Following intense negative reaction to its Camel No. 9 campaign which likened the brand to a fashion accessory, RJ Reynolds yesterday announced it would cease all print advertising in 2008.
Downplaying the Camel No. 9 furor, R.J. Reynolds spokeswoman Jan Smith said the cut is "an effort by the company to enhance and sharpen the effectiveness and efficiency of its marketing programs." Hmm. We just threw up...a tiny bit...in our mouth.
Getting more truthful, Smith added, "Obviously tobacco industry issues are in mind with every decision we make. A result of this is there should be less controversy over cigarette advertising in magazines and newspapers, because we won't be doing it."
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This ad is for UbiSoft's RayMan. For reasons we don't understand, a burping bunny invades the real world and gets lazy couch-welded human beings to get off their asses and pour shaken carbonated drinks into their mouths.
It was on the front page of YouTube and we've watched it at least eight times already. This does not bode well for the future of the world.
This new Visa spot by TBWA\Chiat\Day is called Rock It. The slogan: "Life takes rhythm. Life takes Visa."
Like Visa's last attempt at holiday cheer, it's horrible and depressing.
Here is an ad for the Infiniti M that is not very interesting (courtesy of TBWA\Chiat\Day).
Where's the fire?
Generally speaking, Celestial Seasonings reminds us of girls with frizzled hair sitting by a fireplace while reading books full of pressed rhododendrons.
Couple that with an unmoving loyalty to our cheery friend Starbucks (our fulfilling relationship has lasted longer than relationships with most human beings), and a college education that taught us the media makes us count calories at the same rate we pop pills, and you've got yourself a kamikaze campaign.
See Fat and Stretchy Pants.
The creative was put together by TDA Advertising & Design.
Something about the design of the fatty coffee drinks does bring those negative words to life. It really looks like fat floating in the Fat drink. And that whipped-cream double-chin? Pure art.
CS' press hombre called this a "sweet-faced competitive campaign." Would it talk you out of a soothing pumpkin-spiced concoction and into some chamomile a la glass mug?
- Can't we just enjoy a happy Barbie and Ken Christmas without depressing PSAs? Apparently not.
- Writing on Advertising for Peanuts, Jim Morris thinks the best ads are the ones that capture "the quiet power of a genuinely human moment." He might be right.
- Y&R has scooped up the $55 million Jenny Craig Account. Direct response and celebrity management factored heavily in the decision. JWT handled previously.
- Black Friday's online spending was up 22 percent to $531 million. Cyber Monday is expected to surpass $700 million.
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Euro RSCG, Chicago has awakened pasta brand Barilla from its seemingly long ad-sleep with a new campaign called "Discover Italy. Discover Barilla."
The microsite (disable your pop-up blocker) fuses Italian culture with regional -- and totally pasta-centric -- recipes. While salivating for pesto you can explore Cinque-Terre and Parma, with more locations to come in '08.
Here's a print from the campaign. Just the look of it makes us hungry, and a little lonely for a warm Italian mother clutching a rolling pin.
It's always scary when an ad imbibes you with fond memories that aren't actually yours.
These images (1 at left, 2, 3) are part of a Nike campaign called I AM FORGED BY THE ELEMENTS (yeah, all caps). It was put together by Cole & Weber United and will run in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN.
The ads illustrate the carnal athlete who perceives inclement weather conditions as partners rather than as obstructions.
Inspirational and all, in Nike's usual style. No big shocker there. Maybe we'd feel differently about the whole thing if we flipped open a health magazine during one of our psycho winter diet binges and saw a shot of some dude pumping iron in the snow. Tough call outside of context, though.
He actually scared us in our childhood and if a man like that wandered the aisles of a grocery store today asking us not to squeeze the Charmin, we'd probably call the men in white coats. But Mr. Whipple, played by Dick Wilson, was a lovable, humorous television advertising icon back in the day when brands didn't change campaigns and agencies at the whim of a here today gone tomorrow CMO. In fact, Mr. Whipple lasted 21 years. 21 years! That just doesn't happen anymore.
Over the course of the campaign's 21 year run, more than 500 commercials where made featuring Mr. Whipple. On Monday, November 19, 2007 Dick Wilson died of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 91.
We never squeezed our Charmin but we always got a kick out of the weird dude on TV who did. RIP, Mr. Whipple.
Remember that Wendy's/Takkle promo called My Wendy's High School Heisman Moment?
We just heard word that the contest is over. Winners include Lauren Phipps of St. Louis, MO and Briggs Orsbon of Convoy, OH. In exchange for their willingness to bare their moment of glory, they'll be going to NYC for Heisman Weekend this December.
If we'd known that playing sports in high school could lead to this kind of exhibitionist glory, we'd have been playing strip tennis for YouTube instead of spending our afternoons making drinks at Starbucks. Oh, well. R is for Regret.
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