Cigarette-butt mosaics reveal smoking's toll
It might seem clichéd to compare deaths caused by smoking to those caused by guns, drugs, poison, fires and suicide. Still, it's not what you do, but how you do it. And this memorable poster campaign by Indian agency 1-Point Design is certainly a breath of fresh air (ha!) that puts a different spin on familiar anti-smoking themes. Or does it? Well, it turns out there's a different sort of smoking gun, as the work resembles a campaign by the Cancer Society of Finland. Sure, it's the same basic concept, but for a good cause, and this kind of overlap is inevitable in a creative business. There's no such thing as a new idea—no ifs, ands or butts about it! Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Saatchi's fight for the last beer ends meekly
This Malaysian commercial for Tiger beer from Saatchi & Saatchi has such a visually arresting buildup, I never felt like I was being primed for a punch line until the trap sprang at the end. Two faux-macho goobers try to one-up each other for the last Tiger on the table, transforming into imposing characters ranging from a robo-Stormtrooper type to Tarzan and a gorilla. The latter steals the show, and of course calls to mind Cadbury's drumming simian, but this guy seems more intent on delivering a beat-down than keeping the beat. (Oh man, that's clever writing!) The "twist" ending is predictable, but I didn't see it coming. You might ask: They're in a bar, why not just order more beers? Answer: They're men. And in fact, I've seen this kind of scenario play out similarly in real life. Complete with Stormtrooper and Gorilla. We had way too many that night. |
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Published on October 28, 2009 | Permalink
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Dentyne Ice kills smelly, smoking-gun squid
This unsettling Dentyne Ice ad from Thailand has it all: a cheating husband, a jealous wife and a giant, horrible squid. The sea beast represents the man's sushi-breath from a secret after-work dinner. The wife smells it when he gets home and flies into a rage. So, the man pops a Dentyne Ice and, with more anger than seems appropriate, breathes a big "Ahhhhh" into the woman's face. Weird. By McCann in Bangkok. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 22, 2009 | Permalink
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Kids can play with anything, if it's Play-Doh
Kids shouldn't play with razor blades, matches, chainsaws, cleavers or pills. Unless, of course, they're made of Play-Doh. The eye-catching ads are from Singapore, which needs better broadband access if Play-Doh's still a viable time-waster there. Compare and contrast these ads with the German campaign for Becks modeling clay, which, as we all know, played the social-issues card and made the world a better place. The Play-Doh tagline: "Safe no matter what you make." The stuff's even non-toxic, though if kids do eat it, what they'll eventually make won't be appealing. Via Ugly Doggy. UPDATE: Hasbro says the ads were approved to run once by a company employee in Singapore, but that the company will stop them from being submitted to any award shows. |
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Published on September 17, 2009 | Permalink
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Caucasian idiot hypes McDonald's in Japan
A controversy is brewing in Japan over the latest McDonald's ads there, which feature a nerdy white foreigner who speaks in broken Japanese and generally acts like a moron. The character, named Mr. James, loves Japan and its people but reserves his true excitement (as seen in the ad below) for McDonald's food. Cardboard cutouts of Mr. James are everywhere, and the character is touring the country and posting about it on his blog. The campaign is only a few days old, but already there is backlash from those who think it's anti-white and anti-foreigner—and backlash to the backlash from those who think the West's depiction of Asians tends to be a lot worse. (Long Duk Dong's been mentioned.) We don't recall any U.S. McDonald's ad being anti-Asian, though of course Burger King did the questionable "Eat Like Snake" spot a few years back. Via Consumerist. See also: |
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Published on August 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Be ultra-pervy with Omax wide-angle lensesThe advantage of Omax wide-angle camera lenses, according to these new print ads from Publicis India, is that guys can snap photos of hot girls without alerting them. This is great news for the stalker market, though less great news for the women involved, judging by their reaction on the comments thread over at Gizmodo. It may be worth noting that women can use the Omax lens to discreetly ogle men, too. Fair's fair. And they should. No sense in letting all my nude rooftop sunbathing go undocumented. UPDATE: Adland points out that Leica has done almost identical ads for their own wide-angle lenses. —Posted by David Kiefaber See also: |
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Published on August 12, 2009 | Permalink
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Avert bad breath/death with Thai toothpaste
As you can see in this strange ad from Thailand, Dentiste's "nighttime" toothpaste claims to fight bad breath as you sleep. But doesn't regular toothpaste do that? There doesn't seem to be any special ingredient that sets Dentiste apart, unless you count the soap-opera acting on display here. (That may scare the impurities away on its own.) The ad is from JEH United, the same ad agency that did the weirdest light-bulb ad of all time. |
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Published on August 11, 2009 | Permalink
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Spot any suggestive imagery in this BK ad?
