Palmolive Pushes Sudsy Soap on Dish with Doris

palmolive_doris.jpg

Like shame, camp is one of those marketing tactics that never dies. Dish with Doris, an interactive microsite promotion for Palmolive's Scrub Buster, pushes the latter to its limits.

Appliances in Doris' kitchen afford users multiple opportunities to play with the little old woman. Lest you search in vain for yet another film-making opportunity, hit the fridge.

by Angela Natividad    May- 4-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Online



Mr. T Tells Wimp to 'Get Some Nuts'

sickers_mrt.jpg

Does Mr. T ever age? Every time we see him, he looks that same as he did back in like the 1920's (or however long ago it was) when he did that A-Team thing. Now he's driving a tank to deliver a Snickers bar to some whiny-ass soccer player who's faking an injury. Rather than let the wimp continue feigning injury, Mr. T delivers his famed 70's-style "I'm gonna get you sucka" machisimo yelling, "If I ever catch you acting like a crazy fool again, yo're gonna meet my friend, pain," while throwing a Snickers bar at the shocked pretender.

by Steve Hall    Apr-30-07    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Commercials, Good



Nike Bitchslaps Imus with Big Fat 'Thank You'

nike_imus.jpg

Ad-love is fickle. Shortly after dropping the slanderous Imus, advertisers decide they want him back.

That is, with the exception of Nike, which happens to be a major sponsor of the Rutgers' men and women's basketball teams. Duncans has an exclusive interview with the talking heads that matter, but essentially what happened is Nike released a print ad thanking Imus for reminding us we've still go a long way to go before ignorance is dead.

Typically the tastemakers for victory, postivisim, etc., Nike demonstrates they do even righteous rage better than most. Nice.

Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, put this bad-boy together.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-22-07    
Topic: Best, Brands, Celebrity, Magazine, Social



William Shatner Gets a Falcon. It Suits Him

shatner_falcon.bmp

Priceline takes William Shatner, who's pompous by default, and makes him pompouser still with the use of a falcon and an eyepatch and ads that seem to drag on and on and on.

Check it all out at Falcon of Truth. You need a code to get in but we can assure you of either one of these two soothing facts:

* You're not missing out on much, as it contains the usual peppy text, promotional images and downloads

* You'll probably get some sort of invitation to see it eventually

We will leak one thing, though. Be among the first 100 to e-mail Priceline with your name, address and size and you could get a Falcon of Truth shirt. No, we're not kidding. Scramble for your Outlook right now.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-19-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Good, Online, Promotions



What Nappy Headed Ho? Advertisers Want Imus Back

DonImus-726652.jpg

How soon we forget...but just one week? Yup. Advertiser are already talking about hooking up with Imus just a week after he was fired from CBS for his "nappy headed ho" remark. GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said, "We obviously don't condone his statements, but we have found value advertising on Imus in the past. Up to this point, the good has outweighed the bad. If an opportunity is presented to us, we would assess it just like we do all the other opportunities that come our way." Ah yes, corporate drooling for eyeballs continues to outweigh taking a stand on an issue. It's just too alluring to ignore the wallets of those who might still listen to Imus if and when he ever were to reappear.

more »

by Steve Hall    Apr-18-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Radio, Trends and Culture



Hoyt Says Don't Gamble to Promote Gambling

hoyt_monroe.JPG

Wow, people are getting way into this reverse psychology thing. We have faith that the method is likely to work for gamblers if it works for anybody, considering they have lots of practice playing the contrarian with irate bill-paying spouses.

Former gambler Hoyt Monroe gets tapped by Pala Casino, Spa and Resort in Southern California to serve as manchild - er, poster boy for a counterintuitive series of casino ads.

The campaign site is called How Not to Win and when you click on casino games you get an earful of Hoyt suggesting what you should do instead, like hitting the supper table instead of the blackjack table, woo-hoo!, that kind of stuff.

If for some reason you're inclined, catch more Hoyt on Youtube. M&C Saatchi, Los Angeles are guilty for this one.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-18-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Online



Vera Wang Inaugurated HP First Lady

verawang_hp.JPG

...for their The Computer is Personal Again campaign, anyway. The charming series that did right by Shaun White, Jay-Z, Pharrell and Paulo Coehlo finally got around to covering a woman.

But not just any woman - the Empress of Style! Guess Her Excellency grew out of that princess thing.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-17-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Television



Gay Stars Help Support Gay Stars with New PSA

elite_out.jpg

Ogilvy art director Dustin Duke pairs up with the team at Mr. Wonderful to put together some PSAs for Out in TV and Film (OTF), an organization whose URL is as unwieldy as feelings about coming out of the closet.

The object is to get gay and lesbian members of the entertainment industry to go public about their sexual preferences, providing a buffer of support that strengthens as others step out too.

The spots will air at the Queer Media & Entertainment Conference and on the OTF website, in addition to the LOGO and here! Networks. Check out the first two, featuring actress and comedian Judy Gold and veejay Kim Stolz of mtvU. They're candid and occasionally funny, so here's to hoping they do the job.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Apr-16-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Commercials, Good



NASCAR Has Something to Prove, Uses Tees to Get Mean

nascar_talkin2tee.jpg

Debates over the legitimacy of racecar-driving as a "real" sport aside, there's one sport we never get tired of playing: mouthing off, a pastime NASCAR leverages in the ads for its Busch Series races.

To add texture to this most stimulating of face-offs, the ad-splattered organization features talking heads on ad tees. Iron-on drivers trash each other, make fun of their over-the-hill future selves and call out sluggish competitors.

Credited to BooneOakley, the campaign will run on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, FOX and SPEED, as well as during the Nextel Cup races. Prints and Internet banners will also be floating around in NASCAR-oriented publications and sites.

The ads are compelling enough to inspire us to buy a NASCAR shirt, though we'd be bummed if we stood around waiting for them to talk and they just ... didn't.

For the buzzkills who respond to trash-talk with "WTF, mate? Got something to prove?!", NASCAR prepares the perfect slogan: Hell yeah, fucktard! "We've got something to prove." We added the first part, but we know that's what they meant.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-11-07    
Topic: Campaigns, Celebrity, Good, Promotions



Gatorade Gets Into Sidney Crosby, Lets Us Come Too

sidney_crosby_2.jpg

Gatorade presents us with the What's Inside campaign starring the NHL's Sidney Crosby. The Canada-based run includes video game stylistics and surreal Hollywood visual effects. The object is to go on pushing their longtime "Is it in you?" position which always brought Alien, and not sports drinks, to mind.

We're a little surprised by what the inside of somebody's mind actually looks like. Under the impression it would be murky and labyrinthine, Crosby's head is a lot more like, well, a spaceship.

With decision-making opportunities and the occasional dreamy childhood flashback, the site is trippy and occasionally eerie, but then again we're easily shaken after a Goatse attack. We only wish we had a bit more back-end control over the hockey star, who makes for rather nice eye candy. Credit goes out to Canada's Tribal DDB.

by Angela Natividad    Apr-10-07    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Online, Strange