WeeWorld Starstruck, FWA Theater Goes Live, Vespa Gets Smart, Pole Dancers Feud

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- WeeWorld is holding a celebrity lookalike contest. The WeeMee at left is a Miley Cyrus lookalike. Funny: it's become difficult to recognize her without her blankie.

- What could be more chic than shoving a five-dollar footlong up your headlight? Vespa teams up with Get Smart and Subway.

- Check out the FWA Theater, which went live on Monday. It has a "Hot Advertisements" section that made us recall the fighting days of Firebrand. And then we laughed.

- Registered voter kthustler27 would like Hillary or Obama to buy his vote. He had an eBay auction up, but it's been yanked.

- This has nothing to do with advertising, but watching pole dancers fight just doesn't get old.

by Angela Natividad    May-21-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Promotions, Sponsorship, Video



Bush Won't Help Lenders, Countrywide Demonstrates Why

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Here's a contextual quirk that appeared in Joe Madison's AP news feed. In the video, Bush refuses to support a bill that bails mortgage lenders out of crisis mode. Meanwhile, a contextual ad for Countrywide -- a lender in dire straits -- appears below his torso.

"No closing cost refi. No points. No credit report," the ad promises. Jesus, Countrywide. Is it any wonder Bush wouldn't stick his neck out for you?

In related news, Countrywide recently got ripped in the press when its CEO trashed a hard-up borrower via email. (It was an accident. The borrower was appealing for financial relief, and apparently the flustered Mozilo pushed "reply" instead of "forward.")

What beautiful irony.

by Angela Natividad    May-21-08    
Topic: Bad, Brands, Online



Now You, Too, Can Be in the Business of Propaganda!

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In an ad bluntly called "McCain, Fire Charlie Black," MoveOn tries strong-arming John McCain into dismissing his lobbyist, whose firm allegedly made millions by aiding dictators, terrorists and sundry other villains.

$25 helps get it on the air!

by Angela Natividad    May-21-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Online, Political, Video



Forget the Snack Bars; Want Some Eye Candy with that Cuppa?

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A UK-based Kellogg's Nutri-Grain campaign aspires to bring the office tea trolley back in vogue.

I have no strong feelings about mobile snack trays, but this glorified Nutri-Grain evangelist is sizzling. (So much hotter than his American counterpart, the break room bagel guy.) He can push my trolley any day of the week -- or at least stand around pouring me tea for an indecently long time before moving onto the next hungry cog.

by Angela Natividad    May-20-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Good, Guerilla, Online



Amstel Light Teaches Us Dutch Word for 'Beer'

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And it's a lot like the English way, actually. Also see banner variation.

Sadly, the banner doesn't sing, dance or turn monitors into open bars. Guess it won't be joining the rich media gallery.

by Angela Natividad    May-20-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Poster



Teaser! Countdown Clock! Blog! It Must be...A Marketing Campaign!

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Here's yet another one of those videos that presents itself as one thing but is likely just another promotion for something no one needs or wants. In the video, the predictions of Nostradamus are examined as they relate to some mysterious wind that is supposed to "besiege the capital of Europe" otherwise known as Brussels.

The video ends with the classic date teaser, "Fall 2008" and a link leads to http://legrandsouffle.be, a blog with the ubiquitous countdown clock and other goodies. It's not in English so it's unclear if there are any further details on the site. No doubt, those who can read the site will fill in the blanks.

The video was posted by Cherry and Cake, a fairly well known agency in the Netherlands. Care to comment, guys?

by Steve Hall    May-20-08    
Topic: Online, Video, Weblogs



Missing Soldiers Put Internet at Standstill

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This campaign won a Gold Clio in the Content & Contact category.

To commemorate Ehud Goldwasser, Gilad Shalit and Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers abducted by Hezbollah on July 12 of '06, Y&R/Tel Aviv asked major sites to shut down for five minutes on July 12, '07. For that short period of time, each page aired this message.

more »

by Angela Natividad    May-20-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Online



Because Rappers, Like the French, Never Pronounce the Last Few Letters in a Word

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The MySpace homepage has Taco Bell's "Why Pay Mo'" campaign site heavy on the spin.

If you're feeling particularly masochistic, give yourself a shout-out in the campaign rap song while the dead presidents gyrate in their new bodies (likely lifted from New Kids on the Block). Oh, and play with the rap name generator. (Mine is "Allota Beanz.")

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by Angela Natividad    May-19-08    
Topic: Online



For A Good Time, Visit PickupPal

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Back in the day, if you wanted a ride home from college for the holidays, you'd slap up your request up on a bulletin board somewhere around campus or check that same billboard for those already heading in your direction. That's "so yesterday" as one Disney pop starlet used to sing. Now, we have Web2.0-friendly PickupPal.

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by Steve Hall    May-19-08    
Topic: Online, Social, Strange



'What's This? Oh. It's a Body, Bloated in the Sun'

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Somewhere in the bowels of my memory is a man with a 'fro, a soothing voice and a paintbrush. As a kid I watched him on TV, mesmerized as he effortlessly whispered magic onto his canvas.

Right about now, though, I'm wondering whether those gripping pastures and endless telephone lines were not actually thinly-veiled and mildly traumatic messages about ethnic cleansing.

I like how at the end he gets all sinister and hisses, "We're almost done here, aren't we? No. It's never done."

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by Angela Natividad    May-19-08    
Topic: Cause, Good, Online, Spoofs, Strange, Trends and Culture, Video