Another reason to sing, ‘Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs’

The old ad slogan “Uh-oh, SpagettiOs” kind of rings true after this week's announcement that Campbell Soup is recalling 473,500 pounds of Campbell's SpagettiOs Plus Calcium in 15-ounce cans because the labels neglected to list meatballs made with soy protein. Soy protein can apparently cause nasty allergic reactions in some people. I wonder, though, who eats SpagettiOs to get calcium.

—Posted by Lisa van der Pool

Published on April 15, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Paris Hilton, ahead of the game once again

Paris Hilton is an early adopter. She was among the first beneficiaries of the reality-TV boom. She and her friend Rick showed how digital video technology works in the dark. The hacking of her T-Mobile Sidekick brought up nettlesome questions about information security. Now, for the love of God, she’s joining former MTV VJ Adam Curry’s podcasting army. To promote her upcoming movie House of Wax, which can safely be filed in the “horror” category, Paris plans to release an on-demand Internet audio broadcast on the movie’s Web site and through an RSS feed that you can download to your iPod on April 29. What on earth will Paris talk about? The House of Wax Web site invites rapt listeners to “join Paris and friends as she shops, parties, poses and publicizes.” Make room in the time capsule.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Photo: Art Streiber/Fox

Published on April 15, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Morrissey

Cards to spark a little more conversation

For those poor souls who lack the confidence or social skills to mix with strangers in a crowd, take heart. Help is available. Work Labs, a Richmond, Va., company, has introduced a product to help break the ice. They’re called Speechless Conversation Cards, and they’re billed as a “creative way to make small talk.” The cards have witty comments on them that are designed to ignite a conversation. One reads, “Dancing is my life.” Another reads, “Is it safe?” “Can you believe I never work out?” says a third. Introduced in December but just now reaching national outlets, the cards are the first product from Work Labs. Cabell Harris, who also owns Work Advertising in Richmond, developed the company to introduce “over 100 concepts that I would like to take to market.” The cards have special relevance to Harris. “I am a social misfit,” he admits. “The cards were inspired from my own uneasiness in social situations.”

—Posted by Jim Lovel

Published on April 15, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (4)

An indie-music hit, via Adidas and iTunes

Schmaltzy teen dramas like The O.C. and Everwood may have taken over from commercials as the best vehicle to launch “indie” rock—but Adidas is proving that ads can still do the job. TBWA\Chiat\Day’s hipper-than-thou “Hello Tomorrow” Adidas_1 spot (shown here), directed by Spike Jonze, features a man running in a dream (or something, we can’t quite figure it out, but we’re not that hip) and is set to a breathy track by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (doing her best to channel Cat Power) and Squeak E. Clean. The track is available exclusively on iTunes and has risen to No. 11 overall on the downloads chart, alongside Gwen Stefani and the Backstreet Boys. (It’s No. 5 on the alternative-music downloads list.) Might the TV spot/iTunes combo be the future for record labels trying to reach the masses? Hello tomorrow.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on April 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Anderson

More from the guy with the ad on his head

We don’t know about you, but we’re starting to think the guy who let SnoreStop put its logo on his forehead should just sell said body part to Clear Channel and get it over with. The guy, Andrew Fischer, is now selling a five-year avail on his forehead here. Why that long? He plans to have his driver’s license headshot taken after he gets his new advertiser, guaranteeing that the logo will remain on his head in some form until his license expires. There’s one major problem along with many minor ones: Unless you want to target only police officers, airport personnel and security screeners in office buildings, you won’t get much reach. Just our two cents.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why even show ‘Fever Pitch’ in New York?

Spring can be a tough time for moviegoers. Caught between the heavier pre-Oscar fare and the popcorn blockbusters that bow on Memorial Day, you might be inclined to choose a theater based on its snacks rather than its movies. Just check out Rotten Tomatoes, where only three of the current top 10 movies have scored a “fresh” rating. So you know how desperate I must have been to even consider Fever Pitch, starring Jimmy Fallon as a misguided (aren’t they all) Red Sox fan who puts his team before his burgeoning relationship with Drew Barrymore. As a lifelong Yankee fan, I skipped it, of course. The taste in my mouth is still too bitter. And apparently, I’m not alone. The movie was No. 3 at the box office nationally over the weekend, but drew just 12 percent of New York moviegoers. Not surprisingly, nearly half of Beantown moviegoers turned up for the flick. Hey, it’s cheaper than a seat at Fenway.

