Is CarMax shipping me with all this irony?

I thought irony could never die. Then I saw these two ads for CarMax from BooneOakley. They ooze smarmy, post-modern self-awareness, but in this case, I’m not sure that’s such a great thing. Are they so bad they’re good, or so good they’re bad? (I mean, are they bad in a good, postmodern way. You know. It’s all about irony.) Anyway, “Are you shippin’ me?” is a cute line, but they need to throw in some faux Brady kids to really seal the deal. Did you know the actresses who played Marsha and Jan may have had a fling? Now that’s ironic!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

South settling scores with its tourism ads

In the South, nothing heals those old Civil War wounds quite like sharply worded trade tourism advertisements. Take this print spread for the Fayetteville, N.C., visitors bureau. Running in military magazines, it promises soldiers groups that they’ll get a much more hospitable reception than William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops did in 1865 (or Charles Cornwallis did in 1781, for that matter). Sherman’s army all but flattened Fayetteville, which was deemed “offensively rebellious.” Finally, Fayetteville strikes back. Not that the town still despises interlopers. “You and your group are more than welcome to invade and occupy our town whenever you like,” says the copy. By Durham agency The Republik.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Kids are smoking early in New York State

New York City has the insufferable Throat-Hole Guy to robotically voice its anti-smoking message. Not to be outdone, New York State has its own batch of disturbing anti-smoking ads, including the one that shows kids breathing out smoke—victimized simply by being around parents who indulge in the habit. The best shot is the girl shown here, who has a kind of Exorcist thing going on as she chuckles maniacally, smoking pouring from her nostrils. Given the incessant competition between New York City and the rest of the state, we should probably expect NYC to introduce Throat-Hole Kid shortly.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Schwan’s wants to overhaul your marriage

Since at least the mid-1970s, most advertisers have shied away from using the word “housewife.” Schwan’s Home Service, a frozen-food delivery company, has no such qualms in its first work from Hunt Adkins. “Research shows that 95% of housewives could use a housewife,” one billboard proclaims. At first, this seems kind of nostalgic. Then I realized what they’re really trying to say: Women should stay at home, eat frozen food and marry other women. That’s a utopian vision, to be sure—but what about the men? Should they cook all day at their jobs downtown? That’s fine for chefs, but elsewhere it could lead to office fires and decreased productivity. Still, they’d get to go home at night to two wives and Schwan’s dinners, so I guess it all evens out.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (22)

Vancouver's film audiences have seen it all

TBWA Vancouver and the Perlorian Brothers have put together some amusing promos for the Vancouver International Film Festival. Once you’ve seen some of the shocking fare at the VIFF, the spots suggest, nothing will faze you in your everyday life—not even the suburban freak parade above. The VIFF opened last night and continues through Oct. 12.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another CGM player with a pipe dream

The consumer-generated ad fad shows little sign of dying down. There’s a new startup on the scene dedicated to soliciting spots from consumers and bypassing the pros. The company, Adwidth, uses the typical David vs. Goliath pitch: “You can make advertising more interesting than the media establishment; in fact, we think the audience is more likely to watch your ad over the professional ads.” Take heart, “media establishment.” As the company states in its press release, “Adwidth has not publicly announced their business model at this time.” Doesn’t sound promising.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on September 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Morrissey

Ad execs are officially the new TV hotness

Looks like advertising is joining medicine, law and detective work in the ranks of overused professions on TV dramas. On the heels of AMC’s Mad Men comes TNT’s Truth in Advertising, slated to star Eric McCormack of Will & Grace and Tom Cavanagh of Ed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show takes place in the fictional Chicago agency of Rothman, Greene & Moore. McCormack will play an art director who “must learn to cultivate his inner shark” when he’s promoted to creative director. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that there will be sizzling sexual tension among everyone in the agency, except for the token comic-relief guy in media planning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go punch out one of my colleagues for having a lesbian affair with the designer I’m secretly in love with—and all this on the eve of The Big Pitch! How do I even get work done around here?

