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Macintosh: The Computer for the Rest of Us

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 16:33:53 +0000

Here is another advertising treasure I recently discovered, a 1984 Macintosh commercial that featured former Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates. It’s actually not a commercial but a promotional video that featured the billionaire. I believe it is the Apple II being featured, its biggest selling points according to the promo video? The GUI interface and the pointer mouse. Can you believe how time just flies? Now we have 10 times that power in Android and iOS phones.

Voices In Your Head for Ben & Jerry

Mon, 06 May 2019 16:51:10 +0000

Today’s post is of some interesting “student ads” from the Miami Ad School in Germany. I used to be an ad student myself so student ads have a special place in my heart. These ads feature a big-headed character trying to drown out the voices in his head so he does it by having Ben & Jerry’s cream on the brain.

Found these ads via Ads of the World.

New Captain Marvel Posters are a Hit

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 23:09:47 +0000

Today being two-days after the long Presidents Day weekend, I thought why not discuss the new Captain Marvel posters I found on the Graphic Design Forum before the movie is released in theatres next month. I can already sense that this movie is going to be one of those that people wait in line for hours to go see.The posters were designed by Marvel Studios for each of the main characters in the movie—even the cat.

Fun Size’ Salads for Halloween? Dole Isn’t Sure How It Feels About That

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:00:28 +0000

“Fun size” salad packets from Dole would be the most sadistic “treats” to give youngsters on Halloween, almost certainly guaranteeing your trees will be festooned with toilet paper by the end of the night.

Alas, you won’t be able to try it out. The image here is a Photoshop job by Adam Padilla, the founder of creative agency Brandfire.

Still, Dole had a pretty curious reaction to Padilla’s efforts.

Joining in the suddenly hot trend of friendly cease-and-desist letters, the food marketer playfully warned Padilla not to mess with its trademark again without talking to them first. But at the same time, it whipped some of its own “fun size” salad concepts—posting them right along with the warning.

Under Armour Finds a Remarkable New Ad Star in Teenage Refugee Olympian Yusra Mardini

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 09:00:10 +0000

She didn’t take home any medals, but her story was perhaps the most inspiring of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Now, 19-year-old Yusra Mardini can add

Under Armour brand ambassador to her impressive list of accomplishments. The sportswear maker has announced that the freestyle and butterfly swimmer is the latest addition to its team of international athlete endorsers, representing UA Women alongside Misty Copeland and Lindsey Vonn.

Billionaires Impeachment Ad After World Series Game One

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:00:33 +0000

Today, I was watching game 1 of the World Series (Go Dodgers) and Tom Steyer’s (a billionaire) impeachment ad comes on my TV screen. Where he’s promoting a campaign to impeach the current, sitting President, President Donald J. Trump.

The ad is basically a series of situational images of President Trump along with a voiceover by Steyer. Steyer makes statements that are actually his opinions sound like facts. Well, maybe President Trump did say them but the ad keeps its accusations rather vague. Let me give you a few examples, first, the voiceover says, he’s (Trump) brought us to the brink of nuclear war, not exactly true, he doesn’t want North Korea to provoke us and force our hand into a potential nuclear war.

Why are Ads so Awful During the NLCS?

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:54:10 +0000

If you guys are watching the NL CS series between the Dodgers and the Cubs, have you noticed the TV ads being awful? I have.

Like right now, it’s an Alpha Romeo car commercial that basically shows a car driving down the street at speeds that would never be legal in real life. Next, came a Taco Bell commercial about their new breakfast taco (it’s almost 9 PM at night mind you) again awful. Why would they have that at right now?

Americas Cup Fundraising Page

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 12:22:00 +0000

I made the video above along with the letter featured on the Americas Cup Fundraising Page, a newly created page on Inside That Ad. Please let me first apologize for the bad lighting demonstrated in the video.

Please consider providing your support to Team USA Boccia and I. You can read more about how your donations will be used on the fundraising page.

-A.B.

Heads Roll in Spartacus

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:04:00 +0000

For those of you not in the know the Starz original series “Spartacus” is back for its third season. And today, I watched the first episode of the first season. I got this urge to share one of the coolest scenes I’ve ever seen. Check out the image below I took with my iPhone.

Image: Starz original series Spartacus Photographer: Abdallah

The Best Movie Posters of 2012

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:30:00 +0000

Written by Adrian Curry Published on 28 December 2012 ** ** It was hard to whittle down my favorite movie posters to a straight top ten this year. There was no absolute stand-out like Chris Ware’s Uncle Boonmee last year, and the majority of film posters continue to be depressingly rote and uninspired, even though the explosion of DIY illustration has started to make inroads into the world of commercial film promotion. As a symptom of my indecision I have tended to group posters together more than usual; laid out like this the year doesn’t look half bad.

Album Cover Ad Designs?

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:31:00 +0000

* 0 0 1 42 246 Inside That Ad 2 1 287 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE ** The Album cover for the for up coming album release from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs titled “Mosquito*” has to be one of the crazies pieces of art I’ve seen in a while. Although I have to say, doesn’t this show some similarities to a Megadeath’s 2004 Youthanasia album cover? Check it out below. 0 0 1 62 355 Inside That Ad 2 1 416 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE
The Mosquito album cover was designed by South Korean animator Beomsik Shimbe Shim. The design is eye-catching to me because of the agony the Barney looking child seems to be experiencing? It has to be one of the craziest designs ever right? Anyway do you all see the same similarities I do between the two covers? Let me know in the comments below. 0 0 1 15 92 Inside That Ad 1 1 106 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Client**: Yeah YeahYeahsAnimator: Beomsik Shimbe Shim

Paul Bryant Museum Spot

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:52:00 +0000

0 0 1 101 577 Inside That Ad 4 1 677 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE ** Alabama is a name that has become synonmous with college football dominance. And while the clip below is supposed to be a comedy, there’s a certain amount of believability to it. The University of Alabama’s Paul Bryant Museum created the video in-house and it’s pretty funny, I must admit. The video is titled: “So Many Trophies, So Little Space” you’ll make the connection after watching the video. This is actually the second time I write a post on an ad involving Alabama football in the last coupled of weeks. The first post is: ESPN Roll Tide. These comedic sports ads just capture my interest, I guess. Client**: University of AlabamaAgency: In-house Best,-A.B.

Motherhood, the Fiat 500L and Commentary

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:55:00 +0000

** Inside That Ad’s first video blog post with commentary discussing the Fiat 500L Motherhood Ad.

Advertising Agency**: Krow Communications, London, UK Client: Fiat

Please give me feedback on what you guys think of video blogging.

Best, -A.B.

Motherhood and the Fiat 500L

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:04:00 +0000

Advertising Agency: Krow Communications, London, UK

The Social Media Revolution

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 06:02:00 +0000

Enjoy, comment, share — Socialize more in 2013!

Best, A.B.

Upgrade VS New iMac

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:59:00 +0000

ESPN Roll Tide

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 05:12:00 +0000

ESPN and their ad agency Wieden + Kennedy’s “It’s not crazy, it’s sports” campaign have produced a plethora of funny ads highlighting fans’ undying commitment to their teams. But Inside That Ad’s favorite has to be ESPN’s “Roll Tide.” By the way, does anyone know what “Roll Tide” actually means?

I saw this ad today while watching the 2012 World Series of Poker on ESPN. Enjoy, I know I did.

Best, A.B.

The Everyday Side of Design Expertise

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 09:19:00 +0000

When you think of contemporary product designers, people like Philippe Starck or Jonathan Ive come to mind. We’ve come to see designers as larger-than-life entities, who from some Olympian perch survey the foibles and anxieties of the masses (at least, those with some disposable income) before setting the Chinese factories in motion to crank out yet another disposable bauble. The Fixperts project features a very different side to the practice of design, having as its objective the creation of “meaningful content that showcases how the design process can solve everyday challenges.” Solving everyday challenges. What a concept!

Coke FM's First B-Day

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Agency: JWT, Brazil

Nokia Joins the Throw Down

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:33:00 +0000

So apparently, Nokia has decided to join the Apple bashing world when promoting its latest phone, the Lumia 920. Although, I have to say that the folks at Nokia weren’t as clever as the folks over at Samsung at pointing out the shortcoming of the phone from Cupertino. I’ve discussed the Samsung ad in the Samsung-Apple Throw Down. Nokia points out the lack of color options available to iPhone users. But even that isn’t completely true because the iPhone is so popular that you can pretty much have the casing customized with whatever you want. I have yet to find the agency behind this creative but for now, I am assuming it was done in-house. Because the spot is yet to air on TV. Best,-A.B.

Ikea 'Regrets' Airbrushing Women out of Its Saudi Catalog Now you see her, now you don't

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 02:32:00 +0000

By Rebecca Cullers
Click your way through Ikea’s regular catalog and its Saudi catalog, and you will notice something odd: They removed all the women (though not the young girls) from the latter. In some cases it’s clear they were Photoshopped out, in other instances they simply have replacement pictures. For example, there’s one image of four women sitting at a dining table where clearly someone said “Screw it” and just reshot the table. The changes have caused a bit of a stir with government officials in Sweden, as they seem to suggest Ikea doesn’t have much of a commitment to women’s rights. Ikea apologized, saying, “We should have reacted and realized that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalog is in conflict with the Ikea Group values.” Though Saudi Arabia is a country where women are expected to be covered in public and are not allowed to drive, they do not prohibit depictions of women in advertising, so it’s not entirely clear why Ikea removed them from the catalog in the first place. It’s the second time in a few weeks that Ikea has had to apologize for unfortunate deletions. Two weeks ago it removed a photo of four people in balaclavas from its Russian corporate website, just in case someone thought they supported Russian band Pussy Riot, who just received a scorching sentence for protesting Putin while wearing balaclavas. But this faux pas has captured much more Internet time. Check out this hilarious Tumblr, where images of women have been replaced with Ikea furniture.

Samuel L. Wakes People Up

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Samuel L. Jackson wakes people the Fk up in this in this new pro-Obama video titled, “Wake the Fk Up.” The famous actor tries to re-energize President Obama’s voting base with the four minute video. The idea behind it that the group who rallied behind the new president four years ago has lost its passion. Jackson, wearing his iconic Kangol hat, addresses all the members of a family, from the Facebooking daughter to the frisky grandparents, telling them to wake the f**k up and start campaigning for Obama. It was paid for by the Jewish Council for Education and Research according to AdFreak. The video above is the adult version of the video. Best,-A.B.

Hip Hop Super Heroes

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 04:27:00 +0000

Weapon X to the Z, Notorious T.H.I.N.G. & Lil’ Storm by SmugOne

Part of the Alter Ego Exhibition comic book inspired art show.

More please.

//https://sites.google.com/site/mayuradocs/PinIt.png This post is courtesy of Kiss My Black Ads

Samsung-Apple Throw Down

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Here we go again, Samsung pokes fun at Apple’s new flagship product the iPhone 5 with this feisty commercial above. Just in case you don’t already know, the commercial makes fun at Apple’s marketing language with respect to the new iPhones’s features. My favorite example is the comment about how the headphone jack is now on the bottom of the device and how that fact is viewed as a technological miracle.

Dexter Is Back

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 03:07:00 +0000

Who else is excited about the return of Dexter on Sunday, September 30, 2012? I know I am. At the end of last season Debra, Dexter’s sister caught him stabbing his victim in the middle of the chest. I happen to capture this image while riding on Access Paratransit in L.A.

The image has the van’s radio antenna going right through the image. It seemed appropriate to welcome back the dark passenger for a new season, being as cutting people in half, well pieces is what he does.

Bic for Her Flooded with Sarcastic Opinions

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:20:00 +0000

The Internet is a medium where people generally feel a lot less restricted when it comes to expressing their true feelings. Why, because most of the time the opinions people post are anonymous. The most recent victim of the general public’s anonymous opinions is Amazon.co.uk’s product page for “Bic for Her” pens. The pens—which are described right there in the technical specs as being “designed to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand” with an “attractive barrel design available in pink and purple. This technical description got a wide range of comical comments. Read some of them on on Bics’ UK product page. Best,-A.B.

Loss, Loss, Loss

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Sweet Acceptance Via Target

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 05:06:00 +0000

Here is a heart-warming montage put together by Target and Deutsch LA where they string together clips of college applicants’ reactions to the news they’ve been accepted into various colleges they applied to. It’s a simple concept, illustrated on the faces of these kids. As the copy states, “Every kid deserves this moment.” I can honestly say there isn’t anything quite like the feeling you get when you learn that you have been accepted into the school of your choice. Target has been known for its donations to k-12 educational causes so the colligate angle works well for the “Big Red Machine.” As a side note, Target has already committed to doubling its 500 million donation to educational endeavors. In conclusion, I’ve applied to a PhD program several times with no success therefore the spot really grabbed my attention. The credit for this ad goes to: Client**: TargetAgency: Deutsch LA Best,-Abdallah

Jordan Brand // Rise Above Truck

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:36:00 +0000

This truck yields for no one! After Nike Football’s MRAP-inspired promotional vehicle and its Transformer Mobile Retail Store, Jordan Brand will be introducing a new addition to its vehicle fleet – the Rise Above Truck. Covered in matte black motif along with an oversized Jumpman logo, the Truck is quipped with outdoor speakers and lights for those quick pick-up games. On board are also measuring instruments, including a vertical jump sensor, as well as countless pairs of Jordan Super.Fly. The Jordan Brand – Rise Above Truck will be making stops at basketball venues cross country this summer. To follow its movement, simply sign up for Jordan Brand Twitter profile at @jumpman23. Via

Michael Phelps Proves Power of .01 Seconds in BBDO Brazil Olympic Spot

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 05:08:00 +0000

There are two primary reasons to love the Olympics: the games inspire a swell of national pride and a deluge of epic hero’s-journey ads. With their superhuman efforts, both athletes and their sponsors encourage Olympic watchers to live more fully, conquering their daily obstacles. Lift the groceries higher! Cross the street faster!The latest spot from Visa’s Go World campaign, which we’ve been told has yet to air, contributes to the uplifting nature of our favorite worldwide competition. Created by BBDO Brazil, the ad invites viewers to “just think of the cheers if lightning strikes twice.” Consider the roar if, in the time it takes lightning to strike, Michael Phelps wins another gold medal. Victory in 100th of a second.Narrated once again by Morgan Freeman (who, of course, has also shown his VO chops in March of the Penguins *and Science Channel’s Through the Wormhole), this is the latest ad in a series that celebrates supportive fans and their loud noises. For those who can’t be at the games in person, Visa invites them to share their encouragement via Facebook and a “Cheer application .” The best cheers go on TV. Read more at: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/michael-phelps-proves-power-of-01-seconds-in-bbdo-brazil-olympic-spot_b35949.

Post Update: Dove, Only You

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 03:26:00 +0000

An anonymous reader that uses the screen name Snootchyboochiez,**provided me with crediting information for the Dove commercial discussed in the “Dove- Only You” post. Also, I believe the ad agency for this spot is SapientNitro, New York.

Commercial Credits:**Model: Janelle Fishman, an Israeli model (Update) Director (from C-Entertainment): Vittorio Sacco Director (from The Sweet Shop): Kathi Prosser Group Account Director: Lance Porigow Chief Creative Officer: Kathy Delaney Copywriter: Susan Phuvasitkul Art Director: Rachel Donovan Senior Agency Producer: Erika Best Editor (from White House Post): Russell Icke Head of Production: Andy Wilcox Business Affairs: Jen Kurtzman Account Supervisor: Riyhana Bey

Inside That Ad's Favorite "Ads" from the 2012 Cannes Lions Festival

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Here are a few of Inside That Ad’s favorite ads from this year’s Cannes Lions festival. The featured ads below were among the top print ads—the Grand Prix and gold winners from the Press Lions contest. Once, again in this post I only display four ads and the agencies that created them—staying true to Inside That Ad’s mission.Agency: JWT, Shanghai, ChinaClient: Maxam, A Chinese toothpaste BrandCopy on Ad: Don’t let germs settle down ** **Agency: JWT, Shanghai, ChinaClient: Maxam, A Chinese toothpaste BrandCopy on Ad: Don’t let germs settle downNote: The second shows more detail in the ancient ruins created on this tooth.Agency: BBH, LondonClient: AxeAgencies: Fabrica, Treviso, Italy, and 72andSunny, AmsterdamClient: United Colors of BenetonCampaign: “Unhate”I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite ads You can read and see more about these ads at: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/worlds-best-print-ads-2011-12-141661 Best, -A.B.

