Encumbent Avatars, Undecided Coffee Cups, Crocheted Shotguns

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- Obama/McCain WeeMees! OhMG kyoooooot. Diggin' how the page reads, "Invite the presidential nominees to your Room." So naughty.

- Speaking of politics, that half-hour Obama ad pulled in an average household rating of 21.7. The top market was Baltimore, where it averaged 31.3.

- Still undecided? Sport it on your coffee cup. $10 says at least five election canvassers will make a beeline for you within minutes of exiting 7-Eleven.

- Zap bugs with Honda. Reminds me of a Stargate SG-1 episode where these giant bugs would prick you, then turn you into an egg sack.

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Dawn Whips Out the Jazz Hands ... and a Spongy Casanova

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Dawn Hands Have Talent is a UGC contest to promote Dawn Hand Renewal, a dishwashing soap that "improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses." The site also includes a special offer for the soap and a dancing hand game you can play.

The image at left is from an entry titled "Handtasia," though I much prefer the vivacity of "Fingerlina."

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Heady, Hairy Seventies Hired to Sell Hot Tubs

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There were three images that accompanied the release that prompted this story. We're going to spare you from two of them because, well, they're all hairy seventies-style and what with everyone shaving every last hair off their bodies today, seventies-style hairiness is, well, just gross.

So, for Asheville (oh wait, they're still into the seventies there, right?) hot tub retailer Willow Creek Hearth & Liesure (damn., even that word is soooo seventies), Atlanta-based BRUNNER created a campaign that's an ode to the hariy seventies and the supposed seductive qualities of the hot tub.

With headlines such as "Because you can only fit one woman in a Porsche," "Spice up your marriage with someone else's marriage," and "Lowers sperm count to the average male range (as opposed to what...a seventies porn star?)," the campaign intends to set the retailer apart from the usually mundane ads seen in the category which depict impossibly perfect, cliched family scenarios.

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by Steve Hall    Oct-31-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Magazine, Racy, Strange



Mercy Corps Saturates NYC with Starvin' Marvins

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When I saw the words "You can't eat sympathy" in the ad at left, the concept of world hunger came second to the memory of chunky kids in high school that eat their feelings. (Oh, come on. You watched Mean Girls, didn't you?)

But nah. It's Mercy Corps' Action Center effort to make people more aware of world hunger. If you're living in New York, you've probably noticed people walking around with body paint that makes them look skeletal. That's agency Household Name's way of telling you to think on hunger over lunch.

Also see World hunger just got a little closer to home.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-31-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Guerilla, Poster



Practice Hand-Eye Coordination While Eating Fried Chicken!

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KFC partnered with the highly-addictive Guitar Hero World Tour for a cross-promotional something-or-other. Redeem codes for branded Guitar Hero cups from KFC Rocks.

More importantly, try your hand at this "crowd surfing" game. Hit the arrows to the beat, and keep your emo rocker dude from falling to the bottom of the mosh pit.

The game was put together by Creative Alliance, a KFC agency, in collaboration with The Basement Design + Motion. It's funny, though: after playing a few times, I craved both chicken and Dance, Dance Revolution.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Games, Online, Promotions, Sponsorship



Marketers Enjoy Insta-Promotion by Breaking World Records

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Witness with envy as the world's largest beach ball -- 36 feet across -- alights upon a throng of Dallas citizens, hands high over heads like children with a giant parachute.

"that is fuckin incredible lol," gushes one of the more eloquent viewers on YouTube.

The ball, a promotional effort by Carnival Cruise Lines, set the world record for largest beach ball last Sunday. Witnesses to the historic moment were treated to live music, free food and cruise giveaways by Senior Cruise Director John Heald.

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by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Guerilla, Promotions



Newsflash! Enfatico Launches Dell Campaign! Seriously

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Oh look! There's a mouse! A server! A laptop! People! And a stupid headline, "I Choose to Take my Own Path." Must be a B to B ad campaign. Yup, it is. An Indian one. From Dell. By Enfatico.

Why does all IT advertising have to suck? Hmm, maybe it's just practice. You know, for when, 18 months from now, Enfatico finally gets around to launching a consumer campaign.

JFC. make it stop. Please.

by Steve Hall    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns



Hey. It's, Like, a Really Long Obama Ad

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This half-hour Obama spot aired on eight networks during prime-time last night. (Sorta like the Presidential debates ... except with just one candidate.)

It's slow-moving and demagogic, with the distinct vanilla flavor of Christian family TV, but Obama's honeyed tone is soothing, like a lullaby. As an added bonus, it's oddly devoid of plumbers named Joe.

"I didn't get a church-related feeling, but my wife loved the wheat," said colleague Michael Kimsal when we discussed the ad this morning. "We then watched the pundits afterward, and half of them loved the wheat too."

Building on that hard-up plebe vibe, Adrants reader Olivier was all, "Felt like Grapes of Wrath II at times."

by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Political, Specialty, Television



For Less than $10, the DIA Will Inspire and Engage!

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For year two of the Detroit Institute of Arts' "Let Yourself Go" rebrand, Perich Advertising + Design tapped Head Gear Animation/Toronto to produce two spots:

o In "Son of Hatman," Hatman takes his son to the museum. Seeing the art makes them part of it.

I once saw a Tales from the Darkside episode with a similar premise: a guy on the lam runs into a museum and prays to be hidden inside a peaceful painting of a fisherman. But because he spends his prayertime looking at a picture of Jesus being crucified, that's where God puts him. Oh, horrors.

o In "Thinker," a stumped writer leaps off his perch and hits the DIA for inspiration.

Writer's block hurts, and while I'm sure forking over $8 to see other people's masterpieces must help, I find it hard to believe he didn't try drinking first. It's the path of least resistance. Cheaper, too.

by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Good, Television



Greenpeace Dusts JFK Off, Props Him Up, Pipes in Fresh Message

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Adrants reader Molly sent us a spot in which JFK is reanimated and his words altered to promote sustainable energy technology.

CG technology was used to "remodel JFK's mouth word for word," according to the pressie. Produced by AKQA with help from The Ambassadors/Amsterdam for Greenpeace, it debuted last Monday at a press briefing in Berlin.

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by Angela Natividad    Oct-30-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Strange, Video