VeeV Spikes Vodka, Sprint 2-Point-No, Lessons Learned from Motrin Mayhem

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- Yesterday's news: Pepsi shafts BBDO for TBWA. BBDO held the account for nearly 50 years.

- After a year and a half of fumbling at the throne of Yahoo, CEO Jerry Yang exits stage left.

- Wieden + Kennedy scores the Nokia Nseries account, worth about $150 million. Lowe London held it before.

- VeeV, an acai-based spirit with delusions of grandeur, brings you The End of Vodka, complete with vodka bots. The site's goal is to show users how much superficiality vodka's introduced into our lives over the course of the past decade. Yeah. If by superficiality you mean lasting friendships and insta-forgiveness.

- "Is this Miley's fault? Ugh, she wouldn't know a legendary jazz man even if he walked up to her and shot cocaine into her neck."

- Sprint's web 2.0 clusterfuck.

- Big Takeaways from the Motrin crisis. (How is it Motrin gets shut down but this goes on undeterred?)

by Angela Natividad    Nov-18-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns, Online, Opinion, Social



Comcast, TiVo Grow Up and Get Hitched

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To promote the fusion of Comcast DVR with TiVo, Biscuit Filmworks USA and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners give us "Separated at Birth."

It's a love story about a pair of TVs that part at the assembly line and serve two people in two different ways. In the end, the owners -- which start out as kids -- grow up and get together. Just like their favourite TV services.

Almost too cute to stand. The split ad format keeps eyes bouncing back and forth, and a simple narrative prevents captive audiences from snapping out of it. We'll even be willing to ignore the fact that TiVo hasn't been around long enough to have served any twenty-something from her budding days as a grade school control freak.

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by Angela Natividad    Nov-18-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Television



Pay-Per-Tweet, Obama Goes FDR, Vespa Gets Web-Lift

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- Transport for London spoofs Clue for cyclist awareness.

- Obama does fireside chat thing via YouTube.

- The churches are sorry. (But a billboard with italic print may not be enough for some.)

- Guerrilla naughty.

- Will businesses have to pay per tweet?

- Rallying for Starbucks. (TBH, I'm running out of faith.)

- The Matrix Runs on Windows. George Parker says CP+B should listen up.

- Snazzy new Vespa site. Includes big green section on Vespanomics. Um, yay...?

by Angela Natividad    Nov-17-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Online, Outdoor, Political, Spoofs, Video



One Black Brightens Up a Nation.

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It merits saying that there are plenty of countries where people don't get as nuts as we do when ads zero in on race. But I still felt an "arrrg" rise to my throat when I saw these pieces for ChromaWhite TRX Skin Brightener, Dermalogica India.

The text at left reads "America's future looks bright, thanks to a black." Above the caption is the bust of a suspiciously white-washed Obama.

Thanks for the unsolicited commentary on our election, but what the fuck, guys? How does news of the States blackwashing the White House promote your skin whitening product?

Variant: "There are times when black can go to white." Okay, I'm not even touching that one.

Put together by the politically earnest cats at IBD Brands, India.

UPDATE: After this article had been live for a few hours, the guy who sent us this work apologized for any cultural misunderstanding and claimed the creative was just spec. And having sent us the material in the first place, he even tried insisting his agency didn't do it. (The creative credits appeared right below the work in the original email.) In separate IMs, he went on to say he doesn't work for the agency at all, and a mystery person from IBD sent it to him.

Dear IBD Brands Dude: We're typically really nice about this kind of thing, but you've done this more than once. If this was an honest mistake, here's a tip: don't get cocky and send us material your client hasn't approved.

If you simply can't take flak for doing a sub-par job, get the hell out of this business.

by Angela Natividad    Nov-16-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Magazine, Political, Poster, Strange



Elf Yourself Returns for Year 3

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While logic for continuing the campaign may be suspect, I guess it speaks to its undying faith that for the third year in a row, OfficeMax is rolling out Elf Yourself (complete with bigger OfficeMax logo!).

