Sci Fi: Just as Good as 'Gossip Girl,' Except Not Everyone's Human. Problem?

Oh my. These ads for the Sci Fi channel make me want to adopt a sweet little potbellied alien. And name it Oliver. And maybe homeschool it.

The tagline: "Open your heart to science fiction. Adopt Sci Fi." Agency: BETC EURO RSCG 4D (thanks, in:fluencia!).

See the short version, but it's the long one that made me the suffer the angst of shedding genre prejudice. Anime overload, here I come.

You Can't Blame InGrid for Trying. You Can, However, Resent It

InGrid Home Security recently tapped video site National Banana -- whose online offerings include "Gay 4 Obama" and "Spitzer Call Girl Resigns" -- to help build some saucy new ads.

Yeah.

See the results of the collabo on InGrid. The idea behind the spots is to compare InGrid's sexy "wired" home security with the cumbersome systems of yore. The out-of-touch dad/embarrassed-young-daughter gimmick was not lost on us.

Horrid.

Charismatic Guitarist Peddles for Ribs on Open Mic Night

I'm not really sure what to say about "Spare a Rib" for KC Masterpiece (agency: DDB, SF). I guess I'd argue that if some guy solicits you for food with a catchy chorus, then compels everyone around you to leap up and perform choreographed dance moves, you should probably leave, because that's some unnerving Pied Piper shit, and we all know how that story ended.

Oh, and nice touch with the ragey guy breaking his banjo over the anvil.

Honda Pilot Attracts Geeks ... Just Not the Kind that Get Rich and Marry Models

In specific, the Honda Pilot will steer you into the path of geriatric ballooning nudists, jetpack users and at least one guy trapped in a cement block. All will be male, and all will be slightly left of your comfort zone.

These unlikely Good Samaritan scenarios highlight the Pilot's merits: rearview camera, navigation with voice recognition and "surprising" fuel efficiency. None of that is terribly unique, but all of it is now lodged in my brain, if only so I can turn the ads into slow-night bar fodder.

But wait! There's print stuff too. See Youtility and Ride Ready, which are less creepy, but also less interesting. Agency: RPA.

Billboard Branches, Newscaster F-Bombs, Google Friends

- A billboard for the eco-friendly Toyota Prius is eco-friendly to the trees behind the board allowing the branches to put through cut outs in the board.

- Newscaster drops angry F bomb on air.

- Alisa Leonard explains Google new Friend Connect service which provides site owners the ability to port in content and members from other social networks.

- PubMatic's AdPrice Index reveals eCPMs for large Web sites dropped 52 percent from 38 cents in March to 18 cents April. Medium Web sites were nearly flat, with monetization dropping from 34 cents in March to 33 cents in April. Small Web sites improved, increasing from $1.18 in March to $1.29 in April.

'She's the Driver?' Oh God.

Nothing sells a car like the sight of a meek-looking hottie who drives like she's out of her fucking mind. Just ask the directors of The Fast and the Furious or The Italian Job.

With that lesson learned, here's an Ogilvy spot for the Mercedes Benz SLK.

A slightly crippling accent doesn't hurt either. (Remember orgasmum?) You're sure to win the fetishists. And isn't it cute how she tries to say "Fifteen percent -- up front!" like a bad-ass but just can't?

Careful, Miracle-Gro, You're Showing Your Age.

Maybe because it's not hip to the existence of guerrilla gardening, Miracle-Gro is using '70s pop and a catchy new slogan to staple a sense of cool to its 60-year-old plant food product.

Under the wince-worthy slogan "It's Gro Time," this dated spot jams in print-supported phrases like "dirt manicure" and "tomato mojo" while gardeners jiggle bare midriffs and mist plants to "I Believe in Miracles (You Sexy Thing)."

God, how hopelessly lame. Thanks to ML Rogers, New York for all this quiet angst.

ABC Uses DVR-Proof Subliminal Trickery to Promote 'The Mole'

At first I figured it was a screw up that often occurs when a local TV station switches from the national feed to its own local feed (or vise versa) sometimes causing tiny bits of the national feed to show but no. No, no, no. It's yet another DVR-proof promotional tactic designed to make sure you know ABC's The Mole is "watching."

Hey, if ABC and all the other networks want to replace every :30 with a few of these, that's OK by me. Check out a video of the trickery here.

Because Isn't It Time that Gorilla Was Knocked Off Its High Horse?

You may feel finished with 2007, but that doesn't mean you've seen the last of its advertising. (Far from it, actually.)

Visit OneShow.TV to vote for one of the top 100 TV spots of 2007. We've seen most of them (remember Skittles Touch and Levi's Dangerous Liaisons?), and probably trashed a lot of them, but hey, it isn't ultimately us that ends up doling out the One Show People's Choice Award.

The Cadbury gorilla ad by Fallon -- the one with that catchy Phil Collins song -- is currently leading the audience sentiment race.

The People's Choice Award winner will be announced this Wednesday on May 7 at One Show.

Come On, Guy, Everybody Loves a Pun!

Pay no attention to the gorgeous woman used in every shot of this teaser. We're not even sure why she's there. The real star of this promotional series is ... wait for it...

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