I Could Be Wrong, But I Think Your Torch Just Smoked a Prophet.

maglite-security.jpg

LOL. To promote the strength and intensity of the Mag-Lite, Ogilvy & Mather/Paris composed a print in which a distracted security guard shines his flashie on a piece of art for a wee bit too long.

That open-mouth clueless look gets us every time. We like!

by Angela Natividad    May- 4-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Magazine, Poster



It Was Like Woodstock, But Rated PG.

tmobile-hey-jude.jpg

Half of Adrants is Asian, which means we were irreparably traumatized by karaoke from an early age. But there's a contagious warmth to this effort by T-Mobile -- which can only be described as the Ultimate Karaoke Gangbang.

The mobile/communications firm projected the lyrics to the Beatles' Hey Jude over a billboard, then passed mics out to people on Trafalgar Square. It's neat to watch the faces: people look earnest, but uncertain, and over time they just kinda lose themselves in the na-na-nas and the feel-good Hey Jude-in'.

more »

by Angela Natividad    May- 4-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Guerilla, Social



Hospital Cancer Campaign Avoids Schmaltz. Still Pulls Heart Strings

cael.jpg

Every time we see a cancer ad, it's like "Oh please, not again with the sappy emo crap." But upon viewing these four spots for Akron Children's Hospital, we felt quite differently. Oh sure, they bring on the emotion, particularly the two featuring the brother and sister of a 3-year-old with leukemia, but they do it in a way that is entirely human and completely unproduced.

And that's because they weren't produced. More specifically, they were crafted by director of photography Andreas Von Scheele who spent 30-40 hours filming the commercial's subjects alone with no director or agency types hanging around the set. Yes, there was a director, Kevin Kerwin of Authentic Films but he stayed away from the shoot and out of sight.

more »

by Steve Hall    May- 4-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Commercials, Good



Three Hookers Come to Hotel Room, Help Guy Shave

shave_wet.jpg

Thank you, ShaveWet. We were beginning to think sex had stopped selling. As if the economy had killed it along with everything else. So thanks for uplifting our confidence. And if enough people fall prey to your sexualized manipulations, maybe you'll even bring some much needed stimulation to the economy. Hay, you're like economic Viagra. Yea, that's it.

And if you fail at swelling the economy to its former expansiveness, we can all just enjoy the harmless fantasy of a guy and three women having a good time in a hotel room. Shaving. With a lot of cream. While wet. In slow motion.

by Steve Hall    May- 1-09    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Good, Racy



'Come on Down to Clevelandtown, Everyone!'

hastily-made-cleveland.jpg

"Buy some food that's prepared near the street!"

Just one of the things you can look forward to when you visit Cleveland, according to this hastily made tourist video spoof -- which, incidentally, is generating hundreds of thousands more views than the official Cleveland plug.

Darryl Ohrt at Brand Flakes for Breakfast also points out the video's second in organic results when you search "cleveland, tourism" on Google.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Apr-30-09    
Topic: Good, Spoofs, Trends and Culture, Video



Stupid Guys And Bikini-Clad Bimbos Need Not Apply

carlston_draught_drop_the_bomb.jpg

OK, Carlton Draught, maker of The Big Ad, we do love your quirky approach to selling beer. For years, you managed to do it without making guys look like idiots or tantalizing us with bikini-clad bimbos. For that alone you should get some kind of award.

We like your new Drop the Bomb ad. Getting a car to hit a target from 14,000 feet above is more fun than watching two busty babes in bikinis wrestle in the mud. Oh wait. Well, maybe not as much fun but at least your effort required some brain power and skill to pull off.

Yes, you've done the skydiving thing before but tossing a car out of an airplane (yea, that's been done before, too) doesn't require breast implants. Huh? Anyway, it got a girl - who is fully clothed - a new car. How sweet.

by Steve Hall    Apr-30-09    
Topic: Commercials, Good



Consumer Reports Gets Its Snark On

shamwow_consumer_reports.jpg

Consumer Reports is having a lot of fun these days with its online video product reviews. So much so the staid organization is...OMG...copping a 'tude. In it's latest video, Teresa Pinetta examines claims made by ShamWow, a rag-like product that's supposed to whole 20 times its weight in water. In other words, it's the Super Sponge.

Sadly for ShamWow, that's really not the case. CR determined the product holds no more than a typical sponge which costs exponentialy less than a ShamWow.

"It's like a rag!" "Make up your mind, ShamWow!" "So...this work...as opposed to this work...is twice as hard. Gotcha." "Or you could splurge on another ShamWow." You go girl!

by Steve Hall    Apr-30-09    
Topic: Brands, Good, Video



Sexist Pots/Pans Spot Upsets Australians

mad-ave-cookware.jpg

We had to laugh when we saw this spot for Madison Avenue Cookware ("The only thing that cooks better ... is a woman!"), which uses an old-school sexist tenor to push its shiny pots and pans -- the perfect after-hours treat for a tired lady.

The piece aired in Australia after CEO Roger Hudson of Madison Avenue Products concluded the tone "worked very well for us in America."

more »

by Angela Natividad    Apr-29-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Video



When All Else Fails, Hire an Internet Celebrity

kelly_marshalls.jpg

Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, sorry. And no, we weren't just....oh come on! Get your head...no, not that one...out of the gutter. OK, now that we've got the required Adrants Filth for the Day (FFTD?) out of the way, we can tell you that, yes (not that kind of yes), it's time to celebrate yet another brand hooking up with an internet celebrity.

This time the brand is Marshalls and the internet celebrity is Liam Sullivan of Kelly Shoes fame. In the video, What R U Guys Talking About?, Liam just can get..her? his?...whatever...it's look right. His family and and a trio of mean girls trash on him but, in the end, the day is saved by...wait for it...yes (no, not that...oh, we said that already), the new, the hip, the oh-so-very cool...Marshalls? Wait, what? Did What Not to Wear just jump the shark? Wait, what? What are we talking about? Um, we forget. Doesn't matter. It's time to get all hip and shit with Liam and...yes (no, not...oh forget it), Marshalls.

Mr. Youth created the video which has achieved 100,000 views since Monday.

by Steve Hall    Apr-29-09    
Topic: Brands, Good, Social, Video



ABSOLUT World Replaces Currency with Kindness

absolut-kiss-kindness.jpg

Imagine buying movie tickets with kisses instead of cash, or repaying your local streetside violinist with embraces and not cold change.

ABSOLUT Vodka builds upon its "In an ABSOLUT World" campaign with "Kindness as Currency," a soul-warming snapshot of a parallel universe where human contact is the end, not merely the means.

The charming piece is a jarring departure from past "ABSOLUT World" efforts that depicted Times Square slathered in costly art, or everyone alive winning the lotto.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Apr-29-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Guerilla, Video