Expedia Lets Travelers Tell the Story in First Ads From 180LA User-gen campaign is themed 'Find yours'

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:36:00 +0000

Expedia.com this week introduced a new brand campaign—its first work from new agency 180LA—under the theme “Find yours.” The effort kicks off with an anthem spot stitched together entirely from user-generated content, featuring video footage from people’s travels. It’s the beginning of an extensive campaign by the world’s leading online travel agency to move away from the nuts and bolts of travel booking (the previous tagline was “Where you book matters”) and into more aspirational territory focused on “the transcendent bliss of the perfect vacation.” All the user-gen content—photos, videos and stories—will endeavor to explain how seeing the world has transformed the travelers as people. Beyond the anthem spot, Expedia is working on mini-documentaries starring ordinary people with extraordinary travel stories; sponsored trips for travel bloggers to different popular locales, including Pamplona, Spain, for the running of the bulls, to Las Vegas and across the U.S. on a college-football tour; Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest integration; and a short-film contest that pits 37 filmmakers ages 13-28 against one another. Expedia is also serving as platinum sponsor of Passports with Purpose, an organization dedicated to doing long-lasting good for people who live in the places travelers visit. Check out the anthem spot below.

ADversaries: Bracket styled ad fight

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 05:24:00 +0000

Description:Who’s the all-time greatest creative man or woman in advertising? Your vote decides in this sweet 16 tournament to determine the Creative King or Queen of Advertising. Check it out here. https://sites.google.com/site/mayuradocs/PinIt.png To Read more go to: http://kissmyblackads.blogspot.com/2012/06/adversaries-bracket-styled-ad-fight.html

Inside Those Tennis Ads

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 09:06:00 +0000

On the eve of the Wimbledon mens final I thought I would share with you some tennis ads that are considered to be some of the “most viral” spots on the net. In a 2008 Nike tennis ad campaign, Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords teaches Roger Federer about the secrets of playing a magical air guitar. It turns out Federer was better then expected.

The second Nike spot with Federer and Rhys Darby, this one shows an outstanding display of tennis and house crashing.

MAARWAN YOUHNIS ADVERTISING PARODY SERIES

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 08:25:00 +0000

The Maarwan Youhnis advertising parody series takes a clever jab at popular companies by remixing their logos with that of other easily recognizable ones.Using Apple, Louis Vuitton, Red Bull, Blackberry and McDonald’s, the artist compiled several fake campaigns using each company’s claim to fame against them in a satirical manner.Red Bull, for example, is chastised for not actually giving its customers wings that allow them to fly. Youhnis’s rendition of an advertisement for the company shows a woman falling onto a car after unsuccessfully attempting to fly when drinking the energy drink.Louis Vuitton is mocked for its extremely high price point through the artist’s creation of faux toilet paper baring the brand’s logo and eluding that the fact that the brand’s customers can wipe their behinds with luxury. You can read more at: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/maarwan-youhnis-advertising-parody-series#!/photos/156988/1 I tried to find more information on Maarwan Youhnis but couldn’t get anything else besides circling back around to the article already referenced, can anybody else add anything?

Inside That Ad July 4th ad

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:03:00 +0000

Today being two days after Independence Day I wanted to share one of my favorite patriotic advertisements. The spot below was created by Wieden + Kennedy for Levi’s featured a recording of the great American poet Walt Whitman reading his poem titled, “America”.

I saw this ad on Adfreak. Hope everyone enjoyed his or her 4th. Anyway, thanks guys! Finally, please do me a favor and subscribe to by blog via the follow widget on your right, subscribe by email and if you are on any of the social media sites listed (also on the right) please connect and be social with Inside That Ad
Best,-A.B.

Prices Sent to Orbitz for Mac Users

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 04:32:00 +0000

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 197 1125 Anwar & Co. 9 2 1381 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Did you know that Orbitz Worldwide has discovered the Apple Mac users spend as much as 30% more a night on hotels, according to our friends at Campaign Outsider. To that end the travel company is showing them more expensive travel options then those shown to their Windows PC counterparts.

Empower Network: Is it a scam?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 01:31:00 +0000

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 127 729 Anwar & Co. 6 1 895 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false
What’s the verdict on the Empower Network? I put together the video above to try to start a conversation about the network, is it just another online marketing scam or is it a legitimate online business opportunity? I want a constructive debate in the comment section below this post. The reason, I am considering posting some of Inside That Ad’s articles after joining the Empower Network. If I joined, I’d probably sign up for the $100 product right off the bat. A friend of mine told me that staying on the $25 level would be profitable, what do you guys think? Is it a scam or a legitimate online business opportunity? Anyway, thanks guys! Finally, please do me a favor and subscribe to by blog via the follow widget on your right, subscribe by email and if you are on any of the social media sites listed (also on the right) please connect and be social with Inside That Ad. Best, -A.B.

Hello world!

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:46:29 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Inside That Ad Gets Business Cards!

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 04:55:00 +0000

Last Thursday, June 21, Inside That Ad’s business cards arrived in the mail. Please admire my friends’ photography skills displayed above. At first glance I liked them but then I noticed that the logo sat on its own layer on top of the black background of the card. I know, you can’t tell from the picture but the imperfection is there.

A few details on how I created the cards:

Cannes Lions Monday Captured Infographic Style

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 04:59:00 +0000

SapientNitro has taken it upon itself to create an infographic to represent each of five days, Monday through Friday, in Cannes capturing all the goings on at Cannes Lions. Below is Monday’s infographic which takes a lok at the history of Cannes Lions, seminar keywords that popped, a summary of the number of entrants and panels, the weather and other local demographics, influencial Cannes Twitter account (ahem, @adrants is on the list), top Foursquare check ins (Gutter Bar and Carlton Bar, of course), popular Instagram pictures, social buzz topics, popular Pinterest pins and, of course, the awards. Check it out.

Parents, This is Your Baby on a Workout Plan

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 04:48:00 +0000

From Brussels-based Pride/TBWA comes a new hidden-camera style spot that compares feeding your toddler regular cereal to child abuse. No, seriously, it does.What initially appears to be a PSA for fighting infant obesity is actually a commercial for Olvarit, a toddler-targeted Belgian cereal that comes in flavors like “Banana Stars,” “Honey Rings,” and “Choco Balls.” Ha! “Choco Balls,” you guys! The spot features two things that moms tend to share like crazy over social media and epically long email chains: Candid reactions and babies being adorable. In fact, add some sort of flash mob dancing around to the Mama Mia soundtrack/Michael Buble, and this may be the greatest mommy viral video in history.So, next time you consider feeding your child Honey Nut Cheerios, remember that poor pacifier-sucking baby, and feed it Honey Rings instead. Your child should really switch up his or her favorite breakfast bee mascot from time to time. And, for the record, if this video gets more plays than the entire population of Belgium (about 11 million in 2011), we’re glad we helped.*(via Pop Goes the Week)**Read more at: *http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/parents-this-is-your-baby-on-a-workout-plan_b34901

Young Creatives Win a Trip to Cannes, Are Forced to Work the Whole Time

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:19:00 +0000

Last month, we showcased a short PSA titled “We’re Better Together,” an effort from two young creatives at WPP-owned Latino-focused shop Wing Advertising. Created as part of a film competition for “Circulo Creativo Latino de Estados Unidos,” an organization that encourages Latino-American creatives to have each other’s backs in the cutthroat world of marketing, the winning spot won Said Fayad and Marc Duran an all-expenses paid trip to Cannes this year.But, just because Fayad and Duran were given the unique opportunity to rub shoulders with the advertising elite doesn’t mean Wing was about to let this be a vacation for the two young creatives. In fact, Fayad and Duran are chronicling their time on the French Riviera with a Tumblr called “Flip Flops and Socks,” a title that salutes geeky tourists’ stereotypically chosen style of footwear. Throughout the week, Fayad and Duran are posting pictures, videos, interviews, blog posts and animated gifs of their experiences, at least as long as the copywriter/art director team can stay sober. Stalk the duo as they transform from wide-eyed newbies into jaded, grizzled old pros here. Read more at: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/young-creatives-win-a-trip-to-cannes-are-forced-to-work-the-whole-time_b34821

Phil Shifley, Guy Who Faked His Own Death for DirecTV, Pops Up on Facebook Find out where he is, and win 'bragging rights'

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:11:00 +0000

Not since they sold Gregor the Russian billionaire’s tiny giraffes has DirecTV had a TV spot spin off amusingly into a random and goofy online campaign. This time, Phil Shifley, the alias of the guy who faked his own death and attended his own funeral in the amusing DirecTV campaign from Grey, has popped up on Facebook. That’s the extent of his known whereabouts—for now. DirecTV is challenging you to find him, and “win bragging rights.” That’s not a great prize, but you can also just friend Phil and rap with him. He’s quite chatty, and needs all sorts of advice for a “friend” who needs facial work and tips for surviving in the wilderness. Check out some of Phil’s recent status updates after the jump. • Cheap hair dye can really burn your scalp. Or so says that friend of mine who uses hair dye a lot. • I found out what was causing my headaches. These glasses. That I totally need by the way. Because I need glasses. That’s totally true. • Does anyone know a plastic surgeon that can work really fast for very little money mostly at night? I have a sports injury. • Remember that movie Face/Off with the face switching? Can that really happen? • Not sure why so many are copying my look on Facebook? I don’t mind blending in. • I’ve been considering buying a new boat. That doesn’t mean I used to have one. I just mean I’m buying a brand new one. • My friend, who’s been living in the woods for a while, ate some weird looking berries and can’t stop sweating. Does anyone have any advice? For him? • Been eating at a lot of truck stop diners. Well, not at the diners exactly. Behind them. Where they dump the stale bread. • I’ve been seeing a lot of the country. Because I’m on a road trip. With my best friend Pete who’s not on Facebook so don’t bother looking for him. But he’s real. • Hey maybe that Pacquiao judge should start hanging out with me on my road trip? • How lucky can a guy get in the biggest, little city in the world? • So many new…..uh, “friends”….thanks? Not used to this much attention. • I’m looking for an apartment rental. Preferably something with no windows, a safe room, and a secret underground tunnel that leads to the highway. Let me know if you hear of anything. Read more about this at: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/phil-shifley-guy-who-faked-his-own-death-directv-pops-facebook-141180

Life After ‘The Pitch’: A Convo (Barely) with Conversation’s Founder

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Well, this was somewhat interesting. If we can go all the way back to a few weeks ago, our scribe Bob Marshall, in one of his weekly, epic *The Pitch *recaps, recapped the battle between NYC-based shop Conversation and Charlotte, NC-based BooneOakley for PopChips. Well, let’s fast-forward to recent times and tell you that we were pitched the opportunity to see what happened after the fact with this one particular episode.According to the folks at Conversation, “the ‘Year of Pop’ website actually happened , and while we aren’t pursuing “The Greatest Viral Video Ever” we are still integrating user content in our campaign for [PopChips].” Great, but while we expecting something more matter of fact via a little Q+A on what’s happening from said episode’s star and Conversation founder Frank O’Brien, what we got was this:**So, how has life changed for Conversation after The Pitch?**It’s been nuts. We’ve had to increase our security detail because of all the screaming fans outside our office every day. Now we know how John, Paul, George and Ringo felt (only it’s been even crazier than that). David’s working on a new t-shirt line and Alex has been gone for a while since being out on tour with DJ Pauly D. We’re trying to fit time in for President Obama, as well. We didn’t even know he was a fan of the show (Biden too), but he has been BEGGING to stop by. Maybe we’ll squeeze him in sometime this fall.**The Popchips concept has somewhat shifted away the “Greatest Viral Video Ever” concept. Any particular reason why, and where are we at now?**See, that’s the thing about “The Greatest Viral Video Ever.” See, it’s beyond normal comprehension. All you know is that you really want to eat popchips right now. Or maybe, just maybe, it’ll pop up at the end of the year and you won’t even know that throughout the entire year, every movement, every action, every word that you spoke, was actually part of “The Year of Pop.” You’ll just have to wait and find out.**Do you see yourselves with Popchips on a continual basis moving forward?**I was a fan of popchips before we took on the assignment. So I’m with popchips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – eating, sleeping, breathing popchips. I actually keep a bag of the Sweet Potato flavor under my arm at night. And because of the visibility that “The Pitch” has brought us, popchips will forever be with us. It’s like Sting said: “Every breath you take, I’ll be watching you.”Read more about this at: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/life-after-the-pitch-a-convo-barely-with-conversations-founder_b34757

DFCB Plays Spy on its Own. Wait, What?

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Sure, we will have our own reporters at Cannes, and since yours truly will try to avoid that mess back here in NYC, let us tell you about something called “Agency Peephole” from Draftfcb San Francisco. We don’t know whether to be interested, flattered, or pissed the fuck off, but what is this, some preemptive strike? Alright, we’ll catch our breath, calm down and let you know that this is an app that lets you shake, swipe, flip, smack and rub down your iPhone to access Instagram photos tagged #agencypeephole from the event. FYI, this comes to us from Draft’s San Francisco office as well as UDC Interactive, but don’t worry, our eyes are on you.Read more about this here: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/dfcb-plays-spy-on-its-own-wait-what_b34791

Vintage iPhone Creation

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:36:00 +0000

To celebrate WWDC 2012 that took place on Monday I wanted to share this vintage video of an iPhone mod-ing to vintage Apple rainbow colors. As most of you know, the WWDC is Apple’s developer conference where they sometimes introduce new products but mostly update current ones. The iPhone mod, in the video above – really an aluminium back plate – will bring those memories rushing back to those of you who consider yourselves true “Cult of Mac” members. I realize that that this post doesn’t discuss an ad, but it does discuss the logo and the brand itself – it is advertising. Enjoy! -A.B.

Breaking Bad - Season 5

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:24:00 +0000

Here is a sneak preview of a poster for Breaking Bad season 5, courtesy of Adfreak.

Let me know what you guys expect for the new season.

Best, -A.B.

Jade Blox Software- Sky of Arrows

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:32:00 +0000

JadeBlox Softwareis a mobile application and game development company, started by Ahmad Anwar, my brother. I put a short game play video up on YouTube that I would like to share with everyone. Download Sky of Arrows right now!

We are having a CONTEST Drawing. We want as many people as possible to: 1. Download the game.2. Submit a review on Sky of Arrows in its iTunes page. 3. Leave your iTunes screen name with a comment on Jadeblox’s YouTube pageso that we can find your review.4. You will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 iTunes gift card.So please, help up spread the word about this great new game, the Sky of Arrows. Best,-A.B.

The Pitch – An Advertising Reality Show

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:58:00 +0000

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I am sure you’ve all seen it by now, the new advertising reality show “The Pitch” on AMC. Yes, I’ve watched and will continue to do so because I love anything to do with the ad business. But they really do dumb-down the business and make it seem like everyone can do it. I’ll elaborate, the only thing they are the two competing agencies sitting around discussing ideas. While simply glancing over all the other elements, preparation, and creation that actually goes into making an advertising new business pitch. Finally, they don’t really focus any department but they don’t discuss account management. Yes, I am a little bitter I guess. Overall, they dumb-down the advertising business so that it fits the reality TV genre. But I’ll watch. If you all enjoy the show, please let me know in the comments below. Best,-A.B.

Paralympian Out Runs Tragedy

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:13:00 +0000

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The spot above, a PSA ad for the Canadian Paralympic Committee takes the cake for inspiring storytelling. And with the Paralympic only being about six weeks away I thought I’d share. The spot uses amputee runner Alister McQueen races around a track at night, initially he only dodges wheelchairs but as he progresses through different elements of a car accident. For example, he runs through a rehabilitation room, a trauma ward staffed with medical personnel and even a row of emergency crews. Interestingly, the PSA was filmed in one continuous shot to accomplish the project quickly due to threats of rain. As for the order of events, the ambulance crews and rehab scenes were placed ahead of the actual crash so it would seem more like a dream sequence. This spot was created by BBDO Toronto. Best,-A.B.

