Drench water improvises with jazz hamsters
Suddenly, hamsters are all the rage. The U.K. spot above by CHI and Partners for Drench spring water features a swingin' hamster jazz band! The agency held mock auditions for the band a few weeks back, and there's footage from a full 20 sessions over at the YouTube page. Check out "Fats" wailing on the trumpet. He's no Miles Davis. In fact, he's clearly a hamster, so his ability to play at all deserves respect. They even have tiny instrument cases. How cuuute! Maybe they'll cut a ragtime theme song for Moochie. There was also that psycho hamster from the Swedish electronics campaign, but he was more into '80s pop, judging by the Hall & Oates soundtrack, or death-metal, based on his bloodthirsty attitude. Kia's giant hamsters, of course, had Soul. Via Adland. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on December 9, 2009 | Permalink
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BK $1 Holidays, for when you care that little
As a person who loved getting those $5 McDonald's coupon booklets from my more estranged relatives every year, Burger King's latest dollar-menu promotion is right up my fast-food-giving alley. At BKDollarHolidays.com, you can pay $1 to send a card with an actual, genuine U.S. dollar inside to the people you care the least about. (That's not just me saying that. The site says the card "lets them know you almost care.") There's even a commercial with a creepy guy in a turtleneck (posted below). It's quite a deal, considering a card itself usually costs more than a buck. I'd send them to all my friends, if they didn't come with a dose of BK attitude. It's hard to find someone who wouldn't be upset to get the "Happy holidays, what's-yer-face" card. Fortunately for BK, every acquaintance of mine who seemed appropriate for this fits squarely within the young, male target demographic. In fact, I just sent a card to both of my bosses! Here's hoping I'm still employed by at least one of them in 2010. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on December 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Orangina's latest fetish is interspecies S&M
If you thought Orangina's big percussive-butt extravaganza was on the raunchy side, check out this bestial-sado-sexual spot from Fred + Farid Paris for Orangina Red, made with blood oranges. An animated panther-dominatrix chick in a bikini cracks the whip, forcing a pudgy, middle-aged guy to strip down to the Full Monty. (Given this chrome-dome's physique, you'll wish he kept his clothes on.) Even when he's nude, the lash-cat orders him to "keep going!" Does she want him to leap out of his skin? Well, do you, evil-sexy hellcat?! Sure, it's kind of shocking, but it's true: Orangina makes a drink with blood oranges now! Oh, when I encouraged you to check out the spot, I meant at home. Via Adland. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on December 9, 2009 | Permalink
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American kids love those Paraguayan colas
Young American movie and rock stars have the world at their feet. The one thing they regretfully don't have? Paraguay's Pulp Cola. That's the absurd but fun premise of a new local campaign for Pulp from ad agency Prana. The spot above skewers Hollywood's cookie-cutter college flicks with an obnoxious party-boy insipidly saluting the cola ("Nice job, friends from Paraguay!"), as a bespectacled nerd from central casting sways to the beat while working an ancient tape-roll adding machine. Even better is this Jonas Brothers spoof. The clothing, hairstyles, stage moves and editing mock 30 mindless years of MTV in just 45 seconds. And the chunky, bubblegum piano riff in their song, "We Don't Have It," is awesome! The Jonas Brothers never sounded so good, in ads or anywhere else. Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on December 7, 2009 | Permalink
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Schweppes brings 1950s Christmases to life
Mother London adds live-action arms and hands (along with some goofy and mildly smutty humor) to classic 1950s Christmas illustrations in these amusing 10-second spots for Schweppes tonic water in the U.K. The voice talent includes Martin Freeman, who played Tim on The Office. The best line has to be: "Don and Tabitha, you're just in time. I'm about to hose down Felicity!" Via The Inspiration Room. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on November 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Shake your big percussive butt for OranginaVideo is NSFW. Continuing with the butt theme, here's an absurd, NSFW video from Orangina featuring some impressive butt shaking, butt slapping and butt clapping. It advertises the drink brand's "Shake That Orangina" contest, which asks you to upload a video of yourself dancing (not just butt clapping) for a chance to become an official "Shake Star" of Orangina. As a Shake Star, you will "appear on posters, billboards, flyers, online videos and more" and "have the opportunity to travel around the globe to witness firsthand your rising star in the dance world." Via Animal New York. |
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Published on November 25, 2009 | Permalink
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Stunt buddha jumps Benihana shrimp buffet
Benihana was hot in the '70s when it was a novelty for chefs to prepare food at your table. That's not so special now, and neither is this "Big Jump" spot via Wieden + Kennedy and Matt Lenski of Epoch Films. They use tiki-mug figurines to tell the tale of a self-styled Buddah Knievel with a salad-cycle who leaps over a spread of shrimp. This isn't nearly as wild as a real Asian ad would be, and it's undercooked as a parody/homage. Now, if the cycle guy crashed into the condiment tray, à la Gary Wells, and played a dramatic death scene in a pool of soy-sauce blood, as tattooed salt-and-pepper-shaker Yakuza blew everyone away with chopstick machine guns … now you're talking! And a broccoli-stalk Godzilla wouldn't hurt. Maybe Japanophile director Quentin Tarantino could spice up the next spot.
