So, tell me again why vampires like Volvos?
Of all the inexplicable tie-ins, I would never have guessed Volvo and Twilight. The rationale is that Volvo keeps you safe, and vampires keep you safe! Well, not vampires in general, just Edward the Shiny. And how does Edward keep you safe? Well, he cares enough to drive a car meant for middle-aged women. Now, I'm not a Twi-hard or a Twi-hater, but this is possibly one of the worst collaborations I've seen since My Own Worst Enemy turned out to be GM's worst enemy. When the Twilight commercial I thought I was watching magically turned into a Volvo commercial, I knew it was going to be bad. I was right. They directed me to a Web site, WhatDrivesEdward.com, where I stared into Edward's sulky eyes and was asked to solve a six-part puzzle for a chance to win the same Volvo he drives in the movie. At that point, it was over between Volvo and me. But I wish Volvo (and agencies Euro RSCG 4D and Arnold) lots of luck in their attempt to convince moms to make major purchases based on the lust-crazed whims of their teenage daughters. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on November 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Mouse really asks for it in Euro's d-CON ads
Euro RSCG in New York produced the spots above for d-CON glue traps, starring a man in a mouse suit who shows off some intense rodent-acting chops. His line deliveries are borderline psychotic. "You disgust me," says a housewife as the varmint eats from a peanut-butter jar. "Prove it," he whispers disgustingly, doing just about the best Dirty Harry impression possible for a guy wearing mouse ears and a long curly tail. Of course, he might not be so cavalier if he found himself in the LowLow Cheese commercial below by Fallon London. A couple of glue traps might work with this guy, but I'd go with the several thousand old-fashioned snap traps. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Swiss don't waste time in fight against AIDS
Libidinous strangers bump into each other randomly, then romantically, in these (mildly NSFW) five-second AIDS-awareness spots from Euro RSCG Zurich. The couples apparently don't have time to protect themselves (never mind their cell phones) with condoms before hopping in the sack. The spots then point viewers to Check-Your-Lovelife.ch, where they can assess the risk level of such precarious behavior. Oddly, I've found myself in these kinds of situations—at the beach, playing tennis, riding a bus. And casual sex is not generally the result. Maybe I should move to Switzerland. They seem awfully uninhibited, and if five seconds is the accepted coital interval over there, I'll fit right in! Via AdPunch. —Posted by David Gianatasio See also: |
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Published on September 28, 2009 | Permalink
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It's always a long, strange trip in a Peugeot
Yeah, this Psyop-crafted Peugeot spot by BETC Euro RSCG in Paris is one mellow trip. You lose touch with reality, believe it's a warm and sunny day when it's actually cold and stormy outside. You groove to a tune on the radio that, despite its mid-tempo mediocrity, winds up pleasantly lodged in your head all day. Ultimately, you drive in circles, creating a visual joke that seems off-point for a car commercial, but kind of cool nonetheless. This is Peugeot. This is your brain on Peugeot. Man, I've got the munchies. I don't even care that they misspelled "responsibility" at the end? Who cares about responsibility? Fried eggs would be perfect right about now. A similarly themed effort by DDB for Volkswagen made me crave lamb chops. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on August 13, 2009 | Permalink
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In France, the mail system enters space age
So, how can customers of La Poste, the French postal service, send registered mail from their computers? This spot from Euro RSCG/C&O answers that question in fun and convincing fashion. The ad's called "Transformer," but the delivery vehicle shown here has more of a Star Wars vibe. Given how much it must cost to send mail to a galaxy far, far away, it's probably best to forgo the return receipt and just DM. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on August 10, 2009 | Permalink
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French child-porn PSA unmasks tormenters
Putting victims' faces on appeals to fight child pornography is a no-brainer. Taking a different tack, this ad for End Child Pornography And Trafficking (ECPAT) from BETC Euro RSCG, which broke in France a few weeks back, focuses instead on the middle-class Web surfer at the end of the supply-and-demand chain. The clip would be riveting even without the surrealistic "masks" worn by the abusers. But they immeasurably increase the creep factor and hammer home the point that Johnny Download is just as much to blame for the horror as the thugs filming the kids. Via Osocio. |
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Published on June 22, 2009 | Permalink
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Steam Whistle ad thinks it can, thinks it can
This Canadian ad for Steam Whistle beer, by Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG in Toronto, ties the brew's name and logo into a pretty clever train gag, although I hope different people are opening all those bottles. If it's the same guy, he spends his entire life in bars and people's kitchens, just getting wasted. |
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Published on June 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Be wary of flying, squirting French's bottles
Euro RSCG mixes a value sell with goofy family values and levitating condiment squeeze bottles in this riotous, happy-happy push for French's mustard. Sure, you're getting "40% more free," but it's just mustard. How much can any one family consume? It's not like the stuff tastes good on cereal or swirled into coffee. Or maybe it does, as this particular vintage seems pretty magical, floating around a ballpark and "drawing" (squirting?) mustaches and glasses on the fans without staining a single shirt or pair of chinos. The zombie-jolly music track sounds like an old Barney the Dinosaur CD exploded. French's new tagline promises: "Happy starts here." Perhaps "Trippy starts here" would be more appropriate. |
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Published on May 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Postaer not impressed by bible's copywriter
Steffan Postaer has a thing for how admen can improve religion. His novel The Happy Soul Industry details how a hip ad agency helps God fix his brand. The Euro RSCG Chicago chief creative officer is still thinking about it. On his blog this weekend, Postaer gave a scathing review of God's main ad vehicle: the bible. His take on the children's version: "The opening copy is pretty terrific. Unfortunately, the text grows clunky and wearisome and, almost as if to alleviate the boredom, horrifyingly violent. Within four pages, Cain murders his only brother, his 'blood staining the earth.' Dull and/or horrifying does not a good bedtime story make." Postaer recounts trading the bible for a book about dogs—and gets in a plug for his novel. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on May 11, 2009 | Permalink
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Bad timing on the underwear-face-mask ads
Now is probably not the best time for random face-mask references in advertising. Particularly if the face masks are made of underwear. This ad was made by Euro RSCG Duesseldorf and promotes some kind of disinfectant laundry additive. But if this were the last thing I saw before undergoing surgery, I would assume the doctors were about to steal my kidneys. In fact, I would take the initiative to kill myself before those butchers hacked me up on the table. I would also wonder where they put their real surgical masks. |
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Published on May 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Euro ads wild, woolly for Chicago magazine
Euro RSCG's ads for Newcity magazine attempt to portray the Chicago weekly as a free-thinking alternative news source for folks who wish to be "unassimilated" from the mainstream. This might have been a better approach 10 years ago, before the Web and mobile media were hyper-ubiquitous and put myriad news sources at everyone's fingertips. Also, the images of a guy shearing sheep's wool off his leg ("Reject the herd mentality") and a woman tearing off her face ("Emerge from the ordinary") are a tad off-putting and actually kind of conformist. (Woolly legs and masks are the truly rebellious way to go, particularly at work.) Besides, the way print media is headed in Chicago and elsewhere, Newcity won't have to worry about the competition much longer—provided it can itself survive. |
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Published on April 7, 2009 | Permalink
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Steffan Postaer at Dubai Lynx: day seven
Steffan
Postaer, chairman and chief creative officer of Euro RSCG Chicago, is
sending us daily updates as he judges the Dubai Lynx awards this week.
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Published on March 17, 2009 | Permalink
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Euro's Postaer to blog Dubai Lynx awards
We're please to welcome Steffan Postaer this week as a guest blogger who'll be sending us reports from the Dubai Lynx awards at the Dubai International Convention And Exhibition Centre. Postaer, the chairman and chief creative officer of Euro RSCG Chicago, is one of 10 judges reviewing TV, print, outdoor and radio at this year's awards. (He is also the author of the novels Happy Soul Industry and The Last Generation, and he filed reports for us from Cannes last year.) Dubai Lynx honors advertising from across the Middle East and North Africa region. We'll be posting Steffan's diary entries as we receive them. |
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Published on March 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Hair-removal brand enjoys George W.'s exit
Not many companies can legitimately use the headline "Goodbye Bush" this week and have it refer to both the outgoing American president and their own product. Hair-removal brands are among the lucky few who can. Veet, maker of hair-removing waxes and creams, finds itself on the right side of history with this simple ad from Euro RSCG Australia, running today in Australia's Sydney Daily Telegraph. See the actual placement here, which benefits from a big photo of Obama up top. (As a side note, Australia is actually getting pretty good at ads that refer obliquely to women's anatomy, having also enjoyed—or not—Kotex's notorious beaver tampon ad.) When it comes to Bush removal, we're now just waiting to hear from the landscaping companies. UPDATE: A commenter points out that Playboy TV has a whole big "No More Bush" thing going on this month. |
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Published on January 21, 2009 | Permalink
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'The Atlantic' turns the page with new ads
In the face of falling magazine sales across the board, The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is boosting its ad budget and trying to reach a new, younger audience. With the help of Euro RSCG, it's launched a campaign under the magnificent tagline: "Think. Again." And there's a brand-spanking-new print redesign by Pentagram to go along with it. The ad campaign is centered around questions that range, like the magazine's broad choice of topics, from the serious ("Which religion will win?") to the trivial ("Is the doughnut doomed?"). The agency is posting the questions in odd locations out in the world, like on restaurant menu boards, store shelves and shampoo bottles. They also appear as giant neon signs in videos that ask people on the street for their answers. Everything's gathered together on the "Think. Again" microsite, which also presents articles from the magazine on each topic. The site's sound design seems to have been created by a 6-year-old playing the xylophone near a wind chime, but the videos do draw you in. Some of the articles, strangely, are over a decade old. Maybe they think that's retro cool. Think again. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on October 15, 2008 | Permalink
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If you met your ideas, they might scare you
This visually arresting spot by Euro RSCG Chicago for Invesco PowerShares shows a man going inside his own brain and seeing his ideas personified—as a bunch of little people and one giant. I'm not ready to face my ideas in the flesh. For one thing, I doubt my ideas would wear suits like this. I don't even own a clean pair of pants. The ad was directed by MJZ's Dante Ariola, whose last name is almost naughty. He did a nice job, but I hope the giant stays inside the guy's brain. If he gets out, he's liable to crush us all, or at least brag like a jerk over his "ideas about investing." What's the plan—buy low, sell high and sink the profits into time shares in Myrtle Beach? Good luck, you giant freak—you won't even fit through the door! —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on August 27, 2008 | Permalink
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