The next time you are writing copy trying to clearly explain your brand's message, take a look at this video and think twice before you write what you were going to write. This is especially important for copywriters working in the high tech industry where ads are rife with words that mean and say nothing. While this Rockwell Electric Retro-Incabulator video is certainly a spoof of some very old industrial videos, as explained by Paul Murray on boingboing, it sends a powerful message. You might know what you're talking about but the consumer sure doesn't. Think twice. Write once. Thanks to Rick Bruner for pointing this out.
European and Russian Elle Magazine and computer company HP have teamed to offer a promotion whereby readers of Elle can superimpose their image on the magazine's cover using HP's digital photo softeware and enter them in a compatition to win a weekend trip to London.
As if there weren't enough problems in Athens already (giant ads draped over historic monuments, attendees banned for possessing non-sponsor items), the Olympic Mascots, Athena and Phevos, two duck-like creatures, have been derided as animated condoms and Bob Costas has referred to them as "a genetic experiment gone horribly, ghastly wrong." Oops, that's not right. He was referring to "Izzy," the 1996 Atlanta Games mascot. My bad. Thanks to Craig in Comments for pointing that out.
Chosen from 200 entries and described as sister and brother "full of vitality and creativity, perhaps mischievous and hence lovable," the pair has been referred to as mutants from a nuclear meltdown. They seem harmless enough but do we really need an Olympic mascot? We've already got those cool interlocked rings.
The NFL isn't taking any chances this year with the entertainment during the Super Bowl or during its NFL Opening Kick Off. While all female performers won't be required to wear padlocks on their bras, all artists will be required to adhere to new contractual language that makes the artist, their management and record label solely responsible for their actions. MTV is out as producer and White Cherry, who has produced the Tony Awards is in.
The NFL Opening Kick Off will be held at the Patriots' Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA this year and will feature Mary J. Blige, Destiny's Child, Elton John, Toby Keith, Lenny Kravitz and Jessica Simpson.
In the clearest example the advertising industry has gone insane, Athens Olympic "clean venue" guidelines are said to warn against attendees wearing or consuming any brand that is not a sponsor of the event. In what certainly has to be either a joke or the manifestation of a marketing team gone mad, any attendee found with or trying to enter with a non-sponsor brand will be asked to leave or barred from entry. Has our business gone absolutely mad?
Yea, yea, the sponsors are all paying big bucks and they don't want another brand ambushing their sponsorships but this is positively ridiculous. Maybe they should strip search women, removing non-sponsor brand panties, out of fear the tag might be seen when they bend over and are gawked at by male spectators. Insane. Thanks to Charley Brough for pointing out this idiocy.
We've all gone through that ridiculous routine of making a wish before blowing out the candle's on our birthday cake only to have it never come true. This girl's does. Carvel ain't running this spot.
From TheSpecSpot comes this ad you won't see on TV but can view right here. We all love our beer but sometimes we just get a bit overexcited about it. This man's wife has dealt with the problem.
By far, this is the best metaphor used in an ad in recent memory. It doesn't even need a headline but if it had one, it would be, "Trouble getting in the box? Box too small? Member too big? KY Will Get You In." Oh, and for the female targeted version, "Fear of dryness? Shocked by his size? KY will open you up." OK, those headlines are a mile long and they suck. Then again, this ad needs no headline nor is it likely to be an ad actually endorsed by tight-space-problem-solver Johnson & Johnson. Quite brilliant though, actually.
In a refreshing nod to the barely there threshold we have for windbag politicians spouting irrelevant nonsense, Indiana Democratic Governor Joe Kernan is running five second television ads (adlets?) giving quick, bite sized blips of information on the economy and his bid for re-election. Of course, Republican challenger Mitch Daniels is complaining claiming the spots don't paint an accurate picture of Indiana's struggling economy. Hello? One would think the opposition would be happy his opponent was buying less airtime.
Soon, not only will consumers be able to watch their favorite movie or TV show whenever they want, they will also be able to select their favorite ads to view as well. That's the way Comcast sees it and is in talks with GM to see what pans out. Comcast produced a spec spot which it took to GM and asked if it would like to have it appear on the cable companies Marketplace shopping channel. BMW, who has already mastered the art of the long form ad, is also said to be developing plans for VOD ads as well. The dream is to mirror cable subscriber demographics to viewing rates hopefully providing a clearer picture of the customer demographic.
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