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'Stayin' Alive' Reminds Us that Shoes Make the Man...

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...and what that has to do with razors, we're sure we have no idea.

Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter and Roger Federer lend modern swagger to Gillette's "Stayin' Alive" -- or try to, anyway.

The video's a wordless recounting of three down-ass blokes whose confidence -- or lack thereof -- shines through their shoes. We'll leave you to see which athlete busts out with the platforms in chrome.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-17-09    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Good, Promotions, Sponsorship, Video



Post Concedes to Putting the 'No' in 'Innovation'

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Post Shredded Wheat, that most generic of cereals, did itself a favor and passed on that most generic of cereal commercials: a shot of mom, dad and the happy kids, pouring cascades of milk onto yielding gobs of grain.

Instead it went for another gimmick: Formidable Authority Figure, touting the dangers of progress.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-17-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Television



Green Eyed World, PhotoBucket's Delusions of Relevance, Adweek v AdAge

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- Sprite + YouTube + Facebook + pop star = Green Eyed World, an orgy of Entirely Too Much BS.

- How to nail an interview. (Complete with hidden camera footage!)

- "It's not the shape of the thing, I just like the perfect blend of tech-speak and contraception."

- Pharma popped in PPC prevarication shakedown.

- PhotoBucket tries breaking TwitPic territory. Good fucking luck.

- Adweek v AdAge.

- Mattel, please keep your silicone-stained hands off Dora the Explorer. Oh no, too late.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-17-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Online, Trends and Culture, Video



Candystand Makes Mah Jongg Game for Toyota Venza.

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Because that makes perfect sense, yeah? Tap those old marmies where they like it best: on their itchy little gambling fingers.

Better that they play under the warm glow of Internets and not in the garage -- which should really be housing a Toyota Venza, not a cheap green foldout poker table.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Brands, Games, Online, Promotions



Why Waterboard When You Can Be Fat, Naked and Jovial?

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A little Southern soda called Cheerwine breaks the bank wide open on interrogation tactics in the US of A.

We give you "Good Cop, Naked Cop." It went live on YouTube this week, and Feed Company -- the cats that brought you Never Hide and Live Unbuttoned -- is doin' the disseminating.

If the Cheerwine tickles yer fancy, visit the it's a soft drink website. (Glad they were nice and clear about that from get-go, because we were holding out hope there'd be cheery ol' liquor involved.) Site sorta reminds us of that Clearification thing Microsoft did back before Crispin sank its teeth into the account and ripped a hole in the brand equity continuum. You know, you've got a witty but neurotic guy ... just bantering. With himself.

Campaign by Hauser Group; web content by Awesome, Inc. Also keep your eyes peeled for a Cheerwine "Chilled Out Tour" and ambassador program, expected to unroll in select markets in late '09.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Video



One Show Pokes Fun Without Actually Making Concessions

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After all that awkward backtracking over how much agencies dish out for its pencil-shaped paperweights (where does all that money go?), The One Show is under pressure to lighten the strain on its PR team.

Add to that the usual speculation about whether an old boy's club decides who wins what each year. How best to respond? Nudge-nudge the conspiracy theorists back, which is what One Show tries doing in this series of wordy tongue-in-cheek prints.

With headings like "Secret handshakes. Secret passwords. Secret secrets," creatives hither and yon can guffaw while the One Club rib-jabs and wink-winks the following message into our collective subconscious: Think we're not transparent enough? That's because WE'RE NOT!

"Shadowy" is at left. Also see "Whisper" and "Shroud." Work by Charlotte-based BooneOakley.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Events, Industry Events, Magazine, Promotions



Because Watching Kids Cry Just Never Gets Old

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Your tax dollars at work. Hey, pushing a kid to emotional breaking-point is small potatoes compared to all that guilt equity! the New York State Health Department will raise among smokers for the 5.5 minutes they could be spending with a cancer stick.

Contemplate the moral dilemma with fellow creatives-in-arms, and then ask yourself, just ask -- are a few seconds of anxiety worth it? It's not like smokers don't know about the health consequences, or that their priorities are mildly screwed up (I always feel a little guilty lighting up in front of tots); does one sappy spot a quitter make?

This emo thinkpiece brought to you by Quit Victoria.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Television



Ergonomically Pleasing Furniture Descends on Volatile Ville

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For all that la vie en rose talk, the Upright Citizens of Paris aren't exactly known for their social placidity -- particularly now that the global crise has made everyone tenser than usual.

So it's understandable that when giant packages start parachuting out of the sky at dusk, Parisians react with a degree of trepidation. No worries, though: these aren't malevolent gifts of nerve gas. It's furniture, courtesy of those benign Swedes at IKEA.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Brands, Guerilla



You Want Me to Pull What Out of His Ass?

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OK, you all know here at Adrants we are fans of anything that's weird, wacky and wrong. But this Silk Soft-sponsored Danish toilet paper dispenser toilet dispenser is beyond wrong. Beyond wrong on so many levels. First, it's gross. Second, pulling toilet paper out of someone's ass pretty much guarantees it's going to have shit all over it already. And third, it'll make people puke causing the invention of a puke whole on the bathroom floor that, yes, will graphically represent the mouth of a person puking right back at you.

by Steve Hall    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Specialty, Strange, Worst



VideoEgg Introduces Expand-O-Matic Ad Unit Twig

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"New Ad Stays in View While Users Scroll, Making Content Work Harder for Brand Advertisers" Well that, from a VideoEgg press release, ought to go over well. Um, no. So, yea, everyone has to make money and ads, though becoming less important, are part of that equation. Enter Twig.

VideoEgg CMO Troy Young explains, "Twig addresses a key challenge in the online media environment--ads that aren't in frame long enough to drive user engagement. By offering a unit that's always in view, VideoEgg provides bloggers and publishers with a powerful new way to monetize content. Like everything we do, Twig is performance based and expands to a highly rich full-page experience, so brands love it as well."

We were all ready to hate this new ad unit until we saw it in action. It's very subtle. it sits at the top (or the bottom) of the page much like the Google Friend Connect bar does here on Adrants. When you roll over it, it expands to a full page unit with video. For sure, many will hate it. But there are far worse ad units out there compared to this one.

Thoughts?

by Steve Hall    Apr-16-09    
Topic: Online



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