Here’s to You, Mr. Rib Packaging Copywriter.

Someone has to write disclaimers, instructions on how to use toothpaste and gems like this for all things meat. It’s not easy bringing you this stuff people, but I soldier on.

Tags: brands

Forget flowers, say it with M&M’s.

Taking a page out of the Jones soda playbook, M&M’s now offers custom imprinting of any message at My M&M’s. And no, George Parker’s signature line is not allowed. (Yes, I tried.) Although strangely, they allow ‘I love the Draft/FCB merger’ and ‘Chillibration’. Weird.

Anyway, the custom thing would actually help these kids who Fishnchimps found realize their dream of one world, one candy.

Tags: advertising, M&M’s, My M&M’s, viral

Animal House tops Bravo’s funniest movie list.

Saw the Bravo show over the weekend and agreed with most of their choices. Interesting that Dr. Strangeglove is the oldest movie on there considering the Three Stooges always seem to be comedy gold for lists like this.

Choices I disagree with:
84) Silver Streak
57) Swingers. On the fence about this one.
21) Shampoo. (you have to be kidding me) Bulworth was funnier, and that movie sucked.

My omitted list, which admittedly, contains some obscure choices:
1) Quick Change with Bill Murray. What About Bob? is not as funny as this movie.
2) White Men Can’t Jump. I love Jack Black but no Way School of Rock is better.
3) 48 Hours. If Silver Streak is on there, this should be too.
4) Bob Roberts with Tim Robbins. Great political mocumentary.
5) Cadillac Man with Robin Williams and Tim Robbins.
5) The Longest Yard. (The original.)

Agree, disagree? Got some of your own?

Tags: Bravo funniest movies

More free Ricky Gervais.

Free. People like FREE. So here’s more FREE stuff. If you haven’t caught it, Gervais is giving away three FREE podcasts available for FREE here. Enjoy lots of FREE humor. (Karl Pilkington as the village idiot makes it worth the FREE download alone.) Did I mention FREE?


Tags: advertising, Ricky Gervais, brands, viral

Caveman kills Gecko.

Bloggers have spoken. Most of them anyway. Caveman good, Gecko, NOT SO NICE. Maybe it’s time to replace the Gecko with a Sleestak?

Tags: advertising, Gecko, brands, Geico caveman

Wal-Mart, where’s my $4.88?

Chris over at Movie Marketing Madness gave me a heads-up on Wal-Marts latest move in the downloadable film arena – one that I guessed might be a viable direction to pursue for them. (He also adds his two cents on the increasing expense of going out to the movies.)

What’s that mean for Wal-Mart? Only that they paid too much for Draft. Send me a check instead, but don’t forget to skip the Lion Christmas card.

Tags: advertising, Wal-Mart, brands, Walmart and Draft/FCB

Who said D&D players weren’t, well, playahs?

Greetings from Klognar, master of the 4th realm. This may be the best sex advice column ever. Maybe even double ever.

Forget the usual student/teacher role playing thing, what about, “cleric of the watcher from the depths/virgin.”

(Thanks to Jo.)

Tags: Dungeons and Dragons, 40 Year Old Virgin

Look, all we are saying...

...is give wreaths a chance.

Has The Michael Vick Experience broken down?

As consumers of the hype, are we as fans witnessing the inevitable growing pains a superstar of his caliber experiences? Even with the average talent around him, do we just expect him to save the day regardless?

Hard to tell if the finger is going out to rowdy fans – or the people that expected too much of him in the first place.


Tags: Michael Vick .....(via Drudge)

0 rings. Countless commercials.

Priceless.

Tags: advertising, Priceless, brands, Peyton Manning,

I love the Kramer.

Tags: Borat, Michael Richards

Wal-Mart saves Hollywood. Maybe.

