Did M&M’s help find Munch’s ‘The Scream’?

Police have just announced that they’ve recovered two Edvard Munch paintings, including his famous work The Scream, that were stolen from an Oslo museum in 2004. Is it a coincidence that Mars just last week began offering a reward of 2 million dark-chocolate M&M’s for the return of the painting? (The promotion is tied to a new ad for Dark M&M’s that shows the red M&M playing hopscotch in the background of the work—“bringing a bit of levity ... to the famous dark existential painting,” according to Mars.) The fine print doesn’t seem to include any obvious caveats—it seems the Norwegian cops are owed 2 million little ones, whether they had their eye on them or not.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (2)

New Ikea catalog ups the horndog quotient

Everyone’s talking about this photo today, from a new Ikea catalog, and whether someone Photoshopped a human penis onto the dog. Ikea says it’s the dog’s leg. Which it may be—if the dog lost its original leg and then agreed to be fitted with an experimental prosthetic. Seems Ikea hasn’t learned from Abercrombie that racy catalogs don’t always help sales.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (32) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Ikea

GM votes itself off the island

Stretching corporate America’s credibility gap even further than it already is, General Motors had this explanation yesterday for why it has ended its sponsorship with CBS’ Survivor: According to this UPI story, it’s because it is “too difficult to try and integrate an automobile into a program that’s set on an island”—not that this season’s format pits tribes of different races against each other, an idea that has proven to be just a tad controversial. Maybe, just maybe, the company’s explanation is true, but saying that the company is pulling the sponsorship because of the show’s island setting sounds specious—when the show’s premise has been to systematically (altogether now) “vote people off the island.” GM is finally stumbling across this fact seven years into the show? Sheesh. Next thing you know Coke will pull out of American Idol because some of the contestants can’t sing.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A commercial that’s meant to be backwards

Steve Babcock sent us this raw footage of a commercial he did that was filmed in reverse. No big deal there, but here the actor delivered his lines backwards, too, which is tricky. (The idea was, you can’t go back in time to get your health checked.) You can see the finished spot over on Steve’s blog. The actor ends up sounding like an android; it may have been easier to have him just walk backwards and talk normally. But the extra work makes it more interesting to watch.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Nike getting ad tips from Spirit Airlines

So Nike’s probably never heard of Spirit Airlines, but it’s grooving to the same mullet theme. Spirit’s got its Mullet Sale; Nike’s got a mullety running shoe. Spotted at KFADvertising, which helpfully adds that another name for a mullet is a Missouri Compromise.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Airlines, Spirit Airlines

Here’s an anti-drug ad. It’s probably useless.

We’re always pointing fingers and laughing at unfortunate ad/editorial juxtapositions online. (See here, here and here.) But offline media still cocks it up, too. Reason.com’s Hit and Run blog points us to pages A4 and A5 of Tuesday’s USA Today. The story: “Anti-drug advertising campaign a failure, GAO report says.” The page next door: a very expensively placed anti-drug ad. Who says the Web has stolen newspapers’ thunder?

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A memo from Steve Jobs to Lee Clow

“Great work on the Dylan spot! It paid for itself in free media mentions. Oh, would you happen to know the definition of this term: ‘sellout’? Or ‘shill’? How about ‘corporate traitor to the Woodstock Generation?’ Those kinds of things keep popping up in news coverage of the campaign. I asked Bob, but he just plays that damn harmonica into the phone. What a clown. Anyway, I just had an idea that’ll blow you away. How about a Sara Lee crossover with the Mac and PC guys? That way, you can reuse those white backdrops you’re so famous for. The campaigns look identical anyway, and we can save a bundle by splitting the production costs. Get this: PC eats devil’s food cake. Get it? It just came to me—like that time I thought up the personal computer but IBM stole my idea. Or else, we can remake the ‘1984’ commercial with John Hodgman as Big Brother. He’s the bad guy, right? I never read the book, and we only had Van Halen on iTunes. P.S.: The replacement battery’s in the mail.”

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Will Dr. Scholl’s put a sock in it?

