Oh please. Do we really need to know what Julie Roehm and alleged lover Sean Womack said to each other over email? Reading other people's email is never a good thing. Especially when it has to do with interpersonal relationships. It's like watching your parents have sex. Some things should never be shared.
Having to read Roehm gush things like, "I think about us together all the time. Litle moments like watching your face when you kiss me. I loved your voice mail last night and love the idea of memory and kept thinking/wishing that it would have been you and I there last night. So there's a little head action for you," is just not necessary. And it's especially not necessary to read Womack reply, "That was some good head action for me." Ew. Please. This stuff just belongs between two lovers. Not in court documents.
Shawn Waite points us to Gawker which received an internal office memo from Publicis letting staffers know New York Magazine would be in the agency snapping shots for its upcoming "Office Life" photo essay. the memo reads, in part, "Try not to pay attention to the crew...or play to the camera...unless you are asked to. As for dress code, that's up to you ...but remember, you (and that outfit) just might make it into the pages of a future New York Magazine!" Yes. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Continue in your hipsteresque ways but don't, under any circumstances show up wearing a Donny Deutsch Speedo. That would simply not properly reflect properly on the agency.
No, Bank of America (and all other financial institutions for that matter), my account information is not enclosed in this letter. In case you hadn't read your own mail before sending, what's contained inside this letter is not my bank statement but rather yet another offer for me to consolidate debt, spend more money on a vacation and create even more debt by writing a check against my credit card account to spend frivolously on things I don't want or need.
Perhaps direct mail guru Bob Bly can put my mind to rest. Has it become permissible for the practice to mislead, lie and misinform as standard practice? I never created email that lied and for years I've ignored this idiocy. I can't any longer. It's bad enough Bank of America requires you to have a degree in accounting to figure out how much you actually owe on your overdraft account. Now they want you to go deeper into debt with these idiotic monthly offers. Yes, of course, I ignore all of them but after 24 months of me not responding, you think they'd want to save a stamp or two. Oh wait, direct mailers don't care about the wasted 98 percent of people who ignore their offers.They only care about the two percent that respond. Silly me.
If any of you ladies in the industry would like to leave behind demanding clients, whining account executives, pompous creative directors and groping bosses who only see you for your mini-skirted long legs and button-straining cleavage, now's your chance. GoDaddy is in search of another GoDaddy girl. If you win the contest, you can leave behind all that rampant sexism and be appreciated by Bob Parsons and the rest of the Godaddy folk for your important assets...like your mini-skirted long legs and button-straining cleavage. Sweet deal, huh?
You can prance around in tight tops while drooling film crew members spray you with water until the cold causes your breasts to offer up that quintessential reaction so many admire yet causes nothing but embarrassment for you. Sit next to Bob during interviews as he tries not to leer at you while asking you important questions about your background and decision to become a GoDaddy Girl. And, screw working on a Super Bowl commercial. Appear in one instead so 50 million American men can fantasize about you when they go to bed at night, Or to the bathroom after the commercial break. Sounds like a great career move. What are you all waiting for?
UPDATE: Actually, screw GoDaddy. Let's have an Adrants Advertising Hottie Contest. Sure it's sexist but it's also fun. Guys are welcome too. We'll think of a good prize. Put your submissions in Comments or send using the Contact link at the top of the site.
In a drastic repositioning, Metamucil takes on the slogan "Be Beautiful on the Inside" and invites women to look at the brand as an internal cosmetic - you know, like those Oil of Olay pills except these are for fiber and they make you shit like mad.
Maybe it's the font or the wry look on the girl's face. Suddenly, we do want some Metamucil. Is that wrong?
Polaroid cameras in the bathroom. Nice idea in Sao Paulo. We're not thinking this will go over too well in the Sates, however.
Ugh. We're not sure what Carsguide was thinking when they agreed to launch this campaign by Cummins and Partners out of Melbourne.
Animated by Firehorse Films, the guys who did bro'Town (NZ's response to Family Guy), this film, called Day Rider, is a kitsch-ridden, awkward spoof on the '80's series Knight Rider. Naturally the car becomes the protagonist's worst enemy.
Because for some odd reason watching an '80's hoopty go bad will inspire you to possess one of your own, Carsguide ties the campaign in with an opportunity to win an '84 TransAm.
We're trying to think of more mean things to say but we're too sleepy and bored, so we'll just move on now.
Even though Elisha Cuthbert's movie career is tubing, her most recent movie, Captivity, is getting a bit of extra press because its four billboard campaign depicting Cuthbert in positions of abduction, confinement, torture and death. The movie's studio, After Dark Films, which partnered with Lionsgate on the film, was flooded with calls from local area residents who found the imagery horrific, shocking and inappropriate for placement in public spaces. After Dark exec Courtney Solomon told the LA Times the billboards were a mistake and that it's unclear how they were approved and placed. Lionsgate denies any involvement with the billboard campaign. After Dark, reacting to complaints, has told the outdoor company to take the boards down.
Ever-so-delicately raising the topic of flatulence in the Ladies Home Journal, Copyranter tips us off on these completely weird cauliflower love letter ads for Beano. Check out a break-up variation.
We're totally mystified by the melodramatic soap opera serial vibe of the campaign, set off with wilty illustrations. Why can't we just say it would be nice not to look preggers in our little black dress tonight? Enough of this tiptoeing around the subject with the mopey gas-bestowing veggie. Nobody's writing love letters to vegetables. We're all just trying to keep our stomachs tucked into our jeans.
When you've got serious marketing dollars to throw behind wooing someone, it's a fine line between making them feel like stars and just, well, stalking the dickens out of them.
