Danica Prettifies Face of Motorola

Now that all the Danica hype has cooled, Motorola, fashionably late, slaps her on her very own MOTO DANICA billboard, which reminded us less of Motorola and more of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

If a Motorola-branded Danica Power Ranger did exist, we hope its (presumable) drag-racing powers would be slightly more dependable than Motorola's mobile phone prowess, because if not, that would be a major case of RAZR burn.

Old Spice Stakes Claim to Tony Stewart's Armpits

If we ever thought Old Spice was past its prime, we were horribly wrong. We should have guessed they had long-term comic genius when they enlisted Bruce Campbell to help them win youngbloods with winning condescension.

The grand old deodorant brand hits us again with a spot called Armpit for its Collector's Edition. Compiled by Wieden+Kennedy, it begins and ends with the maniacal laughter of the company's "marketing president," Alex Keith.

We don't want to blow the spot for you but this print ad sums up the humor and vibe.

Armpit marketing is actually a clever idea. And good inclusion of yellow flare and exclamation points! They give the whole concept just the right amount of trying-hard! pomposity.

We love Old Spice. If we were 100 percent male back here, we'd all be Axe wearers, but boy do we love Old Spice.

Baseball Priceless, Cannes Blinded, Happiness Revealed

- George Parker wonders what the hell sense an "official insurance company of Major League Baseball" makes. We tend to wonder as well.

- Blind dude goes to Cannes to promote Italian viral community.

- Brokaw mourns loss of unofficial agency mascot.

- Wieden+Kennedy/Amsterdam and Psyop give did a behind-the-scenes peek at the Silver Lion winning "Happiness Factory"'. Real Coca-Cola employees were interviewed and their responses used by the animated factory workers for this film, which is running in Atlanta's World of Coca-Cola.

VIA (The Small One) Rebrands As Plaid, Launches Brand Aid '07 Tour

Perhaps to avoid confusion with much larger shop, Portland-based Via, or simply to reflect the agency's model of bringing in outside talent, smaller, lesser-known VIA (Visual Intelligence Agency) from Connecticut is re-branding itself Plaid. In doing so, the agency is launching Brand Aid 2007, a three week summer road tour during which agency personal will hop in a van, travel across the country to visit clients, prospective clients and share the social media love with all while web 2.0ing the whole thing with videos posted on YouTube and other content published on social media style sites such as Twitter. Twitter Tripping. That's a new one.

Rather than going it alone and funding it on it's own - though the agency promise it will take the trip regardless of funding, Plaid is looking for sponsors who, they promise, will reap the benefits of publicity that is sure, they claim, to shower this tour. While we're not so sure about that, we can't fault an agency for going about promotion a bit differently with at least the intent towards using emerging media to do so.

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MySpace Shimmies In and Out of Fancy Film Costume

MySpace has become a total box office mouthpiece. When it's not all Silver Surfered-out, it's a poker table for Ocean's Thirteen (at left).

Littlejohn at Advertising for Peanuts wonders whether users will get turned off by the social networking darling's shameless ad-whoring (kind of like friend-whoring?) but we doubt it. If there was going to be a meaningful reaction to MySpace's games of homepage dress-up, it would've happened already. At this point we're all just watching the show go by.

Anyway, there are worse things in this life than a homepage swathed in George and Brad.

Death Row Meal Whets Appetite for Pizza - Order Now!

For this edition of Contextual Advertising Screw-Ups, a festive Pizza Hut ad appears atop a CNN story about a death row inmate who, for his last meal on earth, ordered pizza for a transient.

And while that was fuzzy-sweet of him, we weren't quite raring to order pizza online immediately thereafter.

(Note to Pizza Hut: add the word "killer" to campaign negative keywords.)

We do love a good contextual advertising screw-up. And because we're feeling nostalgic, let's tilt our heads and recall the time Expedia sent 35,000 troops to Iraq, or the time Microsoft sponsored the Wii contest water death, or the time a turpentine ad added texture to the tale of the pregnant girl who drank it to off herself.

Fox Wakes Us Up with Angry German Kid

We don't know whether or not it's important to be the first brand to appear on a nanosite dependent entirely on video players, but after clicking on the link (resting at the deceptively named Bore Me) we know we are not going back to sleep.

Dude. That kid is pissed off. Then again, you could be singing in German (which at some point he does) and still sound like you're about to rend somebody's limbs off with your teeth.

Backstory: 20th Century Fox is the first brand to appear on the video player-hosting nanosite Bore Me. They'll be pushing interactive for 28 Weeks Later, a film that's supposed to be scary but probably won't be as addling as the screaming German spawn.

Lexus Sponsors Digital Green Edition of 'The Week'

The New York Times' Stuart Elliott reports The Week will publish an issue that focuses on environmental issues and in true tree hugger fashion, the issue will only be published online. On April 20, the issue will be available to all, not just subscribers to the magazine. Lexus is sponsoring it and will use the site to promote its hybrid vehicles.

In true fashion, Stuart goes on endlessly so if you're interested in how this will affect the magazine's readership, what other print publications have taken to online either by choice or out of sheer economics, how Lexus is challenging other media to change their game, the pop up stores Lexus created last fall in tandem with Conde Nast and Hearst, the previous promotion The Week did with Philips and this gem: "Single sponsorships, in print and on TV, are becoming popular among marketers as they seek to stand out from the commercial clutter," be sure to read the article in its entirety.

Paul McCartney is Really Into Starbucks

In a surprise move, Paul McCartney unveils his status as premier artist on Starbucks' label Hear Music with the release of his current album under the Starbucks banner. This move marks his surprising departure from Capitol Records after 43 years.

We've been huge Starbucks fans since the early 90's. With the prominent inclusion of a Beatle on their roster, our Starbucks visits will take on the sensory experience of a menage a trois. We have chills just thinking about it.

Howard Schultz feels similar if Advertising Age is any indication. "How could a coffee company sign a Beatle?" he allegedly asked in awe. Frothy as usual, McCartney appeared before the Starbucks corporate team and wished love and kisses to everyone present, then cheerfully admonished that they all get to work: "I look forward to with all of you guys and reaching people around the world in a new way, and let's get on with it, man!"

Obsessed with Golf? Now There's Help

To fully leverage its sponsorship for the PGA tourney in Orlando, MasterCard launches Priceless, an interactive site that positions itself as a telecenter support group for the one-iron-obsessed. Magical voice response technology even syncs what consumers hear on the phone to what they see on their screens.

Based on a set of quiz questions, golf lovers can log into the site and find out how golf-obsessed they are. A major incentive to answering these questions is that afterward you get the option of registering for text messages from LPGA golfer Laura Diaz or cheats from Spaulding Smalls.

We're going to take a shot in the dark and suggest if you actually explore the site for more than a couple of minutes you are probably pretty obsessed as things stand. Like golf itself, unless you actively decide to get involved in it the site ain't terribly interesting.