Ok, wholly unsubstantiated guesstimate based on some recent trends and a post I saw from Irene:

Since they now own the world, by next year, Wal-Mart makes a bigger move in the downloading space for both music and movies, competing with Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and Netflix, likely undercutting them all on price. Just like Blockbuster gobbled up the little video stores up the street when they first came to town, now comes an even bigger Pac-Man.

Helping them to realize that dream? The increasing cost of going to the movies. MPAA’s 2005 theatre statistics indicate things are just awesome! Hold on a sec. Not based on the movies I went to this year. There’s a tipping point looming: the theatre-going experience becomes the home-based one. The economic model of $30+ for two people to go see a movie as well as order refreshments can’t continue, unless people just love blowing their money.

Right now, that’s good for theatre owners, NOT SO NICE for consumers. What’s the incentive for the consumer to continue like this? More commercials before the movies? A bigger cupholder? More promos for upcoming cable shows? Not to mention, that $30 fee goes up if you have kids. Cha-ching: another $20 for a babysitter.

Based on that, why should people keep going out when they can just TiVo their favorite shows, use Netflix or stop by Blockbuster Wal-Mart on the way home.

And theatre owners, like travel agents just a few short years ago, act like it’s all good. Earn while you can, right? They get paid based on how many weeks they can keep a title playing. (Studios get the majority of their money early in a film’s run, theatre owners earn theirs on the back-end – if the movie plays long enough.) Right now, they all LOVE Borat and anything else that packs people in.

That’s the thing though.

The prevailing logic among owners is that if only Hollywood would make better movies, well, that would be better for them because more people would come out. The movies would stay longer. Not so fast. This isn’t a quality issue – it’s a distribution issue. It’s about consumers and how much they have to pay for those quality films. I’m at the point where I feel like skipping the movies in theatres, and not because of the quality.

Hollywood’s already changing how they premiere movies anyway. Theatres should be worried. Sundance, the once ‘independent’ film festival, now showcases new releases and has more sponsors then Jeff Gordon’s rear quarter panel. Another interesting move is the one Steven Soderbergh pulled: simultaneous release of a major motion picture called Bubble in theatres and on DVD – the same day.

So go ahead and tell me I’m about to see the best movie ever made, but if that price keeps creeping up towards the $11-12+ range? Sorry. I’ll wait for it on DVD for $4.29. I might even be able to buy it used on Amazon or maybe eBay for a few dollars more.

And in the old days, features took a year or so to make it to regular TV. Now, I only have to wait a few months for the DVD release, and with the steady diet of recycled TBS and AMC Classics, the wait ain’t so bad.

Which leads me to... Wal-Mart and those DVD releases.

The ones they’ll bundle with that new plasma TV purchase. The ones that will also include one month free rental on both their in-store and online rental service, or mybe even offer discounts on current DVD titles. Then they’ll throw in a few free song downloads too. (Consider that they’re already trying to undercut Apple with .88¢ specials.)

Maybe land a few major Hollywood releases to compete with Blockbuster’s own exclusive Hollywood deal. I’m guessing it’ll be the Disney/Mel Gibson feature Apocalypto, exclusively at Wal-Mart for starters.

Oh, and don’t forget the $4.88 Popcorn Family Pack with 2-Litre Pepsi^® on the way out of Wal-Mart’s rental center at the front of the store.

Just so it doesn’t seem like I’m pro-Wal-Mart, here are two drawbacks to my master plan:

1) The reluctance of a mostly unionized movie industry to make any deal with the great non-union Devil, even though at the end of the day, both are about tha money, unions or not.

2) The guy in charge of the 50-cart push in the parking lot will now be handling your rental duty, so you just know you’re guaranteed of getting the right DVD in that case at checkout.


Tags: TiVo, Wal-Mart, NetFlix, Blockbuster, media guess, Hollywood Video

Speaking of turkeys.

Happy Thanksgiving Michael. White meat or...? Never mind. We already know which.

Tags: advertising, Michael Richards, Kramer, I said the N word 1,000 times but I’m not a racist, that’s the funny thing

Pop 5 - Kinda odd, but ok.

