What’s new in the world of deadvertising

Back in the spring, we wrote about Costco’s travel urns (shown here), which are useful if you need to scatter a loved one’s ashes far from home. Today, in a timely Halloween blog post, CMO magazine’s Constantine von Hoffman gives us a refresher on the broader subject of death and marketing. Among the topics he touches on: ads on coffins, coffin-themed promotions, college-themed caskets, sponsored funerals and ad campaigns for death-scene cleaning companies and pet cemeteries. It reminds us of that campaign a few years ago by Acclaim Entertainment, which claimed to be paying grieving families to advertise videogames with tiny ads on their relatives’ headstones. That turned out to be hoax.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

‘Fortune’ readers don’t envy Jon Stewart

For its Power Issue, Fortune magazine got straight to the point and came up with a list of 25 People We Envy Most. The list includes Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, Richard Branson and Bob Costas. For a little extra fun, you can play the Do You Envy Them? Or Not! game online. Voting thus far suggests that 26.6% people are envious of Jon Stewart, and 73.4% are not. Stewart, of course, probably won’t find out about these results, as he almost certainly doesn’t read Fortune.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Photo: Steve Maller

Published on October 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

120 reasons to buy a new Passat

We figured we’d stop by the VW site to check out the 15-second short films for the 2006 VW Passat this morning and were annoyed to be confronted with a survey before we could actually gain access to that part of the site. (Confession: surveys make us feel cheeky, so even though—sadly—it’s nowhere even close to true, we told the survey that we were currently in the market for a 2006 BMW 5 Series.) The films, overseen by Arnold Worldwide before the account was taken over last month by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, now number about 45 or so, and will eventually total 120. They were produced by an outfit called Brand New School. So are they any good? The one pictured here (no. 83) featuring a Beavis and Butthead-style approach to describing the car’s horn, was funny in a juvenile gross-out kind of way, but we think the overriding strategy of the site is this: if you put 120 films online, a couple of them should be capable of going viral.[UPDATE: A reader informs us that, some, but not all, of the films was produced by Brand New School.]

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (6)

Don’t be a flop like these NBA rookies

Few characters in the sporting world are as comically sad as the promising NBA player who turns out to be a complete bust. Just ask the Knicks. Sony devotes a new Web site, Don’t Be the Next, to three such players—Billy Joe Cuthbert, Jason “Sweet Money” McDaniels and Sergei Vogavich—to promote its newest PlayStation 2 title, NBA ’06. The players are actually fake, but the bios, humorous videos and Cuthbert’s yellow headband are painfully recognizable. NBA ’06 has a game mode called “The Life” that puts you in the shoes of an NBA rookie. “Make the right moves and you’ll be working your way to the top of the league,” says the promo copy. “Don’t, and you’ll be working the nine-to-five in some dead-end job like Billy Joe Cuthbert, Jason ‘Sweet Money’ McDaniels or Sergei Vogavich.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (15)

Apply to work at Google ... if you dare

As expected, Google has doctored its logo for Halloween. As not expected, the company is using the logo as the jumping-off point for a recruitment ad for sales execs in today’s New York Times which asks the question, “Are you scary smart?” and resorts to other Halloween metaphors describing Google as “an almost spookily entrepreneurial environment” and so forth. To apply, people are told to go to Google and type in the keywords “scary smart” where they’ll see a list of positions. If they are still interested they can send their resumes to scarysmart@google.com.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)

A tale of two Donalds

Although most people in advertising would never mistake Donny Deutsch for Donald Trump, Daniel Gross at Slate has taken it upon himself to clear up any confusion about which “blowhard, narcissistic, tough-talking, celebrity businessman-turned-media-creature with monosyllabic Germanic last name" is which. For a compare and contrast on the duo’s fashion faux pas, “number of times mentioned in the other guy’s latest book” and so forth, click here.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Credit: CNBC

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorrell finds Murdoch in a panic

WPP Group chief Sir Martin Sorrell may have Internet-related investments of his own, but when it comes to Rupert Murdoch’s investments in cyberspace, he finds the News Corp. chief  “panicking,” according to a speech he gave to Europe’s Internet Advertising Bureau conference “Engage 2005.” According to a story in The Guardian (you have to register, but it’s free), Sorrell said, “[Murdoch] must have been panicking because he even said he might hire McKinsey to help him out with his strategy.” Since July, Murdoch’s News Corp. has bought Intermix, owner of myspace.com and IGN Entertainment, among others. This does not mean, however, that Sorrell is blissfully unconcerned of how changes in media are affecting traditional media companies. "Saying, well, the next generation, my kids, and my grandkids, are going to have very different media consumption patterns is a little bit of a cop-out. It's actually happening now," he said.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Credit: Graham Trott

