MTV ads remind you that sex is no accident

You should always use a condom, unless you've got a really good excuse not to—like you were roller-skating down the street, tripped on the curb, fell into the back of a woman who was bent over packing her car, and accidentally had intercourse with her! That's the message of some amusing new pro-condom cartoons from Grey in Germany for MTV in Switzerland. See three full ads here. Such scenarios, of course, are unlikely—thus, the tagline: "Sex is not an accident. Always use a condom." The campaign is pretty airtight, logically speaking. However, in researching the topic, it becomes clear that many people have asked, in public Internet forums, whether a person can, in fact, have sex accidentally. Usually these questions come from a) young couples who have pledged to be celibate before marriage; and b) male friends who regret that their wrestling in the bathroom went a little too far. In both cases, condoms wouldn't be the worst idea. Via Ads of the World.

Filed under Condoms, Europe, Grey, MTV, Nudd
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Tiny giraffes from DirecTV ads now for sale

Gregor the Russian billionaire might be the lead in DirecTV's "Opulence" and "Epic Win" ads from Grey New York, but we all know who the real star is—the miniature giraffe. And now you can reserve your own over at PetiteLapGiraffe.com, a brilliant site created for the (sadly, fake) Sokoblovsky Farms, "Russia's finest purveyor of Petite Lap Giraffes." You can watch a live cam of their "bull" giraffe, Vladimir, or look at photos of the cute little critters relaxing in the bubble bath. It's a great example of taking an awesome random detail from a TV campaign and running with it online. The site, concepted and built by Grey (with The Mill in New York handling special effects), offers lots of great tips on owning a tiny giraffe. "PLG's love being indoors in filtered air conditioning. If they can listen to music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov it is dream," notes the copy, which is all humorously written in broken English. And look, they're tidy: "PLG's are very clean. With training they will go in box like cats. Allergies never a problem." Well, I'm sold. Too bad I'm No. 14,870 on the waiting list, with an expected delivery date 21,000 years in the future. Opulence—eventually, I will has it. Hat tip to Kristen Heptinstall on Twitter.

Filed under Animals, DirecTV, Grey, Griner, TV
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DirecTV's opulence czar flexes his 'epic win'

Gregor the wealthy Russian and his miniature giraffe have returned for a follow-up to DirecTV's “Opulence” ad from last August. (The only thing missing is the awesome "More on The Facingbook" tag, which has been dumbed down to just "The Facebook.") This spot, again by Grey New York, seems just as concerned with physical fitness as with materialism. Heck, even the giraffe has a treadmill, though they still make time to watch a nature show on the portrait-framed flatscreen. In fact, I wish they focused more on the actual product and less on his disgusting workout regimen-by-proxy. When his biceps explode from the pressure, I hope he has the grace to get new, gold-plated ones.

Filed under DirecTV, Grey, Kiefaber
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DirecTV's robots make a mess of your home

This DirecTV spot from Grey New York, with the robots rampaging through a guy's house as he quietly fetches a bowl of ice cream, is visually awesome—and expertly highlights the product feature of watching and pausing live TV from room to room. Imagine how great it would be, though, if these cyborgs trashed the "Opulence, I has it" guy's house. You'd have gold busts, poker-playing dogs and mail-order brides flying everywhere. MJZ's Rupert Sanders, whose previous credits include the Halo 3 "Believe" spot, directed the new ad.

Filed under DirecTV, Grey, Nudd, TV
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Captain Morgan drinkers fool moronic wives

How do men sneak away for a night on the town with their pals? That's the question asked, and humorously answered, by Grey Toronto and Captain Morgan in these Canadian spots that show dudes using unconvincing doppelgangers to convince their wives and girlfriends that they're still at home, and not getting hammered doing shots at the bar. There's a wooden smoke-shop Indian in the shower, a gorilla suit in a hot tub (no actual gorillas were harmed!) and, unsettlingly, a Styrofoam-popcorn dummy on a riding lawnmower who falls off and gets mulched. And that's just the first spot. One look at the goofy guys striking their Cap'n stance at the bar, however, and it's clear that the babes are better off with the replacements. Second spot after the jump.

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Filed under Alcohol, Canada, Captain Morgan, Gianatasio, Grey
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Grey edits orangutan out of Robitussin spot

The way things are going, we may never see a live ape or monkey in a commercial again. As a society, we'll be the poorer for it! Case in point: PETA says ad agency Grey altered a Robitussin ad after it aired a few times, editing out a real orangutan in favor of an actor in a chimp costume. Check out both spots below. Why a live orangutan should be used to sell cough syrup in the first place is never explained. The initial concept—an ape with a cold goes to the drugstore—was odd enough, but the revision, enhanced via computer animation, has the surreal quality of images one sees after imbibing too much of the product. Like Dodge, they should've gone the invisible-simian route. To improve most ads, they should leave the apes in and edit out the humans. That dude in the aisle is no thespian—he doesn't look like he has a cold at all!

