Ruby Tuesday Makes an Explosive 'Oopsie!'

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Like a teen burning high school paraphernalia in (futile) hope of evolving as a human being, Ruby Tuesday decided to blow up one of its old restaurants "to mark our departure from the sea of sameness within the casual dining industry."

But oops, it blew Cheeky's up instead. Har har. See apology.

All this to tell you Ruby Tuesday's changed its decor and menu. From the BooneOakley pressie: "Makeover was designed by Pentagram, and driven by the fact that the various competing casual dining chains, including Ruby Tuesday--had all become indistinguishable, whether to diners or to demolition experts."

What a relief that at least one establishment is picking up the slack for the menagerie of demented, '50s-inspired, totally flammable monotony. All this time I thought it was my fault for thinking Molotov cocktails were racy aperitifs! There's an order I won't make a third time.

by Angela Natividad    Aug-11-08    
Topic: Brands, Online, Promotions, Video



Because Gold Can't Be Seized without Pain. Or Something.

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To supplement its "Impossible is Nothing" spots for the Beijing Olympics, Adidas busts out with a slightly retro set of prints titled "Gold is Not a Given."

Each piece features an Olympic athlete, training in Beijing six months before the game "in sub-zero temperatures." There's also some Nike-esque pontificating on the meaning of "gold." An example from the ad at left (featuring Haile Gebrselassie):

Gold is more than a colour. It's a dream to keep chasing. It's a dream to keep you going. It's a dream that sometimes gets put on hold. Gold is never a given.

Also see:

o Tyson Gay -- Gold can be lost in a flash. (1, 2)
o Allyson Felix -- Gold is not into predictions. (1, 2)
o Veronica Campbell-Brown -- Gold makes you wait. (1, 2)
o Jeremy Wariner -- Gold is the language of fastest. (1, 2)
o Yelena Isinbayeva -- Gold doesn't play favourites. (1, 2)

Totally different style from the Chinese ads, but in keeping with the grit-and-glory feel. Put together by Amsterdam (180\TBWA).

by Angela Natividad    Aug-11-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Events, Magazine



Skittles Candy Feet Bring Ulterior Motives to Friendships

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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.)

by Angela Natividad    Aug-11-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Strange, Television



Something About Target Makes Consumption So Sexy

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'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.

by Angela Natividad    Aug- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Television



Dr. J Takes His Dr. Pepper on the Rocks

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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.

by Angela Natividad    Aug- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Television



Adidas Joins the Free-Music-Giveaway Club

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For its back-to-school campaign "New School of Thought," Adidas Originals went all hipster and whatnot. The company partnered with trueAnthem to create a widget that gives away free music by Ultraviolet Sound and 30 percent discounts on Adidas Originals gear. The widget also includes short Adidas audio ads mixed by the band.

The street-sassy shoe brand joins Converse, Gap, Cartier and even Vanity Fair in disseminating free MP3s to the masses.

Why this might be smart marketing: if iTunes listeners switch Coverflow on, listening to your track will expose them to your marketing message, along with the album art. And if the campaign music's been uploaded onto last.fm, then last.fm users expose their friends to your brand when they listen to your track. So go stimulate those white earbuds, you go-getters, you.

by Angela Natividad    Aug- 7-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Good, Online



Doritos Collides With Flavor Mascots

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Just when you think there couldn't possibly be yet another flavorized Doritos line extension, the funny bunch over at Frito-Lay come up with even more. But this time, rather than creating new flavors, because, like, they've already done them all, they mix two flavors together and call it something new.

To promote this flavorific fusion, Doritos (in the UK) has launched the Doritos Collision campaign, a series of videos that pit flavor mascots against one another wrestling ring-style. There's Feathered Fury, The Griller, Tenacious T and El Zesto.

In addition to the videos, the brand has teamed with Bebo and Endamol's The Gap Year, a web series. Oh, and there's all kinds of social media goodness as well.

by Steve Hall    Aug- 6-08    
Topic: Brands, Good, Online, Social, Video



Greyhound Kills 'Bus Rage'Campaign Following Beheading

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If you're a bus company with an ad campaign that touts the fact nobody's ever heard of "bus rage" and them some freak goes and beheads a dude on the bus, you're quite likely to pull the campaign which is exactly what Greyhound did in light of last weeks bus murder.

After the murder of 22-year-old Tim McLean, who was repeatedly stabbed and then beheaded on a bus traveling through Manitoba, Greyhound pulled their poster campaign which carried the headline "There's a reason you've never heard of Bus Rage." well, sadly, now there is and the campaign had to be killed.

by Steve Hall    Aug- 6-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Poster



If You Have Nipples, America Doesn't Want You

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Here we go again. Apparently, it's OK to blow up stuff in TV commercials (see Verizon's Michael Bay commercial) but OMFG, show a fleeting glimpse of a natural human body part and the country freaks to high alert, places a blindfold over the collective eyeballs of every kid in the country (nudity is bad!!) and launches the cause group machine.

Yes. This is America. Nudity is bad. Nudity is something to be shunned. Natural beauty? Screw that. Put a potato sack on! Cover that God-given beauty. Sex is bad. Sex dirty. Sex is nasty. Sex should never be thought about. Sex should be shunned.

more »

by Steve Hall    Aug- 4-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns, Opinion



Energizer Appeals to the Urchin in Us

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Under the tagline "Never let their toys die," Energizer UK depicts kids in various states of, uh, toyless engagement. The campaign won top accolades in Press Advertising at the Cannes International Ad Festival.

See the work (helpfully labeled by ME!):

o Merry-Go-Hostage
o Pretty Pretty Puppy
o Not Quite Rain

Put together by DDB/South Africa to support Energizer's "longest-lasting battery" position. Awesome stuff. What'd you guys do, spend a week at the primary school?

by Angela Natividad    Aug- 4-08    
Topic: Best, Brands, Campaigns, Magazine, Poster