PepsiCo Turns Stat Quo Inside-Out with 'Enable'

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Maybe because Nationwide cashed in like mad on its K-Fed pre-Super Bowl ad hype last year, everybody's releasing their spots before the drop.

We don't like the idea of opening our presents before Christmas day (which is what watching a Super Bowl ad a week in advance is like), but in some cases an early debut is a good thing.

That's the case with Pepsi's Bob's House, a Super Bowl spot by BBDO for its Enable campaign that composes a deaf world we're invited to watch from the sidelines. A silent ad is jarring, but it's weirder still to be passive observers of a community whose jokes we don't get.

Neat switcharoo on the minority experience. Can't wait to see what kind of response this generates on Super Bowl Sunday.

See the making-of, which, thankfully, isn't the usual self-congratulating "how I made my baby" swill.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-28-08    
Topic: Brands, Cause, Commercials, Good, Super Bowl 2008



Campusfood Incites Facebook 'Food Friendzy'

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If the internet has taught college kids anything, it's that panhandling is a totally stigma-free sport.

With that in mind, Campus Food -- a network of college restaurants that let students order online -- has launched a Facebook app called Food Friendzy. The pitch: "Free food for poor college kids nationwide!" The premise: win free food by playing online games and sharing the app with friends.

Ugh. Whatever happened to the glory days of quiet submissiveness to four years of Ramen? There's nothing wrong with Ramen.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-25-08    
Topic: Cause, Online, Promotions



KFC Colonel Dances to Make us Dance to Make Celebs Dance ... for Charity.

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In Super Bowl spirit, but really just to promote its spicy crunchy Hot Wings, KFC is donating $260,000 to charity on behalf of the first football player or celebrity to do an end zone Chicken Dance.

That seemingly arbitrary figure, says KFC, is the cost of three seconds of ad time in the Super Bowl. The company gleefully calls this "bucking traditional advertising."

Upload your own chicken dance at Show Us Your Hot Wings. The website includes a promotional pep-talk and dance from the Colonel.

Watching that old man switch on a boombox and clap his hands for charity chicken is unspeakably depressing. Sort of like this was.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-24-08    
Topic: Cause, Online, Super Bowl 2008



MTV Puts Modern Spin on Holocaust Horrors

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For Think MTV (MTV's conscience?), Arnold produced two takes on what the Holocaust would be like if it happened today.

See Subway and Family Room. Tagline: "The Holocaust happened to people like us."

The spots scared us and filled us with quiet somber feelings. We don't even feel like making Hitler/Xbox jokes anymore.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-24-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Good, Television



Dell and Microsoft Join Forces, Go (Red) -- but Why?

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We hate the (Red) campaign.

But it doesn't matter what we think, because it marches on for reasons beyond the realms of human understanding. You really can get people to buy crap products if you promise X percent of $X will "support four months" of antiretroviral medication to an unspecified number of AIDS patients somewhere in Africa.

Who? Where? What is antiretroviral medication?

Is Bono really this powerful?

by Angela Natividad    Jan-24-08    
Topic: Bad, Cause, Packaging



Disaboom Invades Facebook with Disarmingly Hot Wheelchair Warmers

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The girl is cute all right, but it's more than a little jarring to see the ad pop up while we're busy trawling shirtless co-eds in the dark of night.

Get her reflections on sex at Disaboom.

Wethinks the Disaboom campaign is an aggressive effort to de-stigmatize the disabled crowd amongst self-obsessed and totally shallow marketing execs-- er, college students.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-23-08    
Topic: Cause, Online, Strange



Fifty Seconds of Nothing, Ten Seconds of Actual Information

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You'd never know it from watching the ad but, thankfully, someone was kind enough to tell us its a recruitment ad for the UK charity line, Samaritans. Created by Lunar BBDO, the on minute video is a lush representation of, apparently, sound waves heard while on the telephone. At least that's what we got out of it. Anyone else care to comment?

by Steve Hall    Jan-23-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials



Kitchen Cupboards Blamed for Domestic Violence

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In another nod to the "invisible" cause of domestic abuse and violence against women, this National Center for Domestic Violence commercial highlights the fact that, in the U.K., 330,000 injuries per year are blamed on kitchen cupboard doors.

While it's certain these domestic violence campiagns bring to light this terrible issue, it's not so clear they do anything to stop the violence. In fact, a current or potential abuser viewing this commercial now has yet another excuse to use when explaining away the situation.

by Steve Hall    Jan-22-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Good



Rascal Flatts Says Milk Rocks. Do You Care?

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We're not really sure who Rascal Flatts is. But they think milk rocks, and that's cool with us.

"Milk Rocks" is a contest that will be promoted online and on milk cartons nationwide, as well as on school lunchroom posters. Impressions are expected to hit one billion.

Oh, yeah. The terms of the contest: starting March 1, fans can hit milkrocks.com and upload videos of themselves karaoke-slaughtering a Rascal Flatts song of their choice. The winner gets a private meet-and-greet, a webcast concert with the band, and a meeting with a Lyric Street Records A&R rep.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Jan-17-08    
Topic: Cause, Online, Promotions



Anti-Advertising Efforts Backfire, Cause More Advertising Overload

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The human brain is an amazing thing. It does so many complex things with complete ease. Luckily, one of the things it does is filter out, according to some, is the up to 5,000 advertising messages a city dweller sees each day. This is a very good thing. Because if the brain weren't able to filter out the incessant onslaught of advertising and consciously processed each of those 5,000 daily messages, it would explode quickly sending the owner of that brain to the nearest mental institution.

In some respects, advertising is a never ending cycle of idiocy. People ignore ads so marketers just create more. People block ads so marketers just come up with more methods to circumvent that blockage (just wait until you see the DVR-proof side and bottom bar ads the nets will soon implement).

more »

by Steve Hall    Jan-17-08    
Topic: Cause, Opinion, Trends and Culture