I swear I’m gonna run for the border—of PA. (I’m close enough, why not.) Just when I thought there wasn’t anything more in this state to tax or cut from a budget. If iPod or anon comment or menu calorie warning bills weren’t enough for politicians to worry about, now NJ is mulling over an idea that’s waaaaaaaaay better: a tax for all you in between snack meal freaks. This in theory will help hospitals that are going to close because, well, they don’t have enough funds to operate because heart attack patients are ... clogging the hallways. (Ba. Da. Bing!)
If that’s the case, then I propose another bill: a surcharge on Ben Stiller and/or Dane Cook film rentals because they’re making us significantly less funny as a society.
From laboratory101 comes a look at a program called Video Trace that maps 3D images out faster than anything I’ve seen. It’s in prototype stage, which means they’ll wait for Adobe to come sniffing around, acquire them and then release it to the public for $1,299. ($39.00 for the student version.) With nothing more than dragging and drawing a few shapes, it took rough video, then mapped and duplicated sections that not maybe five years ago would’ve required a ton of rendering time. Perfect for all your UGC needs!
Because people are always saying something really cool, really honest, or really stupid, but seldom in that order. This week, a first! All three from one thread:
“Who is Leo Burnett ??? Im only 13 and i dont no know bout this guy but im asking because i was watching a short clip of pokemon and then it was played backwards and it states "Leo Burnett and 4 kids are the devil" .. I'd like to no who was this guy did he have something to do with the devil ??? Plz responed back to me bout this .. Thnx ..” ___________________
“Hmm. I wonder what business you are in. Can you imagine a banker or an insurance man making a speech like this? How about a stock broker or even a doctor? Real estate agent? Factory worker? Pray that what you do has a principle, a creative element, the purpose of actually making something. If it's only a bit of advertising, that's more than most business people make in a lifetime. Be frightened, and ask yourself what you made today.” ___________________ “u act like its school its called fast typeing ass hole” ___________________
. Now, if only Hillary could come across this genuine, I might actually think about voting for her. The Queen of Jordan takes to the YouTube-O-Sphere in an off-the-cuff, casual take on social media, complete with ringing cell phone. It’s already got twice the views the Royals got when they launched. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that Queen Rania isn’t 230 years old. (In Royal years that is.)
MoveOn.org released their 15 finalists in the Obama video contest which you can, yes you can, vote on here. The one above is the one I like the most out of all. Even though the voting across party lines theme has been done before, this felt executed the most sincerely out of the bunch. The others used kids as political pawns or parodied existing themes and commercials with shiny happy goodness! Zzzzzz. And no, I didn’t enter because I had actual paying work to do, but it’s obvious several agencies had free time. (One direction we talked about about was kinda done, even if it was a little sappy.) But judge for yourself America, for I am just a blogger.
•• The cartoons had “historical value.” Uh, nice try. •• Why dealers should stick to ... dealing? •• Brand over price when it comes to gas. Who knew? •• Blog it out. ••The best LinkedIn invite I have ever seen. •• Was (Not Was) back from the dead (not dead). •• Soapvertising. •• Translation: Disney legal got to her. •• Hitler as sympathetic marketing victim. Uh, nice try.
Weird Fishes: Arpeggi from flight404 on Vimeo. Computer generated animation doesn’t seem right in describing this work for some reason. Ben over on Thought Gadgets found a clip in the Radiohead video contest. It’s done by Rodger Hodgin, (co-founder of the Barbarian Group). He uses the application called Processing, which allows you to program images, animation, and interactions. (Basically, it takes beats and rhythms from music and outputs them as visuals imagery. You have to watch the hi-res version off his blog.) But it’s not just push a button and it’s done either. If you’ve ever done any kind of animation, you know the amount of work involved in synching audio, let alone entering each note by hand as he’s done here. He made the comment that the piece could be for any song really because it’s just mapped notes, so it wouldn’t matter what band you use. I can see where that might be true, but after watching it, seems like it fits the vibe of the song pretty nicely.
Except you don’t have the chicks, money or film deals. On second thought, you have no chance of being as cool as him. Nor do I. So let’s just punk him instead. Here’s a link to the site with one of the spots I had to sit through before a movie Saturday. Now you can sit through it. You can also—wait for it—upload your own photos mtlb? Why yes, yes you can. Maybe something like this. Or this. Hey, what about this nice group shot? (Freakin Willis, guy’s gotta be in every shot. Go figure.)
