AdFreak selects the 30 freakiest ads of 2009

It's the most wonderful time of the year—time to look back at the oddest, creepiest, quirkiest and downright freakiest commercials that we covered on AdFreak this year. Click here to see the list and watch all the spots.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on December 17, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (13)
Filed under Freaky, Lists, Nudd

10 most stupidest marketing blunders of '09

Media maven and former Brandweek journalist Constantine Von Hoffman, on his Collateral Damage blog, serves up his annual list of the worst marketing blunders of the year. Jay Leno's new show is No. 1. On the worst list, I mean. In the TV ratings, of course, it's much lower. The KFC-Oprah coupon episode placed second. Frankly, I don't think that was quite the fiasco some make it out to be. The story got lots of media play. Sure, the coverage was overwhelmingly negative, but it was a step up from that KFC-Taco Bell rats-in-NYC coverage a few years back. And when some franchisees refused to honor the coupons, they saved folks from having to eat that stuff. I don't see any losers there. Also on the list: greedy bankers, American Girl's homeless doll and Tiger Woods. One plus for Tiger: He didn't star in one of the worst ads of '09, as selected by the Tracy Awards. The way things are going, that might just be the highlight of his year.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on December 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Controversy, Gianatasio, Lists

A few of advertising people's favorite things

Given how they prize originality, advertising people can be awfully predictable sometimes. Their tastes in fashion, technology and culture tend to blur together. Now, there's a site that celebrates the sameness of their preferences: Things Marketing People Love, an industry takeoff of sorts on Stuff White People Like. The site is collecting the ties that bind marketing folk together, like an unnatural lust for Nike Plus and Threadless, scribbling in moleskin journals, and wearily and loudly lamenting late hours and unread e-mail messages. Submit your own to the canon on Twitter by sending a message to @tmplove.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on July 13, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Lists, Morrissey

History's most ironic (and often tragic) ads

Man, Consumerist's list of the Top 10 Ironic Ads From History will make you wince at certain points. Most painful are the ones promoting the World Trade Center's asbestos fireproofing and praising Union Carbide's role in shaping a new India (shown here), a brand promise that was catastrophically derailed when the company's toxic gas leak killed 25,000 people. While few could have predicted those disastrous historical twists, you have to wonder who ever thought that wrapping children in cellophane was a good idea. That's dangerous by colonial parenting standards, let alone anything within 50 years of the present day.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on July 7, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Kiefaber, Lists

Attractive women quite adept at selling cars

Speaking of suggestive, car advertising sure was filthy in the 1960s. Jalopnik has come up with a list of Ten Highly Suggestive Automotive Print Ads, and most of the (dis)honorees are from the era when the standard of female beauty was Nancy Sinatra and copywriters could get away with saying things like "she costs so little to keep happy" while comparing a car to a woman. There's also a German Matchbox ad in here, which shouldn't count as an auto ad and frankly weirds us out because Matchbox cars are for children. But at least that ad features a girl who's sexier than the car next to her. Big hair and heels can't compete with the Jaguar E-Type.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on June 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Automotive, Kiefaber, Lists

Worst of the worst: teen-learning-center ads

Compiling a list of the most melodramatic teen-learning-center ads is like shooting dogs in a cage, but Tabloid Prodigy has done it anyway. (They opt for the adjective "douchiest," however.) Three of the spots are courtesy of the Huntington Learning Center, which helps photogenic teenagers adjust to cubicles well in advance of their future careers as purposeless office drones. The Sylvan Learning Center does the same thing, from what we can tell, but they also help kids who try to play Super Mario Brothers on a PlayStation 2. The rest of the ads are about what you'd expect, and by the way, none of these kids look hip enough to listen to Anthrax. They barely look capable of handling Paul & Storm.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on June 22, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Kiefaber, Lists, Teen learning centers

Car ads not lacking for hot 'spokescougars'

Older, sexually aggressive women, known as "cougars," are hot right now. Well, they always have been. But they're also popular with advertisers, who've been using them to shill cars as of late. Jalopnik's selection of the hottest automotive spokescougars features Brooke Shields (who has been hot for most of her professional life), Jill Wagner (who shouldn't even count because she's only 30) and Kim Cattrall (who isn't Samantha Jones, no matter how hard she tries), among others. Our vote goes to the i-Miev Mom, but only because we've never heard of her and, consequently, aren't tired of seeing her already. Plus, there's just something about the way she handles that electrical plug.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on June 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Automotive, Kiefaber, Lists

'Fast Company' picks most creative ad folks

Fast Company has made its picks for the 10 most creative people in advertising and marketing. It's no surprise who came in No. 1 from the magazine that once described Alex Bogusky as a "mechanic of cool" and quoted a gushing staffer comparing him to Jesus. Bogusky beats out Lee Clow, Jeff Goodby and Dan Wieden, in that order. Bob Greenberg rounds out the top five. The rest of the list is pretty eclectic, including Target CMO Michael Francis on the client side, Naked's Paul Woolmington and Barbarian Group's Noah Brier. Whom would you add or subtract from the list?

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on June 10, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (13)
Filed under Lists, Morrissey

Most-creative list mostly missing ad people

The ad business, we're told ad nauseum, is all about creativity—specifically, the type that builds brands and drives business results. Someone tell that to Fast Company. The bible of all things innovation is out with a list of the "100 most creative people in business." It isn't dominated by the ad world. TBWA creative chief Lee Clow checks in at No. 32, and Noah Brier, director of strategy at The Barbarian Group and creator of BrandTags.net, is No. 59. The magazine explains its methodology: "We looked for dazzling new thinkers, rising stars, and boldface names who couldn't be ignored. We avoided people we've profiled in the recent past. We emphasized those whose creativity addresses a larger issue—from the future of our energy infrastructure to the evolution of philanthropy to next-generation media and entertainment." Are they missing some people? UPDATE: There is another ad guy on the list: BBDO's Greg Hahn is No. 39.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on May 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (11)
Filed under Lists, Morrissey

The greatest fictional ads from sci-fi movies

It will take a geekier geek than me to properly parse this fun-looking list of the top 25 fictional ads in sci-fi movies. I have a moderate Doctor Who habit, but I haven't seen the majority of the movies highlighted here, much less the fictional ads they contain. (The spot above is from Robocop 2, for Sunblock 5000.) Doctor Who (Saturdays at 9 p.m. on BBC America) has little in-story advertising—except for that seven-year product placement back in the 1970s, courtesy of Tom Baker, for Jelly Babies.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on January 5, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Lists, Nudd