Kids Say 'No Stank You' in Anti-Smoking Campaign

"You Stank!" Or rather, "No Stank You!" is the rallying cry in a Washington State Health Department ant-smoking campaign that focuses on the negative social and cosmetic aspects of smoking. With lots of weird videos, interviews, TV spots, radio spots and a huge collection of downloadable, spreadable messages, the campaign is way more fun that the TRUTH campaign by far. Scare tactics ain't everything my friends. This one works.

Invented Word Aims to Aid Mentally Ill

Coast Medical Care, a Canadian organization that helps the mentally ill with housing, employment and emotional support launched, with help from Grey, a campaign that centers around the invented word, psychosiphobia. The campaign consisted of local newspaper ads, radio, television and a street campaign. The street campaign involved painting the word psychosiphobia on the pavement at a Vancouver intersection that is the dividing line between a business district and a troubled neighborhood rife with homelessness, drugs and prostitution.

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Geeks Try to Stop Alltel's My Circle Plan

Like a scene out of Mallrats, four guys in this commercial for the Alltel Wireless My Circle plan plot a way to stop the "call ten friends for free no matter what plane they are on" feature because, after all, who could possibly have more than ten friends? Created by Campbell-Ewald, the spot is part of the wireless company's second campaign called "Sales Guys" which follows the initial "Icons" launch campaign. Beyond television, the campaign will include radio, print, event marketing, online advertising and webisodes. Be sure to check out the geeks on the Alltel website along with "Chad" who attempts to get in touch with competing wireless company CEO's to tell them about the My Circle plan.

Youth Encouraged to Vote With Purposefully Stupid Ads

We all know no one pays attention to political ads and so does WestWayne and the Ad Council which, together, have launched a PSA campaign to encourage young voters to get out and vote during the midterm elections. Maximizing the over usage of pointless political platitudes, the ads call attention to the very thing many political ads generate: apathy. At the same time, the ads point out the downside of apathy with the tagline, "If you're not voting then who are you electing?" See them all here.

The television PSAs are accompanied by radio ads as well as a website which will host all sorts of goodies such as ringtones, podcasts, e-cards and blogs for each of the mock candidates.

Bull's Balls Cause Controversy In Idaho Ad Campaign

It looks like a New York agency's cultural sensibilities didn't match those of Eagle, Idaho residents. In this video, a local news reports Eagle's Mayor is threatening to cancel Eagle Fun Days this weekend, part of which is the local fire department's Rocky Mountain Oyster Fest. With the festival based on bull's testicle, the fire department thought it would be a good idea to promote the event bay asking a New York agency to help ouot. They did with some spots that might be considered humorous to some but Eagle mayor Nancy Merrill told the fire fighters to pull the spots or she'd cancel the event. The fire department complied, pulled them off the website and canceled their TV schedule. Radio ads did air but Merrill has called a meeting and is still threatening to cancel the event. While the agency told the television station they meant no harm, the station is apparently, keeping the agency's name confidential. Come on guys. Step forward. Take credit. The campaign's great. Just not for Idaho.

UPDATE: FCB did the campaign and CEO Steve Centrillo sets the record straight in the Comment section stating they are fully aware of Eagle culture since one of FCB's creative directors comes from Eagle. He also states Mayor Nancy Merrill is overstepping her bounds, advancing her personal agenda and using her position as a bully pulpit.

UPDATE II: You can see all the work here.

Commercial Alerts Says No to In-School Bus Radio Ads

Some might consider it a good thing to create a company whose business model aims to help advertisers reach a young, impressionable audience early in life. Others might consider the business model of BusRadio, a company that helps advertisers reach young, impressionable minds early by installing a specialized, ad-supported radio system on school buses, to be a horrific abuse of marketing prowess and an indication of an industry gone wild making its last ditch effort to survive while the advertising world crumbles around it. Commercial Alert, and Adrants for that matter, believe firmly in the latter.

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Budget Rent-A-Car Relaunches Up Your Budget Treasure Hunt

On June 5, Budget Rent-A-Car will re-launch its Up Your Budget Treasure Hunt game. Last time, physical clues were placed in 16 cities around the country with online videos hinting at their location. Upon finding the clues, winners would receive $10,000. This time, the game is "armchair" so everyone can play without leaving the comfort of their home. The contest will last for four weeks. Each day, Monday though Thursday of each of the four weeks, clues to a virtual journey will be provided. Contestants, using the clues, will guess the length of the journey weeks' journey and offer up their answer Friday. The person guessing the exact mileage or the closest to it wins $25,000. Second place gets $10,000, third gets $5,000.

The game, as it was before, is blog-based and users will be encouraged share their stories as they hunt for the contest's clues. The contest will be promoted with a nationwide, live-read radio buy and an online buy on the BlogAds blog advertising network. The campaign was concepted (oops, conceptualized) by Cendent Car Rental Group's (Budget's parent company) Becky Alseth and IMPAX Marketing's Jay Arnold and designed by Design4Results' Komra Moriko. The blog ads can be viewed here.

BBDO Oslo Creates World's Shortest Radio Spot

While some might call this pointless, others might call it a welcome relief from the onslaught of bloated, overly-long, mindless commercials we hear most every day. BBDO Oslo has gone out and won itself notice from Guinness World Records for creating the world's shortest radio spot. The client? Wait for it...Guinness World Records. Self-serving? Maybe. A brilliant step forward in radio advertising? Hardly. A stunt to get press? Exactly. You can listen to an English version
and a Norwegian version.

Snapple Buys All of Radio Station's Inventory For Two Months

AdPulp points to a New York Times article which details a deal Snapple made with Boston radio station WFNX in which Snapple paid $2 million to be the sole sponsor on the station from Memorial Day to July 4. Under the deal, no other advertiser will be heard on WFNX and its two other station in Maine and New hampshire. The sponsorship will consist of integrated brand messaging including DJ acknowledgment of Snapple's "Summer Free For All' sponsorship, allusion to Snapple tagline by frequent mention WFNX is "playing the best stuff on Earth" and the Snapple "whoosh" sound effect.

WFNX, an alternative station, is probably the only station in the Boston that would touch this but its admirable and something Snapple project agency EMCI President Jay Coleman has wanted to do since 1982 when he was impressed with New York's WAPP going commercial free that summer for a format change. We eagerly look forward to the results of this move.

Howard Stern Is Not Returning to Terrestrial Radio

First Howard Stern did terrestrial radio. Then satellite. Then, apparently, he was offered a major deal to return to terrestrial. Over the past two days, the media has been abuzz about Stern, Opie & Anthony and a rumor Stern would return to terrestrial radio after being offered a deal. Radio trade publication FMBQ debunks and sets straight mainstream media's overwrought antics regarding the move. And, no, he's not moving back to terrestrial. He hates it and he's sticking with Sirius.