Pretzel Crisps Pretzel Ads Encourage Anxiety About Body Weight And Image; One Resident Fights Back
NYC The Blog was on hand last night as a concerned citizen decided to embellish one of the ads on Houston Street, at a bus station shelter between Bowery and 2nd Avenue. A small act from a responsible citizen, the Lower East Side resident “adjusted” the advertisement on Houston Street near Bowery…adding text and images that clearly show you, indeed, be too thin
Who is the HWAGP behind this (actually awesome!) culture-jamming?!
Go Krucoff, go!
KRUCOFFFFFF!! In honor of this feat, now I’m gonna take a ’90s-nostalgic trip down Adbusters memory lane.
Not sure how long it would really hold most kids’ attention, but I love how this clever, memorable ad really brings the overarching marketing message to life.
1stBank: Tire your kids | Creative Criminals
We do remember the “We care about small businesses” campaign made for 1st Bank. This time they used the same medium with a different message. This ad will tire out children if they put their hands on the rotating billboard. This comes in handy for the parents who take their children with them on the airplane. 1st Bank is there to help.
This is seriously an epic campaign that took on a whole life of it’s own over the past week. I’m sure that you have already heard all about it, but if you didn’t, they were essentially creating real-time YouTube video replies to tweets from “influential people” like Kevin Rose, Biz Stone, Guy Kawasaki, G4TV, Gizmodo, Starbucks, Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Moore, Christina Applegate, Alyssa Milano, and even the Chicago Blackhawks.
BUT they didn’t only respond to celebrities, they also replied to fans, randoms and prominent bloggers; making over 180 videos in total with 5.9 million views combined. (as of Tuesday - according to Mashable)
In addition to coming up with a brand icon that rivals Apple’s PC & Mac characters, Old Spice and W+K have also done a great job at letting people in on the creative process. Last year Craig and Eric did an interview with Twit.tv explaining how they shot the original ad, then this year the actor Isaiah Mustafa (wicked name BTW) did an interview with G4’s Attack of the Show explaining the new spot. And most recently W+K gave a great behind the scenes look about how they were conducting their social media takeover. Brilliant.
Wieden + Kennedy and more specifically Craig Allen (copywriter) & Eric Kallman (art director) are insanely creative and have done an amazing job creating the campaign for Old Spice. The two were also teamed up at TBWA/Chiat/Day New York where they created those amazing/hilarious skittles ads: Touch, Leak, Pinata, Transplant and Beard. They then left TBWA in 2008 after then Creative Director Gerry Graf defected to become chief creative officer at Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi. So far they have already won a Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Lions, and I’m sure they will get a slew of digital/social awards for this stunt. Well done.
“Adbroad called it “a move that seems destined to reshape the way brands interact with consumers” , Adfreak reminds us that it all “wouldn’t have meant much without the more traditional element—a brilliant character written by Wieden + Kennedy and performed hilariously by Mustafa”. The Financial post called it a “social media tour de force” - even 4chan (yes,they went there) were amused. When Old Spice stopped working, the internet took over with Reddit users putting together Old an Spice Voicemail generator.”
(via It’s official: Old Spice wins teh intarwebs. | Adland.tv)
Advertising Winner Doesn’t Go It Alone
AdAge posted the past month’s Top 10 Most-Liked and Most-Recalled Ads. (Open the link in another tab to see the lists I’m talking about—can’t show the content here. Sorry!)
Interesting that the top three “Liked” spots are occupied by ads that cross promote or tap into another brand presence: Target-Lost, Aflac-Toy Story, and McDonald’s-Shrek.
The list of ten most-recalled ads, interestingly enough, doesn’t overlap all that much with the “liked” spots, but note that again, four of the top five spots take advantage of another media presence (three Target-Lost ads and the Pantene-Stacy London spot which, although it doesn’t mention “What Not To Wear” directly, clearly draws on her fame from that show).
I’d say the winner this month is Target—which, if you know me, you know makes me happy. Lurve Target.
But the lesson is just how powerful the result can be if you (cleverly) tap into current trends and popular properties.
And also: how funny are the ad summaries? “Man wrestles with children at summer barbecue, then runs to grill and eats sausage.”
Who’s In Charge Here?
Upon hearing news that agency Ogilvy & Mather is prepping to name Lars Bastholm, an insider with digital chops, as the chief creative officer of its New York office, Ad Age asks: Is putting digital experts in the top creative spots the right thing?
I’m not an expert on ad agencies, but haven’t creative directors always needed to have a robust understanding of the media their messages use? Creativity can’t exist in a vacuum, right?
This question reminds me of one of the most (in)famous quotes from last week’s BookExpo America. Speaking on a panel of CEOs discussing the value of a book, Esther Newberg, executive VP of International Creative Management, remarked that one of the nice things about getting old was not having to worry about the resolution of all these arguments—you know, discussions about ebook value, royalties, digital editions, piracy. Shouldn’t those be the very issues that our leaders most aggressively tackle?
Publishing is often referred to as a sinking ship. If that ship is to be righted, we can’t afford to have disengaged people at the helm. As Kassia Kroszer wrote in her recap of the BEA panel, change must begin at home.
My answer to Ad Age’s question, then, is yes. The best leaders are creative thinkers who know their industry inside out—and in media and advertising, that means having serious digital chops.
Great art direction in these ads for Kettle Chips.
There are also ads for Peppercorns, Chives, and Chilli.
via fuckyeahads
For Him, For Her!
I saw an ad for One a Day Teen Advantage vitamins yesterday. Here’s some the copy from their website, which is pretty similar to the commercial’s voiceover:
One A Day® Teen Advantage products contain key ingredients to help address the top health concerns of moms and teens.
Complete Multivitamins for Teen Boys & Girls to Support:*
- Healthy muscle function with Magnesium (for Him)
- Healthy skin with Vitamins A and C, Copper, and Iron (for Her)
Do I even need to explain why this is irritating? I barely have the energy—probably because the vitamins “for her” include ingredients to help with clear skin but not muscle function.
Shame on you, One A Day.
Clever and striking.
(via fuckyeahads, hazelisnotanut, Source and More)
Here’s an ad from BMW’s “Joy” ad series: “We realized a long time ago that what you make people feel is just as important as what you make. And at BMW, we don’t just make cars; we make joy.”
And yes, driving in a convertible with girlfriends on a sunny day does seem joyful but, really, BMW? BMWs are, after all, the “ultimate driving machine,” manufactured by ze Germans with uber-precision, emphatically understated in their styling. Good cars? Sure. And there’s pleasure in driving cars like that. Joy? I see what you’re doing here, BMW—tapping into a new demographic—but I’m not sure I’m buying.
BMW’s reputation is so entrenched that if someone told me their joyride was a Beemer I’d tell them they need to spend a lot less time wearing a gray suit. It’s interesting to me that they chose not to address the obvious contrast between their usual slogan and this new attitude. I wonder if it will work.
In any case, to my mind, automotive joy looks (and sounds) a lot more like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eAUFGXkKnQ
Flamboyant! From Top Gear—great show, even if you aren’t a gearhead (I’m certainly not!).
Strange image choice for this ad, no?
