Car dealer's sexist ad has companion pieceBy Tim Nudd on Fri Apr 15 2011On Tuesday, we wrote about all the hand-wringing that greeted a Canadian auto ad that compared women to used cars. "You know you're not the first. But do you really care?" the ad said, next to the image of a woman posing provocatively. The ad got ripped apart for being sexist. But it turns out the dealer, Dale Wurfel, ran a similar ad in the same Ontario paper the very next day with the same headline—this time featuring a man. Ah, the plot thickens. Men, it turns out, are a lot like used cars, too! Clearly, this complicates things, and makes it harder to moralize about the first execution (particularly since the second ad had clearly been produced before the scandal—not as a result of it). At the very least, it seems to level the playing field. Depending on your point of view, either we're all completely empowered, or we're all incorrigible sluts—or most likely, both! Of course, you'd need to run the ads side by side, rather than on successive days, to get this message of equality across most clearly. See both full ads after the jump. UPDATE: As mentioned in comments, the guy above does look kind of familiar. |
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Filed under Automotive, Canada, Controversy
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McDonald's Canada takes Monopoly moneyBy Tim Nudd on Wed Apr 13 2011McDonald's Canada celebrated the return of its decades-old Monopoly promotion recently by accepting Monopoly money as legal currency at its restaurants. Check out the video below for footage. Unfortunately, they didn't honor the money at its face value—a $100 bill got you a single free large fries rather than several dozen. Still, a fun idea from ad agency Cossette, which has been doing some other interesting McDonald's work of late—including the giant cup-lid umbrellas for the beach, and the sly nappers planted under subway ads for coffee.
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Filed under Canada, Cossette, McDonald's, Nudd, Restaurants
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Auto dealer's ad likens women to used carsBy Tim Nudd on Tue Apr 12 2011A Canadian car dealer isn't making many new female friends this week after running an ad suggesting his used vehicles are like women who've been around the block once or twice themselves. "You know you're not the first. But do you really care?" says Dale Wurfel's full-page ad in Ontario's London Free Press, showing a lady posing semi-provocatively. (See the full ad after the jump.) Sociological Images points out that the ad could be seen as progressive in its rejection of a sexual double standard—though of course it's a bit regressive in its likening of a woman to a pre-owned pile of junk you'll enjoy driving. This same concept has actually been tried before, in a (possibly spec) BMW ad from Greece, also posted after the jump. Via Work That Matters. |
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Filed under Automotive, Canada, Controversy, Nudd
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Manwich ads yanked for slapping girly menBy Tim Nudd on Mon Apr 11 2011You can strike a man a thousand times in the crotch in your commercial for being a moron. But don't slap him in the face for being effeminate. That's the lesson learned by Leo Burnett in Toronto, whose trio of Manwhich ads (which we first saw on Adland) have been yanked from YouTube following complaints of homophobia. In each spot, a guy talks eagerly about something that typically excites women—his hair, the theater, shopping—and then gets slapped suddenly by a phantom hand. "It's called a Manwich," a manly voiceover then points out. The spots were getting lots of attention on YouTube last week, but ConAgra quickly pulled them after complaints. (A petition on Change.org argued: "Violence against gender non-conforming men and women is a serious problem in our country and should not be used for lazy jokes in advertising. Every year thousands of men and women are victims of hate crimes because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This commercial series glorifies those crimes.") You may argue that it's just a little harmless slapstick humor—and that is what it's meant to be. But it's hard to deny these ads would be hard to watch by anyone who's suffered anti-gay bullying. Two more spots after the jump.
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Filed under Canada, Controversy, Food and drink, Leo Burnett, Manwich, Nudd
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BBDO puts Skittles videos at your fingertipsBy Rebecca Cullers on Wed Mar 30 2011The Skittles team at BBDO Toronto have put together another randomly wacky campaign. This time, they've figured out a cute and appropriately juvenile way to get you to physically interact with YouTube videos on your screen. Place your finger on the screen, and watch as it gets licked by cats, stops a robbery, wages war, hitches a ride (that's your thumb, technically) and upsets your Skittles-coated girlfriend. Of course, each video has a little twist. Directed by Woods & Low of FamilyStyle and edited by Griff Henderson of Posterboy Edit, the whole thing is called "Touch the Rainbow," and just like a blended fruit Skittle, it goes well with the U.S. work. Good thing, too. Thanks to the internet, my American friends have already got their grubby fingers all over it. Four more ads after the jump.