Original spot:

New spot:

Filed under Animals, Gianatasio, Grey, Robitussin
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Circumcision provider snips through clutter

Now, this is how you advertise circumcisions. These perforated business cards for a circumcision doctor in Turkey were done by ad agency Healthy People by Grey. Via Ads of the World.

Filed under Europe, Grey, Nudd
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Agency sites reborn on Facebook, Twitter

BooneOakley won praise for ditching the tired agency site in favor of a clever YouTube channel to show off its stuff. With social all the rage, Grey Stockholm has taken the next step: It's traded its dedicated agency site to go all-in on Facebook. There, users can "Like" Grey, see work, comment on posts and do the regular Facebook things. Not to be outdone, Argentine shop Kamchatka has recast its site as a Twitter account. Actually, several. Each section of the site has its own Twitter handle. On the surface, this makes lots of sense. Facebook pages are getting more and more powerful, and plenty of campaigns are ditching the microsite in favor of the Facebook platform. Twitter is the current belle of the ball. But at the same time, both sites feel unnecessarily gimmicky. Thanks to APIs, sites can have all the social functions of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube without having to choose one or the other. It would seem to make more sense to integrate all sorts of social tools into a destination site rather than choose one platform over another. Via Adland.

Filed under Agency web sites, Europe, Facebook, Grey, Kamchatka, Morrissey, South America, Twitter
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Mastectomy is life in Grey breast-cancer ad

Last year, Grey Amsterdam put together that very-NSFW breast-cancer campaign for Pink Ribbon magazine, including a 30-second spot that showed a bunch of naked breasts, along with a voiceover rhyming about each pair's journey through life together. Now, the agency is back with some wonderful new print ads, including one NSFW execution that might be the first ad to explicitly present mastectomy as a cause for celebration. Grey managing director Hazelle Klønhammer says: "As humans we all need to feel a sense of community, a sense of belonging. There seems to be an invisible bond, an inexplicable connection, between women. Our campaign for Pink Ribbon 2010 amplifies this sense of belonging. It establishes a feeling of 'We're in this together' against breast cancer, and encourages a willingness to show support." Via Adland. UPDATE: There's also a new video, also NSFW.

Filed under Breast cancer, Europe, Grey, Nudd, PSAs
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Lohan and E*Trade settle milkaholic lawsuit

Lindsay Lohan's idiotic lawsuit against E*Trade doesn't look quite as idiotic this morning, as the actress reportedly walked away with some cash when E*Trade decided to settle rather than have the case drag on. At issue was Lohan's claim that the "milkaholic" named Lindsay in E*Trade's Super Bowl spot from Grey clearly referred to her—just by the first-name reference. Aside from alienating Lindsays the world over, it remains unclear why Lohan would want to claim that an annoying, relationship-wrecking floozy would have been clearly inspired by her. But she is notoriously in need of money these days, so apparently anything goes. If E*Trade airs another Super Bowl spot this winter, it should really get its money's worth and name a character Madonna.

Filed under Controversy, E*Trade, Grey, Nudd
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DirecTV's 'Opulence' ad is rich in subtleties

Grey New York and director Tim Godsa filled this "Opulence" DirecTV spot with awesome subtle details, like the actual dogs playing poker (one of whom has an ace in his paw) and what appears to be a Van Gogh on an easel behind couch. And there's the miniature giraffe, of course, which is so cute we'll forgive the otherwise unpardonable sin of Twilight playing on his TV. The best part is the song clip at the end, though; it's a Russian folk song called "Korobeiniki," better known over here as the Tetris theme.

Filed under DirecTV, Grey, Kiefaber
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Pets quote movie tough guys in Bayer spots

A talking dog and cat deliver famous tough-guy lines from the movies in JayGrey's Australian campaign for Bayer's amusing Advocate parasite medication. The point is that the pets aren't as tough as they think they are. Fido's Al Pacino could use a bit more bite, though Tabby (in the ad posted after the jump) does a fine job with "I am Spartacus," and the wink was the purrfect cheeky touch. This kind of item breeds silly puns. Hopefully next week I'll be bark with more sophisticated commentary.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

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Filed under Animals, Australia, Bayer, Gianatasio, Grey
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United Moving vows not to wreck your stuff

Grey dredges up the old "A vs. B" routine for United Moving. "A" is United, which offers "a seamless professional move" with seasoned pros who take extra-special care with your stuff, etc. Company "B" traffics in chaos, uses bee-infested containers and sets your possessions on fire. I dunno, I guess I'll take ... B? In the world of professional movers, promising not to be an absolute horror show is apparently enough. My couch smells like hot dogs, and some kind of mammals are nesting in my La-Z-Boy recliner. When I change apartments, I'll get moving insurance and buy new stuff after B sets all my old crap ablaze. Thanks for the tip, United! See one more spot after the jump.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