Also not the subtlest ad ever made: this Burger King poster now making the rounds online, for something called the Super Seven Incher. Copy: "Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled." It's from Singapore. It's not from Crispin Porter. And it's not competing for a Lion at Cannes. Source: Flickr's joezandstra, via @michaelGregoire. |
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Published on June 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Viagra always has such wonderful gift ideas
In case the brand's TV ads are too clinical for you, these "interactive" Viagra "gift fans" from Pfizer Korea (via ad agency Cheil Worldwide) focus on the human side of the drug's principal effect—i.e., giving old and/or fat guys boners. The bananas in the background are a nice touch, but the best part of the whole thing might be this photo of a doctor shown using the fan. There's a guy with a great bedside manner. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on April 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Japan's robots keen to brainwash your kids
Japan already has robot spokeswomen. But now the land of Godzilla and Hello Kitty is going a step further: robot teachers. According to the AP, the first such android educator, named Saya, "can express six basic human emotions," which is more than most flesh-and-blood teachers can usually muster. The emotions, by the way, are surprise, fear, disgust, anger, sadness and happiness. She'll need the first five for the daily grind of public schools. The last will come into play when she finally retires. Or switches off. Or upgrades. Or whatever robots do. Saya was first developed as a receptionist, then upgraded to teaching, which proves that workplace sexism also applies to servomechanisms. (She usually has more facial skin than this, too.) Apparently, Japan and other nations hope robots will alleviate labor shortage problems and help care for the elderly population, but one egghead moans: "Simply turning our grandparents over to teams of robots abrogates our society's responsibility to each other, and encourages a loss of touch with reality for this already mentally and physically challenged population." Consider: Isn't plopping them down in front of a TV in the community room pretty much the same thing? —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on March 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Turn your baby into a real cleaning machine
Here's a commercial for the Baby Mop, a piece of clothing outfitted with mop-like material that allows your little one to clean as he crawls. "After the birth of a child there's always the temptation to say, 'Yes, it's cute, but what can it do?' " says a promo. "There's no child exploitation involved. The kid is doing what he does best anyway: crawling. But with Baby Mops he's also learning responsibility and a healthy work ethic." |
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Published on February 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Wes Anderson, Brad Pitt make Japanese ad
The Japanese don't always make the best ads, but they do always get the top celebrities for them. Here we have an ad for Softbank, a big Japanese mobile-phone carrier, that's directed by Wes Anderson and stars Brad Pitt. Not a bad pairing, but the ad is a bit confusing, and nowhere near as entertaining as Anderson's old American Express commercial. Via Kottke and others. |
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Published on December 15, 2008 | Permalink
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Bruce Lee, totally badass Ping Pong playerNone of the big shots featured in Celebrity PingPong magazine would stand a chance in a match against a nunchuck-wielding Bruce Lee. This amazing viral video leads to a Web site where a digitized Lee kicks some ass with his Nokia N96 phone. Though made for a Chinese audience (ostensibly for a product sold in China), the video has traveled around the world in a few short days. No doubt, like me, the world is now going to travel to China to pick up an N96 and a little bit of Bruce Lee sickness. |
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Published on November 26, 2008 | Permalink
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Humanoid goats are actually fabulous chefs
Wow, kitchen ventilator company Faber must be doing pretty well, since they can apparently afford Baphomet's hot wife as a spokesmodel. She commands a steep fee, as I understand it. Eggplant Head and Chicken Lady (who, fittingly, has nice breasts) don't have quite the same effect. Smelling like your food is one thing, but I wasn't aware that physically resembling it was such an issue for people. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on October 30, 2008 | Permalink
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Levi's sticking magazines down its trousers
How many times have I been asked, "Is that a magazine in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?" At long last, I can truthfully say, "It's a magazine!" This is thanks to a newsstand promotion by TBWA\Tequila\Hong Kong, which is dressing magazines up in Levi's 501 jeans. The press release enthuses: "You get your magazine from specially created displays by 'unbuttoning' a miniature version of the new Levi's 501." The periodical in question is called East Touch, ratcheting up the sophomoric snicker factor even more. And if some immature joker stuffs a few battery-powered issues of Esquire down those pants instead, well, who am I to judge? âPosted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on September 11, 2008 | Permalink
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