Ad Challenger

How to get a head in Super Bowl advertising.

2012-01-29T12:00:00.003-05:00

Even now, In the digital age, big advertisers in the big game don't release their spots ahead of time. They'll maybe tease them, like VW did two weeks ago with the "Bark Side" (nearly 10 million views as of this post).
However, relatively smaller companies that are spending a large portion of their annual ad media budget on one or two spots want to get a couple of big bangs for their bucks. Enter Cars.com (Ad agency: DDB Chicago), an advertiser in the last five Super Bowls.
This year, the auto classified site's creative linchpin is...a soul-singing second head.
Ho-kay then.
Older ad peeps will immediately think of Richard Grant and his growing alter-ego boil from "How To Get Ahead In Advertising". Cars.com president Mitch Golub should probably not NetFlix that flick.

Somebody Please Stop Go Daddy's Commercials.

2012-01-24T15:40:00.001-05:00

So the domain company famous for T&A TV spots just "leaked" their upcoming big game commercial to the web.

Whoa. This is a colossal waste of SuperBowl $. Even if you put the sizable misogynism aside, which is hard to do, this spot is amateurish. Overbaked women wearing too much makeup over bad complexions. The least they could do is spend a few bucks in production making these actors look beautiful. There's nothing interesting, charming, sexy or intriguing about it. This brand needs an agency that will be honest with them and show them how to take their name awareness and attributes and turn them into something more consumers can appreciate, while not walking away from their heritage. Jeez… Via AdFreak.

The most beautiful domestic violence ads you'll ever see.

2012-01-21T14:00:00.003-05:00

The ads are via the city government of Diadema, Brazil, denouncing violence against women (click them to enlarge). First, the headline translations: L—"It is hard to go home and realize you are safer outside" R—"Some women look for the man of their dreams but end up finding their worst nightmare."
Brazilian art directors are known for their lavish—sometimes too lavish to the point of incomprehension—print layouts. Now, Ad Challenger does appreciate that Paz (the São Paulo ad agency behind this work) didn't show the usual battered woman photos you've seen in so many anti-domestic violence ads. And we kinda of get the "feel" and the drama the creatives were going for by making violence look so beautiful. But the concept is not paid off by the copy at all. Maybe something is lost in the translation from Portuguese, but we doubt it.
Related: the most powerful domestic violence commercial Ad Challenger has ever seen (click here).

LeBron James takes a sheet on the ad world.

2012-01-08T15:45:00.004-05:00

James is the co-founder of Sheets Energy Strips—tagline: Take A Sheet. Not as in, Take A She-it? Yep. Sheets, like more and more brands, decided to hold a crowdsourced commercial contest. And, apparently to make it apparent that any idiot with a copy of Final Cut Pro and an "idea" could submit a video, King James wrote, directed, and starred in his own entry.
Is it complete sheet? You tell Ad Challenger.
Most serious baller fans will tell you that LeBron really sheet the bed against the Dallas Mavericks last year. Or as one YouTube commenter put it: "Maybe James should have taken one of these every time the fourth quarter of the NBA finals came around."

So, what was the best holiday commercial this year?

2011-12-30T09:00:00.003-05:00

The consensus of many media sources was that this diabolically heartwarming short story via John Lewis, a UK department store chain, topped the tree; though, diehard Smiths fans probably moped hard over the use of the band's mope anthem. (Sorry Smithies, the Moz gave permission.)
The video has nearly four millions views on YouTube, and was a resounding success for the retailer. However, the jaded amongst us ad reviewers weren't so enamored. The best piss-take was written by the Guardian's hilarious Charlie Brooker. An excerpt:
"Take the John Lewis commercial....reports reached me of people blubbing in front of their televisions, so moved were they by this simple tale....Given the fuss they were making, the tears they shed, you'd think they were watching footage of shoeless orphans being kicked face-first into a propeller.
An advert for a shop. That's all the John Lewis thing is....Anyone who cries at this creepy bullshit is literally sobbing IQ points out of their body....A commercial has only made me feel genuinely sad on one occasion – 25 January 1990, when a falling billboard nearly killed 'Allo 'Allo star Gorden Kaye."
If you are likewise world-weary, you really should read the whole article.
Happy New Year, from Ad Challenger.

If you can find a more insane bread campaign...