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Martin Sorrell

Alan Ball shifts from the dead to the undead

Six Feet Under fans disconsolate after the conclusion of that fabled series can take solace: Alan Ball is developing a vampire show for HBO. Ball, who eons ago worked at Adweek magazine, has agreed to develop an hourlong pilot based on the Southern Vampire book series by Charlaine Harris (Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, and Dead to the World). Hopefully the pilot episode will take a page from Six Feet Under’s book and have creepy vampire commercials. 

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daniel Lyons has no love for bloggers

Hot on the heels of Neil French declaring his own “death by blog,” Forbes has published a not-too-flattering take on the blogosphere as its Nov. 14 issue's cover story. Daniel Lyons, author of the piece, cuts to the chase in his lead: “Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective.” Yikes, I have a feeling this can’t end well for Lyons. He weaves together a portrait of bloggers not as pajama-clad socially awkward men living in their parents’ basements, but as cutthroat vigilantes, willing to stoop to any low to smear enemies, real and perceived. Lyons warns companies of the evils bloggers can perpetrate to their businesses, citing Kryptonite’s experience with bloggers’ role in exposing its faulty bike locks. (Interestingly, IntelliSeek’s Pete Blackshaw, one of the biggest proponents of consumer-generated media, pours fuel on Lyons’ fire, saying bloggers “are only going to get more toxic.”) Like most things in life, blogs and bloggers are a messy mix of quite good and quite bad, with big stretches of the aggressively mundane. My guess is Lyons has an axe to grind because he’s tangled often in the past with the passionate open-source world. Early reaction from bloggers has been rather negative,though no sign of the type of organized intimidation campaigns peppered throughout his article.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Morrissey

Can music wash away consumer cynicism?

If music can tame the savage beast, what does it do for a cynical consumer?  There are a few campaigns, regardless of the companies or products being sold, that have excellent scores. Take for example BP’s “On the Street” campaign in which random people are interviewed about their thoughts on oil companies. After seeing these spots dozens of times, it is hard to recall one word that any of the interviewees said. (Save for one woman, who says asking someone to give up their car is like giving up chocolate. “It’s just not gonna happen,” she predicts.) But what stands out is the dreamy music at the end. Then there are the Walgreen’s “Perfect” spots, with some of the same kind of music and soothing voiceover, which can send the viewer into a hypnotic trance. Are there any others I missed?

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mr. State Trooper, please don’t stop me

Would a bogus window sticker like this make you more or less likely to get a ticket when you get pulled over? Whatever the case, skiers and snowboarders will surely enjoy them. TDA Advertising & Design in Boulder, Colo., created a bunch of the decals (“They’re official. Looking”) for car-rack company Thule. They’re being handed out at snowboard and ski events, music festivals, and so on.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Could you please rat yourself out?

Two weeks ago, we wrote about the Great Pointed Archer Society, which says it wants people not only to like rats better but to start referring to them as great pointed archers. (It’s a stretch, especially when one is mostly used to seeing rats zip amid the muck and garbage on the subway tracks—with a knack for avoiding the third rail that is positively uncanny.) AdFreak, like the people at the museum of hoaxes, believes the Society is a front for a teaser campaign—and apparently one that just keeps on teasing. Yesterday we received an e-mail from the Society—the same one that had been e-mailed to a colleague two weeks ago—and we came to the following conclusion: We’re really tired of this. Reveal who you are, or … have you ever seen the movie Ben?

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Group protests 50 Cent’s movie ads

Outdoor ads for the upcoming movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin', starring gangsta rapper 50 Cent, are angering a group of parents in Los Angeles who claim the ads promote violence. Duh. That’s the nature of gangsta rap, and 50 Cent’s first claim to fame was that he survived nine gunshot wounds, including one to the face, as a drug dealer in New York. Still, this group wants the ads removed. One of them shows the heavily tattooed back of Curtis Jackson (50 Cent’s real name) as he holds a baby on his shoulder and cradles a gun in the waistband of his jeans. The leader of the protestors, Najee Ali from South Central L.A., called the ads “irresponsible,” citing gun violence as a leading cause of death among young urban black males. True. But any other portrayal wouldn’t be accurate. 50 Cent has built his entire career on depicting violence, and the movie, scheduled for release Nov. 9, loosely chronicles his life. You can’t clean it up for billboard ads. Even his official Web site, www.50cent.com, relies on violent images. When the site opens, visitors are facing him as he points a smoking gun at them over the image of a death certificate with the words “The Massacre” in the background. Another image on the home page shows a handgun sitting on top of an investigative report by a medical examiner.