Are you gellin’? Like Magellan? Or a felon? If so, I strongly encourage you to get stuffed. Not only is the new Dr. Scholl’s wedding spot (sorry, no link) more obnoxious than the previous “gellin’” ads (which is saying a lot—in the words of Copyranter, this campaign has been smellin’ for quite a while), but those wafer-thin inserts did nothing for my feet when I worked in a book bindery. The least they could do is develop a product that works before developing an inescapable jackassy catchphrase. Am I bitter? Hell, yes. But before you tell me how much I’m overreacting, be thankful I’m not circulating a petition.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Kiefaber

VW puts the ego in ‘ego trip’

OK, gang, this one looks like it's from Crispin, so start your engines. The brochure at right is a guide called the “Ego Emissions Index,” which was inserted in this week's New Yorker. (Sorry for the poor photo quality, but, hey, I'm a blogger, not a photographer!) Anyway, as you might be able to tell from the photo, blinging out your teeth carries a stratospheric Ego Emissions rating of 98. To continue with the theme, baldness rates a 3, Roman ruins a 57, and so forth. The brochure also includes stickers (which from a graphical perspective mimic auto-emissions ratings stickers) so you can dole out ego emissions standards of your own. There's a also a companion Web site at egoindex.com. Now what does all of this have to do with VW? Excellent question. Here's the explanation I found in the brochure: “Now, as you begin to use the Ego Emissions Index, you'll notice that while most things come in somewhere between 20 and 80, other things, such as the Volkswagen Passat, come in much lower—around 5 or so.” And here's another question: Is this campaign a little touch of Subservient Chicken genius or a belabored attempt at creating buzz?

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)

Drew Rosenhaus enjoying his 15 minutes

Terrell Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is almost as good as his client in terms of getting attention. He’s been on Letterman (here’s part one and part two of that interview), and now he’s in a new TV spot for Burger King, defending one of his other “clients”—the King. One of the reporters asks: “Is it true your client, the King, wants to be called ‘T.K.’?” Rosenhaus was probably a second choice for the role, after Bill Parcells. Via The Sports Oasis.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

For the drunks, Stoli Blueberi vodka

It's kind of pitiful how heartwarming we find it when we discover that just the right ad is placed next to just the right content, as happened when we saw this on Gawker last night. But since most of you are probably far more interested in the Forbes story this Gawker post references, here's the link.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A closer look at Agassi (and his hair)

The other day we mentioned Andre Agassi’s career as a pitchman, including his classic turn in the old Canon commercial. Now, a sports blog called The Wade Blogs has actually done some proper research and unveiled its choices for The Top 10 Andre Agassi Commercials. The Canon spot comes in at No. 3, and some of the other spots are classics, too. It’s remarkable how hairy this man once was. Via Deadspin, which has also unearthed a great old segment from The Ben Stiller Show called Advantage Agassi.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

What happens at Amsterdam conferences stays at Amsterdam conferences

Ads for business conferences don’t usually feature orgies, public vomiting or middle-aged gay love. But this one does. It’s for Picnic ’06, a cross media content and technology conference in Amsterdam. Thanks to Marc for the tip.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Yankees brand ruling with an iron fist

As a brand, the New York Yankees have sustained their invincible aura. But that doesn’t mean people like the brand. In a new Rasmussen Reports poll, a plurality of baseball fans (26 percent) said they expect the Yankees to win the World Series this year. The Detroit Tigers drew 18 percent of the vote on this question, with the St. Louis Cardinals (11 percent) and New York Mets (10 percent) the only other teams to register in double digits. When fans were asked which team they’d like to see win the World Series, the Tigers topped the voting (17 percent), with the Yankees pulling 13 percent—just ahead of the White Sox (12 percent). The Cardinals (11 percent), Red Sox (10 percent) and Mets (8 percent) led the rest of the field. Ever delusional, a majority of Red Sox fans (54 percent) still think their team will win it all this year.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

David Brent shows Microsoft how it’s done

[We’re going to repost this item from a few weeks ago, in light of Microsoft’s lawyers getting in touch with us. See comments section. For now, the videos remain up at Google Video.] Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant apparently filmed two videos in 2004 for Microsoft as training materials for its U.K. employees. Check them out here and here. They’re long (20 minutes and 17 minutes) but often hilarious, with Gervais reprising his David Brent role from The Office. They beat the crap out of the soul-crushing piece of film that TCBY made me sit through in 1987. Via Coolz0r. UPDATE: Microsoft is unhappy that these videos have made it into the public domain and is now pressuring bloggers to remove them from their sites.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (4)

It’s better than his Victoria’s Secret ad

Apple has an incredibly cool iPod + iTunes ad with Bob Dylan. His new album, Modern Times, is out today. Via TUAW.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)

Is there anything that Target can’t do?