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Filed under Gianatasio, Grey, Movers, United Moving
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Pantene 'reality hair star' crowned in live ad

Stacy London appeared on Marissa Hopson's Florida doorstep on Tuesday night, surprising her with the news that she'd been chosen as Pantene's "first reality hair star." (Don't we already have one in Donald Trump?) The ad below was broadcast live during NBC's season finale of The Biggest Loser: Couples in a three-network roadblock that also included Bravo and Oxygen. Hopson, a 24-year-old broadcast journalism student who knew only that she was a finalist, screams in front of her TV as she realizes London is approaching her door. If the squeals, amplified by London's own shrieks of excitement, didn't scare them away, viewers saw Hopson give the camera her best hair flip. (She'd had a makeover courtesy of the P&G brand earlier in the day.) The brunette's long, straight hair didn't really get airborne enough to compete with the classic commercial beauty shot, but she'll have time to perfect her moves, given her snazzy new title. Grey New York devised the campaign.

—Posted by Eleftheria Parpis

Filed under Grey, Hair care, Pantene, Parpis, Procter & Gamble
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Mental-health PSAs aren't exactly feel-good

These Ad Council spots from Grey, addressing mental-health problems, are well intentioned, and no can argue that the loving support of friends goes a long way toward helping folks get well. Still, the behaviors on display here are odd all around. In the spot below, a slacker type shaves his buddy's back, and the two discuss waxing. Sure, it's probably a fun Saturday night, but it's not what most people mean by having their friend's back. A second clip, posted after the jump, shows a guy picking up his pal and twirling him around above his head, very fast, in amazingly acrobatic fashion. That'd make anyone feel a little off! To its credit, at least the campaign doesn't suggest that the guys start acting like girls. That only works for cancer, not anxiety or depression. Though shaving each other’s legs probably would bring those two even closer together.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

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Filed under Ad Council, Gianatasio, Grey, Mental health, PSAs
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Dishwashing soap targeting snowperson set

Grey Argentina's Pygmalion-esque ad for Magistral dishwashing soap is well made, but the sudden, heartbreaking finish is cheapened somewhat by the glib tagline. You'd also think the snowman would have had the boiler removed from his house sometime in the distant past, before he went to all the work of building his one true love and having her do his housework. Forgive me, but examining this ad's internal logic is the only thing keeping me from sobbing like a child on repeat viewings.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Grey, Kiefaber, South America
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Fox supposedly doing E*Trade babies movie

Twentieth Century Fox is reportedly working on a movie about the E*Trade babies from Grey's ad campaign. It goes without saying that this movie will suck, although it might do quite well at the box office, in the vein of the Look Who's Talking films. The plot will supposedly involve a group of talking babies who make their way across a playground. Lindsay Lohan is not attached to the project. Perhaps Baby Bob could make a cameo as a surly 10-year-old raging milkaholic who imparts some hard-won wisdom about the perils of overestimating one's charms.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under E*Trade, Fox, Grey, Movies, Nudd
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Lindsay Lohan sues E*Trade over milkaholic

This is awesome. The New York Post reports that Lindsay Lohan is suing E*Trade for $100 million, claiming that the boyfriend-stealing "milkaholic" named Lindsay in the company's Super Bowl commercial above from Grey Advertising was clearly modeled after her. "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E*Trade is using that knowledge to profit," Lohan's lawyer says. "They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan." It's anyone's guess why Lohan would claim that a two-bit skank was clearly inspired by her. Still, if she has stepped down to milkaholism from all that booze and blow, she might actually live to see 25. A rep at Grey tells the Post that the name Lindsay is "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Controversy, E*Trade, Grey, Nudd
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Food strikes back in Grey's new Tums spots

Everyone loves a good food fight. (I enjoy chicks brawling in gooey chocolate, so long as they're not Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli. But that's just me.) Tums takes the food-fight metaphor to its literal limit in new ads from Grey that show guys getting smacked upside the head by spicy barbecued chicken wings (in the ad below) and tacos (in the spot posted after the jump). The kung-fu-movie sound effects are a nice touch. If your food starts beating you up, it might be wise to send it back for another five minutes on the grill. But nah, these guys still quaff it down. Naturally, the ads claim that Tums takes the fight out of the pugilistic entrees, but I'm not so sure. Tacos have been known to come back for another round or two the next day.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

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Filed under Antacid, Gianatasio, Grey, Tums
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New offices driving Grey's staff into therapy

