is part of sponsorship deal with Land Rover which sponsored her during her recent competition in the World Equestrian Games where she won a gold.
While the Queen might be angry, many other are just fine with her land Rover appearance. Labour Glascow East MP Ian Davison said, "Miss Phillips is to be commended for making her own way in the world. If she is cashing in on her success as a sporting star as other people do, then she is making something of herself."
Is this the end of royalty as we know it? Or is this just the natural way of things? Those in the U.K., please enlighten us.