Original 1969 Big Mac Ad

Mon, 14 May 2012 06:07:00 +0000

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Here is an interesting ad that I thought I thought I’d share with you all today. What you see above is the original print advertisement that introduced the McDonald’s Big Mac to the world way back in 1969. This print ad was created by the D’Arcy Advertising agency in St. Louis. The agency quit the account that same year to focus on their much larger client at the time Standard Oil but not before introducing America to the Big Mac. McDonald’s later hired Paul Schrage, the D’Arcy media buyer working on their account. Well, here is to keeping America fat since 1969. I found this ad thanks to Ads of the World. Best,-A.B.

Yikes- A Geico Misstep

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Kevin Costner's Apple Ad

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 07:54:00 +0000

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Did you guys know that the famous Kevin Costner was in a Apple commercial? Not only was he in an Apple commercial, he was in commercial promoting the Apple Lisa II. Yes, the machine that was originally named for Steve Jobs’s daughter Lisa As you all know, TBWA Chiat/Day designs most of Apples’ commercials. Best,-A.B.

Panther Security

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:52:00 +0000

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The commercial above has one major flaw with the flow of the storyline. The couple above, who wanted to save a little money on a home security system by getting a panther instead will never, ever sleep again! Unless they want risk becoming a delicious meal for they’re new, and “hungry” home security system. Yeah, I bet they are wishing for the Geico insurance plan now. This has to be one of the most creatively executed insurance commercial that I have ever seen I have to take my hat off to the Marin Agencyfor this creative execution. Best,-A.B.

A Fiat Seduction

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:15:00 +0000

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Normal.dotm 0 0 1 198 1132 Anwar & Co. 9 2 1390 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false So, does anyone know if the spot for Fiat above is actually a preamble for a porno? I realize that sex sells, but can you be anymore obvious? The spot does try to tell a story about a man lusting after the Abarath, to the extent that he actually visualizes the beautiful Catrinel Menghia. She does a great job of acting the role of the temporarily angry, Italian woman. By the way, Menghia is actually Romanian. The element that I think really saves the spot is the one sided Italian conversation between the two characters. A rough translation of the conversation is as follows: “What are you looking at? Uh? What are you looking at? (slap) Are you undressing me with your eyes? Poor guy… you can’t help it? Is your heart beating? Is your head spinning? Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?” The translation is courtesy of http://www.fiat500abarth.us/. Don’t get me wrong, I like the spot but the sexual innuendo comes on a little to strong for my taste. I should note that this spot’s initially aired during the Super Bowl so it must have tested well for the agency. This is one of those spots that the viewer remembers the commercial but not necessarily the product it was advertising. What do you guys think? The agency behind this spot is The Richards Group out of Dallas. Best,-A.B.

Inside That Ad’s Favorite 2012 Super Bowl Commercials

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:49:00 +0000

I know that this post is 13 days overdue, but better late then never, right? Every advertising blog has to discuss the commercials of the biggest advertising event of the year, the Super Bowl. Those of us who were faithful to Patriot Nation had hoped that advertisers would have a better night. But unfortunately only a few advertisers produced anything of note, all the rest should have kept their checkbooks in their pockets. So without further ado, here are ITA’s favorite Super Bowl spots. ** Note:** I only discuss a few spots because there only a few spots that I feel are worthy of a discussion. ** The Tease - Oikos Yogurt** ** This spot for Oikos Greek Yogurt features John Stamos being head butted by his gorgeous girlfriend over her special yogurt. Note to guys – don’t stand between a lady and her Oikos.

Inside That Ad Business Cards

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Hello World,### Inside That Ad Business Card, what do you guys think?

Leave your comments below!

Best, -A.B.

Inside That Ad Presents its Top 10 Ads of 2011

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:38:00 +0000

It is finally here! Inside That Ad’s top 10 ads for 2011. I realize that it is almost the end of January 2012 but it took me a while to create the list. I also needed to plan out how to display the ads a bit more then usual because there are 10 of them and the list begins in descending order. ** 10. Weetabix Cereal - Street Dancing

The spot above features dancing phenomenon, Arizona Snow street dancing her way through a sophisticated routine in her bedroom. The routine along with the dancing bears will blow your mind. Arizona is reportedly only 9-years old. But from what I can see she could hold her own against any seasoned, pro dancer.

Black and White Coffee

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:26:00 +0000

This is basically a re-post thanks to copyranter. I had to post the ad below for a coffee shop in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This has to certainly be one of the weirdest ads of 2012 brought to you by Not Perfect | Y&R.

Best, -A.B.

UPS Loves Logistics with a Song

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:55:00 +0000

Hello World,

I know it has been a while but please forgive my infrequent postings. This is not exactly the post I wanted first for ITA in 2012, but if I don’t post it the ad will never be shown on this blog. Anyway, as you might of guessed from the title of the post it features an ad from UPS and their 2010 “We Love Logistics” Campaign.

I liked this ad because it uses a catchy jingle to implant in people’s mind that UPS is all about logistics and attention to detail to ensure packages are delivered on time. The scenes are basically a collection of events as to put goes on during a successful delivery process. The song acts a guide to what is going on in the spot. The people featured in the ad are actually singing along with the song. Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide was hired the agency based on its ability execute across global communications channels and strong business-to-business experience. The campaign features several advertising executions including direct mail, print, TV, digital, social media and out-of-home. The shipping company also created a dedicated microsite, www.thenewlogistics.com, which contains downloadable case studies of some clients Ogilvy used the recording artist Nadia Ackerman to record the “We Love Logistics“ jingle. The jingle is based on one of the most recognizable songs in the world, “That’s Amore.” Best.-A.B.

Vintage Computer ads

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:16:00 +0000

This post brings together two of my passions together: computers and advertising. The ads below are vintage ads from some of the world’s largest technology companies. Do you guys remember the first computer systems you ever got? I know I do. It was called the Sakhr computer, made by AlAlamiah, a Kuwaiti computer company. ** ****Einstein-Apple ad ****

This ad was created as part of Chiat/Day’s “Crazy Ones” campaign for the Apple computer company. The late Steve Jobs wanted a marketing effort that reflected the company’s philosophy of “thinking different” I think the campaign is better known by its “Think Different” tagline.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:59:00 +0000

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Hello World, Sorry about the long absence but I have been distracted by studying for the GRE and applying to Ph.D. programs. Yes, my top choice would be the University of Texas at Austin for the Advertising Ph.D. program. So anyway, I hope you forgive me and keep coming back to check for updates. A couple of weeks ago (November 4, 2011) I got the opportunity to attend BlogWorld & New Media Expo at the L.A. Convention center. The expo mainly featured individual bloggers, small application makers, and keynote speakers. Most were there to discuss how to successfully monetize their blog.

New Stars & Vutton Bags

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:30:00 +0000

**About a little over a month ago I wrote about an ad that I found on the back of my Economist magazine that featured Angelina Jolie in a Louis Vutton ad. The two ads below feature Bono and James Bond himself, Sir Sean Connery. The ads below are photographed in different locals, which seem to be the theme behind the campaign. The first ad features Sir Sean Connery sitting on a porch in the Bahamas Islands. Connery and Louis Vutton show their support for the Climate Project.

The Man Card

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:05:00 +0000

The commercial above pokes fun at the cultural idea that women go to the bathroom in pairs, sometimes even in a group. The spot above uses men as the point of comic relief.

A man (named Phil) has his man card in jeopardy when his friends point out that he already has two strikes against him for actions deemed unmanly. Phil’s first strike was asking a buddy to join him in the bathroom. Yes, in our culture going to the restroom in groups is considered to be a “girl thing,” though I do have to question why any guy would express nervousness at going to a public bathroom? His second strike, not drinking a Miller Lite of course.

Futuristic iPhone Features

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:49:00 +0000

Smirnoff's Pure Campaign

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 02:18:00 +0000

The spot above focuses on music and bringing in the different elements of sound, just like an orchestra to make beautiful music. The commercial features Pharrell and the idea of a blank canvas to bring together different musical elements to make music that sounds great when working in harmony. Pharrell brings different musicians, with different musical styles together by simply snapping his fingers. A surprising bit of information I discovered is that this campaign or at least this particular spot was aimed at the Australian market. This could explain why the ad agency behind the spot is Leo Burnett in Sydney, Australia. Supposedly, Pharrell takes the audience on a journey of discovery on how his mixes are created. Giving them a behind the scene view on how his music is created. The origins of the campaign’s basic idea lie in how one bartender mixes drinks beginning with “Pure Smirnoff vodka.” They use the metaphor of a blank canvas as pure. Smirnoff Australia also has its very own Facebook pagethat you can like. What do you guys think of “Pure” as the big idea in an ad campaign? Best,-A.B.

untitled

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:06:00 +0000

Skittles - Newlyweds - Dir. Cousins [Not affiliated with Wrigley or Skittles. Contains explicit content not suitable for minors] from Cousins on Vimeo.

125 Years of Coke Can Designs

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 05:04:00 +0000

Today’s post is an article that intrigued me from Adfreak, one of my favorite “other” advertising blogs. I actually wrote about a much older post about who creates these interesting Coke designs here. Although, I couldn’t discover who actually created the design for the can featured on that particular post. But as you can see, there are a number of ad agencies working on designs for Coka-Cola’s flagship product. The designs are being created in preparation for Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary celebration. Agency: Peter Gregsen, Serbia Agency: Bulletproof, U.K.: Agency: Clot Inc., Hong Kong (with U.K. artist James Jarvis): By the way, I have posted the images via the URLs from the original article. I hope you enjoyed this post. I also gave credit to Adfreak in the very first paragraph of the article. Best,-A.B.

Nightlife Exchange

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Smirnoff and Madonna have paired up to launch a campaign where they ask readers to share their nightlife experiences on Smirnoff’s Facebook Fan page. The campaign, known as the Global Nightlife Exchange created by JWT basically share their nightly college life excursions with the world. This is actually a pretty effective campaign on several fronts because it accomplishes several things at once that are beneficial for both parties. The campaign also involved a includes a contest to find a backup dancer for Madonna. This campaign will encompass several marketing/advertising disciplines working together for the best interest of the brands involved and yes, Madonna is a brand. The disciplines that will be involved in this campaign include: · Social Media- They are asking people to share their nightlife experiences on Facebook. Facebook isn’t the only form of social media they ask people to use. To enter the dance contest to be one of Madonna’s backup dancers you must submit a video showing off their talents.· Product Placement- There will be 50 parties going on simultaneously, where the primary sponsor will have their product on full display. I am sure there will be **· Viral Marketing- The videos that the Madonna contest hopefuls will submit will go viral on places like YouTube. · Sponsorship- Smirnoff will be sponsoring the parties (where their name will be everywhere) and of course it’s their Facebook page that people will be sharing their stories on.· Celebrity Endorsement- **Duh, they are using Madonna.****So do you guys think what I’ve listed above encompasses all the marketing elements involved in this campaign? Best,-A.B.

Hail to the V

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 07:22:00 +0000

Can you guys guess what product this spot is promoting?

Credits: The Richards Group

Exorcist Ad

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:35:00 +0000

The woman featured in this ad parodying The Exorcist movie is not really possessed by the devil. The Dirt Devil Vacuum being used by the granny in the upstairs apartment is sucking the flailing girl to the ceiling. This is of course trying to emphasize the great suction power of the Dirt Devil Vacuum.

The creative folks did an outstanding job in sticking to the authenticity of the Exorcist movie. Although no spinning heads or green vomit appeared in the spot. Also, the build up to the climax of the spot took quite a while to get to. Finally, as I always try to do in every post that I write, I let you know who the ad agency behind the ad is. The production company behind this highly entertaining spot is Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg out of Germany. Also, I was alerted by one of my readers that the man behind the creative is a student and according to ADVERTOLOG’s credits his name is Andre Price. Best,-A.B.

Jolie Does Louis Vutton

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 02:45:00 +0000

*photographed by Annie Leibovitz I have to admit that most of the advertising blog world has already discussed this ad to death, I maybe a little late to the party but I think I can offer a bit more. Let me elaborate, other ad blogs didn’t quite feature the whole ad, they simply showed the main image. Only showing the main image would be ok if they were photography blogs. Ad blogs should show the whole ad. And that is exactly what I’m here to do. Well, let’s move on to the ad. I found the ad above on the back of my Economist magazine. It features the absolutely beautiful Angelina Jolie posing for this Louis Vutton ad done in Cambodia where one of her adoptive children is from. Indecently this location in Cambodia is where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* in 2000. She was interviewed at the shoot where they discussed how natural she looked, barefoot, no makeup and her own tattered Vutton bag. But in my opinion, I don’t think that’s entirely true. I think they put just enough makeup on to make her look all natural and they let Photoshop do the rest.

Jolie Does Louis Vutton

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:19:00 +0000

photographed by Annie Leibovitz

Disability Series: The R-Word

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 06:53:00 +0000

The ad above is a commercial on behalf of the Special Olympics. The campaign is aimed to educate and stop the spread of the “R” word, it being the derogatory term “retarded.” It aims to educate people that the R-word is just as derogatory as any word out there.

I believe the commercial was created by BBDO, New York.

Best, -A.B.

Disability Series: Ads Featuring People with Disabilities

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:49:00 +0000

I wanted to do a series of posts that feature people with disabilities. To see if the majority of the ads focus on the disability also known as “pity ads” or do they focus on the person as an authority or the product. Also, I want to see if most of the spots that feature a disability are advertising a product related to disabilities in general.** The ad below is for overstock.com, besides being all about the O the spokesperson in the ad is Briana Walker. Walker uses a wheelchair but the wheelchair is never shown in the ad. I am ok with the fact the chair was never shown that way it doesn’t take away from what is being advertised.

Aniston Bears it all for SmartWater

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:07:00 +0000

** This is the first time I’ve seen Jennifer Anniston in a print ad and she appears topless no less. For a 42-year old woman she looks absolutely amazing. Now, who knows how much of these types of ads are photoshopped or what she really looks like on a regular day? Everyone has to admit she looks great here, yes even you haters out there.

From my research for this post I discovered that the agency behind this celebrity ad campaign is Kraftworks out of New York. It’s a private ad agency with approximately 5 to 10 million in annual revenue.

Nike: XI Men

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:31:00 +0000

** The ad above is courtesy of Kiss My Black Ads. A Nike ad to celebrate AC Millan’s Series A win. The ad brings together any adolescent males’ two favorite past times, sports and comics.

I’ve asked the curator of KMBA, Craig Brimm if it is possible to get an actual print of this ad. Why? Cause this is what I call true art, people!

The Credits********Advertising Agency: Giuliano Garonzi Studio, Milan, Italy Art Director: Giuliano Garonzi Illustrator: Mauro Marchesi Copywriter: Rino Anzi **Best,-A.B.

Japanese McDonald's Spot

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:08:00 +0000

** This spot was actually released in October 2004. If she were the regular face of McDonalds I would have probably eaten a lot more burgers.

By the way, I don’t this model makes a strong authority for the burger because there is no way she has ever had any McDonalds.

Credits** Agency: DENTSU, JAPAN, Tokyo Brand: McDonalds, Japan Product: McDonalds Creative Director: Whit Friese (ecd)/Hidekazu Sato (cd) Copywriter: Takuma Matsui Art Director: Katsuhiro Shimizu Agency Producer: Ryoichi Okada/Toshiji Kimura Account Supervisor: Makoto Igata/Chihiro Kobayashi/Ayanori Mitsui Advertiser’s Supervisor: Junichi Banba Director: Ichiro Tani Producer: Shun Miyashita/Takashi Honma Lighting Cameraman: Akifumi Yonei (Lighting)/Shoji Uchida (Cameraman) Editor: Masato Sadaoka

Typos Lead to Porn

Mon, 23 May 2011 05:36:00 +0000

I saw the ad above via Adfreak and just had to write about it. First. If my search results simply appeared at my door I’d be a happy man for the rest of my life. I’d simply type 25 million dollars daily. I’d be set for life.

Anyway, the ad above was done for xxxchurch.com, a Web-site that aims to help people who are addicted to pornography according to their Wikipedia page. The ad does a really great job in bringing their tagline to real life, literally. It also managed to bring porn stars, children, and animals. Those three distinct elements are what drew my attention to the spot above.

Funniest Kobe Bryant Interview? Yes Sir!

