Suggestive Toyota ad gets a good pounding
"I'm here to take Jennifer's virginity out tonight." "She can take a good pounding in any direction." "I'll have her on her back by 11." "I'm ready to blow." This innuendo-laced online Yaris spot won a short-film contest held by Saatchi & Saatchi and Toyota Australia but has been pulled after angry protests that it's sexist and even incestuous. It probably does cross a line when the kid demonstrates what he plans to do with the airbags. The spot was created by production house Play TV in Brisbane. The director, Frazer Bailey, seems a bit baffled by the uproar. "I thought it was funny—a bit of a boy's joke," he tells the Sydney Morning Herald. "And then my mum read it and she laughed out loud." Via Jalopnik. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on December 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Australia celebrates brutal road-safety PSAsNo one does horrifying safe-driving PSAs quite like the Australians. And now, to celebrate 20 years of making people feel sad and sick in the name of the public good, Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (with help from Grey Melbourne) has put together this greatest-hits music-video montage of nasty, depressing and brutal clips from its most disturbing commercials. It starts off a little slow, but really picks up around the one-minute mark. Death, despair, blood, guts, tears—it's all here! Relive all your worst nightmares this Christmas as you sing along to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts." And remember to drive safely out there. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on December 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Vodafone ads show sad face of text bullying
It's not such a g'day Down Under when text-messaging bullies go all Qwerty on your ass. That's the basic thrust of this Colenso BBDO print campaign for Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand. The work effectively (if somewhat derivatively) plasters frowny-sad emoticons on the faces of school-age victims. Of course, if they actually look like that—bright yellow disk-shaped heads with no ears or noses—then they do have something to cry about and they will get teased. But seriously, this is a legitimate mobile-age problem that's generated its share of tragedies, so kudos to client and agency for confronting the issue, um, head-on. Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Australian diaper ad shows 'poop explosion'
An infant makes a serious mess inside his mommy's crossover SUV in this Australian ad for BabyLove diapers. Mom can handle No. 1's and No. 2's, but when the kid unleashes a No. 3 (aka a "poop explosion"), she can't hide her disgust, and will need Harvey Keitel to clean out the inside of the car. (In a state of shock, she uselessly tries the windshield wipers first.) By DDB Melbourne. Via auto blog Jalopnik, which is concerned about whether the vehicle—identified as a Holden Captiva—can recover. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on November 12, 2009 | Permalink
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Tourism Queensland disses 'Best Job' shop
It was the most successful, award-winning tourism campaign of the year. And yet "The Best Job in the World" was not enough to get its creators hired as Tourism Queensland's lead agency. Sure, the quirky quest for an Australian island caretaker sparked international buzz and racked up every top-shelf prize in the industry, including three Grand Prix at Cannes. What you may not have heard is that the project's agency, SapientNitro (formerly CumminsNitro), was passed over in August when Tourism Queensland put its account up for review. The snub was a hot point of debate this weekend, as "Best Job" won Australia's top newspaper ad prize. "How can that happen?" the award committee chairman vented. "That's just not fair." I posed the same question on Sunday to Michael Branagh, national managing director for SapientNitro Brisbane. He told me: "We participated in the review, but we actually weren't successful. We thought we were in pretty good stead, but we were beaten by a global behemoth." That winner was incumbent lead agency Clemenger BBDO, which promptly launched the "Hey hey, this is Queensland" campaign, which has been roundly panned. The new campaign even featured "Best Job" candidates, and tourism officials continue to find ways to milk the project for even more publicity. (Branagh says SapientNitro's involvement ended in July.) So, if you're one of the countless tourism marketers looking to piggyback on Queensland's success, here's some good news: You can actually hire the agency that made "Best Job" a global phenomenon. Just cut them some slack if they seem insistent about a long-term contract. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on October 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Sony back to just smashing up its products
If there's one benefit to a crappy economy, it's that people set aside their wasteful ways and learn the importance of fiscal prudence. And yet, five seconds after the Dow broke 10,000, Sony apparently said, "Screw it, let's just start smashing really expensive consumer electronics together." And thus we have this captivating bit of elegant destruction from Sony Australia, which is offering a free PS3 when you buy a new Sony Bravia LCD TV. Of course, what you do with them is up to you. I recommend getting all the poor kids in town to watch as you run over the unopened boxes with your dad's solid-gold Porsche. Via Engadget. —Posted by David Griner Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 22, 2009 | Permalink
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Brewer's ad turns Snow White into Ho White
A new ad from Australia's Jamieson Brewery shows a whole different side of Disney's Snow White. They've turned her into "Ho White," a floozy who lounges around naked in bed, blowing smoke rings, next to her brood of shag-mates, the Seven Dwarfs. See the full ad here. Created by an agency called The Foundry, the ad is part of a campaign that positions the brewer's raspberry ale as "Anything but sweet." According to Sydney's Daily Telegraph, the dwarfs were given new names like Filthy, Smarmy and Randy. We wouldn't know, because The Foundry has pulled the campaign materials off its Web site after admitting, somewhat ominously, that the agency had "a little bit of contact" with Disney about the ad. |
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Published on October 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Tooheys cider thankful for Eve's original sin
This spot by BMF Sydney for Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds is probably the wildest hard-cider ad you'll see this year. The category tends to prefer William Wallace epics over creation stories, but after downing a few, they probably figured, go Biblical or go home. In the spot, the Genesis story is turned upside down. Birds have beaten Eve to the apple, and they noisily rule the earth from above, as the scrubby, unevolved humans muck about below, fighting over fallen, half-eaten cores. But by the end, we realize it's all been a bad dream, as Eve—presented as a clean-scrubbed, long-haired hottie—plucks the apple from the tree of knowledge. Original sin never tasted so good. I'll have what she's having. Via Adland. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Guys can live on online sports betting alone
This humorous ad for an Australian online sports-betting site sure knows its audience. "If you love sports, betting on things and the Internet..." Yes, God, that's me! Let me race to my browser and click away my hard-earned pay. Soapbox sermons aside, the historical approach is amusing, especially when the caveman hurts his foot kicking the soccer-ball rock and a fight breaks out between two Neanderthals on the same team. You know, the game really hasn't evolved that much over the years. Those fancy-pants fops in the pistol duel probably reek of Paddy Power Body Spray. Wussies. As for rodents racing through tubes, well, I shouldn't condone such schoolboy humor, but I must admit I do. Bottom line: Will the Yankees go 11-0 this postseason en route to the World Series crown? Bet on it! —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Aussies go bananas for condom campaign
Sometimes, a banana is just a banana. For the AIDS Council of New South Wales in Australia, however, it's the centerpiece of a safe-sex campaign encouraging gay men to "go bananas for condoms." International sportswear label teamm8 is the launch partner for the effort, which uses the tagline, "Slip it on." I think there's a double meaning there. Wait ... nah, I don't get it. Contrast this with recent similarly themed campaigns: the cell phones wrapped in condoms from the U.S. ("Practice safe text!") and that "quickies" blitz from Switzerland ("Too quick to think of condoms?"). Those had their charms, but the goofy Warhol-esque imagery and double-entendre-laden copy in the Aussie push seem especially good-humored and self-aware. Anyone who takes offense or disagrees with the bananas approach can split. Via The Inspiration Room. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 5, 2009 | Permalink
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Hot women are smarter around Kettle chips
Here's a fairly ridiculous ad from Bulldozer in Australia for Kettle chips, featuring a bunch of attractive ladies and a shady bearded fellow analyzing the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, and how it relates to the product in question. They're all sophisticatedly transparent about the ad being an ad—or as the guy calls it, "commerce parading as entertainment." And they refer out loud to the "gratuitous packshot" of the product at the end. This wink-wink stuff extends to the press release, in which Bulldozer creative chief Andy McKeon, who's apparently fond of the ladies, is quoted as saying, "The shoot didn't suck." Paul Tredennick, marketing manger at Kettle owner Snack Brands Australia, adds: "The shoot really didn't suck." —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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Published on October 2, 2009 | Permalink
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Greenpeace ad tells Kevin Rudd to Rudd off
Kevin Rudd, the prime minister of Australia, is warned in this entertaining Greenpeace spot (created by Republic of Everyone) not to do a "dirty deal" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, or his very name will become a dirty word. "Rudd" is a guttural-sounding four-letter word that works well as an expletive, particularly when uttered by the woman miserably reading the pregnancy test ("Oh, Rudd") and the unseen hotel patron happily frolicking in bed ("Rudd me hard!"). I think it'd be pretty cool if my name were tantamount to profanity, but "Gianatasio me hard!" might take too long to say. Oh, Rudd it all. |
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Published on September 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Pure Blonde's lonesome dove has rough life
Clemenger BBDO pulls off a satisfying twist in this fun Australian spot for Pure Blonde beer. It's no spoiler to say there's a twist, because you can feel one coming all the way. I thought maybe the Bonnie Prince Billy-ish guy would nurse the pigeon back to health and fatten it up, only to wash it down with a cold Pure Blonde, or that the bird would repay his kindness by pecking his eyes out. This commercial wisely takes an entirely different route, coming around in a full circle at the end. Sans eye pecking. Maybe next time. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on September 21, 2009 | Permalink