Came across the release of Canseco’s newest book, Vindicated. It was then that I remembered I’d completely forgotten about him thanks to Pettitte and Clemens grabbing the spotlight. The post though raises an interesting point: no matter what happens in someone’s life, it’s hard not to react with some degree of reverence when you meet a childhood hero. And with recent admissions by other MLB players that now seem to back Jose’s side of the story, you start to think, okay, maybe he was right. But when you factor in that he juiced as a player, what would he really be cleared of, the violation—or the punishment?
And it ain’t even May yet. Yes, any candidate is fair game, in terms of their voting record, their political accomplishments, their stand on the issues, whatever. But when you use veiled language like ‘extreme’ to describe someone in a political ad, well, we’re waaaaaaay past ‘liberal’ now.“What, me? What’d I say. I never said anything about race.” Didn’t have to.
Because people are always saying something really cool, really honest, or really stupid, but seldom in that order:
“If you’re drinking French, Swedish, or Dutch vodka, you’ve screwed up. Vodka was born from Poland and Russia. If you’re not drinking Slavic vodka, you might as well be drinking Canadian tequila.” ___________________
“TTG finds this type of website to be very annoying. TTG is a simple man and likes to keep his websites simple and easy to navigate.” ___________________ “God bless beer.” ___________________ “I always thought that logo was an obese man holding giant chopsticks.”
Who said Leo Burnett can’t do viral ‘cause this topic is gonna spread everywhere. So they’re supposedlyinstituting a dress code for everyone there. Hmmm. Account side, I could see, they deal with clients on a regular basis. Creatives though? Clients expect thick black glasses, iconic tees, funky kicks (funky I say), and ... jeans. What sayeth you? (Normally, I would never run a poll that looked like this, but I couldn’t resist going with a style which almost matches their announcement poster.)
(UPDATE: Like, omg, bloggers like me got totallypwned.)
We can be just as provocative thank you very much. Find the soulmate who’s right for you on 29 different levels of eternity. Just as long as you’re both heteros. Now you can stay home on a Friday night and make fun of the freaks on those other dating sites who will surely burn in hell.
People, settle. This isn’t a problem, it’s a marketing opportunity. Religion, morality, sports, no topic is too far out for license plates. But why not do more with them. Fast food freaks, here’s your chance to save. What about a license plate with UPC code good for a discount every time you use the drive-up. Wendy’s, email me, oh, sorry. Wait, what about a plate for the merger: WARBYS. ANDYS.
It does, actually, but for a different reason. First though, it doesn’t happen often, but like a rare albino (insert creature of choice), I came across another legal disclaimer that I not only could stand, but actually laughed at. Did a group of copywriters tie up CBS legal and force them to make corrections? (Link is here, then scroll down to end of article.)
Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not CBS News stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.
Those subsequent Rules of Engagement are even better, actually breaking down into language any anon freak can understand, just what the house rules are.
And here’s why they suck though. You can’t control conversation by telling people what they can and cannot say. I don’t mean death threats or anything advocating a crime of course. That doesn’t fly. But the limits that major media outlets like CBS put on forums or blogs are pointless. Lighten up, relax. I promise if someone calls me an asshole, I won’t sue you.
Here’s another litmus test: apply those same rules to someone you’d have a face to face conversation with and see if it passes muster. It wouldn’t, because the conversation would be over in two seconds as you’re laughed out of the room.
But hey, at least you guys got me to read the legal copy.
And a not so hi-tech campaign of driving around the country and putting up business cards. Like the one I grabbed at my local deli today off their community bulletin board.
Well, it might be a case study in watching the Democratic brand self-destruct. Not because of their prolonged delegate selection process. They’re just following the rules the way they were set up. (It does look bad though guys, really.)
But what you notice is how heading into last September, this whole thing was theirs to lose. And now, with a constant stream of he-said, she-said, it’s like watching one of those sports collapses in progress, the kind where one team is up by 20 or 30 points, and the other team comes back.
And where does Daniel fit.
Well, he’ll probably say he has no shot.
But it’s not because he doesn’t have a slogan—he has two.
Agenda? Yep. It’s right there for your perusal. (Okay, it may not quite fall inside the typical range of expectations you have for a candidate, but there are some things you could get behind.)
Can’t be because he’s spending $11,000 on pizza for his campaign either—his driver’s side door won’t even open.