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:12:00 +0000

Here in Los Angeles, we love our Lakers especially when they win. So when they lose we don’t fall short in showing our disappointment. This is especially true when it comes to Kobe Bryant; he is the franchise player after all. He has developed somewhat of a bad reputation of getting what he wants at the expense of what’s best for the team.**

Kobe Byrant’s Post Game Meltdown - watch more funny videos What’s shown above is a parody mocking him his interviewing comments regarding the state of the Lakers as the series with the Mavs progressed. As all of you should know the Lakers were demolished 0-4 in the series. The sketch is pretty damn funny. The video doesn’t have much to do with advertising per se, it’s more of a commentary of popular culture, branding (Pay attention to Gatorade), and the value we place on athletes and celebrities. After all, we love’em when they are doing well but hate’em when they are not. Kobe will probably be loved again what’s the next season starts. But for now we’ll make fun of him.

Allstate Road Rash Spot

Thu, 12 May 2011 05:44:00 +0000

Client: Allstate Brand: Allstate Motorcycle Insurance Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago

AT&T Ski Lift

Mon, 02 May 2011 04:30:00 +0000

It has been a while since my last blog posting due to a lack of motivation to write posts that I don’t think get read at all. But I don’t think it’s just that, I’ve also given some serious thought to changing the format of this blog. I wanted to change the format to video instead of text. I thought that maybe I can discuss more on camera than via typing. I just couldn’t figure out how to show a commercial and provide commentary on top of it. Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

Only you- Dove

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:55:00 +0000

** So above is another example of marketing and advertising taking the easy way out, a cop out if you will. Why do I say that? Well the above commercial features a beautiful, skinny girl devouring her Dove ice cream bar. That should be considered false advertising. A girl as beautiful, skinny, and confident doesn’t make love to the to the ice cream bar while inhaling it. I’m just saying it doesn’t seem right to me.

Starbucks: Sue

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Update: Violent French PSA

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 07:57:00 +0000

On December 30th, 2010, I wrote about a freaky French domestic violence ad that I couldn’t find who the ad agency that created it was. The post is titled “Freaky Domestic Violence PSA.” I finally have the update I promised you. The agency behind this disturbing piece of creative work is WCIE, based in Paris, France.

Best, A.B.

Logitech with more Ivan Cobenk Ads

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:19:00 +0000

I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 09:46:00 +0000

** Above is a music video/advertisement featuring NBA icon Charles Barkley in a spot for T-Mobile. Oh, he was just being his usual self.

Credentials** Brand: T-MobileClient: T-MobileAd Agency: Publicis Seattle, Pony Show Entertainment

Speak on it Sir Charles, speak on it.

Imprintation Advertising

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Saw the ad above on Copyranter (they got it via), it’s an ad for Superette, an Auckland, New Zealand boutique chain that wanted to promote their sale for short-shorts. So, what’s the unique medium used for advertising? They placed indented plates on bus stop seating areas and park benches to leave imprints on people’s thighs. The goal is that the plates make clear imprints on people’s backsides so that they attract the attention of on lookers (a.k.a. perverts) to the featured sale. Oh, and when I say they I mean DDB Auckland. Well, I have a few issues with the ad above and the way it was executed.

Goodbye 1984: Making Fun of Apple

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:17:00 +0000

The ad above for Motorola makes is an attempt, in my opinion to make fun of Apple. It does so by letting its agency create a spot that makes several references to Apple’s 1984 commercial. The references are made in order to make a statement about Apple’s closed garden view. The main message they want to promote seems to be that people need options.

The ad agency behind the spot is Anomaly. See if you can spot the similarities. Please let me know what you think by commenting below.

Thoughts on the 2011 Super bowl Commercials

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:36:00 +0000

The Force**

Brand: VolkswagenClient: Volkswagen of America, IncAd Agency: Deutsch, L.A.**** There was no doubt in my mind that “The Force” was the best spot of the night. Of course the Mini Vader spot was going to win, people are suckers for small animals and cute babes/kids. Cute babies and kids are the ad industry’s go to play when it comes to entertaining the crowd for the big game. To add to the Mini Vader saga, according to Adfreak Volkswagen’s super kid whose name is Max page suffers from a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, and he needs a pacemaker. Now if that doesn’t pull on people’s heart strings nothing will.

5 Leaked Superbowl Commercials

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:57:00 +0000

Black Beetle**

Client: VolkswagenAd Agency: Deutsch, L.A. The Force****

Client: VolkswagenAd Agency: Deutsch, L.A. Arrive in Style****

Client: ChryslerAd Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Kenny G: Riot Suppressor****

Client: AudiAgency: Venables Bell & Partners Empower the People****

Client: Motorola **Ad Agency: Anomaly

The Degree Wolves

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:37:00 +0000

The ad above I first saw during Roger Federer’s quarterfinal match in the just finished Australian Open. It features Bear Grylls, the star of Man vs. Wild, conducts a race between three average Joes that have been outfitted with “meat ponchos” and of course Degree deodorant and their opposition, a pack of wolves. The objective of the race is to remain alive, be first, and of course without pit stains. All of this was just to show that Degree Deodorant is the best in the business.

A Consolation Ad From Nike

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 07:10:00 +0000

As most of you probably already know, Oregon lost the title game to Auburn on Monday, January 10, 2011 by a score of 22-19. Nike has a special place in its heart for the ducks because co-founder Phil Knight is an alumnus of the school. Knight also donated a $100 million to Oregon athletics along with tons of uniform combinations for the team to wear on the field. To love your school is something I understand completely but why does a big client like Nike approve an ad like the one shown above? When I read the copy I saw it as praise for the losing team.

Captain Morgan's Sexy First Mate

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:01:00 +0000

The ad above was displayed as a billboard on the corner of Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood, California. The billboard grabbed my attention because of the gorgeous blond it focused on. I took the picture myself about two months ago. The featured pretty lady is Victoria Secret supermodel, Marisa Miller as Captain Morgan’s sexy first mate. I’ve wanted to write about this billboard because when I saw I thought how awesome is it that a woman like that is just watching over us.

Freaky Domestic Violence PSA

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:30:00 +0000

FNSF - Le film choc from FNSF on Vimeo.

The ad above has to be one of the most disturbing PSA to stop violence against women. It’s a French PSA to stop violence against women shown in France. It actually scares me that people in advertising can use this type of imagery to scare people into feeling guilty for not speaking up. The imagery in the ad above goes so far over the top that I almost didn’t want to watch the advertisement. Causing people not to watch or be unreceptive to the message of the ad. It would be a disservice to the target audience if people were so put off by the ad that they didn’t watch. And yes, I am one of those people that would walk out of a movie if a woman was being physically abused.

Up in Arms Over Renault's Ad

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:24:00 +0000

Vick Returns to Advertising

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 07:04:00 +0000

Michael Vick, the superstar quarterback who was put in jail for illegal dogfighting is back to advertising. Vick was in jail for about 21 month and most of his blue chip marketers such as Nike have let him go. But he is back, even if it’s on a much smaller scale as a spokesman for Woodbury Nissan in Philadelphia/New Jersey according to an AdAge article.

According to the article will not receive any monetary compensation for the spot you see above except for the use of Nissan Armada. As stated earlier the spot above is on a much smaller scale compared to what the QB used to do in the advertising game but it does get his name back out there.

Michael Jordan on LeBron James

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:07:00 +0000

A new video making the rounds on YouTube is an advertising mashup. The mashup takes segments from two separate commercials and patches them together to create a clear message. The message: The king could still learn a thing or two from “His Airness.” Read the full Ad Age article.

Here is the Mashup ad video.

Here is the original commercial created by W+K.

They aren’t really sure who created the mashup.

Best, -A.B.

Chrome OS: For the Love of Destruction

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 04:55:00 +0000

In the spot above, a guy named Glen tries to create a flyer for a lost cat for his friend but he getting interrupted and his laptop smashed beyond repair. The point of this exercise is to demonstrate how safe the new Chrome OS is because it stores everything in the cloud (online) for those of you non-techies. During the course of the video guys in biohazard suits take pleasure in destroying his Chrome Laptop about for times in several ways.

untitled

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:56:00 +0000

A Voter's Orgasam

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Really wish voting was this exciting. As a country we might actually get more people to come out and vote. The ad above was done for the Socialist Catalonian Party in Spain but can’t find the agency that did it “did it” for them.

Best, A.B.

Absolut Bus Stops

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 06:36:00 +0000

When I first saw this elaborate setup of a Chicago bus stop that was transformed into a small part of the Absolut universe I was amazed at the attention to detail it encompassed. Then I thought to myself, this would do well as a portfolio piece but not in real life situations. Chicago weather gets so cold and wet during the winter season that the Absolut bus stops would be ruined right after the first rain or snowfall.

Amen to This People

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:13:00 +0000

I can’t take credit for the for the saying but I did Photoshop the background design myself. I am putting this up because I can’t find the creators of the last two “real” ads I wanted to discuss and I felt a real need to put something up.

Best, -A.B.

Sex with a Guy With a Mustache

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:45:00 +0000

Apparently, the Asylum and the American Mustache Institute have declared November 18th “Have Sex With A Guy With A Mustache Day.” During the month of November men are encouraged to grow their mustache to show their support and raise awareness about prostate cancer.

In the spot above women wanted to show their support as well, but how could they do it? Well the ladies in the spot above suggest having their woman hood tickled by a mustache, in other words do exactly as the new holiday says. And I fully support the observance of this special day

He is Certainly NOT a Failure

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:54:00 +0000

You certainly can’t call this man a failure with all the things he has accomplished on the basketball court. The commercial above is an awesome spot done by Wieden + Kennedy. Michael Jordan is without a doubt the best basketball player that has ever played the game in my opinion.

Enjoy, -A.B.

Bud Ice Penguins

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Anheuser-Busch packaged Bud Ice in long-necked bottles made to look like, in my opinion, a penguin. The beer company selected the San Francisco-based ad agency Goodby, Silverstein, & Partners, which in turn developed the ads above. “The Oh, and Beware of the Penguins” campaign first aired during the 1996 Super Bowl. The first commercial that aired got such a positive reception that the campaign continued to for the next two years.

No Can For You

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:53:00 +0000

How in the world can anyone tell that this spot is advertising an airline, JetBlue. They are promoting the fact that they give customers the option of keeping the whole can of soda (Yes, it’s their only selling point in this spot). Never mind the problems the airline had with holding customers hostage for over 11 hours on the tarmac and the angry flight attendant (Steven Slater) who cussed out a passenger and deployed the evacuation slide to quit his job. No, not JetBlue they want to focus on giving out full cans of soda to their customer.

Microsoft Tries to One Up Apple

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:06:00 +0000

Since Apple is through thrashing Microsoft with their famous “Get A Mac” campaign created by TBWA Chiat/Day. Microsoft tries to one up its rival with its new campaign. The new campaign points out the lack of Blu-ray in even the latest Mac currently available in the market.

I am almost 100 percent positive that in subsequent they will point out features available in Windows 7 that the Mac doesn’t currently have. Oh, and the ad agency for Microsoft is CP+B.

IMAGINE

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:19:00 +0000

The track above is by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and D’Angelo. People, who now have a major impact on advertising, pop culture and what’s cool in my opinion at least. I put this post cause I liked the song and video very much, wanted easier access to them. This post is once again thanks KMBA.

Best, -A.B.

Milka What

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 03:56:00 +0000

You may or may not know that ITA’s first blog post involved the E*Trade babies. So showing you that the campaign is still going strong brings a smile to my face. I believe the creative responsibilities still fall on Grey Worldwide. E-Trade has been with Grey since 2007. Yes, the commercials still stick in people’s minds. There really isn’t much else for me to say except “Milka What!”

Best, A.B.

Immigrant Spot

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 04:05:00 +0000

This is an old spot, 2008 to be exact but some scenes have actually happen to me and some I hope are yet to come. The agency behind this spot is SEK & GREY, Finland, Helsinki. In other words this spot reminds me of me (sort of).

The spot is for Fonecta, a service for marketing calls and apparently identifies unknown calls for you via text message.

Best, -A.B.

The Real Wendy Thomas

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:42:00 +0000

There isn’t anything particularly special about the creative execution of the ad above. The product isn’t all that special either but it does provide a little education on advertising history. For years I thought the little girl that is the face of Wendy’s was simply a logo designed to attract people to the restaurant chain but nope it’s Dave Thomas’s daughter. In the spot above she’s back “in real life” promoting Wendys’ new product lovingly called Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy Cheeseburger. In the spot Wendy (the real person not the logo) states that since her father named the restaurant chain after her, she named the new menu item after her father, Dave. The spot above is the first time the real Wendy appeared in an ad for the restaurant chain. She is scheduled to appear in three more spots for the restaurant. The spots are by The Kaplan Thaler Group Anyway, I thought this was interesting because it discusses advertising history. Found this spot thanks to Adfreak. Best,-A.B.

Brut Gets To Slappin’

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:03:00 +0000

So, if you haven’t heard Old Spice and their advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy came up with this awesome television campaign that became extremely popular. I mean, viral marketing popular, because after the initial TV spots aired, the main character played by Isaiah Mustafa responded to fan questions through short videos through YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with the same humor used in the original commercials. That sport of interaction made the campaign extremely popular and it might have worked, you can see the video case study in my post: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Click on the image above, see if you notice the similarities.

Windows 7 Phone, Really

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 18:54:00 +0000

The new Microsoft Windows 7 phone campaign, by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, shows things happening to people that make them go “Really”? Meaning, the things that are happening to them are so, utterly unbelievable they can’t believe it actually happened which makes them exclaim, really? Some of the example scenarios from the spot include viewing your phone while in the shower, dropping your phone in the urinal because of texting while in the men’s room, but texting while giving a message has to be my favorite only because saying “really” at a time like that seems truly appropriate.

Aussie Rum Part 2

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:15:00 +0000

The spot above is a continuation to the Aussie Rum post I discussed 6 days ago. Enjoy! Again, the ad agency is Leo Burnett, Sydney.

Best, -A.B.

Rent Is Too Damn High

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:13:00 +0000

Here is a political ad starring Jimmy McMillan, a political activist running for Governor of New York. Is running under the banner of The Rent is Too Damn High Party. Not sure who the agency behind the ad is but I will try to find out and provide you with an update.

Also, he did win. No, actually I was mistaken he did not win.

Best, -A.B.

An Absolut Short Film

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Absolut joins the fun of branded entertainment with a short film “Lemon Drop” about 11 days ago I wrote a post on Rip Curl collaborating with Timeslice Films to create Matrix like effects with surfers. Well, I am here to tell you this movie doesn’t even come close to being as entertaining even though it was almost twice as long. There are major similarities between this short film and the awesome Quentin Terintino film “Kill Bill.”

Ken Jeong Comes to Advertising

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Ken Jeong, better known Leslie Chow from the extremely funny movie “The Hangover” now tries to conquer the advertising world. In the spot above he is featured in the new Adidas commercial with NBA superstar Dwight Howard. They are promoting “The Beast” the footwear giant’s new high-top sneakers. I had to blog about this spot because of the Slim Chin character Dr. Jeong brought to life in the spot.

Slim Chin is a man gold jumpsuit, stands on a pyramid of blond, gorgeous ladies, and is filthy rich because he is so fast. Dr. Jeong gives a very energetic performance, so energetic that it makes Howard seem a bit uptight. The spot is awesome to watch, not for the shoe but for the featured, fast talking comedian.

Tide Pen

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:38:00 +0000

A very on the mark ad created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York. I saw this at adgoodness. I had to write about this because of how well this print ad was executed. It’s one of those rare ads that I think people will understand right away. The product is the Tide’s pen to go.

Best, -A.B.

Aussie Rum

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 05:26:00 +0000

Another weird commercial comes out of Australia. But this time the advertiser is Bundaberg Rum. The first weird Aussie spot I discuss was in a post titled Dirty, Dirty Dishes. In the spot in this post, a crew of sugar millers from the 19th centaury begin to heckle a modern day golfer because he chooses to shoot around the gigantic crocodile sitting in the middle of the green.

My question is, why are all these elements together in the spot and what do they have to do with the rum being advertised? I can’t make a connection between any of these elements. As a matter of fact, all these elements take away some of the focus from the product being advertised.

LeBron, What Should I Do

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:05:00 +0000

This commercial just aired during Inside The NBA featuring the new king of Miami, LeBron James. Inside The NBA aired right after the L.A. Lakers two-point win to start the 2010-2011 season.

