Thursday, June 30, 2011

Wikileaks advertises with a tired cliché and Assange self-love

What a missed opportunity.

Wikileaks has the world's eyes and ears. The banking blockade preventing e-donations from reaching Director Julian Assange's defence fund is controversial and therefore of interest.

To raise money more directly, they feature Assange in an online appeal, and what do they do?



"Priceless"? Seriously? A Master Card ad parody meme that had already jumped the shark before the close of the 20th century?

Plus, Assange is rather creepy. Even ardent Wikileaks supporters must feel a little uncomfortable about the nature of the charges against him — whether as a result of entrapment or not. Plus, the self-congratulatory nature of the ads in not endearing.

This could have been a really great viral opportunity for Wikileaks to gain supporters for their cause. Instead, it shows like a half-assed vanity job.

Next time, call a professional.

via Illegal Advertising

The dirtiest word you can say in advertising

It's "formula".

We all do it, on occasion. But it's not to be talked about. It's a dirty secret that there are a number of "best practices" for creating a moderately (but not phenomenally) successful ad in any medium, but don't call it a formula!



Oh, shit.

Stock photos, and footage, have always been with us. But I have always been turned off by the content that tries to hard to dictate the concept. What the hell are WE here for, anyway?

But that's the whole point of Kelly Mason Productions' ad templates.

"While working with Getty Images, we noticed something interesting: customers would often buy multiple stock shots and piece them together to create their own, commercials. This gave us the idea for our commercial templates; we saw a market niche that was not being filled. So we decided to create pre-made, high quality commercials and sell them to advertisers at a highly competitive price. We want to give everyone the chance to have professional video content on their website. Our commercial templates allow this by drastically reducing the cost of creating powerful and engaging creative content."

Powerful, engaging, and.. generic? Look, I get it. There are many advertisers out there who believe that they just need to get good-looking branded content "out there" to keep up with the competition.

But here's the problem: just because your brand is superimposed on it, that doesn't mean it's your brand.

There is a reason big advertisers don't used canned content for anything but low-level tactical campaigns. Custom creative isn't just some guy coming up with a bunch of fluff; when done right, it's the result of a disciplined process that starts with your business objectives and builds around it.




Watching a bunch of artsy footage of twin women in a shower (clothed) while someone covers vintage David Bowie might look like something that will get you views, but then what? What impression has it left? How is your story being told?

I'm not worried about being put out of a job by this stuff, because smart clients will always want to be unique. But it still bugs me, because I believe it will result in someone wasting money that they could have put into a more honest engagement strategy.

Pepsi steals away Coke's most famous spokesperson

Michael? Oh wait, he's dead.

Britney? Naw, she was fired.

They went after Santa:



As #2, Pepsi has a history of implying that Coke truck drivers, etc., would switch to Pepsi if they could. But is this shot at Coke's most famous imaginary icon warranted?

All's fair in love and cola wars, I guess.





Via MTLB.

Super-caffeinated Butterfinger Buzz promises "a good time all night long"

Headline suggestion: "Nobody's had this much fun with a chocolate bar since Marianne Faithful romped with the Rolling Stones"

Via Buzzfeed

Seriously, though. Is there a demand for this?

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cardboard Will and Kate, on an Ottawa date

When I made fun of this year's Outaouais tourism campaign, I may have spoken too soon. Apparently the weirdness has spread to my side of the river, in Ottawa:



This video, shared by Nick Iannitti on the Adrants FB page, anticipates the visit to Ottawa by royal newlyweds William and Kate this week for Canada Day.

Fairly harmless, really, until you look at where it's hosted: on the Ottawa Tourism YouTube account.

Yep, it's an official (or at least officially sanctioned) tourism video. Will it offend the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, or perhaps the handful of old people in Canada who still view our Monarch's family with some sort of superhuman reverence?

Whatever. I like to see authorities break out a little bit. Besides which, the cutouts look like they had a much better time than the real Will & Kate can possibly have here.