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Published on November 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Muscle Milk pilgrim sexing up Thanksgiving
Considering how naughty Halloween has gotten, it was only a matter of time before someone took a crack at Thanksgiving. That someone is Muscle Milk, the athletic drink brand, which channels Justin Timberlake in this spoof hip-hop music video "Sexy Pilgrim" (posted below), courtesy of ad agency Pereira & O'Dell. It's fairly similar to the Smirnoff "Tea Partay" video from a couple years back. The clip is mildly entertaining, although I doubt many people will take Muscle Milk up on the download-the-song option at SexyPilgrim.com. (The coupon might do better.) Muscle Milk is pretty absent from the video, with the muscle-building properties of the protein drink implied via the buff versions of Miles Standish and Squanto.
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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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Caribou Coffee not catering to unreal people
The talking gourd and pumpkin from Caribou Coffee's fall-flavors ads have apparently gone into hibernation. In the chain's latest spot from Colle+McVoy, we get faux hipsters. And they're really faux, portrayed by animated marionettes. These kinds of creations haven't been big since the short-lived '60s Thunderbirds craze. And even then, they weren't that popular. Still, the couple chillin' at the mall seem like real dolls (ha!), noting that they never get coffee from Caribou because they're not "real" people (literally or figuratively). That's almost certainly a jab at Starbucks. No one's ever called the Seattle super-roaster's brew bogus—just overpriced and generally vile. Its patrons, though? That's another story. Still, I'd rather hang out with these marionettes than most iPhone-tethered, Gucci-clad Starbucks customers. At least the dolls have enough self awareness to admit they're faking it. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on November 13, 2009 | Permalink
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A coffee maker saves George Clooney's lifeGeorge Clooney and John Malkovich star in this new McCann Paris ad, directed by Robert Rodriguez, for Nestlé's Nespresso. Clooney gets demolished by a falling piano, but Malkovich, at the pearly gates, gives him a second chance at life in exchange for his Nespresso coffee maker. Clooney once insisted he wouldn't do just any old commercial, but this spot isn't even as good as Spike Jonze's Softbank spots with Brad Pitt. Via Animal. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on November 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Ads tout sushi for that Rocky Mountain high
TDA Advertising & Design has served up this map-style ad for Hapa Sushi in Boulder, Colo., noting the proximity of the chain's four restaurants to 60 local medical marijuana dispensaries. Just in case, you know, anyone gets the munchies. According to The New York Times, the number of medical marijuana stores in Colorado has grown to more than 60 in Denver and Boulder alone, from just two dozen a year ago. Hapa likes to latch on to current events like this for its advertising. "By creating ads that people want to talk about, that are creative and maybe controversial, then at least they are talking about our ads and Hapa is top of mind," says the owner. The media buy includes alternative paper Westworld, which recently blew some smoke about interviewing people to write reviews of each of the dispensaries. I wonder if the restaurant serves pot stickers. Ha ha! Oh dude, I am so hungry right now. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Rap your McDonald's order at your own risk
It's generally a bad idea to try things you saw in a viral video, as four Utah teens learned this week when they were cited by police after rapping their McDonald's order. Personally, I think the only crime here is that they were re-enacting a 3-year-old YouTube clip that your in-laws have probably even seen (but we've included it below, just in case). Apparently they were also committing disorderly conduct by delaying the drive-through line and making an employee feel "her safety was at risk." So, as a public service, AdFreak would like give a nugget of advice to the teens of America: If Taco Bell's ad team has already beaten you to co-opting some lame white-boy Internet meme, it might be time to find a new prank. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on October 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Talking food is well done in U.K. TV promos
