Moblog Launched to Promote Mobile Phone

Sony Ericsson has launched a moblog called Memorable Movie Moments where people can submit camera phone images of re-created memorable movie moments. The person submitting the winning image will receive an all expenses paid trip to London and a Sony Ericsson K750i phone. Two runners up will also receive the phone.

Radar Magazine Parodies 1968 Muhammed Ali Esquire Cover

Radar magazine's Maer Roshan has brought legendary adman and cover designer George Lois out of retirement to design the issue's September/October issue, on sale August 16th. The cover will be a riff on the 1968 Esquire cover Louis did with Muhammed Ali.

When Lois saw Radar writer Kim Masters' investigative piece on Tom Cruise and his relationship with Scientology, he was reminded of the April 1968 Esquire cover which showed Ali as Saint Sebastian. Louis convinced Ali to pose as a martyr, wounded and near death but still holding on. Back then, Esquire's editor Harold Hayes was deluged with angry letters and the cover was denounced on the Senate floor. But now, with everything a parody of its former self, a new parody will grace the cover of Radar with Tom Cruise appearing as Ali did on the April 1968 cover.

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Dolby Microsite Illustrates Importance of Quality Sound

Dolby, those folks who bring all that quality sound to music, television and movies, has launched an online advertising effort designed to illustrate sound as in integral part of the entertainment experience. The first execution features a landscape with ominous storm clouds looming on the horizon. Users can create lightning and thunder by clicking on the storm clouds. Distant clouds create low pitched rumbling thunder while those nearby create a dramatic high pitched crackle.

The second execution begins with a scene in the jungle. Users hear birds chirping and the low growl of an unseen tiger. A sliding selector transforms the jungle trees into kelp and the user is transported to a tranquil underwater scene. Individuals who mouse over the jungle scene will release flying flocks of birds, while those that play with the underwater portion will scare schools of fish away from their pointer.

While our tiny laptop speakers are no match for a big ass home theater system, the execution does a nice job moving sound around and demonstrating how sound can add to the experience. No doubt, their in-theater demos are far better.

Virgin Atlantic Clearly Explains In-Flight Services

To relate specific in-flight problems such as discomfort, boredom, ill-fitting seatbelts and inability to sleep yielding phobias such as "Blankophobia," "Brunchaphobia," "Chitchatphobia" and "Clamberphobia," with Virgin Atlantic in-flight features such as a stand up bar, seats that turn into beds an in-flight massages, Australian interactive agency NetX created a microsite which clearly and humorously explains Virgin Atlantic benefits. It's one of the better online efforts adding a bit of fun into the experience yet without forgetting to concisely convey product benefit.

Advertising Veteran Slams Industry in New Book

Thirteen year advertising industry veteran Hadji Williams has published a book, Knock the Hustle: How to Save Your Job And Your Life From Corporate America, which takes a look inside corporate America, focusing on the ad industry, and calls the whole thing a scam with calling diversity a joke and, by design, keeping the ad industry as lily-white as ever; claiming Madison Avenue a place with no morals; calling he agency/client relationship a pimp and ho relationship; citing focus groups and time sheets useless because of continuous cover your ass antics; ridiculing corporate hierarchies with too many bosses and not enough leaders and naming marketers as pied pipers who need to look in the mirror before criticizing pop culture.

While we haven't read the book, our own experience in the industry, while perhaps not as negative as Williams' seems to have been, certainly leads us to believe Williams may not be too far off the mark.

Car Makers Go Mini-Movie Mad

When you roll it all up into one article as Ad Age just did, the recent efforts by car manufacturers to glom on to BMW "The Heist"-like mini-movie ads, is all lands with a big "me too," "wannabe," been there, done that" thud. However, some, such as Mercury's "Meet the Lucky Ones" did quite well, at least in terms of generating dramatically increased exploration of web pages describing various Mercury models.

Not to rain on everyone's parade but all this seems like a lot of work when the simplicity of - 1. Here's my product. 2. It is good because... 3. Try it and we'll give you this incentive. - always seemed to work quite well.

Former Spammer Settles With Microsoft

Humorously asking whether or not email marketing company OptinRealBig should change its name to DoubleOptinConfirmedRealBig, New Media Report says company founder Scott Richter has settled a lawsuit filed against him by Microsoft for $7 million.Reportedly, Richter is "sorry for spamming" and the lawsuit has caused him to re-think how he does business. As part of the settlement, that re-thinking will be heavily monitored over a three year period by an independent party who will oversee OptinRealBig's business practices.

PETA Features Sarah Jane in Anti-KFC Ad

PETA has launched another anti-KFC ad and this one features Australian model Sarah Jane posing nude. Oh come on. What were you thinking? Of course all her parts you really want to see are covered. This is advertising, not porn, though there doesn't seem to be much difference these days. Anyway, Tian pointed out it was odd the ad is predominantly written in Chinese and wondered whether it eluded to the popularity of KFC in China. Tian was gracious enough to send us a translated version of the ad which you can view here.

See more of Sarah's full-sized hotness here.

Nicole Ritchie Joined by Fiance in New Bongo Campaign

For her second season as spokesmodel for Bongo jeans, Nicole Ritchie will be joined by her fiance, Adam Goldstein who, along with Ritchie, will promote a new line of men's apparel. Breaking in September, the two will appear in semi-candid ads shot in New York's AER Lounge. Several of the ads are available here.

Newsflash: Hardee's Launches Ad With No Sex

Perhaps taking a break from slathering the world with sexual imagery to promote meat, Hardee's/Carl's has decided to run an ad promoting milk shakes. How does one promote milk shakes? You shake a cow, of course. In this spot, a guy, well, shakes a cow. Not much else to say about it.

In other featured ads in this week's Ad Age TV Spots of the Week Cingular interrupts its own pre-movie commercial to implore people to silence their phones, historical figures traumatize a couple for the Library of Congress, a guy eats a Pringles can just to prove the chips taste better, a camera so thin it can be mailed demonstrates the beauty of the new Sony Cyber Shot, Audi does its missing A3 thing, kids dance for Converse and DC Shoes goes with James Lipton.