Smurfette goes all haute

She's come a long way from her frumpy white dress and shapeless hipster toque.

No, it's not creepy fan art. To promote the new generation Smurf movie, she's doing high fashion editorial shoots at Harper's Bazaar:

Dolce & Gabbana bag, $995, hat, $425, earrings, $225, cuff, $225, and pumps, $575

Hey wait! She sill has the frumpy dress. But she rocks it.
Lanvin hat, $1,720, gloves, $790, cuff, $1,495, necklace, $1,485, and shoes, $1,345


Louis Vuitton hat, $1,230, bag, by special order, and boots, $940


Marc Jacobs beret, $685, gloves, $400, fur bag, $4,695, socks, and shoes, $895

Quite the metamorphosis for a tiny girl who grew up in a mushroom patch with 100 guys...

Thanks to Fashionista for the tip

Ads of the naughty boys' club


Saw this ad today on Buzzfeed, and I had to know if it was real.

It is, and it's part of a series created five years ago by Saatchi and Saatchi, London, for "clubbing holiday" charter Club 18-30.



No awards for subtlety here, but they did make me snicker in an Austen Powers sort of way.

Shitstorm in a KIA Coupe

The controversy around the "pedo" KIA ad that won a Silver at Cannes just won't go away.

I just read a post at Care2.com, which asked "Do Pedophile Fantasies Belong in Award-Winning Ads?"

They don't belong in any ads, IMHO, but I'm not sure pedo promotion was the intent.

First of all, the ad was a series of two, both of which cut a story into two parallel streams, a childish one and a pornographic one:



The headline, "a different temperature on each side", was presumably written in Portuguese for this Brazilian ad. "Temperature", can I assume, refers to the contrasting tones of the comic?

It looks like an attempt at humour, but it clearly doesn't translate. Like, really doesn't translate.

From Peggy Orenstein:

"Given the global crisis in child prostitution and trafficking, it’s actually more offensive that KIA believes that selling cars via child pornography is no problem as long as they don’t do it in the U.S. What’s more, Moma is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a country that is said to have the worst child trafficking record in the world after Thailand. No wonder the agency thought the ad was 'clever.'"

I'm not going to defend this ad on the basis of creativity (because it's creepy) or strategy (because I can't see it fulfilling any business objectives.) But I will hazard a guess that the mostly-male creative team is not made up of pedophiles. Perverts, perhaps, who created a campaign that creeps people out and furthers harmful stereotypes of "sexy" student-teacher fantasies, sure. But I think they really intended to create a thought-provoking sense of contrast.

But it won't matter now. The agency, MoMa, appears to do business with KIA Brazil. They can kiss that goodbye.

According to PR from KIA Motors America:

IRVINE, Calif., June 24, 2011 - Kia Motors America (KMA) has become aware of an offensive piece of advertising material that was created by an ad agency in Brazil that KMA has no business relationship with and has never worked with. This ad was not created in the U.S. by Kia Motors America or any of its marketing partners and does not reflect the opinions or values of KMA or Kia Motors Corporation. The ad is undoubtedly inappropriate, and on behalf of Kia Motors we apologize to those who have been offended by it. We can guarantee this advertisement has never and will never be used in any form in the United States, and our global headquarters in Seoul, South Korea is addressing the issue with the independent Brazilian distributor.

The other weird thing about this is that I cannot find the ad anywhere on MoMa's site, can't find one in Portuguese anywhere. Kia Motors Corp. spokesman Michael Choo is quoted as saying "We have received confirmation that these ads were never published nor were there any plans to run a campaign based on these creatives in Brazil or anywhere else for that matter. We can ensure that these ads have not been run in public other than being submitted for the Cannes Lions competition and that they will not appear in any public forum in the future."

Is it possible the Cannes judges were tricked by a fake ad? And if so, what will happen to MoMa?

