Forget Dating Sites, the Mail Order Bride is Back in Vogue

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The college-bound doll at left is going for a steal at $19,995 on Marry Our Daughter, where families can safely sell stone-footed girls for a price soothing enough to eradicate in-law strife.

Harking back to arranged marriage in the Biblical sense, the site's a publicity stunt orchestrated by women who actually were sold into marriage. They hope to shed light on the mail order bride industry at large, and on loopholes across the nation that enable minors to marry, says Newsweek.

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by Angela Natividad    Sep-26-07    
Topic: Cause, Online, Spoofs, Strange, Viral



Oregon Human Society Threatens to Kill Us with Cuteness

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Leopold Ketel & Partners have created a campaign for the Oregon Humane Society to encourage the last 1/3 of the petless Oregonian populace to adopt. Campaign imagery reads, "End Petlessness: a pet for every man, woman and child." More prints here and here.

And if you have :30 seconds to burn on something that will make you go "awww" for as long as you can exhale and make noise at the same time, watch the TV spot, which looks like it would be more comfortable on CuteOverload.com than on gritty public TV.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-25-07    
Topic: Cause, Magazine, Poster, Television



Friday Foolery: Vaginads, Boobs, Google, Keira Knightley, Agency.com

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- Tom Ford and Vulva fixate on a particular female body part and introduce a new advertising trend: Vaginads.

- Not that you frequent a laundromat all that often but if you do, you just might be assaulted by washing machines bearing gigantic advertising posters.

- We stir debate as to whether or not Mazda, which does still make cars, can still create good commercials.

- What's a week without an appearance by our favorite hottie, Obama Girl? This time she's hooked up with Giuliani Girl to support the troops on behalf of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association.

- Look! Look! Look! Now you can blow an ad banner and make a website freeze!

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by Steve Hall    Sep-21-07    
Topic: Cause, Celebrity, Poster, Racy, Social, Video



Yawn. Another Starlet Gets Nude For PETA

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PETA's digging deep now. Hitless for at least ten years, Alicia Silverstone (whom we still adore) has been tapped by PETA for their latest "let's get a celebrity nude" campaign. It's all to promote PETA's vegetarian stance and to share with us how much Silverstone's life has changed for the better by becoming a vegetarian. Watch as Silverstone get naked but not really. They always block the crucial parts. Anyway, see the video here.

by Steve Hall    Sep-19-07    
Topic: Cause, Celebrity, Video



Gisele Returns to Roots with Ipanema Sandal Campaign

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Adfreak has drawn our eyes to a new line of sandals called Ipanema, designed by Gisele Bundchen, whose modeling career has lasted longer than a lot of her counterparts' lifespans.

The Ipanema line is part of an effort to help save the rain forest in South America, the continent Gisele calls home. We like the throwback flavor of the television ad, which plays up the history of the Brazilian natives with less focus on Gisele's own attention-drawing features.

Not to say those assets don't factor into the print variant of the campaign.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-19-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Good, Promotions



Obama Girl, Giuliani Girls, Leah Kaufman Pay Respects to U.S. Troops

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Barely Political, the organization that created the Obama Girl and Giuliani Girls videos have gone in a different direction with their latest release, I Like A Boy. Rather than focus on a presidential candidate, the video, which stars Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger, Giuliani Girl Rebeca Dipietro and rapper Mims, salutes U.S. troops.

Partnering with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, the video features U.S. soldiers, their wives, girlfriends, friends and family singing along to the Leah Kaufman-penned and performed song, "I Like A Boy." Creator Ben Relles tells us, "It's sort of a a rockin' non-partisan salute to the US Troops - men and women - serving our county." Proceeds from the sale of the song, available on iTunes, will go to the Iraq Afghanistan Veterans Association.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-18-07    
Topic: Cause, Good, Video



London Fire Brigade Enlists Rappers to Spread Safety Message

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Remember how in the late '80s or early '90s you had all those educational shows for kids where a rapper would come up and make a flow out of recycling or reading a book?

Imagine that, and plug in the London Fire Brigade. To get people to take advantage of its free smoke alarm service, it's put together a full-length track called "Got Mine Got Yours." It also (aptly) puts your local fireman on the same glamorous level as the local park gangster.

Cute.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-18-07    
Topic: Cause, Good



National Pork Board: 'McRib ... I am Your Father'

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The cats over at the US Food Policy blog have shot us some compelling information about the McRib.

To start with, they introduced us to the McRib's ingredients, which are fairly unsavory (blame the bun and the sauce). Then, they dropped the microsite on our heads.

We really hate seeing chicks that appear to be affiliated with a subculture (pop rock much?) introduce a product, then stand around pouting while waiting for us to make a move with our mouse. It is indescribably tacky.

But that's a digression. The real reason why US Food Policy sent us over to McRibland was because the National Pork Board, backed by the federal government, claims to have created the McRib (per its '06 annual report).

Anybody who's seen Thank You for Smoking may not find this odd. We certainly don't. And we continue to maintain that parents need to educate their children about the dangers awaiting them in this big deceptive world - including tricky marketing. At the very least, it would be nice to think that the government doesn't collude in our market intrigues.

Maybe that's wishful thinking. So while we're on this moving train, way to take one for Team Obesity, guys.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-18-07    
Topic: Cause, Trends and Culture, Worst



ACS Turns Everyday Struggle into Public Plea for Aid

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This ad is for the American Cancer Society. It tells the story of Kathy, a woman who's come across some hard knocks, not least because she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Yup.

The voice over adds, "This is what a health care crisis looks like to the American Cancer Society. People with cancer, but without insurance. Countless others with insurance, just not enough to cover something as devastating as cancer."

Sounds like an economics problem that, well, isn't uncommon. Good to know the ACS is looking out.

Yup.

by Angela Natividad    Sep-17-07    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Television



Even More Britney, Datran Remembers 9/11

- If you haven't had your fill of Britney yet this week, tonight VH1 is airing All Access: Britney's Most Shocking Year Ever which promises to rehash all the poor girl's dirty laundry from the divorce to the head shaving to her pantyless partying to her feud with mom and much more. We can hardly wait.

- Today, Datran is donating a portion of every transaction to Tuesday's Child, an organization that offers support to the families affected by September 11.

- The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore has been nominated for this year's final competition of the MIPCOM Mobile and Internet TV Awards- Best Short Form Entertainment, Drama category, taking place in Cannes, France.

by Steve Hall    Sep-11-07    
Topic: Cable, Cause, Celebrity