—Posted by Jim Lovel

Published on October 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (14)

What we're wearing this Halloween

Now that Burger King has suspended the link to buy the Burger King king mask (it was sold out anyway), what are your other options? Plenty, if you're prepared to shell out (and Americans will, spending $3.3 billion on Halloween this year, up 5 percent from last year). If you're in New York, there's always a $600 Chewbacca costume or $1,000 Batman costume at Ricky's. AdFreak investigated (read: Googled) to see what other Halloween costumes are flying off the shelves this year. At press time, classic costumes appear to be the most popular: Batman, Spider-Man, superheroes, Harry Potter, Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters. (BTW, if you want to see the strange demand for "King" costumes potentially unmasked, read Seth Stevenson's Monday column in Slate.)

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Anderson

With 2000 dead, an anti-war ad debuts

The grim milestone, reached this week, of 2,000 American troops killed so far in the Iraq war has triggered an ad campaign from a veterans' group that is now calling for an exit strategy. Operation Truth’s national TV spot shows flag-draped coffins with solemn music and a voiceover that says: “They made the ultimate sacrifice. But how many more will die? With 2,000 American troops dead, and more dying every day, we desperately need a change of course in Iraq, and an exit strategy that honors their sacrifice. Because Mr. President, there has to be a better way to bring our troops home.” The ad, which you can stream here, will run for six days on CNN and Fox News, according to the group, a nonpartisan organization that created the spot from the soldier’s point of view. The new ad represents the most aggressive challenge to the basis of the war from the organization. “The debate about the war is made up of false choices in the country today,” said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran and executive director of Operation Truth. “Staying the course is not an option, nor is an immediate pullout. It’s time to support our troops by finally listening to them and giving them what they have been asking for—a clear mission and the tools they need to achieve it.”

—Posted by Richard Williamson

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maybe 'Rolling Stone' should look into polybagging?

What follows is a re-creation of my thought process as I trudged through the 28-page centerfold insert—a Chevrolet American Revolution 2006 Year in Rock calendar—in the current issue of Rolling Stone, the one smack-dab in the middle of the Rolling Stone interview with AdFreak’s favorite übersexual, Bono. “This is really interesting. I want to read what Bono has to say about tensions in the band. I luv tension! Whoops! Stop interview! Insert! Man, this insert has heavy stock.” January: “Crap, this insert is a calendar. I’m getting a sinking feeling.” March: “Who’s the damn advertiser?” April: “Oh, it’s Chevrolet.” June: “Close call. Almost got a paper cut.” August: “My tennis elbow is starting to flare up again.” September: “Note to self: Never buy a Chevrolet.” October: “What was I reading about again, before I was so rudely interrupted?” December: “Nice picture of Billy Idol, but I’m exhausted.” The worst part is that the calendar features some great photographs and innovative design, but its placement is so disruptive that annoyed readers may barely notice. (On the other hand, while looking for links for this post, I discovered that Rolling Stone is offering a Podcast of the interview that you can subscribe to here. I'm feeling better now.)

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out this Coca-Cola spec creative!

We hear this piece of Coca-Cola spec creative has been making the rounds in the ad community, but as of this week, the person behind it—freelance copywriter Tom Mullen of Exit 3A—has cut out the middleman by sending it directly to the media. Spreading spec creative virally is smart on two counts: 1) There’s an offchance it might get you hired, and 2) as one of our colleagues points out, if the advertiser actually does anything resembling the idea without your say-so, there’s plenty of evidence for a lawsuit. But we’re not great legal minds here; so with that, here’s the guy’s pitch—complete with a still from the movie Red Planet, as reproduced from Mullen’s Adobe Acrobat attachment:

Coca-Cola
“Planet Red”
:30

We open on what appears to be the red planet (Mars). We see an astronaut in a spacesuit walking in a white crater.

As the camera moves in, we see the oxygen tanks the astronaut is wearing are actually filled with a fizzy liquid. The mouthpiece in his helmet is actually a straw.