Odd dancing guy asking you to guess the drink. (Bizarre enough to be a new Crispin spot even.) But then the logo came on for this culture trivia game Pop 5 explaining what it was. Didn’t need it. You’re talking about people having to figure out clues, why not let them take another step and go to the website on their own without the prompt.

Tags: advertising, Pop 5

Make sure you get one of these Friday.

What with all the post-turkey hoopla, wouldn’t want you to miss out on the perfect stocking stuffer from Urban Outfitters.

Product Description

Bust a cap in your tree with this super glittery ornament in the shape of a handgun, complete with a satin ribbon for hanging. Imported.
* 4.75"l, 3"w, .75"h
* Plastic, glitter

What’s next, “Where my ninjas at” halloween costumes?

This was a filmmaker.

(via Drudge)

Caveman or gecko?

4 out of 5 drunk bloggers agree: we need a new poll. So which is it: caveman or gecko?

Which Geico character do you like better: Caveman or gecko?
	Caveman.
	Gecko.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Tags: advertising, Gecko, brands, Geico caveman

“So where ya’ from — originally.”

The only thing scarier than Gary Busey and a group hug? This bunch of real ghostbusters called TAPS, (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) on the SCI FI Channel’s Ghost Hunters, Wednesday nights.

Stories on the paranormal: objects moving, EVPs, children’s voices, etc. Even the hotel in Colorado where Stephen King stayed and later reported something packed his clothes after he left the room. Wrote a little novel about the experience. The first episode I caught was Shadow People. Children’s voices being caught on tape, bed covers moving. And a husband who thinks those cute spirits add charm. All I know is if that’s my house? Two words: Century 21.

(Only thing about the show, from a name recognition POV, either call it TAPS or Ghost Hunters. Small nit though.)

Tags: The Atlantic Paranormal Society, TAPS, SCI FI Channel, EVP

Stanley, can you hear me now?

I love Stanley Tucci actually. Great actor. Cingular though? Not so much. Clever graphic icons. Nice use of the five theme throughout the TV spots along with Stanley on lead VO and drums too.

But it is the worst cell service I have ever used. Ever. Period. Ever. Dropped calls. Loss of signal in my house and on the road. Delayed message retrieval by sometimes a day or more.

The ads claim that overall, they report the fewest dropped calls. Sorry. I’m one of the ‘fewest’ dropped. A brand, like a chain, is only as good as its weakest link. Or in this case, its unhappiest customer.

No brand has customers happy with their product 100% of the time, so I’m being unreasonable, right? Brands should just live with the fact that 5-10% of their customers will have a bad experience. Uh... no. Not when I get locked into a two-year deal that I have to search Consumerist for ways to get out of it.

Not when countless Cingular reps say there’s nothing they can do, it’s my phone, it’s their lack of towers, it’s my SIM card, it’s my toothpaste, etc. But, if I would just resign for another two years, we can get you a new one. To which I say...

...more middle fingers in more places.

Tags: advertising, Cingular, brands, Stanley Tucci

Wisk Dual Action car wax.

Regular package design sure looks like it, especially with the NASCAR promo.

Tags: advertising, Wisk Dual Action, packaging, NASCAR,

A disclaimer that doesn’t suck.

I wish more were like this one on Technorati:

“LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Technorati Mini may be habit-forming. Do not operate motorized vehicles while using Technorati Mini. May cause excitement / nostalgia for Web 1.0. Technorati Mini may agitate popup-blockers. Do not taunt Technorati Mini.”

Tags: advertising, Technorati Mini, brands, viral

Consumer Generated Outrage.

Fox finally makes a good move and cancels the OJ thing.

(Wait. Shit. This means I actually agree with Hannity on something.)

(via Drudge)

Geico Caveman sees therapist in new spot.