—Posted by Deanna Zammit

Published on April 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3)

The main event for event planners

AdFreak has been to some swank bashes (usually as an ink-stained wretch for Adweek), but we still would’ve liked to go to Tuesday night’s BiZBash Event Style Awards—a soiree described in today’s Wall Street Journal as the Oscars of event planning. (An event to honor event planners? Isn’t that redundant?) Of prime interest was the choice of venue: the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square. Sorry, but that just seems terminally unhip. If you walk down the right hallway at Crobar—last year’s venue—you see a row of peepholes that look in upon the urinals. That’s gross, but in the topsy-turvy world of Manhattan cool, it rules! Awards were given out for things like Best Use of a Tent (Mercedes beat out the Central Park Conservancy—not, however, for the tent shown here), Best Event Concept and Best Tabletop Design. If we had to pick a weirdest moment, it sounds like it was the interlude where they played “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred as the Hall of Fame award winners left the stage.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Packaging that makes you go, ‘Hmm’

We’re officially on the fence about witty product packaging — labels and containers that have flippant, supposedly charming observations about life, the universe and everything (even, sometimes, the product). There’s Mike’s Hard Lemonade, whose six-packs say, “Ask Mike what he puts into his hard lemonade and all you’ll get is, ‘I’m not saying, but I can tell you this: 10 lemons go into a room; only three come out.’ He’s a little mysterious like that.” There’s Heinz, which replaced the words “Tomato Ketchup” with lines like “Easier to Spell Than Worcestershire” on some labels. Then there’s Ben & Jerry’s, which understood the value of the whole chatty-packaging thing early on. On the one hand, some of this stuff is fun. On the other hand, the more homespun and non-capitalist it tries to sound, the more phony it can feel. (Just ask Ben & Jerry’s about phony.) Is it better to be upfront about one’s phoniness? Glacéau seems to think so when it says, on its bottles of vitamin water: “We do not believe in succumbing to commercialism. Unless, of course, there’s a lot of cash. Then we’ll talk.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

UPDATE: Another annoying example has come to our attention: Teany green tea (tag: “100% natural. 100% nice”), marketed by Moby’s hip Lower East Side restaurant of the same name. The label has a cool Matt Groening sketch, but then you have to listen to Moby give his oral history of the brand. “We sort of know what we’re doing,” he concludes. “Well, Kelly knows what she’s doing. I’m still pretty clueless, which is why I get the job of writing this label text while she does the work that actually requires skill. Thanks for drinking Teany. Come and visit us and say hi.”

Published on April 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Advertising, soon to be available in pill form

In its new issue on “The Future,” The One Club’s house magazine asks a few agencies to “take a shot at creating an ad of tomorrow.” New York independent Powell envisions an advertising tablet that would distill “the experience of using a product or service into pill form.” In a mock 2020 Associated Press article, Powell conjures up an imagined chain of events: The “first true word of mouth medium” is the brainchild of Consumption, an agency whose partners include an MIT drop-out and the former bassist of a band called the Velvets. After gaining FDA approval, AdTabs are first used to launch BMW’s X7 (“just imagine the thrill of accelerating through a tight corner at dusk in the English countryside, the just-cut grass fresh in the breeze through your hair”). Predicting a “Tabvertising revolution” and the demise of holding companies that indiscriminately chase new forms of “buzz” marketing, the article ends with a quote from an “industry expert” who gushes: “The only expected AdTabs side effect will be a sharp increase in clients’ sales, not to mention the first true brand buzz.” No oily discharge, apparently. Still, we wonder: Will it be available in a gum?

—Posted by Andrew McMains

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest on the counterfeit Minis

Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s latest coup in the “counterfeit Mini” campaign is two-pronged: classified ads in magazines like Auto Trader selling comically junky fake Minis; and a direct-response TV ad warning of the fake-Mini racket (even selling a DVD on how recognize fakes) and urging people to call the Counter Counterfeit Commission. CP+B’s Jim Poh sent AdFreak a handful of the phone messages—and it’s a treasure trove. “Ah yes, I was calling to let you know that I bought your movie on counterfeit Mini Coopers? And I watched it, and it told me what kind of Mini Coopers to look for? And I go to buy [one], and I recently looked up the VIN number, and it said it was a Cadillac Escalade! This thing only had three wheels!” “Hey guys, this is an incredibly cool promotion. And if I actually had any money, it would probably help me buy a Mini. But being as it is that I don’t have that much money, I am interested in purchasing a counterfeit Mini. So if you have any information on how to purchase these impounded vehicles, we, I, would be very much interested.” “Yeah, I got a tip for you, out of the Midwest. Big-time counterfeiter around here. [He names alleged counterfeiter], Norwegian immigrant, lives in St. Joseph, Missouri, [gives address of alleged counterfeiter].” “Hey, how you doin’. I was just calling to see if this is a fucking joke. This is retarded. You’ve got a picture of a fucking Riviera on the Web site, on the Internet. Come on!” “Yeah, I thought that Mini Cooper looked kind of funny in that advertisement in Auto Trader. Just wanted to call and tell you that it wasn’t a Mini, and that I thought you are defrauding people. Thanks. Goodbye.” And finally: “Yes, this message is for Crispin Porter + Bogusky. I hate you people! You’re so goddamned brilliant! Damn it!”