2011-12-14T15:20:00.002-05:00

...burn it! With fire!
Princesa is a brand in Brazil. These are ads for their light bread. With us so far? OK. Now, click on the ads, and take in the scenes. The evil zombie SpongeBob SquareBread looking creature represents fattening high-carb bread (we think). The brains represent "you" (we think). And the train and the saw represent your "guilt" about eating said evil bread (we think).
Question: why does the evil bread look like healthy bread? At first, we thought he(?) was the Princesa bread. We're still not completely sure. What we are sure of is that we now have no appetite for any bread, or any other food. Wonderful illustrations, though. Ad agency: Staff, Brazil. Ads via Ads of the World.

When was the last time you were entertained by a laundry detergent commercial?

2011-12-04T11:50:00.001-05:00

In 20 seconds, you get branding, benefits, and a smile.
Bonux is an inexpensive Procter & Gamble detergent launched in Egypt in 2006 (not available in US stores, that we can find). This is the latest campaign for the product, just launched by Leo Burnett Brussels in several languages. The mocking of cliched ad set-ups is certainly not a new strategy, but it works very well here in this staid category. The clean, all-white set motif is simple and smart. One nit (hey, we're the Ad Challenger): The voice talent is a smidgen too smug. Second spot below. See three more here.

The Boy Scouts will turn your son into a Grizzly Adams.

2011-11-10T13:30:00.004-05:00

They grow up (and become hirsute) so fast! New print ads (click to enlarge) out of Ogilvy Atlanta for the local council of the 100-year-old youth organization. Exactly how long is my baby boy going to be out in the wild, scout leader? Ad Challenger thinks these ads are adorable—well 90% adorable and 10% creepy. Maybe 70-30 if you catch us on another day. But hey, we were a boy this age once, and boys this age are obsessed with growing hair on, uh, certain body parts. No doubt though, the campaign is wild. Perhaps a hair too wild.

Exercise bike-powered neon male stripper building projection sells mineral water.

2011-10-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the complex post headline, but this is quite a complex set-up to sell a branded bottle of French water (Contrex, tagline: "The French woman's secret to a healthy lifestyle.")
So: obviously it's a fake stunt, with volunteers/hired models hopping on the pink (for women!) bikes. But the fakeness is not the point. This spectacle was created in the hope that the video would go viral, which it has: the French version has over 8 million views in 5 weeks.
Building projections are becoming the new Flash Mob of online ads. This is the first one ever powered by exercise bikes, we're guessing. Anyway, it's certainly entertaining (Gyms should consider installing this technology to motivate spinning class participants.), and very importantly, not too long. Ad Challenger does wonder how many of the millions of viewers don't remember—or don't care—what it's selling. Bah, we'll just shut-up, and enjoy the show.
Ad agency: Marcel, Paris.

Here you will watch a commercial starring a bear rug as a pretentious French film director.

2011-10-19T13:00:00.006-04:00

That's right, not a bear, a bear rug.
Don't watch it yet! Please read this set-up:
If Ad Challenger told you it was a spot for Canal+, a premium French film channel, could you figure out the ending joke? OK, watch it now.
The director's name is Paul Bearman (snicker). Like many directors. he's a perfectionist. And like many directors, he's a bit of an ass. This mockumentary commercial style has been overdone recently, but the spot is a gas. However, for us, the payoff joke isn't as nifty as the one in an award-winning Canal+ spot from two years called "The Closet " (watch it here).
Ad agency: BETC Euro RSCG, Paris.

Jell-O's jigglin' jivin' gelatinous cube app.

2011-10-10T14:55:00.000-04:00

Git down, git down, sweet cherry baby!
Via Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the Kraft brand just released a free app that makes it possible for you watch a Jell-O cube move in rhythm to your favorite iTune (download it here). It'll even dance to music straight from your speakers. Now, they picked a pretty generic funk jam for their demo track. But Ad Challenger is going to see how Jell baby here moves to some thrash metal, like this Slayer song. Maybe it will burst into flames?

How is IKEA advertised in Sweden?

2011-10-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

Dizzily! This is a new commercial for the world's largest furniture retailer promoting their selection of appliances. Wonder if the talent was found climbing a rock wall at a Stockholm gym? It's a fun spot, but far from the best work Ad Challenger has seen over the years from the retailer. Created By Stockholm ad agency Forsman & Bodenfors, who claim, "No tricks, everything you see is for real." Eh... Related note: Last week's New Yorker featured a fascinating piece (subscription required) on IKEA's history and cult(ure).

Latest New Era Baldwin vs. Krasinski spot is a pisser.

