Welch's Defends the Honor of its Juice

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"Purple is the new black," proclaims a PR guy in an emailed preamble about his love of grape juice, which has been "much maligned as a sugary kids' drink that can't be natural (what could possibly be that purple, right?)."

In that manic light, Welch's, whose purple is 100% au naturelle, enlisted "food scientist" Alton Brown of the Food Network's Good Eats program.

Behold as he vindicates Welch's time-tested, suspiciously picturesque juice production practices. ("At Welch's, squeezing CON-cord grapes into natch'rel juice releases TONS of anti-awx-idants called ... po-lee-fee-nols.") He even takes time out of his day to teach us the Latin name for the Concord grape. (Veetis Labrewsca, baby.)

Boy does that ad work up a thirst. As well as a curious craving for Eucharist bread. "Uh-maaaay-zing little fruit." Thanks for your endorsement, Alton Brown!

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



Madonna Spreads Wide for Marc Jacobs and LV

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Jeremy Dante -- a human repository of unbearably fashionable things -- sent us more imagery from the ongoing Madonna for Marc Jacobs/Louis Vuitton campaign.

These shots are decidedly more burlesque and pushy than the last ones, which pushed the aesthetic envelope but still maintained a semblance of cool grace and timeless decadence, yada-yada.

Hear me out. Madonna rocks hard and all, but she's past the point where we're willing to see her deep-throat lollies or -- heaven forbid! -- give us a youthfully woozy crotch shot in her Diamond Dog undyroos.

Diggin' this naughty spread of her draped over the chairs, though. It's so Virgin meets the New Wave.

by Angela Natividad    Jan- 7-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Magazine, Poster



Breakfast Cereal Club, Sam L. J. Pushes Broadband, Cuts at Ogilvy

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- Jack Morton Worldwide, Almighty, Weber Shandwick and Google join Citizen Schools to help kids succeed.

- Which Dog are You?

- "They only met once, but they stayed crunchy forever."

- Sam L. Jackson fronts for Virgin Media Broadband.

- "Fast casual" wha...? McD's training film.

- UK's Benylin is in the dog house for using ads to teach people how to call in sick.

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Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson Assault Website

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Page takeovers work well if done properly, like this recent one for Ford. If, on the other hand, all they do is obnoxiously plaster a website with an endless array of banners - even if they are gorgeous images of Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson - the only thing they accomplish is to make one wonder if a million pop ups just opened in their browser.

by Steve Hall    Jan- 6-09    
Topic: Bad, Celebrity, Online



Organ Donors, Faux Sci-Fi Ads, Israel Tweets, NYT Sells Out to Cash In

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- The New York Times is pushing front page display ads. It's hard times, yo; deal with it.

- Shoot creative briefs and account execs. As in, whoosh-whoosh, bang-bang.

- TBWA dubbed AdWeek's top agency of '08.

- Top 25 fictional sci-fi movie ads. Slurp.

- BREAKING NEWS - Steve Jobs is sick.

- Facebook peaks on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas, Mark Zuckerberg!

- Israel tweets.

- Planning for your demise? Give your organs to the girl, not the tin jar.

by Angela Natividad    Jan- 5-09    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns, Cause, Celebrity, Online



John Lennon Repurposed As Third World Laptop Salesman

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On Christmas day, One Laptop Per Child brought back the voice (if not the body) of Yoko Ono's beloved John Lennon.

OLPC's mission is to bring cheap, sturdy laptops to the world's poorest children. So paint your sympathetic face on as a freshly conviction-laden (if nasal) Lennon compares giving a child a laptop to the vision he shared through his music. At the end, the Walrus himself appears, piped in from the great beyond through a kid computer with Shrek ears.

Negroponte ought to learn from his profitable peers. Resuscitating a dead guy -- particularly one whose yearning for peace has been used to sell everything from diapers to ice cream -- never works in your favor, no matter how noble the intentions. In fact, it's about as disturbing as watching a demented technophile play puppeteer with a decomposing marionette.

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Lincoln Gets Touchy with Regis and Kelly

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In yet another TD Bank ad featuring Regis and Kelly, Abraham Lincoln shares his (angsty, angsty!) feelings about being the face of the mostly-worthless penny.

Kelly -- who lacks the social delicacies to perceive this might be a dangerous topic -- seizes this opportunity to tell the audience that TD Bank loves pennies so much, "they'll count them and convert them to dollars for free."

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by Angela Natividad    Dec-22-08    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Commercials, Strange, Television



DZ Nuts Turned David Zabriskie's Tights into Freedomware.

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Cyclists have it hard down under. All those hours pushing pedals literally chafes balls, which is funny from a distance but sobering enough that the condition requires an anti-irritant, aptly called "chamois cream."

To contribute to the well-being of fellow bikers, pro cyclist David Zabriskie developed a cream called DZ Nuts -- pronounced "deez nuts," a colloquial expression defined as "The large, sweaty, hairy dangling spheres of man-hood containing future illegitimate seeds that swing violently in the wind when slapped."

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EA, Nintendo Take Flack For Xbox 360 Footage in Tiger Woods Wii Ad

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When is a Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Wii commercial not a Wii commercial? When it features the golfer swinging the Wii controller in front of a background from the Xbox 360 version of the game. At least that's what viewers in England thought after watching the ad.

While the ad did contain the disclaimer, "Available on all formats," people still felt misled and logged complaints with The Advertising Standards Authority which ruled the ad misleading and in breach of advertising standards. In a statement, the ASA wrote, "The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form."

EA admitted the ad did contain xBox 360 footage but said the disclaimer was intended to avoid confusion.

by Steve Hall    Dec-17-08    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Commercials, Policy



Shaun White and Target Join Forces for Snowboarding Game

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"First time playin'? First time...?" and "Oh, avalanches, yeah!" are the only two lines Shaun White has in this objectively weak ad for Target's Limited Edition Shaun White Snowboarding game.

If Ozzy Osbourne is ad land's favourite over-the-hill bad boy, Shaun White is its slacker of choice. Prior to this spot, the snowboarding pro starred in a couple of pointless HP ads that, like classic teen movies, are intended solely to make middle-aged men miss college.

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by Angela Natividad    Dec-16-08    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Commercials, Promotions, Television