Even More Time Wasted Critiquing Dumb Commercials

So we do a lot of ad critique around here at Adrants. Sometimes it's worthy, other times it's the digital equivalent of a newspaper used for dog defecation. In what has to be the most ridiculous critique of a ridiculous ad EVAR, MSNBC Ads of the Weird takes on a Dr. Scholl's ad featuring America's Next Top Model Runner Up Yaya DaCosta who dances on a desk and then jumps into a pair of shoes which, naturally, have Dr. Scholl's inserts.

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Oreo Turns Elevator Into Milk Dunking Machine

OK, this is kind of cool. Using a glass elevator with a giant faux Oreo cookie attached to it that dunks into a faux glass of milk when the elevator hits the first floor, Oreo has done a nice job creating interest with the use of alternative media. Hmm. Anyone feel like Oreo cookies and milk now?

Wonderbra Could Make Basoomas a Transit Hazard

Flipping on old jokes about front-heavy women, Wonderbra added a yellow safety line behind the one that appears in metro stations.

That's right, Miss Full-Frontal-Since-This-Morning. Get used to stepping a little further back, 'cause you know those boobies are gonna get in the way of the Five line. Reason #4304983098 why it's better to just embrace your surfboard self.

Via the PhotoShelter blog. Agency: Euro RSCG/Singapore.

Seminar to Teach Word of Mouth Marketing Skills

Andy Sernovitz, a big advocate of word of mouth marketing and host of the Gas Pedal dinner series is hosting a "Learn Word of Mouth Marketing" crash course in Chicago July 30 and September 4. The course will cover the five steps of word of mouth marketing, how to insure ROI and how to create an actionable word of mouth marketing program for your company.

There's more details here and if you use the code "weloveadrants", you'll get a nice $250 discount. I've been to his events and they are very informative. If you have any interest in WOM, it would be worth checking out these seminars.

Jamba Juice Disses (Promotes) McDonald's McMuffin

In an apparent effort to illustrate how McDonald's breakfast sandwiches are bad and how Jamba Juice is good, Swirl created a billboard, which it placed directly next to a McDonald's near Penn Station, that shows a McDonald's breakfast sandwich "tied down like a ball & chain...which will obviously make you feel this way after eating" and a Jamba Juice drink with a spring under it. The tagline is "Put the Good in Your Morning."

While there is a "vs." between the two, this billboard seems to say " have a McMuffin and a Jamba Juice in the morning. It's the perfect combination" rather than "have a Jamba Juice instead of a McMuffin."

OMG! Cause Groups Complain, Ad Age 'Unleashes' Witty Headline

It's a forgone conclusion that Verizon ads suck and deserve to be pummeled by bitchy ad critics such as those employed at trade rags like Adrants. Oh wait, that's us. Oops. That would be...leading industry publication Adrants. Now that we have that settled...

It's official. America has no sense of humor and has become so literal, no one can say anything at all without offending various cause group members who, due to an onslaught of grade school self-esteem-focused curricula which have rendered them incapable of chilling out and enjoying life without looking at it through a microscope.

So what's all the fuss about this time?

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Parrot Makes Noise, Shark Spotted, White World Wrinkled

- We got to check out the Facebook redesign yesterday. There's tabs and room for more ads (I'm seeing TWO now instead of just ONE!). Also, personal information is intuitively distributed so you don't have to read everything from one long column. A lot of people are annoyed because it's heavy with the social media vibe, but we'll be used to it in, like, two weeks.

- For Parrot, Feed Company started a video campaign featuring a nightmarish kid on a driving lesson. "We're done, we're done! FUCK IT!" Heh.

- Shark sighting. Or not. By Mullen for the sharks and rays exhibit at NE Aquarium.

- New spot by BBH/NY and Partizan/LA for LG Steam Washer. It's called "World of Steam" and takes place in a wrinkly fabric world. It's weird, but not as weird as this was, and I guess sort of passively pleasant.

- Another Parrot thing: Parrot Not Quail. (I'm not really down to make a parrot the state bird, but we did make the Terminator governor.)

Janet Jackson's Boob Ruled Not Indecent

Back in 2004 (yes, it really was that long ago), Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were victims of a unfortunate "wardrobe malfunction" which caused Janet Jackson's pierced boob to be seen by something like 80 million people. Most of us laughed. others got all freaked out and had a legalk orgasm shooting law suits all over the place.

Well, four years later, it's all over and a Philadelphia Court of Appeals has injected some common sense into the debacle. The court overturned the FCC's fining of 20 CBS stations and the FCC's claim the stations were liable for the "malfunction." Basically, the Court of Appeals ruled the fines ran counter to the FCC's long-standing history of forgiving fleeting instances of indecency.

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What is It About Doppelgangers? They Always Seem So Angry.

If you carry a knife, you risked being stabbed by your own blade. Most likely wielded by Evil You from Mirror World.

The spot was put together by AMV BBDO for the Tower Hamlets Council, which is concerned about "rising!" knife crime and convinced people won't stop carrying blades unless they believe they're disproportionately likely to trip, fall and impale themselves.

Bet that pansy-ass excuse didn't stop Genghis Khan, though. (Yeah, I know that's not Genghis, but it's a pretty rad picture.)

Product Placement in Porn Advocated, Pennies Pitch

- The FWA has announced its 2008 Site of the Year judging panel. Some idiot named Steve Hall will be one of the judges.

- Chuck McCarthy has a few ideas for those of us in advertising. Not one to overlook a missed ad opportunity, Chuck thinks branded background images on those distorted login codes would be a great medium, Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back could be turned into Snackin' Back for a cracker brand and energy drink product placement in porn would be hot.

- A dude thinks the back of pennies are a great medium. He was right. After affixing his URL to the back of fifty pennies and distributing them around New York, business boomed.