—Posted by David Griner

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Razr 2 has all sorts of fun, colorful features

The Motorola Razr 2 is a nifty phone, judging by this ad from Michel Gondry. First off, it’s as big as a house, which ordinarily would be a drawback, until you realize what’s inside. You turn the phone on by jumping on a hopscotch grid on the sidewalk. Once activated, the giant handset lights up in squares, which contain helpful, application-specific faces, then falls back to reveal a forest of spiky trees, from whose branches you can conveniently retrieve your e-mail. You enter the phone through a window on the floor, and a robot will photograph you driving a car, riding a wave and flying an airplane. The robot can also become a drummer/racecar driver and entertain in various musical styles. As an added feature, your fellow concertgoers can morph into blue waves, so you can go for a swim. To turn the phone off, you simply call out for a giant glowing hand, which swoops down from the night sky and does it for you. For a couple hundred bucks, it looks like a steal. Read more, and see a making-of video, on this site.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Geeks way off base with silly ‘nerd auction’

The members of a computer club at Washington State University have decided that a “nerd auction” would be a great way to recruit more women into computer-science programs—and to get themselves some action. Tech nerds are offering to trade computer skills to sorority members in exchange for makeovers and dates. Talk about an insulting stereotype! I mean, surely there are a few sorority sisters out there who can figure out how to download Firefox on their own. And as for the nerds, well, they don’t need any help either. Check out this movie clip—who wouldn’t want to invite one of these dudes to a freshman mixer? Oh, and if any Gamma Phi Betas need help with Firefox, just let me know.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lindsay Lohan saved by lazy proofreader

At first, I couldn’t understand all the fuss over this Canterbury Institute ad alluding to über-troubled tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan. It’s been blasted as tacky and going way too far. Hollyscoop.com suggested it would “upset a lot of people.” But I think I’ve figured it out. It’s the use of the word “Don’t.” It is indeed perplexing. Hard to understand how an extra word like that slipped in there. Just goes to show you that people don’t proof ads like they used to. Still, the mistake is a fortunate one for Lohan, as it softens the message a bit. And if she’s still upset, she should get back to focusing on her work. Maybe she could make a direct-to-Web Herbie: Fully Loaded sequel. Fully loaded, huh? Never mind.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Steroid use? Nike will still be your friend.

Let me get this straight. Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger, is a pariah to fans and advertisers alike for his probable steroid use. But Shawne Merriman, the frighteningly fast and strong San Diego Chargers linebacker, has been made the star of Nike ads after getting busted for steroids last year? Um, what? What’s worse, as Steroid Nation notes, the Nike spot shows Merriman exhibiting superhuman speed and strength. Directed by Michael Mann, it’s sure to be seen with alarming regularity this season.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (7)
Filed under Morrissey

Nissan Rogue conquers marble-maze city

Here’s the marble-maze TV commercial that goes with the marble-maze virals that we posted on Tuesday, for the Nissan Rogue. Watching this on a big TV, you might actually get car sick. In a good way. By TBWA\Chiat\Day. Via Advertolog.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (11)

Google envy alive and well at WPP Group

It sometimes seems like the specter of an all-powerful Google is never far from the braintrust at WPP Group. Sir Martin Sorrell, after all, memorably labeled the Internet giant as a “frenemy.” Now the Google juggernaut is taking on a celestial role. During a panel at yesterday’s MIXX conference, WPP Digital CEO Mark Read was asked one of those impossible conference questions: Who will be the winners and losers of the mass consolidation happening in the digital space? Like most panelists, he dodged the question. (Google ad chief Tim Armstrong said, somewhat implausibly, “the end users.”) Instead, Read ended the session with a zinger. “I couldn’t sleep this morning,” he said, “so I typed in Google, ‘Is there a God?’ I got back, ‘There is now.’ ” UPDATE: Perhaps Mark Read is a Fredric Brown fan.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on September 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Martin Sorrell, Morrissey

Wrigley Fields prepares for a long, sad life

Do people have no sense of history? Pennant fever has again struck the north side of Chicago, where the Cubs—who could still blow their chance at the postseason—have all but been anointed World Series champs. (Have people forgotten the Bartman foul ball from four years ago?) Now some superfan in Michigan City, Ind., has gone ahead and named his son Wrigley. The catch? His last name is Fields. Unfortunately, as anyone with any sense of Cubs lore knows, this means only that the poor kid is going to be cursed for the better part of a century, dashing the hopes of his parents—who may or may not have consulted a goat about the name—year after year after year. He’s also going to have to endure hazing every September. (My favorite part of this story is where the dad says the boy can use his middle name “if he wants to.” Not likely, if your dad’s such a superfan that he named you Wrigley in the first place … and then went out to publicize it.) Even worse, by the time the kid reaches a point where having an unusual name might mean scoring with chicks, the name will have lost all meaning, because Mark Cuban will have bought the team and renamed the stadium.

