Legal Seafoods Gets Raw with Crack-Worthy Crustaceans

One thing that's awesome about viral video is it gives brands a platform to loosen their politically-correct, manifesto-rich ties and shake out saltier inclinations.

Raw Talk from the Raw Bar, a video for Legal Seafoods restaurant, takes full advantage, running amock with sailor-caliber curses and sub-par seafood punning.

Whether the mouthy food or the mouthy company comprises the referenced "typical shellfish bastards" is your call.

MarketingCharts Launches, Chart Loving Planners Rejoice

Perhaps giving eMarketer a run for its money, a new site and newsletter, MarketingCharts from Watershed Publishing, publisher of MarketingVOX and MediaBuyerPlanner, has launched to provide marketers with charts, graphs, tables and all manner of data for marketers, advertisers and agencies.

We are told, "Content will focus on daily updates of key marketing data, both traditional and interactive, and daily stories digesting the latest studies and other data-intensive developments. Users will be able to download Excel files of data for their own use." The site will be edited by former MarketingVOX editor Vahe Habeshian.

Interactive Firm Demonstrates Abilities With Bunny Surgery Game

Apparently, this is what web design firms do during down time. Seemingly for our amusement and, in the process, to demonstrate their stellar design skills, 10mg interactive has offered up a stuffed bunny who needs surgery. With defibrillator, razor, scalpel and other surgery tools, those inclined can zap the bunny, cut him open and play with his intestines. Fun, huh? We're definitely calling these guys for our next project!

British Airways Cabin Game Offers Chance to Sample Luxury

Wow. We just might have to start liking Agency.com and put that whole Subway deal behind us. But, maybe not since the Subway video-creating Agency.com is not the same as the London-based Agency.com that created this new work for British Airways' new Club World Cabin. While lushly displaying all the first class cabin's accouterments, visitors can play a game in which the cabin's features are explored while searching for a pair of airline tickets which, if found, enter one in a drawing. The drawing's winner receives two tickets in the Club World Cabin from London to New York and a stay at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel. We entered. Twice.

Blake Hamster Brings Deliciously Dark Eco-Fare to E-tail Mix

Mashing up the green movement, artistic collaboration and esoteric naming devices (consider Gnarls Barley), all of which are really hot among organic smoothie-sucking elite, Blake Hamster comes at us with manifesto in hand, burning down traditional e-tail norms and whatnot.

And while we're not sure what's happening in the picture at left (a rape? A drug transaction? An arm's-length grope?), we crazy-dig their eco-sexy overpriced fare.

Plus they come at a good time considering duds have finally surpassed electronics, revenue-wise, over the Internet.

OMG! Company Makes Media Buy! Becomes News Story!

A company makes a 12-month media buy and it passes as news worthy of publishing. We passed on the press release yesterday figuring, oh, who the hell wants to read about a company that just made a media buy? That's like sending out a press release when an agency holds a traffic meeting. MediaPost didn't pass on it and features it as it's first story in its Online Media Daily newsletter. We're not even going to mention the details because you can read all about it over at MediaPost..

Even funnier is the byline on the story. It took two entire human beings to make this story happen. OK, OK, they did make a phone call to one of the company's CEOs. Apparently, one person had to dial the number while the other asked the questions. OK, OK, 12 month online media commitments aren't common. OK, OK, supposedly it's a lot of money. Whatever. We have a traffic meeting to attend. Oh wait. We have to send out a release first. OK, now we can go. Later.

Death Row Meal Whets Appetite for Pizza - Order Now!

For this edition of Contextual Advertising Screw-Ups, a festive Pizza Hut ad appears atop a CNN story about a death row inmate who, for his last meal on earth, ordered pizza for a transient.

And while that was fuzzy-sweet of him, we weren't quite raring to order pizza online immediately thereafter.

(Note to Pizza Hut: add the word "killer" to campaign negative keywords.)

We do love a good contextual advertising screw-up. And because we're feeling nostalgic, let's tilt our heads and recall the time Expedia sent 35,000 troops to Iraq, or the time Microsoft sponsored the Wii contest water death, or the time a turpentine ad added texture to the tale of the pregnant girl who drank it to off herself.

Mom Wants Real Connection, Not a Best Buy Gift Card

The aptly named agency Mother, New York gives us Maternacord, the ultimate Mother's Day surprise.

Our favourite scene from the promo video:

Daughter: "It's tingling."

Mom: "That means it's working."

Why get Mom an iPod when you can umbilically reconnect? It's so deliciously creepy.

Flashback: French Chortles at Notion of Gmail

We just thought this was funny. And it wasn't that long ago, either.

In April 2004 Garrett French of Web Pro News wrote a post about Google's announcement of GMail - which, in Google's "loose, freewheeling" style, fell just before April Fool's Day.

"How long," French scoffed, "would it take before that ocean of email burst from the Google server farm and sank Washington?"

*Observes moment of silence for nostalgic wave*

Funny how standards can change.

Britain's Royal Navy Delivers Message Sloooooowly

We like gluelondon but we're not that impressed for their recent work done for Britain's Royal Navy recruitment efforts. Basically, it's a website that lets you send personalized video messages to your friends. Well, not all that personalized. From several videos of the Royal Navy doing their thing, one is chosen, the sender writes a message, chooses a name from a name list and then emails the thing to a friend or to the friends mobile.

Sadly, the site takes eons to load. It's one thing for a site to go through a slow pre-load which then results in a stellar experience but this site goes through a slew of very slow pre-loads, some of which stutteringly occur in the middle of the presentation which, itself, is far from stellar.

Targeted to 15-24 year olds, famous for their lack of attention span, we question how many will make it far enough through this site to actually click the Send button.