New therapy session spot with Talia Shire as the shrink here on YouTube. (It’s not a stretch – she’s used to working with neanderthals). One more thing: why don’t the cavemen have a blog? They easily outdo the Gecko in terms of popularity, and he has one. Seems like a no-brainer. Instead of the Gecko film contest - dead link btw - why not have a uh-oh, ‘CGC’ film contest involving cavemen and your next door neighbor chasing them with fire.

Tags: advertising, Gecko, brands, Geico caveman

Kerry: Botched Joke Won't Affect 2008.

Yes it will.

Tags: 2008 election, open mouth, insert foot, John Kerry (via Drudge)

“Psst, Vlad...

...give the barber an extra five to carve a Google logo back there.”

Tags: Vladmir Putin, Hu Jintao , George Bush

BK Games. Have them your way.

BK and the King just flipped the bird to people who thought brands shouldn’t intrude on the user/gaming experience – by coming out with their own Xbox game featuring the King himself. Placement done right ad bitches. No subtle ads on billboards in the background. The brand is now the game. Will gamers flip it back right back? Not as long as it doesn’t suck. Because no matter what, content is King. (YouTube trailer here.)

Tags: advertising, Xbox, brands, The King

Unofficial BG* Man Law.

*Blogger Generated.

It’s 12:00 am-ish. You’re up in six hours. Top Gun, the original Longest Yard or Die Hard is on TBS. C’mon, you have to watch it. That’s not just a guy requirement, that’s a Man Law.

Tags: Die Hard, Top Gun, Longest Yard, TBS

iZune™

Tags: advertising, iPod, brands, Zune

Scary.

People, you’re missing the new Golden Age of TV.

Celebrity Paranormal Project.

Tags: advertising, Celebrity Paranormal Project, VH1

New Milan comes with iTunes and unhappy girlfriend.

Saw this ad and thought, Ford’s going to do something cool with an iPod and a Milan. And even though VW already had the iPod thing, I figured, hey, Ford’s trying with this tie-in. Two things though.

First, girlfriend looks fed up and ready to bail. Nice brand message.

Second, when you want to ‘view details’ it takes you to a product section on Ford’s site that doesn’t describe how and where the iPod connects. (I’m no idiot – much – I can figure it out, that’s not the point.) You just shouldn’t have to drill down 50 levels to MULTIPLE STORAGE UNITS to find a pic of an iPod, let alone any mention of the word at all. Even Sirius gets a plug on a site that seems to want to downplay the whole thing.

Tags: advertising, Mercury Milan, brands, viral

Vatican responds to P3 X-mas hysteria, releases Praystation 1.

Yeah right. Just having a little pun with ya. What with all the hoopla surrounding the new P3, why not get back to the basics of civility while waiting in line. The USB Digital Bible. You know, back in the day, we’d get shot while waiting for something important, like gas.

These kids today.

Tags: advertising, Playstation 3

New media cheerleaders and viral freaks.

“A virus catches on only if it forms a community where none existed. The infection feeds on fascination...”

“...marketers are f--king up Second Life.”

Anyone into creating viral and or anyone just wanting some insight into how and why it works, follow down the rabbit hole and read this excellent article from Fast Company about the ones developed some of the best. This should be required reading for any new media cheerleader who wants to talk to me about exploding 2-litre bottles of Coke with Mentos being ‘awesome’.

Tags: advertising, brands, viral

Milkshake marketing madness.

They have to be iNsAnE to cut prices like that.

Blog-a-lie-va-ble.

Blognormous, blogalicious, blogacity, blogtastic, blogapalooza, blogmazing, blogdacious, blogsanity, blogitude, blogabration, blognacious...

Tags: crumbalievable

K-Sharpie.

There’s a viral in here somewhere. At least a PR opportunity. If I’m a marketing director at Sharpie®, I’m sending out a release disavowing all knowledge of having anything to do with this note. Association by disassociation if you will. Or a spot on YouTube with FedEx delivering final divorce papers?

This stuff writes itself people.

(via US Weekly.)

Tags: advertising, K-Fed, Sharpie, viral, FedEx

Geico caveman revealed.