The spot several clips of LeBron in various situations like a press conference, poet, on a basketball court, in a construction site, all asking the question “What should I do? In the spot he also provides possible answers in question form like “Should I admit that I made mistakes?” Should I really believe I ruined my legacy? Should I have my tattoo removed? If you follow basketball like I do you would know that this commercial mocks the publics reaction to “The Decision.”

Thicker Hair Polamalu

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:49:00 +0000

Here is another spot for Troy Polamalu but this time for P&G’s Head & Shoulders brand. In the spot Polamalu uses the above mentioned shampoo when he shouldn’t have. Why shouldn’t he have used the shampoo? Because it’s only intended for people who want thicker hair, Polamalu obviously doesn’t need it.

The spot, I believe was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York. Also, you should know that Polamalu’s hair was insured for 1 million dollars.

Futuristic Coke Design

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:23:00 +0000

The image above is of a futuristic Coke bottle design created by Jerome Olivet. The bottle has a sort of Tron feel to it. Visualize the helmet from the movie and the rounded edges of the bottle; they are both very futuristic looking. The bottle is an awesome design that I wish I could have created myself. This post was found through Kiss My Black Ads.

Best, -A.B.

Controversy with Calvin Kline Ad, Again

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:00:00 +0000

**The ad shown above has brought controversy to the designer’s brand once again. CK has apparently had a number of ads brought into question over the years. The ad above was banned in Australia for suggesting rape. Some up-tight, authoritarian figure in the Advertising Standards Bureau thought the ad suggested a gang rape of the pretty lady above.

To me, the ad could have easily been mistaken for a promotional poster for a new season of True Blood. Please take a look at the image below and look at how similar the images look. The pretty ladies in both ads are situated in a manner that looks extremely submissive, but I never heard of an outcry against True Blood. The image for the show above even has some pretty suggestive copy to go along with the image. I wonder if the show went through the same scrutiny in Australia? Granted, Calvin Klein has had a history of pushing the acceptable limits when it comes to sexually charged advertising.

Rip Curl Films

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:17:00 +0000

Surfing super-brand Rip Curl teamed up with Timeslice Films to capture surfers in “bullet time.” Bullet time is the camera effect seen for the first time in the 1999 blockbuster hit movie The Matrix.

I wanted to share this with you guys because I got the sense this is yet another creative attempt at branded entertainment. One of the earliest cases of this, I remember reading about during my graduate school days was BMW Films. An interactive marketing campaign released on the Internet to help promote the new luxury car of that particular year obviously.

Become A Girl Toy

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:06:00 +0000

Really don’t have much to say about the spot above except it was really funny and well executed. The agency, & Co from Denmark made me think it was some sort of PSA to stop violence. But really, Jack & Jones is a jeans store.

Anyway, who wouldn’t become a girl toy?

Best, -A.B.

Disabled in Non Pity Ad, Success

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:54:00 +0000

I saw the ad above on Adfreak and I just had to write about it. Why, you ask? Because the featured model is missing a limb, it is extremely rare that a person with a disability is featured in an ad that doesn’t scream, “Pity me.” Granted the ad was created for a campaign to help raise awareness about disability issues in the French speaking area of Belgium. But be honest, disability isn’t the first thing you thought when you saw the ad? As somebody with an advertising background and a disability I was extremely proud of this ad.

Back to the Original, Logo

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Gap reverted back to its original logo after an uproar from the online community only a week after making the initial change. The new logo was created by New York agency Laird & Partners. Now, trademark registration of the original Gap logo went through in 1972. But I can find out for certain who exactly designed the original iconic logo. So I’m going to assume the founders Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher designed it.

Before and After Models

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 17:01:00 +0000

VIP Medicum, a beauty clinic in Tallinn, Estonia pulled off a controversial marketing stunt in the video you see above. They hired models to act as the “Before” and “After” result of their weight-loss program. Now, I realize that before and after photos are a standard in weight-loss advertising but to use real people?

From what I understand the “Before” model didn’t mind but I think all that really means is that she really needed the money from her job. The models were required to hand out brochures for the clinic. I wonder if each model handed out the brochure for their own body type? You know what I mean, the fat model would handout brochures saying this is how you shouldn’t and the thin one giving out brochures saying this is how you should be. I mean they did it already using real human beings; they might as well remain in the forefront of the consumer’s mind my giving out corresponding brochures.

Signs TV Spot

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:01:00 +0000

The spot above was creatively executed it really rubbed me the wrong way. I guess I didn’t think it was appropriate to use explicit signs of social injustices to promote diversity in your creative department. I am sure that it grabbed the viewers attention due to the shock value, and I don’t think to many of today’s younger generation has been exposed to such a large compilation of signs with clear messages of social injustices.

Chalupas and Yankees

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:00:00 +0000

For the life of me, I can’t find out for sure who the ad agency behind the Taco Bell/ Yankees spot shown above is. I think it’s either TBWA Chiat/Day or DraftFCB but again I am not sure. If anyone knows for sure please leave a comment below. If you’ve watched any preseason baseball on TV then I’m sure you have all seen it at least once.

The whole idea behind the spot is that they use a baseball metaphor to present the joke behind the spot. In the spot the rookie can’t finish the job of eating the whole Chalupa so the manager (Joe Girardi) pulls the rookie out and brings in veteran pitcher Mariano Rivera to finish the job.

Technorati Claim

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Here is my Technorati blog claim token number 26RWN2BTZXUN. Best,-A.B.

Mercedes-Benz Goes Special for Pink

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:12:00 +0000

Mercedes got the “calligraffiti” artist Niels Meulman to create a work of art using the car above as a canvas to commemorate breast cancer awareness month. The artist wrote hundreds of women’s names on the car.

Best, -A.B.

Officially My Most Hated Type of Ad

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 16:57:00 +0000

The ad you see above has officially become my number one most hated type of ad. Here are just a few of my reasons:

It pops up unexpectedly when opening up an app on your iPhone.
It covers the whole screen making you uncertain if you are looking at the app or the app has crashed unexpectedly.
The close this ad button is usually within the smallest area of the screen.
On the iPhone in particularly the close button is hard to push because of the lack of physical buttons.
Trying to close the ads sometime cause you to accidentally launch the ad. This is known as a miss-click and you probably just added to the advertisers revenues even though your click was inadvertent

The ad above that I clicked on displayed when I launched my Huffington Post iPhone App. The ad was promoting another app for the Microsoft’s Bing Search engine. As a matter of fact, clicking on the ad opened the App Store page to download and install the application.

The Wanker Ad

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:30:00 +0000

Image via AdfreakHis name is Rich Will Wanket. He works in real estate and he is responsible for the advertisement above, published in July in the local edition of The Onion. The man featured in the ad is the man who created it. He has an extremely unique name and he decided to publish an advertisement that uses his name’s masturbation innuendoes to gain recognition for his company. The ad got him a lot of recognition but his real estate company didn’t appreciate it and promptly fired him. The real estate company stated that, “It is not a message reflective our brand.” Let me ask you guys something. We all know that sex sells and it usually garners attention for an advertisement but does it really sell the product that it’s promoting? Let me know what you guys think? Best,-A.B.

Flintstones Day

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 06:34:00 +0000

Yesterday, September 30th marked the 50th anniversary of the Flintstones cartoon. This was brought to my attention when I visited Google’s homepage and saw that they had put up a Google Doodle featuring a Flintstones theme. Yes, I know that it would have been better if I’d discussed this post on the day of the anniversary but it just couldn’t be done I was taking the GRE. The design is below.

Upon further research I discovered that the Flintstones were not a children’s cartoon when they were first aired. The Flintstones were actually an adult sitcom much like The Simpsons and Family Guy. I know what you all are thinking right now, how does this relate to Inside That Ad? Well, Winston Cigarettes were the largest sponsors of the Flintstones back in the 60s when the show was airing.

The Look Down

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:20:00 +0000

KFC Has A Job For You

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 06:54:00 +0000

Image via AdfreakIf you are pretty, female, outgoing, need a job, and don’t mind the phrase “Double Down” written across your derriere, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has a job opportunity for you. The campaign’s objective is to tempt college guys into trying the company’s new bun-less sandwich. The job does require a uniform; really it’s just sweatpats sporting the phrase “Double Down” and the KFC logo.

Ladies, the gig pays $500, which may help you forget about your feminist sensibilities for a little while anyway. You can apply for the position to become a human billboard or what the company calls “Brand Ambassadors” by leaving them a message on their Facebook Fan page. If the campaign reaches your campus you’ll know that your application was accepted.

Shake Weight For Men

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:24:00 +0000

The Shake Weight, a dumbbell like piece of exercise equipment has enjoyed tremendous notoriety thanks to the suggestive-way the weight is held. The weight is an arm toning workout product. The way the product is held and used is very sexually suggestive. All you have to do to have a full understanding of what I am saying is watch one or both of the videos.

“We never intended for the women’s device ad to have innuendo,” says Johann Verheem, the inventor of the Shake Weight according to Adfreak. Verheem goes on to say that if you use the product based on the three exercises provided, it’s not suggestive at all. Later in the same article the inventor goes on to admit that sex sells.

Purdue Paper Angers Readers

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 07:24:00 +0000

A few days ago, I read an article in the Huffington Post that on a cartoon that was published in the Purdue University student paper known as The Exponent. The cartoon depicted a couple having sex doggy-style, while the man sneaks away he allows his friend to join in on the act without the woman’s knowledge according to the Jezebel article. The Purdue community was enraged and rightly so, we all should know, sex without consent is rape. I didn’t put an image of the cartoon with this post because I don’t want that sort of thing on my blog but you can see the cartoon via the Jezebel article. Here is the big issue I want you the reader to ponder, is marketing and today’s media partially to blame for the fact that the creators of the cartoon thought people would think this is funny? Are we as a culture that has to take some blame for these youngsters error in judgment? I only ask because one of the biggest commandments in marketing is the idea that sex sells. I think it’s one of the first things that marketers learn. Let me know what you all think in the comments below. Best,-A.B.

Amen, Brother

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:07:00 +0000

Craig Brimm, founder of the advertising blog Kiss My Black Ads, created the image above. I had to write about the ad because as a guy on the client service side of advertising. I felt truer words were never spoken. Plus, I really like the background design that the text lays on. Best,-A.B.

Promoting South Bend’s "Pubic" Schools

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:48:00 +0000

A sign in South Bend, Indiana. Photo By: Lee MacMillanThe creators of the billboard above never had those weekly, Friday spelling tests when they were in school, I’m guessing. It’s even more embarrassing when your message is intended to celebrate your local— pathetic, public—school system. Yeah, a friend sent me this article from MSNBC.

By Monday, responsibility for the error was taken by Blue Waters Group. They do feel bad, but they should be held responsible for the egg on their client’s face.

Amen to That Brother

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 06:14:00 +0000

It's Complex Cover

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 04:57:00 +0000

I saw the above cover page of next month’s Complex Magazine issue and I thought to myself I have to write a post on it. Why, you ask? Because when I saw Nicki Minaj’s picture in another blog that I follow I figured she has to be on my blog too. Well and the other reason is there is a large disparity between the number of posts I write discussing print ads compared to television spots.

Bags Fly Free on SWA

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:15:00 +0000

Southwest is back to using benefit advertising to bag on its competitors with its “Bags Fly Free” campaign. They use a good cop; bad cop routine to point out their competitor’s shortcomings. The bad cop is screaming, “We know your charging for bags, drop the bags and turn around.” Then the good cop screams, “Protect the load.” The majority of the spots revolve around the baggage handlers and how much they care about your bags.

Social Links on Bench Ads

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Apparently social networking buttons have become quite trendy, more trendy then I ever expected. In the bench ad above, there was advertising for a realtor. Notice that the company has all the social networking quick links proudly displayed on the bench. Why would these be important for a realtor to display on a bench? Well, I looked at the advertiser’s YouTube channel and all it does is show clips of properties that it is responsible for.

untitled

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 07:55:00 +0000

Designs on the Back of Coke Cans

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 07:53:00 +0000

When I first started this blog about two years ago I wanted to share with people more information about the people that actually created the ad. I am finding that the traditional T.V. spots and print ads are relatively easy to find who created them. It’s the more obscure forms of advertising that I am struggling to find details on the creators.For example, the design on the coke below, who designed it? The abstract design of the coke bottle and the soccer ball on the back of the can shown below, I think I can safely assume that the soccer ball was selected in celebration of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa but again who created these abstract designs? Should I be satisfied with knowing that the company either did the designs in-house or contracted the work to a traditional Madison Avenue agency?

Designs on the Back of Coke Cans

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 07:21:00 +0000

For example, the design on the coke below, who designed it? The abstract design of the coke bottle and the soccer ball on the back of the can shown below, I think I can safely assume that the soccer ball was selected in celebration of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa but again who created these abstract designs? Should I be satisfied with knowing that the company either did the designs in-house or contracted the work to a traditional Madison Avenue agency?

Social Links on a Bench Ad

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 06:12:00 +0000

Y&R SF and Dr Pepper Snapple Part Ways

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:23:00 +0000

Y&R and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) will be parting ways after 40 years of working together according to an Ad Age article. In ’08 DPSG moved three of their brands away from Y&R to Deutsch , the three beverages moved are Dr Pepper, Snapple and Diet Dr Pepper. A shake up of brands happened again in February of 2010 when DPSG moved Canada Dry, Sunkist, and A&W Root Beer to McGarryBowen without a review. This meant that Y&R only had 7UP after a 40-year relationship with DPSG.

Dirty, Dirty Dishes

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:50:00 +0000

It must be celebrate Australia day here at Inside That Ad. The ad above is a creative attempt to promote dishwashing soap. The reason I felt I did to write a post on this ad by DDB Group Melbourne is because I had to watch the commercial a couple of times before I figured out what they were selling. The spot is selling dishwashing soap but first thought they were selling male adult services for the ladies, then I thought maybe they are promoting an adoption agency, and finally the soap.

untitled

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:41:00 +0000

The Death Spot

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:28:00 +0000

I saw the spot above on Adfreak and had to talk about it here because I have never seen an ad promoting euthanasia before. Now, the first thing you should know is that euthanasia is illegal in Australia, where the spot aired.

I had to do a little research to find out that assisted suicide is legal in some U.S. states like Oregon, Washington and Montana. You have to realize that there is a difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide. In assisted suicide doctors are simply helping the patient carry out his or her wishes but in euthanasia the administrator or doctor is doing it for them.

untitled

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 02:32:00 +0000

http://www.dirtydishes.com.au/

ESPN and W+K Team Up

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:10:00 +0000

Wieden+Kennedy New York went to work for ESPN and created the “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” brand campaign to share with the public the norms of the sports world. The only issue I have with it is that it’s like beating a dead horse. People already know that sports discussions are a normal part of American culture. The spot is funny and entertaining but it didn’t tell teach me anything I didn’t already know.

I (Heart) Boobies is in Hot Water

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:47:00 +0000

This post is a response to an article I read on Adrants regarding the latest marketing attempt to raise breast cancer awareness and how it has become just another platform to sell more stuff as oppose to truly educating people. Apparently, “I ♥ boobies” bracelets are all the rave according to another article the Adrants author referenced, written for Salon.com. The author of the Salon article isn’t too pleased with the bracelet campaign not because Schools are banning rubber bracelets, as if they are brain washing our youngsters.

NFL Sunday Ticket Campaign

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Here are the other NFL Sunday Ticket campaign commercials that I could find. This is simply to show you guys the rest of the spots in the campaign. Of course my favorite is the New Orleans Saints Voodoo spot.

The first one was titled the “Cheeseheads” spot.

Second is the Dallas Dog.

Third is the Eagle’s Game.

Fourth is Home of the Pats.

Anyway, enjoy everyone and please let me know if you find more.

Saints "Voodoo" Direct TV Spot

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:20:00 +0000

Direct TV has taken their NFL Sunday ticket commercials to new heights with this Voodoo practicing Saints fan in the spot above. In the spot, the Saints fan torture a rival Atlanta Falcons supporter using a voodoo doll. What heinous crime has the Falcons fan’s only crime, you ask? He purchased a Direct TV package that will allow him to watch his team regardless of where he lives.

