Perrier Cools Hot Thong-Clad Ass

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Apparently tiny, cover-nothing thongs can actually make you hot (temperature hot, that is) according to this French Perrier ad featuring a woman in a thong seemingly cooling her overly hot ass with a bottle of the stuff. This sort of advertising is still acceptable (thankfully in some respects) in places outside the U.S. and God forbid if we American get gratuitous and degrade women (and men) into objects of desire.

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by Steve Hall    Nov- 1-07    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Opinion, Racy



Oregon Tourism And Horizon Air Like Maps

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It seems those in the Pacific Northwest think alike when it comes to travel and tourism advertising. In early September, we took a look at a campaign for Horizon Air which highlighted the 200 mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland. It's referred to The Slog for all the oddities and annoyances along the way that make taking a Horizon Air (of course) flight to traverse the distance instead.

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Arizona Launches Second Phase of Meth Campaign

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While not quite as powerful as the recent Montana Meth campaign which inspired us to write "watching these new Montana Meth spots makes one want to grab a gun, hunt down a drug dealer, stick the barrel of the gun in his mouth and blow his fucking head off," the second phase of the Arizona Meth Project delivers the same powerful message: don't do it even just once.

The eight spot campaign, along with radio, print, outdoor and online, takes two different approaches. The first features kids wishing they had experienced other horrific events such as a car crash or a beating as opposed to getting hooked on Meth. The second envisions what a person's life becomes once they get hooked on Meth. The spots are powerful for sure but one does wonder how effective the scare tactic approach is. Peer pressure and the desire to fit in are almost insurmountable obstacles to overcome but the effort is worthy.

There are some recognizable faces in the spots including The O.C.'s Willa Holland. All the spots and the rest of the creative can be viewed here.

by Steve Hall    Sep-13-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good



Axe Makes Women Crazy, Tom Ford Delivers Snatch

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When selling men's fragrance, most marketers rely on artist but meaningless photography of alluring situations meant to capture what they believe to be some ethereal state of being obtained only by using the marketer's fragrance. But not Tom Ford.

Ford removes all pretense in his latest fragrance campaign and celebrates what every man wants: to fuck. In this ad, Ford less than deftly places the product in the place all men hope the it will get them: snatch. Crass? Certainly. Objectifying of women? Sure. Attention getting? Most definitely.

Of the campaign, a Tom Ford Beauty Spokeswoman told Women's Wear Daily, "We loved the original Marilyn Minter images, but while on a shoot with [Richardson] in Milan, we decided that a sharper, more graphic approach clearly communicated the bold and provocative mood of the fragrance." Sharper and more graphic, indeed.

by Steve Hall    Sep-12-07    
Topic: Brands, Creative Commentary, Magazine, Racy, Strange



Nike Introduces the Greatest Team We've Never Heard Of

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Hoping, perhaps, to bring back the days of Mia Hamm, Wieden + Kennedy just launched a new Nike campaign for the Women's World Cup with the headline, "The greatest team you've never heard of," which introduces women's soccer's next greats. Illustrating the dedication of the team, the copy in one ad reads, "Together [they] have missed out on 13 proms, 74 birthdays, 21 Thanksgivings and 989 boyfriends." And in an effort to familiarize us with the team, copy in another ad reads, "[the team] includes a tattooed surfer, a scholar, a college football fanatic, a humanitarian and a trucker hat-wearing scuba diver."

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by Steve Hall    Sep-12-07    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Creative Commentary, Good, Magazine



Michael Mann Blends 'Last of the Mohicans' With Nike's Never Quit

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Sit back in your chair. Close your eyes. Imagine the theme music from the movie The Last of the Mohicans welling up inside your head. Picture Daniel Day-Lewis running through the woods and over the mountaintop to save Madeline Stowe from certain death. Now, open your eyes and watch this new commercial (YouTube or higher quality on the U.S. Nike site) from Nike called Never Quit directed by Michael Man. It's transfixing. It's intense. It puts you in the game. It makes your blood rush. It sends chills through your spine. It proves there's more than money in the game of American football.

