Each morning after my three mile excuse for a workout, I head over to the local Dunkin Donuts to pick up an iced latte. Hey, I know it doesn't sound very manly but it just seems to taste a lot better than regular coffee. Anyway, each day I look at my Dunkin Donuts cup, branded with the new tagline "America Runs on Dunkin," and think, finally, an agency and a company that hit on a message which actually means something. Recently, there's been loser taglines like "Bold Moves" and "Leap Ahead" so it's refreshing to see Hill Holiday, Dunkin Donuts' agency, come up with a winner in "America Runs on Dunkin."
I love the tagline because it speaks directly to the "fuel" that many Americans depend on to get going in the morning. Just like re-fueling a car, that morning stop at the local Dunkin Donuts fills the tank with energy to keep one running all day long. While a 2003 research study found taglines not very effective, "America Runs on Dunkin" just feels right as well as actually says something, an admirable accomplishment in comparison to most meaningless taglines littering the current advertising landscape.
Professing not to know why Nike would do such a thing (uh...hello? publicity), several have complained about a Nike ad featuring Wayne Rooney partially painted red with his arms outstretched. Church groups are likening it to Christ's crucifixion and British MPs think it's horribly war-like. Wieden + Kennedy, creators of the ad, defend it saying it has nothing to do with the crucifixion and was intended to celebrate Rooney's return to his team after an injury.
A Nike spokeswoman explains further, telling the Daily Mail, "If we have offended anyone on those grounds, we would stress it was unintentional and we apologize. It is not meant to be an aggressive picture, either. It was a case of catching the mood of the nation as everyone urges Rooney on to great things, and of course our slogan puts it perfectly. The red paint is not meant to be blood, it's just echoing the body paint which fans cover themselves in and the rest of Wayne's body is painted white. It's the flag of St George, and nothing else. We have had nothing but positive reaction to the poster and a lot of people have been asking if they can buy it. We have no plans to produce it as a poster."
Ah, yes. Another mysterious site with a countdown clock. Don't the creators of these sites, in this case, according to Whois information, Cincinnati Ohio-based hyperQuake, know this has been done a million times before? Do they think we will actually care what the countdown leads to? Are they so bold as to assume there is something unique about what they are about to announce? Oh wait. Of course they do. This is advertising and when we create cool campaigns like this we just know the entire world will be jonesing right along with us.
The countdown site, called Debunkify, is accompanied by a video on YouTube and billboards and TV ads in several Ohio locations. The billboards proclaim, "kill the myths before they kill you" and the site indicates all will be revealed July 10. OMG, we just can't wait. Can you? Yawn.
Yesterday, British Airways launched a Agency.com-created online campaign to educate Americans on proper behavior if they plan to attend the Wimbledon tennis tournament. In the eyes of the English, Americans are apparently a bunch of overeating, foam finger-waving, air horn-blowing cads. Basically, a pretty good assessment. So, for those planning of heading over to Wimbledon, take heed and alter your behavior properly for the event.
Hoping to achieve the ubiquitous popularity the Lance Armstrong Foundation Livestrong bracelet did, the Christopher Reeve Foundation has launched a campaign to promote its Superman Tag, a dog tag-like item with the Superman S that can be worn on a necklace, on a key chain or on clothing. The campaign, which will include print, online, PSAs, cinema ads, blogger outreach and a MySpace page, intends to leverage the upcoming Superman Returns movie to build additional awareness of the tags which will carry the tagline, "Go Forward." Proceeds from the sale of the tags will go to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
Warner Brothers has allowed the campaign to use the S symbol royalty free for the duration of the campiagn which will run until February 2008.Euro RSCG 4D created the campaign and is urging sites to donate ad space for the campaign. HealthOrbit and Prevention have. Adrants will be donating space as well. If you are so inclined, ad banners are available on the SupermanTag site.
Playing right into the stereotype of geeky IT guys wishing they could score with the big breasted women, this cheesy campaign for IT training company Training Camp promises to make two very big dreams come true for every IT guy. It's like those ads in the back of hot rod magazines with bikini-clad women draped across the hood of a car or those really old (weight gain?) ads that had the skinny guy on the beach getting kicked by the built guy with the babe.
Can you just here the nervous IT guy making the call to Training Camp? "Um, I'd...uh...I'd like those two very big dreams bulging out of....oh sorry...in your ad..so that...DAMN those are big...and...cause I really, really want to...um...get smart and learn...um...how to...how to...oh God...oh God...get...um...get a girl with really, really huge boobs like the girl in your ad! Yes. Yea. I want those...um...that. Can you help?
Get your pair here. Oh, we almost forgot. Sorry, we were distracted. The campiagn was created by Gyro Worldwide.
Pontiac, along with its Hispanic agency Accentmarketing, has launched a new brand campaign which attempts to position the car maker as sexy. The campaign, called "Diseñado Para Seducir," or "Designed for Seduction" and featuring music from Kinky, launched June 20 and will consist of two television spots airing on Spanish-language networks. In one ad, Grab, a woman can't keep her hands off the keys of the new Pontiac Solstice while fondling her man. In another, Traffic Stop, the driver of a G6 Convertible gets more attention than he expected from a hot police officer. We'd agree the attempt is a success.
- Two guys are following England around Germany as the 'Unofficial' Coca-cola mascots and reporting back to fans via their video blog.
- Here's a little Aussie viral for a roadside assistance company that puts a twist on on asking mom and Dad to use their car.
- Here's the third installment of the incredibly stupid Truth campaign in which the guy with the goofy hair calls attentions to jogging, M&M's and smoking addiction. It's just not working.
- Walking in on your hottie having sex with a bunch of other guys and not flinching is a poker face Poker.com would appreciate.
- Katherine Harris' U.S. Senate Campaign is getting some seriously hilarious spoof treatment and is racking up tons of views in the Huffington Post Contagious Viral contest.
- Here's what Aussies do to promote cricket in London.
- More Nike Joga Bonita football...uh...soccer fun.
For Match.com, Hanft Raboy has created a campaign that positions bachelorism as a disease with match.com as the cure. And, because so many men have some to Match.com for the cure, Match.com is promoting that fact to attract women to the dating site. It's an interesting twist on most dating site advertising which always targets the guy with images of hot women. This campaign is all dressed up like a medical campaign humorously urging women to check out the collection of men who have admitted to have bachelorism by explaining they are perfectly ready to lead a normal life as one half of a couple. You can check out the site here and three of the print ads here, here and here. (PDFs)
As part of its "My Circle" calling plan that allows anyone to add anyone from any cell service and call them for free, a new TV commercial collects the icons from Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile and Cingular and has a bit of fun with them at a bowling alley. It's one of the funnier ads we've seen in a while.
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