Adrants Airs Political Bias? Never That.

hillary-finished-thumb.jpg

Having sent us this contextual ad flub from a recent story, Adrants reader Eddie playfully accuses us of drinking the Hillary Haterade.

Why would we ever disseminate subliminal messages of Clinton distaste when other people are so good at doing it for us? We're pleading on the side of ignorance -- this is all Google's doing.

But while we're on the topic, come have a giggle at Hillary proposing Obama be her Vice President -- after he pwns her with more states and delegates. There has to be a better expression for this than "grace under pressure."

by Angela Natividad    Mar-12-08    
Topic: Bad, Campaigns, Online, Political



Draft Earns Facebook Pariah Status

fuck-howard-draft.jpg

Agency Spy (via George Parker) just clued us in on the newest of the Facebook hater groups, Fuck Howard Draft!

It totals nine members so far, which means it's doing three times better than FUCK HOWARD SCHULTZ, even without all-caps.

Aaaaand ... that's all we're going to say about that.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-10-08    
Topic: Agencies, Bad



If Naivete Keeps You Young, Evian Corners the Market

evian-facial-spray.jpg

Because convincing people to pay more for water in ultra-fancy packages never gets old, Evian Canada is re-launching its brumisateur facial spray this April. And at $10 per bottle, we're sure they'll call it a bargain.

According to the PR folk, this soothing spray is good for:

o Hot afternoons on the golf course
o Wedding giveaways (Eva Longoria and Tony Parker gave some away at their wedding. WAIT A SEC. Doesn't Eva drink HINT?!!)
o Setting make-up
o "Those pesky hot flashes" -- their words, not ours.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-10-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Packaging, Promotions



NIB 'Fastrack to Cannes' for Sale on Easy Street -- er, eBay

ad-idea.jpg

London-based Enter the Chapel swears it has an ad idea that's instant Cannes-bait. But oops, the idea was castrated internally, so now it's for sale on eBay.

What've you got to lose? Five quid? Your dignity?

by Angela Natividad    Mar- 7-08    
Topic: Agencies, Bad, Online



The Ruin of a Fine Casino? YOU Decide.

mohegan-sun.jpg

Ogilvy once said that advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.

And having just watched this Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners-directed spot for the Mohegan Sun casino, where the wannabe cast of Grease 3 molests the tune to Superfreak, we don't just believe it -- we live and breathe it. The lead CD was Izzy DeBellis, the chap responsible for the new Wendy's ads.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Mar- 6-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Commercials, Television



'Cerebellum Slap' the New 'Curiously Strong'

altoids_slap_cerebellum.jpg

Well someone doesn't like this new work for Altoids from Energy BBDO...and it just might be us. Though we're not sure. Let's discuss. While Adrants reader Maury tells us the work is "fucking terrible," we can't help but get a chuckle out of what one might label "witty British humor" when it comes to the ad's tagline, "A slap to the cerebellum since 1780." It's just so...sepia toned.

more »

by Steve Hall    Mar- 3-08    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good



Carl's Jr. Did Not Copy TouchBlue's 'Knight School'

touchblue_rene.jpg

We were going to leave this one alone but since it's beginning to appear in a few places, we feel it's necessary to cover (with facts, no less). So, here goes. We received an email earlier this week suggesting a recent Carl's Jr. Chili Cheeseburger commercial which aired during the Oscars was quite similar to a video, Knight School, that "aired" in 2005.

The creators of the Knight School video, TouchBlue, claim the creators of the Carl's Jr. spot, Mendelsohn Zien Advertising, stole their idea. And so the classic copy cat story was born.

more »

by Steve Hall    Feb-29-08    
Topic: Bad, Opinion, Strange, Video



Wait For It...Wait For It...Wait For It...Oh, OK. It's A French GQ Spot

french_gq.jpg

Maybe it's just us but we're not sure we'd stick around the entire two minutes just to find out this commercial is for the launch of French GQ. Aside from the fact we did stick around (after all, that's what we do here) and we knew it was for GQ going in (because we were told). Now, we get that some brands like to do the tease/lead-up-to-the-joke thing but this commercial just goes on and one and on and on and one...and on...with the same joke over and over and over and...well, you get the point.

more »

by Steve Hall    Feb-28-08    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good, Magazine



Incredible Inc: Punny, Less Incredible

xerox-heroes.jpg

Incredible Inc -- which is angling for that vintage comic book feel reeeeally hard but totally missing it -- is a promotion for Xerox's ink printers. Observe how the superheros have been subtly clothed in standard print cartridge colours: cyan, yellow, black and magenta(ish).

Objectively lame.

by Angela Natividad    Feb-27-08    
Topic: Bad, Online, Promotions



Yet Another 'Viral Video' Bores, Wastes Precious Moments

speed_shooting.jpg

Well that was a lot of money wasted just to tell us hiring a professional photography studio is better than using speed cameras to get the shot. and doesn't everyone just love a "viral video" that bores you for 1:15 and then causes you to utter "WTF?" during the last few seconds? But don't listen to us. We don't know anything. We're just a lame ass ad critic. We're sure there's at least a handful of people out there that will like this and that's all that matters.

by Steve Hall    Feb-27-08    
Topic: Bad, Video, Viral