I guess this will be one story to watch.

AN UPDATE ALREADY: Adland noticed that the CD on the KIA ads, Rodolfo Sampaio, was also in the credits of DDB Brasil's awful (and fake) WWF/911 ad.

Marketing grooming product to real men

Why are men's grooming products so hard to sell? I guess it's a sign that the whole metrosexual thing is long gone that we're now at a point of parodying the "real men" who are supposed to use these products.



This one is from an Argentinian agency agency called (without irony) "Ponce". Argentina is apparently a pretty rough neighbourhood. It's funny, though, and won a Cannes Silver Lion for "best use of music".



This one's  from Los & Co in Oslo, Norway. It's also pretty funny, but may be trying a little too hard. It won a Bronze Lion in the "Film" category.

The moral of the story? Male self-deprecation wins awards. Now let's see if it moved product.

(Both tips via Copyranter)

Exposing the myth of the chain mail bikini



Turns out Boris Vallejo, Heavy Metal Magazine, and countless other sources of adolescent boy fantasy lied to me.  No woman warrior worth her salt would be caught dead wearing a chain mail bikini into battle.



The video is pretty well done. And ironically, it comes via College Humor. (Where the Flash version has an extra bit at the end.)

But it's all in good fun, right? Well, tell that to Taarna:


Leather thong armour is less effective, even with FM boots.

Anyone can be a hero

Cute ad from Dunkin' Donuts, to promote their  product tie-in to  the new Captain America movie:



Fun concept. But the grand "anyone can be a hero" message is let down by the gross-milkshake-pretending-to-be-coffee kicker.

Via The Uniblog

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Latvian health ministry frowns on "beer money"

This is the new 1 Lat coin, issued at the height of midsummer festivities in the Baltic country to celebrate the beloved beverage.

According to the Bank of Latvia (via The Telegraph), "After water and tea, beer is the third most popular beverage in the world. The builders of the Egyptian pyramids were given three vessels of beer a day."

But apparently, the Bank received a strongly-worded letter from the Latvian health ministry, complaining that "The coin contradicts our efforts to cut down on the consumption of alcohol in society."

Apparently they're on a crusade. Earlier this year, the health ministry also wrote to a school that had the history of whisky as part of a senior oral exam. They said the topic was "unacceptable."

Meanwhile, Latvians are lining up to get their hands on the new coins.

Zombie Princess Di welcomes Kate to the Royal Family

BRAAAAAAAIIINS (and jaunty hats!)

Tina Brown, you are one weird person.

Tip via Jezebel

Pharma ad video template

It's low-tech, and a little long, and the acting is awkward, but nonetheless this parody ad by Pineapple Shaped Lamps, a live theatre troupe based in Wilmington, North Carolina, does a good job at hitting all the right parts of the formula:



You could almost use this as a training film for Copywriters.

Via Buzzfeed

Brought to you by the generation who told women breastfeeding was disgusting and primitive

(Click to enlarge and read copy)
That's right! Seven-Up is so pure...so wholesome!

Via The Consumerist

This IS Flint after all...


Remember when Newcap Radio (owners of HOT 89.9) and Alphabet Creative pissed off the residents of Flint, Michigan with their self-promo campaign "This Ain't Flint"? It was supposed to rouse mid-recession Ottawans into realizing that they didn't have it as bad as the seemingly post-apocalyptic rust belt subject of Roger and Me. Instead, it just confused people.

A spokesperson for Flint Mayor Michael Brown stated, "I would say to the makers of the video 'This Ain't Flint' that that ain't Flint either," spokesman Bob Campbell said. "It is trying to make a point satirically, and it fails miserably."

Now, ironically, a Flint Mayoral candidate is painting an even worse portrait of his city in his own campaign ad:


(via Reddit)

I guess it's OK when they criticize themselves. But either way, poor Flinters just can't catch a break. At least they tried to cast against stereotype, with a white crook.

