Hip-Hop for Bad Presents and Cranberry Juice.

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To compel holiday shoppers to try Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, Creature organized the Re-Gift Rap Battles, which will hit shopping malls in most major cities coast to coast.

Imagine White Elephant, except with a persuasion element: participants grab a wrapped gift -- a nose hair trimmer, ceramic cat, backscratcher -- then rap about it to another contestant. At each event, eight contestants will be sifted through four rounds, after which a winner and the worst holiday gift will be named.

Somewhat more exciting than pulling a sampler afternoon at Costco. Think Jin the Bay Area wonder will come out and play?

by Angela Natividad    Nov-13-08    
Topic: Brands, Events, Guerilla, Promotions



Dying of Boredom? Become a Bookie

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November in Canada sucks. There's neither sun nor snow, no Thanksgiving, no Obamamania to call their own.

So what's the best way to stick it to a month that's gunning for your unhappiness? The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, where you can watch, like, horses and ... stuff.

zig, the Toronto-based agency entrusted with "[making] an agricultural and equestrian show sexy to city slickers," came up with the ultimate anti-November manifesto, which, after all the doom and gloom, positions the Royal Fair as the ultimate pastime in a month when no fun can be found. Anywhere.

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by Angela Natividad    Nov-13-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Events, Promotions, Television



Ad:tech Adrants Caption Contest.

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Because you can never have too many of those. What will you win? (*thinks to self what he can promise that Steve will get stuck footing the bill for*) We'll get back to you. For now, settle for internet fame. Leave your responses in the comments for this gem from ad:tech yesterday. My first thought?

"Keyword: Sad."

(+ Click to enlarge.)

by Bill Green    Nov- 5-08    
Topic: Events



Marketers Enjoy Insta-Promotion by Breaking World Records

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Witness with envy as the world's largest beach ball -- 36 feet across -- alights upon a throng of Dallas citizens, hands high over heads like children with a giant parachute.

"that is fuckin incredible lol," gushes one of the more eloquent viewers on YouTube.

The ball, a promotional effort by Carnival Cruise Lines, set the world record for largest beach ball last Sunday. Witnesses to the historic moment were treated to live music, free food and cruise giveaways by Senior Cruise Director John Heald.

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by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Guerilla, Promotions



Nebraska Princess's YouTube Debut, Little Big Planet's Qu'ran Faux Pas, Hummer Dummer

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- Make magazine offers Twitter support. Hey, neato.

- Wayne Wang's The Princess of Nebraska premiered on YouTube last Friday. Which brings up the usual "dawn of a new era?" questions.

- Ecast MixMaster helps decide how best to get you trashed.

- O noes, kids and search and porn.

- Little Big Planet alienates Muslims. I would never have guessed.

- The essence of blogging.

- Do you dare mess with someone else's Hummer -- even for love of advertising? Good luck and godspeed.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-20-08    
Topic: Events, Games, Guerilla, Online, Opinion, Outdoor, Promotions, Strange, Video



Your Creativity Should Shine Through Squash.

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Last week Ice Tea Productions sent a pumpkin and a carving kit to about 450 agency creatives. The lucky fools were tasked with carving that most creative of pumpkins. (Extra points if you do it during office hours. Well ... no, not really.)

Once finished, send a shot of your magnum opus to gina@iceteaproductions.com. Entries will be accepted until October 29th.

A panel of ad industry judges will decide on the best pumpkins. Winners could receive a $100 gift certificate to a restaurant, or a $100 shopping spree at Bloomingdale's, or a massage, or tickets to a concert, or a gift certificate to Starbucks, or any other paper voucher lying around unused in Ice Tea Productions' coffers.

Oh, you could also get Nike sneakers.

Photo credit: Sandsational.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-20-08    
Topic: Agencies, Events, Promotions



Gonzaga Needs YOU! to Support Women's B-Ball

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To sell tickets for its women's basketball games, Gonzaga University produced a well-executed online campaign that makes your attendance feel vital.

Pop a name and phone number into the Inspired Season microsite. (The marketing team told us this data isn't kept.) Later, when the girls need some pre-game pep, the coach calls you to pontificate on how important your presence will be to them.

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by Angela Natividad    Oct-16-08    
Topic: Events, Good, Online, Promotions



'Goddess of Money' Throws Weight Behind White Collar Lunch Hour

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This may sound improbable, but "goddess of money" Ivanka Trump (don't you love PR people?) gives a damn what you have for lunch at work every day. Enough to blog about it, even.

She's partnering with ConAgra for something called the Lunch Trade. I'm not sure what it entails (Handi-Snacks but bigger? City-wide buffets? Mass sandwich-swap? Anything goes!) but it'll reportedly "impact" 15,000 employees across NYC and Chicago.

Wow. Sounds almost like genocide. Keep reading her blog for more details.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-15-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Events, Guerilla, Promotions



Celebs, Scribbles, Gap Try Stimulating Youth Vote

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What better way to get self-conscious Millennials to the ballot than with a bunch of celebs being gratuitously cool, slightly ironic and occasionally almost (but not quite!) deep?

Look, look, it's Bill Maher in a blazer, prattling about elitists. It ends with "Vote for BBQ" -- except BBQ is written in a Mad Libs sorta way, so you know the "vote for" is open to whatever motivation, however bizarre or irrelevant, you've got.

Because hey, that's democracy.

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Coral Reefs Become Placeholders for a New Kind of Outdoor

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Coffees of Hawaii put a floating coffee bar on the swim course at Kona during the Ironman Triathlon World Championship. (They did it last year too. See pics.)

To ensure nobody would miss the hype-heavy, espresso-peddling raft bobbing near shore, it targeted swimmers with ads on the sea bed.

Neat idea. Neater still: if the flyers were clues to an undersea treasure hunt, and if, at the end of the hunt, people found -- not dubloons! -- but hazelnut coffee bean samples. Their expressions alone would make the effort worth it.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-14-08    
Topic: Brands, Events, Guerilla, Promotions