The Consumerist is all about Target this morning, giving us insightful commentary on “Why Target Kicks Wal-Mart’s Ass” (because it’s better in every way) and why “Jane Loves Target” (because it sells all sorts of “unintentional” sex toys). We like Target because it runs ads like this one, imagining a world in which kids will put down their PlayStation paddles and come over to stare with wonder at the incredibly impressive ham.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

What does make Leatherface tick, anyway?

It's not like we plan to actually see the prequel to the horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (What would that entail? How the murderer got his start with a butter knife?) But we thought this new poster for the movie, which is slated for October release, was creepily intriguing.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

White House has no comment on this either

Great ad here for Risk, “the game of global domination,” from Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore. Probably wouldn’t go over too well in the U.S. See a full-size version of this ad here on Flickr. And see two more executions at AdverBox.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack (1)

Just look at what the Ivy League produces

George W. Bush takes his latest beating from a Canadian university called Lakehead, which is promoting itself by dissing Yale for enrolling George W. Bush way back when. “Graduating from an Ivy League university doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart,” says the copy at the Yale Shmale Web site. Of course, graduating from Lakehead doesn’t guarantee you’re a genius either, but Yale would look silly running a “Lakehead Shmakehead” campaign. The White House hasn’t deemed the campaign worthy of comment.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Should this be called paycheck-vertising?

We started reading a story titled, "Marketing's New Vanguard: The Cubicle" just sure that it was going to be another one of those stories about targeting workers during the office day via the Internet. But no—a company called Workplace Print Media is actually, as its name implies, using paper to help advertisers like Peapod reach consumers; it induces employers to stick promotional offers into employee paycheck envelopes. While Peapod credits Workplace with helping it improve upon an annual slump in Peapod orders, wouldn't it feel a little icky to know that your paycheck is the vehicle for someone else's marketing objective?

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Cash song ‘Hurt’ anchors child-abuse PSA

Brentter points to this hard-hitting Australian PSA about child abuse, featuring Johnny Cash’s version of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt.” It’s still inconceivable that the “Hurt” video lost at the 2003 VMAs to Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Spirit Airlines not selling actual mullets

Speaking of mullets (see vintage Andre Agassi ad below), Spirit Airlines has been holding a “Mullet Sale,” so called because it discounts seats in business class (“Business in the front”) and in coach (“Party in the back”). It’s a bit of a stretch, as flying coach is hardly a party. But they picked an excellent model for the ad—he looks like a striker for some Italian Serie B soccer team. UPDATE: Just noticed that Make the Logo Bigger is enjoying this Mullet Sale, too.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)
Filed under Airlines, Spirit Airlines

Agassi’s been a pretty good pitchman, too

As Andre Agassi begins play in his final pro tennis tournament tonight, no tribute would be complete without a look back at this 1990 Canon commercial. Contains the classic shot of Andre peering over his sunglasses as he says, “Image is everything.” Check out other Agassi commercials for Nike and Kia. And here’s the great Genworth Financial spot in which Agassi and Steffi Graf’s kid battles Taylor Dent. 

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Who gives a damn about Jim and Pam?

I’ve warmed up to the U.S. version of The Office, but this new “Jim and Pam” promo, advertising the new season, is excruciating. It’s perfectly executed, with all the clichés—the sappy music, the absurd, sentimental copy (“We cheered him on when hope seemed lost”), the cliff-hangery teaser. It’s so perfect, I hoped it was a parody. But no—they actually are turning this comedy about delusional, stupid, selfish idiots into a melodrama about unrequited love. Infusing the meaninglessness of office life with meaning. It almost feels offensive. NBC’s done its research; no doubt this is what viewers want. Those of us who have never actually cheered Jim on when hope seemed lost will just have to deal. And right before Jim and Pam do finally get together, we’ll probably have to deal with another poignant promo: one promising “a very special episode of The Office.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack (1)