Inspired by the enduring Willy Wonka, First Flavor builds on film strip technology to create little taste samplers for food and beverage products for use in media kits, promos and soda machines.
The description of apple cinnamon oatmeal strips didn't bring the Wonka wallpaper scene to mind, which is what founder Adnan (himself somewhat Wonka-esque, though we can't quite say how or why) credits as his inspiration. Instead we recalled the three-course-meal gum, where Violet describes the flavors in vivid detail and then expands into a blueberry.
We don't think First Flavor does that but it's still pretty neat. The newscaster in the ABC video got to try some and not only was she impressed; she couldn't stop talking about the dieting possibilities of a zero-calorie taste explosion.
Once upon a time we noted ad people would rather shoot movies than make boring ads. To illustrate this desperation we get tons of contrived holiday videos. But considering adland's love of video production in general, you'd think more artists would be thinking, "By gad. I'll get Ogilvy to position my bikini-clad models!"
Well, U2 did. Nix the bikini model part. For "Window in the Sky" they tapped Modernista, the only agency we know that self-promotes to an audience that perhaps prefers to remain unawares about agencies lurking behind brands. The resulting video is gorgeosity and includes multiple musical influences, icons and audiences.
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We really like these ads for Korbel Royal and Korbel Blue Hawaiian, which made Steve want to dive into his computer screen, pop the cork and down a bottle while I experienced a bizarre craving for champagne with essence of coconut.
Korbel tagged agency Carmichael Lynch and Gasket Studios, who with their animation wanted to turn the ads into an experience of "visual taste." Gasket founder Greg Shultz adds, "Fluidity, fun, Americana and nostalgia are mixed with a very current aesthetic - the very essence of the Korbel champagne cocktails." He appears to have some trouble committing to just a couple of good adjectives there. In any case the wine cooler - oops, champagne cocktail - ads leap off Time Square this month but expect to see them elsewhere.
We've all seen sterile ads for feminine products in which piss or menstrual fluid comes out blue. We all know that piss and menstrual fluid are not actually blue. Those crazy cats at Amalgamated, the very guys who brought us Ben & Jerry claymation, decide to stomp on the polite institution of blue bodily fluid for their client Clearblue Easy and its new digital pregnancy test.
We would have respected them for that. But they took things one step further and put the pregnancy test in space, a la Dark Star, and then let fall a stream of disembodied space piss! And then our brains exploded.
Check it out here. But be careful. It's a little crazy.
Vaseline releases a couple of ads lauding the magic of skin. There are a couple of versions; one esoteric and mystical, the other slightly more fast-paced with a beat made of babble. We'll let you guess which is which.
How or why is it that the USA versions of ads always seem crasser and dumber than UK ones or ads for Europe in general? - Contributed by Angela Natividad
Ads involving carriages in a desperate race against crocodiles, tigers, spherical killer rocks and Satan always make for promising fare, which is why Oregon Trail was so popular, and which is also why this Nissan ad by Curt Detweiler via TBWA\Chiat\Day is so awesome.
Curt's new to LA having just come from TBWA Paris and this work suggests he merits some watching - for slapstick entertainment value if nothing else. And by the way, that image at left has little to do with the video but lots to do with QuickTime being douchey. It is, however, part of the TBWA Nissan campaign. Try not to get confused. - Contributed by Angela Natividad
Where do soccer balls go when lost? All over the place, apparently. For client Submarino, agency Santa Clara produced this little ball ad out of Casablanca. We liked the whimsical song in the background because it made us think of Kermit the Frog.
Someone we know called this "yet another masturbatory effort from creatives that want to make movies instead of ads." After that we couldn't help but wonder - does that make a good ad then? - Contributed by Angela Natividad
To support the launch of Prison Break on the Portuguese FOX channel, Portuguese agency Torke created a guerrilla-style outdoor campaign with a band of chained prisoners walking the streets, posters with images of the show's cast placed behind the bars or windows and fences and small headshot posters and cards placed in shops. Accompanying the campiagn was a press kit a hidden spoon and a prison blueprint. See it all here.
- Perhaps in yet another effort to convince people to choose a certain drug, their are now pillows branded to look like pills.
- Cynopisis reports, "CBS has pulled 3 LBS. from the schedule after just three airings. The show debuted with a modest 2.9 A18-49 rating, and its most recent airing pulled an even more modester 2.4 demo rating. Filling the time period for the time being - reruns."
- After years of negotiations. Omnicom has scooped up Amsterdam-based independent shop 180.
- For those who can't seem to acquire enough friends on MySpace or Facebook, John Brock tells us now there's Fake Your Space, a sit on which you can pay $.99 per month for each "hot friend" of your choice who will send you two comments each week to make you feel special.
- The famed Anastasia Goodstein of Ypulse will host a roundtable discussion on "What Youth Brands Can Learn From The Action Sports World" at the Ypulse Teen Media Mashup on December 5, 2006 in San Diego.
- This has nothing to do with advertising or does it? A clandestine promotion (not that they need it) for Grey's Anatomy?
- Oxfam America is looking for pro-bono pring and online media placement opportunities for its Unwrapped campaign. Interested parties can contact [email protected].
- If you want to see Mullen Creative director Edward Boces holding a giant cookie above his head, check out the agencies just-released recipe book from their famed, in-house kitchen.
- Apparently lumber can not be sold without the image of a hot woman peering out at you
In the "so horrifically bad it just might actually be good but not really" category is a recent campaign from Rolling Rock that consists of online, billboards and TV spots which urge people who hated a recent "beer ape" commercial - which never actually ran except for placement on YouTube - to email Rolling Rock's VP of marketing to complain. We saw the billboards but hadn't yet seen the video on YouTube which Adverlicious tipped us to. While the commercial itself is over-the-top stupid, 1,024,265 have viewed it and 791 people have commented on it. Like it or not, that's fairly decent play for any YouTube placement. The question, as always, is, will this foolery actually sell any beer?
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