One Show: W+K's Kevin Proudfoot Talks Intimacy

One thing I love about the One Show speaker sessions: they're only an hour long. And because the speakers want to show off their advertising, they have to be brief where actual talking is concerned.

Between ESPN and Nike plugs, Wieden+Kennedy's Kevin Proudfoot shared five guidelines for establishing intimacy with users. Intimacy, he imparted, is key to brand success.

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Shots from the One Club Student Exhibit

On Monday night I hit One Club's 14th Annual Student Exhibition. Buzzing from a bottled cola high, creatives-in-training hovered from display to display, murmuring competitive remarks.

It kind of felt like a grade school science fair.

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Before Hanging Yourself with that Apple Extension Cord, Consider the Park Lane

I think I'm on suicide watch at Helmsley's Park Lane Hotel.

Somewhere around Madison and 28th St., I contemplated this while absorbing the sight of the NesQuik rabbit, whose gentle invitation to "come to your happy place" seemed to exist just for me.

Everything that happened leading up to Park Lane death watch:

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Site Helps You Remember What Happened in Vegas

Deep Focus just launched a promotional site for the Cameron Diaz/Ashton Kutcher movie, What Happens in Vegas, called What Happened That Night, which aims to help you remember what you did in Vegas the night before. It's one of those answer a few questions, upload a picture and get a customized, forwardable message in return things.

CEO Uses Daughter's Ass on Billboard, Rossellini Has Sex With Bugs

- It's got to be a creepy thing to use one's daughter's ass in one's corporate advertising but there it is: the ass of 36 year old Laurie Adams, daughter of Georgi vodka CEO.

- Following AdWeek, MediWeek has unveiled its new website which mirrors the look of the new AdWeek quite closely.

- Previously a no no, yesterday's change in Google's terms and conditions now allows brands to mention competing brand names in their ads.

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Billboards Take Time Out With Pessek Zman Cut Outs

So yea, billboard cut outs. You've seen them before but maybe not exactly like this campaign from Y&R Tell Aviv for Pessek Zman Elite chocolate. Pessek Zman means "time out" in English and the cut outs next to these billboards are, yes, taking a time out. Not bad.

Axe Angels In Need of Men

After all these years of creating unattainable fantasy, Axe wants to deliver the real thing. With a new commercial tagged, "You're needed at the Axe cottage" which has gorgeous bored women wishing there were men around, Axe is offering four winners a stay at the Axe cottage in Canada's Muskoka Lakes region complete with home theater, personal chef, waterfront, hot tub and the Axe Angels. Where does one enter?

Anachronistic Truth Campaign Commercial Gets Blank Stare

Continuing its illogical idiocy, the Truth campaign has dredged up yet another decades old quote from a "tobacco company executive" who is now likely dead if not certainly retired. This executive, in response to a claim smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight said, "...some women would prefer smaller babies."

This is idiotic on so many levels. First, it's an anachronism from 1971. Times have changed and no human with a brain in their head would ever say that today. If this ad ran in 1971, it would make sense. Today, it's a complete disconnect. Attempting to slam a tobacco company for something someone said 37 years ago is just stupid. Second, maybe women did and still do want smaller babies. After all, who really wants to squeeze out a 15 pound fattie? Maybe the guy was repeating something he heard while drunk at a cocktail party and it was taken totally out of context.

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Recession Makes Me Want to...Shop!

This weekend, I noticed a local store window with several signs promoting its blowout "economic stimulus sale." Dominos has similarly launched a "recession-buster deal." I even saw Craigslist postings using the recession as a marketing message.

IMHO there's nothing better than reminding me of our country's financial woes to entice me to spend more money. Sure, the economy's tanking, but at least now I can get 20 percent off everything!

Wild Posting Wordplay Delivers the Beef

So...how do you get the word out about your grass-fed meat? No, not that kind of meat you vegan sicko! Beef meat. From cattle. That kind. OK, so how do you get the word out? Well, you slap wild posting up all over the city, of course. And, you tweak your copy so it mirrors lines from popular movies, song lyrics and ad slogans.

This approach yields "I love the smell of grass-fed beef in the morning," So grass-fed a caveman would eat it" and "Say hello to my grass-fed friend." The work was created by Olive for La Cense Beef. There's also a microsite with even more wordy witticisms.