A High School Sports Series That Doesn't Involve Nike?

Now it's New Balance that's doing the web series thing with Season in the Balance. (I'm saying that a lot lately. Web series is the new last year's YouTube contest?) Anyway, nice series about a high school lacrosse team, (The Canandaigua Braves), that were given $60,000 worth of gear and then followed around and recorded. (See clip after the jump.) Production quality is as good if not better than the usual reality fare. Props to Momentum Worldwide and Tangerine Films. No cell phone quality footage of cafeteria fights. (Maybe on the DVD extras.) Think Friday Night Lights with lacrosse sticks.

more »

Vespa Does 'I Love You Man!' Cross-Promo Thing -- Poorly

In an ongoing misguided effort to make itself more appealing to a demo somewhat broader than Euro-philes and homosexuals, Vespa's inked a cross-promo partnership with Paramount to promote I Love You, Man, a comedy about two dudes that "test and stretch the boundaries of friendship in adventure after adventure."

Apparently a lot of those adventures involve a "fun and fuel efficient" Vespa LXV 150, which I guess is somewhat better than the bunk motorbike that served Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado so well in The Motorcycle Diaries.

Those inclined can enter a MySpace contest to win the Vespa used in the film. To get involved, you'll have to submit an example of how far you've gone for a friend. Deadline's tomorrow (although we PROMISE you the pressie was sent a mere TWO HOURS AGO) -- and the link, myspace.com/iloveyouman, doesn't seem to be working. This was the closest we could get.

The poster at left is available as a free download on Vespa's website.

Campbell's Soaps Up, Casino Stimulates, D&G Rebrands

- Mediaedge:cia brokered a deal that'll result in two Campbell's Soup executives appearing in All My Children tomorrow. They'll be playing themselves. (Photo cred: ABC.)

- Mohegan Sun -- you know, the casino -- debuted its Stimulus, Recovery and Rebound Package. Think gambler giveaways, deep discounts and a "Business Bail Out" program that includes free gaming lessons for corporate clients.

- LA-based David&Goliath has rebranded. Check out their new look.

MacGyver Meets MacGruber on Saturday Night Live For Pepsi

So these aren't Super Bowl ads but they are probably better than most of what we'll see during the game. I mean seriously, what's better than MacGyver stuck in a product placement scenario gone bad? Ok, a lot but still. These Saturday Night Live skits are funny and the do a great job illustrating the increasing insanity of product placement.

See the three skits here, here and here.

Schick Slips Lemondrop Ladies Branded Content

Schick Wilkinson-Sword teamed with AOL's Platform-A to launch branded content sponsorship on AOL's female lifestyle site, Lemondrop which boasts 16.4 million monthly unique visitors and 477 million monthly page views.

The campaign, called "Stocking Stuffers," will have Lemondrop editors create original content for the Schick's brand, with posts such as "Best & Worst Guy Gifts," "Dating Survival Tips During the Holidays," and "Genius Gifts from the Drugstore." The program launched on November 25 and will run through December 26, 2008.

So go have yourself some of that new fangled sponsored content

iJustine, Karen Get Lost in America With AT&T

Surprisingly, there hasn't been much press on AT&T's Lost in America, a Wal-Marting Across America-style (sorry, Justine) travel blog program fronted by Justine Ezarik, a.k.a iJustine and Karen Nguyen. For a few months now, the pair have been "lost" in America and exploring Alaska, Austin and Chicago.

more »

Wakamaru Robot to Shill Layered Tees at UNIQLO SoHo

You remember UNIQLO, the Japanese retailer whose quirky UNIQLOCK campaign won raves -- and shelf candy -- at One Show, the Clios and Cannes.

As of this week, UNIQLO's SoHo location will be home to a marketing gimmick that utterly outpaces UNIQLOCK in terms of ambition: Mitsubishi's Wakamaru robot. Originally built as a household helper, Wakamaru can look people in the eye and engage in basic communication. (Kinda reminds me of R2D2, except less willful and more coherent. See it meet and greet.)

In addition to wracking up the oohs and aahs, Tokyo Mango says Wakamaru will also help UNIQLO SoHo shoppers locate products around the store. No word on if Mitsubishi hopes to win business -- or at least interest -- through the collabo.

Sex and the City Film Top Product Placement Whore

Brandchannel's Brandcameo, which conducts product placement in film studies, found Ford appeared in 57.7% of number one films from 2007 to 2008. This year, Ford won its third brandcameo Award for Overall Product Placement for its consistent presence.

From the study, Brandchannel's panel selected the following winners in an online poll:

Most Mouthwatering, placement most likely to prompt an immediate purchase: Louis Vuitton in Sex and the City

Perfect Fit, best chemistry between a brand and a film: Manolo Blahnik and Sex and the City

more »

It's Hard to Swing Camp if You're Part of the Joke.

Hoping to tap into disdain for cheesy film cliches, Sprint chose Union Editorial to refine a set of movie trailer-style spots. The star? Sprint Instinct.*

In "Launch," a couple outruns cops in a high-impact car chase. Mr. Man looks stressed; meanwhile, Wifey buys a handbag on her phone and has it sent to their hideout -- leading the captors right to them.

In "Romance," one woman wants it all -- not from a man, but from her carrier -- as friends beg her to be more realistic.

Here's another dubbed "Horror," and one just for theaters ("Cinema"). We saw it before The Dark Knight and it totally chafed our pop sensibilities.

If you're feeling deja-vu (in addition to that mild burning sensation), it's for a reason. To promote its Scarlet TVs, LG did more with the same campy idea.

more »

Product Placement in Porn Advocated, Pennies Pitch

- The FWA has announced its 2008 Site of the Year judging panel. Some idiot named Steve Hall will be one of the judges.

- Chuck McCarthy has a few ideas for those of us in advertising. Not one to overlook a missed ad opportunity, Chuck thinks branded background images on those distorted login codes would be a great medium, Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back could be turned into Snackin' Back for a cracker brand and energy drink product placement in porn would be hot.

- A dude thinks the back of pennies are a great medium. He was right. After affixing his URL to the back of fifty pennies and distributing them around New York, business boomed.