The YAHOO! logo meets its long-lost deadbeat father

BoingBoing has a cool post about the eerie similarity between the YAHOO! logo, launched in the digital neolithic period (1995) and the hand-drawn identity of the anti-establishment performance art movement known as the Youth International Party, or "YIPPIE!"

This is a 1960s YIP flyer secretly kept on file by the FBI of the time (recently released under the Freedom of Information Act):



Here's a side-by-side:


Whoa.

BoingBoing notes, "Yahoo's was designed by Organic, Inc. in 1995, and refined a few years later to use the Able typeface (also used in the Harry Potter franchise) Able, from foundry T26. The typeface was designed by Marcus Burlile, who was not born until the 1970s."

Now THERE's a conspiracy theory worth looking into, G-men...

Monday, June 27, 2011

Sex sells. To monkeys.

Move over, American Apparel!

The sexiest ad campaign shown at Cannes wasn't even meant for humans. A partnership between Yale and Proton Studio, it was part of a groundbreaking study on whether monkeys could be persuaded by advertising.

And not just any advertising, but explicit images of female sex and male power.

According to New Scientist:

"One billboard shows a graphic shot of a female monkey with her genitals exposed, alongside the brand A logo. The other shows the alpha male of the capuchin troop associated with brand A.

[Proton adman Keith] Olwell expects brand A to be the capuchins' favoured product. 'Monkeys have been shown in previous studies to really love photographs of alpha males and shots of genitals, and we think this will drive their purchasing habits.'"
Humans, on the other hand, are far more sophisticated.

Coke's new green billboard is covered with fukien tea plants




No, that is not a typo. Coca-Cola Philippines has teamed up with WWF to build an innovative outdoor ad:
"The 60 x 60 ft. plant billboard, located along Northbound EDSA-Forbes, utilizes a thriving species of Fukien tea plant, which absorbs air pollutants. According to botanist Anthony Gao, each plant can absorb up to 13 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year, on the average. 'This billboard helps alleviate air pollution within its proximate areas as it can absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, on estimate.' Gao says.

Recyclable materials were used for the overall make-up of the billboard. 3,600 pots were used, recycling old bottles of various Coca-Cola products. These bottles were filled with a potting mixture made up of a combination of industrial by-products and organic fertilizers—a formulation that is stable and light-weight . These bottles were also designed to hold the plants securely and to allow the plants to grow sideways. Additional holes were made for proper drainage and for holding the drip lines in place.

A drip irrigation system, also known as trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation, was especially installed for efficient water distribution. This irrigation method saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing and emitters. The system is operated on a schedule to distribute water with nutrients to the plants. It provides the plants with what they need when they need it.

With all the eco-friendly mechanism it employs and the relevant advocacy it stands for, this innovative advertisement is a salient reminder for Filipinos to take an active hand in protecting and saving the environment."

Perhaps Coke could do more for the atmosphere by not trucking megalitres of packaged liquid all over the place, but that's just me. It's still a cute PR stunt.

Thanks to AdFreak for the link.

Are you ready for the age of waste-free grocery shopping?

Where I live, grocery bags are on the way out. But can you imagine shopping at a supermarket that had no product packaging whatsoever?

According to Time:

"in.gredients will sell 100% package-free products. This means shoppers have to think ahead and bring their own containers. (The store will kindly offer disposable bags in case they forget.) The store plans to sell everything regular grocery stores do—grains, seasonal produce, spices, daily products, meat, beer, wine and cleaning materials—minus the junk food."

Actually, the store bags are "compostible", which achieves their goal of not adding to landfill, but does not fully support the "package free" vision. They also support local, seasonal and ethical suppliers. And need I add that they are also brand-free?

Hmmm... isn't that called a Farmer's Market? Or a bulk food store?

Anyway, this Austin business has successfully claimed a new retail food space from a marketing point of view. It's a good idea, provided they can crowdfund it. Although I imagine it will have a fairly select target market.