Talking food is everywhere in advertising, but it doesn't get much more strange or awesome than this. These short, comical clips from RKCR/Y&R in London show healthy food items chatting with their unhealthier alter egos (e.g., a grilled sausage and a fried sausage, veggie pizza and pepperoni pizza, etc.) to promote Family Supercooks, a new U.K. show about eating familiar foods in healthier ways. It's hard to pick a favorite from among the motley cast of characters, though the sadistic ketchup is well up there. Adland has more, including the fun fact that some of the characters are loosely based on people at RKCR. |
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Published on October 29, 2009 | Permalink
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Porn-shop clerks prefer Purity Organic juice
You have to respect any juice commercial that begins with the line, "Yeah, we've got dildos," spoken by a middle-aged woman on the phone. This spot's for Purity Organic, the same juice company that brought you the dude with the severe mood swings. Via The Denver Egotist. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 27, 2009 | Permalink
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Jimmy John's fuels your cowboy threesome
Sub shop Jimmy John's has been hitting pretty deep into left field lately with new spots by The Ad Store. A few weeks back, the college-centric chain unleashed a flood of new ads that feature Jimmy John's as a vital component of childbirth, bomb defusing and extramarital affairs. But those were downright bland compared to the cowboy-themed threesome going on in the spot above. Still, they've done weirder. Via Adland. —Posted by David Griner Previously on BrandFreak: |
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Published on October 27, 2009 | Permalink
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No one really wants to be surprised at Uno's
Uno's "Fall of surprises" campaign from Full Contact Advertising (seven short spots above) isn't particularly surprising, because we've seen most of these concepts before in other food and restaurant campaigns. As for the "fall" part, well, that's more accurate, if only because the pizzeria has managed to sink below its past level of suckiness. The pumpkin's pervy "Hell-ooo, short ribs" catchphrase would make his fellow gourd in Caribou Coffee's spots blush. And the tart-tongued cranberries probably flunked the audition for this summer's Raisinettes brand-extension campaign. Those campaigns seem like One Show winners compared to this—though, as we've learned, anything can triumph in that competition. For those who assumed Uno's lobster promo plumbed the depths, trust me: This time, they've really gone to pot! "Hell-ooo, short ribs!" I'll be saying that all day. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 21, 2009 | Permalink
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No lie, Tony Stewart does love the Whopper
Today, Crispin Porter + Bogusky rolled out a 50-minute Web show for Burger King at TheTruthAboutTony.com. The brand promoted the show heavily during sports games over the past few weekends, saying it would prove once and for all that Nascar driver and BK endorser Tony Stewart really does love the Whopper. The setup mimicked the old TV show Lie Detector, with Stewart hooked up to a machine and asked questions. The site had a Digg-like system to collect questions from fans, who could vote them up or down. Stewart was deemed to be telling the truth when asked whether he's done a doughnut on public property (yes), whether he likes musical theater (no) and whether he's read a book in the last two years (nope). He was caught lying when he said he's never gone commando under the fire suit, cried after a movie of the week, had a special blanket or toy as a kid or checked out hot chicks during races. Burger King showed admirable restraint not making it all about burgers. There was a BK bag on the set and a logo on Stewart's shirt. Of the 30-odd questions, five came from the brand. The entire program led up to asking Stewart whether he really loves the Whopper. He does! All in all, it was pretty entertaining, even for someone who has never watched a Nascar race in his life, though it probably lasted a bit too long and at times seemed contrived. No doubt there's a novelty factor at play here with the live Web video, so I'd guess we'll see more. If you missed it, BK is replaying it tonight at 9 p.m. ET. —Posted by Brian Morrissey
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Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Burnett moved to poetry in McDonald's spot