The Saints fan sits at home pricking a doll with needles that inturn cause the Falcons supporter to fall to the ground in pain. With an evil grin on his face the Saints fan mumbles, “Dirty birds can’t fly with a broken wing.” When watching the spot you can’t help but laugh at his agony. But I must say, I’d be interested to know what sort of information the creative brief had that enabled the art directors at Deutsch to realize this would be a funny scenario for Direct TV’s football audience?

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:58:00 +0000

So, Wieden + Kennedy truly believes that their “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign worked and I think I am in agreement. W+K released a video demonstrating their results visually, a video case study if you will. The video above is mostly clips of various spots. Some of the stats that W+K mentioned include:

• Old spice accounted 75% of conversations in the deodorant category. • YouTube video reached 40 million views in a week. • Campaign impressions were 1.4 billion. • Sales apparently went up 27%.

Sandwiches Made for Armageddon

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:13:00 +0000

The leading technology in sandwich making, the Candwich, that’s right, it’s a sandwich in a can. The Candwich is made by Mark One Foods. This latest sandwich innovation comes in several flavors including: PB&J Candwich and BBQ Chicken Candwich, which are expected to hit the market in August. Their big claim to fame seems to be that they stay fresh for up to a year without needing any refrigeration hence the title. If Armageddon ever hit while I’m alive, I know what I’ll be having.

Disrespectoids From Capri Sun

Fri, 07 May 2010 15:08:00 +0000

Cupri Sun’s new “Respect the pouch” campaign is a bit disturbing to me. And I believe that I have a valid reason. In the video above several TV spots within the campaign are shown. The last spot shown features a girl on a beach that barriers the Cupri Sun pouch in the sand. As her punishment she is turned into a sand sculpture. This is caused by the magical super powers the pouch apparently possesses. In my opinion, this only serves to put the brand in a negative light. I don’t think this was the company’s intended position.

Where have all the Ass Models Gone

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 07:36:00 +0000

Image Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1254795/Im-Kate-Mosss-hand-double-Behind-scenes-body-model.html

Four days ago I read an Adfreak post on the luxurious life of Gemma Howorth, a British woman who touches faces for a living. She earns up to £ 2,000 a day touching faces for some pretty big time advertisers. Lily Cole was the advertiser mentioned in the post but Ms. Howorth has done many advertisements. You see, Ms. Howorth was bestowed with the perfect hands. Hands that are long, slender, and have long nailbeds that look Godly on camera.

Reflecting So Well

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:50:00 +0000

Image source: Elena Kalis

Dutch Nurses Say No to Sex

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:25:00 +0000

The Dutch Nurses’ union NU’91 wants to put the world on notice, that sexual services are not part of in-home care. Currently they are preparing a campaign called “I Draw the Line Here.” These wonderful people shouldn’t have to but apparently it happens so often that they felt it necessary to implement a campaign. This took off when a Dutch patient demanded sexual favors from his in-home caretaker, when she refused he tried to dismiss her from the job.

Lost Piano Player

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:23:00 +0000

I saw the ad above on a DVR recording of the Godfather, I thought it was one of the most heart warming spot I’ve ever seen, it was a spot for The Foundation For a Better Life. A boy gets separated from his parents and finds a piano so he proceeds to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Little did the boy know that the piano he discovered was the piano for the concert he and his parents were attending. He quickly realizes he was in front of a large audience and panics. The main performer comes up to the stage and helps him play the song he attempted but with more elegance.

Lost Piano Player

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:25:00 +0000

Our Very Own Domain

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:26:00 +0000

Inside That Ad now has its very own domain. so that readers can easily access the site and we can start building an identity. We will no longer have the blogger name attached to us.

Best, A.B.

Inside That Ad Now on YouTube

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:41:00 +0000

Introducing this blog on my YouTube channel. You can visit my YouTube channel at BocciaMan25

Best, A.B.

Paris Hilton Objectifies Women, No

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:35:00 +0000

The beer spot above was banned in Brazil for objectifying women too much. Now, please keep in mind that this Devassa Beer commercial features Paris Hilton. My question to these Brazilian regulators is “What did you expect,” it features Paris Hilton. Anything and everything she does objectifies women somehow.

I believe the ad agency that created this spot is McCann Erickson, Brazil.

Best, A.B.

Disability Spot, Actually Using a Disabled Person

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:36:00 +0000

Wirestone, an ad agency from Chicago created a spot for Health & Disability Advocates where it urges employers to hire people with disabilities and look beyond the labels. The main character in the spot, Alana Wallace, is an actual wheelchair user due to getting polio as a child. The other employees in the office all demonstrate their own particular disability. For example, unable to dress properly is considered a disability. The spot gets the point across without pittying the disabled employees which I think whenever you see anything disability related on TV. Kudos to the folks at Wirestone.

Different Scent Kiss

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Surrogates: The Movie

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Surrogates, is the newest Sci-fi thriller starring Bruce Willis. The movie follows two FBI agents who are investigating the murder involving the creator of the new high-tech robots. But fir the life me I cannot find out who created the print ads for the darn movie. I have tried several Google searches with no luck.

The ads are of these seemingly perfect models but they are half man and half machine. It seems like a new version of the Terminator movies.

Gangland: BBDO Germany

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Oh the possibilities, the ad above could have easily been mistaken for an advertisement for Gangland, a History Channel TV series. The Gangland and BBDO Germany ad look as if they could come from the same family. But the ad above is actually a recruitment ad for BBDO Germany.

If I would have saw the ad I would have simply passed by it because I would have thought it was promoting a TV show. Well ok, maybe not me because I honestly love the show. But honestly as a print ad the message will not resonate with the intended target audience very well. An online interactive ad would work 10 better especially with young advertising professionals.

Promotional Models

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Beautiful women dressed in next to nothing have become very popular in some of today’s top selling video games. Electronic Arts (EA) is one of the most famous companies that creates some of these games. To promote some of these games, EA used Promotional girls also known as (booth girls) to attract video game fanatics. But back in 2006 they were banned. This year EA is taking it a step further by holding a contest where at this year’s Comic-Con convention attendees can win prizes if they commit suggestive acts with the beautiful ladies and photograph it.

Very Angry Moms

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:12:00 +0000

We know that sometimes moms can get frustrated at the grocery store. Kids crying, wanting nothing but junk food, not having enough cash, but nothing like the commercial above for Mountain Dew Level Up or Die for the brand’s Game Fuel. They take it to a whole new level when they turn into characters from the game “World of War Craft.”

The work was created by BBDO New York with visual effects from Zoic Studios.

RIP Goes Out to the King of POP

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:28:00 +0000

I am sure you all know by now that Michael Jackson, the king of pop died today at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. The news of the tragedy caused some site to temporarily crash due to so many people logging on to read about the tragedy. A lot of famous people have been dying off recently and I don’t know what its all about.

The ad above is a commercial Jackson did for Pepsi. Where a freak accident occurred and his hair caught on fire. I think that may have been his most famous advertising moment. It’s a bit mean spirited to say about a person who just died today but it’s the first thing that came to my mind.

BK Blowing Away

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:59:00 +0000

First let me say, the ad above is not a CP+B production, according to Adfreak it came out of Singapore on behalf of Burger King. The copy for this ad, if you can believe it is “Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled.” First, I can’t believe this ad didn’t get censored to hell especially in a conservative country like Singapore, don’t they give you 20 years for being in possession of a single marijuana joint or something like that?

Scientology

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:51:00 +0000

High on Religion

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Can religion and recreational drugs play nice together? When you first take a look at the ad above you would think so. This ad directs users to WonderCafe.ca, a forum for religious discussion and debate. The site belongs to the United Church of Canada. They can’t be Catholic because a stunt like this would require a million Hail Marys, or maybe a flogging, whatever works I guess. That’s why if I had a choice I’d go with the other guys.

Agency.com

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:05:00 +0000

Find more videos like this on AdGabber* * ** So I found the infamous Agency.com pitch viral video that they did for Subway via Adrants and Adgabber. The only thing is I couldn’t understand what was so inappropriate about it. I understand that it seemed kind of dumb and may have embarrassed the client but I didn’t see anything offensive, did you guys? The article Adrants said, “They publicly masturbate but there was some backslapping. But people have to understand that the video is an agency pitch video so there has to be a congratulatory tone to the video. What do you guys think?

Bing Keeps you from Looking Like a Moron or Does it?

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Sorry for the long delay between posts everyone. But I can’t write posts in my office anymore because of recent changes to my work schedule. Anyway, let’s talk about Bing baby. Bing is Microsoft’s latest attempt to catch up with all mighty Google with respect to search engines. The campaign claims that Bing is the “Cure” to search overload.

If you watch the spot you can understand what they tried to do with this particular creative execution. They are simply saying that with traditional search engines your results are loaded with sites that seem related to what you searched for but they really aren’t. The way they visually demonstrate this is by having one person say something they are looking for like “cheap tickets” and others would make a million suggestions for similar terms. After even 10 seconds of listening to this you will be extremely annoyed and that when they make the statement Bing is the cure to search overload.

untitled

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:19:00 +0000

American Legacy “Truth” efforts, are back with a vengeance and what has replaced them are relatively simple. But the dancing, singing, and voice boxes are gone for now at least. The “Truth” campaign brings you humorous mock interviews for tobacco exec positions. Applicants are told that the company kills millions but they have a great benefits package.

The theme for the campaign is “Do you have what it takes to be a tobacco exec?" The humor is silly but I think the creative executions got the point across without causing people to become physically ill. Actually, that only happens to me when I think about the voice synthesizers

Puppets Got Jokes

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:02:00 +0000

Here is yet another puppet commercial except this time it is a parody off of another commercial that Kobe did for Nike. In the spot above Kobe jumps over a car, in the one below the Kobe-LeBron puppets make fun of it. Yeah even puppets got jokes.

Best, A.B.

Intern Auction Has Closed

Thu, 28 May 2009 19:01:00 +0000

The intern auction placed on EBay by Crispin Porter + Bogusky ended yesterday with the winning bid of $17,655.00. The winning bidder was Brammo, an electric motorcycle maker. The final price seems high to me when all they are getting is intern work. The proceeds will be passed on to the 39 interns Crispin has working for it. I think the bonus will get those interns an extra lunch on the job.

The Art of Shaving

Thu, 28 May 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Gillette has posted a set of instructional videos for it customers. In one particular video they give the “men” instructions on how to safely shave the male region. The ad uses phrases like when you have no bush it makes your tree look bigger. I don’t think this video will go over well in this part of the world because guys usually view the shaving of that region as something they won’t share with the rest of the planet.

Puppet Follow-up

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Here are the latest two spots for Nike involving puppets that resemble the two NBA stars. This is simply a follow up to the post I wrote earlier Titled “LeBron, Kobe “Just Do It” Puppet Style” I posted these simply for your enjoyment.

Best, A.B.

Ice Breakers Turn You to Mr. Freeze

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Stardust Studios transformed the scruffy looking kid in the spot into a corny looking version of Mr. Freeze in the spot above for Ice Breakers Cool Mint candy. As someone from the account side of advertising I would love to look at the strategy plan and creative brief behind this creative execution. More specifically, what’s the big idea? The candy puts you in a different state of mind; because the character that the kid transforms into is something I think you would see if you were tripping on acid.

CP+B Auctions Interns

Thu, 21 May 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Here is yet another example of thinking out of the box by Crispin Porter & Bogusky (CP+B). I believe the auction was announced on May 18st, what the winning bidder would be getting is three month of work that result in a “creative presentation.” The presentation consists of strategies, their recommendations, and brand positioning statements, all developed by the hard working interns at CP+B. The winning bidder is responsible for any production work.

Mac Hits Back

Thu, 14 May 2009 22:38:00 +0000

Apple has shot back at PC’s bargain Hunter ads with new ones like the one shown above. I’d have to say that it is probably funnier then most. Again, Apple’s ad agency is TBWA Chiat/Day.

Best, A.B.

TiVo Come TiVo Go

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:40:00 +0000

So I have to tell you guys, I got TiVo on May 7st and returned it May 13th. I was all excited about being able to watch all the shows I try to follow throughout the week at anytime. But I quickly realized that it would not be able to serve my needs because my TV runs on a Direct TV cable box. Being on the Direct TV system means I would not be able to record a show on one channel while watching another because the Direct TV box was a single tuner, to me this shortcoming sort of defeated the purpose of having a DVR system. I mean, why have a recorder if you are going to be forced to watch what’s being recorded at the time, right?

LeBron, Kobe "Just Do It" Puppet Style

Tue, 12 May 2009 21:25:00 +0000

A friend of mine from work showed me the new Nike commercial above. According to a few other blogs these new puppet commercials are part of a new Nike ad campaign being rolled out during the playoffs. They create puppets that resemble the two top players in the NBA. LeBron puppet is so excited about the upcoming playoffs and he cannot hide it while Kobe is the more stoic of the two.

Increase Currency by Making Love

Mon, 11 May 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Bontrust Bank in Germany takes the idea of multiplying your money to a whole new level in the spot above. The spot shows Abe Lincoln who is on the $5-bill and the German pianist Clara Schumann who is on the 100 DM note (getting it on). Eventually they multiply aka have babies that look just like their father but everything must always must come to an end and the pretty lady on the 100 DM note falls for Chairman Mao the first president of China.

A Look at the Birds and the Bees

Wed, 06 May 2009 20:19:00 +0000

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “Let’s talk about the birds and the bees.” The creators of this print truly thought outside the box and produced something truly creative. The ads were created for a sex boutique in Denmark called Lust. The illustrations visually portray the phrase using the things that we don’t consider sexual at all. By the way, I found this ad through one of my favorite ad blogs, Adfreak.

Dream Job in the Ad Business

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Find more videos like this on AdGabber*

The title of this post might be a bit misleading and no my dream job is not to karaoke to the song, “Hey Jude” in the middle of Trafalgar Square in London. But it is my dream to coordinate large events for agency clients such as the one shown above sponsored by T-Mobile and coordinated by Saatchi & Saatchi. Can you imagine what kind of planning it takes to put on an event like this? There is so many little things that go into planning an event like this that nobody thinks about. Here is what Saatchi & Saatchi coordinated for T-Mobile:

BO, Disgusting yet Funny

Tue, 05 May 2009 18:08:00 +0000

The commercial above is one of those “it’s so disgusting it’s funny” kind of ads. It makes you wonder what kind of drugs the creative directors are on to be able to come up with stuff like this.

The whole premise of this spot is that the guy is sweating so much that he unleashes a waterfall whenever he gets close to another person. People have to use ponchos in the sun because how much the man sweats when he is close by. Only the Axe Dry deodorant being promoted can help.

Arby's Sweet Cherry Pie

Mon, 04 May 2009 19:02:00 +0000

I wanted to discuss the T.V. spot above for Arby’s bacon cheddar roast burger in comparison to the Mercedes Benz post I wrote about earlier. Simply put the spot above is funny, it makes sense, and it’s memorable. In this spot it is easy to make the connection between the greasy burger and the missing four digits of the phone number. In the Mercedes spot what’s the connection between the monsters and the car itself? There may have been a connection I just couldn’t see it.

Mercedes, I Don't Get It

Mon, 04 May 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I saw this Mercedes Benz spot on one of my favorite ad blogs (besides this one of course) but I don’t get it. The main scene focuses on the car, driving at night, from the point of view of the headlights. Then the car makes a stop in the road to kick out these monsters that appear in your dreams (or did they mean nightmares). My point is, what were they trying to say with this spot?

Adidas Reaching the Ladies

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:27:00 +0000

About three days ago, one of the readers of my blog alerted me to a new campaign by Adidas known as “Jersey Swap.” The campaign was designed to encourage women to show support for rugby in New Zealand. Adidas would like women to actively show their support for the 14 rugby teams. They could even have their two favorite players swap jerseys. You can get to the site by clicking here.

Pepsi’s I’m Good

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:37:00 +0000

I saw the above Pepsi Max spot during last night’s Laker game against the Jazz and must admit I fell out of my chair because of laughing so hard. The ad is more of a slapstick comedy routine versus true promotion of a product. Several guys from the commercial would have severe brain damage if the ad was “real.” I should probably feel bad for finding humor in grown men hurting themselves and then quickly proclaiming, “I’m good.” But doesn’t our culture condone watching people hurt themselves for our amusement? I mean that why the ad above is so funny, right?

