K Fed Upsets Restaurant Workers

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For its Life Comes at You Fast campaign, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. makes K-Fed its new Super Bowl poster boy, succeeding Fabio in a popular ad that ran last year.

The idea is to have Federline living out a menagerie of rap cliches before he's snapped back into reality - that being his life at a fast food restaurant with his screaming boss.

The National Restaurant Association complains that the ad denigrates restaurant workers. They'd like Nationwide to do away with the K-Fed cliche, but they ain't budging, explaining the ad is about surprise, not the unpleasant conditions of fast food work. In our opinion they ought to be thanking the company as K-Fed's lackluster album is one of those oeuvres that actually might make a disgruntled restaurant worker feel better about being a restaurant worker.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-23-07    
Topic: Celebrity, Commercials, Super Bowl 2007



Boring B-Roll Builds Adumbration For Budweiser Super Bowls Ad

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OK. Now we know why a good commercial needs a talented agency and a capable production house. Otherwise, we'd end up with boring outtakes like this making their way to the screen instead of the finished product. As if to drum up some excitement for one of its upcoming Super Bowl spots, Budweiser has released b-roll footage of a spot that will feature Dale Earnhardt Jr. in what looks like a nod Mel Gibson's Road Warrior. You can view the footage here but you won't be missing anything if you wait until game day to see the final product.

by Steve Hall    Jan-22-07    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Super Bowl 2007



CBS Says GoDaddy Can't 'Do' It's Mother

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Now this is odd. A GoDaddy spot without Candice Michelle or Danica Patrick or fake big breasts has been "banned" by CBS as a possible Super Bowl commercial for the master of domains. The spot, called I Own You, has two guys in office cubicles with one demonstrating the ease of GoDaddy domain registration by taking all the domains his cube mate might want. Things get humorous when the subject turns to the second guys mother. Don't miss the witty (more witty with another "s") last name of the second guy too. We like the effort but can understand why a network might have a problem with his.

According to GoDaddy, which will buy three spots in the game, one will feature either or both Candice Michelle and new GoDaddy girl Danica Patrick. As long as the network approves it that is. We're thinking the non-Candice/Danica spots might actually turn out to be the better ones.

by Steve Hall    Jan-19-07    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Super Bowl 2007, Television



Super Bowl Sales Slow, Super Bowl History Collected

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- CBS still has 25 percent of its Super Bolw inventory to sell. Hmm. Couuld that be that they just can't stop increasing the amount of inventory they'd like to sell?

- Dropping facts such as 11 hours, 221 advertisers, 1,400 spots and $1.72 billion spent, eMarketer has organized some hard facts and figures about the past 20 years of Super Bowl advertising.

- AdFreak highlights the very intriguing waterfall technology Jeep uses for its booths when it travels to automotive trade shows. Cool stuff.

by Steve Hall    Jan-19-07    
Topic: Super Bowl 2007, Television



Make the Logo Bigger Promises Super Bowl Showstopper

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Bill Green at Make the Logo Bigger is pitching would be advertisers who are understandably gunshy about the $2.6 million price tag on Super Bowl spots this year.

For zip-zero - yes, nothing - he'll throw together an ad idea that will make it through the censors and live longer in memory than the Burt Reynolds bear ad. Really.

So get ahold of him. You can e-mail Bill here.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-17-07    
Topic: Good, Online, Super Bowl 2007, Television



CMO's Shy Away from $2 Million Super Bowl Spots

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It may have been a smarter move than we thought for the pigskin free-for-all to lean on audience marketing muscle because apparently only 13 advertisers will admit to having purchased a seat in the ad line-up this year. Those most vocal in pre-game marketing include Anheuser-Busch, the NFL and Dorito's.

Advertising Age notes usual suspects like Snickers, CareerBuilder and Taco Bell are keeping mum, and not one ravenous big pharma name, movie studio or telecom brand has admitted to getting on board.

Increased pressure on CMO's, nervousness over one-click critics, and higher figures (upwards of $2-2.6 mill) for ad units are allegedly to blame, but we're looking on the bright side: possibly more attention paid to the actual game and more exciting marketing campaigns executed through a calendar year, as they should be, instead of advertisers traditionally slacking 11 months then blowing their load on game day. Because come on. Did it ever make sense to have people talk about your wicked ad campaign for a day versus all fucking year?

