May 2012
26 posts
6 tags
Horrifying New Dating Strategy - Smelling Each...
Many people imagine that they are attractive at a very basic, chemical level, and that others will be attracted to them on the basis of raw animal magnetism. Most wiser folks realize that love and romance are very complicated, but that’s not stopping amorous young people from taking very seriously Judith Prays’s “Pheromone Parties” wherein guests anonymously smell the...
6 tags
Pepsi: Gateway to Pop Culture?
Pepsi is well-known for its marketing and advertising efforts, but this year is pulling all the stops to promote some of its many brands.
The new “Live for Now” campaign is based around Pepsi’s historic position of leveraging pop culture in its advertisements and includes a “Pepsi Pulse” interactive website which Pepsi hooes will serve as a major portal for those...
April 2012
50 posts
6 tags
Latin American Ad Winners
Advertising Age’s Brazilian partner publication, Meio & Mensagem recently sponsored a festival “wave” to highlight some of the best Latin American ads. Included here is our favorite, “Curiosism” for a São Paulo art museum, but we also enjoy this website, which features Brazilian heart throb Lázaro Ramos pitching for VW. Catch the rest after the jump.
4 tags
Samsung's Bizarre Australian Stunt
We’ve seen some off-kilter and botched campaigns in our day, but this latest Samsung spot from Australia’s Tongue agency seems particularly fraught. It appears as if Samsung has hired an an entire flashmob to hold “wake up” signs in from of an Apple Retail store in Sydney. It’s a little unclear what the intended message was.
5 tags
Zombie Grandmother Excuses
Draftfcb Argentina’s latest spot for Zonajobs shows an elderly woman being killed repeatedly in a variety of strange and increasingly horrific scenarios. At the end is a very interesting reveal showing the purpose of all of these, ultimately fictional, deaths.
5 tags
Vintage Victoria Secret Catalog
The folks over at Retronaut just published a (pNSFW) vintage Victora’s Secret catalog from 1979. It’s pretty shocking to see the similarities and differences with the looks of today.
3 tags
Agent Provocateur's (pNSFW) New Spot
In Agent Provocateur’s latest spot, they forgo the classy, sexy distance they’re famous for and instead grapple with the possibility of a strong, powerful woman who’s willing to chase down what she wants (read: a purse) by stripping to her underwear and conquering a man. Let us know what you think in the comments.
6 tags
Roller Skating or Drugs?
Drug abuse is a problem everywhere there are people but one enterprising Entrepreneur in Reno, Nevada thinks he has a solution. According to the folks at Roller Kingdom, Roller Skating is going to be one of the best ways to keep your kids off drugs. A little suspect as a premise, but it definitely makes for a hilarious and adorable video.
4 tags
Haute Couture Ads for Gucci's Fiat 500
In the most recent spot’s for Fiat’s special edition 500 by Gucci, Fiat and Gucci invited several brilliant creatives to design ads. Others can be seen after the jump.
4 tags
African Men Speak Out
In this short public-service announcement produced by non-profit Mama Hope, several African men, listed as “Benard, Brian, Derrick, and Gabriel” speak out about the way that African men are perceived in media from the United States. An interesting and at times humorous take on the way advertising and media portray African men.
4 tags
Hot Fireman Makes You a Margarita
If there’s one thing that can add to the allure of a hunky fireman, it has to be kittens. In the latest spot from Sauza Tequila, they’ve used this perfect mix to construct another good mix: a Sauza Tequila-based margarita. Olé.
6 tags
Self-Promotion Goes Terribly Wrong
New Jersey Actress Racquel Bailey has decided she’d like to star in a Tyler Perry movie and has purchased some billboard advertising which features her face, website and a message to “let me be your next leading lady” in a spot where she believes it will be seen by Tyler Perry himself. Whether the billboard stunt will be successful remains to be seen.
7 tags
Chevy's Robot Graffiti Car
In this new spot from Chevrolet, Jeff Soto collaborates with a Chevy Sonic filled to the brim with spray guns, robot arms and other amazing graffiti-inspired robot technology to create an amazing mural in Oakland as part of Chevrolet’s “Let’s Do This” campaign.
4 tags
Anti-Logging Activism Takes on QR Codes
Anti-Logging activists in Australia have recently begun targeting the country’s largest furniture retailer by affixing QR codes to furniture in the store which promises to enter customers into a drawing. When the codes are scanned, however, a video is played which shows that the wood used in the construction of much of the furniture and flooring comes from high conservation-value forests.
