You've probably seen the American version of this iPhone ad, and you've probably not thought twice about it, but the United Kingdom ain't having any.
The Advertising Standards Authority argues the ad suggests iPhone users have access to all the parts of the internet, which technically isn't true. Two viewers complained, and the ad's been pulled.
If Apple wants to run it, it'll have to give Mr. Voiceover something less, oh, all-encompassing to say.
In addition to protecting big spenders from Apple's appalling dishonesty, the ASA's also railed against mascara deception, erosion of religious values and unsafe car dancing. Unrealistic depictions of nipple elasticity are okay though, because bright citizens know better than be to duped by that.
Good to know there's a discerning body keeping the UK safe from uninhibited agency machinations.
- "Fuck it! We'll do it live! Fucking thing sucks!" You tell 'em, Bill, you wild animal you.
- The hood ornament is an endangered species. Is this what people want? We can save pandas but not the Spirit of Ecstasy?!
- New Shepard Fairey exhibition in SF: "Duality of Humanity." Inspired by Joker, the peace-sign-sporting Vietnam soldier in Full Metal Jacket, the show mashes up conflicting symbols of violence and peace. The project also has a strong Red-propaganda-meets-mass-media feel. Tasty.
- It's Bible stories! And Legos! Suddenly Sunday's looking like a party.
- With a nudge from those rascals at Deep Focus, AMC decides the Mad Men Twitter characters -- which it was so quick to boot -- are okay after all.
- Pepsi apparently did a better job of associating itself with the Olympics than Coke did. And it probably spent a helluva lot less money.
Yell.com, an online service from the Yellow Pages, debuted its first standalone TV campaign this month. The effort revolves around a party planner called Fresno and his whiny little clients, which vibe like rejects from My Super Sweet Sixteen.
This spot went live on August 20. It's about Marcus, a Surrey brat who wants his Roman-themed party changed, practically overnight, to a bling-heavy gangsta-gansta street bash. Fresno, aiming ever to please, insists all this and more can be accomplished at the drop of a (pimptastic!) hat. Meanwhilst, his anxious assistant trots behind him, tapping queries into Yell.com at a feverish pace.
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Pondering the question, "Is the Internet awesome?"' Barbarian Group has put together an Easter egg-filled site which, in many different ways, answers the question with a resounding "yes." Oh, and that picture of the bloodied girl on the hospital bed accompanying that story? 420, my friends. 420.
Sometimes if you want something to sound much better than it actually is, you sort of highlight and exaggerate the effort that went into making it. As part of a campaign that aims to position Popeyes as Louisiana Kitchen where "great tasting food requires slow, careful preparation," some twisted logic is employed to make that point clear.
In a new commercial for the brand, "Chef Ed" approaches Popeyes customers to explain how much time went into making the chain's $1.49 loaded chicken wrap. Because the chicken in the wrap was marinated for 12 hours, Chef Ed says the $1.49 wrap should really cost $72 based on a $6 per hour labor costs. Where the logic gets fuzzy is the assumption it takes any effort at all for chicken to soak in sauce for 12 hours. Does Popeyes pay employees to stare at the chicken for 12 hours? Is that part of the marination process?
OK, OK so there are preparation and refrigeration costs but still. Is having a dude side up to your table randomly to tell you your lunch should have cost 48 times what you paid for it really the best way to sell a chicken sandwich?
Some won't like this commercial because, once again, Levi's, with help from Cutwater, is attempting to position its brand as something much more than it is. Oh wait. No. It's not. It's actually acknowledging the fact it's a simple jeans brand. The fancy things in life aren't as important as your favorite pair of jeans and all that comes with them.
The spot, shot backwards, follows a model as she leaves a photoshoot and returns to her normal life, complete with her perfect, properly facial-haired, exotic-ish-looking boyfriend. It will debut during the season premiers of Gossip Girl September 1.
It's well done and, OMG, we like it.
Some people look ad ads and see one thing. Others look and see quite another. That seems to be the case with a recent billboard for the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in England. What could be seen as a perfectly representative image depicting life at sea back in the day when men were men and women had a raw deal, others see as representative of another form of life at sea. One which portrays a very different sort of relationship between a captain and his mates.
What's that saying? Oh yea. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or something.
I just got word that Ice Cream Man, which I guess hocks freezer pops to indie bands and starlets, is looking for events to sponsor. In addition to being liberally photographed with all the right people, the company's mission is to travel the world giving ice cream away for free.
Wish they were around when I was a kid, because seriously, those suburban ice cream truck guys were stingy. They wouldn't take pennies, for a start. If you're gonna make a living driving 2MPH and playing a repetitive tune in order to bait children into racing over to your goddamn truck, don't act like you're selling ribeyes in SoHo.
Household brand method doesn't just make lick-worthy, scum-swabbing "salad bowls"; it also uses biodiesel fuel in its spankin' new delivery truck. (And it wants you to know. Really, really badly.)
I found out about the biodiesel delivery truck in a method email blast sent out to promote Smarty Dish, its new dishwasher detergent. This may just be personal, but I open almost all the emails method sends me.
A few minutes ago, I wondered why that was. I decided it's because I signed up for its "People Against Dirty" movement two years ago, and while the time in my life for feeling enthusiastic about lavender wood polish is over, I still feel excited when I see that slogan in a subject line, because some irrational part of me is convinced it may be a private message for the movement's eyes only.
method's like the in-crowd of habitat fumigation. You're just flattered to be involved, because deep inside you* know this brand isn't just about being clean and good; it's about radiating that inexplicable, effortless cool.
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Time's drawing near for the September 2 debut of 90210, the CW's remake of '90s pop classic Beverly Hills, 90210. Worried that the network will slut it up a la Gossip Girl, the Parents Television Council is admonishing advertisers not to sponsor the show unless a pre-screening is released.
Read the elongated back-and-forth. In a nutshell, the PTC insinuated that the CW won't release a pre-screen because it doesn't want large, socially-responsible advertisers scrutinizing all that naughty, dirty, bad, baaaad content. The CW says it just doesn't want to spoil a highly-anticipated premiere. In the end, it'll probably win this girlfight.
Concerns about poisoning our pure American youth aside, the PTC's got a definite beef. For its last Gossip Girl print campaign, the CW used the headline "Mind-blowingly inappropriate!", a statement the PTC made to rebuke the show, to promote the new season.
Hilarious. Anyway, the PTC ain't going down without a yowl. It's contacted 136 major advertisers about the 90210 pre-screening issue. Cheers to the virtue of vigilance.
Image credit: the NY Post blog.
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