Adland looks back at 2006 in the ad world

Over at Adland, Caffeinegoddess has apparently been imbibing more caffeine than usual, judging by her exhaustive wrapup of the past year in the ad business. And this is just part one. Plus, Dabitch adds to the fun by listing the most read stories, most viewed commercials and much more. Keep an eye out for more installments over the coming days.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

‘Yule Log’ still hot after 40 years on the air

There’s lots of Christmas-themed programming, everything from Miracle on 34th Street to the upcoming Rob Lowe made-for-TV movie A Perfect Day. But perhaps the most bizarre holiday “special” is Tribune Co.’s The Yule Log, originally produced in New York 40 years ago by WPIX but now shown on Tribune stations nationwide, including “superstation” WGN in Chicago, which is carried by many cable systems across the country. The “program” is a seven-minute loop of film that shows a fire burning in a fireplace, accompanied by Christmas carols and other holiday-themed music, with some easy-listening fare thrown in for good measure. The loop is repeated endlessly on Christmas Day for the viewing and listening pleasure of ... who, I wonder. Those who lack a fireplace? Those too lazy or cheap to build a fire even if they have a fireplace? Or the Scrooges in the Tribune bean-counting department who insist on spending as little as possible on programming on a day when ads are cheaper because most people have a life and are living it instead of watching TV? Not to be outdone, and clearly sensing a void to be filled in the rapidly growing world of flat-screen TV owners, there’s now a competing high-def version. And naturally, the original is also on YouTube.

—Posted by Steve McClellan

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

A holiday greeting with a message from MBC

Interactive shop Medical Broadcasting Company—which calls itself a Digitas company, but will soon be calling itself a Publicis Groupe company—is another agency that is combining viral marketing with charity with holiday greetings this year. We received their email greeting this morning pointing us to videos the shop has shot of kids in its Philadelphia hometown that are part of Philadelphia Futures. The program aims to send promising students who couldn’t afford college otherwise to achieve their dream.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

If you can’t skip them, turn them down

For those not yet fast-forwarding past the BMW ad with the screaming child, here’s another option: tone down the little bugger with the Audiovox/Terk VR-1. The product apparently lowers the volume during blaring commercial breaks by (to hazard a guess) reacting to the change in the vertical blanking interval when an ad comes on. The MSNBC reviewer is not clear on whether the VR-1 works or not; perhaps his methodology should have included noting specific commercials that are actually broadcast too loudly over a particular station, then measuring the decibels emitted. Not all of them are excessively loud (as opposed to simply a contrast to the program material), and the idea of conspiratorially loud commercials broadcast behind the backs of a sleeping FCC is something of a ingrained consumer myth (exactly what Audiovox/Terk is counting on). So, expect next-gen VR-1 consumers to ask: If the device can determine when ads are coming on, why can’t it zap them entirely?

—Posted by Gregory Solman

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Blendtec blender blends an iPod

We’ve already written about the joys of the “Will It Blend?” series of videos featuring Blendtec blenders. Even though it probably doesn’t mean a damn thing for everyday use that the blender can grind through lightbulbs, there's something compelling about potentially owning a blender that can pulverize just about anything. Now, in a snide commentary on the never-ending series of new iPod versions, Blendtec’s Tom Dickson has chosen, in the above video, to blend his old iPod, professing his love for it while at the same time saying, "Out with the old—in with the new." The blended iPod is currently on sale on eBay (with a blender). The current bid right now is $720.75 with proceeds going to charity.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Have a happy holiday with Marshalls law

We’re all used to advertisers looking for cutesy catch phrases with which to embed their brand names into people’s heads—didn’t the late ad man Jim Jordan, of “Wisk beats ring around the collar” fame, refer to it as nameonics? Whatever the case, the other night, in an end-of-day haze, I saw a commercial for the discount retailer Marshalls that dispensed snippets of holiday shopping wisdom under the banner “Marshalls Law.” I’ve no idea whether this campaign has been around for a while or what, but … Marshalls Law? As in “martial law”? You can just hear the execs at Marshalls saying, “It’s kind of catchy!” Yeah, catchy, as long as you don’t take five seconds or so to think it through.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Arnold staffers take on pole-dancing duties

A sign of the times, financially, at Arnold? It seems the Boston agency was unable to hire outside help, and staffers had to do their own pole dancing at the holiday party. It might be worth reminding you that the fellow in the video is one of Time magazine’s people of the year for 2006. Via Adrants. UPDATE: Sadly, the video has already been pulled off YouTube. Score one for the Grinch.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Mac, PC to get loaded on eggnog together