—Posted by Gregory Solman

Photo: PR Newswire/Newscom

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)

What does Tom Ford really want?

Tom Ford, the Texas-born fashion designer credited with the massive revival of Gucci in the 1990s, has plans to start making … lip gloss? Ford, who left Gucci a year ago, has formed a company with Estée Lauder and plans to release beauty products and fragrances. Remarkably absent from his plans are apparel design. Anyway, it seems what he really, really wants to be is a big Hollwood movie director. I suppose all a conscientious observer can hope is that movie directors don’t start having ideas about getting into fashion. I wouldn’t want an evening gown or a handbag designed by this guy.

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Photo: Durham—KPA/Zuma/Newscom

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hail the downloader in chief

Dubya—you hipster, you! Gettin’ down with the iPod action. As the world now knows, the prez got an iPod from his daughters on a recent birthday, and The New York Times this week reported its downloaded contents. What’s next, Dubya replacing Bono as the next silhouette in one of those iPod TV spots? Hey, it could happen. If Donny Deutsch can squeeze in time to do a daily TV show while managing his IPG agency (or is it the other way around?), then surely Dubya can take a break from nation building and ranch vacationing to film one lousy :30. CNN ran a story with the headline, “Bush bares soul with iPod One.” Some bleeding hearts reading that might ask, “Who knew he had one?” And that’s their right. I mean, what’s he going to do, throw them into an off-shore detention center and throw away the key? As for his musical tastes, it’s no surprise that he’s a fan of boomer rock ’n’ roll. I just hope he’s not a Randy Newman fan. “Boom goes London, and boom Paree/More room for you, and more room for me.”

—Posted by Steve McClellan

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Idaho’s legislators. Freakin’ idiots! Gosh!

Confession: I have not seen Napoleon Dynamite. But as with The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live, I’ve been able to absorb most of the cult movie through pop culture. Lately, especially, there has been surge of N.D. references: my friends loudly misprounouncing the word “quesadillas” at Mexican restaurants; my cousin admitting she’s seen it 20 times. Now the Idaho legislature has gotten into the act with a well-meaning gesture. Before wrapping its fifth-longest session ever, the Idaho senate and house passed a resolution honoring the film’s creators, Jared and Jerusha Hess. (The movie is based in Preston, Idaho. And Jared has, by the way, gone on to a prolific commercial-directing career with Moxie Pictures.) Sponsors of the bill said those who didn’t vote for it would be “forever labeled freakin’ idiots.” We guess that’s another N.D. reference.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Anderson

For sale: art director’s deskful of crap

We at AdFreak can certainly relate to the (until now) dilemma suffered by agency art directors everywhere: the influx of unwanted and unusable junk mail from photographers, illustrators, etc. Doug Schommer of Grey in New York thinks he has a solution. Instead of tossing the stuff, as has been his custom, he’s auctioning a big bunch of it on eBay, in the hopes that the proceeds will at least enable him to upgrade from domestic to imported beer. (An art director in New York City might sound like a fancy shmancy job to all my friends back in Milwaukee, but it’s not like I’m clockin’ lots of dollars,” he writes.) He has gotten a 98 percent positive-feedback rating from eBay bidders in the past, so that helps. So far, he has two bids—the top one offering $1.26. But Schommer reckons it’ll cost $30 to ship all the crap, so the person must be serious.

—Posted by Kathleen Sampey

Published on April 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turning Japanese with Michael Deane

Who doesn’t love Japanese commercials starring Western celebrities. Of course you do. But you never knew where to find out more. Well, today, Adland is the place. They’ve posted an interview with Michael Deane (shown here with Paul Newman), executive producer of Modern Times Film Co., who has spent plenty of time bringing Japan and Hollywood together for commercials. “The Japanese, who are essentially a tribe of 140 million people on an island smaller than the state of California, are always struggling to overcome ‘sameness’ and therefore actually like to try new things,” Deane says. “They don’t always succeed—I can’t tell you how many times I repeated myself doing Japanese work—but they start with a concept and really let the director try to add value.” Read more over at Adland.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pedro’s wild pitch at Shea Stadium

