Buy this stereo despite the psycho hamster
The commercial above, by Lowe Brindfors in Sweden for an electronics retailer, picks up where advertising's previous psychotic rodents left off—in particular, the kidney-eating guinea pig from the G4 Midnight Spank spot below, as well as Las Vegas tourism's killer chinchillas. The hamster here is more visceral than the chinchillas, and more guinea-pig-like in its Monty Python-style infliction of carnage. The somewhat flimsy premise of the ad is that the retailer's stereos give songs like Hall & Oates' "Maneater" some added emotional heft. I actually own "Maneater" on cassette and 45-inch vinyl (yes, I'm 118 years old), but tastes change, and given a choice today, I think I'd rather fight a crazed, flesh-eating hamster than listen to Hall & Oats. Unless they're playing "Rich Girl." That song still rocks. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 26, 2009 | Permalink
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PSA reminder: you're an ass when you drink
Lowe Bull wisely avoids the clichés of the genre in these alcohol-awareness ads for South Africa's Association for Responsible Alcohol Use. I expected a bloody fistfight in the "Rugby" spot (above), tears of humiliation in "21st Birthday" (below) and lots of mangled bodies in "Road Block." We get none of these, although the threat of each provides an undercurrent of unease that propels the message. In some ways, that makes the spots tougher to watch than the more graphic stuff. The work might make some parents think twice about whether one more drink is one too many. But the campaign could resonate most strongly with teens. They're immensely self-conscious, and for them, public humiliation can seem like a fate worse than death. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on October 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Race relations a whole lot better in a hot tub
It's refreshing, after all this Sotomayor business, to see advertising from countries where mentioning race doesn't automatically beckon wingnuts. Above is a detail from this larger McCann-Lowe ad from Belgium for Luxor hot tubs, featuring a Klansman lounging with, from the looks of him, Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington in one of their deluxe models. The simple tagline is: "Extremely relaxing." There's been a rash of this kind of stuff in the Old World of late. Who knows why. What we do know is that Pat Buchanan should never see this ad. Via Copyranter. See also: |
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Published on August 7, 2009 | Permalink
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Do good now, don't come back as a maggot
Matthew Bull was recently named global chief creative officer of Lowe. I wonder if he got the job based on this (intentionally) disgusting campaign his office, Lowe Bull, did for nonprofit employment site CharitySA.co.za? The theme is reincarnation—we're warned in no uncertain terms what could happen in our next lives if we don't do good deeds in our current ones. Divorce attorney Bob comes back as a tick ("Still bleeding 'em dry, 'ey, Bob?"); tobacco exec Duncan returns as a dung-heap fly ("Take a deep breath, Duncan"); and paparazzo Sandra is reborn as a maggot squirming in stomach-churning filth and is really "in on the filthy scoop now." This is visceral stuff, compelling in its way. Still, who's the audience—those who believe in reincarnation? Are the rest of us free to hawk hard-packs or chase after Brangelina, Nikons blazing? Also, the professions are such easy targets. Hey, they left out the one where you get paid obscene amounts of money to promote overpriced client goods to people who can't afford the stuff and don't need it anyway. Via Ads of the World. |
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Published on May 11, 2009 | Permalink
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The greatest, most heroic shampoo ad ever
This commercial from Lowe Bangkok for Clear shampoo gets to the very heart of the age-old human-vs.-dandruff struggle: It's an epic, poetic, otherworldly battle between ice-arrow-wielding brunette warrior-hairs and freaky white exploding dandruff fairies. This is the kind of stuff that makes Gillette's space-age razor ads look folksy. If it's intentionally campy, it's great. If it's meant to be serious, it's even better. And just try to make sense of the voiceover: "From black into darkness, shadows see follicles bent and broke and slivers of sparks as dark and dandruff collide. Rage, rage against her breath of fear! Now frozen, silence marks the danse macabre. And into the dark, the icy blackness follows." |
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Published on April 28, 2009 | Permalink
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Don't kick the dog or mop the floor with him
Lowe Bull in South Africa has fashioned a pair of new "Stop the abuse" ads for the Animal Anti-Cruelty League. This one imagines a dog as a soccer ball; another casts a very furry friend as a mop. (See larger images here and here at Ads of the World.) My view is: animals would mop the floor with humans and kick our asses with their unclipped hind claws if they only could. Dogs are the focus of this campaign, which is wise. Dogs, generally speaking, would have the decency to wait until they were hungry to consume us. Cats would kill us for sport. |
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Published on February 19, 2009 | Permalink
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ALS Canada's ads just as unsettling in print
Lowe Roche in Toronto and the ALS Society of Canada crafted one of the more emotionally wrenching TV spots of 2008: this one, with the children's song "Head and Shoulders" and the father who is inexorably ravaged over time by the disease. Now, Lowe extends the campaign to print. See three full ads here. They show ALS sufferers with disintegrating chalk maze outlines superimposed on them, stretching from the head down one of their limbs—a simple, arresting and disquieting way to illustrate ALS's slow-motion destruction of the motor neurons that allow the brain to control the body. "One by one," reads the copy, "your muscles become paralyzed, making it impossible to walk, talk, eat, and eventually, breathe. Please, help us find a cure. Visit www.als.ca to donate." |
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Published on February 11, 2009 | Permalink
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Stella Artois feels tipsy with holiday cheer
This visually appealing Stella Artois holiday microsite from Lowe and Psyop tells the tale of a master paper-cut craftsman who creates a magical wintry world. I always wanted to be a master paper-cut craftsman, but I flunked folding, and kept poking myself with the scissors. At first, my reaction to the campaign was: too bad such an evocative seasonal effort is just meant to sell beer. But it turns out Stella was originally brewed in the 14th century to celebrate the holidays, so I guess that historical tie-in makes it OK. The site lets visitors send "stars" to friends, though I'd prefer a BlackBerry Storm, in case anyone out there is gifting. There are also paper-ornament templates you can craft into festive decorations. I printed some out. Lemme just grab the scissors and ... ouch! |
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Published on December 3, 2008 | Permalink
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Canadian ALS spot sets a new bar for grim
This is one emotionally jarring PSA by Lowe Roche for the ALS Society of Canada. The family images and children's song "Head and Shoulders" start out fast-paced and joyous, then somberly slow to a crawl as the spot progresses, mirroring the way the disease ravages the human body. The shot of the dad, so animated in the early scenes, struggling to walk stiffly down the stairs, his face set like a mask, is truly heartbreaking and not quickly forgotten. Sure, we're being manipulated, but whoa! That guy's shambling advance is intense! Make a donation here. |
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Published on November 11, 2008 | Permalink
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