The distinguished self-made caste of Elvis impersonators have finally been permitted into Mecca. Graceland managers will be appointing a "tribute Elvis" set to perform in a way that suits the king, which is open to interpretation - but no tacky, no kitschy and no "ridiculous spoofs" which will be hard, considering those characteristics comprise most mental pictures of a would-be rhinestone king of rock 'n roll.
"Ultimate Elvis," a contest for finding the first tribute performer for Graceland's 30th anniversary, consists of qualifying rounds worldwide, with 24 contestants making Memphis and 14 enduring elimination last Sunday.
The winner will be chosen this Friday, the 30 year commemoration of Presley's death. Said anointed one will nail $5,000 in cash, a shopping spree of equal value through Graceland, a $3,000 gift certificate for a better Elvis jumpsuit, a championship belt and other stuff.
We couldn't make this kind of shit up.
Mr. T, the earring-sporting punk-squasher from our '80s childhood, occasionally makes quirky ad appearances in which - to our surprise - he never seems to age.
And neither do his cameos seem to share a rhyme or reason. In a complete 180 from that last Snickers jaunt he did (see link above), he's just appeared in a string of Hitachi ads for virtualization technology.
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You may want to watch out for the deceptively simple-seeming John from Cincinnati - even if it's just to see the main title sequence, whose creative director, Angus Wall, was also behind Big Love, Rome and Carnivale.
A collaboration between Rock Paper Scissors and A52, the opening is unique in that it gives nothing away (not even main characters!), leaving us stewing in feelings of surfer's nostalgia and little more.
Check it out here. It starts out slow and, for some reason, occasionally brings Flipper to mind - then it kind of grows on you. All in all it ain't a bad way to burn a minute.
Update: We just got word from Jetpacks, DarnellWorks and reader James that the show got canned yesterday. Suxors. But apparently it was good, so if you want to rally for another season, hurry and try saving it.
It's amazing to us the lengths some people will go to accommodate all the creativity Google allows them to employ.
Perhaps because the smug techies got bored with their hand puppets, the search engine/marketing mavens/whatever-else-have-you's have launched a collaborative video campaign for Gmail. All you have to do is print out the little red envelope and send in a video of yourself passing it on in some creative way. If you express sufficient esprit de coeur, maybe they'll add you to the final cut.
There are a few here.
In the end this is going to make a really neat (deliciously viral) ad that (once again) demonstrates with what ease Google can pwn its competitors by harnessing collaborative energy without the needless expense of an ad agency.
< / sarcasm >
In tangent with Don McNabb and "some weird old guy" (who looks a lot like Orville Redenbacher back from the grave), VitaminWater put together a campaign called The POWER and the GLORY.
The ad pokes fun at drama-ridden film trailers with heavy voices and against-all-odds themes prevalent in underdog action films. We think it's corny, actually, and have only this to say in response.
Land Rover is behind England in its quest to retain its World Cup rugby title. Created by Wunderman, this video which features World Cup winner Josh Lewsey and some freak who really loves football, sets the record straight when it comes to which sport Englanders are most passionate about. That, or England's fixation with the word "piss."
Elvis Presley left the building thirty years ago, but Elvis: The Miniseries recently arrived on DVD and to promote the release, Starz Home Entertainment is passing out free flip books from Elvis decorated Segways at several celebrations in Memphis coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the legend's death this week. The flip books from Flippies play full-motion clips from the movie.
While we're not sure how Sprint's Waitless, which offers up time-saving tips, has anything to do with selling phones or phone service, we did find out how to tie our shoes faster, pour Ketchup quicker and quiet a crying baby. Distributed by Jun Group Productions, several YouTube videos point to the Waitless website at which you can watch all the videos and try to figure out what the hell any of this has to do with selling phones.
We haven't covered much on PETA lately but JWT Kuwait just sent us some work they did for the animal-lovers. A couple of variations are here and here.
The process of segmenting human flesh for the manufacturing of goods is all very Holocaust. But then again, this isn't the first time they've put people on the meat slab to make a point. Guess it's okay if you're vego.
Now this isn't a new thought or anything but a guy in New York's East Village went to the trouble of hanging this banner from his building just to share his less than loving feelings towards beauty and fashion magazines which, as we all know, paint a fantastically fake image of what a woman should look like. That, or his girl friend really is ugly and he wants to demonstrate his undying love for her.
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