Who knew, so early in the season, that Shea Stadium would have seen enough of Pedro Martinez? A new rotating billboard in center field, designed to flash ads between innings and then go dark, so batters can see the ball better, malfunctioned yesterday—sticking on an image of the Mets pitcher and delaying the game for 14 minutes or so in the sixth inning. Humorously, it was an ad for the MSG and Fox Sport New York cable networks, which, due to a dispute, are currently blacked out in much of the New York area. Pedro, of course, took full advantage, dancing on the top steps of the dugout, posing for cameras and pointing to the crowd.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images

Published on April 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

27 reasons to love the Hootie spot

Need further proof that young males love the bizarre, raunchy Burger King TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch ad, with its campy set and sleazy women? Look no further than this mildly disturbing (and possibly not safe for work) tribute site: Brian Z sure thinks the Crispin Porter + Bogusky spot is “hot,” and judging from the site’s copy, he’s bought the hefty sandwich, so the ad worked. AdFreak can’t help but wonder why Mr. Z felt he had to go into a 27-point demonstration about why he loves the commercial so much (reason No. 16: “Gentle Flowing Wind. That light breeze makes all of the women look so much hotter”), but to each his own. And Brian is hardly alone in finding the spot intriguing.

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Published on April 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Next stop C-Span for Miss America?

Let it not be said that AdFreak neglects to solve society’s problems. Here’s a solution for one of them. Over the weekend, an article in The New York Times discussed the quandary the Miss America pageant faces in the aftermath of ABC’s decision to drop the telecast of this September’s competition, following last year’s “disappointing” ratings. Miss America officials have discussed turning the pageant into something more akin to today’s “reality” TV shows, “although state and local organizers say they would rather see their program stay off the air than have contestants get down in the mud and the bugs like the competitors on Fear Factor.” The article reminded us of the way network TV has turned its back on another recurring civic event: the political parties’ presidential nominating conventions. As you know, the broadcast networks now barely deign to air a glimpse of the conventions. People who want to see gavel-to-gavel coverage have learned to find the invaluable C-Span on their TV dials. And that, surely, is the solution to the Miss America problem: Instead of trashing up their pageant, the Miss America folks should arrange to have it shown on C-Span. This is a win-win if ever there was one: Miss America gets to stick with its traditional format, perhaps augmented by a segment in which Brian Lamb quizzes the young ladies on their knowledge of current events; and C-Span gets the biggest ratings in its history. Should our proposal be adopted, all we ask in return is that the newly crowned Miss America pay an official visit to the AdFreak offices.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on April 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Un-‘Pleasant’ turns of events at Fox

At first, we thought we were just lazy. But now we realize why we don’t bother to have appointment television: Every show we’ve made a point of tuning in to, especially if it’s on Fox, gets canceled. First it was  Action, the brilliant send-up of the movie industry starring Jay Mohr, in 1999. The latest victim of our pleasure is Point Pleasant, a drama about impending Armageddon set—where else?—in New Jersey. The show was zapped from the Thursday night schedule in late March with nary a word and replaced by Tru Calling. But don’t take our word for how disappointing this is. If it weren’t for Web message boards, we’d be feeling soooooo alone right now.

—Posted by Kathleen Sampey

Credit: Fox

Published on April 12, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nike hitches a ride on Woods’ historic shot

Nike has long tapped into the drama of sports. But on Sunday, when Tiger Woods approached the 16th green in the final round of The Masters, the drama of sports tapped Nike. It was a moment so suspenseful, so breathtaking, that Tiger himself called it one of the greatest shots ever. After chipping the ball onto the green, he watched it roll straight back toward the hole, where it paused for the longest three seconds of the tournament before dropping in. For those three seconds, golf fans sat perched on the edge of their couches, eyes glued to the ball—and to the Nike logo stamped on its side. (Some might quibble about the off-center location and sideways tilt of the logo, but you can’t art-direct greatness.) Then they watched it over and over in replays. Considering the millions Nike pays Tiger, the exposure wasn’t exactly free. But it was unexpected, spontaneous and sweet.