Absolut Hugs

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Several months ago, on February 10th to be exact I wrote about Absolut and how it became the first distilled spirits company to have a commercial appear on prime time CBS owned station. The above spot is another commercial in the “Absolut World” campaign. In an “Absolut World” hugs and kisses are the currency of choice traded for real world items. The spot above is the UK version of the ad.

Cavs Playoff Proposal

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I thought the spot above was extremely funny. It a parody on the Heineken commercial created by TBWA\NEBOKO in the Netherlands. Except in the Cleveland Cavaliers commercial they are screaming about shoes while the ladies in the other room are going wild about an engagement. I prefer the Cavs version a lot more then that of the beer brand. It a lot more humorous then its beer counterpart. I feel like I’ve seen so many beer spots that I’ve actully grown tired of them.

Ads in Private Parts

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:06:00 +0000

The ad above appeared on another advertising blog around the 16th of this month but I thought the execution was so unique I had to discuss it in my own blog. The image above would be considered out-of-home advertising. The sponsor for this ad was Silk Soft. The message that Soft Silk was trying to communicate is that their tissue is 100% recycled.

I’m not sure if recycled toilet paper is such a good thing. I’ve heard that Starbucks recycles cups and if you do a DNA test on a recycled used cup, you will more then likely find the DNA of more then just the last user.

Beckham, Terminator 5

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:02:00 +0000

David Beckham is in another ad, what do you know. This time it isn’t an underwear ad it is for Moterola. I like the ad because its drawing inspiration from the classic Terminator movies. What purpose do these Becham ads serve except for being eye candy for the ladies? The TV spot above barley shows the product.

The ads must have taken some heavy Photoshop work at the semi-comp and comp stage from the people at Ogilvy Advertising, UK. But I am sure they knew they needed to take full advantage of Beckham’s star power. His endorsement of the Aura phone by Motorola gives it tremendous credibility.

Team Hoyt Billboard

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:55:00 +0000

I saw the Team Hoyt billboard ad driving around town in Los Angeles and began to wonder why the ad was created. First, you should know that Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father and son team that competes in marathons together. The catch is Rick Hoyt is confined to a wheelchair. His dad pushes him in his wheelchair through every marathon or triathlon race they enter. The story inspires just about everyone that hears about it.

PC, Fighting The Good Fight

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:20:00 +0000

On March 28th I wrote about the new ads being produced by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for the Windows platform to fight off the Apple marketing assault. The ads are still attacking the fact that Macs are still very expensive and aren’t available to everyone. In the ad above CP+B uses two kids, while in their first attempt they used the naive PC shopper “Lauren” who we found out later, is just an actress and probably not looking for a new PC.

Adidas Update

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Just a quick update on a post I wrote a while back titled “The NBA Goes Back to College.” I found out through a comment on AdGabber, an advertising social network that those NBA Adidas ads were most likely done in-house. This is probably why the user claims there is an appearent lack of polish to the spots. I thought they were pretty good. But again, all this is just my humble opinion.

Down But Not Out

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:39:00 +0000

I don’t know how many people recently visited the Enfatico Web-site, it’s actually pretty cool. It has a giant hammer right on the homepage with the agency name plastered right in the middle. I’m not exactly sure what the hammer is supposed to signify, maybe they hammer out ideas. But ironically enough they are being hammered into a division of Young & Rubicam. I could have guessed that from the very beginning of the agency’s life. I don’t think anybody can survive with just one client especially in the current economy.

Another Condom Ad, or is it?

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:28:00 +0000

So I saw the ad above on another ad blog and as it turned it a condom ad. I have to tell you folks; I had to take a second look because at first I thought it was an ad for suntan lotion. I thought it was a great creative idea but people would have to take the time to think about what they are seeing in order to understand it. The ads I saw certainly grabbed my attention.

Sprint's Present to Twitter

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:17:00 +0000

The spot above created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners must have been Sprint’s gift to Twitter. What other reason could they have for giving them free product placement in their television spot that I believe is airing nationally. The spot gives a shout out to several Web 2.0 product and services such as YouTube and Google. The question is why are they doing this in a nationally aired spot? Are these other Internet companies helping pay for the spot?

Donation Letter

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

Sport is something most of us have enjoyed at some point in our lives. Some of us even go on to compete at the highest levels of a particular sport. What most of us don’t realize is that if you have a disability, participating in sports can sometimes be out of reach no matter how well we perform. That’s why I’m asking for your help.

I am the best in the sport of boccia in the United States. I also have cerebral palsy.

BK Dwarf Ad

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:56:00 +0000

The Burger King ad above will undoubtedly cause some controversy because of the way the used the little person actor. Some people may take offense with the commercial because it could be perceived as making fun of the disabled. The spot is promoting the new BK breakfast shots. I think the main message of the commercial is that it is saying even though the breakfast shots are small they still do the job of filling you up. Just like the farmer, even though he is small in stature, he is still a hard worker and gets the job done.

Schick Quattro Helps Women

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:36:00 +0000

JWT NY

Cleavage Day

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:17:00 +0000

Apparently April 3rd is national cleavage day in New Zealand. I wouldn’t have found out about it if it wasn’t for one of my favorite ad blogs, Adfreak. According to the post it’s a day centered around bras and other partially scandalous clothing. The day was made popular via the popular social network Twitter. Much like the Adfreak blogger I too think the U.S. must hurry up and come up with a similar day. We can have a day where we all wear a special article of clothing. But I don’t think it needs to be anything that will offend anyone.

Microsoft and Basketball

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Is it possible that Microsoft is trying to get into the spirit of March Madness with the ad above? Maybe I don’t have as good of a grasp on what quality advertising is, as I once thought. Why is the illustration above relevant to the product being advertised by the Redmond company? For those of you who don’t know, Microsoft Visual Studio is used for writing programs. How does the copy in the ad above make the connection related to monsters and basketball?

Guitar Hero Mania

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:20:00 +0000

I’ve been here quite a lot about the game Guitar Hero on TV and other media. Apparently the game is all the rave. Well the game has a new television commercial that feature big time college-basketball coaches. The A-list of coaches includes: Bob Knight, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. I don’t think they were doing to well playing along with Metallica.

Here is the big question from my point of view, how do these celebrity endorsers help the game sell more? These big time coaches can’t honestly be considered musical authorities, can they? This commercial must be for brand awareness and entertainment purposes only.

Fashion or Computer Ad

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:59:00 +0000

I saw the ad above on one of my favorite advertising blogs (besides this one of course) Adfreak. It’s an ad for Dell’s Adamo laptop. By the way I think the laptop sucks because you cannot downgrade it to a Windows XP operating system. Anyway, back to discussing the print ad itself. The ad looks a little unusual if you ask me it looked more like a fashion ad as opposed to a computer one.

Mac VS PC Ad Wars Continue

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion

So Microsoft has come up with a new advertising tactic in an attempt to combat the beating Apple has given the Microsoft brand with its Mac vs. PC ads. The Redmond company’s new advertising tactic is to point out the significant price increase between Macs and a traditional Windows PC. The price is about the only point that Microsoft can honestly combat the folks down in Cupertino with.

Amazon Associates

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:29:00 +0000

You probably have all noticed the 2 new book links that are showing up from Amazon. First, I hope you like it and it doesn’t take away from the primary content. Secondly, I am testing out this new feature to give you easy access to high quality advertising books. So if you think you’d like to read one of them by all means click on the link.

Best, A.B.

Spook Recruitment Ads

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:40:00 +0000

I can’t believe the CIA is using the mainstream media to recruit future spooks. Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t see anything wrong with using all methods available to spread the word about your needs. But I mean come on your not going to work for Wal-Mart, it’s the C.I. freaking A! The CIA apparently needs a few good men &#151 and women. I wonder can we blame this on the current state of the economy too?

K&G | 911

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Fake 911 calls are fun for teenage pranksters, but only if they don’t get fined for tying up emergency lines with non-emergencies. There are people out there with real emergencies.Well, when I saw this ad, I feel like I became a victim, because I thought I was about to read a real 911 call. The above ad, created for K&B Fashion, not only fakes out its audience, it is also a terrible creative execution. The ad is a fake 911 emergency call involving a woman who bought clothes, but apparently, the clothes weren’t fashionable enough. So, apparently K&B’s message is that if you shop with them, you will get stylish clothes without being a victim of high prices. The emergency phone call in the ad was terrible to listen to because of the crying woman and the emotionless operator.

Gaming Industry Upheaval

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:39:00 +0000

In the U.K. the game industry is upset because of the new ads appearing in U.K. government’s Change For Life campaign, let’s just say it puts them in a negative light and the industry isn’t too happy about it. The image of the board-looking child with a joystick in his hands and a headline that included the word death really ticked the industry off. The campaign was only intended to promote a healthier lifestyle not cause riots.

Feelin' Sorry for Myself

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Last night I was watching the TV show Trust Me, a show that I’ve previously discussed on this blog. One of their two storylines for last night’s episode was about about a guy who was fired because his work was just not very good. Several years later the main characters in the show give him another chance only to discover that he still isn’t very good. So now they need to fire him again and the show takes off from there.

Go Humans Go

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Go humans go is the main theme for the new campaign by Quaker Oats, a division of PepsiCo. The campaign is intended to provide you with a lift. I am guessing they mean a boost in energy? The campaign will appear in three different media vehicles which include: television, print, online, outdoor, promotions, and events. Supposedly using Quaker Oats products will make you feel good about yourself. Apparently, we need advertising’s help in feeling good about ourselves in these poor economic times.

The Poker Look

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:19:00 +0000

The Full Tilt ad above was created by Wongdoody, an LA based ad agency. The way the ad was executed is outstanding because it requires the audience to take a second look to understand but the rest of the ad is an attention grabber that entice people to take a second look. Poker enthusiasts will absolutely love this ad.

Wongdoody has several other executions in print and TV formats. All the ads employ famous poker players which makes them a believable authority.

Feelin' Like a Fish

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:36:00 +0000

I love this ad by the Ad Council concerning children with Asthma. I love how expressive both the copy and the image, they go together so well. I saw this ad while shopping for jeans at a local mall. It was executed so well that I felt I had to take a picture with my iPhone. It wasn’t the best of “snaps” but it got the job done while I was in a crowded mall.

Adidas Ads

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:09:00 +0000

NBA Goes Back to College

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:37:00 +0000

To get into the swing of March Madness Adidas came up with something pretty cool in my opinion. It’s taking four of its NBA endorsers back to college in a series of ads. What is important to note is that the four NBA stars being used in the commercials jumped from high school right into the NBA.

Also, being a huge Kansas fan I have to show this one:

Anyhow, Dwight Howard will be at Kansas, Tracy McGrady at Louisville, Josh Smith will be headed to Pitt and Kevin Garnett will be here in not-so-sunny L.A at UCLA. There are some other players I would have liked to have seen on these ads like Kobe and LeBron but they are Nike People.

Disabled Dancer

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:38:00 +0000

Saatchi & Saatchi, London created commercials that feature a disabled dancer for its “Life Flows Better” campaign for Visa. The dancer, Bill Shannon uses his crutches and skateboard to perform his dance routine. I guess they figured that his routine meshes well with the theme of the campaign. Out of all the creative campaigns that they could have done they chose a commercial idea that centers around a disabled dancer? Does visa have an image problem that they are trying to resolve?

Windvertising Getting bigger

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Just a bit over a month ago I wrote a post on Windvertising and now its great to see that its being noticed on a much larger scale. According to a Brandweek article, Ricoh a large provider of office technology is teaming up with WePOWER to implement a more eco-friendly advertising solution for the company. The company’s more eco-friendly advertising will display in the middle of Times Square.

WePOWER will implement its technology which will consist of 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels. This new execution will supposedly save $15,000 in electricity bills. This will obviously reduce the company’s carbon footprint tremendously. Lots of companies are attempting to “go green” these days which will undoubtedly help the environment and give them a good corporate image.

A Laugh for the Day

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:54:00 +0000

I got this image from a buddy at work. I asked if he was the “Photoshopper” but he said that it wasn’t his work. I honestly believe that the American auto-industry is laughing at us. I am almost positive this was some quick Photoshop work and its awesome. I truly appreciate the humor and it tells the auto-industry that consumers aren’t stupid, we know what your doing.

Enjoy everyone.

So Jack Isn't Dead?

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:39:00 +0000

I am sure that most of you have heard by now that in an effort to engage the audience Jack in the Box debut a spot during the Superbowl where Jack, their mascot, gets hit by a bus. After he is hit he goes into a coma that he was in for a month. Now that Jack is out of the coma, The Hang In There Jack campaign is coming to an end. You can see the campaign at Hang In There Jack.

A Make-Believe Language?

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:32:00 +0000

I read the advertising section of the New York Times a featured article by Stuart Elliot where he discusses the new ad campaign by Mars which is the parent company of Snickers. The Snickers folks are at it again. There campaign this time is centered around the a make-believe language called Snacklish.

According to the Times article Snacklish is a humorous way of speaking everyday phrases into the Snicker-centric language. For example, the phrase Patrick Ewing becomes “Patrick Chewing” according to the Times piece. The site Snickers.com will soon have a translator where people can translate their own phrases.

TNT's Trust Me

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:56:00 +0000

So I’ve been extremely ill this weekend. I’ve been in my apartment pretty much the entire weekend. Since I cannot be out gallivanting around in my van due to my obnoxious cold, I decided to check out a relatively new TV show titled Trust Me. A show about the goings on of an ad agency. it revolves around the lives of 2 friends, the primary Art Director and Copywriter at RGM, the fictional ad agency. It shows how the two main characters balance their careers, private live, and friendship with each other. The main rival is the ARC Mobile account that is constantly in jeopardy of being lost.

No, Not Another Poker Show

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:21:00 +0000

I saw this ad on on Adrants and thought yes, another poker show I get to watch. Upon taking a closer look I realized that it isn’t an ad for a poker show, its an ad for a new show by CNBC titled Demolished. According to the Adrants article its a show on how the American dream became a nightmare. I can only assume that this show will focus on the collapse of the U.S. housing market.

Viagra in the Mid-East

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:55:00 +0000

A couple of days ago I thought of an ad I once saw in Saudi Arabia many years ago (2002, I think). So, trying to be the best ad blogger I could be, I tried to find that particular TV commercial. The commercial I saw was a spot for Viagra but even that I am not sure of. All I know for sure is that it was a commercial promoting some erectile dysfunction medication.

Oh, Facebook

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:02:00 +0000

I believe I saw the ad above on Facbook’s sidebar ads a few weeks ago. It’s one of the funniest things I ever saw. Does anyone have that much “Man Hood” to earn up to $9,000 for your donations? Maybe I should change professions. What do you guys think?

These ads, is how Facebbok makes its money I guess. What I think bothered me the most about the ad is that it was tailored to a location close to where I am which seems a little big brother-ish but it makes the ad more relevant to the audience. None-the-less, I thought the ad was hilarious.

A 2nd Arm Wrestling Movie

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:50:00 +0000

There have been many movies on basketball, many movies on football, and some could argue even hockey but not so many on arm wrestling besides Sly’s “Over the Top.” Now there is a second “Pulling John” hitting the big screen in March. I feel the title needs some editing.

Why, you ask, because people will always think of that joke that involves someone named “Johnson.” Yea, I know you know the joke I’m talking about. The movie is actually a documentary about arm wrestling. I wonder how it will do? Is arm wrestling very popular still?

Gymkhana

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:56:00 +0000

The video above is a marketing video to promote the sport of Gymkhana to become larger in the U.S. Gymkhana is the real live version of the movie “Tokyo Drift.” The above viral Web-video was apparently watched over 29 million times via various sources.

The video was produced for rally racer Ken Block, DC Shoes and Subaru. The agency the produced the above Web-video is called Mad Media. My question is, will this video actually result in more events taking place in major U.S. cities, higher ticket sales, and major event sponsoring companies?

To Much Boasting on Boost

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:07:00 +0000

I found another commercial I would like to discuss through Adfreak. The spot above was done on behalf of Boost Mobile by Latino marketing agency Inspire. I didn’t really understand the point of the message. In the commercial a guy discusses how great his Boost Mobile service while is friend is being mauled by a pack of dogs.

My question is, what was the point of the commercial? Is wasn’t funny, it may have been memorable cause we are now all discussing it. Maybe I didn’t think it was funny because it was in Spanish and I don’t know Spanish. I don’t think it would have been funny anywhere, in any language.