Doubt it’s his lack of candor:
“At various other times in my life, I've been a thief, adulterer, verbally insulted others, drank, smoked, killed, and lied among many others that I'm not so proud of. However, because of the lessons I learned from of those activities, I'm not ashamed of them either. If the details of any of this is that important to you, just ask.”
Would Hillary be that honest? I guarantee I would remember someone shooting at me as I got off a helicopter in a foreign country.
Having served his country, I’m sure Daniel would as well.
But watching her yesterday rise yet again from the ashes to give supporters another rah-rah thank you speech, notice how she’s now become a candidate of hope, when two weeks ago she was a candidate of experience.
So identity crisis + memory lapse = our future?
Then you listen to her talk about how either choice is a win-win for America, (first black president or first women president, dealer’s choice). Problem is, the notions of race and gender that we’re trying to put aside become even more amplified—because she keeps mentioning them.
While this next part is just me projecting as only I can, I think ultimately this sets McCain up to pick Condi as VP. A move designed to trump the Dems on both those win-win issues. The result? A race too close to call that Tuesday night.
And so where does Daniel fit?
Here he comes. Ralph Nader, just another Daniel who doesn’t really matter, driving down the road, ready to give his 3% of the vote to whoever needs it most.
Because I’ve searched all over for the spots listed below and have come up empty, I now crowdsearch it to you. Like Bigfoot, I know these spots exist, I’ve seen them. But without tangible proof, I will be scorned. I just can never grab my camera in time to capture them. This then, is why I need your help. All are tv spots and all are to be considered extremely dangerous. Approach with caution.
1) Symbicort’s most recent spot with the testimonial black shape happy creature people.
2) The recent Red Lobster shrimp or lobster porn spot with nothing but close-ups of (*repeat in succulent voice*) “...succulent lobster smothered in rich, creamy butter.”
3) Just For Men’s recent spot with a cover of Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love, sans vocals of course. “Because after you use it, your hair will be getting near dark, highlights shining through on you.”
4) Prudential’s Retirement Red Zone spot. More talking black shapes and testimonial goodness. Tags: Just For Men, Red Lobster, Symbicort
Or a least offset it. Nice idea to counter the not so nice imagery of Condemned 2. (All blood, all the time.) Also have fun with Clowns and Lollipops. (Work is from Clemenger BBDO Sydney.)
•• Urban sprawlscrawl. •• Northern Jersey isn’t the only place for outdoor greatness. •• Multiple contests call for similarvids. •• Beware the Flakbots. ••We’re gonna need a bigger boat. •• Pop quiz hotshot: You're stuck for 41 hours. Whatta ya do? •• Maybe it’s not the talking but talking LOUD. ••Just. Yeah, right. •• The more things stay the same, the more they stay the same. •• Nike Anon comment fest. •• See-saw power generator, cheaper than giant gerbils. •• Roughing it, ugly style. •• Lift the curse, buy the jersey. •• But it’s a catchy song, right? •• Nodding with confidence. •• Slammed balls and trampolines redux. •• Here’s to a juice-free account win. •• Get Head ... and Shoulders above the creepy. •• Who doesn’t love some Love 2.0?
Just like AT&T, I like Direct TV’s commercials, but hate their service, because 100% of the time, I got frustrated when it was down 30% of the time. Oh, and they don’t get the internets either, so sayeth the girl Riot.
Saw this over on laboratory101. Basically, the Cadbury drumming gorilla vid spawned a ton of remixes. If you haven’t seen them, now you can. They may be the first major brand I can think of that didn’t just watch YouTube nation take control of where their spot went. Instead, they gathered all the best clips into one location: brand releases video, fans mash it up, brand says thanks.
There’s also a point made in the subsequent articles about how brands will do more of this type of aggregation in the future rather than create original material. They might. But you still need cool ads in the first place to parody, no? Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of creative inbreeding going on. And last time I looked, YouTube nation has trouble creating a halfway decent spot with suppliedartwork. Somehow, I don’t see them as the future, (Diet Coke and Mentos notwithstanding). Unless of course, we keep lowering the bar as far as what’s acceptable quality-wise and cellphone street mosh becomes the new black.
Because that’s just how he should go out: on his terms. That middle finger is for the collective ads he skewered, hated and ranted about. Most of us diss ads we don’t like, but often hold back our real thoughts. He didn’t. Copyranteris was still one of the most honest and biting ad blogs out there. Period.