I just wish their infomercial wasn't so full of (organic, local, unpackaged) cheese...

The Paper Terminator

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of terminator 2 (which they obviously really, really like) Swedish artists Daniel Larsson and Tomas Redigh — under their name of Rymdreglage — created this beautiful stop-motion marker homage:



Awesome, eh? But it seems to have offended quite a few YouTube viewers with its "waste" of so much paper.

"Climate criminal," said one. "Please, be eco friendly!" said another. "He must have killed a thousand trees!" said yet another.

Listen, folks. I am a certified tree hugger. But to criticize the use of so much paper in this piece is to totally miss the point.

The painstaking creation and casual destruction of each frame of this animation is part of the artist's statement. It's especially apt for a commemoration of fairly trashy pop culture from 20 years ago. That is not a waste of paper. It is a much, much better use of a renewable resource than all these stupid e-mails and briefs that people keep pointlessly printing out for me at meetings.

You might as well complain about the carbon footprint of burning so many candles, or the energy used to film it all. Art is worth it. And this is cool art.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Ice Bird, Ice Bird, you're such a nice bird....

This was posted on Buzzfeed today as "Worst 70's Novelty Item # 19"



I owned one. It was actually awesome. Come to think of it, Mom, whatever happened to my Ice Bird? It would make one hell of a Daiquiri.

Friday, June 24, 2011

F'd Ad Fridays: "No refunds if this movie goes over your Philistine little head"

From the Avon Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut:


This is apparently real, although it would also make a really great subvertising campaign to attract film snobs.

Via The Consumerist

F'd Ad Fridays: Lipstick Bail Bondspersons

"Kiss jail goodbye!"




Via MTLB

F'd Ad Fridays: Cannes celebrates car ads for creeps

This sick little non-ad got a Press Silver Lion.

Click to enlarge, or just walk away...
This is one of those creative self-pleasuring exercises that has nothing to do with the brand or selling product, but it's nonetheless held up as the best our industry is capable of.

As Copyranter points out, "What do you expect when virtually 100% of the judges are undersexed unattractive men?"

The companion piece is even naughtier, although less creeptastic:


The agency is Moma, from São Paulo, Brazil.

F'd Ad Fridays: Director's reel effs up good and proper

Stephen Reedy is a young Director of short horror spoofs and quirky ads who has also been working as a trailer editor in Hollywood, and is ready for his big break. So what does he do? He makes himself a video resume that makes fun of Hollywood cliches, uses cuss words, and basically self-deprecates all over the place.


BALLS + HEART: Director Stephen Reedy in 1 minute or your money back from Stephen Reedy+ZerofriendsFilms on Vimeo.

Will it work? Reedy says, “I use cuss words in my resume. It’s a 1-way ticket to being turned down by 99.9% of everyone I send it to. But all I need is that 0.01%, that one person of influence to appreciate the craziness and start a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Via Agency Spy

F'd Ad Fridays: That's... WHAT?


Blame Eve Ensler. When she started The Vagina Monologues, 15 years ago, she also began the journey of an anatomical term from being confined to doctors offices and awkward sex ed classes to everyday conversation.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for a frank and open public dialogue about sexuality. (Although I still feel that people should be more accurate when they're talking about the "vulva") But leave it to marketers to take a good thing and ruin it.



Speaking of ruining a good thing, do you not also find it ironic that Summer's Eve, a company founded on the premise that women's genitals are naturally dirty and smelly, is pretending to celebrate the very thing their product denigrates (and possibly damages)?

This fake blog, hosted by a... pussy with a fist in it (?) was started last week as a stealth effort, and outed its branding only yesterday. It is attempting to start a meme by promoting the word "vaginal" in place of "awesome" - similar to "It's OK to say 'Takei'", but not as likable. Nonetheless, it's all over Twitter today.

