'HONG KONG! ... That's China.'

Check out the new tool off E-Trade's freak-of-nature assembly line (1, 2).

Douche-tacular. If I were China, I'd be scraping him, and his ilk, off my stock exchange.

In 2083, Tennis Players Will Sport Cups on Their Faces

For Lacoste's 75th anniversary, French agency CRM Company Group imagined what tennis players will look like 75 years from now.

The answer: sort of like RoboCop, except with digital banner ads in their shoes. (RoboCop would never stand for that.)

See movie here. Afterward watch Gestures, the story of Rene Lacoste and the energetic, ardor-rich and glamorous brand* that would one day grace the body of, I don't know, Kanye West.

Thanks in:fluencia for the tip.

more »

Scion: It's Love or Loathing, No In-Between

In an ad for the xB called Pendulum, Scion quite startlingly demonstrates it does not give a damn what you think.

Given the car's sheer ugliness (that pumpkin shade ain't helping), whoring for mainstream acceptance would have been a depressing uphill fight. Instead of trying to hide its blunt features, Scion made them the draw. And the ad suggests it isn't afraid of strong feelings, whatever they are.

more »

Sanjaya is Back! In A Nationwide Insurance Commercial

Following in the footsteps of Fabio, MC Hammer and Kevin Federline might be considered a dubious career path, then again, who thought KFed would come out of the Britney Spears nightmare on top (or at least looking a lot better than Britney)? Next in line for the feature role in a Nationwide Insurance 'Life Comes At You Fast" commercial, filming today in India, is none other than Mr. Pony Hawk himself, Sanjaya Malakar.

Yup, Nationwide wants Sanjaya to help the company reel in some South Asians who, according to Nationwide, have the highest annual income among the U.S. Population.

more »

Doritos Wants to Be Synonymous with UGC

Surprise, surprise. Doritos.co.uk has made a YouTube channel for people who want to make their own Doritos ads. My favourite was the one put together by the Doritos staff. It's called "Hair" and it reminds me of a My Little Pony doll I used to have.

more »

Down's Syndrome Sufferers Showcase Their Own Capabilities

For The Prodis Foundation, Vitruvio Leo Burnett demonstrated how versatile children with Down's Syndrome are by letting them put together their own ad.

Well, that's how it was sold to us. The ad is more like a (professionally produced?) patchwork of their everyday activities: laughing with friends, winning karate trophies, going dancing, etc.

The video's about two minutes long and quite moving, though it's probably more so when you understand what's being said. In any case, it won an ADC Gold Cube in Corbis' Search for Justice awards show.

Toyota Prank Call Campaign Gets Double the Mileage Out of UGC

In exchange for a little bit of personal information, Toyota Matrix will trick one of your friends into thinking that some nightmare stalker version of you wants to live with them.

But that's not the best part!

Promote this effort in a video ad and turn it in here. If your video goes live on Current.com, you could win $2500. And if Toyota decides to use it somewhere else, expect to cash in on up to $60,000, depending where the spot appears.

The campaign is called "Your Other You" -- which I guess is apt, since it's the "dark" you that will be freaking out your friends, and the lame aspirational Ashton Kutcher-wannabe you that will be proliferating the idea on video.

Way to ride the same mule twice, Toyota.

Obama Clinton, ObamaClinton, ObaClintman...

For people that are bored with the power struggle between the charismatic black man and the woman who'll pursue her ambition to the ends of our patience, some relief is circulating the 'net today:

- Why choose if you can combine? (via MarketingProfs)
- Obama, Clinton fight it out jedi-style

And in other (actual) news...

- Obama and McCain have begun seeking VPs. (Well, that's what the story suggests. Obama, for the record, said, "I am not commenting on vice presidential matters, because I have not won this nomination.")

- McCain cuts ties with the Hitler pastor.

- Clinton beats McCain ... at a vodka competition. Four years ago.

Budget Elicits UGC from Budget Travelers ... and Totally Fails to Budget Wisely

I don't really know what this video's all about, but I'm pretty sure it isn't worth $25,000 in prize money.

By the way, what a completely insane amount of dosh for a UGC contest. I mean seriously, way to piss off your bottom-line guys.

"Hey, chief. Uh, yeah. Not only did Budget not win new car rental customers, but our low-budget 'Travel Budget!' marketing strategy also cost us over 25 grand."

Just because you're not spending $2.5 million on TV doesn't mean you should wipe your ass with the savings.

UPDATE: It turns out the video linked above was made by Budget employees in a deluded effort to encourage more users to enter the contest. How. Very. Sad.

'Rush Hour' Director Launches Brand Consultancy, Uses Idol Finalists as Guinea Pigs

Brett Ratner, the director who gave us X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour trilogy, has launched Brett Ratner Brands.

Less an agency than a "consultancy," Ratner aspires to marry brand messages to pop culture.

His first such effort was for Guitar Hero. During the American Idol finale this week, two ads appeared -- one with Idol finalist David Cook in briefs, lip-synching to Old Time Rock 'N Roll, the other with David Archuleta in boxers, following suit, Risky Business-style.

Ratner said he wants to make ads "everybody wants to be in." His models include "Got Milk," HP's "Hands" and iTunes' "Celebrity Playlist."