Mac and PC try to put aside their differences in this very enjoyable holiday spot from Apple. Meanwhile, in his other life, John Hodgman (who plays the PC) is trying to pacify his non-U.S. fans, who have been excluded from the U.S.-only iTunes offer this week of a free audiobook download of Hodgman’s book, The Areas of My Expertise. On his blog, Hodgman explains (minus some all caps): “It is true, you are all out of luck. ... This is not done out of spite (except perhaps in the case of Canada) but because you live in sovereign nations, some of which currently offer no legal edition of my book to begin with in any format (including microfiche) and one of which (Canada) persists in having its own laws, economy, and publishing territories despite our obvious kinship and mutual love of fries with gravy. I’m sorry if you feel vexed or disappointed.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under John Hodgman

Fake Sony blog is gift that keeps on giving

Sony continues to get crap for its fake PSP blog. Here’s an entertaining spoof site: All I Want for Xmas Is a PS3. It includes an amusing list of “10 ways to let someone know you want a ps3.” All of the suggestions are pretty good. No. 1, of course, involves creating a fake blog: “On this blog put extremely bad ‘rap’ and ‘rock’ videos and say things like ‘teh’ and ‘wut’ and speak L33t as much as possible so that it’s painfully obvious to everyone that visits the site that you’re a phony (hey, that rhymes with sony) while making a complete ass of yourself.” Meanwhile, if you missed it, Consumerist has uploaded the original Sony blog for your enjoyment.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (1)

Pure evil sends its regards for the holidays

With all the stress, cold weather, overbearing ad campaigns and schmaltzy music (not to mention relatives), it’s easy to forget what Christmas really means: It’s a time for trademarked embodiments of unspeakable horror to make peace with the white suburban families they so often terrorize. At least, that’s what it means to DirecTV in this spot by Euro RSCG Chile. (See print ads here, here and here.) Granted, Jason Vorhees never used a chainsaw. And dressing a flesh wound with mummy bandages may cause a staph infection. But those oversights are forgivable, considering the sentiment here. Until you realize the actual message: that you don’t love someone unless you buy them something. Oh well. Maybe Zales will bring in Pinhead and Michael Myers next time.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Yes, Clara Peller used to live in my house

Does anyone know how to get on the National Historic Registry, or at least a registry of marginally historic places that only ad geeks would care about? I’ve got a doozy. According to my neighbor, who has lived on my block for nearly 40 years, Clara Peller, the “Where’s the beef?” lady, used to live in my house, which is otherwise known as AdFreak’s Roscoe Village outpost. Yeah, I didn’t believe it either. But according to my neighbor (and no, I have not second-sourced this), Peller called the three-story row house home for a few years before finding fame and fortune in the ’80s with Wendy’s. My neighbor said she walked Peller’s dogs from time to time but unfortunately never discussed the finer points of fast food with her. (Peller died in 1987.) For those of you Clara fans looking for a little history on your visit to Chicago, stop on by. I’ll make a square hamburger for you. But I’m not giving out the address, for fear of my lawn getting trampled. And, of course, the paparazzi.

—Posted by Aaron Baar

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Wendy's

Drinking themselves into a watery grave

Breaking from its usual abstemious habits, AdFreak’s New York contingent ventured into a beer bar the other night (“Blog walks into a bar...”) and was confronted by an odd sight: people drinking large amounts of water in addition to their alcoholic beverages. Indeed, one table of robust-looking adults had the temerity to ask the harried waitress for an entire pitcher of water. Needless to say, this can only have reduced the amount of beer they drank. Have New Yorkers taken Aquafina’s advertising to heart? Has the city’s water department been running its own ads urging the locals to drink more water? Not that we know of, though it’s true the reservoir levels are atypically high for this time of year. We seem instead to be witnessing a cultural shift in which people who go to bars are unembarrassed to order water chasers for their harder drinks. Instead of worrying about competing brewers, the likes of Budweiser and Miller should be counseling bar-goers to avoid a chancy beverage like water and stick with tried-and-true beer. At the very least, they should advise nightlifers to drink water only in moderation.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Mr. Clean supplements income at car wash

I guess I’ve been a little behind on the wonderful world of Mr. Clean, because I was stunned and surprised to hear over the weekend that his parent company, Procter & Gamble, was opening a car wash for him in Deerfield, Ohio—an 8,900-square-foot car wash, no less. This is because (again, I’m behind on this stuff), in addition to home cleaning products (not that my acquaintance with those is all that good either), the bald one has lent his name to car cleaning products such as Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash, Mr. Clean Windshield Wash and Mr. Clean Windshield Wiper Blades. Who knew? Anyway, the car wash, according to a P&G exec, is meant to be “the equivalent to what Starbucks has done for coffee.” In other words, you’re meant to hang out there. To encourage that, P&G has included such perks as Wi-Fi and a viewing area “where children can shoot soapy foam at the vehicles from mega water guns.”

