Positive Attitude, Life in Advertising Promote 'American Dad'

Here's a whacked little promotional clip for FOX's American Dad that features a guy with a great attitude on life. At the end of the clip, he tells us why he's such a positive guy.

Safetytown Follows Life of Phished Family

To promote its line of online security products, Symantec has launched Safetytown. Created by Night Agency, the site contains "choose your own adventure" videos that follow the travels of a father who has been informed a mysterious charge has been made to his credit card. Full of overwrought melodrama and really bad fashion, the first installment shows the dad receiving a call from his credit card company informing him a charge was made to his card from a sporting goods store in Arkansas. Dressed only in his bathroom and a winter coat, the dad sets off to find out who used his card while his wife and child tearfully watch him leave.

The site's got other goodies such as wallpapers, music, the dad's bathrobe and a trial download of Norton Internet Security. If memory serves, this is the first time Symantec has done anything outside of the basic technology sell in its marketing.

Ventura Securities Grabs Indian Stock Market by the Balls

If you've seen any financial services-related commercial in America, you know most drone on incessantly about service and advice and expert consultation or good hands or they get all warm and fluffy like a Kiplinger's Magazine cover or a State Farm commercial. In India, they have fun. In India, they poke fun at the American cowboy. In India, they catch the market by the balls...uh...bulls. Written by Sunil Shibad and produced by Steam Engine Production, this commercial is for Ventura Securities.

Online Game Brings Back Memories of Flunking College Physics

OK, this online game is so totally for engineering geeks. But, that's the whole point because it's for GlobalSpec, a specialized search engine and information resource for engineers. We took one look at the game and didn't even try to play. We're sure it's good but we got an F in college physics so we've already had our fair share of shame.

Atlanta Braves' Jeff Francoeur Hits Them Around the World For Delta

Delta has a new spot that features Atlanta Braves player Jeff Francoer which we like a lot. Perhaps it's because this brings back the nostalgia that once captured the game. Perhaps it's the music. Perhaps we're just feeling emotional this morning. Who know. You watch it and tell us.

Ad Explains How to Enjoy Your Whack

Here's an ad that does absolutely nothing to conceal the double meaning of the product. Created by Bos in Toronto for its client Mac's Convenience/Mac's Froster, it promotes a drink called Whack. Appropriately, the email that contained this commercial was signed "Enjoy."

Consumers Replace Ego-Infested Whack Jobs

Leveraging consumer generated content, or whatever silly buzzword you want to throw at the notion of people creating stuff - as if that were something new, ViTrue Inc., following its acquisition of video sharing site Sharkle, is formalizing the process of random people created ads for specific brands. ViTrue, which has been playing in the people-powered ad space for some time, will introduce a process where marketers and their agencies can post a creative brief, solicit work, review and approve the work which will then appear on Sharkle and, perhaps on television.

On one hand, one could say it's just dumb to outside the industry to find new creative because no one outside the industry could possibly understand what makes a great ad. On the other hand, one could say our industry is an insular, ego-infested closet full of whack jobs who have been following the same lame formulas and creating the same boring ads for so long simply to win awards rather than sell product, anything would be an improvement. We're kinda thinking the other hand has the right idea here.

Axe Underwear Gets You 'The Look'

Every guy be so lucky as to have a woman react to him this way when she marvels at his underwear-clad package. Too bad that's not always the case. But, apparently, Axe Underwear thinks they can help.

Scion Commercials Magically Created From 3,000 Stills

Part art director's wet dream, part photographer's ego-fest, these four new spots, created by ATTIK , Spy Post and Umlaut and photographed by Kevin Necessary (cousin to William Essential?) for Scion are actually interesting to watch. Maybe it's the music. Maybe it's the virtual work. We don't know. We just know we watched all four of them and felt really good about Scion afterwards. The spots were created mainly from stills - 3,000 of them - and then tweaked in post-production to magically appear as live-ish footage.

Thule Taps Toilet Paper

While advertising on toilet paper has been around for a while, we haven't seen many, if any, major (or semi-major) advertisers avail themselves of the oddly intimate medium. Thule, the automobile roof rack company, as part of a larger campaign, will slap its logo and mesaging on a toilet paper roll near you.