—Posted by Aaron Baar

Published on September 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

LOLads: a day late and a good idea short

Oh good, a LOLcats-themed ad campaign. Just what the world needed. Yet somehow it’s a perfect way to shill a game that sounds more boring than President Forever 2008—Sierra’s Geometry Wars: Galaxies. Yeah, way to not revive the Space Quest franchise in favor of a Euclidian space odyssey, guys. They deserve these crappy ads, which WiiFanboy’s JC Fletcher describes as either “a clever nod from some kids at an advertising firm to Internet culture, or the precise moment that LOLcats stopped being cool or funny.” AdFreak would vote the latter if LOLcats was ever cool or funny, so we’ll supply another option: Is it a desperate attempt to court nerds by hopping onto a lame Internet fad before it gets dragged from the watering hole and left to die? Hopefully, that day is not far off.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on September 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (6)
Filed under Kiefaber

As if airplane travel weren’t taxing enough

“Captain to tower. Now making final approach to LAX. Wind from the east at 5 knots. Visibility 100 percent. I can see the tarmac clearly. ... Good lord! There’s a giant attacking the airport! It appears to be some sort of Big Boy. I repeat, a Big Boy—with a retro hairdo and red-and-white apron. He’s armed with a giant hamburger. Check that: It’s a double cheeseburger with the works! Repeat: Double cheese with the works!” A firm called Ad-Air has begun putting huge ads near some of the world’s busiest airports. A company official told Reuters the messages would appear in “clutter-free environments and moments free of any other commercial messages.” Clutter-free environments and commercial-free moments just got that much tougher to find.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Italy’s anti-anorexia campaign gets explicit

The model is Isabelle Caro, a 27-year-old, anorexic French woman who weighs 68 pounds. The photographer is Oliviero Toscani, who once supplied images of a man dying of AIDS for a Benetton campaign. The “No Anorexia” effort is appearing on billboards in Italy’s fashion and style capital, Milan. See the full ads here (NSFW). From Reuters: “Toscani’s aim was ‘to use that naked body to show everyone the reality of this illness, caused in most cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion.’ ” Some say the ads are too ugly for public display. Others believe some women might actually be envious of the model and determined to be thinner than her. Either way, the ads cut straight to the bone—and that’s not just a play on words. Caro, who has battled anorexia for 15 years, speaks about the campaign (in French) in this video. UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal weighs in with this story.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

A very gay ‘Last Supper’ in San Francisco

It’s proving to be a tough week for Jesus Christ in advertising. First he was portrayed as a drunken, pot-bellied, party-crashing hippy. Now, he and his disciples are appearing half-naked and surrounded by sex toys in an extremely gay version of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The ad is for San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, which calls itself “the granddaddy of all leather events.” See the full poster here. A couple of years ago, people got pretty riled up about a Last Supper spoof that showed Christ playing poker—and Jesus was at least the chip leader in that ad. So you can imagine the outrage here. A group called Concerned Women for America writes on its Web site: “The bread and wine representing Christ’s broken body and lifegiving blood are replaced with sadomasochistic sex toys in this twisted version of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.” The group is calling on California officials to “publicly condemn this unprovoked attack against Christ and His followers” and shut down the street fair.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (42)

A little payback for the suicidal-robot ad?

I guess we won’t be seeing many happy-autoworker commercials for General Motors brands in the immediate future, now that the UAW has called a strike against the company. Whatever the ostensible causes of the work stoppage, AdFreak suspects it actually stems from the bad labor-relations karma that GM created with the Super Bowl commercial in which a robot on a GM assembly line pictures himself being fired (and, soon thereafter, committing suicide) for dropping a bolt.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Robots

