'Bikini Bounce' Advergame Promotes Online Travel Agency

Pandering to the Neanderthal needs of men, online travel agency Lastminute has launched an advergame called Bikini Bounce in which players can avail themselves of the trampoline like qualities of the female breast to bounce and catch floating beach wear and win points towards a trip to Kos. Found on Adverblog.

Swiss Chocolate Maker to Bathe Mountain With Corporate Colors

Call it lightvertising or mountainvertising, Kraft-owned Swiss chocolate manufacturer Milka's intends to shine it's purple corporate colors on Germany's highest mountain. Predictably, environmentalists hate it but Milka's is moving ahead with plans to illuminate the 9,600 Zugspitze peak with 140 purple lights for 40 minutes on July 3rd. Apparently the brands colors are so recognizable, Milka's actually expects to see some return in this stunt. Thanks to Adrants reader Steve Portigal for pointing this out.

Jared Fogle Returns to Subway in $60 Million Campaign

Long time Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle, who famously lost 250 pounds while eating only Subway sandwiches, is returning in a new $60 million ad campaign which will focus on childhood obesity. The ads, funded by the Subway Franchisee Adverting Fund Trust and created by Fallon Worldwide before it was fired by Subway, will air on national and local television.

Porta-Potty Advertising to Make Debut

Mike Mason thinks walking into an oversized beer can to relieve oneself might be more fun than entering a standard, portable toilet. He's taken that thought and turned it into a business, called MediaCan, which intends to sell advertising on panels that wrap around portable toilets. Mason hopes to attract the attention of major "can companies" such as Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Coke and perhaps pharmaceutical companies marketing pills in a bottle.

Mason thinks the approach will be welcome as well as humorous. Unfortunately, those in the industry are not quite sure they agree. Word from Anheuser-Busch said MediaCan "is not an idea that fits with the image of our brands." Boston-based alternative ad agency President and CEO Adam Salcuse said, "Marketing now is all about being relevant and creating a positive experience. I'm going to go relieve myself in a Budweiser can? That could be a problem."

While no one enjoys the proliferation of advertising, covering those blue/green/brown plastic excuses for a bathroom could be a good thing - except for that damn smell. Not good for brand association.

Slim-Fast Fires Spokesperson Whoopi Goldberg

Actor and Comedian Whoopi Goldberg has been fired as spokesperson for Slim-Fast for some sexually explicit comments she made about Bush's bush - or something like that - at a recent Kerry fund-raising event. The GOP didn't take kindly to it and neither did Slim-Fast. Kerry seemed fine with it saying Goldberg's jokes and jokes by other comedians at the event "conveyed the heart and soul of our country."

Jeff Jarvis Presents Citizen's Media to Ad Agencies

At a recent BloggerCon event I attended, Advance.net President & Creative Director Jeff Jarvis led a group discussion on weblogs and other forms of media dubbed Citizen's Media. In a nutshell, control of media is in the midst of being passed from big corporations to average citizens. Jeff has prepared a roadshow presentation which he has taken to Diamler Chrysler, BBDO and Organic. If you wish to stay ahead of the curve on this watershed shift in media creation for corporation to citizens, I urge you to contact Jeff and have him make this presentation to you. You can reach him at jeff@buzzmachine.com.

Ashlee Simpson Joins Candie's Club

Singer and actress Ashlee Simpson is the newest addition to the growing line of Candie's girls. Simpson, who currently has a reality show on MTV, a hit single and an album releasing next week, will appear in a Fall ad campaign for the footwear maker. She follows Kelly Clarkson, Jenny McCarthy, Destiny's Child and Ashanti who have all been Candie's girls.

Of her participation in the ad campaign, Simpson said, "I'm excited to be a Candie's girl. Candie's always does tongue and cheek, very funny advertising and they have a great sense of humor. The ads are always sexy and this is actually the first sexy photo shoot I've done."

As part of the deal, Simpson will perform a live concert for Candie's customer and make in-store appearances. A good move, perhaps, to distance herself further from her big sister's shadow but not enough for some.

Text Advertising Lifts Brand Awareness

A recent study by IAB and Nielsen//NetRatings found text advertising, such as paid listings on search engines move brand metrics in a positive direction. The study demonstrated that sponsored text advertising in the search environment works for an array of branding objectives. Sponsored text ads, much like the standard image based ad, had their biggest impact on "unaided brand awareness," especially where a brand held the top position on search results pages. On average, when respondents were asked to name a specific leading brand within a tested industry, they were 27 percent more likely to name the brand displayed in the top spot compared to a control group not exposed to the ad. For the articles pages (pages containing contextually targeted text advertising), the text ad caused a 23 percent lift among respondents that saw the ads.

The research findings, as analyzed by Nielsen//NetRatings, reported that there is a significant difference on core brand metrics movement depending on the placement of the text ad. Ads appearing in the top position on a search engine increased an aggregate of all the brand metrics by an average of 14 percent across the six industries, in stark comparison to results from ads in the fifth position, which only showed a minor directional lift on brand measures. Search articles pages generated an aggregate lift of all brand metrics by 15 percent.

Regal CineMedia And 360 Youth Sign Theater Marketing Agreement

Thankfully this won't add to more pre-movie ads but this deal between Regal CineMedia Corporation and Alloy's 360 Youth will fill theater lobbies and bathrooms with marketing. Under the terms of the agreement, Alloy's 360 Youth will deploy custom interactive kiosks, restroom media panels, and backlit poster cases in Regal theaters, comprising Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres nationwide, with a rollout beginning immediately during the summer movie season. The custom-built interactive kiosks with electronic 42" plasma screens connected to the RCM Digital Content Network and 150 backlit advertising panels will initially be deployed in 50 theatre lobbies in the top-25 DMAs. An additional 550 backlit advertising panels in 150 theatres and more than 2,600 restroom panels in 545 theatres, round out this new national media network. In addition, the partnership allows for more promotional marketing opportunities including event marketing and sampling programs.

New Reality Series to Focus on Porn Stars

You'll have to live in England to see this one but Private Stars will follow the lives of five female porn stars and five lucky guys as they are locked away Big Brother style to have sex with each other. The show will run for 10 episodes on cable and satellite next month and promises to show it all. The men will compete against each other and be judged on who performs best, sexually, with the women. Those who can't keep it up long enough will be voted off and the winner will be awarded a porn film contract. Predictably, the government doesn't like it. Thanks to Adrants reader Charley Brough for pointing this out.