Not quite like Axe helping a small male-heavy town attract women by spraying the town with deodorant, Microsoft has, apparently, completed an aerial software drop over the town of Willow Springs, IL to promote its new Office Accounting software. In perhaps an attempt grab share from Quickbooks, the small business software arrived from the sky on a CD attached to a miniature parachute which netted the usual "news footage" now "found" on YouTube. While one might assume there's laws against this sort of thing,
The aerial package also directs people to the IdeaWins site on which the software and a free download are promoted on the basis that everyone's got a big idea therefore they need accounting software to manage that big idea. Hmm. Well, that line of thinking might work for, say, software that actually aids the development of an idea rather than account for it but, then again, even accounting needs creative assistance at times.
Here's a no-frills campaign that packs a mean punch. This series of ads for APAV gave us vertigo, then chills. The ad copy reads "As you can't feel what they feel, see what they see." Equally stark commercials are also circulating.
The campaign is for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is November 25th. - Contributed by Angela Natividad
In the spirit of Halloween, Quebecois wine purveyor SAQ is conducting a rabais mystere (mystery reduction) promotion. We think the print ads are satisfyingly creepy considering other wine companies hedge their bets with shots of vineyards that go on forever and that's about all. See another version of the ad here. - Contributed by Angela Natividad
- Slim-Fast has hooked up with ABC's Dancing with the Stars for a promotion that will bring the show's stars and dancers from seasons 1-3 to 38 cities for a tour which will allow people to see the show in action and meet the stars.
- Advertising Age's Ken Wheaton has collected all the political ads floating around the web and put them in one place or easy viewing and dissection.
- Ralston360's Laura Wegner, in a podcast, interviews former Linden Labs (Second Life) Chief Evangelist and current Millions of Us Founder Reuben Steiger.
- The emission of carbon as it relates the production of paper used for newspapers, magazines and all the other forms of collateral is now becoming a hot topic and publishers such as Time Inc., Hearst and others are examining the effect the production of their products have on the environment as well as means to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
- Bishop's Finger gives women pleasure. Some not amused.
- Once things are in full swing with Draft/FCB and Wal-Mart, the already on-the-outs smiley face logo is likely to be retired for good.
- Paris Hilton's Carl's Jr. Bentley lather fest imagery is now being used to sell...dry cleaning services.
With the cell phone fast becoming the single most popular device for...well...everything, it only makes sense for "old" media such as magazines to capitalize. Conde Nast has teamed with mobile couponing company Cellfire to offer steeply discounted magazine subscriptions. Those who use the free Cellfire mobile application can subscribe to Wired, Glamour, Allure, Teen Vogue, Details and Vanity Fair.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has introduced an online flying game called Fly for Fortune in which players fly to catch certain objects and avoid others. Those who are successful, are eligible to win tickets to anywhere in the world. There's a great movie trailer-style video that promotes the game and features a Cars-style talking airplane. Hmm. Disney? Maybe KLM will license their lane boy to you for your next animated blockbuster.
Nodding to the adage that no advertising is bad advertising, the Dixie Chicks are riding a torrent of criticism to promote their documentary "Shut Up and Sing." The campaign includes a Technorati-fed Myspace page created by Deep Focus claiming to be "the largest discussion of free speech the web has ever seen," which is funny because the comments are screened.
Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer explains that all political views are represented on the site but "jibberish" or threats of violence get filtered out. That's logical. It's not like anybody is interested in hearing fringey deviant opinions anyway. - Contributed by Angela Natividad
- While some attribute recent visitor loss at MySpace and Facebook to seasonality, others, including members themselves, attribute it to the increased level of intrusive advertising on the sites. It's off to Second Life we go.Watch out residents.
- Cynopsis reports TBS and MySpace have partnered for an online comedy competition called The Stand Up or Sit Down Comedy Challenge which invites amateur comics to submit videoes. The winner will appear in a George Lopez-hosted special on TBS November 18.
- The girls over at street wear brand Married to the Mob don't like the apparent girlishness of the new man and are slapping "Men Are the New Women" stickers on the backs of unsuspecting guys.
- The Weinstein Company is placing a Truth ad is its DVD release, the first being Clerks II.
- Somehow this whacked YouTube video is supposed to promote The Filter, an iTunes add on which automatically creates playlists based on what you listen to.
- With the tagline, "A World Without Science is a World Without Discovery," InterSpectacular has created four new promotional commercials for Discovery's Science Channel.
- Datran Media and the Ad Council have launched a public service advertisement email campaign across the U.S. on behalf of the Environmental Defense's Fight Global Warming campaign.
- Blah, blah, blah....a Dove Beauty spoof.
Having already raised $61,931, a "hopeless romantic" has created a site called My Super Proposal where he is trying to raise enough money to buy a Super Bowl commercial in which he will propose marriage to his girlfriend. The URL of the site is, of course, registered anonymously so punditry on whether this is real or the machinations of some brand will have to wait. Acknowledging thaefact there are some pretty dedicated (weird?) people in this world along with mischievous marketers bent on doing the next coolest thing, it could go either way. We'll just have to wait and see.
National CineMedia, the company that annoys us with pre-movie theater ads, has launched Larger Than Life, a contest that invites ad creatives to submit a story board for one of their clients, get is shot by Ridley and Tony Scott's RSA and have it appear on screens across AMC, Cinemark and Regal Entertainment Group Theaters. A video featuring former Fallon Art Director Bob Barrie promotes the contest. In the video, Bob gets about as angry as most theater goers do when they have to sit through the National CineMedia proliferated pre-movie commercials.
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