Music Video Promotes Clio's

Our friends over at the Creative Liberation Intelligence Organization are at it again with a promotional music video to, one assumes, drum up more entries for this year's Clio's. Back in early December 2005, the group launched a very spy-like website using all manner of spy metaphor to create awareness of the Clio's. Take a look and let us know what you think.

TV Becoming Unnecessary Appliance for Advertising

The NFL has announced it will place all Super Bowl ads airing this weekend on its video on demand NFL Network, on NFL.com and on Sprint phones. Budweiser will optimize its five minutes worth of ads for the iPod and make them downloadable from Budweiser.com. GoDaddy, of course, has been pushing its ads online for years. Pepsi will have BrownandBubbly.com. Burger King will have the Whopperettes. Who needs an actual television anymore?

Naomi Campbell, John Malkovich Star in Pirelli Long-Form Ad

In the works since last year, tire maker Pirelli will, in March. release The Call, a 10-minute video, created by Leo Burnett and set in the Vatican, starring John Malkovich who plays a priest and Naomi Campbell who plays the devil. Using the power stuggle between good and evil, Pirelli claims the film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, will be a metaphor for the company's "power is nothing without control" tagline. The film will be released exclusively online and receive promotion through online, print and television.

This is Hollywood-style, celebrity-powered ad is sure to give Russell Crowe plenty of ammunition to further castigate celebrities for selling out. That said, if we, as an industry want better ads, we have to tap better talent. Big names bring a sea of eyeballs and getting noticed in today's media environment is becoming an impossible task. Granted, Malkovick, though a superb actor, isn't A-list in terms of popularity and Campbell, while very popular, is no Malkovich in the acting department but together, they just might bring some notoriety and sales to Pirelli and its sleepy, commodity-like category of automotive tires.

Nightclub Hand Stamp Becomes Ad For CD

MIT Advertising Lab points out a unique use of the ubiquitous nightclub hand stamp. In the U.K., to promote the Franz Ferdinand CD, the usually forgetful stamps became ads for the CD reminding party goers as they woke up the next day to check out the free DC offer in that day's The Guardian newspaper. The effort is up for an epica award.

IKEA Dresses Filipinos As Swedish Maids In Kuwaiti Ad

Kuwaiti Art Director and Ad Blogger Tata Botata (or whatever his real name is) pointed us to this Kuwaiti IKEA ad on the back of a local dining guide that shows Filipinos, apparently the predominant wait staff in the country, portrayed Swedish maids. While Botata tells us its very common to see Filipino wait staff in Kuwait, he took issue with IKEA dressing them up in stereotypical Swedish garb and headlining the ad with, "Enjoy the Swedish hospitality at IKEA store."

We don't pretend to understand all the cultural ramifications of this but we prefer our Swedish maids blond, buxom and holding beer St. Pauli Girl-style. Then again, that's got its own nasty, sexist, stereotypical baggage.

Stern Rings In Freedom With Stripper And Black Power

Courtesy of our roving New York photographer, Bucky Turco, we're blessed with this new outdoor board for Howard Stern mimicking the black power movement and promoting his new Sirius radio show. With the headline, "Let Freedom Ring. And Let it be Rung in by A Striper," the Howard Stern brand is clearly delivered.

Ad Blogger to Appear on 'Today Show'

George Parker, who writes the Adscam and AdHurl advertising blogs will appear on NBC's Today Show tomorrow, Tuesday, sometime between 7A and 10A. Parker will discuss the impact of the Internet and other newer forms of advertising have affected newspaper advertising effectiveness and revenues. Parker should know what he's talking about as he's been in the business for over 30 years, worked for many agencies and is currently writing a book entitled, "Entrepreneurial Advertising."

MSN Launches 'ESP Billy' to Promote New Messenger

To encourage use of its new version of Messenger, MSN has launched a promotion, created by Fallon, called ESP Billy, a microsite with episodic videos featuring ESP Billy, a white trash online psychic played by Ricky Jay who communicates with his clients through MSN Messenger video chat. There's a pilot episode that introduces the characters, and then three interactive episodes where the user can decode the fate of the main character, Travis, but choosing an ending based on ESP Billy's predictions of the future. The catch to the promotion - and the entire point of the promotion - is the three videos can only be viewed using MSN Messenger for which a convenient download botton is provided. The pilot episode, which, itself, is quite good, can be viewed in a browser. The online element will be supported by print and online media beginning in a couple of weeks

Viral Advertising Archive Launched

While there's plenty of places to search for and look at viral advertising, Viral HQ has gathered together an expansive collection of viral ads and categorized them by name along with the brand they were created for. Like many other viral accumulators, Viral HQ also has plans to offer seeding and tracking services. While hosting virals is a great way to sell other services, Viral HQ has done a respectable job of gathering together a huge collection. That said, it needs a search feature so virals can be found based on the brands as well as the name. Currently, it's just an alphabetical directory.

The Book Closes on Those PUMA Ads, Truth Confirmed

With the launch of former PUMA International Marketing Manager Peter Kim's weblog today, we can finally, almost three years later, close the book on those famous PUMA ads. Once thought to be some sort of clandestine marketing effort knowingly created by PUMA so the company could then deny their existence and benefit from the publicity, Kim confirms suspicion and tells us "a small Eastern European agency affiliated with Saatchi & Saatchi created the ads on spec, trying to win business with a PUMA subsidiary." The agency failed to win any business, and it sent them out to their friends causing worldwide proliferation, un-informed speculation (including here on Adrants, hopped up controversy and cease and desist letters sent to bloggers.

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