5 tags
Apple's Star-Studded New Siri Ads
Apple’s latest spots for voice-recognition feature code-named “Siri,” sports celebrity talent in the form of Samuel Jackson and Katy Perry. Interesting new move for Apple, given that their most recent celeb talent, Justin Long and John Hodgman, don’t roll with the same crowds as Perry and Jackson.
4 tags
Buzzfeed CEO on Emotional Marketing
Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti is concerned with marketers who want to spread messages which consumers find insulting and that reflect poorly on them. We should be making ads, he argues, which encourage people to share without feeling like jerks.
4 tags
Tumblr Announces Paid Advertising
Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you’re familiar with Tumblr. Although Tumblr is 5 years old, it has only recently began allowing users to highlight certain posts on their blogs for $1. Beginning soon, Tumblr will begin posting ads to users dashboards for a variety of corporate partners.
6 tags
Oreo's South Korean Breastfeeding Ad
In the latest Oreo spot in South Korea created by Cheil Worldwide, a beautiful young baby is shown breastfeeding while staring wistfully at an Oreo. It’s unclear whether this ad has been approved by Nabisco Korea.
5 tags
Lesbian Kiss from Urban Outfitters Outrages Bigots
A recent blog post from SF Gate highlights the furor raised over a recent Urban Outfitters photograph depicting two kissing women.
While UO hasn’t issued an official response, the company’s president and CEO, known bigot Richard Hayne has donated large amounts to the Rick Santorum presidential campaign and has pulled pro-gay-marriage T-shirts from shelves in the past. (Thanks Jonah!)
4 tags
Star-Studded Children's Literacy Spot
Mother New York has recently created a musical spot for the pro-literacy non-profit Reading is Fundamental. A start studded cast including Jack Black, John Legend, Carrie Brownstein, Jason Schwartzman and others sing to the original Roots-composed song. The spot also features time-tested reading favorite LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow fame.
5 tags
Latest Viral Spot for Ridley Scott's "Prometheus"
In the latest viral spot to promote the launch of Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus,” the viewer is presented with an android, David, introducing and promoting himself as a product.
5 tags
Are These Nuts Manly Enough?
Planters’ New Marketing Strategy for Their Nut Mixes
In order to reach teens and young adult men, Planters Nuts has created a new ad which features a team of anthropomorphized nuts who are on a mission to save the world.
5 tags
How's Your Breath?
Tic Tac’s Latest Campaign Knocks em Over
In the latest spot from Tic Tac, which has already reached 2 million views, French streetwalkers are reminded that their breath might be able to use some minty freshness by faking the collapse of all of France from their bad breath alone. Upon consuming a Tic Tac, however, they are hailed as a hero.
5 tags
Diet Coke as Haute Couture?
To launch Diet Coke’s new bottles, Coke enlisted the renowned Jean-Paul Gaultier to create some unique takes on the classic design. In them, he dresses up the bottles in both his classic Breton sailor stripes and some exotic corsetry. Ooh la la!
4 tags
Adorable Glad Animal Family
in this recent spot from San Francisco-based Evolution bureau, an animatronic animal family is created and styled like a popular family sitcom in order to show off the utility of Glad’s latest garbage-bag line.
4 tags
London Mayor Pulls Bigoted Bus Ads
While many years of psychological research refute the idea that sexual orientation is malleable, Christian organizations like Core Issues Trust continue to promote the idea that gay people can be “converted” and become heterosexual. In response to a recent Core Issues Trust campaign on busses in the UK, London mayor Boris Johnson decided to have the have the ads pulled before they...
4 tags
The Republican National Convention Joins Forces...
According to a recent article in Politico, The Grand Old Party has partnered with YouTube as “The Official Social Platform and Live Stream Provider” for the Republican National Convention this August in Tampa, Fla.
This is part of a growing trend of politicians to make use of social media and other web resources. GOP officials are keenly aware of the Obama campaign’s adroit use...
5 tags
Soviet-era Anti-Drunkenness Posters
In this recent post on Russian advertising review Adme, a variety of the most-popular Soviet-era posters decrying alcoholism are on display. Although all the text is in cyrillic, the images tell the whole story.
4 tags
Is the World Ready?
For a Bacon Sundae?
Burger King has just launched a Nashville-only trial run of a new sundae which features not only the traditional ice cream, chocolate and caramel, but has added a single piece of crispy bacon.
4 tags
TNT "Adds A Little Drama" to Belgian Town
In order to promote awareness of it’s launch in Belgium, dramatic television channel TNT placed a “big red push button” in the square of an “average Flemish town.” When an unsuspecting resident hit the button, some pretty dramatic action started.