Marble maze is piece of cake in Nissan ads

I had one of these marble-maze toys when I was a kid, and if there’s a more frustrating game out there, I have yet to play it. But the guy in this new Nissan viral from TBWA\Tequila seems to have it pretty well licked. There’s a second video, also fun to watch, though even more bogus-looking than the first, that features the same guy driving a Nissan Rogue, with the marble game taped to the passenger seat. This time, in clear violation of several dozen traffic laws, he uses the movements of the car to send the marble around the maze. The virals tie into a 60-second Rogue spot that aired during NBC’s Heroes last night (though doesn’t seem to be online yet). In the ad, a whole city is built on a marble maze, and only the Rogue manages to avoid all the giant potholes. Nissan is using Heroes as the central hub of a multi-pronged marketing campaign for the Rogue launch. Read more here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (10)

FCC now wants to monitor your fake news

The FCC has taken time out from its tireless war on the f- and s-words to fine Comcast $4,000 for airing a fake news segment, otherwise known as a “video news release” (VNR), for a product called Nelson’s Rescue Sleep during a newscast on its CN8 network. The proper use of VNRs—PR videos made to look like TV news reports—has been debated for at least 15 years, so it’s odd that the FCC should step in now, especially since cable TV falls outside the commission’s jurisdiction. (The FCC’s rationale, with pseudospeak terms like “origination cablecasting,” seems pretty half-baked.) CN8 probably has about eight viewers, so the controversy (prompted by a complaint from the Center for Media & Democracy, a group of hand-wringing journalists with way too much time on their hands), is providing a terrific boost in recognition for the Nelson’s brand. Maybe Comcast tipped off the CMD as part of the media buy.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Filthy modern-day Bradys promote Agion

Boston’s Captains of Industry puts its finger on the pop-culture pulse, circa 1970, for this Brady Bunch-themed site touting SilverClene24, a microbe-killing disinfectant from Agion. We’re invited to “Click now to watch Florence Henderson in this hysterically revolting comedy.” There’s lots of toilet humor, so the videos are funnier than most episodes of The Brady Bunch, like the one where the kids have a close encounter with a flying saucer. Is Florence starting to resemble ’70s comic Rip Taylor, or is it just me? You’re right: I’m the one who looks more like Rip. The youngest Brady on the site is black, no doubt a jibe at the suburban conformity of Nixon-era prime-time fare, or a tongue-in-cheek comment on our own P.C. times—or something. There appears to be no intra-cast romance whatsoever, lesbian or otherwise. (Oh, on second viewing, the UFO episode actually is funnier than this.)

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Your daily dose of sexy, from Anton Fig

Anton Fig is an accomplished session drummer who has played with everyone from Bob Dylan to Madonna. When KISS fired founding drummer Peter Criss in the late 1970s, it was Fig who was brought in to play on the band’s next two albums. These days, Fig is best known as David Letterman’s house drummer in the CBS Orchestra. I tell you all this to help offset the sadistic glee I take in digging up this 1987 cover of Modern Drummer, where Fig embraced the short-lived fashion combo of mullet and kimono. Hat tip to my wife, who instantly made it our desktop background after finding it on a Google image search for figs. And Anton, if you want a picture from my long-hair days to show on Letterman, I’ll totally understand.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Griner

Kitchen skills vary at NBC’s omelette-off

It was the holding-company buyer versus the network seller. An overflow crowd of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed industry types turned up at 8 a.m. Monday at the NBC Studios at 30 Rock in New York for a Top Chef-style omelet-making competition between Irwin Gotlieb, CEO of WPP’s GroupM, and Michael Pilot, president of advertising sales and marketing at NBC. The face-off, part of the Advertising Week festivities, took place inside the famed Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live. In his opening remarks, O. Burtch Drake of the 4A’s set the we’re-here-to-have-fun tone of the gathering. He recalled an SNL encounter years ago when he was still an agency executive. Drake brought his college-age son to a taping, and shortly after the show began, the camera zoomed in on him with the superimposed tag, “Couldn’t get laid at Woodstock.” 

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Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Advertising meets modern art in Japan

Leave it to the Japanese to make Andy Warhol even weirder. He’s apparently shilling TDK videotapes in this ad, which he may have directed too, by the looks of things. Warhol’s attempts at Japanese, and the sedate voiceover at the end, throw it out into No Man’s Land, to say nothing of the television Warhol is shouldering. Nothing says high-fidelity recording like a test pattern. Why do all American celebrities film commercials in Japan when they visit. Did Reagan sign some treaty I (and most likely he) didn’t know about?

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on September 25, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Kiefaber