If the Olympics Can't Unite Mankind, What Will?

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The Olympics has a way of bringing the sap out in advertisers.

Visa's "Go World" campaign, no exception, trots Olympian trivia out to American viewers while convincing us these anecdotes aren't just important; they're a source of pride, a means to connect with the world by way of titanic achievement against insurmountable physical odds.

All this to win the synchronized high-dive? Yeah. See spots...

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by Angela Natividad    Aug-12-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Events, Good, Television



Cannibal Sushi! Unclaimed Twitter Handles! Olympics Ceremony Demystified! Lots and Lots of Boobies!

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- A Wired journalist attributes the success of Weight Watchers to its RPG format. (You know, like EverQuest or Final Fantasy.)

- The pretty little girl who sang "Ode to the Motherland" for the Olympics opening ceremony was a pretty little mime. Reps said they wanted a flawless girl with a flawless voice; but one had the looks and another had the pipes so they mashed them up. "We must put our country's interests first." Riiiight.

- Seven in 10 companies on the FTSE 100 have unclaimed handles on Twitter. Companies are advised to lock that down before a hater (or an impersonator) does. (Via @benkunz.)

- It may not really be cannibal sushi, but the psychological effect can be just as fucked-up. (Via @TJCNYC.)

- Got more than a handful up top? Pull your shirt off and join the Wonderbra mosaic.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-12-08    
Topic: Events, Games, Online, Strange, Trends and Culture



Because Gold Can't Be Seized without Pain. Or Something.

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To supplement its "Impossible is Nothing" spots for the Beijing Olympics, Adidas busts out with a slightly retro set of prints titled "Gold is Not a Given."

Each piece features an Olympic athlete, training in Beijing six months before the game "in sub-zero temperatures." There's also some Nike-esque pontificating on the meaning of "gold." An example from the ad at left (featuring Haile Gebrselassie):

Gold is more than a colour. It's a dream to keep chasing. It's a dream to keep you going. It's a dream that sometimes gets put on hold. Gold is never a given.

Also see:

o Tyson Gay -- Gold can be lost in a flash. (1, 2)
o Allyson Felix -- Gold is not into predictions. (1, 2)
o Veronica Campbell-Brown -- Gold makes you wait. (1, 2)
o Jeremy Wariner -- Gold is the language of fastest. (1, 2)
o Yelena Isinbayeva -- Gold doesn't play favourites. (1, 2)

Totally different style from the Chinese ads, but in keeping with the grit-and-glory feel. Put together by Amsterdam (180\TBWA).

by Angela Natividad    Aug-11-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Events, Magazine



Adrants Defends Coverage of Huge McDonald's Story

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Dear AdFreak,

Say what? Adrants not interested in a story about McDonald's hanging with celebrities to celebrate the 40th birthday of the McDonald's Bic Mac? Not interested in Lauren Condrad and Kim Kardashian bulging out of her top from all sides? Not interested in writing a story purely for gratuitous reasons? Not interested in offering up an image of Kim Kardashian over which horny male ad sluts can drool and then nonchalantly excuse themselves to the men's room?

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by Steve Hall    Jul-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Events



Think Sex with a Condom Blows? Try Swimming in One

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Chinese condom maker Elasun is using the Beijing Olympics to push a naughty set of sports-themed ads over the 'net. Neat tagline: "Sports make you health." Line of fortune cookies in the works?

More here. But if you don't click, at least look at the basketball one, because it's, oh, priceless.

by Angela Natividad    Jul-29-08    
Topic: Events, Online, Strange



Cute Lepers Cure Terminal Boredom. Or Not

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Expectations are high when a press release promises, "Cute Lepers will Cure Your 'Terminal Boredom' This Summer!" But there are no lepers, cute or otherwise. It's just some pop band on tour.

by Angela Natividad    Jul-25-08    
Topic: Events, Online, Outdoor, Promotions



Glamour Stiletto Run Travels to Moscow. Hotness Abounds

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A couple years ago, we covered Glamour's Stiletto Run, a promotional event highlighting the launch of Dutch Glamour at which hundreds of women wearing heels ran a 75 meter sprint to win $10,000 Euros.

Last year the event was held in Amsterdam. We missed it but this year, just this week, it was held in Moscow and while a member of our vast Adrants reporting staff wasn't in attendance to capture the event first hand, thanks to Flickr, we can share all the glamorous, high heeled hotness with you today.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-24-08    
Topic: Events, Magazine, Racy



Shoot! the Day Brings Stock Photo Angst to the Fore

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On Sunday I moderated an ad agency panel for Shoot! the Day, a day-long photographer conference put together by PhotoShelter.

A few things I picked up amidst coleslaw mountains and sassy stock:


  • ADs and art buyers depend pretty heavily on stock photography, but feel like they've seen everything the industry has to offer -- including its paltry selection of models. "It's become a running joke," said Molly Aaker of Unit7. "'There's that same girl, except with her hair up!'"

  • Diversity is an issue, but it can't be solved just by changing the color of people's faces. Belinda Lopez of StrawberryFrog wants to see more "documentary-style" imagery -- people in natural poses, expressing real emotions, and doing things a person in that situation and/or of that ethnicity is likely to do.

  • Everybody seems crazy about PhotoShelter -- which is probably why they attended the first annual Shoot! the Day in the first place.

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by Angela Natividad    Jul-23-08    
Topic: Agencies, Events, Good, Opinion



Plaid Nation Tour '08 Rolls Heavy on the West Side

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Plaid sent over an envelope loaded with swag (which Heehaw Marketing took a picture of so we wouldn't have to) to remind us the Plaid Nation 2008 West Coast Tour is CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS.

The Plaid van's current location: Vancouver. It'll be creeping its way south toward Los Angeles as the weeks progress.

Now that you know, hit the website -- less of a site, really, than a social media orgy -- and try getting the Plaid crew to pay your ailing agency (or your best friend's engagement-impaired company) a visit. Also check out the Van Cam tab where you can play van voyeur from the driver's seat, or the passenger's seat, or roadside, if that's the way you roll.

by Angela Natividad    Jul-21-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns, Events, Social



Angela of Adrants to Interrogate ADs and Art Buyers for Shoot! the Day

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Tomorrow I'll be moderating a panel for Shoot! the Day, a stock photography conference put together by PhotoShelter. (See a recent study related to the topic.)

My panel is at 12:15pm. It will include:

  • Belinda Lopez, Senior Art Buyer, Strawberry Frog
  • Wanda Lau, Senior Art Director, Greater Than One
  • Jen Santiago, Managing Art Buyer, G2 Direct & Digital
  • Molly Aaker, Art Buyer, Unit7

My two biggest fears:

1) making a Twitter joke

2) boring my audience, which will consist of professional photographers. I'm clearly not one of them and I won't do justice to their angstiest stock photo/ad agency concerns, so I'll be leaving plenty of room for Audience Questions!.

Read about other Shoot! the Day panels at the PhotoShelter blog. And if you'd like to come watch me make awkward jokes and commit forehead-slapping faux-pas, here's how to volunteer for a free pass.

by Angela Natividad    Jul-19-08    
Topic: Events, Industry Events