Now it's encouraging user submission:

"To submit a vaginal video or photo, simply upload it to your YouTube, Vimeo or Flickr account, click the SUBMIT NOW button below and email me the link. If I agree that your submission is indeed vaginal, I will gladly post it to my blog – just let me know how to attribute your genius work with your preferred user name."

But just in case you took "vaginal video" literally, it has the disclaimer that:
1. It be awesome
2. It be non-pornographic
3. You own the content
What do you think of the campaign? Personally, I hate it, but mostly because it's for a consumer brand I really detest.

If it were a campaign to get people talking about real vaginal health, like Julyna, I'd be much less of a douche about it.

F'd Ad Fridays: The most unappetizing cling wrap ads I've ever seen

I may never eat again. You can almost hear the squeals as this piglet has pork chops shoved up its back end.

"I don't want to get porked!"




I get the concept, in theory, but the execution is so deeply disturbing that PETA should buy it and run it as ads for vegetarianism.



Seriously. What the hell were they thinking?


Ads by Creative Juice\g1\TBWA, Bangkok, Thailand
Via Ads of The World

F'd Ad Fridays: Somebody just got f'ired!

Seen flying over Cannes:


I suppose it could've been worse. Like spelling Grey with an "a"?

Oh well. Maybe you can use the money you save from firing everyone who signed this off to hire a proofreader who speaks English.

Via Agency Spy

F'd Ad Fridays: Foods of the Future

1983: Apple-flavoured gum



2011: Gum-flavoured apples

F'd Ad Fridays: They actually give prizes for these things

They're called Cannes Lions. Silver. For a campaign abut menstrual relief that not only does not target women, but manages to find a creative way of offending them:


The ad is one of a series of three from Prolam Y&R, Chile.  They all have the same concept: long suffering man as war hero, for having put up with his woman's "lady times" all these years.

Hey, don't blame me. Take it up with the uterus-free creative team of Max, Pablo, Tomas, Francisco and Patricio.

Via Copyranter

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Manufacturing pop stars

Does one of these girls seem a little... off?



The star of this candy spot is Aimi Eguchi, the newest member of Japanese teen pop group AKB 48. She fits in so well with her bandmates because she's more than one of them — she's all of them.

Singularity Hub explains:

"This past Sunday, Ezaki Glico, the candy company which aired the commercial, confirmed what many of AKB 48’s fans had come to suspect: Aimi Eguchi wasn’t real. The new group member, it turns out, was a computer-generated composite of the real band members. Her pretty face was actually made up of the “best features” of six other members: her eyes, nose, mouth, hair/body, face outline and eyebrows were not flesh-and-blood, but cut-and-paste."



This was done as a publicity stunt, and the sponsors quickly came clean with the hoax. But at the same time it's a timely reminder that you really can't believe your eyes anymore.

Brazil 1, Argentina 0 in the battle of obscene typography


Tulipan is a condom manufacturer, and according to Reddit, they posted these graphically homoerotic/phobic ads in Argentina before an exhibition soccer match with their South American rival.

Turns out Brazil won, and later ran this perfect rebuttal:

Erin Andrews faces the hatelust of the internet



Erin Andrews is a sports reporter at ESPN. She is also an attractive woman. Good for her, right? Making it in a male-dominated profession.

But, rather predictably, her sex and her appearance have inspired the legions of losers on the internet to stalk, threaten and abuse her. She has even received death threats via e-mail.

Perhaps the worst attack she has endured was having a stalker actually shoot secret video of her nude in her hotel room. The so called "peephole video" became such a viral success that it has since become a popular lure for malware sites.

Is this fan love, or fan hate? Frighteningly, for all female journalists, it's a dangerous mix of both.

Check out this "fan" video, posted just this week:


(Skip to 2:10)


The "kid" (who does not sound like one) yells at her from the stands at the NCAA College World Series, demanding an autograph. When she says "no" rather sternly, he yells "I’m gonna watch your video tomorrow!"

