Mexican ad for Viagra actually doesn't suck

Viagra commercials are generally awful, particularly the "Viva Viagra" ones with the guys sitting around grinning widely as they play music and sing about their erections. (The best thing about those ads is the name Copyranter gave the band: the Whiskey Dicks.) Cialis ads are no better. Maybe it's just because E.D. advertising is so wretched, but the new Viagra spot above, from Z Publicidad in Mexico, is pretty decent. It actually has an idea—it takes its characters back in time, all the way back to the first time—and strikes a decent, non-off-putting balance between romance and passion. By the end of the spot, the couple appear to be in their late teens. Go back any further, and they'd be in a JC Penney commercial.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (24)
Filed under E.D., Mexico, Nudd, Pfizer, Pharma, Viagra, Z Publicidad

Agency.com pulls a Modernista! for Skittles

In the offline ad world, creatives are always quick to cry "rip-off." Pretty much everything strikes me as derivative of the Bible and Beowulf, but protecting the originality of "the idea" is hard-wired into ad culture. Does that translate into online? Agency.com has built a new site for Skittles that is pretty much a carbon copy of Modernista!'s much-lauded "un-site," which of course some claim is a rip-off of an earlier Zeus Jones site. The Skittles site is an interesting case study for a consumer goods company. Let's face it: Why would anyone go to a packaged-goods Web site? But nowadays, in social media, people are talking about all sorts of stuff. Agency.com gets that with a "chatter" link that pulls up the results of a "skittles" search on Twitter. It could be on to something. Does it really matter if Modernista or Zeus Jones got there first?

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (31)
Filed under Agency web sites, Candy, Modernista!, Morrissey, Skittles, Zeus Jones

No one dies horribly in Coens' clean-coal ad

It surprised us to learn that the Coen Brothers directed this anti-coal spot, mostly because there's no swearing or violent, gratuitous death in it. But it's pretty effective otherwise, and it is funny how clean-coal advocates will bitch and gripe about ethanol when clean coal is even less tenable at this point. The group behind the ad also has a Web site, This Is Reality, which focuses on coal-industry marketing and lobbying efforts, perhaps in response to President Obama's brief mention of clean coal in his address to Congress. Either that, or coal-industry hotshots beat them up in high school. Via Osocio, which also has a behind-the-scenes video posted with those crazy Coens.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Environment, Kiefaber

Kia Soul awesome if you're a giant hamster

In this new David&Goliath commercial for the Kia Soul, giant hamsters roam the streets of Levittown, N.Y., just like they do in real life. Kidding. I'm sure Levittown's a beautiful place, maybe even as nice as Bayonne, N.J. (Hey, I zinged Jersey—no one's ever done that before!) While this effort is admirably offbeat, there's at least one major problem with it. Rodents terrify some people, myself included, and now I'll associate the Kia Soul with furry jowls and pointy incisors the size of my arms. Guinea pigs are just as bad! On the other hand, those huge hamster-wheels are cool. They're more aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly than the Soul. Maybe Kia should start selling those instead.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Animals, Automotive, David&Goliath, Gianatasio, Kia

Office slides are pretty great in real life, too

Those wacky Brits are at it again. This time, the designers of a new office complex in Sheffield have installed a giant slide to whisk employees from the third floor of the building to the first. We suspect they got the idea from that famous Barclaycard ad, posted above, or perhaps from the network of pedestrian vacuum tubes in Futurama's New New York. Regardless, they need a ball pit for the employees to land in at the bottom. And maybe a different model than the one featured in the Daily Telegraph story linked above. I can still see that woman's face when I shut my eyes.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Barclaycard, Europe, Kiefaber

