Bush 'Arrogant Man-Child" Ad Spoof

This didn't take long. Just days after the Bush camp launched their controversial new ad campaign, the spoofs are rolling in. In this spoof, Bush is called an "arrogant man-child" whose campaign promises for his "new America" are really a description of how healthy America was before he stepped into office. View it here.

9/11 Victim Families Not Happy About New Bush Ads

Some of the victim's families of the 9/11 tragedy are upset over new ads from President Bush that show 9/11 imagery. While the Bush camp claims this is part of the Bush Presidency and part of the fabric of our country, others feel it is a slap in the face.

Tom Roger, whose daughter died American Airlines Flight 11 thinks that "to show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat."

I'd agree know that is the point of most advertising. To get noticed. Certainly the use of 9/11 imagery is controversial and will cause great debate. It is part of our past. It can't be forgotten. Using it in a political campaign may, though, be questionable. An opinion on this which I'd welcome and greatly respect would be that of Jeff Jarvis who was there.

Pony Launches New Foot-Based Ad Campaign

Over at adland you can check out Pony's new print ad campaign which will feature the body part most served by Pony - the foot. And these are strange looking feet.

Starcom Leads Where Nielsen Will Not

Yesterday, Nielsen announced the launch of their DVR rating system which will measure programming (but not advertising) viewership that has been "TiVoed." It's a welcome step but one that does not go far enough according to some. MediaCom SVP Tony Jarvis says, because of DVR's ad-skipping abilities, this data will be irrelevant if the system does not measure whether or not commercials are viewed.

Starcom SVP Research Director Kate Lynch has first hand knowledge of DVR viewership habits having conducted primary research on the device. Her research found 54 percent of TiVo users skip ads and as many as 77 percent do so when TiVo are used for playback or recorded shows versus using it to watch "live" TV. The research also found that most ad-skipping activity occurs on highly rated (and most costly to advertisers) shows such as "ER" and "Friends'." Because of a DVR's ability to control viewership over "regular" television viewership, it would seem critical to measure how the device is used to view commercials if the data where to be of any use to advertisers. Because, for the foreseeable furture, Nielsen will not provides this data, Lynch will continue to research this topic for her clients.

The issue really boils down to measurement of commercial viewership. The fact that people actually watch programming that contains commercials is irrelevant to an advertiser. All that matters to the business of advertising is who saw the commercial (and, ideally, what they did after seeint it). That fact that CSI is the number one show is irrelevant. We don't need a "top twenty" show list each week, we need a "top twenty" commercial listing. Of course a model such as this would have devastating affects since it would be revealed that most people, in fact, don't watch commercials which would cause ad rates to plummet and broadcast television programming to suffer with it. This leaves the television industry with a big question. Do we really want to know how many people are not watching the commercials?

Art Director Uses eBay to Find Work

An enterprising (or desperate) advertising art director has put himself up for bid on eBay. In his listing, "Alex the Art Director" says he "looks great in board meetings, concepts well with others and really knows how to take Direction."

The listing goes on to say, "This easy-going creative has excelled at such shops as Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Publicis & Hal Riney. Most recently he has freelanced at Plan B and DDB Chicago. Currently, Alex the Art Director has been working on his own freelance clients under the name uglytown and friends."

His starting bid is $2,000 per week which is steep (especially for those who would actually look on eBay for an art director) and as of today, has no bidders. Spoof? Real? We'll know soon enough.

Nielsen to Measure DVR Usage in 2005

Nielsen will add DVR usage to its program ratings in 2005, one year earlier than planned. The ratings service, which provides ratings that help programmers determine advertising rates, will count any program as viewed in a DVR household if it is played back within seven days of initial recording. Viewership figures from that playback will be added to the traditional live viewing numbers and then be re-released as an updated viewership figure.

Get Into Bondage With Savings Bonds

Dribbleglass, purveyor of humor, has a few new spoof billboards to share. Check them out here.

Jenny McCarthy Sits on the Toilet Again For Candie's

Everyone got there undergarments in a bunch back in 1997 when Jenny McCarthy sat naked on a toilet wearing nothing but Candie's. Well get ready for an even bigger bunch when candie's combines McCarthy's toilet squat with last year's Kelly Clarkson bubble bath wearing just jewelry and her Candie's...all in one ad. Ads debut in early March in Us Weekly then break in April in Seventeen, YM, Teen People, Elle Girl, Vogue and Jane.

Elle Macpherson's Lingerie Ad Deemed Offensive

A magazine ad for Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson's line of lingerie was banned in Britain after it was labelled "offensive". Inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock (news) film "Rear Window", the ad for Elle Macpherson Intimates shows a woman through a keyhole, dressed in a bra and panties -- with her thumbs inside the panties.

"The complainant objected that the advertisement was offensive because it suggested that the model was masturbating," the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), an industry watchdog, ruled. Obviously, that "complainant" has a very dirty mind. Ladies, is it even possible to masturbate with your thumbs? OK, maybe it does look like she's masturbating in the ad.

Obviously as dirty-minded as the "complainant," the ASA said the ad was "likely to cause serious or widespread offence," disagreeing with the editors of Vogue -- in which it had appeared -- who thought it was "beautiful with no disturbing undertones". Bendon Ltd, which markets Elle Macpherson Intimates, was instructed by the ASA not to repeat the image again, and to seek advice before running similar ads in the future.

Macpherson, nicknamed "The Body" for her swimsuit work, launched her lingerie line more than 10 years ago, but last year for the first time she stoppped appearing in its advertising. She turns 41 on March 29. And she still looks as hot as ever.

Buzz Marketing Brings $125 Million to 'The Passion of the Christ'

Ad Age tells the story about Mell Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" overcoming negative press and spinning that press into buzz marketing that help deliver a blockbuster opening.