Illinoisan running against Blagojevich's hair

Rod Blagojevich's hair is visual shorthand for corruption in this new campaign ad (posted below) from Andy McKenna, a Republican candidate for Illinois governor in 2010. We see the state capitol in a giant Blagojevich wig, and various other disgraced Illinois politicians wearing the same. The kid above is also apparently very corrupt. It's a smart way to employ one of the world's best-known political haircuts, though McKenna might be taking it a bit too far. He's on record criticizing Illinois' "hair-brained" financial schemes, and said of current Gov. Pat Quinn: "He's Rod Blagojevich with just a little bit less hair."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Previously on AdFreak:
Ox battles rat in Georgia politican's ad/fable

Published on November 9, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Hair care, Nudd, Political ads

Rhett & Link now advertising cheap haircuts

Rhett & Link are back with another new ad in their ILoveLocalCommercials series. This one's for the Salt Lake Community College Barbering and Cosmetology School, where you can get a haircut for just $2, assuming you don't mind getting butchered by someone who's just learning the trade. It's not as good as the Cullman Liquidation or Ray's Midbell Music spots, but they're not going to hit it out of the park every time. As usual, they've also done a making-of video, which you can see here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Previously on AdFreak:
Buy a mobile home from Cullman. Or don't.
Iowa music shop gets Rhett & Link TV spot

Published on November 4, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Hair care, Nudd, Rhett & Link

Herbal Essences gets high on stoner chicks

After years of insanely successful Herbal Essences ads where they treated the shampoo like it was some kind of orgasm sauce, Clairol has begun a new campaign with the tagline, "Someone's been doing the Herbal." That's right: They've slipped seamlessly from sex to drugs. The spot above touts the Tousle Me Softly line, part of an extensive new product lineup with redesigned bottles, and shows a chick who magically turns into a rock star thanks to her softly tousled hair. At the end, she bounces next to enormous text that shouts, "Someone's been doing the Herbal!" Which makes it sound a bit like they're saying she must be on drugs if she thinks her hair is rock-star hair. It's hard to imagine anyone outside the stoner-chick crowd will find "doing the herbal" a stronger appeal than "orgasm in a bottle." Then again, lady stoners are a vastly underserved demographic. And it's not like Herbal Essences was ever concerned about negative press from the orgasm campaign, so any backlash from anti-drug moms won't change anything. So congrats, HE, for putting the addiction back in shampoo.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

See also:
Big Happie Hair gives you that big-hair look
Pay attention to my rich and buttery locks

Published on August 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (7)
Filed under Clairol, Cullers, Hair care, Herbal Essences

Axe wrangles up 100 girls to judge your hair

Hey fellas, ever wanted a room full of women focused on critiquing your personal appearance? Yeah, me either. That's why I decided to upload a picture of Minneapolis marketing icon Tim Brunelle to the new Axe 100 Girls site, which supposedly shows if your hair is "girl-approved." The faux Web cam is part of the Axe Hair Crisis Relief campaign, which recently hurled a pig and a bucket of water at an unfortunate young man. Tim may have been spared a pig attack, but his hair still only mustered a 40% approval rating. (You can watch the verdict get handed down.) To Tim's credit, I'm guessing he would have been pushing 95% if the women were allowed to vote on his ascot.

—Posted by David Griner

Published on February 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (11)
Filed under Axe, Griner, Hair care

Big Happie Hair gives you that big-hair look

I don't think Big Happie Hair's Bumpit "hair-volumizing insert" was designed to physically graft more hair onto the head. But that's what it seems to do, for better or worse, to every model in this ad. But the styles advertised are confusing. Is there really a huge difference between "sassy" and "flirty"? And the "fabulous" 'do looks more like one of Tammy Faye Bakker's vintage hair farms than something you'd want to see on yourself. No, women looking for this kind of thing should choose Big Sexy Hair instead. At least they spell their name right. Via Boing Boing.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on January 16, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Hair care, Kiefaber

Pay attention to my rich and buttery locks

So, uh, boobs. There sure are some boobs in this Pantene ad from MatosGrey in Brazil. Is there a, y'know, point to throwing those in our face? Maybe this next ad will ... nope, still boobs. Oh, I see. The tiny, barely readable circle of copy near the model's right ear reads, "Make sure your hair is the second thing he looks at." These ads were clearly written by men. Via Ads of the World.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on October 3, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Grey, Hair care, Kiefaber, Pantene