FREAKIEST ADVERTISING MOMENT OF 2007: Dexter’s viral defeats Pioneer for the title

After two weeks of brutal competition, the viral campaign for the Showtime program Dexter, which encouraged you to send terrifying videos to friends suggesting they were about to be offed by a serial killer, has won AdFreak’s Freakiest Ad Moment of 2007 contest. Pioneer’s laughing eyeballs put up a good fight but are no longer laughing, as Dexter prevails with about 55 percent of the final vote. Kudos also go to Canada’s Lost Jaw guy and Skittles’ milked man for making impressive runs to the Final Four, despite their rather obvious physiological handicaps. (See the final bracket here.) We believe that the British digital ad agency Ralph created the Dexter viral, so we’ll get a nice champions’ package together for them. Failing that, we may just send them a threatening e-mail. Thanks to all of you for voting. And keep the freaky ads coming.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 21, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
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FREAKIEST ADVERTISING MOMENT OF 2007, CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Dexter vs. Pioneer

Our Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007 contest comes down to this: a viral effort that made your “friends” feel like they were being targeted by a serial killer, versus an ad campaign that attempted to sell TVs by showing eyeballs with mouths. Freaky, indeed. Vote for a winner below through noon on Friday. See the full bracket here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Championship game:
Dexter’s viral campaign vs. Pioneer’s laughing-eye ads.

  Dexter’s viral campaign made a murderous late charge in the Final Four and left the Lost Jaw guy with egg on his already-overtaxed face. Now, it faces Pioneer’s creepy eye-mouths, which shut down the dairy dreams of Skittles’ milked man. Which one will be crowned the Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007?
  UPDATE: And the winner is Dexter! See the vote totals here.

Published on December 20, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, FINAL 4: Canada’s Lost Jaw guy vs. Dexter’s viral

The Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007 contest started with 64 contenders. Now, we’re down to just four. See the full bracket here. Vote below, through midnight Wednesday, for the two you’d like to see in the championship round.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Matchup #1:
Canada’s Lost Jaw anti-dip ads vs. Dexter’s viral campaign.

  Mr. Scabby Face survived an Elite Eight showdown with the anorexic. Now, he faces Dexter’s creepy “Make a friend feel like the target of a serial killer” viral campaign, which disarmed The Back-Up bedside shotgun in the previous round. Who will make mincemeat of whom?
  UPDATE: Dexter’s viral campaign leaves the Lost Jaw guy even more bruised and bloody than he was before. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, FINAL 4: Pioneer’s mutants vs. Skittles’ milked man

Matchup #2:
Pioneer’s laughing-eye ads vs. Skittles’ milked man.

  In the previous round, Pioneer’s mouth-eyes stared down Starburst’s little lad, then chewed him to pieces. Likewise, Skittles’ milked man lactated himself into the Final Four with a textbook dismantling of Volkswagen’s bird-poop eater. It’s eyes against teats for a spot in the big game.
  UPDATE: Pioneer’s mouth-eyes find enough votes to send the milkman home. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, ELITE 8: Italy’s anorexia ads vs. Canada’s Lost Jaw

The stakes are getting high in our Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007 contest, which continues today with the Elite Eight. (See the full bracket here.) Four freaky matchups are featured below. Vote for a winner in each one. Voting in this round continues through midnight on Tuesday night.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Matchup #1:
Italy’s anti-anorexia ads vs. Canada’s anti-dip ads.

  Isabelle Caro became the extremely skinny Cinderella story of the tourney when she took down the great undead Orville in the Sweet Sixteen. Now she goes up against Mr. Bloody Face, with a spot in the Final Four at stake.
  UPDATE: Lost Jaw backs up his trash talking with a solid win. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, ELITE 8: Back-Up bedside gun rack vs. Dexter’s viral

Matchup #2:
The Back-Up bedside gun rack vs. Dexter’s viral campaign.

  The ultraviolent matchup of the tournament so far. Is the Back-Up quick enough on the draw to take down the serial killer and his creepy viral marketing? Only one contestant will advance; the other’s lifeless corpse will be dragged off.
  UPDATE: Dexter saws off the shotgun and advances. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, ELITE 8: Starburst’s lad vs. Pioneer’s laughing eyes

Matchup #3:
Starburst’s little lad vs. Pioneer’s laughing-eye ads.

  The little lad continues his grating, dandyish progression through the tournament, but here he faces biological experiments gone wrong in Pioneer’s Kuro campaign. Expect the lad to sing a particularly shrill berries-and-cream song if he advances.
  UPDATE: Pioneer’s mouthy eyes send the little lad home early. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, ELITE 8: VW bird-poop eater vs. Skittles milked man

Matchup #4:
VW’s bird-poop-eating ad vs. Skittles’ milked man.