Well one of them anyway. John Lehr, who played one of the caveman in an earlier spot, (the one holding the mic boom), let me know that in addition to two new Geico spots, he’s in a new series ‘10 items or less’ on TBS, premiering Monday, Nov. 27 at 11:00 pm. Check it out here.

He plays store manager Leslie Pool, who also has a MySpace with show clips. You can also see more of John on his website, as well as behind-the-scenes pics of his caveman transformation.

UPDATE: Anonymous in the comments reveals that Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber are two of the cavemen as well. Check here for more info on them.

Tags: advertising, Geico, Geico caveman, John Lehr, TBS, 10 items or less

Baaawkkk! New KFC logo.

Now, if they can only do something about the use of that damn Lynard Skynard song remix.

Tags: advertising, KFC, brands

A cool idea, for ideas.

Saw this on Right-Half Chow called TheBigWhatAdventure from TBWA. Basically, they’re looking for ideas for some of their projects from anyone, who in turn would be compensated if any ideas are used. Really like the concept.

It’s along the same lines of something I think brands and not just agencies should do more of: have an open-door policy when it comes to fielding ideas – from anywhere. Consumers. Creatives. Agencies. Even people on the brand. Have open submissions. Who said ideas are the exclusive province of consumers and Consumer-Generated Anything? Or new media consultants? Or even agencies?

Tags: advertising, brands, The Big What Adventure, TBWA

Blog linking help.

Not a particularily sexy title I know. Sorry, but every post here can’t be about K-Fed, as much as he is blogging gold. Sometimes, I might just offer useful geek tips. Like... a new way to track inbound links.

Used Google’s new Google Blog Search, found on Micro Persuasion. If you normally use Technorati to see who’s linking to your blog like I do, use the Google one too. I ended up spending hours following the link trails to see who’s been hiding in the bushes and commenting back where possible. (Blogs which Technorati missed for some reason.)

A few such links were added to the Link-O-Rama sidebar, like Right-Half Chow, brandflakes for breakfast and Market My Monkey to name but a few. You may be someone who hates doing anything other than posting. That’s cool. But checking links does two important things:

First, it exposes you to some new points of view from readers you may not know who read your blog.

Secondly, it’s good for inbound traffic from those sites as well as them turning people on to you. Within one hour of posting tonight, the Google search picked up someone who linked in, while the technorati link feature I normally use hadn’t shown anything, even hours later.

Tags: advertising, Google Blog Search, brands, Micro Persuasion

WAYNE’S WORLD! WAYNE’S WORLD!

Who said the two-camera cable access shoot was dead? Just when I thought Art Bell was my 2:00 am freakshow, I discovered this late-night gem on Minnesota cable access this past weekend. I haven’t been able to find any info on it other than a generic ‘Government access’ listing in the guide. If anyone knows who they are, please email me – I smell guest-bloggers.

It’s two married people, I would hope, who perform the best stand-up rubber chicken schtick this side of Carrot Top. Please, for your safety, note the picture on the table of the dog.

Ummm...?

Anyway, sorry about the horrendous audio. Just Spinal Tap it to 11. As for the shaky NYPD Blue-style camera work? Well, when Bigfoot runs in front of your car, you don’t always have the DVCPRO handy. Had to use a digital camera that captures video - kinda. Even with those obstacles, the freak in these clips shines through. (There’s also another version here with even more Wayneness.)

UPDATE: Thanks to a link from anon, I can now sleep at night. Sorry Wayne and Garth, you’ve been replaced: Viva and Jerry.

Tags: cable access, Wayne’s World, viral

Free Google cellphones - with ads?

Google is proposing free cellphones with ads. Next generation of Logo makers actually liked the idea, provided the ads aren’t a steady barrage of ringtones in the form of commercial songs and sponsored text or voice messages from Pepsi^®.