—Posted by Deanna Zammit

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Golf, Tiger Woods

The future of TV measurement

To insiders, most general-interest stories about the inner workings of advertising and media are a snooze. An exception is yesterday’s piece on the future of television measurement in The New York Times Magazine, written by contributing writer Jon Gertner. A comprehensive look at those companies attempting to divine the best way for media to be measured in the future—including AdFreak’s much more famous distant cousin, Nielsen Media Research—it’s just full of fun factoids that make the sometimes dreary business of audience measurement interesting. For instance, did you know that Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” has been used to test the inaudible frequency that will be transmitted from electronic media to Portable People Meters? Or that Nielsen’s new technology center in Oldsmar, Fla., is built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and contains backup generators in case of the loss of important data on who watches reruns of The Facts of Life? (We’re sure the AdFreak offices have the same corporate protection—we just haven’t gotten the memo yet.) Anyway, it’s a worthwhile read.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Paid search and the pope

As any high-profile media event does, the death of Pope John Paul II has brought out the advertisers. In terms of paid search, Googling “Pope” or “Pope John Paul II” yields the usual ad suspects, including The New York Times and Washington Post, pushing their special tribute packages, as well as a rosary-bead marketer and a prayer site operated by the Franciscan Friars. Other cameos were more interesting. Catholic dating service CatholicPeopleMeet.com has a paid-search listing that offers “1000’s of pictures of Beautiful Catholic Singles.” Another ad tells searchers to “bring home the Pope’s message of world peace into your home today.” How? With a 17.5-inch porcelain doll of the pontiff giving a blessing, of course (price: $129.99, or five easy installments of $29 each). Over on Yahoo!, Pope products are even more prevalent, with offers for commemorative coins, $2 postage stamps and a $39.99 14-carat-gold Pope pendant that promises to “keep Pope John Paul II close to your heart.”

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Photo: Molina/Zuma/Newscom

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Morrissey

The healthcare provider strikes back: the sequel

When we last left our protagonist—that would be me—I had been told by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield that spraining my ankle while stepping off a stationary ski shuttle bus was an “automobile accident” and that I should contact my car insurer to have my emergency-room bill paid. This makes the claim on the Empire home page that its new plan gives consumers “a more active approach to healthcare” ring strangely true, as it apparently takes a lot of action to get a bill paid. As I suspected, the car insurer was overwhelmed with joy to hear from me—except they pointed out that due to some obscure law having to do with which state the “automobile accident” occurred in, the best remedy was to contact the shuttle-bus operator up in Vermont to see if they’d be willing to pay the bill. Fortunately, the resort where this terrifying car crash happened is now closed for the season, so there are no doubt cubicles full of bored employees sitting around, waiting to dig their teeth into something like this. So far, the moral of our story is this: If, during the course of injuring yourself, you find yourself in the vicinity of—or even looking at— a car, don’t let anyone know, lest your injury be classified as an “automobile accident.”

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Someone help Walter, if he exists

This new blog has to be a marketing stunt for some dating Web site. The “blogger,” named Walter, in a quest for love, claims to have put a billboard up somewhere seeking potential dates—and directing them to Date4Dud.com. “It wasn’t cheap,” he writes, “but I think it will be worth it to find a soulmate or at least a few girls to spend some fun times with.” To believe Walter, you have to ignore some inconvenient facts—the ad looks Photoshopped, the guy reveals almost nothing about himself, and all the comments on the site sound like they were written by the same person.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

UPDATE: So it turns out this is indeed a marketing stunt—for a hair-replacement treatment. The blog now shows the billboard all marked up, with Walter sporting a dark thatch of hair, thanks to Vories Medical Group.

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)

‘NYT’ comes up with the stalker-eulogy

We can credit The New York Times with inventing a new literary genre: the stalker-eulogy. A couple days after the April 5 death of novelist Saul Bellow, the paper’s editorial page offered an item (under the label “Appreciations,” complete with laurel wreath) in which editorial-board member Brent Staples memorialized Bellow and his work. It was a pleasant and lively piece, well-suited to the occasion. One wouldn’t guess while reading it that Staples had written years earlier of stalking Bellow around Chicago. So he did, though, in his 1994 memoir Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White, which was serialized in The New York Times Magazine. At the time of the stalking, Staples was a University of Chicago grad student, and Bellow was on the faculty. As he tracks his quarry, Staples reports in the memoir, he imagines lifting him bodily and pinning him against a wall. He didn’t, happily. More recently (when James Atlas’ biography of Bellow came out in 2000), Staples wrote in Slate about Bellow’s reaction to that section of the memoir: “He was especially angry about the time in the 1970s when I followed him down a darkened street, keeping a distance and letting him sweat. Never meant to harm him, just to give him a dose of those menacing black characters he produced in Mr. Sammler’s Planet, The Dean’s December, Humboldt’s Gift and so on.” Ah yes, what better preparation for writing an Appreciation when the famous man eventually dies? Having now stalked Staples through the archives, I almost feel eligible to Appreciate him if he kicks the bucket before I do.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on April 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)