As Grey chugs closer to its centennial, the agency is in the throes of upheaval: Its private offices are mostly gone. The New York Times gives a blow-by-blow account of Grey's move from its midtown offices, where it's been for nearly a half century, to new digs in the Flatiron District. Grey decided to knock down walls, a time-tested interior-design approach to fostering agency culture. It's a needed shake-up, Grey New York ecd Tor Myhren allows. "Grey was a symbol of what advertising used to be: very slow and not very nimble," he tells the Times. "We've created a faster environment, one that is more open and collaborative. This space reflects what's happening in the digital world." Sounds super, but some are apparently taking it hard. Grey is shelling out for a charlatan, er, business psychologist to hold "space therapy" sessions with staffers who are having trouble adjusting from the office life to working among the masses. If anyone gets really freaked out, they can always retreat to the in-office bedroom on the second floor. Alas, it has glass walls.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

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Australia celebrates brutal road-safety PSAs

No one does horrifying safe-driving PSAs quite like the Australians. And now, to celebrate 20 years of making people feel sad and sick in the name of the public good, Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (with help from Grey Melbourne) has put together this greatest-hits music-video montage of nasty, depressing and brutal clips from its most disturbing commercials. It starts off a little slow, but really picks up around the one-minute mark. Death, despair, blood, guts, tears—it's all here! Relive all your worst nightmares this Christmas as you sing along to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts." And remember to drive safely out there.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Australia, Grey, Nudd, PSAs, Road safety
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Responsible play doesn't include giant balls

"Playing is fun if you don't push it too far. … Excesses can ruin everything, even the most innocent and safe games." That's the message of this weird campaign from Grey in Milan, Italy, advocating responsible gambling. To illustrate the point, we get images of a giant cue ball, a huge rubber duck and hopscotch squares that stretch on forever. If these examples seem a bit ridiculous, and disconnected from the dangers posed by gambling, that may be because the advertiser here, Sisal, runs an immense gambling network in Italy. It's like a brewer exhorting its patrons to "Drink responsibly" (that's worked wonders so far) or Big Tobacco suggesting tobacco isn't addictive in small doses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy some lottery tickets to redeem my damaged childhood! Via Ads of the World.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Previously on AdFreak:
Gambling addicts get high in Canadian ads
Online-poker body spray is for winners only

Filed under Europe, Gambling, Gianatasio, Grey, PSAs
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Grey breast-cancer ads have nothing to hide

In America, breast-cancer PSAs skirt the issue a bit—they're even liable to focus on butts rather than boobs. Not so in Europe, where they get straight to the point. For example: this new, very-NSFW campaign from Grey Amsterdam for Pink Ribbon magazine. This 30-second spot just shows a bunch of naked breasts, along with a voiceover's rhyme about each pair's journey through life together. The print ads also show naked women's torsos, along with handwritten text giving the breasts individual names and telling their story. (The print ads were shot by British photographer Rankin, who also worked on that bloody new U.K. anti-smoking spot.) This is par for the course at Grey Amsterdam, whose reel includes a commercial shot from the point of view of a vagina. None of this stuff would fly in the U.S., of course, where Rethink's not-very-shocking "Save the Boobs" campaign is branded "astonishing" for its use of "male lechery." Via Adland.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

See also:
DDB fights breast cancer with musical butts
Latest breast-cancer PSAs let it all hang out

Filed under Breast cancer, Europe, Grey, Nudd
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Driving on drugs is fairly safe until you stop

New Zealand's road-safety ads have their floppy corpses and their bleeding billboards, but Australia has plenty of its own safe-driving shockvertising. Specifically, Victoria's Transport Accident Commission excels at grisly advisories. The gruesome spot above, by Grey Melbourne, cautioning against smoking dope and driving, is no exception. It even tricks you into letting your guard down right before the end. Not to nitpick, but the driver was right to let his sober wife take the wheel, even if he did pick a crappy place to pull over. His ultimately cruel destiny, which could happen to someone who's just tired, not high, seems a bit random for anti-impairment message. TAC can keep you from making boneheaded decisions, but they probably can't do much when fate is out to screw you.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Australia, Grey, Kiefaber, Road safety
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Drift off anywhere with Breathe Right strips

Judging by this commercial from CBGrey in Paris, Breathe Right nasal strips are strong enough to prevent snoring no matter how dull your theatrical experience is. I really could have used one or two of those in 9th-grade biology, although wearing one to class might have been what poker players call a "tell" that I was going to fall asleep at some point. I'm assuming the ushers at this play would have caught that, too. Still, Breathe Right could market the differing strengths of its product by playwright—Neil Simon for light snorers, Brecht for moderate cases, and Chekhov for log sawing that could pulverize granite.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Breathe Right, Europe, Grey, Kiefaber
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