Got Milk Tomb Raider Style

Thanks Tony.
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The Stupidity of Advertising

"Honestly, I cannot remember a worse commercial in the last couple of years than the Dr. Scholls commercial they have put into heavy rotation. First of all, some products just don�t really need commercial advertisement like that; I think I could have a dollar for everyone who would see that commercial and then think �well damn, I gotta get me some of those� and I might be able to get a decent meal from a vending machine."

That's what Hosemonster thinks about the new Dr. Scholls commercial and he is right. So many ads are just plain stupid in their attempt to portray certain aspects of life as actually exciting and cool. Face it, foot pads are not exciting. No one cares.

Sorry I can't link directly to his post. Link is broken.
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Full Cannes Grand Prix Coverage

Ad Age's full coverage of this year's Cannes Grnd Prix is here.
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Ad Age's Bob Garfield on Cannes

Bob Garfield makes his predictions for this year's Cannes Grand Prix winners. The two top contenders? Saturn's "Sheet Metal" spot and Honda's "Cog" spot.

While "Cog" is cool, I vote for "Sheet Metal" because it is more humanistic in it's portrayal of the relationship between person and product.
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Golden Palace U.S. Open Streaker Update

Susannah Breslin of Reverse Cowgirl got an update from one of her readers, Lionel, on the U.S. Open streaker. She is porn star, Brittney Skye, who has done work in several "films" including Funny Boners2. You can see more pictures of her "ad-too'd", as Lionel so aptly calls it here.

Great guerilla marketing if you ask me. I wish there were more advertising efforts like this!

UPDATE: And if you want ALL the pictures, here they are.

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Heinz Tests Advertising Boundaries With "Programvertising"

If product placement wasn't enough, now there's content marketing. A U.K. television show called, Dinner Doctors, offers cooking suggestions to busy Moms using Heinz products. The show is produced by Heinz. While the Heinz brand name is not mentioned in the show, that is only because British law prohibits it. That's not the case in the U.S. It won't be long before we begin to see more advertiser-produced shows that can't be ad-skipped with a TiVo. Of course, the whole show can be skipped just like any other show that sucks. Ominously, Steve Heyer of Coke also thinks the day will come when networks pay advertisers to produce shows rather than the advertiser paying the network for ad time.

Is this a good thing?
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Jergen's Talks to Ten Agencies For $90 Million Account

"Jerk Off With Jergins"

To all the agencies in the pitch, go with this tagline. It's a winner. You can't miss.

OK, maybe that's a tiny bit too aggresive. You decide.
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The Terminator, A Little S & M, and The Snuggle Bear

The Weeks Ad Age TV Spots of the Week bring several great spots. First, there, the Terminator shilling for Toyota. Then, there's a dominatrix getting you all hot for Bally's, the Snuggle bear who hangs out with hot chicks, Nextel phallic symbol, and Lara Croft's much hyped Jeep spot (which is actually not very good). Click and enjoy.

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GoldenPalace.com Does The U.S. Open

Hey, there's all kinds of advertising out there...

New Ad Medium: Homeless Billboards

In a unique twist in the outdoor medium, a Seattle pizza company is paying homeless people with food and money in exchange for holding advertising placards. Pizza Schmizza's Andre Jehan came up with the idea and sees it as a way to help the homeless as well as get advertising for his company.

"People don't have to feel guilty, while still appreciating the person is homeless. It's a gesture of kindness more than anything," said Jehan.

Predictably, there are detractors of the tactic. Gary Ruskin, director of Portland-based Commercial Alert, an ad-watchdog group founded by Ralph Nader, said homeless people acting as billboards should be paid minimum wage.

And he thinks it adds to the clutter. "People don't want to get hammered with an ad every time they turn their head. Most advertising is either somewhat of a lie or deceptive, and it's an assault on our attention."

Gary, can't we all just get along?
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