Kenwood Brings Back the Dead

Kenwood Italy has come up with an automotive sound system that's so great, it apparently brings the dead back to life, with the help of 'Stayin Alive,' of course. Weird. And not really that good either but have a look.

Oops: Ad Shows Boeing Aircraft Attacking Mosque

It's one thing for a spoof ad or a renegade ad to get published online but to have the same appear, twice, no less, in a print publication and then, as marketer, disavow any knowledge of how the ad was created doesn't quite add up. Boeing, which created the ad with Bell Helicopter, has apologized for an ad which shows its combination airplane/helicopter V-22 Osprey delivering troops atop a mosque in a simulated battle scene. Needless to say, Islamic groups were not overjoyed to see the ad. Apparently, a month ago, the ad first appeared in the National Journal followed by complaints which Boeing reacted to informing the publication not to run the ad again but, oddly, it appeared in the magazine again last week. National Journal admitted it's error in a statement. It would seem traffic manager is going to get the boot and a renegade Boeing marketer is gleefully celebrating a marketing coup.

Listerine is For Ugly People Too

Smartly acknowledging all people can't be gorgeous hotties with six packs and D cup breasts, Listerine, to promote its Oral Care Strips, is running ads featuring, shall we say, less than pretty people. Of course, it's all done in jest so as not to offend actual ugly people. Check out the ads here.

American Apparel Goes Geriatric

In a shift from higlighting amateur, barely-legal, girl-next-door hotties, American Apparel is, apparently, going after an older demographic, namely, geriatrics. Of course this ad, which appeared in L Magazine, is just a joke but all the same, why can't old people look hot too?

Forehead Guy Takes Over Times Square

Former forehead guy and trend-a-holic Andrew Fischer who sold his forehead as ad space for $37,375 and spawned endless copy-cat efforts is now latching on to the recent million dollar home page trendlet but is taking it further. Fischer plans to award a million dollars over the course of one year and to raise the money, he is selling :30 ad space on a Times Square Manhattan billboard for as little as $10 per spot. There will be 2,880 available :30's per day. Fischer plans to award $2,000 per day to the person who find the hidden sponsor of the day. It's not clear how that will work but a $100,000 grand prize will be awarded as well at the end of the year. The promotion is set to launch January 2006. Expect to see Golden Palace very soon.

UPDATE: We are informed this promotion has been put on hold indefinitely.

Bikini Car Wash Raises Money For Katrina

We just don't know how we could possibly have missed this stunning promotion. In a true example of fine taste, the American Red Cross and American Apparel hosted a Celebrity Bikini Car Wash to benefit Hurricane Katrina Victims held September 24 at Shelter Nightclub in Hollywood. In case you missed it, you can revel in the glory of water and soap-drenched hotties pretending to wash cars as tongues wag and cameras shoot. All for a good cause, of course. Repeat after me: "Sex Sells." Sex Sells." "Sex Sells." OK, enough. Put your tongue back in your mouth and go back to work before you boss catches you drooling.

LA Times Goes Hollywood For Growth

Hoping to reverse sagging circulation, the LA Time will increase coverage of Hollywood and celebrities, run shorter stories, and more cover more regional news. Great, all we need is another celebu-rag. However, Dean Baquet, formerly the paper's managing editor who became editor in August, says he doesn't want the reputation of the Times as a journalistic heavyweight to suffer. Baquet says he will remain committed to serious reporting but, at the same time, he's considering re-establishing a gossip column. While celebrity news coverage seems to be the means to survival these day, we already have Defamer, not to mention the other thousand media outlets that cover Tyra Banks and Jennifer Love Hewitt's obsession with their breasts. We don't need the Times going Hollywood as well.

Jon Stewart Dumps Load on Magazines

Asked to host a Magazine Publisher's Association event last week last Advertising Week, comedian Jon Stewart crapped all over the magazine industry telling the audience magazines aren't as relevant as television and that the medium sits at the children's table. Reportedly, one could see Graydon Carter's head swell with rage. Asking the question we all want to know, Stewart asked Men's Health magazine editor Dave Zinczenko, "Why is your magazine so gay?" Yes, why?

BMW Says Branded Entertainment Too Expensive, Quits

Blaming the high cost of branded entertainment production and, according to one anonymous BMW exec who blamed German bureaucracy, BMW has ended its use of branded entertainment. BMW, of course, spawned branded entertainment in its current form with its The Hire films. The fact the car maker recently switched entertainment agencies, had its entertainment exec leave and is in the middle of an agency review, surely, contributed to the move.

Filmmaker Proposes Brand Integration Curriculum

In an effort to institutionalize branded content, Stephen Mitchell, creator of the 80's television show Interview, has proposed a writing curriculum, called Branded Alliance, to educate people on the creation of brand integrated concepts suitable for feature films, television, alternative media and games. Mitchell hopes the course creates a pool of talent capable of generating entertainment/advertising content for marketers.

Mitchell says the course will stress a conceptual and innovative approach to the subject of brand integration. Students will be instructed in the art of blending story content and corporate message in a manner that is seamless. "Unlike product placement, which can be done by the numbers, there is no single definition of branded entertainment," Mitchell says. "It also forces us to redefine 'product,' for it can be a label, an idea, a city or anything else that that has the backing of corporate partner. At least this sounds a bit more honest than the television show which duped viewers (Hollywood elite) into believing the interviews were real versus stunts to promote Mitchell's work.

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