  Volkswagen’s poop-ingesting driver cleaned up in the early rounds, but now he faces some daunting opposition in Skittles Sours’ laconic man-cow. Neither spot tasted great going down, but only one will advance.
  UPDATE: The milked man surges into the Final Four. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Orville Deadenbacher vs. anti-anorexia ads

The Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007 contest continues today with the Sweet Sixteen. (See the full bracket here.) Vote below for a winner in eight freaky matchups. Voting in this round continues through midnight on Monday night.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

  Orville and his cold, dead stare may be the favorite, but he has an unhealthy challenger in Isabelle Caro, the French woman who was featured in Italy’s anti-anorexia campaign. 
  UPDATE: Deadenbacher is out, as Isabelle sends him back to the grave. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Canada’s Lost Jaw vs. DirecTV’s naked Burt

  A tobacco-disfigured face and a naked Burt Reynolds—neither is too appealing to look at. But only one will be freaky enough to advance to the Elite Eight.
  UPDATE: Even without his game face on, the Lost Jaw kid wins this round easily. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Back-Up gun rack vs. Scott’s cloggiest

  A classic showdown between the irresistible force and the immovable object. An unwelcome glimpse into the bedrooms and bathrooms, respectively, of America.
  UPDATE: It’s the Back-Up in a rout. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Stanley Steemer dog-skid vs. Dexter’s viral

  An itchy dog butt may seem like child’s play for a serial killer. But Toby has been bringing up the rear all season and could be poised to strike.
  UPDATE: In the end, Toby exits with a whimper, as the Dexter viral slays once again. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Starburst’s lad vs. MTV’s pubes ’n’ boobs

  The dancing dandy has the hopes of a nation on his doily-ed shoulders. MTV’s pubes ’n’ boobs hopes that sheer immaturity will carry the day.
  UPDATE: The little lad marches on. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: Pioneer’s laughing eyes vs. Orangina’s orgy

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: VW’s bird-poop eater vs. Sammy Stephens

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, SWEET 16: MaternaCord vs. Skittles’ milked man

  In the category of men who have strange tubes attached, these are two worthy adversaries. Only one will pull himself into the next round.
  UPDATE: Skittles’ man-cow prevails easily. See the vote totals here.

Published on December 17, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #16: Boobs board, milked man, Whiskey Dicks

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 16.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 61 through 64.
  61. Lincoln Financial’s future-you ads. Lincoln wants you to meet your future self. As if your present self weren’t enough of a burden.
  62. Plastic surgeon’s boobs billboard. “Finally, a gift you both can enjoy.” Classy.
  63. Skittles’ milked man. Skittles Sours cause a man to lactate sour milk.
  64. The “Viva Viagra” guys. Memorably dubbed the Whiskey Dicks by Copyranter, these guys liked singing about Viagra a bit too much.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Thursday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: Skittles’ milked man easily wins this group and takes  the final spot in the second round. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #15: MaternaCord, sexy robots, naked old people

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 15.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 57 through 60.
  57. Mother’s MaternaCord spot. Feeling distant from Mom? Try reinstalling the MaternaCord. Courtesy of the agency Mother, who pulled out the stops for Mother’s Day.
  58. Philips’s RoboSkin shavebot. A sexy fembot gives a dude a shave in this commercial for Philips’ RoboSkin moisturizing shaving system.
  59. Virgin’s naked old folks. Virgin Money got old people to take their clothes off and shag to promote its home loans (which are a lifelong commitment).
  60. Vancouver’s creepy film-fest ads. After 16 days of watching weird movies at the Vancouver International Film Festival, real life will never faze you.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Thursday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: The MaternaCord connects Mother to Round 2. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #14: Sammy Stephens, poopy MTV elephants

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 14.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 53 through 56.
  53. Wendy’s helium inhalers. Fast-food eaters filled up on helium before getting the Wendy’s pitch in this commercial.
  54. WA anti-smoking’s headless turkey. Washington state created a headless cold turkey with a nicotine habit in this anti-smoking campaign.
  55. Sammy Stephens’s mini-mall ad. Sammy’s song for Flea Market Montgomery got him all the way to Ellen DeGeneres’s TV show.
  56. MTV’s pooping elephants. A guitarist dreams of the big time, while shoveling elephant poo, in this MTV commercial.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Thursday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: Sammy Stephens outlasts the elephant droppings and heads into the next round. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #13: Bird-poop eaters, stomach arms, dead fruit