It’s easy to see a tier system/pay model based on varying levels of intrusion, ranging from an ad blitz once a day to a constant 24/7 barrage. Still, someone looking for a free service plan and phone might go for it if all they have to do is put up with text ads for the DVD release of The Ring 7.

Or would they... (Cue dream sequence and little people dressed as clowns on minibikes.)

The user will then just keep their phone off to avoid it all. Countering, Google will add a surcharge based on how long the phone was off because the user didn’t allow the ads to come through. The user in turn discovers CellAdErase.com (sponsored by all the current cell phone providers) which automatically purges your incoming cell number of any ads.

Google responds by releasing ‘happy gas’ from a hidden compartment in the phone, causing the user to throw the phone out the window, but not before blue dye covers one side of the user’s face. The user then heads back to the mall to do battle with the Stanley Tucci-led Cingular army in an attempt to get their free roaming reinstated. But, seeing a crazed half-blue guy coming towards them, Cingular employees call mall security and have Braveheart escorted out.

So yeah, this could work.


Tags: advertising, Google, brands, cell phone plans

Dude, yer gettin’ a new partner.

Hey Apple, why not use the Dell dude? First, it’d be a perfect f-you to Dell from Ben Curtis, and second, doesn’t most of the PC world think Mac users are fried most of the time anyway?

Tags: advertising, Mac, Ben Curtis, Dell

Random logos, send ’em.

The total is now up to a whopping 117 so far. But you can do better people. Take a picture of any logo, add the following tag: randomlogoproject and upload it to The Random Logo Project group on Flickr. (See the Flickr badge in the side bar for samples.) You can also find out more details here.

Tags: advertising, Random Logo Project, brands, randomlogoproject

Thanks to the vets.

Today take a moment to think about all those who died serving our country and its allies, those currently serving and those who served in the past. Especially those in Iraq. Regardless of your politics or your views on the war, that’s a tough job they’re doing, especially when you read about stuff like this.

You also knew I couldn’t just post something without a few ad references, right? First, I know brands use holidays to drive sales. But Macy’s ‘Veterans Day’ sale TV spot left a bad taste. There seems to be something really wrong about imploring viewers to ‘Save big this Saturday!’ without even the slightest hint of what the day really means.

Next year, I suggest they try this instead: red screen, white Macy’s logo and ‘Thank you veterans’ written below. That’s all. It just might do more for the brand and the holiday that way.

Secondly, hey Nissan, instead of paying some wiseass to drive around visiting convenience stores while living in one of your cars, why not sponsor one of the homeless vets from Iraq who now have to live in theirs – or somewhere even worse.

Tags: Veterans Day ....(Image found on Ft. Campbell website here.)

Faith. Is religion finally coming out?

They point to the sky after scoring. The cameras cut to fans praying as the free throw is attempted. Players join hands in prayer with opponents at midfield when the game’s over. So mentioning God in shoe ads seems like the next logical step for athletes, no? First time I can recall any brand, product or celebrity bringing up religion in a spot like this where the ad wasn’t for the Lutheran church or some other denomination.

That’s not a bad thing, I’m just saying. So why not do it more. Check out the gorgeously shot spot called ‘Faith’ and others by director Spike Lee, found on the Converse site here featuring Kobe’s replacement Dwyane Wade. (Wait for the page to load, then follow the ‘As seen on TV’ section.) Straight-forward, B&W and low-key. Just like Nike used to be and Reebok’s aiming for.

Not sure if this will start a trend of others professing their faith, or even if brands allow that message to be heard for fear of not wanting to inject religion into the message. But I don’t think it would be a bad thing to do it more though. Nice to hear an athlete like D-Wade talk about postive inspiration instead of the He Hate Me attitude of why fans don’t love them.

Tags: advertising, Converse, Kobe Bryant, Spike Lee, Dwyane Wade

Never saw THIS coming...

...NOT!

The first Borat lawsuit. Look fellas, trying the Mel Gibson defense didn’t even work for, well, Mel Gibson. Ya’ thought it when you were sober — ya’ said it when you were drunk. So it would have been ok to show this in other countries while expressing those views? VERY NICE!

