CNBC-Created FedEx Spoof Ad Craps on UPS' Big Brown Belmont Loss

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CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell, citing UPS' recent end to its winning streak with Big Brown in the Belmont horse race which was part of a larger event sponsorship, proposes the ad FedEx should run in response. With help from CNBC in-house designer Florence, created an ad with the headline "Big Brown...if you're not first, your last." Witty.

by Steve Hall    Jun- 9-08    
Topic: Brands, Events, Sponsorship, Spoofs



Apple! Mac! iPhone! Steve Jobs! WWDC! Why Do I Feel Like A Loser?

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Today is Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. If you don't own a Mac (I don't), don't own an iPhone (I don't) and don't live in San Francisco (I don't), clearly you are a loser of gargantuan proportions (I must be).

Is it a good thing or a bad thing when a brand has so much influence that it makes a person feel unworthy (I do) if they aren't a "club member?"

I've owned a Mac in its previous heydays (No, this is not the first time Apple has been insanely cool), but there was always one annoying thing that prevented me from coming back: some stupid employer edict, a must-have piece of software that wouldn't work on a Mac, an idiotic networking issue, the prevalence of cheap (though decidedly uncool) PCs, or the fact Club Mac simply didn't have the same sway Apple stores now do.

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by Steve Hall    Jun- 9-08    
Topic: Brands, Events, Opinion



Trade Show Booth Gets 'Muralized' During Event

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Who says your trade show booth has to be perfectly complete by the time the first conference attendee walks in? Not online billing service Freshbooks which hired Boston artist Jazz Martin to paint a mural on the booth during the HOW Design show in Boston. It's a bit long, but here's a time-lapsed video of the booth's creation over the course of the conference.

by Steve Hall    Jun- 6-08    
Topic: Events, Guerilla, Poster



Be Virus Smart: Wear a Condom ... and Maybe Download Norton

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In the style of punters, desktop hijackers and Trojan horses circa 1998, the New Zealand AIDS Foundation is circulating this chain letter-style "viral." (Get it? GET IT?!!!)

The punchline: "Catching a virus is easy. Always use a condom." The page also reminds viewers that World AIDS Day takes place on December 1st.

At the bottom of the screen is one last hat-tip to a dead era (unless you have a MySpace account, in which case you still see stuff like this every day): "Please forward this email to five friends today."

Agency: HooperNagel.

by Angela Natividad    May-28-08    
Topic: Cause, Events, Online



Get a Trashbag and Some Lipgloss. You're Going to a Recycling Party!

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Hungry Man TV is throwing an RSVP-only party for Internet Week, NY.

The theme is "Out with the Old." Attendees are encouraged to bring old mobile phones, mp3 players, digicams and other electronics for recycling.

Nifty idea. And come on, it's not like museums are falling all over themselves to pay for your mint-condition sports WalkMan.

by Angela Natividad    May-23-08    
Topic: Cause, Events, Industry Events, Promotions



Wrath of Cannes Lives to See its Second Year

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Cannes season is back, and along for the ride come self-promotional horrors like the Wrath of Cannes. The pros: no fee for entry, no professional floor (you can be an INTERN! or a GED HOLDER!). The cons: that Grand Coney is one ugly statue, and "the venue" is interchangeable with "the freakshow."

The awards show takes place June 19 on Coney Island. The Wrath of Cannes is brought to you by Woods Witt Dealy & Sons, which hopes to turn some of this nonsense into agency clout.

by Angela Natividad    May-18-08    
Topic: Agencies, Events, Spoofs



Conversations with People that Did Not Win One Show College Competition

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Tonight was the awards ceremony for the One Show College Competition, for which schools nationwide turned in their top student portolios. See some here.

Doritos -- which in the last couple of years has devoted much of its promotional budget to lobbing cash at "creative" users (1, 2, 3) -- also solicited a campaign brief seeking "Doritos advertising that is iconic as Doritos."

The word "iconic" sparked interesting conversation after the show. Links to video below.

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by Angela Natividad    May- 9-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Industry Events, Promotions, Video



Nothing Says 'Olympics' Like a Jumper that Screams 'Lost Fan!' ... or Possibly 'MANGA CHARACTER!'

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Ontario-based HBC.com is selling some zany-looking gear for the Beijing Olympics. Loud colours and frightening patterns aside, they appear to be slathered in symbols inspired by the Dharma Initiative in ABC's Lost.

I miss the catchy handcuff motif. What is it about Olympic sponsorship that makes creative people completely insane? (See Adidas cross-cultural flub, NYC's 2012 Olympic logo, London's epileptic nightmare.)

by Angela Natividad    May- 2-08    
Topic: Bad, Events, Promotions



Guitar Hero-Like Game Gives Chance to Win V Festival Tickets

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It's like Guitar Hero on your computer! Created by Cake and sponsored by caffeine-fueled Pro Plus, the game promotes Virgin's V Festival in August. Just like Guitar Hero, you use the arrow keys on the keyboard to keep match the moving arrows on the screen. Players who can keep up earn the chance to win free tickets to the festival.

by Steve Hall    May- 1-08    
Topic: Events, Games, Promotions



Ever See 1500 Coke Fountains Blow at Once?

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You don't really want to.

Dubbed "The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments," the Leuwen, Belgium-based event happened on 4/24 and broke the world record for most "exploding" fountains at once: 1500. (The previous record was 973 out of Missouri.)

Not sure where Mentos fits in but it doesn't look like there was a lot of fresh-making going on. Did it sponsor the raincoats or something? Something to contemplate while looking over previous Mentos/Diet Coke collabos. Thanks Influencia for sending this over.

by Angela Natividad    May- 1-08    
Topic: Events, Product Placement, Sponsorship, Strange