Captain Morgan's Sexy First Mate

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.

I am a little unclear which ad agency is behind the campaign but I am 90% sure that it is WPP's Grey, New York. Although according to a December 9^th Adweek article creative duties for the brand have been transferred to Anomaly, an agency in New York according to Adweek.

Ms. Miller will be doing much more then sword fighting as the Captain’s first mate. Other responsibilities include involvement in several consumer touch points including digital, point-of-sale, social responsibility communication and event appearances.

Once again people, sex always sells. Not to mention that the pair work well together, Ms. Miller a supermodel that will certainly appear to the target audience and Captain Morgan rum is a party icon in its own right.

What do you guys think please leave your comments below.

Best,
-A.B.

Pro-Atheism Follow-up

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.

Pro-Atheism Ads

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.

These ads will cause some tension in in South Carolina because it is my understanding that people have deeply rooted religious ideas and beliefs in that part of the country. Challenging those ideas may cause some problems within the community. But any publicity maybe regarded as good publicity.

While people may not agree with the message itself, I think it is important to create awareness of different views. Different ways of looking at an issue and accepting disagreements is part of what makes our country so great, am I right?

As far as advertising goes, I believe its awesome creative execution of their message. people will be shocked, surprised, pleased, or caught off guard. This will make the message more memorable in the minds of the intended audience.

According to the Adfreak post this was also done with cooperation from the American Humanist Association which is the American national organization.

I received an email with the press release from the SHL president! I feel rather privileged.

Best,
A.B.