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Spays Not Strays

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Cat, nipped? Unwanted teen cat pregnancies are nothing to joke about. The shame of having to raise a litter as a single mom can be overwhelming, and kitten mittens* is not enough. Won't you please help? Agency Erwin-Penland is with a new integrated Humane Society campaign that incorporates traditional media with digital and extensive out-of-home initiatives (cut-outs of cats throughout downtown Greenville, etc). So where's the work you say? We wanna show you, but they didn't send us** anything except the website with animated kitty page takeover.***

*Shameless attempt to work this clip in. **Shameless attempt to work in a mention re: the ongoing problem with PR releases and basic shit like including the ad agency's url. Hard to give a shop love when you't include a link. ***Kitty Page Takeover plays two shows this week in Greenvilee btw. I KID.

by Bill Green    Sep- 1-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause



An Agency Spot For... An Agency

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Well, you never heard of Danish agency We Love People until now but they've done one thing nobody in the industry has that we know of: Run a TV spot for themselves on national TV. Desperate move or why didn't I think of that headslap? It's not that the spot is memorable (below). At most, it's thoroughly generic, safe and disposable, like the majority of consumer advertising here. But it is notable for the self-promo move, something that raises another issue with the industry here.

How long before American shops start advertising themselves that directly? The unwritten rule is/was that the work you do is your calling card. No agency would've left any type of signature on the work. But, times be changing and all, and maybe this is what small - mid shops have to start doing. An earlier tourist campaign by Red Tettemer included their name in the credits. Small move to test the waters perhaps.

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by Bill Green    Sep- 1-09    
Topic: Agencies, Commercials, Television



Aspen Channels Great Depression For Skiers

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Hey, I'm trying to sex this stuff up, gimmee a break. It may not be as thrilling as Steve's AdTech booth babe pics, but this new campaign for the Aspen Skiing Co. that got sent in here seems to have an identity crisis. Maybe because the article is full of target-rich marketing speak. (Maybe because I'm also killing time until Steve's pics get posted.) Is it geared towards locals, or, everyone looking for a great ski vacation, or, people who are feeling the crunch, or... I'm not sure. "The new ads strive to get across the idea that people need to "reward" themselves during the recession" Hmmm.

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by Bill Green    Sep- 1-09    
Topic: Magazine



Serious Sam's WTF of the Week, Maybe of The Year

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Polygons per krundle people. Pick a sterotype and it's all her, here. Texas' own Beef and Sage created this trailer for the soon to be released gaming title Serious Sam HD from Croatia's own Croteam. They also have another version of this spot which will be released when this thread hits 100 comments. Won't you please help? (Below.) If you need to cleanse the palette, there's this real trailer too.

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by Bill Green    Sep- 1-09    
Topic: Commercials, Games



3... 2... 1... We Have a Reignited America

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Who says your local government-funded automaker doesn't know how to blow your cash. Sure the economy affects everyone in time like these, but I suppose Cadillac is one of those brands that never gave a shit about how the economy was doing. Nor their drivers. Like any other high-end brand, if you can afford to drive one, you 're probably doing okay anyway. Which is a long way of saying I always hated car companies who run extravagant spots... in times like these. But I really like this one. (Below.) Taking a few cues from Colonel Steve Austin (YouTube it, youngins), Cadillac CTS Coupé mimics a NASA launch on the ground with some slick slickness and a nice space > Earth contour night vision inspired finish. Oh, the song? Lemon Jelly's "Space Walk."

Now, let's all go help Chrysler grab strife and do something as cool.

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by Bill Green    Sep- 1-09    
Topic: Commercials



Get Your Party Pants On; ad:tech Chicago's Just Hours Away

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For those of you that value conferences for the "networking," ad:tech Chicago's opening night party kicks off at 8PM on Tuesday.

It happens at Enclave, which you probably remember from last year. From 8-10 there'll be open bar and hors d'oeuvres -- usually tasty but scarce; I stand by the kitchen entry for just this reason. From 10-11, it's a cash bar, which is your cue to exit stage left and go find a good jazz club anyway. That's what Chicago's really about,* and boy will that SEO guru think you're cultured!

