How Advertisers Failed Women in 2012

Miss Representation, an organization dedicated to ending sexism in media, has taken a look at sexism in advertising in 2012. The video calls out Carl's Jr., Axe, Go Daddy, Teleflora, Hello Kitty, Dolce & Gabbana, Fiat, Barbie, Victoria's Secret, Svedka, American Apparel and others.

The video raises a fair point. But just imagine a world in which we didn't objectify women in advertising.

more »

Your Website Could be Losing You Millions of Dollars

The internet was supposed to solve everything, right? Brands could direct all their customers to the web where every last query could be answered without need for expensive human customer support. Sadly, that isn't always the case.

Customers associate the Internet with speed and convenience. They expect to visit a brand's website, find what they're looking for and purchase the product just moments later. This is the expectation. But what happens when a your brand's website fails to provide an efficient customer experience?

more »

Get Your Dirty Santa Claus Christmas Cards Now!

Two former ad guys, Brandon Burns and Justin Winslow, are having a bit of fun this holiday season with a Fab store dedicated to dirty Santa Claus holiday cards.

The store describes the offerings thusly, "He sneaks down chimneys, invites children to sit on his lap, and no one thinks anything of it. The jig is up, old man. These comically risqué cards from Dirty Santa's Workshop reveal the truth: Ol' St. Nick has been a very bad boy."

So if you want to make your friends and relatives laugh (or scream in horror) this year, head over to Dirty Santa's Workshop and grad yourself a few dirty cards.

Agency Asks People to Re-Create Scenes From 'Elf' For Charity

Birmingham-based ad agency Luckie has created a holiday site, Luckie Elf, and will donate $25 to children's charities each time a person Instagrams a photo of themselves re-enacting a scene from the movie Elf.

For inspiration, the agency has chosen and described 14 scenes from the film for visitors to re-enact. Agency employees have already had quite a bit of fun as you can see from their own re-enactments.

'Twignature' Collects Signatures For Amnesty International

With help from BMF Melbourne, Amnesty International has developed a new method to collect signatures. Called, Twignature, The user names of Twitter users who retweet an Amnesty International petition message are automatically converted to signatures and added to the petition.

The first example of this work is for an Amnesty International petition that calls for the Brazilian government to protect environmentalist Laisa Santos Sampaio.

more »

Cute Redhead Saves Lame Dallas ADDY Promo

This is, perhaps, the lamest ADDY Award call for entry work we have ever seen. Created by The Richards Group in conjunction with the AAF Dallas, the work centers on the notion a creative person's idea are their babies. Though in this piece of work, it's not a notion, it's quite literal.

Nothing like hammering home the obvious. OK, yea, we get that that's the joke and, besides, we're a sucker for cute redheads so we're going to let this one slide.

more »

InstaCamp Brings Campfire, Christmas Carols to Your Digital Device

Sometimes the simplest campaigns are the best campaigns. We'd venture to say that's the case with InstaCamp. Created by Denver-based LRXD for Kampgrounds of America, InstaCamp brings the visual pleasure and virtual warmth of a campfire along with relaxing Christmas music to your digital device.

Fire it up in the office. Fire it up at home. Fire it up while you're stuck at the airport on your way home for the holidays. Wherever you fire it up, it's pretty much guaranteed to calm your nerves at least for a little while.

more »

Infographic Pokes Fun at Crazy Clients

Here's a bit of hilarity to brighten your day. Well, that is if you work in an ad agency. Sorry, clients, this time the joke is on you. But give it time. No doubt there is plenty to say about those agency primadonnas.

Central Desktop has put together an infographic highlighting the eight types of agency clients. From The Intruder to The Arsonist to The Ghost to The Henchman, all the stereotypes are covered.

Click here to see the infographic.

Starbucks Most Photographed Logo on Instagram

A new startup, GazeMetrix, can identify brand logos in Instagram photos. The service, which uses image recognition software, was originally developed to detect which apps people have on their devices by pointing them at each other. When that effort didin't pan out, the developers redirected their efforts.

The service, which will eventually rollout to Facebook and Twitter, makes it easy for brands to contact Instagram users who have posted branded logos and ask permission to reuse them on their own branded channels.

more »