Sony Ericsson: Be the Star of Your Own YouTube Video!

Because everyone knows that's tough to do.*

Check out Ericsson's Darkside campaign, where you plug your likeness into a pre-made spooky YouTube video.

Brando, the left-of-center agency responsible, even provided one-click ways to "viral it out" via Facebook and email. So, like, wow, you don't have to do jack to get your face on the front of the internets.

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Draft/FCB Shake Up Coming, DirecTV Gets Ideas, Enfatico'd Ethics

- George Parker's spies have informed him there may be a "major shake up" coming soon to a Draft/FCB office near you.

- You've seen all those DirecTV ads, right? The ones that play off the scenes of various movies? The current one pays homage to Poltergeist. Tirico Suave has plenty of suggestions for more.

- With Guns 'N Roses releasing its Chinese Democracy album soon, Dr. Pepper, who claimed they couldn't get it done this year (and if they did, would give a free bottle of Dr. Pepper to everyone in America) must now live up to its promise.

- Audi asks you to Meet the Beckers.

- If you want to hear a bunch of experts on the topic of the internet benefiting small businesses, sign up for the Solution Stars Video Conference. Apparently, I'm an expert because I'm one of the speakers. But, you'll have to watch and decide.

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Rubicon Project Mocks its Own Merits

The Rubicon Project tapped its "LA movie friends" to create this spoof vid, in which Channel 3 News goes behind the scenes to pinpoint the company's awesomeness.

I was told this would be "a tongue-and-cheek take on the magic" behind Rubicon's success, but until 1:25 it's nothing but pure pitch.

That was irritating. But afterward the whole thing was kinda funny.

Frank Addante is awesome as the young, arrogant startup douchebag. Know how Rubicon screens for talent and makes VC cash? Chugging contests. Not that that's a secret; anybody who's been to one of their parties could've figured that out.

Just wish I'd seen the hilarity coming before Minute One was up. Because seriously, I thought I'd been tricked into sitting for a demo. Actually, I still kinda suspect that I did.

Great Milk Comes from Happy Cows. And the Happy Cows are Casting!

The California Milk Advisory Board is screening for its next bovine star. And guess who gets to pick her? You! Between October 13 and September 30, trawl audition vids and cast your vote.

Of 10 total, only two videos, "Alicia" and "Jenn," are currently available to view. Alicia reeks of The Real World, and little Jenn's being constantly goaded on by her attention-starved mom.

Videos of the hopeful heifers will be repurposed as TV spots. I hope one of Silk's renegade soy cows enters, because no audition series is complete without some wacked-out anti-establishment radical.

Bakers Molds Magic Between Flour-Stained Fingers

"Precious Biscuits" uses the loose, altered threads of fairy tales to imbue Bakers Biscuits with wispy wonder.

It begins with pretty schoolchildren walking through a forest. Behind them, biscuits leap out of a cobblestone pavement (vestiges of Hansel & Gretel), bringing the environment to animated life.

Naughty piglets race across a canvas populated by blind mice, an egg that only almost dies, a lone social advocate made of gingerbread, and a round Red Queen with a teeny china mouth. You remember them, don't you? At the end, Bakers draws a subtle comparison between itself and other confectioners of myth.

Produced by the divine hands of Shy the Sun & Blackginger for Ogilvy/Johannesburg and client Bakers.

T-Mobile G1 Brings Answers to You!

Last night I saw the first ad for the T-Mobile G1, the first mobile handset built on Google's Android platform.

The spot depicts people in random situations, asking spontaneous questions that bug you at the time, but might not be important when you're back in front of a computer: "Do sharks have eyelids?", "Do monkeys make good pets?", "Can I get this cheaper somewhere else?"

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Obama Girl Backs Ack

Believe it or not, Amber Lee Ettinger's career as Obama Girl was just preparation for a political endorsement that manages to be even more surreal. (Yes, it even outdoes her Giuliani dance-off.)

America's favourite lobbyist now throws her bikini-clad weight -- and lip-syncing skillz -- behind President Howard Ackerman of Red Alert 3. Love that "Let's screw 'em all with Ackerman" tee she's rockin'. And that intro -- it's so vintage Dick in a Box!

Isn't it awesome when an agency -- in this case, DraftFCB -- contaminates a good thing with a flinch-inducer? Whatev, this is officially The World We Live In. Expect to see "Back Ack" splashed across YouTube, RedAlert3.com and the Barely Political website.

Wow. It's Everything I've Ever Wanted in a Stimulant.

A pill that increases libido and decreases cellulite?" Let Slim Seduction -- don't you love that name? -- show you! Hit the site for Extremely Persuasive surveys, before/after shots, video testimonials and BIG RED TYPEFACES.

The ad hit me while I was reading a political and religious tirade on Dooce.com, which goes to show diet companies don't discriminate much in terms of audience. All you need to do is be female and have skin.

MySpace Music Promotes Artist Individuality

MySpace Music, which went live in late September, is running a print ad campaign composed of artists and some of their favourite playlists.

At left is an ad featuring Moby, complete with link to his MySpace site. The text, presumably hand-written by The Man Himself, gives us the skinny on Moby's New York playlist.

Also see "Songs to Come Down To," a handwritten playlist by Kings of Leon, and "Music that My Friends Wrote" by Jenny Lewis.

Sedate, distinctly cool and in keeping with the network's indie band community feel. This is the first time MySpace has stepped beyond its borders to advertise. But hey, this is also the first time major labels have been willing to help foot the bill.

Crimes of Facebook Passion, Palin's Rack Promotes Storage, and More Crappy Jingles

- Avenue A/Razorfish is changing its name to Razorfish.

- Considering an iPhone? Read this first.

- Wife killed by estranged hubby for changing her Facebook status to "single" too soon. Wow ... the world has changed.

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