Apparently Arien O'Connell ran the fastest time in the recent Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. But because she ran in a category she wasn't supposed to, she wasn't recognized as the winner. Nike though days later awarded her the first place she had earned, but not before Reebok stepped in and gave her school in Brooklyn, (the Children Charter School), free shoes every month for a year, T-shirts for her class and $2,500 to the school. They also gave her a trophy call the F.U.N. Award. Sure, Nike did the right thing in the end, but quick thinking on the part of the marketing gang at Reebok to jump on this. How cool is that, exploiting the negative space of another brand and being ready to take advantage of an unplanned event for your own brand.
- Dear HR, please help Jetpacks.
- Danny G. says Circuit City ignores what might have helped them.
- George Parker finds someone to admit why they work in advertising.
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- Obama/McCain WeeMees! OhMG kyoooooot. Diggin' how the page reads, "Invite the presidential nominees to your Room." So naughty.
- Speaking of politics, that half-hour Obama ad pulled in an average household rating of 21.7. The top market was Baltimore, where it averaged 31.3.
- Still undecided? Sport it on your coffee cup. $10 says at least five election canvassers will make a beeline for you within minutes of exiting 7-Eleven.
- Zap bugs with Honda. Reminds me of a Stargate SG-1 episode where these giant bugs would prick you, then turn you into an egg sack.
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Dawn Hands Have Talent is a UGC contest to promote Dawn Hand Renewal, a dishwashing soap that "improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses." The site also includes a special offer for the soap and a dancing hand game you can play.
The image at left is from an entry titled "Handtasia," though I much prefer the vivacity of "Fingerlina."
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KFC partnered with the highly-addictive Guitar Hero World Tour for a cross-promotional something-or-other. Redeem codes for branded Guitar Hero cups from KFC Rocks.
More importantly, try your hand at this "crowd surfing" game. Hit the arrows to the beat, and keep your emo rocker dude from falling to the bottom of the mosh pit.
The game was put together by Creative Alliance, a KFC agency, in collaboration with The Basement Design + Motion. It's funny, though: after playing a few times, I craved both chicken and Dance, Dance Revolution.
Witness with envy as the world's largest beach ball -- 36 feet across -- alights upon a throng of Dallas citizens, hands high over heads like children with a giant parachute.
"that is fuckin incredible lol," gushes one of the more eloquent viewers on YouTube.
The ball, a promotional effort by Carnival Cruise Lines, set the world record for largest beach ball last Sunday. Witnesses to the historic moment were treated to live music, free food and cruise giveaways by Senior Cruise Director John Heald.
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Oh look! There's a mouse! A server! A laptop! People! And a stupid headline, "I Choose to Take my Own Path." Must be a B to B ad campaign. Yup, it is. An Indian one. From Dell. By Enfatico.
Why does all IT advertising have to suck? Hmm, maybe it's just practice. You know, for when, 18 months from now, Enfatico finally gets around to launching a consumer campaign.
JFC. make it stop. Please.
This half-hour Obama spot aired on eight networks during prime-time last night. (Sorta like the Presidential debates ... except with just one candidate.)
It's slow-moving and demagogic, with the distinct vanilla flavor of Christian family TV, but Obama's honeyed tone is soothing, like a lullaby. As an added bonus, it's oddly devoid of plumbers named Joe.
"I didn't get a church-related feeling, but my wife loved the wheat," said colleague Michael Kimsal when we discussed the ad this morning. "We then watched the pundits afterward, and half of them loved the wheat too."
Building on that hard-up plebe vibe, Adrants reader Olivier was all, "Felt like Grapes of Wrath II at times."
For year two of the Detroit Institute of Arts' "Let Yourself Go" rebrand, Perich Advertising + Design tapped Head Gear Animation/Toronto to produce two spots:
o In "Son of Hatman," Hatman takes his son to the museum. Seeing the art makes them part of it.
I once saw a Tales from the Darkside episode with a similar premise: a guy on the lam runs into a museum and prays to be hidden inside a peaceful painting of a fisherman. But because he spends his prayertime looking at a picture of Jesus being crucified, that's where God puts him. Oh, horrors.
o In "Thinker," a stumped writer leaps off his perch and hits the DIA for inspiration.
Writer's block hurts, and while I'm sure forking over $8 to see other people's masterpieces must help, I find it hard to believe he didn't try drinking first. It's the path of least resistance. Cheaper, too.
In typical ADD (or is it the brilliant acknowledgment of the public's ever shortening attention span) style, Crispin Porter + Bogusky is out with yet another iteration of Microsoft's $300 million campaign. This time, perhaps anticipating the fact $300 million might not remain $300 million given current economic conditions, the agency is treating us to...wait for it...CONSUMER-GENERATED CONTENT! Yes, you read that right, bucko! Rather than Jerry and Bill, we'll be treated to...Mr and Mrs. Nobody With A Video Camera.
The videos, which call for people to say, "I'm a PC" followed by some inanity, have been integrated into television commercials which are currently airing. Check out over 17,000 videos and photos here.
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