FDR Ad Compares Stem Cells to Penicillin

Continuing the stem cell debate that's risen into public salience because of the Michael J. Fox ad, this ad asks us to imagine what life would be like if FDR looked at penicillin the way Bush looks at stem cell research.

It's a provocative context to say the least. And not to change the subject or anything, but doesn't FDR sound kind of like the Wizard of Oz? - Contributed by Angela Natividad

McD's Drive Thru Staff Gets Serenaded, to Virtually No Response

McDonald's needs a lot of love now that Fast Food Nation is out, so we'd like to think customers who bother to write a song about them and then sing it to their droney drive-thru guy would get a better reaction. All the clerk says in response is "Um, I missed everything, just ... all I got was the M&M McFlurry part. $2.26 at the first window."

Come on. In the words of Heather from another controversial movie, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?!! - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Second Life Versus First Life Advice Offered

Swivel Media's Erik Hauser offers us this column on his in-depth experience with Second Life, ahead of the curve work for Wells Fargo and his companies creation of Stagecoach Island a virtual reality world based on Second Life. He offers sage advice to marketers with Second Life on the brain.

Retro-Marketing
Marketing to People in Their First Life

By Erik Hauser 10.25.06

I can vaguely recall the days when things were very different.

People spent their time in a world filled with oxygen. It seems just like yesterday - OH MY - it was yesterday! Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we? The date is Jan 1st 1997, and people are starting to spend some time on this thing called the internet. Within a couple of years there was a hyper-saturated web with niche sites that had everything from exclusive glues to websites designed as destination locations for people in their mid 30's that had an affinity for poodles. Certain people claimed they would never leave the house again, and vowed to radically change their behavior.

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Reel Asian Toys with Dog Eating Stereotype

We're tickled by this ad for Reel Asian which plays on the stereotype about dog-eating Asians. Or is it dog-serving Asian restaurants? We can never get the two straight. You have to admit Leopold was cute enough to ... oh, forget it. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Hatfield Says Inverted Building Inspired Inverted Shoes

In a short film called Respect The Architects: The Paris Air Max 1 Story (which takes FOREVER to load), designer Tinker Hatfield talks about how the Centre Pompidou in Paris inspired his version of the Nike Air Max, which features a visible air pouch. We like it. Check out a lo-res here. It loads faster than the hi-res but it's not nearly as good of a watch. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Ford Quilts Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As part of its partnership with the Susan G Koman Breast Canver Foundation, Ford has teamed with the organization's Race For The Cure Virtual Quilt project which allows people to create their own message on the quilt. JWT Detroit along with interactive firm Firstborn created the project o coincide with this month's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

CarMax the Best Buy of Used Car Dealers

While we're not quite sure just how different CarMax is from other used car dealers with their claims of return policies and "buy without sell" but they sure are different in that they look much more like a Wal-Mart of a Best Buy than most cheesy, flag-flying used car lots. The company has just launched a two-part Boone/Oakley-created television campaign. The first part focuses on the brand with three very un-used car-like commercials set in Rome and the Old West. A second set of commercial focuses on the unique differences between CarMax and other used car dealers. We especially like the freaked out 16 year old who pitches a fit after realizing the nw car her fathr just bought her int eh wrong color. Cue "5 day return policy" voice over. For the most part, good stuff if not a bit off the wall. (Click more for links to spots.)

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Joe's Garage Serves Food, Not Auto Decals or Anything Else Auto-Related, Really

For Joe's Garage in Minneapolis agency Colle & McVoy releases a campaign called "Fixing Food, Not Cars." Agency rep Jennifer Weismann says the restaurant gets calls from people looking for repair shops constantly so we figure they wanted to stir up still more confusion.

Good job. After seeing the creative we felt less "Fuck, what I'd do for a BLT right now" and more "Where can we get a Hummer decal that says Hummus? Do they sell those there? Does somebody want to give them a call and find out?" There are also BLT and Lamb Burger versions. The words "lamb burger" against a gigantic SUV grill struck us as funny on so many levels. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Coke Wakes Up, Smells Social Media

After having dissed the whole Diet Coke Mentos geyser thing saying the "craziness with Mentos doesn't fit with the brand personality" then giving in and quickly implementing a lame contest, Coke is now back in full force with Poetry in Motion, a video contest fronted by the very people Coke dissed in the first place, Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, creators of one of the craziest Diet Coke/Mentos geyser videos. The two now appear in a video urging people to submit videos and teasing us with the fact the pair will release their latest video October 30, sure to be even more massive than their original geyser work

PGM Artists Parodies YouTube With PhilTube

Fans of YouTube may not have to worry about their baby getting sucked up into the Google void and corporatized because now we have PhilTube. Some dude named Phil has created a YouTube look alike and has videos up that poke fun at popular videos such as the Star Wars Kid and LonelyGirl15. Of course, this isn't the next YouTube at all. It's the creation of Phil McIntyre to parody YouTube, poke fun at social media and to promote PGM Artists, his company that represents production companies to agencies and media companies.

If you didn't know who Phil McIntyre or PGM were, you'd have to do a bit of digging to see what PhilTube is all about but as promotions go, we applaud it. There's no fist bumping here - although, perhaps PhilTube should spoof the Agency.com video - and the content is amusing enough. We're told Hart+Larsson is behind he creative on this one.