Colorado unleashes packs of smoky beasts

Cactus's work for Colorado's State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP) filters (ha!) your standard scary warnings about second-hand smoke through a Hitchcock/X-Files/CGI fantasy lens, producing PSAs with considerable visual élan. Yes, I just wanted to use the word élan. Still, it fits: The are cool, moody and compelling, with smoke morphing into ravens (above) and dragons (below) that plague the family car and home. And that may be the problem: The spots are too appealing. They take a smooth, light-menthol approach, as opposed to, say, American Legacy's super-high-tar "We're all gonna die!" tactics. The images may be too glamorous (despite their dark design) to really demonize such a supposedly dirty habit. Also, will smokers respond well to being told to step outside their own homes when lighting up? And will drivers remember to pull over before stepping out of their cars to smoke? Let's hope so. With their brains clouded by nicotine and the tobacco monkey riding their backs, you never know.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Anti-smoking, Cactus, Freaky, Gianatasio, STEPP

Padma Lakshmi seduces a Hardee's burger

She may not get all sudsy with a Bentley, but it looks like Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi will make her feelings for Hardee's hamburgers clear in an upcoming TV commercial for the brand. "I think it's a beautiful love song to food," Lakshmi tells People.com about the commercial, shot this week, for Hardee's Bacon Western Thickburger. "I think eating in itself is an act of great sensuality, so all you have to do is point the camera in the right direction." People.com says Chris Applebaum is the guy who'll be doing the pointing. He's the same dude who directed the infamous 2005 Hardee's/Carl's Jr. ad that showed a multitasking Paris Hilton washing a Bentley while devouring a burger. The (female) PR person who alerted us to the People.com story had this to say about the Lakshmi shoot: "I was actually on set and I gotta tell you she was totally hot and a real class act. Can really put down a burger, too."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (8)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Hardee's, Nudd, Restaurants

JWT keeps an eye on global heebie-jeebies

OK, so things aren't going so hot nowadays. We can all agree on that. Must we continue to beat the drum? JWT thinks we should. The agency has launched AnxietyIndex, a blog to aggregate how brands and consumers worldwide are dealing with the global economic meltdown/armageddon. (Example: MTV is soliciting reality stars for a series about people dealing with crushing debt burdens. Sounds entertaining.) Naturally, the blog includes a feed of Twitter posts that mention the word "anxiety." This is a worthy idea. Brands do need to figure out how to communicate with people who are going through a hell of a time. It's just a downer. There's definitely an opportunity to start a rival HappinessIndex to catalog the small glimmers of hope out there in the bleakness.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under JWT, Morrissey

Guinea pigs, consummate advertising pros

As advertising characters and/or props, guinea pigs almost never disappoint. And they prove their worth yet again in this Argentine spot by agency El Cielo for cell-phone company Claro. The ad amusingly shows how, for kids these days, getting their first cell phone is often a bigger deal than getting their first pet. That's some great acting on the part of the varmints, one of which is awesome at vibrating. And yet, this is only our second-favorite guinea-pig commercial. The best one is still G4's Midnight Spank spot with the kidney-eating rodent.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Animals, Claro, El Cielo, Nudd, South America, Telecom

Mass transit is good enough for the animals

These colorful ads from Belgian agency Duval Guillaume, starring penguins and fireflies, respectively, are a darling illustration of the social benefits of mass transit. Of course, buses would never be able to reach either locale featured in the ads. And whether penguins would be allowed on buses at all is debatable. But I get the point anyway. And I'll certainly keep the Hampden Shuttle in mind if I ever see a killer whale tearing down Roland Avenue here in Baltimore.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Duval Guillaume, Europe, Kiefaber, Mass transit

Retracing today's top directors back to MTV

It's easy to forget how many of today's hottest film directors got their start by making commercials and music videos. Luckily, Cinematical has compiled a list of seven Hollywood hit-makers who owe everything to MTV. There are the obvious picks, like Spike Jonze, whose video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" (shown above) still rivals his big-screen accomplishments like Being John Malkovich. But I had no idea that Fight Club's David Fincher had made videos for the likes of Madonna, Rick Springfield, Loverboy and Paula Abdul (among many others). Other than the strange inclusion of John Landis, who made Animal House three years before directing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," it's a pretty solid list. So, who should be the next video auteur to level up? Maybe Walter Stern's work for The Prodigy and his freaky new Johnnie Walker spot will get him a chance. But I've got my money on James Frost, mainly because I'd like to see a movie made entirely without cameras or lights.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Directors, Griner, MTV, Music videos

