"Come-from-behind" Santorum headline is still there #FdAdFriday

And now, the political headline of the week:

via

The best part? It's still there!  If you don't get it, you will if you click this link.

F'd Ad Fridays: F'd political message prank

Deadspin has a post about Craig James, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate who has an unfortunate urban legend about being a serial killer of prostitutes when he was a university student. Yeah, really.

And apparently some wag, for the low cost of a $5 donation, was able to leave this message on his campaign fundraising page at Rally.org:

Did you see it?

Obama creating jobs by putting creatives out of work?

Adland brought to my attention a truly ironic move by US President Obama's 2012 re-election team: unpaid crowdsourcing for a new campaign promoting job growth.

From the Art Works site:

"Obama for America is seeking poster submissions from artists across the country illustrating why we support President Obama's plan to create jobs now, and why we'll re-elect him to continue fighting for jobs for the next four years.


Your poster can address the broader themes of the President's plan or pinpoint a specific aspect, from supporting small businesses to rebuilding roads and bridges for the 21st century. For more on the desired specs, read the creative brief.


We'll pick the 12 best submissions received by November 4th, 2011, then put the finalists to a vote. Three winners will receive a framed print of their poster signed by President Obama and a limited edition of their poster will be sold in the campaign store."

Here are a couple of gems from the "Creative Brief":

"You hereby represent and warrant that all equipment, materials, and facilities used to produce your poster are owned by you and were not provided by a corporation, labor union, foreign national, or federal contractor. Any disposable materials purchased specifically to produce the poster will be treated as in-kind contributions to Obama for America."

I'm sure this one is being violated repeatedly by people who cannot afford to have their own equipment outside of the office.

"All submissions will become property of Obama for America."

And for all that, here's what you win:

"Three (3) winners will receive the following prize: A framed copy of the Poster (defined below) signed by Barack Obama and all or part of the winner's Poster will be used and displayed on Sponsor's website and/or in other Sponsor advertising or promotional material (to be determined in Sponsor's sole discretion) associated with Sponsor's political advertising efforts (approximate retail value: $195)."

When a country's economy goes bad, the marketing industry — including ad and design creatives — is the canary in the coal mine. Companies in trouble tend to cut marketing budgets early on as they struggle to reduce the bleeding. Agencies lose revenue, then lay people off (or even shut their doors).

There is nothing creative professionals hate more than a paid work opportunity being given over to free crowdsourcing. The Obama campaign is well-funded, too — Adland says they have "$60 million cash on hand in campaign funding".

Creating jobs means supporting professionals who depend on a certain trade for a living. But this contest asks ll entrants to give away their work for free even if they don't get any credit for it. By undermining the value of concept and design, the Obama campaign has thumbed its nose at one of the USA's most celebrated industries.

And when you piss off creatives, you can get some very creative responses.

F'd Ad Fridays: Why I love to hate US political ads

Politics aside, this ad is actually pretty cool to watch with its futurism and its melodrama and its high production values. We never see anything this over-the-top in Canada. Our political ads look more like an outtake from Corner Gas.



It sure looks like the American Future Fund hasn't gone bankrupt...

Via rawstory

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.

Generation DIY on the 2011 Canadian Federal Election

After reading a Globe and Mail article, "How Parliament would look if only youth voted", I was saddened by the statement that only 37% of eligible voters 18 - 24 voted in the 2008 federal election.

Young people are supposed to be our idealists, who shame us out of our democratic complacency. But it seems that they are as cynical and disengaged as the rest of Canada.

Looking for insights, I turned to someone who is facing her first federal election: my 18-year-old niece Emma.

You may remember Emma as the high school grad who arranged, with her friends, to rent an OC Transpo bus as their "Limo" for Grad. Now off at U of T, she now regularly vlogs to keep in touch with her sister, Tess, and friends at home.

Election ads of the future: "I kind of want to fuck shit up..."

So when I asked Emma how to get her generation more engaged, I wasn't surprised to get a YouTube link. After all, her mom (my sister-in-law) is the owner of YOW Productions, and the writer, producer and director of the web series Sweet Tarts Take-Away.

Emma prefaced this with the explanation, "I didn't come up with a solution to your question about getting youth to vote, but I do try to explain why I AM voting."

Check it out:



Of course it's "random" and "awkward", that's the intent. If gotten used to the Gen-Y (or should I say, "Gen-DIY") style when they create their own media. I especially love the little Elizabeth May animation!

"Uh.... let's plant some trees..."

Although I have to admit I was taken aback hearing that dear, sweet girl swearing like a sailor. But I shouldn't have been surprised. A certain crass creativity runs in the family. :)

The National Post's Matt Gurney recently wrote an editorial called "Strong leaders don't hide from young voters".

So you tell 'em, Em!