Monday is never a good day to analyze why so many commercials featuring athletes always portray said athletes as mindless idiots. Poor Vinny Testaverde, back-up quarterback for the New England Patriots is the latest to receive the jock-as-buffoon treatment. Setting aside for a moment the lunacy of a professional football player ordering food from a stadium's fast food counter while in full uniform, MasterCard, while promoting its PayPass card, felt it necessary (with advice from McCann-Erickson/New York) to capitalize on the stereotype of athlete as slave to coach.
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Continuing is long-running trend of thrashing about its Tacoma pick up truck, Toyota is at it again; this time with a barfing Loch Ness monster who can't seem to stomach the truck's indestructible nature. Of course, a truck being shot out of the water like a cannon ball, smashing head first onto the ground and then being driven off with nary a scratch causes one to put as much belief into that as the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Oh but wait, there's a disclaimer: "Fictionalization. Not a demo of Tacoma's performance or crash capabilities." Hmm. It might as well have read, "This commercial is a lie and we apologize for treating you like an idiot. Go buy a Ford. They're the ones that are really Built Tough." Nice touch though having Loch Ness Project's Adrian Shine in the spot. Not such a nice touch dropping the word "Expedition" in the spot though.
To push HP Total Care for small and mid-sized businesses, Moxie Interactive put together a few digital spots that depict hard-up SMB owners raising money for hardware. See Carwash and Experts.
Total Care acts as a kind of financing and product lifecycle management service. We dig the spots, even if we'd prefer to see a younger demographic whoring out carwashes in their underpants.
Our big question (and really, this is always our big question): how do they get into the hands of small business owners? Are you gonna mail them laptops with the ads on loop, HP?
Considering how often we've moodily blasted them, it's humbling to announce Candystand has put out a game so appealing we've lost half our morning. And you're about to lose the rest of your afternoon. Welcome to their Wrigley's rendition of Ping Pong.
There's also a game called Around the World that's not nearly as much fun but merits checking out because we know how badly you need something to do after lunch.
Shedwa points out there's a green 50-ft idol floating around the Hudson River this morning. Much evolved from the days of the golden calf, idolators these days favour the Lady Liberty-styled M&M.
Come full circle in your worship at Become an M&M, where you can create an M&M avatar with vestiges of you. To really get in the mood, we recommend shoving a few of the peanut butter persuasion into your mouth before zipping off with that mouse.
MIT Advertising Lab writes "Can't believe I beat Adrants to a post with a semi-naked woman peddling a product, but here it is." Unfortunately, we are both six months late featuring the bikini-clad Carmen Elektra whose bulging breasts far exceed the capabilities of her cherry designed top while she poses with a bottle of Coke. What does this have to do with advertising? Absolutely nothing other than to combat the dearth of featured flesh here on Adrants. Drool more here. Letters of complaint can be addressed to [email protected].
We've never been huge fans but Mr. Peanut gets just due for being a longtime symbol of good clean fun in a mixed nuts can. That's why we're sad to be the ones to tell you how easily the 'Nut's integrity can be compromised.
Word on the street is Kraft had Draft FCB run an online vote to freshen up the Mr. Peanut look. Small changes: pocket watch, yea or nay? Cuff links, too Chippendale? But apparently Kraft had a panic attack and made everyone in the Company and at Draft stuff the ballot to ensure Mr. Peanut remains the same stodgy, phallic eyepiece-porting womper he's always been.
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If only for the FAQ section, you should check out this HP Digital Entertainment site - created by Source - promoting the company's televisions. yes, we had no idea the company made TVs either. The section is of the usual click and chat variety but the fun picks up in th FAQ section, the area most sites simply serve up dry answers to dry questions that aren't the ones you were interested in anyway. Here, HP has fun. Or as much fun as a conservative company like HP can have without taking its clothes off. The section serves up the answers game show style and the talent selection Source made was a very good one for this effort.
And Google presses onward in its total colonization of our souls.
The name that changed online business relations has just leaped the cyber fence. Word on the street is, Google filed a patent for billboards of the interactive persuasion. They'll work like AdSense and advertisers can purchase ad space by computer.
The billboard system will advertise products available and in stock at local stores.
Installment Two in the Clog Clinic campaign features Mike Ditka getting preachy about flushes in a weird PSA-style ad, lends advice on what to do about tired old plungers, and invites you to test your flush savvy.
Additionally, users can win $25,000 for sharing their cloggiest moment. We shit you not. Join here if so inclined, and while you're at it join this contest for a pimp throne. The opportunities for media- (and not just regular) whoring in bathrooms are more numerous than we thought.
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