2011-09-25T21:30:00.001-04:00

This, the sixth spot in the epic commercial series, was released last Thursday before the big weekend Red Sox/Yankees series here in NYC. This time, Alec Baldwin is forced to watch the games at John Krasinski's place because, in the last episode, he burnt down his City apartment building after lighting Red Sox tickets on fire. This episode also ends tragically for Baldwin (and Krasinski's floor).
The insults between the two throughout the season-long series have been hilarious (Baldwin even decked Krasinski). Although the responsible ad agency is Brooklyn Brothers, Krasinski pens the spots with help from two Office writer buddies.
Ad Challenger has one nit against the ad series: We wonder how many watchers don't realize/forget it's promoting New Era caps, and not Major League Baseball. Watch all six of the spots on Adfreak.

The new Prius commercial scares Ad Challenger.

2011-09-18T08:30:00.002-04:00

The spot, via Saatchi & Saatchi LA, is promoting the new four-car Prius family. It's certainly amazing film making, creating one giant person out 18 people. But the 18-person person is, frankly, nightmarish. And the whole idea seems a tad phantasmagorically disconnected from the point of the commercial, yes? Kudos to both client and agency for taking chances, we guess. Prius owners have a reputation as being a bit more eccentric than, say, Corolla drivers, so maybe the spot will hit the target?

Did Twitter steal their "faster than earthquakes" idea?

2011-09-05T15:20:00.003-04:00

The microblogging service received less than glowing reviews for their cheaply-produced video ad, posted on YouTube last week. Ad Challenger thinks it's cute, but doesn't leave one with a good brand taste in the mouth.
But, worse than lameness, a bigger strike against the spot would be unoriginality. Ad Challenger was emailed a strip (click here) from popular Web comic xkcd, a strip with the exact same idea that pre-dates the video. Coincidence? Let's say diplomatically, it doesn't look good for Twitter.
By the way, the star of the spot is Twitter software engineer Danny Hertz. His reaction to the fake quake would indicate that he is a transplanted west coaster. The best part of the video is that he is reading "Shit My Dad Says," a book (and now-dead TV show) that got its start as a Twitter account. Via Mashable.

Lazy Florist Ads Are Lazy.

2011-08-26T12:50:00.001-04:00

Ads for a Boston area floral shop. Floating women? Really? Ad Challenger doesn't often break out the poo-poo stick. But, this pedestrian idea deserves to be hit with it. The "Guess who..." approach is stale. The photography isn't very good (click the ads to enlarge)—neither woman really looks all that happy about being the recipient of flowers. And the retouching work, especially on the office execution, is pretty amateurish.
The ads just don't sell flowers very well. Ad agency: Brand Content, Boston.
Ads via: Ads of the World.

"They fought like warrior-decorators..."

2011-08-14T17:30:00.005-04:00

FREEDOM!!!...from boring furniture.The ironic battlefield setting has of course been bludgeoned to death by ad agencies—which is fine! It has been an effective creative linchpin for many years. And while this new Braveheart-riffing spot for IKEA Australia via Sydney agency The Monkeys is entertaining, it just doesn't quite hit Ad Challenger over the head hard enough. It needs more...something. Humor? Violence? Kilts? Something. Said Monkeys ECD Justin Drape:
"It's been a fun collaboration and we're all proud of the result. I wish more clients would take their brave pills like the IKEA team did."
The TV spot kicks off a new campaign tagged "Have A Gö." It was launched now to get Aussies excited about next month's store opening in Melbourne of what will be the largest IKEA in the Southern Hemisphere.
Note: 50 IKEA Family loyalty card members made it in as extras in the spot.
Via Campaign Brief.

Eco-friendly cleaning products video hard to watch, harder to forget.

2011-07-24T18:30:00.004-04:00

Shock-vertising is a cheap way to get attention. Often, it's lamentable. But sometimes, it just happens to be the best approach for the situation. Like with this short video for Earth Choice "Green" cleaning products by Australian ad agency Che.
What a simple, powerful idea. The octopus is almost too much. Maybe it was too much for you. But Ad Challenger admires both agency and client for not going milder on harsh chemical cleaners. To get people to change entrenched buying habits and purchase what are probably more expensive (I'm guessing. There are no prices on Earth Choice's website.) eco-cleaners requires a jolt, we think.

Fred Savage's ad directorial debut: uni-ball pens.

