Colle+McVoy men have a special gift for you
It's about time for the spate of agency holiday Web sites. Colle+McVoy in Minneapolis has an unusual entry that melds e-commerce, charity and humiliation. Agency Ham is a 2010 calendar that features the shop's male staffers shirtless, pantsless or at least in some faux-provocative poses like chopping wood. The calendar goes for a hefty $29.95 and will be on sale for the next 10 days. Proceeds go to the United Way and Community Health. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Spirit Airlines' latest ad mocks Tiger Woods
The always-classy Spirit Airlines is striking while the iron is hot and holding an "Eye of the Tiger" fare sale—which it's advertising online with a cheesy Flash animation of a tiger driving into a fire hydrant. "It's a jungle out there!" says the copy. "Make sure you avoid all the obstacles and get the lowest fares." The carrier hasn't been this inspired since holding its "Many Islands, Low Fares" (MILF) sale a couple of years ago. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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My name is Ram, and my ad is too repetitive
The old Dodge Ram is now simply called Ram. You may or may not have gleaned this fact from the spot above, in which we learn, via a little personification poem, that yes, the truck is named Ram. The ad is courtesy of The Richards Group, and the voiceover is supposedly Stan Richards. The whole thing defies your average truck-guy stereotypes in a number of ways. For instance, I was unaware that manly truck guys enjoy Walt Whitman-like free verse. (The whole thing is rather close in spirit to Levi's new "Go forth" campaign.) And then there's the still photography. I would have thought truck guys would want at least one shot of the Ram actually moving. Maybe hauling some crap? Plowing through some mud in slow motion? There are moments of great inspiration here, but the problem is the repetition. "My tank is full" is repeated a full four times. Multiply that by six commercial breaks, and tell me if you don't want to apply something directly to your forehead. And is the fullness of the tank even something you want to harp on? At 14 mpg in the city, it won't be full for long. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Dish Network just loves the word Christmas
Dish Network really wants you to know it's not afraid to say the word "Christmas." In the insufferable seasonal spot above, employees sing, "We Dish You a Merry Christmas." Most of them probably e-mailed their résumés to DirecTV as soon as the director yelled, "Cut!" As if the commercial weren't annoying enough, Dish has been issuing "statements" about its oh-so-brave decision. There's mention of an "outpouring of both support and displeasure from people across the country" and a boast about how Bill O'Reilly called Dish "patriotic" for airing the ad. Sure, Dish is unafraid to say "Christmas" over and over. But these media releases are hardly in the spirit of the season—they're more self-serving than Gap's holiday ads, which earned the threat of a boycott from the American Family Association for not being Christmassy enough. It would be nice if the AFA, in an unlikely twist, condemned Dish for a crass effort to build buzz. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Homeless in Ireland are like Christmas trees
It's a little early to think about throwing your Christmas tree to the curb, if you even have one yet. But the discarded trees—which enjoy a stay indoors and then find themselves on the street—serve as a metaphor for the homeless in this Irish PSA campaign from BBDO in Dublin. (Click the link to see three full-size ads.) Details like the ornaments clinging to the branches and straggling bits of tinsel enhance the emotional resonance in an unforced, non-denominational way. We've all seen these withered forms, needles starting to brown, discarded in alleys and gutters after Jan. 1. Sadly, one often finds homeless folks in such places, in basically the same condition, year round. Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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James Lipton's beard protecting teens' junk
LG and Young & Rubicam have enlisted James Lipton, and his great and powerful beard, for some amusing PSAs urging young texters to "give it a ponder" before spreading hurtful gossip and/or pics of their junk across the interwebs. The Inside the Actors Studio host literally lends his beard to each troubled youngster to get them to do the right thing. One spot is posted below. See all four here, along with four print ads. They're all hair-larious. It's just really fun to hear Lipton say things like, "The last thing he needs is tweets about his beets." Over at the Web site, JL's talking beard will guide you through the standard social-media components. Will these ads break through to jaded teens? My husband happens to have a whole class of 9th graders who saw the ads during homeroom. What did they say? "Why does she have a beard? I don't get it. That's retarded." But you have to know how to read a 9th grader. Apparently, they hate everything. The important thing is: They didn't say it was gay. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Sochi 2014 picks fancy-looking URL as logo
The logo for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, was unveiled today, and it's notable both for what it doesn't include—the traditional abstract cultural image relating to the host city or country—and for what it does: a Web address. In other words, in a desperate appeal to the world's youth, even the Olympics are retreating from the real world into the virtual one. Developed by Interbrand and Sochi's own brand council, it's the first Olympic logo to feature a URL, and Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko couldn't be more proud. "To prove our commitment to innovation, Sochi 2014 will have a clearly digital Games emblem," he says. "Today, we welcome tomorrow. ... Our emblem challenges people to look beyond what they expect from our country. We believe sochi2014.ru can become an international symbol of a sporting, social, economic and environmental legacy that lasts for generations." What do you think of it? Via idsgn. UPDATE: OK, yes, several of the letters in "Sochi" have been designed to mirror those in "2014," which could bring to mind a reflection in water, and thus Sochi's location on the Black Sea. I mean, obviously. Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on December 1, 2009 | Permalink
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W+K posting 'Wiedenisms' on new Web site
Wieden + Kennedy has touched up its Web site. It isn't likely to turn heads in the vein of Modernista! or BooneOakley, but it does pay tribute to the agency's founder with some "Wiedenisms." These little bon mots from Dan Wieden include well-known lines like "Fail harder" but also fortune-cookie material like, "Advertising is a weapon; be careful where you point it," and my personal favorite, "Patience and progress are fucking hard." Another touch from Wieden you don't see on many agency sites: It has ads. And not just ones the agency created—paid ads placed by local Portland businesses. —Posted by Brian Morrissey Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on December 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Enjoy that Guinness, wherever it came fromHere's the most recent Guinness commercial from BBDO New York, in which a pint of the stuff makes an unlikely slide from quiet neighborhood bar to thirsty corporate ladder-climber. "Fortune favors the bold," the spot says. It also favors guys who drink openly at work. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on December 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Boost Mobile has Mrs. Claus on naughty list
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus star in separate Christmas-themed Boost Mobile ads from agency 180, part of the long-running "Unwrong'd" campaign. When it comes to wrongness, Mrs. Claus is way ahead of her husband, engaging in some icy-hot lovemaking with a snowman in the stop-motion animated spot above. (Her friend can handle the heat of passion but not the hairdryer that's turned on him when the big man returns unexpectedly.) Santa, meanwhile, burdened by large cell-phone bills, has been forced to make some cutbacks in the spot below, and has replaced his reindeer with mules. Which seems like a minor sin by comparison, and he doesn't seem amorous toward any of his new hires, either. —Posted by Tim Nudd See also: |
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Published on December 1, 2009 | Permalink
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