When you've got serious marketing dollars to throw behind wooing someone, it's a fine line between making them feel like stars and just, well, stalking the dickens out of them.
Philly-based 160over90 assists Wilkes University toward one or the other of these ends. Using mall kiosks, MySpace ads, billboards and whatever other media happened to be standing in a would-be Wilkesian's way, the university gave accepted students a king-sized shout-out.
The campaign makes Mini's "Hey Joe Shmoe" RFID-based billboard idea look piddly - it actually goes into details about the students' activities and ties them into the ad pitch.
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We mentioned this back in December but as the release date approaches and the real world ad industry continues to dish up hearty helpings of gossip, rumor, innuendo and foul play, we can't help but bring this up again. With all the juicy Sorrell/Roehm/Siefert dirt floating about our far from fine, upstanding industry, we can't really blame Hollywood for churning out movies that portray advertising executives as slimy, immoral scumbags with nothing better to do that take advantage of their power to belittle (and worse) others. No. And that's why we have movies like the upcoming Bruce Willis/Halle Berry flick Perfect Strangers.
In the movie, Bruce Willis is a high-powered ad exec who apparently kills (or not) a girl with whom he was having an online affair. Now Halle Berry, an investigative reporter, poses as an intern at Willis' agency to dig into Willis' wrong doings. Maybe Shannon Siefert should go to work for Martin Sorrell and pick up some client work headed by Julie Roehm. Now that would make a good movie.
Apparently the Mr. Universe days are over. Gold's Gym, one of his last strongholds, has finally decided to divorce the oil-slicked rock-hard prototype patron of their long heritage to draw yoga mamas and mellow boomers into the building.
With that in mind, Gold's is scrambling to make their $30 million ad budget and 40+ years of illustrious history count for the new crowd, who look at it as a nostalgic symbol of times past. Advertising Age has a spot from their new campaign. It's got an aggressive Gold's feel to it but the imagery is more typical of what you'd find at Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness. The spot isn't particularly thrilling and we worry they're wasting some serious brand equity by being too self-conscious about the competition.
You know what would be really awesome? Starting a Gold's-sponsored Arnold Fitness Challenge, where Arnold Schwarzenegger is whipped back into shape by the frothy little yoga mamas Gold's is trying to hard to court. We'd pay to see that. Well, probably not. But we might at least turn the TV on. Come on, Gold's. Don't be such chickenshits.
We've learned two very important things having been in the advertising industry for some time. First, no two cultures are alike and what's funny or insensitive in one country could be quite the opposite in another. Which is why these two Dubai Lynx Grand Prix winning spots make no sense to us at all. Oh sure, they're funny but we're not sure why. Oh wait, we were talking about the two things we've learned. The second. Bouncing boobs are man magnets no matter where on this earth one lives. Especially to box headed men the second spot labeled "Hulk."
Step aside Julie Roehm. The international big shots are taking the stage now with libel, money-laundering and love triangles. Big shot WPP Group's Martin Sorrell, in the midst of a libel suit in London's High Court against former WPP country manager Marco Benatti and Sorrell-founded FullSix CEO Marco Tinelli, has reportedly been having a relationship with WPP CEO Daniela Weber since late 2004. Prior to that, Weber was, apparently, having a relationship with Benatti. Now, Sorrell and Webber are suing Benatti for leaking "vicious" images of them to the Internet. Do we sense a bit of jealously here from Benatti? Or perhaps it's a bit of vengeance in reaction to Sorrell's firing of Benatti (and Tinelli) for the above mentioned apparent libel.
Adding to the drama is Sorrell's spectacular multi-million dollar divorce from his wife two years ago and his relationship with Weber being referred to, apparently by Benatti and Tinelli, as "the mad dwarf and the nympho schizo." Can it get any more delicious than this? Yes. Weber, 44 and referred to as "hot lover" on some blogs, has worked for Benatti since she was a student and by 2005, she had a director position and a 20 percent stake in Tinelli's FullSix. Apparently, over the 20 years Weber and Benatti worked together, Benatti was "frustrated with his position and his lack of power and authority." Again, jealous much?
It is said Benatti and Tinelli were behind the creation of the blog that circulated the "vicious" photo of Sorrell and Weber but involvement has been denied. The case, and its drama, continue today.
We're not sure who the client was or whether there even is one, but according to AdPunch Draft FCB France put together this simple print ad to raise awareness about journalists out yonder who die doing their jobs every day.
The text reads "In too many countries, writing an article is equivalent to committing suicide." It's a cute, avante-garde little idea but we couldn't escape the thought of a writer's block sufferer scribbling madly at his own wrist in an effort to unleash life's flow. Oh how morbid. We always vaguely suspected we were distant cousins of the fountain pen.
We'd never see this in America because...oh heavens, the innocent eyes of children would be so horribly tarnished but in Italy, fake orgies inside a car parked outside a sex shop is just fine. For Erotika, Milan agency Virus created stickers which simulated a steamy six person orgy and affixed them to the windows of a car. You can wallow in the creation of and reaction to this stunt in this video.
Finally a clothing trend worthy of mention. What - we get skinny jeans and the Japanese get to play conservative cocktease with faux-transparent skirts and built-in thongs that show nothing but promise everything at the same time?
We can do better than this. Where's Lil' Kim when you need her?
Update: the PC police inform us nobody actually walks around with panties printed on their skirts, which we took to be a damn shame. The cheesy skirts are apparently used in cheap porns to titillate men who can't afford to put mirrors on their shoes.
Make the Logo Bigger rubs our faces in this weird little ad, allegedly for McD's in Austria.
We love Austrians; they are so anti-this. Screw breastmilk; start your kids on the right track early. There's nothing like sucking processed meat and cheese out of sesame-sprinkled flesh. Why rid them of that plump rosy Dudleyness later in life?
We're not sure the mid-90's style baggy, pleated pants the guy is wearing in this video are as intentionally spoofy as the rest of the site but that's besides the point. We're not talking about fashion here. We're talking about an agency that thinks viral marketing is fleeting and unproductive and has pioneered something much better: Disease Marketing. Yes. "Why settle for a harmless virus when you can get a full blown disease," says the trouser-wearing agency dude.
Minneapolis-based Kruskopf Coontz, calling itself "the face of disease," promises its disease marketing can lift brands to the level of emphysema: incurable and impossible to ignore. And that's not all. After introducing its "The New Viral" approach, Kruskopf whisks us away to its brand new website with an intro that brings together the finest, most complete collection of agency bullshit including B.S. Central (scroll all the way to the right), a video section of their site that gleefully tears apart the industry's obsession with awards, pointless philosophies, 25/8 dedication, its people, pontificating press releases, street cred, hipsterificness, base touching and the idiotic, self-important use of cell phones.
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