"White" people are pink, and "Black" people are... green?

Cute little gum campaign, eh? Gum "made for kissing". Okay, maybe it's a little weird, but the idea is clear enough.

The ads are by Leo Burnett Tailor Made, Brazil. Now, Brazil also has a sizeable population of African decent. We wouldn't want to leave them out, would we?

"But"... I'm sure someone at the agency said, "if we have a black man kissing a pink bubble, then it looks like an interracial thing, and that might distract people from the simple campaign message."

"Does Topline make any brown flavours?" someone else might have replied, in a frantic search for a quick-fix that would keep the campaign on deadline.

Whatever the conversation, this is what they ended up with:

Well, okay then. I guess Captain Kirk isn't the only one into green women.

All images via Ads of The World.

Fiat 500L: Big enough for a whipped cream party with three international beauty pageant contestants

I'm not sure if this is another spec ad or not. But one thing's for sure: It's not subtle.

The campaign, via Ads of The World, is by Leo Burnett, Spain.

Let's have a closer look at the guy with the whipped cream, shall we?

Yeah... no.

You've got to love the way his "cream" is spurting out all over the place.

The campaign has two more iterations. One is actually quite clever, if you're into '80s movies:

The other one takes a weird, retro-racist angle:

They're all, supposedly, about the Fiat 500L's bigger interior capacity. But the concept looks more like something that's been sitting around the creative department for a while, looking for an excuse to be executed.

Questionable subject matter aside, however, the illustration style is pretty neat.

Like this headline, your life could change in an instant

I'm not sure these copy-only ads for Swiss Life, in which life changes mid-sentence, are really doing it for me. But it's a neat idea in theory. And apparently they won Gold at the Epica Awards and Silver Press Lions at Cannes International Advertising Festival.

I wonder if they were better in French, German or Italian?

Campaign by Spillman/Felser/Leo Burnett . See two more at The Inspiration Room.

This is how they sell Italian cars in Argentina #FdAdFriday

With boobs.

Well, that's no surprise. But what is baffling is the way this ad (via Copyranter) spends so little time talking about cars, and so much time talking about boobies. Plus, its pro-surgery, anti-natural slant is pretty damn offensive:



The only thing I did like about the ad was the way it visually referenced one of the most referenceable movies of all time.
(The music is more like Bob Dylan's "The Man in Me" from the title sequence.) Related: This is how they sell Italian sports cars in Germany

In case you ever wondered what species went into Filet-O-Fish

This really unfortunate ad from Leo Burnett, Saudi Arabia, has the answer.

(According to Wikipedia, it's actually Pollock or Hoki.)

But I'll never be able to look at one of those things the same way again.

Via Ads of The World

The only thing I like about this McDonald's ad is its ending

And I mean that in two senses. The ending did not, luckily, end up with the child catching a fry-hungry fish. And after 30 seconds of unrelenting sap, I was relieved when it was finished.

And this is coming from a man who takes his son fishing every week. Without fries.

Via Copyranter

Parents of young kids: How terrifying is this coffee ad?

Via adwomen.org

I get that this ad by Leo Burnett, Hong Kong, supposed to be funny. But if the bus driver is in such bad shape, I don't think another cup of coffee is the answer. As both a parent and a road safety social marketer, I hate being reminded of real life problems like this in a silly consumer ad.

F'd Ad Fridays: Gloriously f'd Aussie rum ad

This inspired lunacy from Leo Burnett, Sydney made my day. And I haven't even started drinking yet.



Thanks to AdFreak for the tip. (Although I had to go looking for an iPhone-friendly embed — damn Apple/Flash feud!)

Augmented reality hits the streets

KIA took an interesting approach to promoting its new Punto Evo. Rather than using QR codes, which are already common, they developed a smart phone app (iPhone and Android only) that reads standardized, well-defined, high-contrast shapes that are all over the urban landscape: traffic signs.



Here's more explanation:

"For example; a STOP sign will tell the user all about the new breaking system, a CURVE ahead sign will tell the user that the car has an intelligent lighting system that guides you in curves. And the list goes on with every sign and feature of the car."

This is a European campaign by Leo Burnett Iberia in Madrid,  so your mileage may vary if you try it on another continent's standard signs. (See full credits at their YouTube link)

Meanwhile, in New York City, new interactive LED signs are reminding drivers who break the new 30 MPH (~48 km/h) that they are significantly more likely to kill a pedestrian in case of a collision:

I like this approach much better than the KIA one. First of all, as I'm an urban pedestrian it's a cause I feel passionate about. Second, I'm a little worried that the traffic sign game by KIA will actually lead to crashes between distracted walkers and drivers.

Lego my Imagination!

Ever since the late '70s, I've been kind of a crotchety old man when it comes to Lego. That was when the iconic building blocks went from focussing on generic pieces to what can only be described as glueless modelling kits.

Okay, so a Lego AT-AT is really freaking cool, but where's the imagination in that? And how impressed would you be if your kid was able to design one using only those old primary coloured blocks?

But these fancy model kits aren't necessarily the end of imagination — just a lazy way out. Really creative kids ignore the instructions and make whatever their fantasies demand.

And that's why I love... no, LOVE! this campaign I just saw in I Believe in Advertising:

[click pics for larger versions]

Thank you, Leo Burnett Moscow. That's a truly refreshing and inspirational campaign for a parent like me!