Trapped humans forced to sell Kit Kat bars

Kit Kat has dropped a few human vending machines into London's Victoria Station as part of its new U.K. campaign. The human vending machine isn't new—the Japanese, always first in all things vending machine, have employed them. But this execution really fits nicely with Kit Kat's "Working like a machine?" campaign. The TV spots, "Checkout" (posted below) and "Arrivals," show people literally working like machines and then getting (you guessed it) a much-needed break. The effort is apparently part of Nestlé Confectionery's biggest U.K. ad campaign ever, with a total spend of £21 million. For that money, I hope they at least get three TV spots. While I have nothing bad to say about the concept (rock it, JWT London!), let me beat up on the press release for a second. It raves that the human vending machines give consumers "the added bonus of having a person to chat to [who will] physically hand them their chocolate treat." You mean, just like a regular vendor? No, the joyful novelty here is just seeing someone trapped inside a box full of chocolate. Photo: techfever on Flickr.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cullers, Europe, JWT, Kit Kat, Nestlé

Old Navy supermodelquins strut and preen

Sony's living mannequins can shuffle aside. Old Navy's got something even better: supermodelquins! They appear in a new Old Navy flier designed to look like a celebrity magazine, and they'll soon be invading the retailer's stores. The campaign is getting splashed across the media today, generating lots of free impressions, so naturally the agency is Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Maybe Crispin got the idea for lifeless models from Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld's work in the agency's Microsoft campaign. The modelquins, which will also star in TV ads, are racially diverse! Actually, the one with the ponytail looks anorexic, but that's how they roll in the world of high fashion. The campaign is an attempt by Old Navy to reverse a lingering sales slump, which client rep Tom Wyatt blames on the company shifting its focus away from moms with young kids. "We walked away from our customer," Wyatt tells some random reporter named Mae Anderson at the Associated Press. No chance of that with the modelquins: They stand in place at all times!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Apparel, Crispin Porter, Gianatasio, Old Navy

Retro mashups apparently recession-proof

You would think an economic downturn would make people focus on the necessities in life. But why worry about food, shelter and savings when you can throw your money away on pointless retro kitsch? Today, we've got four fine examples of bizarre pop-culture mashups that have evidently struck a chord, at least among bloggers. First, there are bars of soap shaped like classic video-game controllers (price range: $5-$25). Then you've got your Disco Ball Hat, which couldn't possibly be displayed on a more appropriate model than the guy above. No price is listed for that, as is the case with the At-At Walker Boombox, which combines the awesome powers of Star Wars and cassette tapes. But fear not, you can still drop $28 on Jenga: Donkey Kong Collector's Edition. Finally, your Jenga and Donkey Kong collections can live in harmony!

—Posted by David Griner

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Griner, Vintage

Aspirin maker has new theory on dinosaurs

Scientific claims don't get much more dodgy than this. A new print campaign from Graffiti BBDO in Romania for an aspirin product says the dinosaurs were killed off by the common cold. See a larger version of this ad here, and one more here. I thought the dinosaurs perished because of a meteor strike or something. Maybe the point is that their giant medicine cabinets indeed weren't stocked properly to deal with the chill brought on by plummeting global temperatures. Whatever the case, why listen to acknowledged scientific authorities on this subject when cold-medicine ads have all the answers? The campaign also raises the issue of dinosaurs as pets. Sure, they're cute when they're small, but those little raptors will tear your face off someday. Has no one seen Jurassic Park? Did you catch the name on the bowl in that second ad? "Rex." Classic. Via Ads of the World.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under BBDO, Dinosaurs, Europe, Gianatasio, Health

The Who take the mike in Shure's campaign

The Who sell out yet again, at least a quarter-century after anyone would care, in a new ad for Shure microphones. Yes, it's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, the band's two surviving members, posing like the rich, deaf, old codgers they are. Keith Moon and John Entwistle, being dead, at least don't have to cringe at the sight of their bandmates posing like some pensioner couple from "my generation"—or at any rate, the generation immediately preceding mine. (Daltrey does look a bit like a granny in those glasses.) I suppose hawking musical equipment is actually borderline respectable for these guys. See the full ad here, along with other executions featuring the Black Crowes, Buddy Guy and G Love. Also set to appear in the campaign, created in-house, are Maroon 5, Brad Paisley and Martina McBride. Iggy Pop is actually too happening for this crowd. They probably invited him, and he wandered onto the set of those insurance spots by mistake.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Gianatasio, Shure

Who needs reporters at these conferences?

I didn't go to the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Ecosystem 2.0 conference, being held this week in Orlando, Fla. Thanks to Twitter, I guess I didn't need to. Among those handling the play-by-play: Campfire "chief narratologist" Steve Wax, Federated Media CEO John Battelle, SocialMedia CEO Seth Goldstein and The Rubicon Project director of strategic publisher acquisition Josh Wexler. Most of the chatter is the humdrum stuff common to all live-Tweeted conferences: speaker quotes without context. Underneath are some juicier tidbits—relatively speaking. This is an industry conference in Orlando, after all.
  • Google's sales pitch: "Why is Google allowed a sales pitch on Google products rather than the future of advertising?" (Wexler)
  • IAB needs heat: "It's friggin' cold in here." (Battelle)
  • Time to move on: "[Yahoo exec] Joanne Bradford says Subservient Chicken was an unimportant stunt—and touts a Nissan concert." (Wax)
  • Facebook has a long way to go: "I wonder what their ad products would look like if zuck/fbook and @ev / twitter spent a year at an ad agency or cpg company." (Goldstein)

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Conferences, Digital, IAB, Morrissey

Another racing video, this time with models

For those who enjoyed the Ken Block car-racing Gymkhana video but felt that it lacked the requisite number of swimsuit models, this clip is for you. Produced by Sports Illustrated, Nissan and the city of Las Vegas, it shows Melissa Haro, Jessica Hart and Damaris Lewis (all stars of SI's recent swimsuit issue) being taken for a wild ride in Las Vegas by Drift Alliance drivers Tony Angelo, Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck. It's all part of a campaign for the new Nissan 370z, which seems to work best when being driven sideways rather than forward. Now, for those who are still feeling short-changed, and could forgo the auto theme entirely in favor of seeing these models undressing, check out the Haro, Hart and Lewis clips on SI's YouTube channel. Via Didn't You Hear and Wrecked Magazine.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Automotive, Nissan, Nudd, Sports Illustrated, Vegas

Wexley is latest shop to disown advertising

What is it with ad agencies disowning advertising when the general-interest press comes knocking? When I hear that stuff, I think thou doth protest too much. Wexley School for Girls is the latest to turn up its nose at the grimy business of making ads in a new Inc. magazine profile of the "wacky" Seattle shop. "The men and women of Wexley even bristle a little when you call what they do advertising," the piece reports. "In their estimation, the ad business is undergoing a shift, one that affects agencies and their clients. The days of huge production teams and million-dollar media buys are waning, and, as the economy slips further into decrepitude and companies have less money to burn, this will only become clearer." Ah, nothing soothes the soul like economic decrepitude. So, Wexley doesn't do ads—it does viral videos and guerrilla stunts for advertisers without media budgets. Still, why does everyone have to wreck on the people making ads?

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Morrissey, Wexley School for Girls

British PSAs getting even tougher to watch

They don't really skimp on the shock tactics in British public-service messages. These two commercials, quite uncomfortable to watch, are part of the ACT F.A.S.T. campaign, a new U.K. effort aimed at helping people to recognize the signs of a stroke, and to act quickly and reduce the damage caused. "When a stroke strikes, it spreads like a fire in the brain," says the voiceover. "The longer it goes undetected, the more damage it does." Public reaction seems to be falling into two main camps, which are now doing battle: those who find the ads upsetting (including some who think they're airing too early in the evening); and those who, perhaps nervously, are making light of the spots—and suggesting that the warning signs of a stroke are confusingly similar to the faces their friends tend to make late on Saturday nights at the pub.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Europe, Freaky, Health, Nudd, PSAs

Brewer wisely promotes biking over driving

Cultivator Advertising & Design crafted the pro-biking message above on behalf of New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colo. The headline, "Work to bike more," sounds like the work of a tipsy copywriter, so it's probably good that he or she doesn't drive a car. (We're told the billboard's placement over PT Motors' "Cash for cars" sign was "fortuitous.") The New Belgium video below shows the tangible benefits of cycling to work: It's often quicker than driving, so you can get to work earlier and enjoy more weird ball-bouncing activities with your hippie co-workers. Employee-owned New Belgium is one of your more eco-friendly brewers across the board. It's wind powered, and it "recycles, reuses or composts 73 percent of its waste stream." All of which sounds vaguely unsanitary, but at least they don't have a giant tub of recycling worker worms out back. My latest AdFreak evaluation said I should "Work to write more," but I'm also into conservation, and couldn't possibly increase my output.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Biking, Cultivator, Gianatasio, New Belgium Brewing

U.K. turns nose up at poo-centric Glade ads

The British have been making a stink lately over SC Johnson's advertising for its Glade Touch'n Fresh bathroom air fresheners. Every ad, it seems, features a child whining about his need to defecate, or about the unpleasant results of doing so. The latest spot, above, shows a boy who resolves to "do a poo" at his friend Paul's house, because Paul's mom is smart and installed Glade Touch'n Fresh dispensers, thus masking the boy's shameful odors. The ad's been deemed offensive pretty much across the board. "How weird is this advert? I mean WEIRD," writes the YouTube uploader. "Sometimes I think I should get a job in advertising just to stop stupid crap like this being made." (The kid does say "do a poo" three times, which seems excessive.) The previous spot, posted below, didn't do any better, perhaps because it begins with a kid on the toilet shouting, "Pwahh, it stinks!"

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Europe, Glade, House and home, Nudd, SC Johnson

Enjoy the post-nuclear solitude in Wyoming

A new print campaign from Denver agency Cameron Christopher Thomas for the Wyoming Department of Transportation makes the state's Togwotee Trail look pretty intimidating. In fact, it looks like a post-apocalyptic world in the style of Cold-War-era nuke-scare movies like Panic in Year Zero. See three full ads here. Lonely vehicles speed to nowhere on winding roads; eerie green light seeps up from a riverbed; a lake and sky shimmer with a mysterious pink glow; a solitary figure atop a pile of rocks contemplates his fate. Yep, they must have dropped the big one. It's the end of civilization as we know it. Time to fish for three-eyed bass and watch one another's hair fall out. Worst of all: You're facing the ultimate holocaust in Wyoming! Even if the world  hasn't ended, you'll feel like it has.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Cameron Christopher Thomas, Gianatasio, Tourism, Wyoming

Party's over as Tiger Woods returns to golf

When Tiger's away, the mice will play—and actually win, for a change. This amusing new Nike Golf spot from Wieden + Kennedy shows Anthony Kim, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard and Carl Pettersson having the time of their lives while Woods recovers from knee surgery. Of course, all good things come to an end—in this case, it's because Tiger has healed and will return to the PGA Tour on Wednesday for the Accenture Match Play Championship. The 60-second spot breaks on Wednesday and will air on ESPN, ESPN News and The Golf Channel until Sunday. The Golf Channel will air it right before Tiger's first tee shot on Wednesday.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Golf, Nike, Nudd

Iggy's insurance not available to musicians

This U.K. auto-insurance commercial with Iggy Pop, which we first posted last month, is more embarrassing for its star than we originally thought. It turns out Swiftcover refuses to insure musicians, citing higher levels of risk and potential claims costs as reasons. Swiftcover marketing director Tina Shortle says Pop was chosen for the advertising "because he loves life, not because he is a musician. He is an actor demonstrating the benefits of Swiftcover.com." Tim Soong, who plays bass in Roguetune, tells the Evening Standard: "The customer services operator told me they don't insure musicians. When I mentioned Iggy Pop, she said his case was different because he is American."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on February 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Europe, Insurance, Nudd