The camera reveals that the guy inside the astronaut suit is drinking the fizzy liquid, via the mouthpiece, as he explores the red planet.

The camera pulls away revealing that the red planet is actually a can of Coca-Cola in deep space. The astronaut has been ‘exploring’ and walking on the Coca-Cola can. The white crater the astronaut has been exploring is the white swirl on the Coca-Cola can.

Title card: The Original Red Planet.

Logo: Coca-Cola

VO/Tag: “Red Means Go.”

Tell us what you think.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (85)

Say hello to Mrs. Mucus

It’s an unwritten rule that disgusting ad icons do not have spouses. Polyp Man? No. Digger the Dermatophyte? No. Mr. Floatie? Please. But today, one disgusting ad icon, Mr. Mucus, spokesphlegm for the expectorant Mucinex, breaks with tradition and introduces the unsuspecting public to his better half, Mrs. Mucus. “Mr. Mucus Carries His New Bride Over the Threshold of Cold and Flu Season—Only to be Shown the Exit,” reads the earnest press release we received. A new ad, “Married to Mucus,” breaks today featuring the bouncy bride, who “is as large, green and irritating as her new husband.” Slipping into marketing-speak for a moment, client CMO Robert D. Casale says that “while excess mucus may be a challenging topic to broach, the ‘Mr. Mucus’ campaign conveys very successfully the brand essence of Mucinex in a lighthearted, entertaining, consumer-connecting way.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dawn of the MPez3 player

Let it be said that on Thursday, Oct. 27th, a day that first appeared to be like any other, we discovered something cooler than the iPod: the MP3 player shaped like a Pez dispenser. (OK, a lot of people must’ve discovered it because we read about it in today’s New York Times.) Still, how cool! By flipping back its Pez-dispenser-like head, you can turn on your music! But seriously folks, though we think this player in particular is cool, we began to overthink what this means in the larger picture—as is our burden. And this is what we came to: if you really want to make and market an MP3 player to take away some of the iPods’ sales, you’re probably much better off designing it to look like some totally random pop culture icon, as these folks did, then as an iPod lookalike.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voice of the Jolly Green Giant dies

Not a good year for famous advertising icons of yore. In May, Thurl Ravenscroft passed away at 91. He was the early voice of Tony the Tiger (and singer of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”). Now comes word that Elmer Dresslar Jr. is dead at 80. Dresslar gave the Jolly Green Giant his signature theme. According to USA Today, Dresslar died of cancer on Oct. 16, after a six-decade career as a singer and entertainer. But the article points out that “ad jingles were the most consistent part of his career, and he landed roles for Rice Krispies cereal, Marlboro cigarettes, Amoco oil and Dinty Moore stew.” (It’s probably worth noting that the first three on that list were all clients of Leo Burnett at the time Dresslar worked for them.) And though he retired in 1991, he re-recorded the Giant’s “Ho, Ho, Ho” jingle about 10 years ago. “He never got tired of it,” said his daughter, Teri Bennett. “If nothing else, it put my sister and I through college.”

—Posted by Aaron Baar

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Get ready to live the life Comcastic

If you thought Comcast’s $20,000 Pyramid spot was cool, check out the Comcastic Web site. In the first section of the site, you can choose one of the five puppets shown here, program its voice and its movements (they can get hugely complex), and send it to a friend. There’s even Puppet Mail and an option for a puppet-to-puppet chat. (The idea is that each puppet represents a TV or movie genre—Western, music, sci-fi, sports, action—and you direct the puppets much as you would direct your entertainment options with Comcast cable.) The second section invites you to compete for the “Comcast World Speed-Mouse Record” through a series of games. A third section, not yet live, promises an “Encyclopedia Comcastica.” On the welcome screen it says something about embracing “the life Comcastic,” and judging by this site, it’s not a bad life at all.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)

