Facebook's Scary Content Stance, Gatorade's Mid-Brand Crisis, 'This is Why You're Fat'

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- Facebook revises TOS, Twittersphere goes apeshit.

- Wisdom from the front lines. Via.

- Gatorade's new packaging and naming conventions betray desperate need to fit in with the minimalist lifestyle 2.0 crowd. Here's an idea! from reader Elinora: "Make a drink that doesn't taste like vomit!" Come on, Ellie, it's not Gatorade's fault; those are the electrolytes.

- Hardees/Carl's Jr. slips into the Daytona via YouTube.

- "Do we need a new internet?"

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-16-09    
Topic: Best, Cause, Good, Online, Packaging, Social



It's Better to Travel in Groups

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While convincing people to travel in groups - ie. on the bus - probably wouldn't go over too well in America what with our automotive obsessions and all but Duval Guillaume, for Flemish transportation company De Lijn, hopes to convince the Belgian Dutch otherwise.

The agency, like many others, employed the use of cute cuddly animals to make their point. In one commercial, a firefly realizes many lights are better than one and in another, a group of penguins foil a killer whale's attempt at having breakfast.

by Steve Hall    Feb-16-09    
Topic: Commercials, Good



Pepsi Wishes Everyone A Happy Valentine's Day

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Some people love Valentine's Day. Some people hate it. Some brands pay hipster musicians to make Valentine's Day messages that riff off their billboard campaign. Others don't. Which category Pepsi falls into is unknown but, hey, does it really matter?

For those who love Valentine's Day? Happy Valentine's Day. Knock yourself out.

For those that don't, there's always Hotel for Dogs...or the dump.

by Steve Hall    Feb-14-09    
Topic: Brands, Consumer Created, Good, Video



It's the New WTF Blanket!

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You've heard of the Snuggie, right? No? Well you're missing out on one of the coolest new fashion ever to hit the ... television in the form of a stupid infomercial. But forget about the actual infomercial and watch this parody. Did we say PARODY? Yes, we said PARODY. Get it? Parody!

Anyway, now that we've clarified that minor detail, check out the What the Fuck Blanket.

by Steve Hall    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Good, Spoofs, Strange



Yep. Sippin' the Coraline Kool-Aid Pret-ty Heavily.

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Visit the deliciously dollhousey Coraline website. Enter the house, then click on the picture frame if you want to stitch buttons onto your face. Plenty to choose from, and each set of buttons is coupled with curiously thought-out descriptions. (That's the appeal of Coraline's marketing strategy: in keeping with the handmade motif, everything feels tailored to you, even things that obviously aren't.)

Once done tweaking and zooming your button eyes, download and save; embeds are available for MySpace and Facebook.

We also came across this Coraline Nike Dunks Giveaway offer. Okay, that's some pretty deep product whoring, but oh! we want them, just to have them, just because everything Coraline reeks of tasty dark girlwitch magic.

by Angela Natividad    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Online, Promotions



'We Want People to Be Screaming from Houses Across the Country'

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Guerrilla Comm and Silicon Alley Insider scooped us on this Onion spoof on Sony: its complex, overambitious product line, and utopic rape-your-eyeballs ad strategy.

Imagine all that in a news brief coloured by the profane angst-rage you suffer once you finally get that "motherfucking time vampire"* home. (Oh yeah, language NSFW.)

"Maybe the Onion was inspired by 'BD-Live,' the confusing and ill-advised plan to integrate Blu-ray disc watching with instant messaging," said Alley Insider. And the sad part is, that crazy POS was real.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Good, Online, Spoofs, Trends and Culture



The Homestead is a House of Cards, Say Radiohead and Shelter

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Two days ago we mentioned Radiohead was donating one of its songs to a homeless shelter. Last night we got the footage.

The song is Videotape from In Rainbows, but the ad itself is called "House of Cards" -- the name of another In Rainbows track. Only the melody is used, adding an urgent tempo to a panning shot of a city, where a number of homes and skyscrapers are composed of cards that slowly begin to plummet.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Commercials, Good, Television



On LA Beaches It's Raining Mammoth Mountain Skiers

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So, ya know, you're strolling down the beach like one of those idiots with a metal detector - which is just an excuse to ogle sunbathers in bikinis - and suddenly you see a dude decked out in ski wear sliding up the beach. Huh? Then one falls out of the sky and lands on your head. Huh?

Yes. Mammoth Mountain just got closer thanks to the addition of one hour flights from Los Angeles. From bikinis to moguls in one hour flat. Not bad at all.

by Steve Hall    Feb-11-09    
Topic: Commercials, Good



David & Goliath Calls Attention to Homeless With Thought-Provoking POP

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When was the last time you saw a homeless person? Do you even remember? And if you do remember, you probably just walked right by, right? On behalf of the Weingart Homeless Center, LA-based agency David & Goliath set out to change that all too common behavior among the non-homeless.

The agency, along with photographer Ewan Burns, photographed 12 of the 70,000 homeless people in Los Angelos holding a cardboard sign on which each of them wrote, "Before you turn away, put yourself in my place."

The agency then made life-sized cardboard cut outs with the face removed and placed the cutouts near shopping centers in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Admirable work. Check out the video overview of the project.

by Steve Hall    Feb-11-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Good, Outdoor, Point of Purchase



YMCA Repackages Real People for the People

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The YMCA is the place to be. You'll get a burn, you'll make really awesome platonic friends, and sometimes clowns work out there. Maybe.

An art director at Preston Kelly sent us the above-linked (and below-embedded) spots for YMCA, which under the slogan "Real people. Real fitness" hopes to reel in new members that:

1. Don't look like porn stars and/or Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 20s
2. Don't make sex noises on the treadmill
3. Aren't complete fitness bunnies

The natural result of this checklist of Things That May Potentially Turn You Off are these spots, where two workout buddies partake of YMCA's fitness buffet while saying quirky "real people" things, like "It's like a bear trap. Except it's a people trap. And the people trap's made of bears!"

Here is the part where you relate, because that guy is simple, and yet hilarious -- like you! Don't be ashamed; we're relating too.

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by Angela Natividad    Feb-11-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Television