Geico, with their well-timed execution and clever ads, are great at generating attention season after season. And in case you were wondering, word on the street is the gecko's not batting an eye in the direction of the Super Bowl.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-15-07    
Topic: Super Bowl 2007, Television, Trends and Culture



NFL Fan Contest Won By Ad Guy

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Of the 1,700 body paint-stained videos dropped off at the NFL's doorstep, Gino Bona's idea was chosen for the coveted 30-sec spot on Feb 4's Super Bowl. The Bills fan claims he tapped into his own "pathetic emotions" to illustrate how bummed fans get when football season ends.

Bona's also the biz-dev director for up-and-coming marketing firm Garrand. (To be fair, this is his first attempt at a TV spot.) And an Adrants insider would bet his life or at least $5 that his agency troop helped at least a little for the consumer-generated ad contest.

Commercial Director Joe Pytka will assist in turning the tear-strewn "fan" idea into a bonafide ad. Pytka's done a slew of Super Bowl slots in the past so from beginning to polished end the spot will have been invented by ad people and completed by ad people. After all that begging, way to go consumer-gen, guys.

by Angela Natividad    Jan- 9-07    
Topic: Events, Super Bowl 2007, Television



Top Secret Ford Ad Not So Secret

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AdFreak wonders if this "top secret" Ford Ranger ad which popped up on YouTube yesterday will make an appearance in this year's Super Bowl and whether or not it is even intended to run in the U.S. We think not. Predictably, the YouTube user that uploaded the video is new and the video is the only one in the member's profile. The member is also from Portugal which means the ad could be a commercial emanating out of that country or it could mean nothing at all. One commenter notes the truck's steering wheel is on the right side, a pretty clear indication this is a non-American ad. And the tagline at the end of the ad, "Make Every Day Exciting" is one we haven't seen before. Guess we'll just have to wait for the press release for more details.

Oh, and can we stop with the ridiculous pickup-truck-in-peril scenarios that, clearly, no truck could ever escape from without massive damage or water-induced stalling? But wait, it is kind of a cool ad isn't it?

by Steve Hall    Jan- 3-07    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Super Bowl 2007



Danica Patrick Godaddy Super Bowl Spot Not Guaranteed

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During a press conference held today at Victory Lane in Arizona with GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons and Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick who has signed a deal with GoDaddy to be a "GoDaddy Girl," Parsons could not guarantee Patrick's appearance in either of the two Super Bowl 2007 spots for which the company has contracted. It's unclear whether or not the spots will feature long time GoDaddy Girl Candice Michelle either but Parsons, ever the cagey one, did clarify both will be in several spots for the company in the near future. When asked when we might see a version of the completed Super Bowl spot, Parsons replied, "Game day, unless it's banned." Then we'll be able to see it online prior to the game.

more »

by Steve Hall    Dec- 5-06    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Good, Sponsorship, Super Bowl 2007



GoDaddy Swaps Out Big Breasts For Sleek Breasts

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In early October we wrote an open letter to GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons suggesting he "retire breasts that don't bounce" meaning it's time for plastic-breasted Candice Michelle to go. Of the long-running campaign, we wrote, "It was mildly funny when she rubbed her boobs against the window while on that window washing scaffolding. But it's hardly funny at all to watch her run through sprinklers across a golf course while an old dude gawks 'Oh, the GoDaddy Girl!'"

While it's not clear whether Michelle is gone for good, a deal, in the works for a long time, with Andretti Green Racing IndyCar racing star Danica Patrick will become official tomorrow when Patrick is officially introduced as the new GoDaddy spokesperson at Victory Lane in Avondale Arizona. As part of the deal, GoDaddy is a sponsor of Andretti Green Racing.

During the event tomorrow, Parsons will interview the sleeker, highly-unlikely-to-bust-a-shirt-strap Patrick and it's expected he'll make his Super Bowl advertising plans known. With Patrick in the GoDaddy house, breasts will, apparently, take a back seat for a while.

by Steve Hall    Dec- 4-06    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Celebrity, Good, Super Bowl 2007