Leo Burnett in London classes up McDonald's in this poetic U.K. spot about the types of people who pass by (or rather, through) the Golden Arches on a typical day. By focusing on the patrons, and not on the food, the ad does a nice job of presenting McDonald's as something slightly more than a boring, omnipresent fast-food chain serving unidentifiable meat to people in a hurry. The highbrow poetry is also balanced out by the lowbrow, unpretentious claim that McDonald's is literally for anyone and everyone. The rhyme scheme is unforced and smooth, too, which couldn't have been that easy to do. I wish they'd export this kind of stuff to the U.S., where all we've been getting is that faux-hipster McCafe crap. —Posted by David Kiefaber Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Quiznos ads becoming just one big gay joke
Quiznos kills two birds with one stone—gay people and poor people—in this new ad from Siltanen & Partners, showing a pair of Southern gents sharing a "hillbilly hot tub" (which is apparently just a regular tub propped up and heated by a wood fire). The Quiznos oven, which has some experience in homoerotic relations (the "Put it in me, Scott" commercial), narrates: "Hooo, that hillbilly hot tub looks dangerous. And hot. But not as hot as Quiznos's new double-cheese cheesesteak!" Quiznos's young male target apparently loves this kind of stuff, however bizarre the product comparison. Almost anyone else will find the spot unappetizing—including The Denver Egotist, which somewhat humorously is bothered mostly by the fact that the Colorado-based account continues to be handled outside Colorado. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Tabasco sauce makes your pizza really sing
Apparently, I've never tried Tabasco on pizza, because I'm pretty sure I'd remember if small faces had erupted from the pepperoni and started singing like a barbershop quartet. That's what happens in this bizarre spot from TracyLocke in Dallas. The guys call themselves the Pepperonis, and they're heating up just as the weather cools down. Over at the Web site, you can even download MP3s of the group harmonizing on some reworked holiday classics. It's nice to see Tabasco getting quirky and pushing the "So much more than hot" theme, especially since you can find about 100 spicier sauces at the store. But there's something undeniably creepy about the commercial. Maybe it's the subtle mix of flavors, like a hint of Naked Lunch with a dash of Nightmare on Elm Street. Or maybe it's that the Pepperonis look just like the swollen lesion from this Australian cancer PSA. —Posted by David Griner Previously on AdFreak: |
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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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White Gold returns in 'Got milk?' rock opera
It's been a year and a half since "Got milk?" introduced White Gold, the fake rock star with the fu manchu and the milk-filled guitar. The character, dreamed up by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, seemed like a flash in the pan, but apparently not, as he's making a grand return this coming Monday in "The Battle for Milkquarious," a 20-minute "rock opera" broadcast at Milkquarious.com. A clip from the production is posted above; the Milkquarious site has the trailer, which shows more of the plot. (Some bad guys steal all the milk from White Gold's lair, and after crying about it, he heads off on a quest to get it back.) The whole thing apparently benefits art programs at California public high schools, which are being invited to submit spoofs of the rock opera for a chance at prizes. It's still unclear why White Gold prefers milk over drugs, but he seems to have at least one groupie. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 2, 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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Vinta's overgrown parrot is a cracker addict
It's been all chickens in advertising lately, so it's nice to see a parrot for a change. And it's quite an impressive parrot in this humorous Vinta crackers campaign out of Canada. His name's Paul, he's human-size with a human girlfriend, and he's totally addicted to Vintas. (Paully always wants a cracker.) As you can see in the ads (by Zig in Toronto), this causes problems in his relationship, both in the bedroom and at parties. Paul is constantly semi-apologizing for his embarrassing urges, in a stoned drawl that's reminiscent of the wasted Denny's unicorn. The tagline says Vinta is "the cracker that cracker experts go crazy for." —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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Published on October 1, 2009 | Permalink
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