Van-Tastic Seeks Freeloaders for Ultimate Aussie Roadtrip

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"We're looking for seven pairs of travellers, one for each of Australia's stunning states, to become Van-Tastic Adventurers."

Winning pairs will be flown from anywhere in the world to Australia, where they'll be given a "karmic campervan" that looks a lot like the Plaid Nation tourbus, actually. They'll also get to digicams and laptops for six weeks, $1000 worth of gas, free access to the area's top attractions and a list of places to go.

But that's not all! The best travel documentary produced by one of the seven couples gets $10,000 and two Virgin Blue domestic flights.

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Imagine Being Able to Take the Wii Experience ... Everywhere.

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Except with a Sony Ericsson F305 phone and not an actual Wii.

The F305 is a phone equipped with game and motion sensor technology, much like the iPhone, which -- like the WiiMote -- lets users control the game based on how they move their handheld.

To promote it, SocialMedia8.com launched the Motion Mania contest, where users are asked to shoot a video on mobile gaming and upload it to this website. Popular video producers could win tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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by Angela Natividad    Jun-15-09    
Topic: Consumer Created, Events, Games, Mobile/Wireless, Video



Denver Egotist Takes Stand Against Brand Molestation.

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"The big, fat, silver torpedo that is the Chipotle burrito is as iconic (in this city, anyway) as an Absolut bottle or a Converse shoe," lauds the Denver Egotist, bringing to mind billboards that have taken us by surprise more than once.

"So what better way to start off a brand new campaign than to ditch the thing you're most famous for in favor of a bland, new Taco Bell-styled menu and some insipid value statements that are saturating the market in this shitty economy. Oh, and how about a new logo, too? Something that could sit nicely on the shelf at Target with the other Archer Farms produce?"

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Possibly the Best Climate Change Awareness Video Ever

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Cannes Young Lions competition entries for client Oxfam Great Britain have been mixed -- and the stuff we've seen has been wince-worthy, running the "Horrors!" gamut from complete mundanity to gratuitous panty-dancing violence.

That all changes with "Douchebag Pie," arguably the greatest climate change awareness ad for Generation: YouTube ever created.

And if it singlehandedly brings the word "douchebag" to the French lexicon, then all the better.

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Custom Kicks Share Carbon Footprint Stories

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There's this cute little "climate change art group" called The Canary Project, which in turn is working on something called Green Patriot Posters, which looks to me like kids marketing climate change awareness in various ways.

Look: they have billboards! And adorable little tennis shoes!

The cute custom sneaks are the work of students at McCormack Middle School in MA, which were encouraged to express their knowledge of their carbon footprints on a pair each. The sneakers now appear in associated billboards along with the tagline: "The Kids at McCormack School know their CARBON FOOTPRINT. What about YOU?"

Peruse more earnest little posters, or make your own, at the website.

by Angela Natividad    May-21-09    
Topic: Cause, Consumer Created, Guerilla, Outdoor, Packaging



Dance, Girl, Dance. Die, Girl, Die.

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This is madness, thick and black, I Know What You Did Last Summer-style.

To spread Oxfam's global warming awareness message, and as (yet another) entry to the Cannes Young Lions ad festival, some dark-humoured cat put together this creepy piece of work.

Ooh, it's getting hot in here. Like a seedy American Apparel ad, some dancing hutch starts peeling off her clothes. And suddenly...

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LG Versa Vice Courts 'Questionable Cell Phone Habits'

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To promote its Versa handheld, LG's offering users a trip to Vegas if they upload a 12-second vid of their cell phone vice on LGVersaVice.com.

The vices of others appear in a clickable mobile phone gallery; suck in the sin without worrying whether somebody's drawn-out story is gonna eat two minutes of your life. (Time constraints FTW!)

Confessions range from the mundane ("manima" checks Twitter and Facebook from the toilet ... but who doesn't?) to the insane (when "bateatsbat" wants to cut ties with crappy dates, she tells the dudes she has AIDS).

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by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Consumer Created, Mobile/Wireless, Online



Traditional Marriage's New Poster Girl, Hipsters Destroy World, Learning Tolerance from Tellers

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- One of those things we would've been happy to never, ever have to see.

- AdPulp and Jeff Tachis riff on David Armano's riff on the future of advertising.

- Google and goats.

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Wear Your Fail.

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It was only a matter of time. The Fail Whale jewelery collection. Blogger slash fashion slave Lori Magno has come out with a way to wear your fail proudly. That's right. They may not be able to monetize Twitter, but you can now monetize Failure. The whale and bird are made of .999 Fine Silver and pure, mad love. (She'll also put your Twitter handle on at no extra charge and throw in FREE shipping. I said FREE. Oprah and THE_REAL_SHAQ, you BETTER order.)
by Bill Green    Apr-20-09    
Topic: Consumer Created



Drinkable Yogurt, Cheerleaders in Bikinis An Interesting Combination

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Bikinis. Cheerleaders. Baby oil. And a slip and slide. What's not to love about that combination? Not much but this is advertising we're talking about here so there's gotta be a product in here somewhere. Hmm. Where is it? Oh, there it is. Yogisip, a South African drinkable yogurt. Yea, there it is.

So what does a drinkable yogurt have to do with girls in bikinis throwing themselves down a slip and slide? When the baby oil and water supply run out, you will have your answer. Watch.

And watch the hundreds of other videos submitted to this video competition which asks people to show how the drink keeps them going all day long.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 2-09    
Topic: Consumer Created, Promotions, Racy, Social, Video