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

‘Prisoner’ remake: The truth is out there

So they’re remaking ’60s Kafka-esque cult-classic show The Prisoner. I’m not sure why casting is such a big issue—there’s really only one choice for Patrick McGoohan’s lead role of No. 6, a former goverment agent with priceless secrets in his head. That would be David Duchovny of X Files fame. His presence would provide star power, crossover buzz and maximum geek appeal. Among those playing the Prisoner’s authoritarian and ultra-conformist tormentors (always known as No. 2, essayed by a different actor in each episode) would be Simon Cowell, Regis Philbin, Tony Blair and Helen Mirren. And maybe that Cigarette Smoking Guy, to keep up the X Files theme. The original show’s burning existential question—“Who is No. 1?”—remained a secret until the finale. Today, it would be the highest-bidding sponsor, both in terms of metaphorical irony and product-placement dollars. I vote for Club Med Curaçao, the ideal location for The Village of the new millennium.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

G&M holiday card tests poorly, is scrapped

Scrooge-like focus groups have killed G&M Plumbing’s hopes for a holiday card this year. The agency sent several concepts into “online focus group testing and mall intercepts,” but all of them were found wanting—even this card with the puppy in the Santa hat. Agency execs say they may have a workable card by sometime in February. Says a G&M strategic planner: “Next year we plan to get ideas in front of client marketing people in early fall so that we can analyze the results and make changes before the holidays.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Here are 20 types of fruitcake to despise

The words “Texas” and “fruitcake” aren’t usually used together in the same sentence, let alone the same noun. But according to Yahoo!’s Buzz Log, the Texas Fruitcake is the No. 1 type of this oft-reviled holiday cake ordered online. And get this—there are 19 other varieties of fruitcake that people actually buy, listed in order of preference. The Japanese and Hawaiian fruitcakes rank at Nos. 19 and 20, respectively, which was curious to us, because their recipes sounded a heckuva lot better than that of No. 14.

—Posted by Kathleen Sampey

Published on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Need a giant bow for that car you’re giving?

Several times in recent years, we’ve mused on the topic of whether people actually follow the auto industry’s advice and give a car for Christmas. (They do—particularly, we assume, if they work at Goldman Sachs—see below.) But we’ve never really discussed whether this has ramifications for the ribbon-and-bow industry. (It does.) We read in the New York Post last week that a company called Bow Décor (located in Bow, N.H., which they say is the real reason Bow is in the name) has sold 3,000 huge $99 bows this holiday season and turned down orders for 2,500 others due to “limited supplies.” We couldn’t find a link to Bow Décor online, but we did find this: a company called MysticAlley.com, which also sells car bows. What a relief. UPDATE: Now, the Louisville Courier-Journal has weighed in on this topic. They are pointing their well-heeled readers to kingsizebows.com, which claims to sell in excess of 15,000 huge bows per year—though, at only $48 per, it's a cut-rate choice when compared to Bow Decor's $99 bow.

 —Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Help the Goldman bankers spend their loot

It’s tough to be a banker, particularly a Goldman Sachs banker. The company is spreading some $16.5 billion around to its employees after reporting an eye-popping $9.4 billion in profits in 2006. That works out to some $600,000 per employee, with some all-stars getting as much as $100 million. That must kinda up the ante for the gift expectations among loved ones this holiday season. Chief Executive Air wants a piece of the action, and is linking up with a guy named Osmond, who runs the coffee cart outside the Goldman building in New York, to give out free breakfast tomorrow morning, starting at 6 a.m. Also on hand will be two “air hostesses,” armed with $1,000-off coupons for charter flights. (A five- to nine-seater return from JFK to LAX over a long weekend would cost around $30,000.) And I used to think that giving luxury cars for Christmas was ridiculous. Nowadays, that’s just a stocking stuffer. The good news for the rest of us: Osmond isn’t checking IDs, so head to South Williams and Broad tomorrow morning for some free food.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
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iTunes freebie: John Hodgman’s audiobook

PC fans, rejoice. Today, iTunes is giving away the audiobook version of John Hodgman’s The Areas of My Expertise for free. It’s no C++ GUI Programming Guide, but it looks pretty good. Here’s the write-up on the iTunes page: “In the great tradition of the American almanac, The Areas of My Expertise is a brilliant and hilarious compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom on all topics large and small. Although best sellers such as Poor Richard’s Almanack and The Book of Lists were certainly valuable, they also were largely true. Here is a different kind of handy desk reference, one in which all of the historical oddities and amazing true facts are sifted through the singular, illuminating imagination of John Hodgman, which is the nice way of saying: He made it all up.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (1)
Filed under John Hodgman

Colt 45’s board game. It works every time.

