'Fashion Walk' Boosts Clothing Retailer's Store Traffic

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What do you do when you open a retail clothing store and no one comes? You take the store to the people, of course. That's exactly what Wexley School for Girls did for eco-friendly clothing company Nau in Seattle. The agency hired models to walk the streets of Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland with a rack of clothing and handouts urging people to visit the store. Apparently, it worked with the Bellevue store reported a nice increase in store traffic.

by Steve Hall    Sep-26-07    
Topic: Good, Guerilla



Gamers Melt Giant Ice Block to Win Halo 3

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So Halo 3 is out. Everyone's happy. As part of the promotional fun, Pead PR held an event called Halo 3 Ice Block Buster. The promotion placed a one ton block of ice in Queen Elizabeth Square in Aukland which gamers, who were lined up at midnight yesterday to get their hands on the game could squirt water pistols at the block until it melted. Inside the block were 50 numbered tokens which awarded such prizes as Samsung LCD TVs, Xbox 360 consoles and Halo 3 games. It took four hours to get all 50 coupons out of the block. Game on.

by Steve Hall    Sep-26-07    
Topic: Good, Guerilla



Giant Red Fish Roams Holland For GreenPeace

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This is just awesome. We don't know why but it is. Maybe it's because anytime you place a cute, cuddly character on the street it attracts a lot of attention and makes everyone happy. That's what's happening in Holland with a fish named Guppie, a forlorn looking red fish who ambles about from town to town capturing the public eye.

While no one new at firts, Guppie's purpose was to call attention to a GreenPeace website called MaakSchoonSchap which makes people aware of endangered fish being sold in their supermarkets and asks that they stop buying them.

What's not to like about a cuddly, sad looking fish? It worked for Nemo.

by Steve Hall    Sep-21-07    
Topic: Good, Guerilla



Westin Goes Zen, Adrants Gets Adstrubated

- Next week, Union Square Park in San Francisco will be transformed into a Zen garden with 25 tins of gravel, stepping stone and bamboo courtesy of the Westin Hotels & Resorts.

- I got my Adsturbation T-shirt (Thanks, Deutsch). Did you get yours?

by Steve Hall    Sep-20-07    
Topic: Guerilla, Specialty



Desperate Wives Get Prime Parking, Are (Unsurprisingly) Not Happy About It

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MediaBuyerPlanner observed this campaign running in LA and New York for Desperate Housewives. Apparently nearly a dozen parking lots in the respective counties have lots reserved "For Desperate Housewives" to draw attention to the fact that the new season starts this Sunday.

The minds behind the campaign are Parking Stripe Advertising from Colorado. According to NPR this morning, the move might have drawn attention for all the wrong reasons. Nobody really likes being dubbed a "desperate housewife" -- "even if they're 'desperate' for parking!" the broadcaster quipped.

Ha. Ha.

Interestingly, some strip malls in Fremont, CA reserve parking for "expecting mothers." Guess the secret is all in how you label privileged parking.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-19-07    
Topic: Guerilla, Outdoor



Reebok Does 3D, Arnold Does Fashion, TimesSelect Opens

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- Here's a making of video highlighting the creation of a 3D graffiti project for Reebok in Cracow.

- Arnold and fashion-focused No. 11 have teamed to launch ArnoldEleven, an entity which will serve the fashion, beauty and luxury industries.

The New York Times is throwing in the towel on its subscription based Times Select product saying the growth of online advertising allows for far more revenue.

- Check this out for some face licking goodness from Guinness.

by Steve Hall    Sep-18-07    
Topic: Agencies, Guerilla, Online, Outdoor



Lowly Laundry Machines Become Ad Medium

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Every time we think we've written, "Just when you thought every last square inch of space has been plastered with advertising...," yet another new form of ad creep rears its ugly head. Though this new laundromat promotion for the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory isn't so ugly. Working with Laundromedia Inc. (who new such companies existed?) CBS placed banners across four washing machines. Hey, there's nothing else to do while your clothes are washing. You might as well stare at ads.

Just how do companies like Laundromedia Inc. get there start? Very simply and very mundanely as Foounder David Kessler explains, "I was standing in front of the washers, waiting for the spin to stop, just staring at a sea of white and I went, 'Wait -- these machines could have ads on them.'" We still think an enterprising house painting company is, one day, going to knock on our door, offer to paint our house for free as long as they can turn the house into a gigantic Home Depot ad.

by Steve Hall    Sep-17-07    
Topic: Guerilla, Outdoor



Wrangler Could Use Some Fashion 101 for Dummies

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This is completely left-field. Eager to associate itself with Who's Next '07, an international fashion show, Wrangler (yeah, did you see that coming? We didn't) somehow deluded itself into thinking that setting mannequins all over Paris would be really clever and avant-garde.

We are overwhelmed by deja-vu.

Why do people think mannequins in human settings are going to be a big deal-maker?

Whatever. See the video here. It's a little long. The effort took 60 dummies, disseminated through the city in the wee hours of the morning preceding the September 7-8 show. We kind of think this one is sexy if you ignore the fact that Wrangler's logo is in desperate need of some contemporary TLC.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Sep-17-07    
Topic: Brands, Guerilla



Shoe Divas, Stiletto-Mobile Kick Up Interest In Marshalls Shoes

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Far from the world of Sex and the City and closets full of Manolos comes this street campaign for Marshalls which has a team of Shoe Divas dressed in bathrobes sporting shoes the retailer calls stylish. Apparently, they are stylish since Marshalls buyers traveled to Italy to seek them out. The campaign's hook? "An outfit isn't complete without the perfect pair of shoes," so says Marshalls spokesperson Amy Cafazzo.

OK, let's forget the shoes for a minute and talk about that cool, red stiletto mobile that's accompanying the Shoes Divas in DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. Is there such a thing as a fuck me car? Damn, that thing is hot!

more »

by Steve Hall    Sep-13-07    
Topic: Good, Guerilla



And the Denver Water Mascot is Off!

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AdFreak reminded us that the Denver Water stunt just took place over the weekend during the Colorado-Colorado State game. During the fourth quarter, the toilet mascot went running across the green, only to be tackled by a zealous security guard. (Looks like they forgot to wear their signs.)

So there you go. Unless you want all your favourite sports games interrupted in equally vexing manner, fix your goddamn running toilets.

by Angela Natividad    Sep- 7-07    
Topic: Guerilla, Promotions