Candystand takes advantage of us. We know this. Whenever they send us a new game, we crack our knuckles and prepare to trash them.
Unfortunately we can't, because the games have gotten really freakin' good. No, scratch that. The Candystand folk are just mighty talented at isolating classic standbys (ping pong? Come on) and appropriating them for their own maniacal purposes. Consider Bloxie, a new concoction that's had us stuck on stupid for at least a half hour.
If we could track how many hours we've lost on the Candystand website, we'd probably find we're putting in the same amount of time as a Wrigley's intern.
With a dependable combination of vivid colour, fast cuts, screenplay dialogue and campy melodrama, the video at Get Engaged Quickly accomplishes what we thought it wouldn't: it had us watching until the end.
Get Engaged Quickly is a promotional effort for 10 Ton, an agency that posits the rules of audience engagement have changed, and they hold the golden key: entertaining, rather than intrusive, video.
It's not like we didn't already know people want to be entertained and not pitched. But now that there's somebody to pay to think on behalf of the major players, perhaps we'll start seeing some good stuff.
We don't buy the notion that the best virals are by nature non-corporate. The best virals are by nature authentic. If you can be authentic, you're going to move people. Consider the (exhaustive) success of Dove Evolution.
Guess it helps to have Oprah accolades too.
Having been accustomed to Got Milk? campaigns that generally just present us with celebrities who can't wipe their mouths, we like the contrast of Hispanic-targeting Toma Leche?, which paints improbable stories about why milk is more relevant to everyday life than it actually may be. (Hey, we're avid milk drinkers here, just sayin').
For example, its tooth-strengthening properties can leverage you in an island where people giggle all day. And in a city where gravity is less rule than inclination, those tough bones certainly do come in handy.
Creative courtesy of RL Public Relations and Marketing.
Because badminton is as much a sport as Glaceau's Vitamin Water is water, we thought this quirky Vitamin Water ad featuring Urlacher and Ortiz was appropriate.
Thanks Bill for the tip. We're also glad at least one more person out there is frowning dubiously at the merits of badminton.
And yeah, we can say that, because we were on the high school badminton team. Why did we join the high school badminton team? Because the pain-inducing potential of tennis balls frightened us. Although apparently shuttlecocks can be equally scary, if the above ad is any authority.
With the simple but true tagline, "The Faster the Speed, the Bigger the Mess," this :60, launched April 26, from Ireland's Road Safety Authority and Northern Ireland's Department of Environment delivers a powerful but simple message: The faster the speed, the bigger the mess. Entitled "Mess," the commercial is born from statistics that find 30 percent of Republic of Ireland and 24 percent of Northern Ireland road fatalities are due to excessive speed. The spot is part of an increasing trend towards the use of reality-based shock and brutal honesty to deliver the message.
As with most accidents, the spot, created by Lyle Bailie International Limited, begins with a peaceful, unassuming moment then progresses through the surprise, shock, horror, despair, retribution, regret and sorrow experienced by each person involved in the horrific ordeal. The mesmerizing soundtrack with the lyrics, "I can't take my eyes off you" lends even more intensity to the gravity of the unfolding after effects of the accident. Watch this spot a few time and you'll think twice the next time you consider pushing the pedal a bit more than you should.
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We are not a fan of Axe's new "Bom Chicka Wah Wah" thing but since we're not Bob Garfield who claims he's always right when he reviews commercial work, we're gonna let you have a look and decide for yourselves. We will say with rampant rebellion against the stuff trickling up from the hallways of high schools across America from girls who can't stand guys who wear the stuff and end up smelling like they just finished a shift at a Macy's fragrance counter, this current idiocy isn't going to help matters much. Oops, that was an opinion, wasn't it? Sorry.
Oh and the two videos here and here are supposed to be part of one of them new fangled viral campaign thingies everyone's been talking so much about. Call us crazy but doesn't something have to "go viral" before it can be labeled viral? We really need a new term here.
While doing a bit of research on the side effects of various drugs, B.L. Ochman stumbled upon this little gem that offers up full-on direct to consumer drug advertising treatment to dogs who have trouble getting their energy level up.
Aside from the fact M&Ms is soon going to run out of new colors and flavors lest they start naming the little guys cyan, magenta and beige, Masterfoods, with help from BBDO and HSI Productions, has enlisted the Addam's Family to introduce their new dark chocolate product. View the finger-lickin', finger snappin' goodness here. We must admit we like.
Does anyone really have time to go to yet another ad industry conference? Apparently, Brand Manage Camp thinks so and they've decided to convince people why their conference is so special by using Apple commercial-style videos. Unfortunately, it's pitch sounds the same as every other industry conference; "If you only attend one conference this year - this should be the one! The best and brightest minds in branding will deliver the actionable insights and tools you need to do more with less, find your brand's next big idea, enhance the customer experience, and tap your brand's true potential." Yup, that sounds radically different.
We all know junk food has all sorts of ingredients in it that are, well, far from food-related but we're a little shocked to find 7 Days croissants has an ingredient that apparently makes one stupid enough to do a reverse run with the bulls. At least that's what their ML Rogers-created commercial suggests.
Oh but wait. The target audience? Teen boys. Now it all makes sense. Though with the tagline "get you up and keep you going," this commercial could have gone in an entirely different direction.
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