Veteran’s groups are rightfully upset over this planned cover for next week’s edition. Not because Time did away with its trademark red, but obviously, the famous Iwo Jima imagery. Stuff like this, and things 9/11-related have shown up in other countries. But a cover like this here enters the creative No-Fly zone Ernie talks about. Maybe I’m the jerk though. So, since we’re in an election year, I’ll just let the people decide: would you go with this kind of solution?
With Umbrellas and ramps, it never left. New spot out yet from Sony UK features more epic epicness. That’s not a knock at all, it's got an interesting thought of involving a shot so special you just have to capture it with their new TG3E. But I was thinking, yes, TV always used to set the mood for what people think of a brand, but what constitutes the perception of a brand these days is evolving, does epic matter as much? Some already know the Sony name, so they’ll just go to epinions.com or somewhere else and read a review, hit Best Buy and done. (Maybe they’ll Google it or ask people on Twitter or Facebook what they think.)
In that case, how important was a lavish TV spot? Was Nikon’s ‘smaller’ effort to hand out D40s to a town a more practical approach to involving potential customers? Like I said, I dig the spot, like others, and Sony is active in the online space, as I found out about this clip from a brand person on Twitter linking to their Flickr page from the shoot. I’m just throwing it out there.
Quite possibly, the saddest thing you will ever see. (For here—and the internet—that’s saying something.) Now, my lawyer told me I can’t tell you to wash your eyes with acid after viewing it, so be warned, imagery may linger. Supposedly, this is another leaked internal vid from Microsoft. If you can make it to the end, count the clichés. But it’s so bad, you want it to be even, this bad, hoping somehow that it’s fake so that you can feel sorry for it, but it’s not.
You will never wake up from this nightmare.
UPDATE: Saw a link from Ian that this was all a scam. REALLY have a hard time believing it, because if that’s their idea of parody, they come off even lamer.
I guess for some these types of spots are the TV equivalent of FSIs. Work you never admit to doing but which keeps the lights on. I told you we may have been witnessing pitching greatness, but that was before Pancake Puff Pan. This spot has it all: zooms, fades, real fake smiles and crawling type. But wait, there’s more. Check out the many creamy injection possibilities found in the Pancake Puff Pan—why, they’re endless Pantastic!
Talk about a steemer. Sure, it’s not as glamerous as a BMW location shoot, but tell me you wouldn’t have more fun editing this one even after viewing it 100 times.
•• Scientology is no good for you? (Clip here.) •• Tropical fish planning geeks. •• Oh yes it is. •• I might maybe 'sorta' miss it. ••It would look very cool indeed. •• Affect, effect. It’s, its. Gorilla, Guerilla. •• Franchisees running the show. •• Good luck with No. 5. •• Overused phrase of the year: “engaging the consumer.” •• Natalie P-Fed. Up. •• But what he really wants to do is direct. •• Solving the right problem. •• A permanently dilated right pupil + 59 other things about Bowie. •• Twitter sluts. •• If McDonald's can be sued for making people fat, anything's possible. •• Ghost beach.
I innovate. That’s what I do. But do you people appreciate it? So, adding another future Tucker of a feature to the blog, I give you simple things. Basically, it’s something about a brand that may not be a big deal to them but nonetheless obviously jumps out at you, good or bad.
So for this one, I clicked on a funny promo idea for Papa John’s. $10.40 pricing in honor of tax time. It takes me to their site. where I get to experience a good Pro-Crust-Inators line and an actual graphic bite taken out of the words tax time. Compared to Domino’s and Pizza Hut, which site is more appealing? (Click image to enlarge.) Papa John’s can afford TV, but the site looks dangerously close to that of a bad pizza parlor menu. Only thing missing was a nasty yellow burst with “WE MAKE CALZONES!” across the top. It’s pretty bad when the banner ad has more impact than the site.
Appetite appeal. Simplify. Make it bolder. Gimmee a bigger order online CTA* also. You can give it a makeover without sacrificing functionality. Email me and I’ll hook you up.
