MySpace has become a total box office mouthpiece. When it's not all Silver Surfered-out, it's a poker table for Ocean's Thirteen (at left).
Littlejohn at Advertising for Peanuts wonders whether users will get turned off by the social networking darling's shameless ad-whoring (kind of like friend-whoring?) but we doubt it. If there was going to be a meaningful reaction to MySpace's games of homepage dress-up, it would've happened already. At this point we're all just watching the show go by.
Anyway, there are worse things in this life than a homepage swathed in George and Brad.
- Massachusetts, as has been discussed for some time, is considering a proposal that would create commercial free zones within public schools.
- Dunkin' Donuts and Mapquest have partnered for offer MyIcedCoffee, a site that helps travelers plan trips while making sure a Dunkin' Donuts is close by.
- George Parker meets advertising's New Kids on the Block at the PSFK London Conference and realizes there's hope for the business.
- Though not to the extent of the full on female bodybuilder freak show, Boddington Beer seemingly wants us to believe its beer gives women bulbous curves where we don't usually expect them.
- Ad spending in gay and lesbian publications in 2006 reached a record $223.3 million, an increase of 5.2 percent over 2005 and an increase of 205 percent since 1996, according to the 2006 edition of the Gay Press Report, the annual survey produced by advertising agency Prime Access Inc. and gay media representative firm Rivendell Media.
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There are unconfirmed and likely false rumors floating about that Nike will sign a marketing deal with high school pole vaulting sensation Allison Stokke. A few weeks ago, Stokke became the subject of a leering Internet drool fest much to the chagrin of Stokke and her family who felt, first hand, what's it's like to be the object of Internet admiration. While images of Stokke are said to have been circulating for years, it wasn't until an image of her posing her her pole appeared on the sports blog With Leather that things broke loose.
Stokke, 18, is a senior at Newport Harbor high school in Newport Beach, California, set the freshman female pole vaulting record of 12' 8" and now jumps consistently over 13 feet. She's won titles, broken records and earned scholarships but now she's feeling the unfortunate fame of becoming an Internet celebrity. At first, she kept it a secret when friends tipped her her images were beginning to appear all over the Internet. Shortly after that she told her parents and has now considered consulting handlers to deal with all the sudden media attention.
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This intentionally campy Cuervo season campaign takes jabs at Sportscenter but fails to be funny on its own. Plus, the Game Game sucks and everything takes too long to load. The tickers suck too.
Well, the idea was funny in theory.
Cuervo Season = Fail.
Apparently having "unalienable rights" can mean more for the common cow than just avoiding aliens. The fine folk at Sustainable Table have launched a campaign called Cows Unite, in which our bovine buddies battle it out for organic sustainability.
Check out the Bovine Bill of Rights, which states, among other things, that cows have the right to dignity and joy. Well, hey. Unlike the citizens of most countries, they clearly know what to ask for. No wonder the aliens are always abducting them.
We wonder what cows themselves would actually have to say about how much personality we project onto them. Would they laugh? Would they demand royalties in grassy knolls? Would they become self-conscious about their spots?
Bored with being the khaki-shorts man's sport of choice, golf gets ballsy in a campaign called The Balls to Go for It. This is for Callaway's Top Flite D2, the must have for ball-chuckers who "never lay up - never wuss out."
Site features include Smack Talk 101, E-Insults and the Wussipedia, a user-compiled list of on-course faux pas.
Hrm. We never thought a sport could suffer from a midlife crisis. Then again...
Not to be left out of the whole Angus Burger thing, Hardee's has crafted FlatBuns, a cheesy, Geocities-style site that worships Flat-Bun Bettys or, girls with no ass. Celebrating pancake butts, miss six o'clocks, and boney bottoms, FlatBuns makes it known every female isn't born with a Jennifer Lopez or Hayden Panettiere-like butt. It's all part of their promotion the the chain's Patty Melt Thick Burger...with grilled, flat rye bread.
If you haven't watched HBO's Big Love, you really should. It doesn't matter that the show's about a polygamist family focusing on a guy with three wives and three houses and they're battle to "fit in" while navigating the difficult restrictions "their own kind" place upon them. What matters is the show's keen ability to make other lifestyles seem as normal and everyday as your own. Aligning perfectly with that notion or normality is this campaign from Seattle-based Creature which spoofs fragrance and Viagra ads in a way that makes the lifestyle seem normal while also poking fun at it.
The spots (here and here) have been released on YouTube and fake ads have been placed on the HBO Big Love site. Spoof-like print ads are also part of the campaign and will be placed in sections relevant to the individual ad's focus.
This has been circulating the 'net for awhile, but the information it conveys is so life-changing it merits a mention nonetheless.
Ever wonder what the difference is between marketing, public relations, advertising and branding? You probably have good textbook examples and some similar spoofs, but like anything else, the best way to learn is with an example involving sex. (Unless the topic you're learning is sex itself, in which case the best example involves Barbies or birds and bees.)
A reader points us to this series developed by Neutron, LLC.
The best thing about it is next time you're faced with any of the illustrated situations you'll know exactly what's going on. And knowing is half the battle. (That's a cheap meme.)
To demonstrate the super-awesomosity of its Fabia, Skoda lets users watch them build one.
Out of cake ingredients.
We've never felt more inclined to run a hand across the hood of a vehicle and hope against hope that the finish will come off. Plus, there's something so psychologically soothing about Poppins. Thanks Shedwa for the good word.
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