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 13.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 49 through 52.
  49. VW’s bird-poop-eating ad. A Volkswagen owner is appalled to find some bird poop on his hood. So, he does the logical thing. He licks it up.
  50. Vex’s slaughtered fruit. Slicing and dicing fruit to create one’s Strawberry Orange Banana Hard Lemonade is a messy business in this slasher-film homage.
  51. Ballpark’s stomach-arm ads. A third arm busts forth from the stomachs of hungry slackers in this campaign for Ballpark hot dogs.
  52. Innocent’s existential orange. A despondent orange writes a suicide note and then ends it all in this spot for Innocent Smoothies.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Thursday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: The VW spot licks the competition and advances. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #12: ‘Me So Hyundai,’ chatty butts, animal orgies

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 12.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 45 through 48.
  45. Car dealer’s “Me So Hyundai.” Absolute Hyundai of Mesquite, Texas, did an enormously catchy version of 2 Live Crew’s “Me So Horny,” rewritten as “Me So Hyundai.”
  46. Webcargo’s butt-baring ad. Naked rear ends conversed in this cheeky commercial for a file-sending software.
  47. Orangina’s animal orgy. “Naturally juicy” described this Orangina campaign, in which various phyla spray sticky liquid all over each other.
  48. Domino’s five-handed pizza eater. A bearded Vishnu-esque slacker voted five times for his favorite sauce in this spot.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Wednesday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: Orangina brings sexy back, is on to Round 2. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #11: Snickers’ knickers, Pioneer’s laughing eyes

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 11.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 41 through 44.
  41. Snickers’s fake lingerie site. “New Zealand’s only lingerie brand designed specifically for the male figure” turned out to be a spoof Snickers site—featuring a male model who “had the nuts” to wear women’s underwear.
  42. Captivity’s torturous ad campaign. The movie’s ad campaign showed star Elisha Cuthbert being abducted, tortured and killed. Viewers who saw the film also felt victimized.
  43. Pioneer’s laughing-eye ads. Pioneer attempted to depict the sensory experience of its Kuro TVs by showing eyes, ears and mouths embedded in other body parts.
  44. Woman’s ad to sell breast milk. Classified ad of the year went to an Iowa woman, who said she was selling 100 ounces of her breast milk for $200 or the best offer.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Wednesday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: Pioneer’s eyes have the last laugh, and advance. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #10: Boobs ’n’ pubes, corn babies, Gondry’s Razr

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 10.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

    Here are contenders 37 through 40.
  37. MTV’s pubic-hair/boobs promos. MTV’s cast of oddball characters is its “Maturity is overrated” campaign included Zit, Pubes, Nips and Boner.
  38. Bluefly’s exhibitionists. Bluefly let it all hang out to promote its fashion Web site.
  39. Toohey’s rockabilly corn people. A farmer plucks a hair from his pompadour, plants it, and grows a field of magic corn husks, which contain beer-drinking maniacs. Must be an Australian thing.
  40. Michel Gondry’s trippy Razr 2 spot. The inside of a cell phone becomes a rocking hipster fantasia for one Razr 2 owner.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Wednesday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: MTV rocks the vote, advances to Round 2. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #9: Little lad, PETA peeing, banana hands

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 9.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the full 64-team bracket.

  Here are contenders 33 through 36.
  33. Starburst’s dancin’ little lad. This doily-ed dandy loves berries and cream, and won’t mind telling you so. With a little song and dance thrown in.
  34. Agion’s filthy modern-day Bradys. Florence Henderson led a no-star cast in this gross-out comedy promoting an Agion disinfectant.
  35. PETA’s litterbox-using model. A model took a squat and urinated in a litter box in this typically subtle PETA spot. The message: If you wear fur, you’re an animal.
  36. Altoids’ banana hands. Chocolate-dipped Altoids are so distracting, you won’t even notice the guy in the office who has banana hands.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Wednesday, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: The little lad comes up big and advances. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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FREAKY AD MOMENTS OF 2007, Vote #8: Dylan in an Escalade, ‘Dexter’ goes for kill

Freakiest Advertising Moment of 2007: Round 1, Vote 8.
  See all previous votes here.
  Here’s the 64-team bracket.

  Moving on to contenders 29 through 32.
  29. Bob Dylan in an Escalade. Hey, it’s Bob Dylan in an Escalade. Freaky.
  30. Bears fan’s pregnant-belly auction. Jennifer Gordon wanted Super Bowl tickets to see her beloved Bears. So she sold out her beloved baby bump.
  31. Dexter’s viral campaign. What livens up a “Send this to a friend” campaign? Make the recipient think he or she has been targeted by a serial killer.
  32. Crunch’s violent action figures. These animated commercials seemed cute, until one of the characters gets his arms and legs ripped off.
  Vote below for the freakiest of the four. Voting goes until 11 p.m. EST Tuesday night, and the winner advances to Round 2.
  UPDATE: Dexter viral slays, earns a spot in the next round. See the voting results here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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