'Maxim' Goes Green With Irish 'Maxim'

Even as it searches for a buyer, men's magazine Maxim is still having fun. For one of its advertisers, Irish Spring, it's created a special, six-page mini-magazine insert that is appearing in the March issue. With a freckled, red-headed, girl-next-door gracing the cover of the insert, Irish Spring will promote a multi-city tour, custom published editorial and the Zagat's Guide to America's top pubs.

Jeb the Bug Makes Debut at Toronto Zoo

To promote its second annual Bugzhibitz show, an exotic bug event that runs March 9th-18th, the Toronto Zoo puts Jeb, a Hissing Cockroach from Madagascar, in the spotlight to do the talking.

Bugs Rock highlights Jeb's adventures from the Wild Wild ... wild, to ascendance as a star (complete with a music video) at the zoo.

With all these brand personas floating around we'd really like to see an icon face-off. Nothing against the hissing cockroach, but we wonder how long he could hang with the Geico Gecko.

Microsoft Wakes Slumbering New Yorkers, Residents Lash Out

Feel like showcasing your marketing savvy with a public guerilla campaign? Post-Boston, be careful - The People are sensitive of late.

At least that's what Microsoft's discovering with its recent ground-floor attempt to push the Zune.

A blast of music from the tricked-out Zune-mobile sparked sleep-deprived residents in Lower East Side Manhattan, not to drop their iPods, but to seek restitution on a scathing site called Wake Up Microsoft.

To start with, they sarcastically thank the big blue company for their "noise terrorism." Noise terrorism? Is that anything like Lite-Brite terrorism? While Microsoft deserves a wrist-slap for thinking they could start a spontaneous block party, this certainly isn't the only shockwave of moody distaste they've inadvertently triggered lately.

Update: Cliczune's post on the Zune SUV includes the comment of at least one user who wouldn't mind being jarred out of sleep at 3 AM by the system's impressive clarity.

Stride Takes On Globetrotting Gamer with Dancing Streak

We've all dreamed of being scouted by someone who happens to notice the pure geniosity of our existence. Most grow up to chock this dear wish off to fancy, but the fantasy actually became reality for Matt Harding.

It's a weird story. The 30-something gamer travels the world with a few buddies and does a goofy dance on tape at every stop they make. Probably because of people sitting at desks all day, the video goes viral. Then it's picked up by Stride Gum, who likes Matt's dance so much they're sending him around the world again.

We dig Matt but don't know how the jig will help hock gum. Will he be chewing and dancing at the same time? We see some liability issues there - some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time. The risk of injury is in fact so vast that chewing gum was banned in Singapore.

Pizza Hut Wants New Vice President

Pizza Hut has launched a search or a new VP. OK, not really. It's just a marketing stunt to find an Honorary VP of Pizza through a YouTube video promotion in which entrants submit video please as to why they should get the gig. The winner gets $25,000 and free pizza for a year. Hardly proper compensation or a VP level position. Especially from a company that can afford to put Jessica Simpson on th Super Bowl. Anyway, the YouTube submission area is here.

There's only five submissions so far. Aside from one moderately funny joke, there's not much competition if you want to jump in.

Punk Marketing Returns with Bathing Cleo

Those Punk Marketing guys really know how to capture attention. In a surprise hijack of our ADHD-afflicted mental states, a bathing Cleo appears for the sultry third installment of the book's twisted "storytime with a stripper" effort. And while arguably more chaste, we like it way better than PETA's striptease state of the union.

"Business people must rise up and take back subtlety," Cleo purrs as she toys with a bar of soap. Interesting point. And we're appalled that we sat through all 4.5 minutes of it. If this is indeed the best way to capture an antsy websurfer's attention, how best to capture a reader's? Does the book come with illustrations?

Catch the first and second vids here.

Kraft Encourages Naughty Microwave Habits with Site for Co-Eds

Aware of the average college student's ongoing state of starvation, Kraft puts together University of St. Arvin, where users can auto-generate depressed letters to parents and otherwise scam their way into some Easy Mac.

Our memories of dorm room subsistence are vivid and not very pleasant. We haven't touched Easy Mac since. But even if processed insta-food is behind us, microwaving stuff that shouldn't be microwaved is not.

We're glad we've been given the opportunity to experience this small pleasure from the safety of our own monitors. What can't a computer do for you today?

Descente Really Cuts to the Chase

Protect Your Penis, shout an otherwise boring-looking set of banner ads.

How do you not click? The following page hit us with massive text reading, "I'm not a real doctor, but I still care about your genitals." The message is flanked by a studious guy in a deceptively doctorish coat, smirking at us.

An elderly stranger expressing interest in our genitals is generally cause for alarm (we are modest, after all) but somehow these ads for Descente bicycle shorts just rub us the right way.

Like Mike at BRILF, we think Descente should take the campaign to the big leagues: virals, podcasts, medical information, what-have-you. If much ado can be made about male cramps, then by gad this too can join the ranks of the mushrooming pseudo-pharma community of advertising! Factory Design Labs is the proud penis presenter of this campaign.

23 Digs Deep in Audience Psyche, Uses Friends to Freak Out Friends

The Number 23, a New Line Cinemas movie having to do with obsession and paranoia, spreads the disease with this interesting would-be viral.

How it works: fill out information about a friend, then enter his e-mail. Friend receives relatively innocuous e-mail asking him to play a game. He's asked for his birthdate and favourite number.

The information you entered about him is then revealed to him in a creepy and intimate manner, along with applicable tie-ins to the number 23.

We dig the idea but considering the Adrants-specific demo was probably made for Adrants Steve and not Adrants Angela, we were more bewildered than scared.

We have no wife to kiss. Unless the game predicts the future, in which case we're super weirded out. We didn't think we swung that way.

Tila Tequila Hopes 1.7 Million MySpace Friends Can Launch Single

MySpace phenomenon Tila Tequila is about to find out whether or not having 1.7 million friends is as powerful as having a multi-million dollar marketing budget. Rather than sign with a label, Tequila, who's single I Love U was produced by Lil Jon, will be released on iTunes tomorrow.

Oh wow. Just listened. She might be hot but that song sucks. Trying WAY too hard.