This is what these "sexy" celebrity pictures and videos are really all about: power. By bringing up the video, he is threatening to rape her privacy. Out of anger.

Am I reading too much into this?

Here are some comments from the YouTube page:
"lol whoever shouted about the video is a champ. If she's gonna get offended by stuff like that then she shouldn't be such a bitch in the first place."
- jediknight328
What a big bitch. She's not doing jack shit and she can't sign a fucken ball. I would have been like I'm gonna watch your video tomorrow and J/O to it even though I disagree with what the guy did. She's not even that hot. Looks like a fucken witch
- GrammatonCleric24
"lol, what a whore."
- plzenjoymybigolpenis
Granted, YouTube comment threads are the sewer of social media, but they are also a peek into the dark side. You could call it sexual sour grapes—the unattainable woman is a bitch and a whore who is "not even that hot,"  and she deserves to be pseudo-raped.

This is not appreciating a beautiful woman. This is sexualized hate. And it is something to think about next time you check out that celebrity nip slip, upskirt, or sexting link you see online. Are you aroused by the idea of seeing beautiful people naked, or is it the opportunity to participate in humiliating a person more popular or famous than you that really turns your crank?

In Erin's own words, "Man up!"

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

More LEGO retro awesomeness

It turns out that the LEGO campaign I fell in love with last winter has an online video version:



I love the realistic silent home movie, the bad cuts, and the awkward posing. Why won't anyone let me do a campaign like this? *sigh*

Via Reddit

The Onion deserves a Pulitzer

I love The Onion. You love The Onion. Ricky Gervais loves The Onion.



So obviously they deserve a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for lasting 1000 issues.

Hell, even this guy I've never heard of, who actually won a Pulitzer, thinks so:



The Onion also believes it deserves journalism's top honour, and they have America behind them:



Sign the petition. And save journalism.

If there's grass on the field, give it a Bronze Lion

These ads raise so many questions: Is it really a good idea to use a razor down there? Does she shave her pits and crotch, but not her legs? And why the hell does he depilate a semicircle above his junk?



These towels were created by BBDO Germany and supposedly left in grassy parks to promote Gillette's brands to men and women. Cannes gave them a Media Bronze Lion for "best use of ambient media, small scale."

I give it a "meh". I'm so tired of this "look how I represented the brand in a surprisingly visual way!" trend that's been prevalent in international advertising for the past 15 or so years. Awards judges (and ad bloggers) are not the client's target market.

Link via Copyranter

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Lindsay Lohan is shooting commercials from her house arrest

There's shameless, and then there's LiLo:



Popeater says, "Apparently you can't keep this working girl down. Lindsay Lohan who has been spending some court ordered time at home as of late hasn't let her staycation go to waste. The house arrest ham filmed a commercial from the confines of her cozy quarters to the tune of more than $25,000."

$25 K for 18 seconds hawking penny auctions? That's some hard time she's doing...

Miss USA contestants discuss evolution

See how much of it you can stand to watch...



"Oh, dear God! Or whatever..."
Via Buzzfeed.

"Friends don't let Jackasses drink and drive"

Ryan Dunn, of Jackass fame, and actor Zac Hartwell, died the other night when Dunn's Porche went off the road and crashed into a forest. They had just left a bar, after 2 a.m., where witnesses report Dunn had consumed "3 Miller Lites and 3 girly shots". The bar manager says Dunn "didn't seem drunk".

But he is dead. And so is his passenger. How do you feel about that?

Roger Ebert expressed a range of feelings in two consecutive Tweets yesterday:

And that brought on a shitstorm of controversy...


The comment really hit a nerve, and it's a raw one. Death by misadventure is like suicide, in that it provokes a mixed bag of feelings including grief and anger.  Add to that the fact that Dunn took someone else along for the ride, and it gets even more complicated.

