Alltel giving the same gifts for the holiday
Campbell-Ewald and Alltel give Chad and the gang the Rankin-Bass treatment in a suite of holiday spots. They're well done and diverting, but the approach seems strangely familiar. Oh right, Alltel produced a similar effort last year! There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it's like getting a slightly different red tie two Christmases in a row. No matter how nice the second one is, the novelty has worn off—the thrill is gone. Also, the rival sales guys seem kinda subversive in a South Park-y way, while Chad and Santa come off as patently uncool. I was rooting for the mischievous crew to hijack the sleigh and bombard the countryside with Xboxes, iPods and Kindles. Let's face it, Alltel, your stuff's not on too many Yultide wish lists. By the way, a red tie really would bring out my ruddy complexion nicely—and I didn't get one last year. In case anyone was wondering. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 18, 2008 | Permalink
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Jennifer Hudson remains in Gap holiday ads
Speaking of the Gap, Jennifer Hudson has given her approval for the retailer to keep her image in its new holiday campaign, despite her recent family tragedy. Hudson was given the chance to back out but "said she wanted to be a part of it and that we should move forward," a Gap rep tells E! Michael Thompson photographed Hudson for the ad in New York back in July. See the full ad here. |
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Published on November 14, 2008 | Permalink
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Gap not really getting us in a holiday mood
Holiday sales are projected to be way off this year, but Gap makes things worse with a yuletide Web video campaign called Merry Mix It. We get "unexpected" combinations of celebrities performing carols and such. In one clip, Jason Biggs, Romany Malco and Freddy Rodriguez deliver a rendition of "We 3 Kingz" (their "hip" spelling) by jamming on bellz (my not-so-hilarious riposte). I tried telling myself that Gap was attempting a "so-bad-it's-good" effect, but they clearly intend these spots to be taken seriously. Worst of all: the clothes. It's like a Rankin-Bass special exploded. And yes, I'm a big Scrooge—but who dresses like this? Ultimately, Gap might have accomplished what even Mariah Carey's holiday album failed to do: They murdered Christmas. Thanks, Gap! |
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Published on November 14, 2008 | Permalink
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U.S. getting its own atheism bus campaign
Atheists seem to have a thing for buses. We recently wrote about the bus ads in London which proclaimed, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Along these same lines, Washington, D.C., is now getting its own atheist bus campaign, headlined, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake." The advertiser is the American Humanist Association, which is putting $40,000 into the holiday campaign. An AHA rep says the group is running the ads now because "there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion." (Can't they just comfort themselves with some rampant consumerism?) For its part, the American Family Association was typically eloquent in denouncing the effort. "It's a stupid ad," says a rep there. |
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Published on November 13, 2008 | Permalink
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