(thanks Nick!)
3 tags
DJs Hack BMX Bike
Cogoo, the Japanese bike-sharing program, has collected a group of DJs and hackers to transform an ordinary BMX bike into a music-generating “Turntable Rider” which transforms the rider’s tricks into beautiful sounds. Check it out:
4 tags
Waveform Sculpture Promotion
To promote the upcoming release of Benga’s single I Will Never Change, studio Us used vinyl records to create a wave form sculpture. 960 pieces of vinyl were used.
Check out the video after the jump.
4 tags
The New Portlandia-Inspired Political Ad
Eileen Brady’s mayoral campaign for Portland, Oregon has just released a new ad featuring a parody of the popular IFC program. It’s pretty well done.
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McDonald's Reflective Billboard
McDonalds, through agency Cossette, has created a sign made of reflective material which, while in darkness is invisible, but exposed to the headlights of cars announces to drivers that McDonalds is open all night long.
4 tags
Top 10 Creatives of the Week
PSFK publishes its top 10 creatives of the week.
(image credit: Carl Whymark)
4 tags
Ads of Yore: Calvert
In this interesting post on Phil Are Go!, the author takes the time to examine an ad for Calvert blended whiskey in detail, examining all the little touches that make it a powerful ad, and psychoanalyzing the motivations and intentions of the creatives who were responsible for the campaign. Worth checking out.
4 tags
First Treetop Applejuice Ad in Thirty Years
Treetop Attempts to Capture the Wonder of Youth
In this new spot from Treetop Apple Juice by Cole & Weber United, stress is placed both on the ‘natural, organic’ quality of the Apples, and the ability of the apple juice to preserve the childlike sense of wonder which children experience as they throw rocks into streams, hold giant bullfrogs and run along train tracks
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Colorado's Marijuana Billboards
Colorado Marijuana legalization proponents have created a billboard announcing that Marijuana is a perfectly fine drug to consume, and arguing that there are many ways it is preferable to alcohol.
4 tags
Composing for Electric Car
The trouble with electric cars is that they make very little noise. The latest high-end electric concept from Audi (their “e-tron” models) had to have a special noise composed so they wouldn’t prove dangerous to pedestrians.
5 tags
World's First Shoppable Music Video
Ever seen a music video and wondered “where can I get clothes like that?”
Wonder no more thanks to the world’s first shoppable music video, created by online fashion retailer SSENSE.
On display are the Spring/Summer 2012 collections from designer brands like Givenchy and Alexander McQueen. Musical artists Diplo, Iggy Azalea and FKi show off the looks with the new song “I...
4 tags
Augmented Reality with Google Ads
Check out this hilarious parody of Google’s recent augmented reality feature as if it included ads.
4 tags
Purina Scores with Cat Videos
Purina’s latest campaign employs a hashtag strategy to get cat lovers to confirm that they are not, in fact, “crazy cat ladies” but are just people with powerful connections to their cats. Watch the video below to see what they mean.
Skype Attempts to Humanize
Skype’s latest campaign centers around their attempt to humanize themselves in the context of a social media space that they’re trying to spin as increasingly alienated.
See more images at the source.
5 tags
Good Girls Don't Misbehave
But Madonna’s Latest Ad Gets Banned From ABC
Madonna is no stranger to controversy, but her latest ads turn up the raciness to the point where ABC is not able to display.
4 tags
Nivea Surprises French Woman with Beautiful Men
In this recent spot from Nivea, a French woman who tries a sample of their skin cream is suddenly surrounded by flowers, attractive dancers, firefighters and police, as well as a literal “Prince Charming.” Looks like Nivea is taking a cue from Axe.
3 tags
Artisan "Pink Slime"
In response to the recent outcry from environmental and “slow food” movements, the fast-food and other industries have had to reduce or eliminate their use of “pink slime” or an inexpensive meat filler made of of low-grade finely ground beef scraps and connective tissue.
The campaign to end the use of this additive begs the question, however, of whether pink slime is...
5 tags
Audi's Ugly Ducking Story
In Audi’s latest ad, it pokes fun at its first attempt at aerodynamicism from the 1920s, a car which was roundly condemned as horribly ugly.
3 tags
Quaker Oats Man Loses Weight
“Larry,” the face of Quaker Oats has been altered recently by Quaker Oats’ brand-design firm, Hornall Anderson. Larry’s new look is slightly slimmer, having lost “about five pounds.”
