Don Draper Time Travels to Late Nineties World of Web 2.0

Wait. What? Don Draper, the head dude on AMC's Mad Men has a Twitter account? And is following me? Huh? Time warp?

Oh I get it. It's not Don Draper. It's some dude over at AMC or their agency. Or...someone impersonating a person at AMC or their agency. Damn, why didn't I think of that? Oh who cares!!! Twit this, Draper!

Creatives Chat, Conversation Divided, Bottles Designed, Advergirl Comments

- Advergirl's Leigh Householder made an appearance on a local NBC affiliate to comment on Obama's Vice Presidential mobile promotion. Go Leigh!

- Stock photography house Masterfile has launched City Forum, a chat room-style meeting place for designers, art buyers and creatives to mix, mingle and do business.

- Writing in Advertising Age, Pete Blackshaw weighs in on the divide between marketers trumpeting of conversation and their actual practice of it.

- Animal's Bucky Turco doesn't like Mountain Dew's Green Label art "Limited Edition Artist Series" which offers bottles designed by artists. Hey, it's more exciting than your usual product design but the pint is taken; how much can art be commercialized before it is no longer art?

- Enfatico's woes simply will not cease. Now it seems pink slips are being handed out and the Australian division of Dell wants out of the WPP deal.

That Slanty Eyed Asian Ad From Spain? Misinterpreted

Oops. In our hyper politically correct world, even gestures meant as a joke can be completely misunderstood and transformed into accusations of racism. The Spanish Olympic basketball team posed for an ad in which they used their hands to form what was supposed to be a wink to their participation in the Beijing Olympics but was interpreted as the not so polite slany-eyed Asian facial expression.

Interpret it as you see fit but we're a long way from becoming the fun-loving, all-loving planet which was on brief display during the Olympic opening ceremony.

What, Thespians Don't Play Charades?

Check out "Theatre" for Holland Casino. It clearly identifies its audience, demonstrates why casinos are more entertaining than a "high culture" jaunt ("It's more fun when you take part") and even made us laugh. I srsly almost choked on my couscous when dude was all, "IS IT A BOOK...?!"

Nice change from gaudy and cheesy. Good stuff by agency TBWA and production company Czar/NL.

Yo, Bitch! Britney is Back! And she's Looking Good!

Britney Spears used to be cute. Britney Spears used to be adorable. Britney Spears used to be the hottest thing in the planet. The came K-fed. Then came baby. Then came Bald Britney. Then came the MTV Video Music Awards debacle. Then came....two commercial featuring an adorably cutre Britney Spears promoting this years MTV VMAs? Wait? What?

Yes. It seems our adorable cutie is back. And if she's going to remain adorably cute then what's not to love? Do we really want to fester in her trashy life or do we want to go back to worshiping her for being the hottest pop start on the planet? Wait. Don't answer that for fear you've all been adversely affected by the last five years of blogloid "journalism."

See the spots here and here.

Cup-a-Soup Improves Brain Power

And if you believe that, then you probably need it. Produced by Czar/NL for agency TBWA.

Obama? McCain? Nope. Miller High Life For President

Who needs political platforms full of platitudes when you have the Miller High Life Guy stumping the Common Sense Platform? It's unclear whether or not a beer-fueled presidency is the answer to the country's ills but with our current president seemingly drunk and unable to navigate his way to his seat at the Olympics, things couldn't be much worse.

Miller High Life Dude for President!

Oh, and Drink Responsibly.

Liberty Mutual Believes in the Kindness of Man

In "Lighthouse," a (very!) short film by Exopolis, a wee seaside community helps light a path for ships long after technology fails them. Very cute. Created for Liberty Mutual's "Responsibility Project" by Hill Holliday.

See a previous effort, "Mandy and Lester" by RSA.

Oh Look! It's A Blatant Advertorial!

If you're into reports then you've heard of MarketingSherpa. If you've bought their reports, you know they're good. If you sometimes can't get approval from your management to buy the reports, you may be in luck. For the next three days, MarketingSherpa is offering a 30 percent discount on all reports.

Why? The company is moving to bigger office space and, well, perhaps they just felt like being nice. Here's some of their most recent reports:

- B-to-B Lead Generation Handbook

- 2008 Landing Page Handbook

- 2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide

- 2008 The Online Advertising Handbook + Benchmarks

- 2008 Email Marketing Benchmark Guide

Yes, Adrants does get a percentage of the sale but I've read some of these reports and they are excellent. If you want to call this an advertorial, feel free to do so. I just think it's something nice we can do for you.

Yearbook Yourself Offers Farrah Fawcett Feather

Well here's a new one. You know those companies that own, operate or manage shopping malls that always seem to think shoppers actually care about anything other than what stores are in the mall? No? Don't feel bad. No one does though it seems one is out to change that.

The Taubman Company LLC has launched Yearbook Yourself, a site on which you can upload your picture and see what you would look like through the decades from the 50's to the 90's. Wat to see what you look like with an 80's Farrah Fawcett haircut? Go for it. The Jennifer Anniston hair craze of the 90's? have at it. Gidget's bob from the 60's? Come on. You know you want to. James Dean in the 50's? Why not?

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NCSoft Offers 'Immortality' With Space Station Time Capsule

When you were little, did you ever make a time capsule with your friends and promise to come back to look at it in five years? Ten years? 15 years? No? Neither did I but millionaire, founder of NCSoft and creator of the game Tabula Rasa Richard Garriott is spending $30 million to be the sixth private citizen to fly into space and leave a digital time capsule behind. On his trip to the Space Station, he will take a flash drive full of information submitted by anyone who chooses to enter the Operation Immortality contest.

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PETA: It's Meat, Not Bountiful Cheap Food, that Gets You Fat

PETA sent a letter to Ralph Basham, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, to convince him to offset the cost of building a border fence by selling ad space.

Why? Because it's got creative ready to run. The ad at left features svelte Mexicans in their homeland and fat chunky ones on the US side of the fence. It reads, "If the border patrol doesn't get you, the chicken and burgers will -- go vegan." (The premise is that when Mexicans cross the border, they are leaving behind a "far healthier staple diet of vegetables and grains.")

Commenters said the traditional Mexican diet isn't meat-free, and the fence itself actually harms animals because it prevents wildlife from migrating for food.

Well, I'm sure if PETA didn't need the fence for advertising and the US gov didn't need another lost cause to waste tax money on (because people in dire straits are really gonna go, "Hey, a fence" and turn back), everyone would be more than happy to take it down.