UPDATE: In addition to the lawsuit by Pinto and Flounder, HJ sent me a link to a story about basically the entire country of Russia hating the movie. (Now that’s PR.) Although I’m sure pirated DVDs are already making the rounds there. NOT SO NICE.

Tags: advertising, Borat, Mel Gibson

A woman’s right to driveway pavers.

The oddest outdoor I’ve ever seen. Came across it in Menomonie, Wisconsin. This even beats the AMC Matador I saw painted up in Green Bay Packer colors that was left in a backyard off a lone stretch of I-94 my last time out. This sign was at the front of cement factory off the same interstate. (Click to enlarge.)

I know the abortion issue is a touchy one for many, and I can usually deal with preachy outdoor stuff like this or this, but this was just so, well, fucking odd. Not sure what side you come out on, but I am a firm believer that cement is not cement until it becomes a block, and not just when it’s sand and gravel.

But that’s just me.

Tags: advertising

Hit it.

Road trip time. Chicago by nightfall. Land of Cheese after that. Maybe. So you kids comment amongst yourselves and I’ll be back live on tha mic Thursday-ish. Bitch about election results. Rejoice. Whatever gets you crazy. Just remember, while you may think all those political ads are over and done with, Hillary starts her run today for 2008.

Just sayin.

Contextual advertising fun.

Considering the random page where this ad ended up, maybe it should’ve read “Perhaps people are attracted to Jameson for its freakiness.” (Click ad to see full page.) It’s an example of that new PPC (Perv Per Click) ad server technology I saw at ad:tech.

Tags: contextual advertising, Jameson, Ad:Tech, pay per click

K-Fed up.

“I was tired of Kevin always nearly dropping the baby.” One question: who gets the Ferrari? And if you feel like beating up on K-Fed, try this flash game. As usual, after you kick K-Fed’s ass, Britney shows up to bail him out. With the baby. And a cigarette. Although it doesn’t really take a 6’9” bouncer to handle K-Fed does it?

Tags: advertising, Kevin Federline, K-Fed, Britney Spears

Just got off the phone with Joe Piscopo.

Besides telling me to vote Republican, he wanted me to know how proud he was of being from NJ. (That’s why he called from Cali.) Actually the disclaimer at the end said it was by GOP supporters, not any candidate specifically. Or maybe it was supporters of Joe Piscopo?

Now that would be a great viral PR campaign for former SNL alum. Get a phone list and call everyone in the tri-state area: “Hello everyone once again, THIS is Joe Piscopo and my career is still alive - barely!”

(‘Supporters’ of Rob Schneider, please take note.)

Tags: primary, Joe Piscopo, brands, GOP, Rob Schneider

It’s that time again.

No matter how much you hate the lesser of two evils in your state, at least get out and pick one. (Cue patriotic music.) Lotta good people serving in uniform now and in the past to give you that opportunity. Staying home isn’t the answer.

“Duh-Um”

Saw the latest Man Law spot with Jimmy Johnson uttering that in response to Burt Reynolds. I know there’s a few who hate the campaign out there, but I like that they’re willing to poke fun at Burt and maybe the spot, especially as The Bus cracks up after that line.

Tags: advertising, Man Laws, brands, Miller Lite

As seen on YT.

Can we just get it over with now and call YouTube what it is? For all intents and purposes, it’s the next network TV channel. Who needs must-see TV when you have the YT. All they have to do is take care of the 1.5 trillion illegal videos floating around first. Solution? Movie studios, regular/cable networks and record labels work out an amnesty deal whereby they pay the YouTube insurgents to take down all the illegal clips they themselves already uploaded.

Tags: advertising, YouTube, NBC, viral

ad:tech.

Going today to get free mousepads and pens.

Tags: advertising, ad:tech

Product placement, CGM/CGC/UGC/UGM style.

