- iPhone apps have a "kill switch" that empowers Apple to yank any app off your phone whenever it likes. Steve Jobs says they'll never "pull that lever" unless an extreme situation calls for it (like if an app were disseminating a virus) -- but hell, the I'm Rich app wasn't hurting anybody and Apple was quick enough to pull that off the ropes.
- Glad Facebook wasn't around when Shakespeare was. Hamlet might've been much different (but still such a riot!).
- One expat rails against marketing stereotypes about the French, particularly sexy maids and misuse of "Ooh la la."
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The Olympics has a way of bringing the sap out in advertisers.
Visa's "Go World" campaign, no exception, trots Olympian trivia out to American viewers while convincing us these anecdotes aren't just important; they're a source of pride, a means to connect with the world by way of titanic achievement against insurmountable physical odds.
All this to win the synchronized high-dive? Yeah. See spots...
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- It's another raging Hitler appropriation. This one's called "The Rise and Fall of Twitter." Given that we've had similar spittle-fits over Twitter's goddamn down time, it's pretty funny, actually.
- Some nights you just need to pop a Kanye into your glass.
- Lack of bear at Black Bear Diner.
- So I guess the Montauk Monster is a guerrilla effort for an indie movie called Splinterheads.
- British carrier TalkTalk is trying to help fight autism with a campaign called The Forever Story. Alongside the common man, authors like Nick Hornby will contribute to a story that's supposed to go on forever. For every contribution, TalkTalk will donate 1 pound (the currency) to a charity called Treehouse.
Some people are only your friends because they eventually hope to sleep with you. Others, because you're a doormat with a lot of money. And still others remain your chums because you grow Skittles on your feet. True story.
And you know how you can tell? Because after validating you, they will bend over and get their gnaw on. GROW THE RAINBOW! Taste the rainbow.
The above spot picks up from "Touch" and chocolate pinata man (CHOCOLATE THE RAINBOW! Taste the rainbow).
We're not sure what's going on chez Skittles but it's definitely not sanctionably sane. Also, we kinda want to live there. (Via AdFreak, via the Denver Egotist.)
'Tis the season for back-to-school, and Target hits the notes without once going flat. In its latest spot, two roomies meet for the first time, shake hands, then dance their asses off to Calabria by Enur. Sometimes they're battling; other times they're totally in tandem. Meanwhile, they manage to magically decorate their oversized room.
Sassy stuff though. Tagline: "Be happy together, design together, save together. At Target." But it could also have been "West Side Story, meet Conspicuous Consumption. Now wiggle away your differences."
Think the happy together signals the birth of a new cover song? The Turtles had kind of a Target vibe going on, and it'd make a nice transition from Hello Goodbuy.
Dr. J puts a little throwback spice into Dr. Pepper with "Drink it Slow" by Deutsch/LA, part of Dr. Pepper's just-launched campaign, "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor."
In the spot, former basketball player Julius Erving -- your homie Dr. J -- encourages users to drink Dr. Pepper slowly, to better savor its 23 flavours. "Hey, I get it, 'cause half my life's been in slow motion," J adds. Cut to a sound bite of his dunking triumphs as he lobs an ice cube, slow-mo-style, into a faraway glass. I like the little kick he does.
Kelsey Grammer will to appear in a future spot as Dr. Frasier Crane. I'm hoping they also use Doogie, but it's doubtful since Old Spice already stole that thunder.
A younger Dr. J also appeared in a Converse spot this year.
You gotta love skinny models. They wear clothes well, improve sales, make other women feel bad. The best part? They don't eat. Think of the savings!
A survey of 194 female college students, aged 18-24, found women feel uglier after seeing thin models. They are also more likely to buy products held in a gamine's claw than from ads with "regular-size models." (Here's a secret: none of us enjoy being characterized as "regular." It's like being called "homely" -- a big fat fucking slap in the face.)
Seeing thin models also made women less likely to accept a snack pack of Oreo cookies offered as a thank-you for their participation in the study. Well, no shit.
You know what a woman does want to do after seeing all those runway waifs? (Second to shopping, that is.) Drink. A lot. And that's why we're so keen on Gawker's coverage of the same survey. It's right next to a banner ad for Sobieski vodka. That's targeting to win!
We're not usually fans of ads about personalized colors for laptops. In the 21st century, is that the best you can do? But I like what Dell did in this gentle, feel-good spot, set to the tune of Colors by Kira Wiley.
Definitely better than the last ad in the "Colors" campaign, which hurt our heads and tried too hard. What tops it off nicely is that pretty little tagline: "Yours is here." I like that. It's like Dell is Build-a-Bear for computers, and just as snuggly.
The ad was put together by Mother, which is pretty much holding the fort for sweetly sleeping Enfatico.
- McCain puts Obama on the same "soar high, fall hard" platform as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Probably because they're the only celebrities he knows. I like how the ad cuts to happy floaty music and a soft McCain profile. What a guy.
- See Microsoft-paid blogger give transparency a go for the i'm talkathon. Yeah. You heard me. Transparency.
- Enfatico's having trouble with that whole "being creative" thing.
- method products: so much more than hand syrups and toilet bowl cleaners. Think of them as a summer salad that doesn't know how to capitalize proper nouns.
- TiVo says relevant ads don't get skipped.
- Wendy's cutesy "good good" ad is objectively disgusting.
Though it's likely they had some, Lisbon agency Torke could have used a bit more help identifying the "soul" of FOX's Friday Night Lights, which debuted locally July 20. The guerrilla campaign they created, which involved the gratuitous use of bare midriffed cheerleaders, hardly captured the essence of the show.
Oh sure, the show has cheerleaders in it and centers around a high school's quest for football greatness but those two elements are just a backdrop for the true heart of the show - an examination of family life, interpersonal relationships and life's challenges in small town Texas. The T and A aspects of this promotion hardly do the show justice.
Then again, a dissertation on the woes of abortion, racism, poverty, career choices, physical disability and the difficulties of parenthood wouldn't exactly capture the same attention a few mini-skirted, hot cheerleaders most certainly did.
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