Seedy Chip Wants to Sell You an SUV.

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The car salesman-cum-lounge-singer is the personification of class.

Once you're all classed-out, logic follows that you'll compulsively go, "Shit, I'm getting an Audi Q5."

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by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Video



Sainsbury's: The Roots of Everything You Think is Trendy

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Sainsbury's takes responsibility for every awesome thing that's ever happened to us in its latest ad, "140," a tribute to how long it's been around.

An example of its modest achievements include:


  • Making good food affordable to all

  • Hiring women before the men were ready

  • Incorporating green thinking into packaging

  • Making reusable bags sexy


Among others.

Don't get us wrong, though. That piano melody and the overall Hovis-y vibe? Very charming. By Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

Sainsbury's '140 ad' by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Television



Nicole Kidman Plays the Schweppes Coquette

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Nicole Kidman revisits her Moulin Rouge days in a Schweppes ad where both innocence (personified by a smiling Indian girl) and sexuality (personified by a beguiled house-hubby) vie for her attention.

Ultimately, the fizzy water wins.

Whatever, man. The piece fell into our laps via @tamega, and marks an odd departure from Schweppes' previous focus points: sophisticated cowboys and gluttons for Commander Whitehead.

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by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Strange, Television



H&M's Matthew Williamson Whets Appetites for Change

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Diggin' this surreal and totally retro spot for Matthew Williamson's H&M line, which Jeremy Dante was kind enough to throw into our periphery.

It's mod, loungey and aesthetic. Focus on the clothes while your eyes feast on imagery that feeds off '80s decadence (the supermodel heyday), the nouvelle vague, The Shining (--unsettling triplets!), and possibly Puppet Master. (Seriously. That little puppet woman was creepy creepy.)

What's neat is that the ad traverses the tightrope of kitsch without falling over. There's this ridic Prince-meets-Thriller moment where Williamson rises out of the earth, like a self-righteous vampire king, and wins the fawning attention of all the defecting change-seeking femmes. (Compelling. Is it possible Williamson's a Russian military vet?)

The ambient music, We Need a Change, was composed exclusively for the spot by Malcolm Pardon and Fredrik Rinman with lyricist Johan Renck.

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Bouncy Balls, Ypulse Mashup, Top SocMedia Brands

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- Magnetic poetry a la Twitter.

- TV ads buoy Hulu.

- Mobile e-commerce barcode thing.

- Plugging value matters. Especially now.

- Thanks to a simple enough idea floated by this guy right here, El Pollo Loco decides to accept the KFC-Oprah coupon. (Okay, only on Mother's day. Still: coup, baby, COUP!)

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by Angela Natividad    May- 8-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Guerilla, Online, Social



'Til Our Biological Clocks Have Safely Ceased, We'll Stick to Our Own Country, Thanks.

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OLSON finally debuts some work since winning the Country Inns & Suites account in late 2008: "I love this Country," a tame, feebly funny campaign that'll appeal to wilting Lifetime TV lovers.

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by Angela Natividad    May- 7-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Television



Ben & Jerry's Sniffs Denmark for Fresh Taste Sensation. Comes Up Short.

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In the latest episode of "The Scoop," Ben & Jerry's sends its taste experts to Copenhagen to find a new ice cream flavour.

Watching two middle-aged men nibble salty licorice and marzipan-infused pastry isn't the funnest thing we've ever done. (Though the brief science lesson on Phish Food made a play at being instructive.) And possibly because the banquette was uninspired and the Danes apparently unoriginal (suggested new flavours of ice cream: "chocolate?" "vanilla?" "caramel...?"), Ben & Jerry's wrapped the video by asking viewers to Do the World a Flavour: turn in your own suggestions for new ice cream mashups at benjerry.com.

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by Angela Natividad    May- 7-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Promotions, Trends and Culture, Video



Heartbeat + Shaky Camera + Drug Addled Hipsters = NATO Huh?

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Yea. Give this a watch and let us know why the hell it looks like a bunch of kidnapped hipsters end up happily raving the thump of a DJ. Oh wait.

The tagline line informs, "Freedom to do what you want. We help that happen."

The other two videos are equally strange.

So yea, we get the campaign's message. And that was before we watched the Making Of video. But still.

by Steve Hall    May- 7-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials, Strange



Twitter Smacks Apple, Tacos for Stoners, MyKmart

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- Stoned? Jack's yer man.

- Sears and Kmart go "My" way.

- Palm Pre to associate heavily with Facebook.

- MTLB: righting fast food wrongs, one tweet at a time.

- All you need to know about Twitter. Minus this crap.

- No, Apple, Twitter is not for you. (There's a bird/worm/apple pun in this somewhere, but we can't seem to find it.)

- Deconstructing the psychological logic behind sex and controversy in advertising. Because you need someone to do that for you. < / s >

by Angela Natividad    May- 7-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Online, Opinion, Social, Television



Consol Energy Not Worried About Shortage of Oil

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Well, it certainly isn't green but hey, some companies just have to tell it like it is. One such company is Consol Energy. In two new commercials, the company points out the fact coal, versus oil, provides most of America's energy needs. And when oil dries up, we shouldn't worry because coal will be there to save the day.

The first commercial claims half of our energy and 70 percent of our electricity doesn't come from oil, rather coal and natural gas. The second commercial touches on America's reliance upon foreign oil but, again, claims there won't be a problem when oil runs out because Consol Energy will be there with truckloads of coal and pipelines full of natural gas.

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by Steve Hall    May- 7-09    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials