'War on Christmas' army attacking Best Buy
The holiday season means traditions. One of the more recent that's fun to watch is the "war on Christmas," with advertisers taking flak for being too inclusive in their holiday messaging. Of course, they just want to sell more stuff. But that hasn't stopped the vigilant WOC shocktroops from going after Gap for having the temerity to urge people to have whatever kind of holiday they want ("Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go solstice ... go Christmas, go Hanukkah, go whatever holiday you Wannukuh"), an effort that's offensive more for its schmaltziness than anything else. Now, Best Buy is in the crosshairs. The mistake: a lowly circular that says Best Buy offers good cheer for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. It turns out the retailer has scrubbed any mention of Christmas from its advertising, presenting an interesting double standard. One thing is for sure: There's a fair chance Best Buy is in line for plenty of free media from people like Bill O'Reilly. All those shots of the circular can only drive awareness of those $397 HD televisions. Maybe this is an ingenious viral marketing stunt cooked up by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. I smell an Effie. —Posted by Brian Morrissey Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 24, 2009 | Permalink
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'Tis the season for 'sexist' U.K. commercials
Considering how much advertising gets squeezed into the holiday season, life for the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority must be hell from October to mid-March. They're already fielding complaints about this Marks & Spencer's Christmas ad, whose final scene is supposedly "offensive and demeaning to women" because the actor, Philip Glenister, likes seeing hot girls in their underwear. Shocking that a guy in a bar could be so crass. As usual, the aggrieved come off like they've never watched TV before. This ad is juvenile, but hardly demeaning. Now GoDaddy, that was demeaning. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Sonic manager stages robbery during lunch
A manager at a Sonic in Missouri (no, not the person shown here) decided to "train" his staffers on how to handle a potentially violent situation by staging a mugging where an actor held a realistic toy gun to an employee's head. Thing is, he decided to do this at the height of the lunch hour, causing frantic customers to call police and report a hostage situation. Once the police arrived, they figured out what was happening, and "forcefully got the message across that's not expected behavior." Sonic's corporate executives agreed. The company said in a statement: "The franchisee who owns and operates the drive-in sincerely regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding caused by the training event. Sonic believes in providing a safe atmosphere for our employees." I doubt a single soda slinger in the whole place learned anything from the ordeal. But let's look on the bright side: I'm sure Sonic's PR folks will get plenty of training. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 17, 2009 | Permalink
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13,750-square-foot iPod board goes missing
A gargantuan iPod Touch billboard disappeared from its scaffolding in Boston this week. The 13,750-square-foot wall of a Planet Self-Storage building is showing its whale mural underneath for the first time since 2007 (that's two years of oversized Apple banners). No one seems to know why the ad so suddenly disappeared, but it might be related to the fact that the state's Outdoor Advertising Board has been calling it illegal for a while. You see, rules for giant wall ads like this require that the building owner sell the product being advertised. Planet Self-Storage sells iTunes gift cards (why?) but not iPods or any other iProducts. (Lots of Apple products might be self-stored inside, of course.) The Boston Globe's take is that the billboard's illegality was generally overlooked by the mayor's office. Maybe PETA elves took the banner down in an effort to save the whales.
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Published on November 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Paris Hilton's photo touts 'vacant' billboards
Paris Hilton is upset enough about her image being used to advertise vacant billboard space in New Zealand that she's considering legal action. Her lawyers say Wellington-based billboard company Media5 had no permission to use the photo on the unsold board. Media5 is semi-apologetic, noting that they chose Paris because "she has a proven ability to laugh at herself." So much for that. If it helps them any, we're certainly laughing. |
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Published on November 11, 2009 | Permalink
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S&M, butchery set mood for German albumWarning: Clips are graphic and NSFW. The guys in German dance-metal band Rammstein probably think they're so kinky/naughty/dangerous with the two überdark promos above, hawking a new album called Love Is for All. The porn-ish "Sado Mas" harkens back to early Cronenberg or Lynch. It plays like an outtake from Twin Peaks. I kept expecting a dwarf to show up and speak backwards. Then there's the "Butcher" clip, in which a dead animal's head gets hacked up. Oddly, the Beatles employed a similar (though less graphic) concept when they posed with hunks of raw meat and broken baby dolls for the infamous and withdrawn Yesterday and Today album cover. Maybe Rammstein should enter the Foxwoods "Wonder of It All" contest. That version of the jingle just might merit a listen. Oh, the "Sado" clip is probably NSFW. I watched it a few dozen times, just to make sure. No need to thank me. Meanwhile, Germany has banned displays of the album in stores, likely stirring up even more interest in its murky goth/Teutonic beats. Via Adrants. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on November 11, 2009 | Permalink
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U.K. refuses to condemn 'Antichrist' sex ads
Lars von Trier's new movie, Antichrist, is provoking outrage all over the place, so it's only natural that the ads are causing a stink, too. A number of British people are ticked off about posters like this one (warning: slightly more butt!), showing the film's main characters having sex in front of a tree, which appears to be growing human hands. The Ad Standards Authority, which often gives amusing reasons for condemning or pardoning ad campaigns, is giving this one a pass, ruling that it's "unlikely to cause sexual excitement." The ruling also said: "The dream-like context, introduced by the hands protruding from the tree, had the effect of making the image of the naked couple seem removed from reality." So, expect lots more dream-sequence butt shots in British ads in future. |
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Published on November 4, 2009 | Permalink
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'Family Guy' now gives Microsoft the willies
Who doesn't like jokes about the Holocaust, incest, feminine hygiene and deaf people? Microsoft, apparently, as the software giant has pulled out as exclusive sponsor of Fox's upcoming Family Guy variety special, which reportedly includes such potentially offensive material. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, it sounds like a fairly typical Family Guy episode, and the show's been a hit for years, so it's tough to take Microsoft at face value when it claims to have just realized "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand." Now, if this is part of Microsoft's marketing strategy, it's almost inspired. The company gets lots of free pre-show press without paying millions for the airtime. Plus, it gets to enjoy an in-show plug, also free, when Seth MacFarlane retaliates with a dream sequence of a devil-horned Bill Gates commanding Peter to slaughter his family and bury the parts in Windows 7 boxes. Or maybe the gibe will be more subtle. Lois could ask Peter why he "pulled out prematurely," and he could respond: "I got the idea from Microsoft." Actually, the show will probably be funnier without Microsoft's involvement. Laughing at this particular company is always more satisfying than laughing with them. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 27, 2009 | Permalink
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Jordan's son to wear Nikes on Adidas team
Michael Jordan's son Marcus, a freshman guard at the University of Central Florida, wants to wear his dad's Nike Air Jordan sneakers. In Chemistry 101, that's probably fine. On the court, however, it's a problem, as Adidas has a six-year, $3 million contract with the university to outfit its athletes across all of its sports. "It's a level of importance with the Jordan Brand and my family," the player says. "It's no disrespect to Adidas. I have a high level of respect for adidas, but I'm going to be wearing Jordan shoes. I'm wearing the Adidas uniform and all my other UCF gear is Adidas, but the shoes are going to be Jordan Brand." According to the Associated Press, the university is working with Adidas to determine "how this unique set of circumstances will work for both parties." Given the inordinate amount of free publicity the "controversy" is generating for both brands, I'd say those circumstances are working just fine so far. UPDATE: It looks like Adidas is pulling its $3 million from UCF over the sneaker flap. Maybe Mike Sr. will step up to the line and foot the bill. If the school offers to rename its athletic center after MJ, the surly egomaniac might even be a sport and pony up $3 million per foot. Well, not Pony exactly... —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on October 26, 2009 | Permalink
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'Dead pets' climate-change ad feels the heat
This new British climate-change ad is drawing a large number of complaints. It shows a father reading his daughter a bedtime story in which puppies drown and rabbits are left without water to drink because of rising CO2 levels. More than 200 complaints have flooded in, wasting the precious resources of the Ad Standards Authority, whose time could be better spent looking at ice-cream ads featuring oversexed nuns. About half of the complaints about the climate-change ad involve the science presented in it. The rest of the people, according to an ASA rep, think the spot is simply too scary. Because of course, you don't want anyone feeling any sort of discomfort while considering the issue of global warming. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 21, 2009 | Permalink
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Deceptive dental ads get a kick in the teeth
No, it's not just you. Those terrible teeth-whitening ads really are on every Web site in the galaxy, and they really are as scammy as they seem. Thankfully, a few brave souls—namely, the Better Business Bureau and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection—are dropping the hammer on some of the worst offenders. Wired's Epicenter blog reported Tuesday that Cyprus-based Farend Services is being scrutinized for its ads running under the name Dazzle Smile, which is now the target of a Utah "administrative citation" for allegedly steering customers into a thicket of fake articles and unexpected costs. The BBB, citing Dazzle Smile and several other companies, says on its blog that it has "received a recent onslaught of complaints from consumers who thought they were signing up for a free trial of teeth-whitening products but were repeatedly billed for products and services they didn't want." Meanwhile, some teeth-whitening companies feel they've been wrongly targeted in the backlash, and search engine giants like Yahoo! and Microsoft must decide whether to keep running the ads despite consumer complaints. At a time when revenue is so hard to come by, I wouldn't be surprised if the ad networks simply decide to grin and bear it. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on October 21, 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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Does anyone not dislike Amp's iPhone app?
Pepsi's Amp energy drink is taking a beating for its new iPhone app, called Amp Up Before You Score. The app is supposed to help you score with 24 different types of women, which has some people upset over sexism and others over stereotyping. What types of women are listed, you ask? Twins and the Sorority Girl, of course, but there's also Married, Trouble and separate entries for Indie Rock Girl and Punk Rock Girl. What really ticked Jezebel off, however, is the app's suggestion that you brag about your conquests via Facebook or Twitter. In fact, the app wants you to keep a Brag List. Amp and Pepsi have already apologized via tweet. (In a bold move, they even included the #pepsifail hashtag.) A lot of blog space has already been wasted explaining why women won't like this app. What I want to know is whether it will do anything for the brand. Think of how many brands out there purport to help you score. What about this app sets the Amp brand apart from beer ads, or even Italian jeans ads? —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on October 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Strip-club ad refers to Caster Semenya saga
Strip clubs should know better than to be topical. This has been made clear yet again by Teazers, a South African club that recently put up the billboard shown here, featuring a naked woman and the headline "No need for gender testing!" That's a reference to South African sprinter Caster Semenya, who underwent gender tests after winning the women's 800 meters at track's world championships in August. (The tests determined that Semenya has both male and female sexual characteristics.) Not surprisingly, the billboard drew complaints, at which Teazers owner Lolly Jackson scoffed at length. He first said the Semenya situation was "the furthest thing from my mind" when he made the ad. Then he added: "I do not want anyone coming here [to Teazers] with the idea that we do not have women. We have women, 100 percent women here. I did a test on them, I am a professional, and they are 100 percent women." If that didn't turn people off enough, he then insulted both the advertising watchdog ("a bunch of idiots doing a worthless job") and the original complainant ("maybe she is fat and ugly"). The watchdog hasn't acted yet, but I hope they rule against him just to hear his response. —Posted by David Kiefaber Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on September 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Church ad banned for touting miracle cures
An ad for the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in England has been reported to (who else?) the Advertising Standards Authority for claiming that the church's holy anointing oil managed to pull a child out of a coma. The British Humanist Association, a fun bunch if ever there was one, specifically frowned upon the ad's testimonial and ratted the church out to the ASA, who ended up banning the ad because they felt it would "discourage seriously ill people from getting medical treatment." I wonder if they could retroactively levy the same ban on Lorenzo's Oil. God, that movie sucked. |
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Published on September 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Movie's hoax campaign fools German media
With the 10th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, it's only natural that another set of filmmakers should honor the occasion by orchestrating an elaborate Internet hoax to piss off their potential viewers. The makers of Short Cut to Hollywood, a satirical movie due out in German theatres later this month, fooled Germany's wire service into reporting on a fake suicide bombing in California allegedly perpetrated by German rappers called (get this) the Berlin Boys. They set up a Web site for a fake California city called Bluewater, and a site and Wikipedia entry for a fake TV station, k-VPK 7 News. A hysterical "reporter" from the fake TV station calling himself Rainer Petersen contacted German newsrooms and reported the fake suicide attack. Then, Germany's DPA news service put the story on its newswire. Within 30 minutes, they realized their mistake and took it down, but it was already too late. Later, a press release announced the trick, leaving the German media upset and talking about the massive cojones possessed by Jan Henrik Stahlberg, the writer throught to be behind it all. Of course, just like Blair Witch, I'm sure the movie won't be nearly as entertaining as their little stunt. Via Wired. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on September 14, 2009 | Permalink
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'Bruno' ads too racy for Hong Kong subway
An ad agency handling the placement of electronic posters and billboards in Hong Kong's subway has refused to put up an ad for the movie Bruno. I initially assumed the decision was based on the Chinese government's mania for censorship or the movie's general suckiness. Not so! The Hollywood Reporter explains: "The ad agency has taken offense at a term in the film's translated Chinese title, a pun that means both 'definitely deceive' and 'make hard' in Chinese." The full English title of the film is Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Whoever did the translation did apparently take some liberties. On the plus side, the ads apparently don't show Sacha Baron Cohen molesting lemons or cherries. Though, really, would it surprise anyone if they did? —Posted by David Gianatasio See also: |
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Published on September 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Fruit-sex candy wrappers upset British man
Finally, a semi-legitimate marketing complaint out of the U.K., where British dad Simon Simpkins (really, that's his name) has strongly objected to the bawdy packaging of a German sour candy called Haribo Maoam. And he's right—the lemon and lime on one box, which Simpkins almost bought, look like they're doing it. As if this hot citrus love weren't hilarious enough, Simpkins tops it with what might be the funniest sentence ever spoken: "The lime, whom I assume to be the gentleman in this coupling, has a particularly lurid expression on his face." Good thing he didn't see the lime-cherry flavor. In fact, the lime guy seems to be on all the wrappers, hooking up with all sorts of fruit. "This jovial Maoam man is very popular with fans, both young and old," says a rep at Haribo. And he's probably not going anywhere. The packaging's been around since 2002. |
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Published on September 8, 2009 | Permalink
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Rogue resort's racy ad has nudists flustered
You know, one never hears about nudist-colony associations until something weird happens. This time, a clothing-optional retreat in Florida called Paradise Lakes Resort has had its membership in the American Association for Nude Recreation suspended over its racy advertising for a G-string pageant. The AANR says the ad, showing a hot blonde chick straddling a motorcycle, "sexualized the nudist experience." It was probably naive of them to expect anything else from a place that sounds like a strip club and holds G-string contests, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that. Really, we just hope this goes to court. The jury will have no idea where to look. See also: |
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Published on August 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Wieden takes a closer look at gamers' faces
Wieden + Kennedy in Tokyo has rolled out a new Sony PlayStation 3 campaign called PlayFace, showing the facial contortions that gamers make while they're playing. It's all pretty stylish and exaggerated—the players also make lots of buzzing, beeping and cracking sound effects, which gives them a robotlike aspect. But despite all the bells and whistles, as AdFreak sister blog PDNPulse points out, there's been some grousing that the PlayFace work (the idea, if not the execution) is similar to some still photos that artist Phil Toledano did in 2002, also showing gamers' faces. Toledano tells the gaming blog Kotaku that Wieden "ripped me off," but that seems a bit excessive. Toledano's insight—that people let their guard down when they're focused intently on something (like gaming), and that you can see "a hidden part of their character" in those moments—itself wasn't so new. Philippe Halsman did similar stuff in the pre-video-game 1950s, when he began taking pictures of people while they were jumping—and had to focus on that, rather than on posing for the camera. (Halsman's work eventually inspired some cool ads for HBO's Six Feet Under.) PDN further points to some 2008 gamer portraits by Robbie Cooper, who had basically the same idea as Toledano. Seems like lots of people have been down this road. UPDATE: Compare Wieden's ad to Cooper's "Immersion" video below. |
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Published on August 21, 2009 | Permalink
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Coors Light is asked not to laugh at Toronto
It doesn't take much to get an ad pulled in Canada. Coors Light billboards like the one shown here, featuring harmless regional Canadian humor, have been deemed offensive to people in Toronto, and the brewer has now axed the campaign. The ads had been running out west in British Columbia, where jokes about Toronto abound—though putting them in ads is beyond the pale. Says one B.C. resident: "We hear stuff about Toronto people all the time, but we couldn't believe anyone would put it on a billboard." Adam Moffat, a rep at the brewer, says the campaign was based on "insight gleaned from people in the west," but that a handful of people e-mailed to complain, causing him to quickly cave. "Sometimes we get it wrong," he says. "This is one instance where we misfired, and we realized that after seeing people's reaction here in Toronto." See also: |
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Published on August 19, 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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British sausage maker grilled over racy ads
The U.K.'s Ad Standards Authority, which must never sleep, has its hands full dealing with Mattesson's smoked sausages. The brand is all about the innuendo, as the spot above (running on its Web site) demonstrates. Now, the ASA has cautioned parent company Kerry Foods against continuing to air cheeky radio ads for Mattesson's while children are listening. (Click the audio embed below to hear one of the spots. Scripts for all four off-color ads are here.) The ads ask listeners where they'd like to "stick it," referring to the sausages, a choice of phrase that spawned 21 complaints from offended listeners. The ASA agreed that such innuendo was inappropriate for children, but otherwise agreed with Kerry Foods that the ads were meant to be light-hearted and probably wouldn't cause "serious offense." In other words, if you are seriously offended, the ASA is telling you where to stick it. —Posted by David Kiefaber See also: |
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Published on August 17, 2009 | Permalink
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Comcast, Goodby sued over use of Godzilla
Comcast and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' use of the Big G, aka Godzilla, in its "Comcast Town" campaign could wind up costing them some Big Gs, aka money, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Japanese studio that owns the rights to the iconic movie monster. Toho Co. alleges copyright infringement, claiming Comcast never got permission to use the city-stomping dinosaur's likeness in ads. What's worse, in reporting the story, Fox News in Los Angeles refers to Godzilla as an "iguana." That's like calling King Kong a marmoset! If the case goes to trial, would attorneys attempt to put Godzilla on the stand? He'd probably crush the courthouse and kill all the lawyers, admen and cable execs. Of course, who'd object to that? It'd be great to be able to say the lawsuit was worth it because Goodby's effort is a brilliant piece of marketing communications. But to paraphrase a line from a different film genre: Forget it, Jeff. This is Comcast Town. —Posted by David Gianatasio See also: |
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Published on August 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Wieden's Neil Christie smells another rip-off
Neil Christie, managing director of Wieden + Kennedy in London, is a hawk for any advertising that resembles anything his agency has done. Nine months ago, he dug up a Singapore ad that had a bread-making sequence he found eerily similar to some food porn that Wieden did in the Middle East. Needless to say, many dismissed Christie as a crank. He's undeterred. Today, he's putting the ripoff label on a print ad for Sure deodorant that shows a cricket player pointing his bat at the viewer with the tagline, "Not without a fight." As it happens, Wieden used the same line a year ago in a Nike ad featuring English rugby players looking rather menacing on the cliffs of Dover. It's anybody's guess whether the Unilever brand knowingly ripped off Wieden or some creatives simply subconsciously absorbed the image and message (that is the point of advertising, yes?). But Christie does seem to have a better case this time around. |
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Published on July 16, 2009 | Permalink
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