Axe Turns Tunnels Into Erogenous Zones

Continuing the road/tunnel advertising thing, this Axe ad in Sao Paulo ensured we will never see tunnels as mere means to ends ever, ever again. Tunnels are magical destinations in and of themselves. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Degree Adds Depth to the Little Black Dress

We dig this series of ads, which are part of Degree's "Little Black Dress Approved" campaign. Aside from the obvious reasons, like the fact they can take this in so many more directions than they could have with the Audrey Hepburn prototype alone, we think the sari girl is hot and we have never seen an Amish woman. Interesting. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Jason Lee Promotes Streethorsing Jacket

We're not really sure what's happening here but from what we gather a company called WESC sells leather jackets you can wear while on a horse and raising hell in the city at night. Oh wait. That's a sport? That's horseshit. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Barack Obama the New Marlboro Man

Where's My Jetpack has a bit of fun with Presidential hopeful Barak Obama and his supposed smoking habit. James Carville "chimes in" with an analysis of Obama's chances based on the country's regional smoking preferences. A Philip Morris exec has a good laugh. And Underworld Marketing Social Media Strategist "Lou Cipher" says Obama will be screwed if he lights up predicting a picture of the event will spread acros the Internet within an hour. Hey, it's Friday.

MarketingSherpa Acquired by MarketingExperiments

- Research firm MarketingExperiments has acquired research firm and publisher MarketingSherpa. The two will continue to operate as separate entities while capitalizing on each other's assets.

- This morning Dennis Publishing's The Week magazine distributed 100,000 copies to New York City commuters. The promotional issue is part of Philips' "Sense and Simplicity" campaign and was ad-free except for a Philips branded cover wrap.

- Today through election day, when people in Brazos County call 1-800-FREE411 for a listing, they will hear a very brief ad for Justice of the Peace candidate Albert Navarro. It's the first time a political advertiser has used the free 411 service.

- Kooky vodka purveyor 42 BELOW was awarded Cocktail Spirit of the Year for the second year running at the 2006 Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIA) in Sydney last night.

Hasbro's 'Tooth Tunes' Hearkens Apple's '1984' And Makes It Work

Combining the notion imitation is the sincerest form of flattery with the acknowledgment there are no new ideas left in advertising, this Hasbro commercial for Tooth Tunes, a tooth brush that plays music closely mirrors the famed Apple 1984 commercial. In the spot, legions of kids brush their teeth in that proverbial socialist society kind of way until some dude...in a track suit no less...stands up, tooth brush held high in the air (remind you of anything?) and says, "Enough!" The droll, colorless room then explodes into a world of color as Kiss sings "I Wanna Rock and Roll Night and Party Every Day" in the background.

Created by Cincinatti's WonderGroup and produced by Lightborne, the spot actually works. It's framed in a very memorable cultural moment. It conveys the boredom of everyday tooth brushing. And then it's hammer toss pounds the message home: brushing yout teeth can be fun. And there's even a product demo squeezed in too. We like it.

NFL Begs Fans for Ad Help

We're convinced we told you this already but since a search through our archives gave us nothing, we're going to call it Deja Vu and tell you again. In an ad that's actually mildly funny, the NFL marketing board decides they need help after tossing around some frail ideas for the next Superbowl. Then the screen is molested by big letters that say PITCH US YOUR IDEA FOR THE BEST NFL SUPERBOWL COMMERCIAL. SERIOUSLY.

We're fans of the whole "involve your audience" thing but wonder if people will start thinking marketers are getting lazy.

Guess there's no harm in that. Once they get comfortable we can pounce on them like super-awesome ninja spider monkeys with our creative prowess, which will hopefully happen sometime before we all lose our jobs and go back to being occasionally witty baristas. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

AAAA Summit Says 'Steal from the Best'

In a warped twist on identity theft ads, Pat Fallon and Fred Senn lounge languidly on a set of massage beds and spout a gossipy promotion for the upcoming AAAA Summit in female Texan drawls. Gabriel deGrood Bendt helped. Check out the video here.

The Summit's intention is in part a desperate plea to help "Position the Minneapolis ad community as vital, vibrant and cool" but judging from the naked, pleasantly glowing executives we're disinclined to miss the event. No one should be allowed to have that much fun in the nuddies without us. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

WOMMA Offers Blogger Contact Guidelines to Marketers

Perhaps in reaction to a recently launched company that pays bloggers to write positive things about brands without disclosure and the spread of stealth blogs and flogs, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association has released for industry discussion Ten Principles for Ethical Contact by Marketers, a document that basically amount to 1. Don't lie; 2. Be nice and 3. Don't manipulate. The ten points in full are below:

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Back Seat Fear Motivates Purchase of Car With No Back Seat

With so many movies scaring the crap out of us with scenes of people in the back seats of cars accosting the drivers, it makes perfect sense to use those scenes in a commercial for a car that has no back seats: the Smart Car. Yes, fear is a powerful motivator.