Puppets Got Jokes

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.


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A.B.

Intern Auction Has Closed

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.

From what I’ve read on Brammo’s Twitter feed it sounds like they want to begin establishing a relationship with an agency. And who better to start a relationship with then one of the hottest shops in the country, right?

Best,
A.B.

The Art of Shaving

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.

Some cultures believe that men must keep their manhood region trim for cleanliness reasons. Also, I think guys in the porn industry tend to shave their region but please don’t quote me on that. But I can’t think of any other reasons why guys would want to voluntarily shave that area of their body. So do you guys have any opinions as to why Gillette will create this type of marketing effort?

This marketing effort by Gillette reminds of the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda campaign in that Gillette shaving products can me used in many areas. Arm and Hammer was used for baking, refrigeration, and even as a toothpaste. Gillette is showing guys they can also shave other areas to keep themselves clean.

But it was weird to see an instructional video on shaving your manhood area. You can see the other instructional videos by Gillette here.

Best,
A.B.

Puppet Follow-up

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.



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A.B.

Ice Breakers Turn You to Mr. Freeze

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.

Also, what’s with “A State of Mouth” is that supposed to be the tagline? If the candy gives your mouth a cold feeling then I think the tag should have been Ice “Breakers…A State of Cool.” I think this way the tagline could be interpreted in many different ways but it still “has Legs.”

The ad is still cool to look at but I just can't follow the meaning behind it and I think I am within their target demographic.

The ad agency for this spot is ArnoldNYC and Stardust Studios did the animation.

Best,
A.B.

CP+B Auctions Interns

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.

The auction’s starting bid was $1 and now it has ballooned up to $5,400. All this to get some CP+B interns working on your brand? I am sure that the work will be of the highest caliber because those inters will be under the guidance of one of the top agencies in the world. Even as an intern they must have shown something pretty special to get a job there. So in my opinion, the winning bidder will not be disappointed with the final product they receive.

Apparently the interns at CP+B only make the minimum wage do this project by auction should encourage then to step up their game even more. There are about 3 to 4 inters associated with this project so that’s about $1,800 per intern (for 3).

The big issue with this stunt s why CP+B doing it? Is CP+B doing it simply to attract more positive press, I don’t think so their reputation speaks for itself. I think they genuinely wanted to do something extra for their loyal inters and help clients not already on their roster and don’t compete against an existing client. I think it’s one of those “feel good” advertising stories.

PS: You can get to the auction site on Eby here.

Best,
A.B.

Mac Hits Back

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.

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A.B.

TiVo Come TiVo Go

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?

In the short time that I had it an interesting ad caught my attention while live TV was on pause. An ad popped-up across the bottom of the screen like the one shown in the image below and it required interaction from me so that it could provide more information. My question is, do these ads ever result in a purchase for the advertiser? It’s a great idea if you are simply going for brand awareness.



Anyway, let me know what you guys think. By the way, the image is not from my TV but it provides you with the main idea of the post.

Best,
A.B.

LeBron, Kobe "Just Do It" Puppet Style

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.

The spot is extremely funny and memorable. The audience will certainly be able to recall the brand being promoted, Nike basketball. I was laughing so hard right in the middle of my office when I first saw this spot, people must have thought I was going crazy. My favorite part is when the LeBron character was getting overly excited about beef and broccoli.

You simply have to watch it to know what I’m talking about. I promise you will not be disappointed.

I believe the ad agency for this campaign is Wieden+Kennedy, Nike’s long time lead agency but I can't be certain. I will try to find out and update this post. Now I am sure that it is W+K that created the ad via an angry reader that stumbled onto my blog.

Best,
A.B.

Increase Currency by Making Love

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.

The main message that the Bontrust Bank is trying to send is that banking with them will cause your money to multiply. Multiplying is the metaphor for "getting it on." The thing I can’t quite understand is why the German agency felt the need to use the image of a well-respected American president for this creative execution? To me it is disrespectful and somewhat of a political statement. I know that they don’t like us but there is no connection between the two people they used in the ad at all except that they appear on currency. What do you guys think? Also the ad is very racy and suggestive.

Why does almost everyone think that sexually suggestive ads are worthy of a discussion, myself included of course? Starting today, May 11th I will not discuss any ads with sexual innuendo for at least two weeks. I think it will force me to find new points of discussion for every ad I post on the blog.

By the way, the agency behind the ad is, or in this cast the “agencies” Grabarz and Partner, and Optix Digital worked on the animation behind the ad.

You should also know this is another ad I discovered on Adfreak,

Best,
A.B.

A Look at the Birds and the Bees

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.

Grey København created the ads.

You can see more ads by clicking on the title of this post.

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A.B.

Dream Job in the Ad Business

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:

The mobile phone company projected the lyrics the Beatles' Hey Jude song over a billboard and passed out microphones throughout the crowd. Everyone sang the song to together (not always in harmony of course) but they aren’t professional singers. But you do spot the singer Pink in the middle of the crowd singing with the regular folk.

I know that some parts were staged but this event brings me a warm feeling whenever I see it. And it will undoubtedly bring great PR to T-Mobil.

The work to put on this even has to be awesome.

• Getting the venue.

• Getting the song lyrics projected on an electronic billboard

• Getting the people to the venue at a particular time, place, and day

• Placing people in the crowd to begin passing out the microphones that will be used

• Coordinating a film crew so that T-Mobile can use the footage as an advertisement

Note: I don't claim to know everything that would go into brand event planning but I'd imagine these are at least some of the major points that need coordination.

These are just some of the big things that seem obvious to me that the account service team at Saatchi & Saatchi would have to coordinate and deal with in order to put on a successful event. It is this kind of event planning that I would love to be a part of someday. I would only be involved with the planning of events that are being sponsored or put on behalf of brands. I'll never take part in any wedding planning unless its my own.

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A.B.

BO, Disgusting yet Funny

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.

The spot was created by Ponce Buenos Aires. The link is to another spot created by the agency.

Best,
A.B.

Arby's Sweet Cherry Pie

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.

Arby’s made the connection between the beautiful girl (Tori Praver) and the guy on the bench trying to get her number. The spot was well executed because it was memorable because of the sexy model, it was funny because the commercial is saying a greasy burger could cost you a pretty girl’s number, and Ayby’s got their message across that if you buy our sandwiches you won’t have to deal with grease all over your hands.

Merkley & Partners, the agency that created this spot for Arby’s used all the right tricks to make this particular commercial absolutely awesome. They used sex appeal and humor in just the right balance to make the perfect ad. I honestly believe this is the kind of stuff that shows up during the Super Bowl. They were right on the money with this spot and I think it worked to perfection.

Again with the Mercedes spot you couldn’t make the connection between the product, message and the commercial’s storyline. The Mercedes spot was just plain bad, in my opinion.

Best,
A.B.

Mercedes, I Don't Get It

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?

Were they trying to say that the Mercedes is so comfortable that you would fall asleep behind the wheel? Well crashing your brand new Mercedes because you fell asleep behind the wheel will not bring fairytale monsters into your dreams. It will bring a semi truck and increasing insurance rates. Also, I don’t think that spot was very memorable because it wasn’t easily understood and the connection between the monsters and the car isn’t very easy to find.

The spot was created by a German ad agency called Jung Von Matt. The commercial does move away from the traditional car ad because it shot almost completely in the dark and moves away from the tradition of driving through curvy roads at high speeds.

Anyway, I just didn’t get it.

Best,
A.B.