Now, turn the sound off and watch it again. Pretty lame, right? Music is masterful, even more so than video sometimes, at conveying and amping up a message. Of course, we're partial to this sort of emotional manipulation but, then again, isn't that what advertising's about? Thanks, Bill for calling this to our attention.

by Steve Hall    Sep-10-07    
Topic: Best, Commercials, Creative Commentary



Hardee's Bootylicious 'Flat Bun' Teacher Causes Uproar in Tennessee

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The Hardee's Flat Buns commercial has caused an uproar in Tennessee with Tennessee Education Association President Dr. Earl Wiman (who you've got to hear) saying, "It is unbelievably demeaning." The ad shows a female teacher dancing seductively in front of a class that raps about the positivity of flat buns which the teacher, of course, does not possess. The commercial is part of a campaign launched earlier this summer which included the Flat Buns website.

Wiman wants concerned citizens to complain to Hardee's, saying, "I am asking that all of our members and the public who care about children and their education to contact their local Hardee's to voice their concerns."

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by Steve Hall    Sep-10-07    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Opinion, Racy



The New Girl At Work Is Hot, Better Workout to Look Good For Her

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Steve Portigal from Portigal Consulting notes this ad for UK health club Cannons with the headline, "Because a new girl has started at work and she's hot," wouldn't play so well in America or Canada because we're a bit more politically correct than our forefather nation. While the ad is harmless enough, we agree. No doubt, an army of cause groups would be all over this one as soon as it hit the streets.

by Steve Hall    Sep- 7-07    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Good, Outdoor, Trends and Culture



Happiness Factory + OutPost Gerbil = Guinness Music Machine

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A little bit Happiness Factory and a little bit OutPost Gerbil Cannon, this new commercial for Guinness created by BBDO in Ireland and edited by Cut + Run celebrates what's inside its beer by shooting futuristic-looking Speed Racer-like guys out of what looks like musical instruments onto a set of drums. The result is an orchestral masterpiece of sorts

And, yes, we get it. The guys are beer. Though we are a bit irked by that first shot which is supposed to be the reflection of beer in one of the guy's helmets but, rather, looks a bit like a melting brain. But that's just us. Similar as it might, in theory, be to the aforementioned spots, it does get points for a certain originality we find hard to describe.

The four day shoot used real stunt men shot out of real air cannons onto real, eight-foot drums specially made for the shoot. Now that's a shoot we wouldn't mind attending.

by Steve Hall    Aug-17-07    
Topic: Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good



Heineken Takes Svedka Vodka Robots to Dance Floor

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For pure amusement it seems, Heineken has released DraughtKeg, a site on which you can upload your face to a futuristic robot who will then appear on the dance floor grooving to pseudo-futuristic dance music. It's all very retro...in a futuristic sort of way. And it's to promote their new, uber-cool keg that's, apparently, really, really better than your standard keg.

Let's imagine ourselves sitting in on the Publicis Modem Berlin Cameron (sorry, our PR rep mis-spoke. The campaign was created by Berlin Cameron. Modem handled online work and subcontracted out the creation of this website to Brothers by Choice) concepting session for this piece of work.

AE: "So you all saw the thing. It is pretty advanced for just a keg of beer, right?
AD: "Futuristic, even."
COPY: "The thing looks like some sort of mini-robot."
AD: "I got it! Robots. Beer. The future. A party. A robot dance party!"
AE: "Um, what about Svedka's robots?"
COPY: "Who gives a shit. Ours will be way better because...ooo...I got it...we'll let people upload their heads to the robots! All that social media shit, you know."
AE: "Uh, Trailer Crashers did that."
AD: "Dude. It's ALL been done before. It's not like you expected an original idea, right?"
AE: "Uh, I guess. Hey, just make it look cool OK? Like the music and shit. And make sure you show the fucking product!"
COPY: "Dude, we aren't idiots."
AE: "OK. I know. You rock. I need it next Thursday."
AE/AD/Copy: Three way fist-bump

by Steve Hall    Aug-16-07    
Topic: Creative Commentary, Good, Online