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Subaru protects you from gimpy hitchhikers
Channeling The Hitcher (the good version from the '80s), this Australian spot by Leo Burnett for the Subaru Liberty GT is more setup than payoff, but it still offers some good dark-night, deserted-road, that-limping-hitchhiker-is-a-maniac fun. I never saw the punch line coming. That's not to say there's an OMG/WTF twist. There are no motorcyclists dropping from the skies. (That only happens in Norway.) Here, we get an effective denouement in keeping with the tone of the ad: The scary drifter gets spooked and won't climb in the car. Did I spoil the ad for you? That's OK. Imagine what will happen to the non-Subaru driver who stops to pick the guy up. Like the tagline says: "Not for the faint of heart." |
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Published on September 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Cell-phone service the cheapskates will loveA Down-Under version of Jack Black with Andy Rooney eyebrows stars in Whybin\TBWA's "It's alright to be tight" campaign for Comtel Just Prepaid cell-phone service. "Tight" can sometimes mean drunk, and these ads are Australian, so it is kind of a surprise that everyone stays sober. "Tight" here means miserly. In the spot above, our shaggy, cheapskate hero seeks the cheapest arrangement for a relative's funeral. ("How much for just the hole?") In one of the spots below, he comes across flowers on a roadside pole and deadpans that he's found a gift for his mum's birthday. The actor's spot-on portrayal is repugnant and appealing at the same time: We'd never want to be associated with such a crass doofus, but we all sometimes wish we could behave like he does and get away with it. Via Adland. |
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Published on September 8, 2009 | Permalink
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Aussie bankers flee small-business owners
M&C Saatchi's cinematic, stunt-heavy spot for Australia's ANZ Bank takes a bit too long to cut to the chase. Or I suppose it's the chase that takes too long. Whatever. By the end, most viewers will have figured out the punch line. The guy's a small-business banking professional. Warning: Spoiler ahead! Oops, I was late with that spoiler warning, but it doesn't matter, because the ending's not that much of a surprise. Still, the ad's engrossing and stands up to repeat viewings. You can't blame the guy for bolting, though. If those agitated Aussies were my clients, especially in this economy, I'd run too. I suppose ANZ deserves credit for accomplishing what would seem like an impossible task: generating sympathy for bankers in our age of recession and bailouts. |
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Published on August 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Victoria Tourism lets you be naughty or nice
Australia's Victoria Tourism continues its tradition of cinematic advertising with this beautiful 90-second spot, "Lead a Double Life," starring Isabel Lucas (aka "the girl in Transformers 2 who's not Megan Fox"). It might be more accurate to say the ad stars singer Paris Wells, whose rendition of "Down to the River to Pray" makes for a hauntingly wonderful score. Back in 2006, Victoria Tourism created similar—if a tad more surreal—ads for Yarra Valley and Melbourne. This time, the destination is Daylesford, a rural region known for its natural springs and spas. Apparently it's a great place for nighttime debauchery followed by a day of awkward stares from the farmhands who totally saw you getting nasty with the wait staff. |
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Published on August 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Public asked to name Vegemite's new flavor
More exciting news involving those crazy Australians. This time it involves Vegemite, the mysterious substance celebrated in music from the 1980s and which, unlike Foster's beer, is consumed by actual Australians living in actual Australia. The paste is introducing a brand-new flavor, which people are intensely excited about. And as this JWT Melbourne ad suggests, they need a name for it. They opened it up to a public contest, which in this case probably wasn't the best idea. The suggestions so far include Tigermite, Rockermite, Mitey-licious and AussieNZjam (whatever that's supposed to mean). Of course, as seen in the ad, the company's leaders have been messing things up like this for several generations. —Posted by David Kiefaber See also: |
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Published on August 14, 2009 | Permalink
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World’s best job apparently keeps you busyAfter only three weeks, Ben Southall, the 34-year-old Briton who won Australia's much-touted, Cannes Lion-winning "Best Job in the World" is already receiving criticism that he's falling down on it. Specifically, he’s accused of not updating his blog enough. Since July 1, he’s written seven entries, which, according to at least some of the 94,000 people who signed up to receive automatic updates, is not nearly enough. Tourism Queensland has also come under fire for giving Southall completely packed itineraries with no time to explore the reef privately or “to be more creative, humorous or personal in his reporting.” The tourism officials say that spotty Internet access is to blame for the scant blog updates, and they’ve vowed to give him a little more free time to enjoy the “unbeatable” Queensland lifestyle. But maybe he shouldn’t change a thing. If you do the math, his monthly income is averaging at $2,857 per blog post. I plan to cite this as the new industry standard during my next contract renegotiation with AdFreak. (Photo credit: Tourism Queensland on Flickr.) —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on July 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Driving on drugs is fairly safe until you stopNew Zealand's road-safety ads have their floppy corpses and their bleeding billboards, but Australia has plenty of its own safe-driving shockvertising. Specifically, Victoria's Transport Accident Commission excels at grisly advisories. The gruesome spot above, by Grey Melbourne, cautioning against smoking dope and driving, is no exception. It even tricks you into letting your guard down right before the end. Not to nitpick, but the driver was right to let his sober wife take the wheel, even if he did pick a crappy place to pull over. His ultimately cruel destiny, which could happen to someone who's just tired, not high, seems a bit random for anti-impairment message. TAC can keep you from making boneheaded decisions, but they probably can't do much when fate is out to screw you. |
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Published on July 13, 2009 | Permalink
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JWT builds giant doll for Aussie candy spot
Pediophobes (that's people who suffer from a fear of dolls) hopefully stayed well away from the April ad shoot in Brisbane, Australia, that produced this commercial from JWT Sydney for Allen's Confectionery. It shows a 30-foot-tall doll, created with help from animatronics expert John Cox (an Oscar winner for his work on Babe), delighting a crowd by blowing huge oblong candy bubbles that explode and rain down normal-size candy. There's a lengthy behind-the-scenes video here. The doll, at least in its stature, resembles a similar giant puppet created in 2006 by French theater company Royal de Luxe. That doll was more frightening-looking, like something out of a fairy tale. This one, dressed in pink with blonde pigtails and walking along to the nursery rhyme "This Old Man," is more baby-like, in keeping with the candy theme. |
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Published on June 4, 2009 | Permalink
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Aussie ad shames guys for problems in bed
It takes a lot to offend Australians, but targeting the premature ejaculators among them has done the trick. The country's Advertising Standards Bureau received several complaints about the Advanced Medical Institute's "bedroom police" ad, above, which shows cops breaking into a couple's bedroom and threatening to issue a speeding ticket to the guy, who is told he will be let off with a warning if he calls AMI for help with his problem. (This is the same advertiser that did those "Bonk longer" billboards.) One viewer complained about the bedroom ad: "Essentially [the ad is saying] you are not a real man unless you can last hours and hours and hours having sexual intercourse, and your relationship is not a real relationship unless you are having hours and hours and hours of sexual intercourse. Do we have to hear about this?" The ad has been ruled offensive to men and roundly denounced for attempting to shame sufferers of a legitimate medical condition. And rightfully so. The Australian medical community should respect social boundaries and return to the quiet dignity of using graphic surgical footage to keep people from smoking. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on May 27, 2009 | Permalink
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Eat Doritos, dream of naked Mexican dudes
Here's a commercial from Make, an ad agency in Brisbane, Australia, for Mexicana-flavored Doritos. The message: Buy Mexicana-flavored Doritos, and enjoy American Beauty-style erotic daydreams with Doritos instead of rose petals and hairy, chubby Mexican guys instead of Mena Suvari. |
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Published on May 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Australia beats up on junk-food ads for kids
My week on AdFreak has been an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of foolish food follies. But I had to dig deep—all the way Down Under—for this final course, which puts the whole grotesque gastronomical journey in perspective. The Coalition on Food Advertising to Children, via ad agency I.D.E.A.S. in Sydney, serves up this sublimely silly slice of social awareness designed to lobby the Australian government to bank junk food ads aimed at kids. That nicotine-addicted "shamburger" (that's what they call him) is as gooofy and poorly costumed as the menu items from Dixie's campaign. And while the offensive food doesn't get put through the shredder, à la D'Angelo's effort, the painful comeuppance arrives in the form of (here comes the dash of irony) a knuckle sandwich. The CFAC apparently has no problem with violence on the airwaves! They're trying to get junk food off the tube, but this spot left me hungry for more. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on May 15, 2009 | Permalink
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Coke's breakup ad is not everyone's fantasy
Coca-Cola is shocked—shocked—that a commercial in which a guy who's breaking up with his girlfriend is suddenly surrounded by pole dancers, prompting the girlfriend to lower herself to his adolescent fantasy standards, would be deemed sexist. Perish the thought! Really, all this Coke Zero ad from Australia needs is a bit of rephrasing. The line at the end, proposing that this is breaking up "as it should be," suggests a full endorsement of the proceedings, cartoonish though they may be, when all you need there is a quick acknowledgment that the guy's actually a delusional moron. Or they could make a companion ad from the women's point of view and apply some unfair, stereotypical expectations to men. An eye for an eye always leaves everyone happy. |
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Published on May 5, 2009 | Permalink
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