2011-07-10T18:00:00.012-04:00

Little Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years is now a 35-year-old TV director, and this is his first commercial work for Chicago agency Tri3ect, according to Agency Spy. Pretty, pretty funny! But do the spots sell uni-ball pens (second one below)?
The casting of the bad office pens is superb. However, often when an agency goes with a funny "this is what our product isn't" approach, the consumer remembers the jokes, but not the product being sold. Here, the ending, spinning, clicking product hero shot should help people remember the brand. Should. Only time will tell.
Note: Ad Challenger is a fan of uni-ball pens as the brand was one of Gigante Vaz Partners' first clients many, many years ago.

Spotlight on Cannes 2011: Skittles.

2011-07-04T18:30:00.002-04:00

For years now, Skittles' "_____ The Rainbow" campaign via TBWA\Chiat\Day has owned Insanity. The dark, hilarious "Touch" spot is one of Ad Challenger's all-time favorite candy commercials. Creatives love it because it's crazy; the client loves it because it has countless rattling Skittles in it.
Skittles just won a Bronze Film Lion at the recently concluded Cannes Advertising Festival for the above "Borrow The Rainbow" execution. While still fully crazy, you'll note an extra bit of branding with the inclusion of an actual rainbow. (Here's a second crazier—and in our opinion, better—video from the new direction.) From the agency press note:
"This is the tale of two brothers. One has a magic rainbow that rains Skittles. The other, has nothing. But when the brother is invited to join in on the fun, we learn two things. That he is an incredible klutz. And contrary to popular belief, duct tape does not fix everything."
Insanity works when it's strongly branded.

Coors replaces Silver Bullet with frozen-pants Van Damme.

2011-06-19T18:20:00.008-04:00

Oh, if only it were true that the inane, ubiquitous train was derailed. But no. This new Coors Light spot by London agency VCCP is running in the UK only. How frozen were Jean Claude's pants? "Have you ever seen a man penguin walk after an intense mating season?"
The spot is totally senseless and doesn't really make Ad Challenger want to quaff a Coors Light. But it makes us glad Van Damme is willing to look absolutely ridiculous for some sponsor money. I mean look at that snow outfit: cut-off denim shirt, mismatched tight denim flood pants, white socks, and what look like penny loafers. One of the more entertaining celeb spots in recent memory. Bravo Muscles from Brussels, Bra-vo.

One puzzling Don't Drink/Drive campaign via Toyota.

2011-04-24T14:50:00.002-04:00

(click on ads to read copy) It's the ole Paris In The The Spring mind trick, rejiggered to teach us the dangers of driving inebriated. Well it does make the Ad Challenger think; think that maybe the creatives at Saatchi & Saatchi Madrid were drinking and ideating. Which isn't always a terrible idea, but that's another discussion entirely.
These would at least make a tiny bit of sense if they were a Don't Text and Drive effort, or a Don't Read Classic Literature/Watch Classic Movies and Drive campaign. The specious creative linchpin here has been forced in with a sledgehammer. (ads via Coloribus).

Playing with type with Mercedes-Benz.

2011-02-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

(click images for closer look) Left, via Jung von Matt in Austria. Translation: “The writing used in this ad consumes 20% less printing ink. A similar fuel saving can be achieved with the blue-efficiency engines of Mercedes-Benz.” Right, via BBDO Germany, an ad promoting M-B's radar-based Blind Spot Assist.
Which ad is more effective? The awards shows will probably prefer the right ad. It's more clever and, well, prettier. But the stark Austrian ad conveys the car benefit instantaneously. If I'm paging through a magazine, as opposed to judging at Cannes, I may not bother to figure out the German ad.
Both ads via I Believe in Advertising.

Art directors put the drool back in your mouth, they're fake ads.

2011-01-24T09:50:00.004-05:00

(click ads to enlarge) The campaign is promoting the shorter commercial breaks of Chile's TVN, kind of the country's national television station. Look at that goddamn beautiful white space, Helmut Krone clones. How does Ad Challenger know the ads are fake? Well, even though IKEA and Heineken are portrayed positively, they would never agree to this hacking of their precious logos. Also: they're no IKEAs in South America. Ad agency: Lowe Porta, Santiago, Chile.
Ads via I Believe In Advertising.

Greenwashing smart car ads not intelligent.

2010-11-09T14:50:00.001-05:00

(click ads for closer look) Via Contrapunto BBDO in Madrid, this eco-campaign for the little Daimler auto comes off as fanciful and, well, hypocritical. Sure, a smart car is "less polluting" than other cars. But it's still pumping NOx and CO2 into the air —it's not an actual "Green" car or even a hybrid. And driving one sure as sludge isn't wiping clean the atmosphere. Kudos to the ad creatives, though, for getting the client to do ads sans product shot. Images via Ads Of The World.

