So what happens when an ad exec is unhappy with what he sees around him? He gets everyone in his agency to get behind his pet project for pro bono account work. And that's just what Paul Venables, founder of San Francisco's Venables Bell & Partners did when he became upset of the plight of public schools in Marin county California.
Driving around Marin you'd not necessarily realize there were many problems. It's a very upscale and beautiful area but the state has cut $55 million in school aid and things are not going so well on the public school front.
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Sorry but we're just not digging this Nestea Wonderful Machine, a retrofitted vending machine that allowed people to remotely remove a bottle from the machine. Apparently, the goal of the campaign was to "reinvent the genre of the claw machine."
Wait, what? The claw machine is a genre? Last we looked, it was just a device at cheesy amusement parks to try and win toys. OK, OK. So they're popular in malls in Israel where the campaign took place but this effort let people grab a bottle of Nestea from the machine over the internet. Which, of course, means they can't even drink the stuff once they've grabbed the bottle.
But we guess it's all OK because somehow winners were chosen and awarded a trip to Sri Lanka. So it's all good, right?
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The spin cycle of sadness. All we are saying is give socks a chance. I'm the Johnny Appleseed of missing socks. They're like sweaters on your feet. Kumbaya, my socks. If we're not careful, there's going to be a sockpocalypse.
As a follow up to its clever debut video, LBi has launched its second Sock Loss video for GE. The new PSA is for L.O.S.S. (Laundered and Orphaned Sock Society), continue to explore the mystery behind loss socks and why there always seems to be one missing.
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If you're heading to ad:tech San Francisco in April, good for you. It's a great conference. Good content. Good networking. And plenty of exhibitors to visit. But let's not forget about a very important component of ad:tech...or any conference for that matter...the parties. The list is growing so it's time to share.
On Monday night April 11, between the first and second day of the three day conference, Moss Networks will host its VIP Mix + Mingle event at Supper Club beginning at 10PM.
On Tuesday night, things get a bit busier. Criteo will host a gathering at Roe from 4PM to 7PM. Advertise.com will hold its tenth anniversary party at Ruby Skye from 9PM to 1AM. Also beginning at 9PM, FriendFinder Networks will present The Marketers Ball at 1015 Folsom.
There are several other invite only parties occurring over the three day event which we'll leave unpublished. Though we'll continue to add to the list ans things are announced. Make sure you bookmark our continuously updated party calendar so you don't miss anything.
In a recent study commissioned by ad agency MGH, 72 percent of smartphone users indicated that they would be likely to recall an ad with a QR code. The agency conducted the study to determine the usage of QR codes - a technology that uses barcode-like images containing information which can be scanned an read by using an application on a smartphone.
Top usage of those who said they've used a QR code was to secure a coupon, deal or discount (53 percent). Other uses of a QR code included:
- Secure a coupon, deal or discount (53%)
- Access additional information (52 percent);
- Enter a sweepstakes (33 percent);
- Sign up to receive more information (26 percent);
- Access video (24 percent).
Full results of the study are available here.
Pereira & O'Dell is out with some sublimely goofy work for Muscle Milk. Super Bowl champion Clay Matthews and All-Star Left Fielder Ryan Braun star in the fictitious "You, Your Awesome Body, and You, Show" with a crazed host who can't keep his shirt on or stop freaking out about the athletes.
The spots will run though April 7 on ESPN, ESPN2, Fuel, Fuse, G4, MTV2, Versus and others. Radio and online will support the television effort.
Whacked.
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When you think of termites you don't normally think about giant, flying monsters with huge fangs and the ability to dive bomb your home. But you should. Because that's the message this Publicis Dallas-created, Blacklist-produced commercial for Terminex. Termites might be small but they can do significant damage and, unlike the creatures in this commercial, they can do it without you even realizing. Because once you do, it's too late.
The message? Understand that though termites are small, they are just as damaging as the ficticious creatures in this commercial. The work does a nice job bringing to life the initially hidden damage termites can do to your home.
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So you know that expression that's sometimes said about a person who just can't get enough sex? Yea. You know. How they like to "f*^k everything that moves? Well that's the kind of guy Smutley the Cat turns out to be in this French AIDS awareness video for the non-profit AIDES.
Created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and directed by Niklas Rissler and Kevin O'Grady at againstallodds through Passion Pictures, the video brings us along on a ride with Smutley as he gets himself off by stuffing himself inside everything from a turtle to a dolphin to a fish to an elephant and more.
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Chevy has its Angels and Ford has...well...Ford has Doug. Doug is a puppet. And a puppet with an attitude and an attraction to blond reporters and, well, any female of any kind. He's also a wise ass who carefully walks the line between making the brand message interesting and turning the entire thing into a comedy routine. He's witty and stupid all at the same time. And it kind of works. And in any event, it's far more interesting that a typical :30 or :60. Far, far more interesting.
Doug's best lines include, "may I smell your fingers?" and "are you all business or it is just that suit?"
Directed by Paul Feig and written by a host of comedy writers, the collection of videos touts the Ford Focus and its many features. The unveiling of Doug as the new spokesperson for Ford was preceded by several unbranded videos in which the puppet stops a convenience store robbery, saves a choking victim and performs CPR.
We like this advertainment. We actually watched all of it. Of course, that's out job but that's besides the point. We actually liked it and found it entertaining. Which is a very, very good thing.
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With a new ten minute film directed by and starring Jenny McCarthy, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is aiming to get a seat at the "fun" table right there with Carnival. Of course, drawing that comparison is likely to anger both brands but when you get right down to it, all cruise ships are fun. Or at least they're supposed to be.
The film, which pimps the cruise line's newest ship, the very elaborate looking Allure of the Seas, has one couple working very very hard to get another together. Predictably, as with all relationship wars, everything turns high school complete with jealousy-inducing photos and all manner of pettiness.
But, since this is one gigantic ad, it, like all ads, ends well and everyone lives happily every after. As is always the case in ad world.
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