But Mummy, It's Not Enough to Be the Richest, Biggest Big-Box Ever. I Wanna Be Cool!

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To make something of pariah brand Op (would you wear it if you were 16 and had a choice?), Wal-Mart hired a few faces that you may recall from your idle TV-watching days.* Among them:

o Kristen Cavalieri of Laguna Beach.
o Wilmer Valderrama of That '70s Show.
o Christina Milian, who taught us how to Dip it Low before falling off hella hard.
o Josie Maran, formerly of Cover Girl.
o Rumer Willis -- you know, Demi and Bruce's kid.

They appear in a sun-splashed pop-rific video on Flash-heavy Op.com. Read up on the "dudes" and "chics"** and download crap for Facebook, MySpace, etc. Props to Make the Logo Bigger for imposing the site on us in all its laggy glory.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Celebrity, Online



Mercedes C and E-Class Bear Ghosts of an Illustrious Past

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"I think I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"You know my new Mercedes? It's haunted."

"...Haunted."

"Yeah."

"You'll have to elaborate on that."

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Strange, Television



Steve Nash. Likable Guy, Right? That's Because He's Recycled

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Jun Group is disseminating this video where Steve Nash falls down on the court and gets all kinds of broken. Then he's put back together, bionic-like, by a black Dr. Strangelove with ostentatious taste in shoes.

The moral of the story is, BUY NIKE. Or recycle. Or something.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Celebrity, Commercials, Online, Strange, Television, Video



Discovery Channel Takes a Turn for the Simpler

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Viewpoint Creative has redesigned the Discovery Channel logo, which for the longest time looked like this.

I'd call it a serviceable redesign, mainly because I can't think of much to make fun of, and I had trouble even remembering what the old one looked like. But now that I've revisited the old one, I'm really glad it's gone.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Brands, Good



Miller Blogs Bud, MoveOn Hates McCain, Saturday Night Extorts Horny Party People

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- Miller employee James Andorfer has launched The Brew Blog, which is oddly a really good resource for Anheuser-Busch news. Thanks AlexanderGordon for the tip.

- John McCain is pissing people off again, and by "people" I mean MoveOn.org, which is circulating yet another "GRR, ARG, MCCAIN!" petition.

- Saturday Night Magazine is inviting a few lucky bloggers to the Playboy Mansion on May 10th for a debauchery-ridden pajama party. Register at playboypajamaparty.com with the code on the invite. Oh, and cough up $1500. What, you thought the Hef would just open his door to you?!

by Angela Natividad    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Events, Online, Political



Ford Logo Has Sex, Social Unsiloed, Ads Sold, Lois Exhibits

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- Here's another one of those logos with questionably sexual imagery. At least accoriding to the Adrants reader who sent it in.

- Alisa says we should drop the term "social media" arguing the entire internet is social and therefore there's no need to create yet another buzz word so that a silo can be erected around it.

- Yet another site on which creative ideas and concepts can be purchased. This time, it's in Japan.

- On Friday, you can catch ad legend George Lois' exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

- The 49th Annual Clio Awards and Festival along with ihaveanidea, has announced the 12 finalists under 30 years old who will compete in the 2008 Clio Future Gold | Young Creatives Program.

by Steve Hall    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Brands, Social



Carlsberg Elevates Stature of Beer Babe Commercial

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It's tired. It's old. It's predictable. But it speaks the truth. Yes. Beer. Hot women. And one track mind guys. Ah yes, the quintessential beer commercial. This time it's from Carlsberg Lite who entices three guys with the allure of white-clad fitness trainers...and beer. Created by Saatch & Saatchi Simko, the ad at leasts elevates the tactic a step or two above the Coors Twins or the famed mud wrestling beer babes of yore.

Ooops. it's sorta been done before. Sorry guys.

by Steve Hall    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Creative Commentary



Purex Goes Green With 'Eco-Friendly' T-Shirt Contest

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The natural detergent Purex, with help from Night Agency has launched a green t-shirt contest where entrants can create their own "eco-friendly" slogans for the chance to win a Mercedes fortwo, $1,000 prizes and free Purex. That's about it. So if you;re into saving the environment, like t-shirts and want to win a small car, this is the contest for you.

by Steve Hall    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Online, Promotions



Haagen Daaz Co-Ops Plight of Bees in New 'Cause' Campaign

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What do bees and ice cream have to do with each other? Apparently, a lot if you are Haagen Daaz which relies heavily on the work of bees for their product's natural ingredients. It seems the bee population has suddenly dwindled and, with help from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Psyop, Haagen Daaz wants us to know we can help by donating money to to their cause.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Cause



Adrants Whines About Lack of Industry Boondoggles

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There aren't many but there is one thing I do miss about agency life; the seemingly endless expense account that'd fund, among many other things, my travels to all sorts of industry event goodness. Now that I'm running my own business, the expense account is, shall we say, far from endless leaving me drooling for travel to Miami for the Clios or to Cannes for, well, Cannes.

Oh, I do get out once in a while. It's not like the four walls of the home office are the only things I see 24/7/365 but hey, I'm human. I like people. I love advertising. So it's a bummer when the entire industry heads to the sandy white beaches of Miami or France...or even dingy innards of some random exhibit hall...and I'm left inside these four tiny walls pumping out newsy goodness for you all.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-24-08    
Topic: Industry Events