We won't know how intoxicated Dunn really was until after his autopsy. He was also known for his love of driving fast. If he had lived, and his passenger had died, he'd be facing some pretty serious charges now.
Via NBC
Yes, Ebert was harsh. This was a harsh death — for two people — and it was probably preventable. But will the moral of the story be lost on Jackass fans?


Probably.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Mooncup presents: way too many synonyms for "vagina"

Mark from Osocio shared this amusing video on Twitter, for the menstrual cup manufacturer Mooncup:



The lyrics are based on user submissions from loveyourvagina.com, a campaign microsite now over a year old, that talks about the product's health and environmental benefits, and invites women to share their own pet names for their pudenda.

The top entries so far (99% of which I assume were offered by my fellow men) are:

The raspberry cave, Liltulip, Lady gaga, Penis flytrap, Falangee, Vagibagi, Sashimi, Vaginator, Nether regions, La vajajay, Bananajaja, Stikkio, Vagillow, Chachina, Vajingi, Dr muffenstein, Forrie, Jabba the hutt, Farfy, Savvanah the sexi, Boof, Wahola, My little, Pakangkang, Spencer, Flamoush, Super, Pusspuss, Pussalinda, Fisse, The beach, Guhther, Gobbleitallup, Ginee, Hoo nanny, Sweet pie, Picika, Flimflam, Jungle, Jackpot, Blueberry, Love shack, Pink kryptonite, Down stairs, My love nub, Fupa, Far south, Picza, Ninny ninny nine no nu, Fanny long stockings, Off limits, Mc lovin', Candy, Cherry, Minnie the moocher, Fenella, High china, Poom, Mervis, Loo lah, Chochi, Zina princess warrior, Slug of love, Minnie ha ha, Tiffany, Geoff, Pa-cha-cha, Love bits, Milkshake, Felma, Vageesh, Moobies, Smurfette, Foef, The mouse's ear, The furry cup, Lady star, Fica, Lovesump, Ferlangee, Mucka, Woobie, Minney, The last supper, Whisker biscuit, Anne fan fanny, Bit, Foofie g, Mrs tickle, The place of no return, Basket, Funini, Place of business, Cavern of secrets, My ladybeak, Perrechooo, My delta love cave, Pink lotus, Wikerty splikerty, Fru fru :), Hairy cup, Pooey tooey, "v" reg, Pookey, Foufoune, My girlfriend, Lisbeth, Vertical smilenot, My netherlands, Firecrotch, Constance, Billie va-jean, Nou-nou, Pansy, Tropical flower, Platypussy... and literally hundreds more.

Effective user engagement, or just puerile fun? Only their sales will tell.

Meanwhile, here's the classic male version:

Artline campaign draws lots of conclusions

Via Ads of The World

I like these Australian Artline marker ads because it makes me think much more than an art supplies campaign should.

About smoking:



Motherhood:



Sun exposure:



Class:



The urban environment:



And culture:



The YouTube videos also issue the challenge to get involved:

"We're all familiar with the phrase 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. A few strokes of a pen can change the course of events, sway opinions or re-engineer meanings. And when it comes to pens, Artline is the mightiest of them all. With Artline pens in hand we've shown you what the world looks like from where we sit but now you can share your perspective too. Come and have a say at Facebook.com/Artline"

Cool stuff.

Is your phone even worth stealing?

This funny bit from BBC's Jazzie Show gives a great reason to hold on to your old model: muggers hate them.

Vermont wants to tap that!

This was too good to wait for Friday:


Thank you, Copyranter. You made my goddamn day.

FEMEN do Yulia

The protestors of FEMEN took parodic aim at former Ukrainian Prime Minister (and iconic hairdo) Yulia Tymoshenko with a protest against corruption outside the trial of Tymoshenko's late Minister of Internal Affairs, Yuriy Lutsenko.

Of course, FEMEN did this in what PRAVDA calls "its traditional way - bare breasted and clashes with police."






You've got to hand it to them, these women really understand the PR value of street theatre.