Philly-based 160over90 assists Wilkes University toward one or the other of these ends. Using mall kiosks, MySpace ads, billboards and whatever other media happened to be standing in a would-be Wilkesian's way, the university gave accepted students a king-sized shout-out.
The campaign makes Mini's "Hey Joe Shmoe" RFID-based billboard idea look piddly - it actually goes into details about the students' activities and ties them into the ad pitch.
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We mentioned this back in December but as the release date approaches and the real world ad industry continues to dish up hearty helpings of gossip, rumor, innuendo and foul play, we can't help but bring this up again. With all the juicy Sorrell/Roehm/Siefert dirt floating about our far from fine, upstanding industry, we can't really blame Hollywood for churning out movies that portray advertising executives as slimy, immoral scumbags with nothing better to do that take advantage of their power to belittle (and worse) others. No. And that's why we have movies like the upcoming Bruce Willis/Halle Berry flick Perfect Strangers.
In the movie, Bruce Willis is a high-powered ad exec who apparently kills (or not) a girl with whom he was having an online affair. Now Halle Berry, an investigative reporter, poses as an intern at Willis' agency to dig into Willis' wrong doings. Maybe Shannon Siefert should go to work for Martin Sorrell and pick up some client work headed by Julie Roehm. Now that would make a good movie.
Apparently the Mr. Universe days are over. Gold's Gym, one of his last strongholds, has finally decided to divorce the oil-slicked rock-hard prototype patron of their long heritage to draw yoga mamas and mellow boomers into the building.
With that in mind, Gold's is scrambling to make their $30 million ad budget and 40+ years of illustrious history count for the new crowd, who look at it as a nostalgic symbol of times past. Advertising Age has a spot from their new campaign. It's got an aggressive Gold's feel to it but the imagery is more typical of what you'd find at Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness. The spot isn't particularly thrilling and we worry they're wasting some serious brand equity by being too self-conscious about the competition.
You know what would be really awesome? Starting a Gold's-sponsored Arnold Fitness Challenge, where Arnold Schwarzenegger is whipped back into shape by the frothy little yoga mamas Gold's is trying to hard to court. We'd pay to see that. Well, probably not. But we might at least turn the TV on. Come on, Gold's. Don't be such chickenshits.
We've learned two very important things having been in the advertising industry for some time. First, no two cultures are alike and what's funny or insensitive in one country could be quite the opposite in another. Which is why these two Dubai Lynx Grand Prix winning spots make no sense to us at all. Oh sure, they're funny but we're not sure why. Oh wait, we were talking about the two things we've learned. The second. Bouncing boobs are man magnets no matter where on this earth one lives. Especially to box headed men the second spot labeled "Hulk."
Step aside Julie Roehm. The international big shots are taking the stage now with libel, money-laundering and love triangles. Big shot WPP Group's Martin Sorrell, in the midst of a libel suit in London's High Court against former WPP country manager Marco Benatti and Sorrell-founded FullSix CEO Marco Tinelli, has reportedly been having a relationship with WPP CEO Daniela Weber since late 2004. Prior to that, Weber was, apparently, having a relationship with Benatti. Now, Sorrell and Webber are suing Benatti for leaking "vicious" images of them to the Internet. Do we sense a bit of jealously here from Benatti? Or perhaps it's a bit of vengeance in reaction to Sorrell's firing of Benatti (and Tinelli) for the above mentioned apparent libel.
Adding to the drama is Sorrell's spectacular multi-million dollar divorce from his wife two years ago and his relationship with Weber being referred to, apparently by Benatti and Tinelli, as "the mad dwarf and the nympho schizo." Can it get any more delicious than this? Yes. Weber, 44 and referred to as "hot lover" on some blogs, has worked for Benatti since she was a student and by 2005, she had a director position and a 20 percent stake in Tinelli's FullSix. Apparently, over the 20 years Weber and Benatti worked together, Benatti was "frustrated with his position and his lack of power and authority." Again, jealous much?
It is said Benatti and Tinelli were behind the creation of the blog that circulated the "vicious" photo of Sorrell and Weber but involvement has been denied. The case, and its drama, continue today.
We're not sure who the client was or whether there even is one, but according to AdPunch Draft FCB France put together this simple print ad to raise awareness about journalists out yonder who die doing their jobs every day.
The text reads "In too many countries, writing an article is equivalent to committing suicide." It's a cute, avante-garde little idea but we couldn't escape the thought of a writer's block sufferer scribbling madly at his own wrist in an effort to unleash life's flow. Oh how morbid. We always vaguely suspected we were distant cousins of the fountain pen.
We'd never see this in America because...oh heavens, the innocent eyes of children would be so horribly tarnished but in Italy, fake orgies inside a car parked outside a sex shop is just fine. For Erotika, Milan agency Virus created stickers which simulated a steamy six person orgy and affixed them to the windows of a car. You can wallow in the creation of and reaction to this stunt in this video.
Finally a clothing trend worthy of mention. What - we get skinny jeans and the Japanese get to play conservative cocktease with faux-transparent skirts and built-in thongs that show nothing but promise everything at the same time?
We can do better than this. Where's Lil' Kim when you need her?
Update: the PC police inform us nobody actually walks around with panties printed on their skirts, which we took to be a damn shame. The cheesy skirts are apparently used in cheap porns to titillate men who can't afford to put mirrors on their shoes.
Make the Logo Bigger rubs our faces in this weird little ad, allegedly for McD's in Austria.
We love Austrians; they are so anti-this. Screw breastmilk; start your kids on the right track early. There's nothing like sucking processed meat and cheese out of sesame-sprinkled flesh. Why rid them of that plump rosy Dudleyness later in life?
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