Saw this idea on Fred’s. Product placement in consumer generated everything. Probably the logical next step anyway. Which will naturally lead to paid product placement in same. Which will then lead to brands taking over the masses with their evil ‘blood’ money. Which will then lead to the end of all life as we know it. Greedy bastards.

(Note to Pepsi^®: I can still work in a product shot in my next stunt video if you want. It’s pretty fuckin’ cool. I can almost reach the shed from the deck. Gimmee another week and I’ll have it down pat.)

Tags: advertising, Pepsi, viral

Borat – Something to offend everyone.

Latka Gravis plus Punked plus Andrew Dice Clay equals Borat. Racist? Sexist? Funny? Yes, yes and yes. Sacha Cohen as Borat manages to offend pretty much everyone, from Kazakhstan to PETA to most of the South. This film will inspire as many questions about its intent as it will ticket sales.

Looking at the topic of racism alone, I’m sure in the weeks ahead there’ll be more discussions like this on just how racist people think it is. Valid, but there’s also a lot of funny moments that border on the same schtick we applaud other comic actors for. So why all the fuss.

Well, there’s a fuss because there are a few really uncomfortable racist scenes. Is Sacha the actor making a statement or is Borat just being Borat? Do you only laugh at the non-racist parts? And if so, who determines what’s racist?

Am I saying the humor justifies the racism and other offensive behaviour portrayed? No. Just because someone isn’t offended by something in it doesn’t mean the person next to them won’t be. However, is there any comedy out there that hasn’t offended someone in some way?

Having said that, take away the offensive parts and you’re basically left with Jackass - The Deleted Scenes, a 30 minute movie.

At the end of the day though, box office is all that matters to Hollywood. The more people are offended, the more they complain and the more this just drives interest in the film. The guy already has a wiki for cryin’ out loud. (Not saying the boxoffice ends justify the means either, just pointing it out.)

See the movie before complaining though. Helps to know what your favorite racist, sexist, or funniest part was. Just consider this: Borat is the first mocumentary that might muddy that discussion. He’s a fictionalized character put in real situations with real people.

In typical mocs like Spinal Tap, Best in Show, etc., the cast is entirely made up of actors. Not here. There’s a few actors credited, but largely, this is just like Punked in many ways with its attempt at capturing authentic reactions to Borat’s bizarre ways. Candid Camera for Gen-X, Y & Z.

Which is important. Because while many of his comments are so blatantly racist, sexist, etc., the mirror is also held up to some regular folk out there. People who hold the same views for real that Sacha the actor fictionalizes. So which is more offensive then? That Borat brings it up, or that Sacha films this behavior in others?

At one point, I felt comics don’t really spend that much time thinking about the message they want to send, but after seeing it, it felt a lot like Sacha was trying to get his shots in on US culture, especially in the way certain scenes were edited.

And if you were so inclined to knock him, you’d could say he uses Michael Moore’s technique for setting someone up and/or entrapping them to get the desired response. Then again, that’s hard to say. It’s clear a lot of those people Borat encounters don’t need help digging their own graves when it comes to ugly comments.

Don’t take my word for it though. See it and make up your own mind.

Tags: Andrew Dice Clay, Borat, Latka Gravis, Johnny Knoxville, Borat: Cultural Learnings, Sacha Cohen

“Make it edgy... but not too edgy,” it’s blog love Friday.

“Can you make the fin bigger?” New ad blog to check out called AdVerbatims. Has some of your all-time favs from the biz like that one in the title. Go ahead and submit. (And yes, my moniker was sent in.) In keeping with the ILP* theme, found it on Adrants, Adfreak, and Adland.

Some other new blogs I added this week-ish: racelicious keeps the eye on diversity themes with input from HighJive. Heresy has odd stuff I love. If you dig movie marketing madness like me, then there ya’ go. Also in the mix is The Copywriter Underground, for, well, copywriters.

Tags: advertising, brands ......*Incestous Link Party