Is Tooheys plagiarizing Budweiser?

2010-10-18T14:45:00.001-04:00

(click the ads to read the copy) Not that it's a super-creative concept, but this eight-month old Budweiser spot even uses the word "currency." Tooheys—a 140-year-old Australian beer brand—just started running these "official currency of the beer economy" print ads. The Aussie ads are cheekier than the deadly earnest "pay your buds back with Bud" spot, but the execution is essential identical. Ads by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney. There are no new ideas, etc.

Vintage Ad Break: Maidenform.

2010-10-04T16:30:00.001-04:00

The Maidenform "I dreamed I was _____ in my Maidenform bra" campaign is legendary both for its raciness (for the 1950s-60s time period) and longevity. This ad, featuring a windblown lass on the Thames, is maybe the most bizarre execution we've seen from the series. The Big Ben phallicism is a nice added Mad Men-ish touch. Click ad for a closer look, image via Vintage Ads.

Rescue Dog Harvey Here To Rescue TV.

2010-09-20T10:15:00.002-04:00

Cute little TV spot by Thinkbox TV—the marketing body for UK commercial television broadcasters—that very cutely conveys the selling power of TV (BTO rawk forever!). Says Thinkbox: this commercial "is essentially about TV driving instant success in a competitive market." It's well shot and sells well, right? So, done and done. Except, one thing: It also sells video—as in YouTube video, especially if the video were to go viral, which it is on its way to doing. (this posting alone already has nearly 300,000 views as of this morning.) Which is good, I guess, for UK TV stations. But it's also becoming yet another case study supporting choosing online videos over TV spots. Harvey doesn't care about the medium, he just wants to be rescued.

Beautiful art direction. Odoriferous concept?

2010-09-03T12:00:00.001-04:00

(click on ads to enlarge) Via McCann Thailand, these layouts for King's Stella air freshener arouse the idealistic art director in me. (However, the minuscule product shots rouse the scam ad detector in me.) The "Flower Power" headline is actually overkill, and not really needed. But that's not the main problem here. I look at the fish-swallowing rose and sneaker-consuming lily, and what I'm getting is a product that covers up smells (which may or may not be true). Or maybe, I'm reading into these too much? The Ad Challenger is on the fence. The Ad Challenger is rarely on the fence. The Ad Challenger does not like sitting on fences. Via Ads Of The World.

"Sexualize" is a 25 word score.

2010-08-30T15:10:00.000-04:00

Via O&M Singapore, here's a recent, fairly funny somewhat dirty Scrabble video that coulda, shoulda been dirtier and funnier. (I'm assuming this was an online only effort, and not a TV spot.) The first part of the split :45 video is the best—the woman is adorable. The guy in the second segment annoyingly overacts and squirms too much. The creatives should've have hit the thesaurus hard for some juicier words. Can't beat the low production costs, though.

The day the Red Stripe Ambassador died.

2010-08-25T14:45:00.002-04:00

It was the day this recent cringe-inducing video was conceived by the Jamaican beer's agency BBDO NY. What? Why? NO! Maybe the best, probably the funniest, beer ad icon ever created—turned into a forced derivative music clown. It's a tired idea. And taking the Ambassador out of his beach-side setting was just a mistake. Earlier this year, the agency produced new superb "Pearls of Wisdom" spots (Here's one, two, three of them). And then this clunked onto the Internet. The Ambassador I know would never go to Hollywood.

Lucy in the Sky with Bank Ads.

2010-08-10T10:15:00.004-04:00

Whoa. Kaleidoscopic executions for Spanish bank Caixa Catalunya's Double Effect Deposit, a product that features a fixed rate of return that goes up if interest rates do—"it's fixed but it moves." This type of illusional visual has of course been done and redone many times in advertising. But for a 1,000+ branch savings bank, it's a pretty risky creative approach. The visuals (click images) do reinforce the product benefit quite nicely. However, considering Spain's current banking environment, maybe "acid trip" isn't the best tone to set. By TBWA Barcelona. Images via Ads Of The World.

Mm-mm crazy, mm-mm crazy, that's what these Chinese soup ads are, mm-mm CRAZY.

