In the Coast Guard, Language is Very Important

Sunil Shibad points to a funny spot from language training and translation company Berlitz in which the difference between sinking and thinking become extremely important.

New Zealand Helicopter Stunt A Big Lie, Sponsor Comes Clean

When one is hoodwinked, the natural reaction is to get mad and start calling people names but we're not going to do that because we think this hoodwink was one of the best marketing stunts to come around in a long time. As we reported in late January, a helicopter with a naked guy hanging from it was spotted at New Zealand's Big Day Out but the stunt went wrong and the guy fell to the ground and was injured. We also received a taped conversation between what was assumed to be a representative of New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority and a person at DDB, the agency thought to be behind the stunt in which the CAA representative was trying to obtain details of the event.

None of this happened. While we were skeptical at the time and knew New Zealand site Nzgirl had something to do with the stunt, we couldn't get anyone to confirm or deny anything. As it turns out, Nzgirl, which has a reputation of doing crazy, stunts, wanted to top everything they'd done before so they decided to do nothing...except tell a few people they did and let the rumor mill run with it. A dozen people were hired to spread the story about the helicopter and the nude guy and that was it. New Zealand media bit and reported the story as if it had happened albeit with a bit of distrust. Nzgirl reaveals all here.

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Guinness Brewmasters Open St. Patrick's Day Season

Continuing its "Brilliant" campaign, Guinness has launch a new commercial, called Dance, promoting the St. Patrick's Day season. Yes, it's a season, now, not just a day. In the ad, the famed Brewmaster's dance a rendition of an Irish step dance until it becomes too mch for the floor to withstand and they figure they're better off just drinking a Guinness. The spot kicks off this weekend on cable networks such as ESPN, USA and F/X and continues through St. Patrick's Day March 17.

The "Brilliant' campaign has 11 spots in it so far, each one featuring the goofy but enjoyable-to-watch Guinness Brewmasters. The campiagn and this Cance commercial were created by BBDO New York.

Church Says Sex Doesn't Have to Be Lame

Grammar-challenged Adpunch points to a refreshing campaign from Granger Community Church which is promoting a five-week discussion series called Pure Sex during which the church will openly support its belief that God wants everyone to have great sex. The series will cover topics such as porn, lust and whether to inform your spouse about your latest trip to Vegas.

The series is being promoted with a billboard campaign which points to a microsite called MyLameSexLife on which sex's fun factor is gleefully lauded.

McDonald's Releases Inner Child

Advertising for Peanuts points to this inventive and conceptually brilliant Australian commercial for McDonald's in which the the true meaning of the "inner child" is explored.

HBO Uses Google Maps to Plot 'The Sporanos' Series Events

For its client, HBO, New York-based Deep Focus is using Google Maps on The Sopranos website to map locations of fictitious events that have occurred during the series to help viewers get ready for the show's March debut.

Dutch 'Glamour' Promotes Spring Fashion Issue With Stiletto Run

To promote Glamour's first spring fashion issue in the Netherlands, BSUR Concepting has developed what is sure to be an extremely funny event; the Glamour Stiletto Run. The event, part of a broader campaign which includes television, print, online, viral and buzz, will take place March 9 in an Amsterdam shopping district where women will race 75 meters in high heels. BSUR plans to take over the as yet undetermined shopping spot for an hour and award the winner with 10,000 Euros. Now that's a promotion to be seen. You can view the promotional site and commercial here.

Small Hardware Store Takes On Home Depot With Quirky POP Campaign

Never let it be said that only Home Depot can have all the fun when it comes to home improvement. Pfau's Hardware in West Hartford, CT thinks it's got the goods as well and isn't afraid to say so in a POP campaign. The best of the four posters, created by Avon, CT-based Adams & Knight Advertising, reads, "Nobody will ever reminisce about going to a massive home improvement center with Dad on a Saturday morning." See all four posters here.

DVR-Resistant 'Smushed' Ad Grabs Attention

While fast forwarding through the ads in a recent episode of "The O.C.," an ad from the Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign caught our attention with it's DVR-resistant, slow-cut tactic. The ad, with only four "segments" is called Smushed and is part of the Office's Above the Influence effort. Apart from catching our attention by appearing as a "still" while fast forwarding, the imagery of a girl who looked like she'd just stepped out from under an industrial compression-like machine also caused us to stop, rewind and watch the ad.

The ad itself dealt with issues of peer pressure to be cool, to fit in, to drink, to get high, to be popular, to never say the wrong thing. This ad is one of six currently running on MTV, Fuse, The N, FOX, The WB, UPN and others. The online component appears on Yahoo, GameSpy, IGN and print ads appear in 23 magazines including Teen People, Skateboarder, J-14 and Playstation. The entire collection of spots, all of which are very good, and print ads can be seen here.

'Date Movie' Pimps MySpace Profiles

In a perfect tie-in with the movie's likely audience, American Pie wannabe Date Movie is getting comical promotion with Pimp My Profile a site on which visitors can have Tony Cox review one's MySpace profile, receive wise-ass criticism and have Tony give it a makeover worthy of a blinged-out Geocities site complete with a brace-faced Allison Hannigan. Interestingly, it appears you gave have Tony pimp any MySpace users profile simply by entering their MySPace ID. While some of Tony's comments are specific to an individual's profile, it seems, sadly, the end result is the same in all cases. We tried quite a few. We did, however, get a big kick out of the promotion's brazen acknowledgment of the site's tantalizing attraction to stalkers, currently a hot item in the news.

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