Aka, Dove doesn’t get it, or Dove’s campaign for unreal beauty. Highjive has a look at this latest work/effort that sums it up for me. ‘Whatever’ is right. I can only add here that brands’ attempts at ‘branded content’ will only kick ass when, um, they kick ass. Make it cool, then I’m on board with whatever cause you wanna throw my way. What’s the difference in this ‘microseries’ compared to Ford’s Roommates effort? Not much. Reaching out to dispell notions of real vs. fake beauty was supposedly the intent of the original campaign, but as this thing rolls along, it’s clear it’s gotten further away from that station.
The message of real is undermined by the use of a celebrity in these Sex in the OC-type scripts, not to mention multiple brand tie-ins with MTV and MSN. Seriously, I have no problem using large channels like that to get the word out, but MTV? Where, unless you’re a 10, you ain’t gettin on any of their shows. Way to keep it real Dove.
And before the brand or agency people say that ad bloggers are out of touch, hmm, well, whatever. Your demo, (my daughter in college heading into this Perfect Storm called advertising), thinks the message rings false too. As does the girl Riot, who sums it up better than I did:
“...you can't campaign for real beauty unless you actually embrace it.”
But hey, Dove gets mentioned here and that’s all that counts, right?
Two interns at Goodby sent me a link to a toy they came up with for art directors called compfight. Worth checking out. Bascially, it's a search page that sorts through all the Flickr shots on a given subject. (Partial screen shot there is from one of my favorite topics: the Amish.) Type a word in, select some criteria you want to sort it by, and there you go. Displays way more than Flickr’s 24 thumbnails. (And for Flickr Freaks there, yes, ceatives actually search through your images to use in comps. Shock. Awwww.)
On a separate note, my intern duties were limited to preparing mechanicals and covering for my AD when the AEs came looking: “He’s still at the bar and doesn’t plan on coming back this afternoon. He’s going over specs with the printer.”
When we left our roadhouse gang last, they were improvising on a little ditty from The King. As luck would have it, a producer from Nashville just happened to be passing by and stopped in for a cold one. Oh, but this band was anything but. “Fellas? I just gotta get you in the studio.” FF >> and the rest is recording history.* Viva ViVegas! (Catch the seminal music moment at the end with the “Whoo” guy too.)
Although, with all this new attention, Vegas might have reason to be pissed. How dare the image of strip clubs, casinos and The King be sullied**—yeah, I said sullied—by daddy’s little pick me up. Think Clooney’s second home has it bad though? How about The Rockinghams. This close to their big break and Pfizer goes with someone else. Sometime life’s not fair boys. Don’t ‘fret’ none though, even if you’re feeling ‘down’ over this, Pfizer can pick you ‘up’ in other ways.***
*Have to view it on their site, sorry. Pfizer and Viagra also make it ‘hard’ to ‘embed’ clips. . **How the hell do you sully a freak who has a porcelain lemur-monkey thing in a dimly lit basement and a shed converted into a gun range? . ***Going for mass double entendrage in this post.
Talkin bout their generation. What’s with all the restlessness. Coldplay? Why can’t you just be like Timmy’s grandparents and smoke crack to pass the time there. Sheesh. Grandparents these days.
Viva la famous old guys! Once again, the low hanging fruit of borrowed interest is harvested for your enjoyment—and the spiffy™ new Dacia Logan MCV! Sexy! (From Nordpol, the people who brought you tall creepy power of wind guy.)
Okay, watching this makes me want to hit something. Hopefully any brand thinking about a YouTube contest will see this and take heed. Proving once again that you can throw any amount of money at YouTube Nation to get them to vote on stuff, Century 21 tries its hand at the contest thing. (After all the home improvement shows that have come out, why would you not run this contest when they first came out?) Anyway, enter now! Except, if you live in one of several states where it’s void. Oh, and forget it unless your house is listed with them. Wait, not so fast, did I mention you also have to have the listing agent in the video with you? I just did. (And unless she’s this good on camera, forget it.) Otherwise, have at it rock star realtors!
(And because YT contests are spawning 24/7 and eating up space, I am no longer listing them. For previous ones, just click the label below—if you dare.)
I swear I’m gonna run for the border—of PA. (I’m close enough, why not.) Just when I thought there wasn’t anything more in this state to tax or cut from a budget. If iPod or anon comment or menu calorie warning bills weren’t enough for politicians to worry about, now NJ is mulling over an idea that’s waaaaaaaaay better: a tax for all you in between snack meal freaks. This in theory will help hospitals that are going to close because, well, they don’t have enough funds to operate because heart attack patients are ... clogging the hallways. (Ba. Da. Bing!)