2010-03-31T15:45:00.003-04:00

No added MSG. LSD, however...The headline on these ads for Tongyi Tang De Ren instant noodle soup translates, very loosely as: "Out of sight. (Troubles) out of mind." The ad at left, according to the agency press note, is called "Impotent Man." I guess (?) he's dealing with his chronic soft noodle/ignoring his unsatisfied wife by scarfing a big bowl of Tang De Ren. The second ad, titled "Fatty," is a bit more self-explanatory. Anyway, if the soup is as complex as the illustrations, well I WANT. Campaign by TBWA in Shanghai, via Ads Of The World.

ASHES TO ASHES AD-OFF: INDIA VS. SWEDEN

2010-03-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

This sometimes happen in the ad world: two agencies continents apart come up with the exact same ad visual at nearly the same time for the same type of assignment. First up (L), it's a public service ad via R K Swamy BBDO in Mumbai for India's Sun Pharmaceutical (marketer of the anti-smoking drug Smoquit). This a classic case of what my old school ad teachers called "show & tell"— the headline just flatly tells us what our eyes are already seeing. But the second example (R), by King Solutions KB in Stockholm for Swedish non-profit A Non-smoking Generation uses the same exact visual setup, but gives us a satisfying a-ha! ad moment with the copywriting. We're awaiting the Philip Morris legal team's feedback. Images via and via.

Watch Your Career Flash Right Before Your Eyes.

2010-02-22T10:00:00.002-05:00

(click image) At first glance, this is a nicely creative campaign for Calgary polytechnic school SAIT. The changing-panel billboard is a great medium for the message. But if we let ourselves step away from viewing these as ad critics, and instead examine them as mortal humans, aren't these Photoshopped aging triptychs depressing as hell? Thanks, SAIT, for reminding me that I'm another day older and closer to death, AND wearing the same pieces of clothing I've been wearing for years—because I'm a careerist and not a rich-ass entrepreneur...I wanna know what miracle laundry detergent they use. Via.

"BARTENDER, THERE'S AN EQUALIZER IN MY WHISKEY!"

2010-02-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

Rocks on the whiskey? Well, this is one way to break through the behind-the-bar clutter of 1,000 vodka brands. London-based design firm The Core created this eye-catching, battery-powered, sound sensitive bottle for Ballantine's. As part of a campaign tagged "Listen to your beat" (ugh), Twenty-thousand bottles have been produced for the promotional effort launched in England and 35 other markets. Unfortunately for you suave home entertainers looking to hypnotize the ladies, the bottle is not available for retail purchase. I guess if Ballantine's doesn't mind severely cheapening its brand heritage in the desperate quest for out-of-home trial, well then, rock on. |via: We Love Viral|

A stupid ice castle made of apparently very watery Chinese beer.

2010-01-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

You want to create something useful out of frozen beer, Harbin? How 'bout some ice cubes so's I can keep my beer colder longer...with more beer? Any-waste, back in December, it got down to -34º C somewhere in the People's Republic. So, for some reason, (low Winter sales?) Harbin (owned by Anheuser-Busch) or their ad agency (unknown) decided to take several cases of their cold gold and make a pee-colored frozen castle-thing—which isn't their logo and has no connection to the brand that I can find. The song is an annoying Sum 41 ditty. Imagine the riot this would've cause on the Rhein. |video via: comunicadores|

"Twilight" bites fashion ads around Sydney.

2010-01-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

(click images) Sucking free media in the dead of the night, Aussie agency US Sydney recently tagged the necks of models in fashion ads all around town with red fang holes. Upon closer inspection, curious passersby discovered the ad attacker—the Twilight saga book series. The agency nicked the outdoor posters in time to dovetail with the Australian release of the Twilight New Moon movie. So: bloody brilliant guerrilla marketing, or nefarious cheap evilness? No word on whether or not any of the bitten advertisers instigated any legal action. But honestly, if I were DKNY et al, I'd be quite happy with the added tasteful undead attention. |Images via: comunicadores|

Nice street promo, Mini. Next time though, maybe make sure there're no Smart Cars in the background.

2010-01-11T09:00:00.005-05:00

Post X-mas, on the hooker- and weed smoke-choked streets of Amsterdam, local agency Ubachswisbrun/JWT surreptitiously dumped a few fake Mini Cooper boxes to be picked up by sanitation crews—but not before they caused a bit of neighborly busybody buzz. Jan got a Mini? VLOEK! (that's DAMN, in Dutch) The text on the side of the box was advertising a limited time 99€ a month offer. Anyway, watch the vid and look for the Smart Car...which actually would have fit in one of the boxes. Speaking of Smart Cars, BBDO in Toronto created a smart little X-mas promo of its own for the brand.