The 11th commandment: thou shalt not blog

Disclaimer: Rev. McHugh, I am not a student at Pope John XXIII High School. Therefore, I can write this blog item without being expelled. Kieran McHugh’s students at the Catholic high school in Sparta, N.J., have been ordered to take down any personal pages they have in cyberspace. The reverend says he is trying to protect kids from predators and perverts online, as well as bullying and harassment. The students aren’t having it—most have protested, saying the school has no right to regulate their lives outside of the classroom. “I don’t see this as censorship,” McHugh said. “I believe we are teaching common civility, courtesy and respect. ... If this protects one child from being near-abducted or harassed or preyed upon, I make no apologies for this stance.” Leave it to Catholic schools to stick their necks out and ban things that get ridiculous. Last week, Kellenberg Memorial High School in Long Island, N.Y., cancelled the senior prom when officials got fed up with students and parents flaunting wealth with stretch limos, thousand-dollar gowns and swanky parties full of sex and alcohol. As a survivor of Our Lady of Mercy elementary school in California, I never thought I’d be on the side of any kind of institution so oppressive that it assigned what games children could play at recess. But Catholic schools are the only ones who sound sane lately. Someone’s got to put the brakes on things students are doing and have some rules. Schools should have leaders who can make decisions, not ones who act like ACLU lawyers.

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Published on October 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (6)

Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy is grounded

So it turns out discount airlines don’t like Bud Light’s “Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy,” a spot created for the “Real Men of Genius” radio campaign. Perhaps it’s the line, “Sure, we’re concerned for our lives. Just not as concerned as saving nine bucks on a round trip to Fort Myers.” Whatever the case, AirTran is threatening to stop serving Anheuser-Busch products on all its flights. (The ad was actually pulled months ago, but aviator Web sites just recently started buzzing about it.) We’ve been searching for an MP3 of this ad, but all we can find is a version on the Cannes Web site that’s been sped up to where it sounds like the South Park kids doing the voiceovers. For now, we’ll have to make do with printing the script (not as funny). Where can this MP3 be? UPDATE: Thanks to Dave for pointing us to the MP3.

[Music up]
Announcer: Bud Light presents ... Real Men of Genius.
Singer: Real Men of Genius.
Announcer: Today we salute you … Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy.
Singer: Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy.
Announcer: Your minimal experience flying a plane will never land you at a reputable airline. Luckily, you don’t work for one.
Singer: Look at me, I’m flying.
Announcer: Sure, we’re concerned for our lives. Just not as concerned as saving nine bucks on a round trip to Fort Myers.
Singer: Whoah!
Announcer: The most direct route to Houston? Through Ft. Lauderdale. With layovers in Detroit, Vancouver and Kalamazoo.
Singer: I can’t feel my legs.
Announcer: So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, oh, Skipper of the Skies. You put the “fly” in “fly-by-night operation.”
Singer: Mr. Discount Airline Pilot Guy.
Announcer: Bud Light beer. Anheuser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (14)

Does Route 66 have the wrong sponsor?

Riding on U.S. Route 50 through the abandoned mining towns of Nevada, you immediately understand how “the loneliest highway in America” got its romantic reputation. For starters, the nickname is probably true. It’s not unusual to go 10 or 15 minutes without seeing another car, even in peak hours of the day. But more cheerfully, the “loneliest” label is not sponsored by a depression clinic or a dating service. So, as uplifting as it may be to see a new campaign for a different road, Route 66—with the theme “Kicks,” based on the Nat King Cole hit, replete with highway-sign mascot and special events—it’s a little dismaying to see it sponsored by the grocery chain Stater Brothers. We’d feel differently about a Burma-Shave sponsorship, because of its history and contribution to advertising history. From 1925 to 1963, Allen Odell’s sequential billboards kept roadmasters entertained, inspiring such followers as Stuckey’s I-95 billboards. One classic read, “Shaving brushes/You’ll soon see ‘em/On a shelf/In some museum/Burma-Shave.” Of course, it’s the billboards that have wound up in various museums, including one that offer this ditty, worthy of Notre Dame stadium announcer Tim McCarthy: “Drinking drivers/Enhance their/Chance/To highball home/In an ambulance/Burma-Shave.”

—Posted by Gregory Solman

Published on October 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Street-fighting man stops by Starbucks

The Rolling Stones’ tongue is about to get a taste of Starbucks’ Espresso Roast. The band has signed a deal with the coffee chain to release a CD, Rarities 1971-2003, that will include never-released tracks and live versions of “Tumbling Dice” and “Beast of Burden,” along with obligatory dance mixes of old tunes such as the already disco-friendly “Miss You.” It drops (or in this case, drips?) on Nov. 22. Starbucks’ best musical seller so far has been the posthumous Ray Charles CD Genius Loves Company, but we’d have to guess this one is going to blow past that disc’s 3.1 million in sales. Just a guess. Whatever the case, we like this Stones promo much more than than the band’s bizarro hookup with Days of Our Lives.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on October 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)