Around this time last year, Elf Yourself had spawned over 11 million self-elfers. This year there's new stuff to look forward to.

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by Angela Natividad    Nov-16-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Consumer Created, Online



One of These Blatant Instances of Eyeball-Rape Just Doesn't Belong

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For Park Shore BMW, agency concerto conjured up a sneaky way to get people staring at rows and rows of BMW logos for a long, long ... long ... time. See variants 2 and 3.

"One of these is not like the others," the copy reads. "Find it and we'll not only offer you an incredibly low interest rate, we'll pay your 10% down payment on any 2008 model you want. You have until October 31st. So Go!"

The campaign ran briefly in Vancouver last month, after which Park Shore BMW was asked to pull the ads because they "contravene branding standards."

Wait. There are standards? Guess that sets Vancouver ahead of the pack. $10 and a warm cookie to whoever can score us Van City's Hallowed Book on Logo Etiquette.

by Angela Natividad    Nov-14-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Magazine, Poster, Strange



For Dog Food So Tasty You Might Be, Uh, Compensated.

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Adrants reader Martha pointed us to this Nutrecan senior dog food ad by Gomez Chica/EURO RSCG out of Medellin, Colombia. Playing on the "senior" bit, caption reads "Adults only."

Gawker put it best:


Sex sells fruit. Sex sells condoms. Sex sells magazines. Sex sells charity. Sex sells cheap clothes and pseudocool clothes. Even child sex sells cosmetics. So people are pretty cool with sex, and its selling implications. But does dog sex sell? We can only hope.

Uncute. Come on, Gomez/EURO. Sex may sell coffins and cheese, but you gotta draw the line somewhere. Last I read, the job description for "man's best friend" didn't include a deep-throat clause.

by Angela Natividad    Nov-14-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Magazine, Poster, Racy, Worst



Carb-Loving Americans Get Relief From Tooheys Beer

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Hmm. In what appears to be both a relief effort and a back handed slap at American's love for carbohydrates, Tooheys has launched (yes, a few weeks ago. we're late to this) Carb Relief, part of its For the Love of Beer campaign.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-14-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Good, Online, Video



Burma Viral Honored, 'That Guy' Ovulates, Maggots for a Cure

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- MTV's "Burma Viral," produced by Shilo for Ogilvy & Mather, won a London Int'l Awards Gold Statue for TV/Cinema Animation, and a Silver Shark for Best Int'l Animation at the 46th Annual Kinsale Shark Awards. At left is the somewhat-stunned project writer, Carl Le Blond, clutching the London Gold. Way to goooooo.

- Valleywag watered down, broadened out, folded into Gawker.

- Intel's obnoxious "That guy" is a chick, actually.

- Lego reenacts Star Wars with non-violent games.

- I fucking hate maggots.

- Racing for a hot shower.

- Linda Tripp's mouth-blown, hand-painted ornament store.

- And you thought foreign oil dependence was our problem.



Christine Dolce's Assets Fight Fur For PETA2

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Christine Dolce, internet superstar, model (FHM, Playboy), actress, radio personality, designer, make-up artist, is, again, fronting a PETA2 Fur is Dead" campaign.

In a making of video, Christine boobs says she wanted to team up with PETA because boobs she's against animal cruelty and thinks boobs it's bullshit anyone would wear real fur and boobs kill animals for it when there's plenty boobs of genuine looking fake fur boobs products on the market. She boobs says it's not right boobs and it's uncalled for boobs which is why she has boobs decided to work with boobs PETA again.

She explains boobs her interest in PETA was sparked by boobs a video Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor boobs did for the organization which boobs focused on the abuse of animals boobs in the fur trade. She calls boobs anyone who wears real boobs fur lazy and ignorant for boobs not understand the cruelty behind boobs the manufacture of fur clothing.

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by Steve Hall    Nov-13-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity