GoDaddy girl is not going to Disney World

Night owls were “treated” last evening to a Tonight Show appearance by Candice Michelle, the GoDaddy.com “actress” fresh off her lame appearance during the Super Bowl. Aside from seeing fellow guest Terry Bradshaw’s eyes pop out cartoonishly when Michelle appeared, it was a boring (or do I mean ridiculous?) segment, matching the spot itself. Michelle did discuss the “director’s cut” of the commercial, which is a bit more racy, with her antics causing the old guy to collapse with a grin on his face at the end. He might be dead; it’s not entirely clear. The ad that ran had the same effect on viewers (minus the grin), but at least it was better than this “Web-only” version. Michelle also revealed to Mr. Leno that she—wait for it—wants to be a wrestler continue wrestling and is appearing in the April issue of Playboy.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on February 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Evangelista tries reinventing himself as a reality show judge

Could Ed Evangelista be the next Simon Cowell? The JWT ecd will be one of four judges looking for the best new invention in the country on American Inventor, an ABC reality show from Cowell's production company Syco Television. We guess Ed will be commenting on the marketability of the Whiz-o-matic 4000. And hopefully we can count on him to provide sexier sound bites than this bland, self-promoting statement from co-president Rosemarie Ryan. "Since we're constantly striving to create world-class ideas to get people to spend more time with our clients’ brands, it is no surprise that one of our own would be chosen to help propel another world class idea into the marketplace. " Like the Chia Pig? If not, at least it will explain why Evangelista’s not been invited to be part of Cowell’s other, sexier, reality venture: an NBC search for a Las Vegas headliner.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on February 3, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Spare the Spam, spoil the child

OK, so they’re not shoving dead animals in their mouths or drinking beetle-laced Gatorade, but the demonic tots from 50s ads showcased here are wolfing down some questionable cuisine. Just check out these "crispy french-fried wieners." Thanks, Mom!

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on January 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Strike two for Apple ads?

In case you haven’t seen this yet: It seemed like a Lugz-caliber scandal was brewing when someone posted a Postal Service video of “Such Great Heights” (right) and Apple's latest Mac commerical—which touts the machine's Intel chips—side by side to show many nearly identical scenes. Who knew such a boring ad could have been such a rip-off? But in fact, it turns out that TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif., ripped off the video legitimately, for what its worth: The ad and the video have the same director, according to the blog Cult of Mac, and the ad is a "remake" of the video. Both were done by the directing team of Josh and Xander: Josh Melnick and Xander Charity. OK, so it's not outright theft, but rehashing your old ideas for big bucks is setting the bar pretty low.

UPDATED UPDATE: Josh and Xander created the video when they were represented by Partizan. A very persistent Partizan rep informs us that they created the commercial under their current representation, Tight. Wow, Partizan really doesn't want anything to do with this ad.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on January 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Paying for your fun on New Year’s

Planning on ringing in the New Year in style? It will cost you—or the average American, at least—around $172, according to a new survey. The “Shopping in America Holiday 2005” survey, conducted by real estate investment trust Macerich Co., found that those of us who live in the Northeast will outspend those elsewhere in the country. We’ll spend an average of $256 each. Midwesterners will be the most thrifty, spending an average of about $119 each. Americans in the West and the South will spend $169 and $159, respectively. The survey also polled consumers on their top New Year’s resolutions. No surprises among the top three: lose weight (Jared might help you there), save money and get a new job. Happy New Year!

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on December 29, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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When it comes to Xmas, don't toy around

Ah Christmas: the warmth, the merriment, the spending time with family, the ... cutthroat rush to get this year's must-have toy. Ever since Tickle Me Elmo, and probably before (remember Cabbage Patch Dolls?), if certain kids don't get THE toy at Christmas or Hannukah, things get ugly. This year, the AP reports, the year's hottest toys include Amazing Amanda, a $99 interactive doll; Dora the Explorer's Talking Kitchen (self explanatory); and iDog, an electronic dog.  But if you haven't gotten these toys yet, you better get moving, as they're getting scarce: Hasbro, the maker of the iDog, says it can't guarantee they won't sell out before Christmas and Amazon says the white one is currently out of stock.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on December 15, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Mascots gone wild on NBC

The Today show hosted a “Mascot Challenge” this morning (we’re just getting around to being outraged now) that seemed to mainly serve the purpose of mentioning Capital One a lot. Because it was the Capital One Mascot Challenge. Sam The Minuteman from the University of Massachusetts faced off against Herbie Husker of the University of Nebraska. They both looked the same to me, except one was way more muscular, if a guy in a big plus-size mascot costume can look muscular. You can vote for the winner here. (Maybe the victor should have to “mud”-wrestle Mr. Floatie.) I’m still trying to figure out why on earth Today, a purported news show, or at least news and entertainment show, devoted several minutes to this totally meaningless event. But maybe some people care about team mascots more than I do.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on December 14, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Steve Madden: Big-headed no more

Those offended by the long-running Steve Madden campaign featuring digitally manipulated models with giant eyes and larger heads take note: the models are no more, and the company is trumpeting the fact in a print and outdoor campaign by Cramer Krasselt in Chicago, which went up in New York just before Thanksgiving. One ad displays a Steve Madden shoe with the copy: “Attention all models: we are no longer looking for girls with huge heads.” The ad, along with six others, are a way to alert Madden fans the brand is evolving from a shoe company targeting teens to a broader company with clothes and accessories targeted at an older demographic, says brand director Rob Schmertz. “As a fashion company we have to evolve and try new things,” he says. Here's another example of that: Steve Madden's blog.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on December 8, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (5)
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How a virus—a good one—spreads

At a panel discussion this morning cosponsored by Contagious magazine and the Clio Awards (disclosure: Clio is a distant relative of AdFreak), JWT co-president and chief creative officer Ty Montague showed a viral film as part of the panel’s theme: to talk about how to judge advertising now that it’s no longer ruled by 30-second commercials with high production values. The film, which you might remember, was made by a teenager, and it was a surprisingly playful take on a depressing theme: how different countries would react when confronted with a nuclear weapon-induced end of the world. The film, which is still online here, exploded virally, causing Wieden + Kennedy to quickly commission viral films for Nike's Sphere line (that we can't find online unfortunately). All this happened a couple of years ago—we seem to recall posting something about the Nike Sphere work last year—but it’s a good example of changing technology giving power to the people—even the power to make ads. And, the film, if you’ve never seen it, is worth a look. UPDATE: Thanks to Talis, who found the Nike Sphere virals here, here and here.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on December 1, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Too many movie tie-ins to a Geisha

When a Star Wars movie comes out and Burger King slaps blow-up Darth Vaders on its rooftops, that makes sense to me. Teens want to watch such a movie and eat fast food, sure. But the elaborate tie-ins with Memoirs of a Geisha, which opens nationwide on Dec. 9, seem like much ado about a movie that might not make much of a splash during the holiday movie crush. Banana Republic has a limited edition Memoirs of a Geisha line (a kimono from it is pictured here); Fresh is selling a line of beauty products tied in with the film; and even the storyline of an the NBC show Medium had an episode centered around Memoirs. Do they expect grown women to react to tie-ins like a teen would? A bit of overzealous promotion, if you ask me.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Yes, Virginia, there is a secretsanta.com

We told you last week that a town in Idaho was thinking of changing its name from Santa to secretsanta.com to give publicity to the Web site of the same name. Well, it has gone ahead and done it, according to this story, making the renaming of small towns as popular as using brand names for arenas and stadiums has become. The article. like the ones last week announcing the unveiling of Dish, Texas (for Dish Network, remember kids?), recaps some earlier corporate-sponsored town names, including Half.com in Oregon and Truth or Consequences in New Mexico (which kicked off the trend in 1950). Sure, secretsanta.com sounds good now, but will it have quite the same ring on Dec. 26?

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Credit: Getty Images

Published on November 23, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Giving print ads the power of speech

Here’s a follow-up on an item we posted in September. If you’re a New Yorker, perhaps you’ve noticed ads around town with word bubbles attached to them, allowing passersby to pencil in what the people in the ads might be saying. Turns out the guerrilla effort is the work of an ex-Saatchi creative. Having become disillusioned with the ad biz, Ji Lee, now a freelance graphic designer, affixes the balloons to ads and allows others to as well, via printable balloons available on his Web site. A quick survey of bubbles around town: An ad for American Eagle shows a glamorous couple, with the man saying: “She doesn’t have a brain, but then again neither do I.” An iPod silhouette ad reads, “I steal music.” But the joke may be on Parsons grad Lee, since the Daily News article quotes an NYU professor saying the bubbles may actually help the ads by bringing more attention to them.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 22, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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This squad car sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts

Placing ads in police cars may be the latest fix for helping cash strapped police departments make a little money. But at least one citizen in Littleton, Mass., isn't happy about it. In a letter to the Littleton Independent, one Steven McDougall of Orchid Drive points out that the businesses in the community will be buying the ads the police department is selling, so the net profit for the community is ... zero. A better way to raise money, he says—one that doesn't compromise the police department—is simply to raise taxes. "I realize that no one wants to hear that," he writes, "but if we don't have the political will to fund our own police department, then this town is not a going concern: it is not a viable political entity."

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 17, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Life imitates Ameriquest ad

Remember that funny Ameriquest spot that showed a guy talking on a cell phone in a store and saying “You’re being robbed” really loudly? So everyone thinks he’s robbing the store, and he ends up getting clocked on the head. Ha ha ha ... gulp. It happened for real in Virginia, the AP reports. A woman is suspected of robbing four Wachovia banks while talking on her cell phone. She was arrested yesterday by the FBI after an agent spotted a car with her plates on it. Investigators weren’t sure whether she was actually talking to someone while she demanded cash or if it was just a cover, an FBI spokesperson said. Now we just hope the Ameriquest cat commercial doesn’t come true as well.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 16, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Xbox spot a little jarring

Sometimes commercials can be the victim of circumstance. McCann Erickson's new Xbox ad, for example, which debuted on Lost on Wednesday, has a seemingly benign premise: a whole city partaking in a water ballon fight, to the tune of the quirky "Teddy Bears' Picnic." But there's something ominous about it: the shaky, digital-video look, the vaguely rundown housing complexes it takes place in, the European feel (although perhaps it was shot in Mexico City), and the slightly manic look of the teens and youths throwing water balloons all serve as a reminder of the scary events in France this week and last. Leaving aside the whole "entire city playing a game" premise that has been done so many times before (see Nike's "Tag" and PlayStation's "Mountain," which coincidentally were both directed by Frank Budgen, who also did this ad), this spot, tagged "Jump in," suffers from bad timing.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Something fishy is going on with ice cream

All those pregnant women craving pickles and ice cream, take note! Weird and wacky savory ice cream flavors are making a splash in the East, and perhaps eventually will spread to our shores. After setting up shop in a bustling fish market, Taiwanese vendor Liny Hsueh has created ice cream flavors including pineapple shrimp, wasabi cuttlefish, strawberry tuna and mango seaweed, in colors from orange to green to black, Agence France Presse reports. Sometimes the ice cream comes with a sprinkle of small dried fish, roe or chopped squid. Despite the fact some customers initially worry the ice cream will be "disgusting and weird," Hsueh's business is booming and she is expanding. The next flavor she's working on? Scallops.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 11, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Extreme endurance by Ikea lovers

Do you like Ikea? I mean, really like Ikea? They sure do in Massachusetts, where 2,000 people stood in line for Wednesday's grand opening of the Stoughton, Mass., store. The Swedish chain was awarding gift certificates ranging from $500-5,000 to the first five customers, who stood in line for as many as 12 days. First in line and the top winner, Mike Rice, flew from Georgia to take part in the contest, which turned intense. Third-in-line Jeffrey Beaudette, who stood in line for seven days, told the Boston Herald: “If you look at the five of us now, no one’s really talking to each other. You’ve got five people who come from completely different walks of life. After a while, people just got irritated.” That's a lot to go through, we think, even for Ikea's cheap-yet-functionally satisfying furniture.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 10, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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H&M's Stella line already sold out

All in the name of research, we breezed past the two H&M stores in SoHo in New York at lunch, only to find the line of Stella McCartney clothes and accessories, which went on sale today, so decimated employees were stripping the clothes off the store-window mannequins (see picture). Though we admit we're not that sartorially minded, we were kind of hoping to snag a tank top or two. The quick sellout mirrors what happened last year with H&M's Karl Lagerfeld line. While we're all for bringing designer-quality clothes to the masses, we're kind of annoyed that the "masses" really means only those who can start lining up at 8 a.m. and claw viciously through ruthless fashionistas for the last tulilp skirt on the rack. And that, sadly, just isn't us.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 10, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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It's a small world, but not much of a Disney-world

Uh, is this the happiest place on earth? Disneyland's Hong Kong location has been marred with mishaps, protesters and bad PR, reports USA Today. Culminating in an incident last month in which a fired staffer climbed atop Space Mountain and threatened to kill himself (he was talked down unharmed), the theme park, which opened Sept. 12, has attracted labor protesters charging that staffers have been forced to work 11- and 13-hour days. When pop stars were recruited to bolster the park's image and film promotional videos at the park (with no compensation), performers, including popular singer Kelly Chen, "reported being bossed around, barred from wandering the park and ordered to quiet down their music." "Her Disney dream is broken," Chen's spokesperson declared. This isn't the first time Disney has clashed with local culture. When Euro Disney opened in 1992, it drew similar criticism. It all reminds us of a favorite Simpsons episode showing an empty Euro Disney with a lone French employee begging customers to come because "my cheeldrin need wine!"

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Credit: PR Newswire/Newscom

Published on November 10, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Cartoon caption contest backlash

The New Yorker cartoon caption contest, introduced this year, has been lauded as a way to incorporate some input from normal folks into the famously stuffy institution. But now it's getting some blog backlash. Two recent anti-caption contests have come to light lately. This one takes a profanity ridden approach, and inspired the comment, "I'm so tired of that NY'er contest. It's stopped me from reading the backpage altogether." Another one, also a bit profanity laden, encouraged readers to come up with the least funny captions for a recent contest cartoon—which, paradoxically, provided sort of hilarious results. The cartoon shows a giant monster truck crushing an orchestra. The winner of the anti-cartoon caption contest: "There is a man pinned under this truck who requires immediate medical assistance. Someone please call for an ambulance. Please, before it's too late." Ha ha.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 9, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Rats! We're posting about this group again

We don't really know why we are giving them yet another plug, when all along they've done nothing but annoy us, yet somehow we feel compelled to bring it to your attention that The Great Pointed Archer Society, which supposedly stands for the rights of rats but for some reason has gone to great lengths to target the advertising trade press, has taken its mystifying campaign one step further: video podcasts. Available on iTunes, three 30-second-or-so spots reverse roles, with rats playing humans, and humans playing rats. (Note how we are not stooping to calling rats "great pointed archers" as the society requests.) One shows a man being caught in a human-size mousetrap, another shows a party of people in rat costumes emptying out when they see a human eating their food, a third, pictured here, shows humans being caught in a glue trap while rats walk by. Does anyone out there care to solve this mystery so we can get on with our lives?

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 8, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Is the time ripe for Jesus Juice?

It seems odd that anyone would want to be associated with the alleged capers of Michael Jackson and young boys, but two people in California—one of them a longtime CBS Evening News producer who covered MJ's most recent child molestation case—have attempted to trademark "Jesus Juice," the term he allegedly called the wine that he offered boys. Lest that connection be too subtle for anyone, the logo, which is still under consideration by the U.S. patent office according to thesmokinggun.com, shows a Jackson-like figure with a black fedora and one sequined glove, in a pose like that of Jesus on the cross. Uh, despite recent successes of strangely named wine like Fat Bastard and Smoking Loon, we're not so sure this one will be a big hit.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 7, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Vanilla Coke, we hardly knew ye

When I was growing up, there was no better treat than a super-sweet Cherry Coke. But as Coke over the years has started piling on line extensions, from Coke Zero and Vanilla Coke to Diet Coke With Lemon, and others, none of them had quite the same charm. So it's okay with us that Coke has announced it's pulling some of the newfangled Cokes due to lagging sales. By the end of the year, Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon will be history. Unfortunately, this doesn't mark the end of the beverage company's over-brand extension. Next January will mark the launch of  Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. Sounds a little dicey to us, but at least it's not Coke's original formula, which included traces of cocaine.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 7, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Can Atlanta get it right this time?

Being a former Atlantan, (or ATLien), home of Coke and snarls of traffic, I was excited to read about Atlanta's new marketing push, beginning this month, with a new theme song, "The ATL" (we tried to find a link to it, but only came up with links to the airport) and a new $4.5 million marketing campaign and slogan, which the city sorely needs. Atlanta always has trouble with these kind of things, however; an AP article kindly reminds us of the mascot for the 1996 Olympic games, Izzy, which was a big blue ...  something. The mascot was unveiled to universal ambivalence, and was called Whatisit (evocative of the current eBay campaign, no?), until a contest to rename the thing came up with Izzy, which most people thought wasn't much better. Hopefully this time around things will go better. The new slogan will be unveiled Nov. 10. Here's hoping it will be a better one than the one for New Jersey, which openly acknowledges that people think the state is for losers.

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on November 4, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (4)
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What we're wearing this Halloween

Now that Burger King has suspended the link to buy the Burger King king mask (it was sold out anyway), what are your other options? Plenty, if you're prepared to shell out (and Americans will, spending $3.3 billion on Halloween this year, up 5 percent from last year). If you're in New York, there's always a $600 Chewbacca costume or $1,000 Batman costume at Ricky's. AdFreak investigated (read: Googled) to see what other Halloween costumes are flying off the shelves this year. At press time, classic costumes appear to be the most popular: Batman, Spider-Man, superheroes, Harry Potter, Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters. (BTW, if you want to see the strange demand for "King" costumes potentially unmasked, read Seth Stevenson's Monday column in Slate.)

—Posted by Mae Anderson

Published on October 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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