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Filed under BBDO, Canada, Candy, Cullers, Skittles
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Logo on nude model ruffles soccer sponsorBy David Gianatasio on Fri Mar 18 2011The Vancouver Whitecaps are taking some heat over a promotional video, shown below, that's become a viral smash — at least as far as Canadian soccer ads go. It shows a nude model being spray-painted with the team's uniform, along with sponsor Bell's logo across her breasts. Franchise marketing chief Kim Jackman says the clip is meant to convey "the passion soccer fans have for their sport, including the tradition of body-painting and how it is done." Personally, I'm all for creative displays of women's breasts, but Marie-Eve Franceour, a rep for Bell telecom parent BCE, complains, "This marketing effort clearly didn't fit with Bell's expectations." Maybe they wanted the logo sprayed across her butt cheeks instead. |
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Filed under Canada, Gianatasio, Soccer, Sponsorships
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Woman buys ad seeking man from her flightBy David Gianatasio on Fri Mar 11 2011Many fliers want to escape as quickly as possible from the people they're forced to travel with. This is especially true of my seatmates, who never join my impromptu Justin Bieber sing-alongs. I'm feeling too jet-lagged to write a proper transition, so let's cut straight to the story of Linda Patterson, a bookkeeper from Fort Erie, Ontario, who took out a $600 ad in the Toronto Star in the hope of finding a man she encountered on a recent flight home from Winnipeg. The Star tells the tale: "They had watched each other surreptitiously in the airport lounge before boarding the plane, when he settled into a front row aisle seat. 'That's my favorite seat on the plane,' Patterson, 39, joked as she passed him. 'You're going to have to tell me how you got that seat.' " OK, her flirting needs work. Later: "He was standing just 3 metres away, probably trying to say hello. But she didn't have it in her. ... The baggage carousel starting moving. The mystery man grabbed his luggage and left." Ultimately, Patterson took out the ad—headline: "Can I have another chance?"—and included her phone number because she didn't want to be left "wondering about what could have been." I guess (and this is how the media have generally portrayed it) the story illustrates that in our world of instant communications, unbridled "friending" and seemingly constant contact, many people still feel starved for meaningful human connections. Or else Linda's just a frustrated hoser, eh? Food for thought, either way. |
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Filed under Canada, Consumer stunts, Gianatasio
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The lesser Doritos flavor must be destroyedBy Rebecca Cullers on Wed Mar 2 2011Frito-Lay Canada needs an ending for its new Doritos commercial. The scenario is already set—there are two new flavors, Onion Rings N' Ketchup and Buffalo Wings N' Ranch. But the disturbing, Tim Burton-y "Flavour Master" has ruled that only one may survive. It's up to you, Canadian resident, to write how the other flavor will be destroyed. If you offer the best ending, you'll receive $25,000 Canadian, they'll shoot your scenario, give you 1 percent of future sales and literally destroy all remaining packages of the other flavor. BBDO Toronto created the campaign, and they expect a whole lot of entries. Just type your half-baked ending into the site, and hope you win. Frankly, that sort of effortless content submission suits my snacking lifestyle. And if you don't want to enter, you still have to vote for the flavor you love or risk its demise. That's right, you're nothing more than a pawn on their snacking chessboard. Well played, Flavour Master, well played. |
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Filed under BBDO, Canada, Cullers, Doritos, Food and drink, Frito-Lay
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Y&R's ad awards now selling at flea marketsBy Brian Morrissey on Mon Feb 14 2011The ad industry's seemingly irrational obsession with creative awards has a rational basis: It can mean big bucks for the lucky winners. Now, it turns out some spare change can get you an award, at least if you head to Toronto's St. Lawrence flea market. Sean Ganann, creative director at Zulu Alpha Kilo, noticed this weekend that someone from Y&R Toronto decided to offload a passel of awards from the New York Festivals, Mobius and Clios. It's pretty funny to see these sought-after awards for sale next to model cars and used books. Then again, it's not as if Y&R was clearing out One Show pencils or Cannes Lions. Maybe those go for the big bucks on eBay. Second photo after the jump. UPDATE: Wait until the Brazilians get wind of this. No need to go to the trouble of making a scam ad. Just scrape together $5. |
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Filed under Award shows, Canada, Morrissey, Y&R
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Canadian teens not smoking, are still fartingBy Tim Nudd on Thu Feb 10 2011The drop in teenage smoking rates in Canada—down to just 15 percent, per this new ad campaign—has come at a steep price: No one ever has a lighter handy when you need to set your farts on fire. A Pyrrhic victory, indeed. The "15 and Falling" campaign, from Nova Scotia's health department, also has an interesting Web component, maintaining a list of people, bands, TV shows and more that also (like smoking) used to be cool but now suck. "This is where we celebrate their suckitude," says the site. This stuff will probably engage the audience a bit more than the usual anti-smoking work. Second spot after the jump. Via Osocio. |
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Filed under Anti-smoking, Canada, Nudd, PSAs
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If ad agencies planned kids' birthday partiesBy Tim Nudd on Tue Jan 11 2011You'll enjoy this. Canadian ad agency John St., with a little help from Arcade Fire, put together this mock case study for one of its greatest marketing triumphs: Making Chelsea Bedano's 8th birthday party a success in an already cluttered birthday market. What's the takeaway? The integrated campaign of direct mail, out-of-home and social media was important—as was the pre-party sleepover with the snacks, the movies and the Justin Bieber songs. But to keep the audience engaged, you really do need that mini pony. UPDATE: This is the new version of the video, sans Arcade Fire.
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Filed under Canada, John St., Nudd, Parody
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Salvation Army expanding reach in new adsBy Tim Nudd on Mon Dec 27 2010The Salvation Army is busting out with bus-stop ads in Canada that feature homeless people reaching for necessities—a blanket, a bottle for a baby, a load of bread—placed atop the shelters. It's part of what's being called The Dignity Project, and it includes TV spots like the one below. See a bunch more of the bus-shelter ads after the jump, including versions in which the homeless people are reaching for food and clothing shown in adjacent ads.
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Filed under Canada, Nudd, PSAs, Salvation Army
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War Child holiday gifts less awful than mostBy David Gianatasio on Mon Dec 6 2010"Bad gifts can't save lives. War Child gifts actually do." That's the message of this spot-on Canadian campaign from ad agency John St. in Toronto. War Child presents are for those in extreme need in places like Afghanistan, Darfur and Ethiopia. They include bread ovens, sewing machines, classroom desks and, perhaps most poignantly, 10 chickens to provide eggs as the basis of continuous nourishment for small villages. Commercials wisely avoid overwrought emotional appeals in favor of broad humor. The dude in "Heimlich," below, delivers the most awesomely over-the-top choking-on-food performance ever seen in an ad, while "Holiday Mishap" (after the jump) delivers the spine-jarring goods as a woman hanging holiday decorations tumbles from a ladder. In each case, bad presents save the day. The musical kitty pillow playing a "Meow meow meow" version of "Jingle Bells" is particularly heinous. That's what I gave Fred from accounting at AdFreak's Secret Santa bash this year. Serves him right, after the 10 chickens he gave me last year.