Good news: sporting your ad:tech badge grants you free entry. Register before September 1 for a free expo hall pass. And if you want to know where Enclave is, it's at 220 W. Chicago Ave -- right between N. Franklin and N. Wells.

See you by the kitchen.

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by Angela Natividad    Aug-31-09    
Topic: Industry Events



Guy Proposes to Girlfriend with Online 'Engagement' Ad.

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Impressive if a little in-your-face. With help from SheKnows, Deep Focus and VideoEgg, NYC-based creative producer Fred Ehrhard used video banner ads, a Diggable top-10 list and Twitter hashtags to convince his girlfriend to marry him.

In the event that you want to help the stalwart Fred along, use the hashtag #sayyesD to tell Delila, the girl in question, why she should weld her life to his FOREVAH. Handy-dandy twitter search, however, has informed us that she's accepted, so now y'all can stop stressing about the additional work that's been imposed on the hive mind.

Wondering if this is the last we'll hear about Delila and Fred. Probably not. We can see the Caturday headlines now: IM IN UR SOCNETS, ARRANGING UR MARRIAGE!

by Angela Natividad    Aug-31-09    
Topic: Online, Strange, Trends and Culture



Levi's Stops Costumed Volleyball Antics to Honor Sen. Kennedy

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Adrants reader Gareth sent over Levi's tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy. It appeared in the Sunday editions of the Times and the Globe and sports a rambling and whimsical quote from the Sen. ("The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die"), then a message from Levi's itself: "Let us continue his legacy of faith in the people and faith in the work that has yet to be done."

Wordy but loaded with gravity. We like that it remains sparing and casual; apart from the text, a hand-sketched version of the Levi's logo appears over its current tagline: "Go forth," part of a campaign primarily targeted to meatheads at uni.

The ad reminds us of Kenneth Cole's "Different Shoes" campaign, and it's a wonder to us that KC hasn't seized this opportunity to add Kennedy to its list of creative-friendly quotables.

It could just be that we didn't look hard enough though, so if we're wrong, send that bad-boy over.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-31-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Magazine, Newspaper, Trends and Culture



Thriller Flashmob Does Trafalgar on MJ's 51st

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All the fun coordinated playtime stuff happens on Trafalgar Square. It gets Beatles karaoke (courtesy of T-Mobile!), it gets turfed, and on Saturday it hosted the largest-ever flashmob to dance to Thriller in tandem.

The event was organized on Facebook and Twitter to celebrate the King of Pop's 51st birthday. The video makes it all feel frenetic and cumbersome, but hey, whaddaya want, it's a bunch of fans on a mission.

Speaking of fans on a mission, remember that one time a sadistic jailer forced 1500 inmates at a Cebu prison to dance to Thriller? Oh, MJ, you impacted the world in ways you probably never imagined.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-31-09    
Topic: Celebrity, Guerilla



This Season's Trend in Gamer Marketing? Necromancy.

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A spankin' new ad for Beatles Rock Band features the Fab Four alive and well, loitering with fans on Abbey Road. There's even an almost-convincingly-cut scene of George Harrison strumming alongside a kid with a Rock Band guitar.

The frothy setting -- utterly devoid of the angst that made them not-a-band-anymore -- melts into animated versions of the Beatles themselves, beating their instruments over the coloured Rock Band bars that tell you what string to hit. Song featured in the ad is Come Together off their Abbey Road album.

No strong feelings of disdain here; it's certainly a lot less callous than that one time Saatchi used All You Need is Love to sell diapers or the time Ben & Jerry's distilled the spirit of John Lennon in a hippie ice cream.

Oddly -- and we might change our minds about this later -- the ad made the notion of bringing the Beatles back as an animated pleasure-band a lot less traumatizing than watching a stilted cartoon Kurt Cobain play marionette for Guitar Hero. It's cheesy, sure, but it could have been a trainwreck.

Identity of the agency behind the ad remains a mystery for now. Word has it there'll be a reveal after the game comes out. Anyway, whoever you are, nice job; we'd be liars if we said the work lacked charm.

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