Looking for last-minute gift ideas for that friend who enjoys knocking back Colt 45 in massive quantities? Try to find a copy of Colt 45’s Bottoms Up drinking game, created in 1970. The rules are a bit fuzzy, but they involve drinking lots of Colt 45 and following the instructions listed on the “action cards,” such as: “Smoke two cigarettes simultaneously.” “Obey any wish or request of the player on your right.” “Put an article of your clothes on backwards.” “Do a Jack Benny imitation for 30 seconds.” “Explain to other players why you think that sex before marriage is a necessity.” Sounds like a whole lot of laughs. Judging by the ad shown here, male players should be fully dressed, while women should wear bikinis.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Not a creature was stirring, except a few half-dressed Victoria’s Secret models

If you don’t have Colonel Sanders’s deep-fried Christmas album to get you through this holiday season, perhaps you can take solace in this Victoria’s Secret holiday spot. Created back in 2004, they’ve kept it up on their Web site, and it’s just as good today. Meanwhile, if you missed it (and judging by the dismal ratings, you probably did), you can watch highlights of the lingerie maker’s Dec. 5 fashion show here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

BMW’s screaming boy makes viewers nuts

A friend of mine hates this BMW spot so much that he flips the channel when it comes on. It’s the ad with the home-movie footage of a boy screaming his head off on Christmas morning. It is pretty grating. Some people, given the chance, would exact their revenge on the boy, Frosties-kid style. One YouTube commenter writes: “I want to dip him in gas and set him on fire.” Luckily, this home movie seems to be pretty old, and the kid is probably big enough now to defend himself.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack (0)

Have yourself a very deep-fried Christmas

I’ve often said the Internet is useful as an archive of our cultural past. Coming across the picture shown here, I recognize the folly in that idea. Who needs to remember something like this? There’s a vague menace to ol’ Colonel Santa here, and the fact that it’s a record cover muddles things even further. I admire the diverse palette of whoever put Chet Atkins and Harry Belafonte on the same album, but their connection to Kentucky Fried Chicken is, and should probably remain, a mystery. Maybe all those musicians were friends of the colonel, or fans of his tasty chicken. My guess is he threatened to pay their chimneys a visit in late December. Via Boing Boing.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)
Filed under Kiefaber

Orlando: fun city, boring slogan

The city of Orlando, allegedly inspired by Las Vegas’s “What happens here, stays here” campaign, is planning to spend $68 million over two years to promote itself. But what the city has in ad dollars, it lacks in inspiration, going with the tepid line: “Orlando: Built for families. Made for memories.” An online poll I found last night had 111 respondents fans of the new slogan, and 210 foes. (Yeah, one of the dislikers was AdFreak.) In fairness, Orlando doesn’t have quite the rich palette of history that Las Vegas or even New Jersey do when it comes to being good fodder for potential slogans. Or maybe it’s just that too many people in and around Orlando are actually earnest—and cliché-loving—when it comes to the art of slogan-creating. Asked for ideas of what they would come up with their own, they offered such ideas as “A magical adventure that you will remember for life. Orlando!!!!!!!!!!!” (love those exclamation points!) and “The fun time place in the sunshine state.”

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

‘Dime’ taught Carmelo everything he knows

Dime magazine (the “basketball lifestyle magazine”) was ahead of its time with this August 2006 cover, showing Carmelo Anthony striking a pose as a boxer—a conceit that’s somewhat embarrassing in light of Anthony’s sucker punch on Mardy Collins during the Knicks/Nuggets game on Saturday night. There’s a whole promo video from Dime posted on YouTube that was filmed at the photo shoot, in which Anthony says he’d been taking boxing lessons over the summer. Just what the NBA needs—players jumping in the ring to prepare themselves for the regular season. I wonder if Ron Artest was Anthony’s summer sparring partner. UPDATE: Anthony’s punch has gotten him a 15-game suspension.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)