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Filed under Canada, Gianatasio, Holidays, John St., War Child
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Atheist ads liken Allah and Jesus to BigfootBy David Griner on Thu Dec 2 2010With pro-atheism ads rolling around on buses worldwide for the past two years, how could the nonbelievers still get a rise out of the righteous? Comparing Jesus and Allah to Bigfoot and Zeus is one way to go. Canada's atheistic Centre for Inquiry plans to start a new Toronto bus campaign in January with the headline, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," followed by this list: "Allah, Bigfoot, UFOs, Homeopathy, Zeus, Psychics, Christ." Campaign coordinator Justin Trottier says the ads aren't about "knee-jerk debunking" and adds: "We're interested in a genuine debate, a conversation about so-called extraordinary claims. We're not here to mock people who believe in these claims." Riiiight. Who could possibly feel mocked when their messiah is put on par with psychics and Sasquatch? |
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Filed under Atheism, Canada, Griner, Religion
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Canadian ads remind you not to rape peopleBy David Kiefaber on Mon Nov 22 2010Canadians can be impolite when it matters, and the "Don't be that guy" anti-sexual-assault campaign qualifies. The posters, targeted at men 18-24 and placed in transit locations and bathrooms, offer perky headlines such as, "Just because you help her home, doesn't mean you get to help yourself," and "Just because she isn't saying no, doesn't mean she's saying yes." Edmonton police superintendent Danielle Campbell hopes the uncompromising language "communicate[s] one bottom-line message: Sex without consent is sexual assault." It will do so, no doubt. Still, there's the lingering question about whether shame-based ads make people defensive and unresponsive to the content. Hopefully that won't be the case here, because "Stop raping people" is something that needs to be said a lot. See a second ad after the jump. |
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Filed under Canada, Kiefaber, PSAs, Sexual assault
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One-testicled man has a ball with fundraiserBy David Griner on Thu Nov 11 2010Slackers of the world have a new patron saint. Mark, the one-testicled Torontoan who spent 25 days at home on camera in his underwear, has raised $50,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society through his publicity stunt with underwear brand Stanfield's. Surrounded by webcams 24 hours a day and clad only in the client's undies, Mark shattered the goal of 25,000 Facebook Likes (each Like earned a $1 corporate donation), sparking Stanfield's to double its donation pledge to a maximum of $50,000. The challenge for the brand now is using this success to build a long-term Facebook audience. Unfortunately, the 52,000 Likes generated by the project were for the campaign site, not the brand's official Facebook page. But Stanfield's has found other ways to keep the momentum going, like offering to donate $1 toward testicular-cancer awareness for each online purchase of "Mark's Favourite Gitches," which might make sense to those of you who speak fluent Canadian. |
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Filed under Canada, Cancer, Griner, Social media, Stanfield's, Underwear
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See dead people with Canadian optometristBy David Gianatasio on Wed Nov 10 2010This Canadian campaign from Red Urban in Toronto for Richmond Optometry emphasizes how important good eyesight is by showing the potentially catastrophic results of mistaking one thing for another. Clearly, you'd want to be able to tell a bottle of eye drops from a bottle of superglue, or a garden hose from a snake. As for the deer and the dingus in the woods dressed as a deer, it's probably best to shoot either way. Oddest by far—but most memorable—is the dead body/mannequin in the dumpster. I'd sure want to know which is which, because if it's a mannequin, it's coming home with me for supper! See the other three spots after the jump. Via Ads of the World.
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Filed under Canada, Eyewear, Gianatasio, Red Urban
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Captain Morgan drinkers fool moronic wivesBy David Gianatasio on Mon Nov 8 2010How do men sneak away for a night on the town with their pals? That's the question asked, and humorously answered, by Grey Toronto and Captain Morgan in these Canadian spots that show dudes using unconvincing doppelgangers to convince their wives and girlfriends that they're still at home, and not getting hammered doing shots at the bar. There's a wooden smoke-shop Indian in the shower, a gorilla suit in a hot tub (no actual gorillas were harmed!) and, unsettlingly, a Styrofoam-popcorn dummy on a riding lawnmower who falls off and gets mulched. And that's just the first spot. One look at the goofy guys striking their Cap'n stance at the bar, however, and it's clear that the babes are better off with the replacements. Second spot after the jump.
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Filed under Alcohol, Canada, Captain Morgan, Gianatasio, Grey
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DDB hits the racetrack for Subaru zoetropeBy David Kiefaber on Mon Nov 8 2010DDB Canada's new spot for the 2011 Subaru WRX STI is said to resemble a flipbook, but it's really more of a zoetrope. The whole thing is a bit gimmicky—is this stunt anything another car couldn't accomplish?—but I suppose it's attention getting. The making-of video, posted after the jump, is neat, too. But considering the size of the giant mechanical spider in the ad, I'm surprised we didn't see a Jon Peters production credit anywhere in there.
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Filed under Automotive, Canada, DDB, Kiefaber
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Working in advertising: It's a love/hate thingBy Tim Nudd on Fri Nov 5 2010Working in advertising—you either love it or you hate it. In that sense, it's a lot like Marmite. This video by Leo Burnett Toronto opened the 2010 ADCC Awards on Thursday night. Directed by Arev Manoukian of Spy Films. Visual effects by Toronto's Crush. |
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Filed under Award shows, Canada, Leo Burnett, Nudd
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SunChips Canada has earplugs for loud bagBy Tim Nudd on Thu Nov 4 2010If you've been following the SunChips compostable-bag saga, you'll know Frito-Lay mostly scotched the environmentally friendly packaging in the U.S. after people said it was too damn loud and crinkly. (One person bizarrely compared the noise to that of a jet airplane.) In Canada, the brand is not caving so quickly. In fact, it's committed to keeping the noisy bag. In the video below, Frito-Lay Canada's sustainability chief explains why—and humorously offers free earplugs on Facebook to anyone whose delicate eardrums can't take the abuse. It's a nice, tongue-in-cheek way to deal with the problem—and something they could have tried in the U.S. Yes, environmental appeals might be an easier sell in Canada, but Americans surely would have respected the company for not backtracking so quickly on a noble idea in the face of a minor consumer annoyance. One thing's for sure. The Canadian wing of the "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChips Bag" group on Facebook is going to be pissed. Via Consumerist.
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Filed under Canada, Environment, Frito-Lay, Nudd, Packaging, SunChips
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'Ghost billboard' rises near U.S.-Canada lineBy David Kiefaber on Tue Oct 26 2010The U.S. government recently commissioned a sculpture at the Canadian border crossing near Blaine, Wash., and the result was an eerie ghost billboard made from twisted bits of metal. (The picture above is a computer rendering, though the piece is reportedly complete.) Creators Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio wanted to create an empty block of sky that would make viewers more aware of how many billboards and government signs already clutter the landscape. It's hard to imagine our notoriously artless federal government paying to install something this ominous on our border with Canada, but I'm glad the Art in Architecture Program supported such a cool, if creepy, project. It sure beats that piece of crap they're trying to put up on our other border. |
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Filed under Arts, Canada, Kiefaber, Outdoor
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Axe calls out Old Spice for its horse fixationBy Tim Nudd on Mon Oct 18 2010Isaiah Mustafa has already defected to Microsoft, and now Old Spice's humiliation is complete: It's getting made fun of on Canadian billboards. How the mighty have fallen. Via Time Newsfeed. |
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Filed under Axe, Canada, Nudd, Old Spice, Personal care
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PSA: Don't be ridiculous, turn off the lights!By David Gianatasio on Fri Oct 15 2010Using an entire box of disposable razors when shaving, discarding each one after a single stroke. Wrapping a small sandwich in yards of tin foil. Keeping every tap in the house running at all times. Taking a bite of an apple, tossing what's left on the ground and moving on to another one. Those scenarios are portrayed as "ridiculous" examples of wasteful behavior in this BC Hydro Powersmart PSA from DDB Vancouver. It closes with a shot of a blazing light fixture in a house where the owners have gone out. The voiceover says: "The most ridiculous thing about wasting power is that for some reason, we don't think it's ridiculous." Actually, I don't think it's ridiculous. I like leaving all the lights on. That way, when I come home, I can clearly see the fruit and razors I've scattered all over the floor and not trip and break my neck.
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Filed under Canada, DDB, Energy, Environment, Gianatasio
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Unseen dangers a bit too vague in HIV spotBy David Gianatasio on Wed Oct 13 2010This Canadian HIV PSA by ad agency BleuBlancRouge is maybe a bit too slick for its own good. Playing like a horror-film trailer (better than most I've seen), it undercuts its good intentions with flashy visuals that are impressive but do little to deliver the broader message of being prepared and taking precautions. That's a shame, because the "unseen danger" scenarios are nicely realized, with scenes of flying bodies, a vicious beating and a drowning expertly shot and set to a pounding soundtrack with an evil vibe. Still, the fantastical metaphors lack context—this could be a PSA for almost anything. (Maybe it's an out-of-work invisible monkey wreaking havoc?!) Instead of an invisible force dramatically attacking its victims on darkened streets, it might've been more effective and unsettling to show the disease slowly and quietly weakening and destroying its hosts, bit by bit, from within. Via Osocio.
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Filed under AIDS, BleuBlancRouge, Canada, Gianatasio, PSAs
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