Good VS Evil

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:15:00 +0000

I saw the commercial above on my YouTube landing page and I liked it so I thought I’d share. It’s a Nike spot with famous soccer players facing off against demons in a soccer match. I believe its simply a brand awareness spot. I know what your thinking, who is not aware of the Nike brand right? But really what are they promoting in that spot besides the Nike brand name?

A 30-Second Mr. Brooks

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:08:00 +0000

I don’t about you guys but I am a huge movie buff. When I first saw the spot above for The Lustgarten Foundation, a PSA announcement for Pancreatic cancer it reminded me of a movie. A movie that I absolutely love titled Mr. Brooks starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Costner is a tortured serial killer who views his unnatural desire to kill as a disease. His disease is fueled by a hunger that is personified as a man known as “Marshal.” You can see Marshal in the movie but he isn’t real, he is only in Mr. Brooks’s mind. Marshal is always sitting in the back seat of the car when Brooks goes on his “outings.”

Anti-Happiness Drug

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 03:52:00 +0000

When I first saw this news piece in an Adfreak post I couldn’t tell if it was real or not. This news piece was discussing a newly approved drug for cheerfulness. Can someone actually be too happy? I don’t think that such a thing is humanly possible?

But once the doctor being interviewed about the drug used an “F-bomb” I knew this isn’t real news. Yes, I know I’m slow. Shoot me. They even gave the drug a “real” sounding name, Despondex. Wouldn’t you have been faked out?

Absolut Security

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:56:00 +0000

I wanted to do a short posting before I went to bed for the night so that I could say I post everyday. The Absolut print ad above was one of my favorite wallpapers for my computer screen in college. Not to Mentin Absolut advertising is what got me interested in advertising in the first place.

I believe the ad agency is TBWA Chiat/Day, New York.

Nest, A.B.

Absolut Tolerant

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:16:00 +0000

On February 8th, a 30-second brand awareness spot for Absolut Vodka ran on prime time television. I believe it ran during the last half of the Grammy Awards. This marks the first time ever a distilled-spirits product has appeared on any CBS-owned TV station. Here is another sign of the changing times. A company like CBS that usually shunned distilled-spirits companies now accept them. I ask you is this due to the troubled economy?

Here Comes: Windvertising

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:49:00 +0000

I was alerted to this article on the Huffington Post by my boss at work. The article discusses a new form of advertising playfully dubbed Windvertising by the post. It got its name because this new, creative form of advertising employs WePOWER’s PacWind turbines. When ads are placed on top of the turbines and they spin, it creates the illusion of animation.

The Huff Post does say that the image is a bit misleading when you first look at it. I thought the logos are simply placed on top of the blades. Obviously, from the image above some logos look better then others. In my opinion the Nike logo looks better then that of the golden arches.

Cars.com

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:05:00 +0000

A Note on the Superbowl

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:48:00 +0000

I was discussing the Superbowl ads with some buddies at work and they thought all of them sucked. Some of the ads they thought were a little funny but not worth the 3 million spent on them. Here are the most obvious reasons why:

The ads were over done to the point of annoyance in the eyes of one of my buddies. (The talking baby has been going for a few years.)

And The Winner Is

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:09:00 +0000

The Doritos spot above was the big winner during this years Superbowl according to two articles I’ve read. USA Today assembled a panel and YouTube gave stats on what commercials were watched and voted on the most. Both of these sources declared “Free Doritos” as the winning commercial debuting during the Superbowl this year. You can get to the article mentioning the USA today panel (here).

I am a little disappointed in myself because I didn’t include the commercial above in my poll on the far right side of this blog. But I guess I didn’t watch the ads closely enough the first time around to realize that the ad is pretty good. The “Free Doritos” spot was created by Joe Herbert, Batesville, IN according to Adrants. You can find out more about Joe at his site to encourage voting for the commercial at doritosvote.com.

A Sign of the Times?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Like most Americans, I watched the Superbowl on Sunday February 1st. But unlike most I was more interested in the ads. One of the worst ads shown during the Superbowl in my opinion of course, was the Cah4Gold commercial featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer. In the spot the two celebrities tell consumers how Cash4Gold works. For those of you who don’t know, you simply trade-in unwanted gold positions and get cash back. Advertising for this company traditionally appeared direct-response infomercials but in the Superbowl, it seemed a bit out of place.

Best Buy

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Best Buy must have some truly sarcastic people in their marketing department. I saw this image being discussed on Adfreak. I thought it was one last swing at Best Buy’s fallen competitor Circuit City. Then I thought about it for a bit and realized that they weren’t trying to take one last shot at all. They were simply stating the facts.

Circuit City won’t be around for Best Buy to match or beat its prices. But from looking at the sign on the right, you get the feeling that Best Buy wasn’t to broken up about a competitor exiting the marketplace.

Super Bowl XLIII Commercial 2009

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Well as most of you know, yesterday was the Superbowl and what comes with it, the multi-million dollar ads. Below are some of my favorites and I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys by having you vote on what ads you thought were the best out of the ones I thought were good. “You can vote by choosing your favorite ad from the poll on the far right. Also, below are the spots and the agencies that created them.

In the Hands of Perfection

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:02:00 +0000

I know that because of my physical disability I could probably never be a card stacker. After seeing the Lexus spot above my feelings were confirmed. Not only does stacking cards take extraordinarily steady hands but it also takes the patience of a saint. The fact that patience is even required automatically disqualifies me.

For this TV spot Lexus requested the services of Bryan Berg, the world-record holder in cardstacking. It took berg 18 days and 108,864 cards to create the structure used. The commercial’s premise was to demonstrate how quite the Lexus ES’s engine can be, I believe. But seeing all the cards come crashing down because of a door slam would irritate me as a viewer but that doesn’t really matter.

The Wheelchair Heart

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:16:00 +0000

The wheelchair heart logo above is the official logo of 3E Love, designed by its founder Annie Hopkins who is, and always will be a friend that I miss and forever love. My friend passed on January 20th 2009. She was a true advocate for the disabled community. We should all follow her example.

According to 3E Love’s MySpace page the wheelchair symbol is a symbol of acceptance of disability. The symbol simply replaces the wheel of the traditional handicapped sign and turned it to a heart. 3E Love is headquartered in Chicago, has goals of bringing products that celebrate disability to the public.

Steelers Troy Polamalu

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:24:00 +0000

The Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamula is in a new Coke Zero ad that is a remake of the 1980 classic “Mean Joe Green” Coke ad. For those of you who don’t know what ad I’m talking about, please click here. You’ll be able to see the new version of the ad on Superbowl Sunday. The new spot will have a “twist” to differentiate itself from the famous eighties spot, from what I understood from Adfreak.

untitled

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Remembering the ‘1984’ Super Bowl Mac adhttp://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-263647.html

E*Trade Baby Continued

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:31:00 +0000

ETrade will be bringing back the talking baby for this year’s Superbowl. The baby will have a new spot that the company is keeping on the DL. This year the talking baby has even more of of a following and is marketing the ETrade brand via several media outlets including print, online, and TV. The baby now has his own YouTube Channel, Facebook Fan Page, and Twitter account. All of these only help to reaffirm why I think the E*Trade “Talking Baby” campaign is one of the best currently out there and it is my current favorite. A link to the Adweek Media article can be found here.

Pro-Atheism Follow-up

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:02:00 +0000

So I found the answer to who created the billboards in the Pro-Atheism post. The ads were created in-house by FreethoughtAction. Here is the email I received from FreeThoughtAction:

“The ad was created in-house by FreeThoughtAction.”

Best, A.B.

Funny or in Poor Taste

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:23:00 +0000

The billboard above was put up on behalf of Kenneth Cole, it was congratulating US Airways flight 1549 for landing safely in the Hudson River after its engines failed. It was celebrating the safe landing by using word puns on the billboard. Now, Kenneth Cole has an in-house advertising department. Should they have produced something more creative and out of the box?

From what I’ve read puns are considered the lowest form of advertising. I’ve read blogs that condemn KC for using puns for such an accident. I’ve also read that Kenneth Cole is simply a bad copywriter because he didn’t produce something more creative. Is the billboard tasteless, I thought it was rather funny. What do you guys think?

Pro-Atheism Ads

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Pro-atheism ads similar to the one above started appearing on buses in London and Washington DC. Beginning on January 26, 2009 pro-atheism billboard ads will appear in Charleston, SC. The ad above is part of a collaborative effort between the American Humanist Association, FreethoughtAction, and the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry (SHL). The ads show headlines like “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” Ads like these I can almost guarantee will cause some controversy. What I have yet to find out is whether the ads were created in-house or by some advertising firm. But once I find out, I’ll write a short follow up to this post to give you the final answer.

Voltage Everywher

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Mountain Dew has recently introduced a new berry-flavored drink that they hope will saturate the web. The campaign known as “Voltage Everywhere” is primarily a viral marketing effort on the part of PepsiCo. The “Voltage Everywhere” campaign is asking people to go to Dewmocracyvoltage.com where dew fans are rewarded points for spreading the word about the new soft drink.

By spreading the word I mean talking it up on social networks like Facebook and MySpace just to name a few. They can place notes on message boards and start fan pages. Fans can then collect points towards things like an Xbox or iPod. This type of promotion is the year 2009 version of school promotions such as “look under the cap to win.”

Better Results

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:55:00 +0000

Yes this is another Mac VS PC commercial. In this Mac ad, the Mac compares its and PC’s movie making abilities. They demonstrate the Mac’s movie making superiority by presenting the movie as a beautiful woman while PC has a man dressed as an ugly woman as the movie they produced.

Mac commercials are some of the greatest creative execution I’ve ever seen. But everything has to come to an end. I feel that the execution above insults the intelligence of the audience. Why you ask, because it says that all you have to do is show a beautiful woman in a commercial and the dumb consumers will buy our product. And I strongly believe that consumers are a lot smarter then this ad gives them credit for. Don’t get me wrong, Mac seem to be the current “hip” trend but did Chiat/Day run out of ideas so they decided lets put a pretty woman in our spot, that will sell. The ad might as well have been a car commercial.

The 44th President

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Congratulations America change has finally arrived with the swearing in of our new president Barack Obama. You can find full inauguration coverage on MSNBC.com. It’s a great day for our country. Change has finally arrived.

Best, A.B.

Dear Mr. President Videos

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0000

A video montage asking Americans “What would you say to our new President on the day of his inauguration?” This video was created as a marketing attempt by soda Giant Pepsi to cash in on Obama’s popularity. Its asking people to submit video statements to our new president. I ask you, what does this do for the Pepsi brand?

Also I found the video on Adfreak.com once again.

The video was created by R/GA

Balloons in Action

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:26:00 +0000

I found this TV spot for Durex condoms on a friends’ blog. The creative execution was absolutely hilarious in an adult sort of way. I am not going to describe the spot when you can simply watch it below. From what I’ve read about the commercial is that it has caused some controversy. The spot may have been too explicit for TV viewers. I am betting that it went over well with the 18 to 28 male demographic.

Vandals Turned Photoshopers

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:57:00 +0000

A few days ago, on one of my favorite ad blogs Adfreak.com an image of a vandalized subway in Berlin appeared. Vandals must of left their sharpies and spray cans at home and decided to use giant stickers to disfigure the subway ads. The stickers used were of Photoshop tool palettes. I have to say that it was a creative way to vandalize an advertisement on a public canvas.

To me, the vandalism was a message to the advertisers themselves. It declares that the consumer isn’t stupid they know exactly what happens to the ads before the public sees them. So in other words the vandalism is means to say a big F-you to the advertiser you aren’t fooling anyone. There has been an ongoing debate on the “Photoshop effect” in advertising. You can watch a good video on the subject below.

PC vs MAC: Transformer Style

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:04:00 +0000

I found this video, initially on creativebits.org an Apple oriented design community but it is a YouTube video. This piece of creative was created by Nick Greenlee, a digital media designer. The piece is an absolute mastery of digital computer-generated imagery.

The reason I feel the need to talk about it here is because it combines the Mac vs PC ads with the 2007 Transformers movie very well. I actually thought it was a brand new commercial created by TBWA Chiat/Day. This short movie not only combines the Mac commercials with the Transformers movie&#151 it also has a little Terminator thrown in there. It gives you a literal demonstration of how Macs kick PCs’ asses.

Where is the Connection?

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Here us another ad for Virgin Atlantic Airlines but this time it’s a print ad. I found it on a very good creative advertising site adsoftheworld.com. You guys can see the print ad, can you find the connection between a hooker and the Kenyan Rugby team? I know that it’s a play on words and all but I can’t make the connection so that it makes sense to me.

It is a very funny print ad and I realize that they are only sponsoring the rugby team. I can make a connection between hooker and virgin but why would this be on a print ad sponsoring the rugby team? Are they implying that rugby players sleep around?

Just a Little TMI: Sleeper

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Can you believe this ad actually targeted the mainstream audience? I thought it was very tasteless TV Spot.

Since this blog tries to let you know who created all the ads mentioned in the posts and this is no exception. BBDO Worldwide made the spot for Virgin Atlantic Airlines. The commercial aired in 2004.

Your thoughts, anyone? Also, it is important to note that the spot was for South Africa.

Best, A.B.

Australian Cancer PSA

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:17:00 +0000

I ran across a rap music video on cancer of all things. I discovered the piece on another advertising blog and thought I should share some of my opinions on the video. Oh and by the way that other blog I follow is adfreak.

As you can probably tell it is a Youtube video, the title on YouTube claims that it was too hot for TV. The music video was made by Australian rapper Al Bino as a PSA, as a reminder to protect yourself from the sun. It is currently summer time down under. According to adfreak the video was meant as a PSA.

Hillbilly Herald

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:20:00 +0000

Well I have nothing new for today but I went to see a cool band play at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. The band is Hillbilly Herald and People. They were awesome.

Big props to my boy Jimmy!!

Best, A.B.

Marketers on Super Sunday

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Today, I want to give you guys a list of who will advertising during the game on Superbowl Sunday. So here goes:

Anheuser-Busch
Audi
Bridgestone
CareerBuilder
Cars.com
Coca-Cola, Co
E-Trade Financial
Pepsi’s Frito-Lay
General Electric
GoDaddy
Hyundai
Monster
NFL
Pedigree
PepsiCo Beverages

I found an AdAge article that actually provided the list. All the agencies are listed in the article linked.

Best, A.B.

3D Ads on Super Sunday

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Dreamworks Animation and PepsiCo’s SoBe Lifewater have joined together with Intel Corporation and NBC to present an ad in 3-D for the first time in television history. The ad will be debut trailer for Dreamworks’ new 3-D animated film “Monsters vs. Aliens,” which comes to theaters in the U.S. on March 27th. To get the full experience of the trailer it must be viewed using 3-D glasses that the Intel Corporation has produced. The glasses will be distributed by PepsiCo’s Sobe Lifewater brand.

No Second Date?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:15:00 +0000

What do you guys think? I bet he won’t be getting a second date.

This TV spot brought some laughs when it aired during the 2004 Superbowl. It absolutely captured the attention of its intended target audience. The spot aired on Superbowl Sunday when 80 percent of the U.S. is watching the game. It was definitely a conversation starter the next day, and by default, made itself a memorable commercial. People recalling funny ads they’ve seen will help the product sell in grocery stores.

Superman Elevator

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:25:00 +0000

Promoting movies on elevator doors have been popping up all over the place from what I can tell. I have seen them just about every time I go to a movie theatre here in L.A. Speaking of movies, I go to a new movie just about every week. So needless to say, I have gotten to know those elevator promotions rather well. Most of the elevators show the main image representing the movie, which is nothing special except for the Superman Movie elevator below. By the way, I found this unique piece of advertising on adsoftheworld.com.

A Gifted Baby

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:01:00 +0000

I would first like to give you a short road map of what I’m going to share with you in my blog. I am going to share with you my insights on interesting advertising. We’ll talk about what was creative about a particular message, what wasn’t, and did the message resonate with its intended audience. Finally, did it accomplish its goal of standing out among the millions of ads that people see everyday. I hope that after reading this blog you feel at least a little more knowledgeable about quality advertising. But please also remember that these are simply my opinions. It is up to you to form your own opinions about what is good and not so good.