Virgin Mobile perfect for crazy stalker types

I don't like where Virgin Mobile's "Kelsey and Brad" series of ads is going, because there's only one logical way for it to end. Now that Miss Crazy-Go-Nuts has set up shop in a tree outside Brad's kitchen window and (in the second spot, after the jump) in one of his spacious closets, it won't be long before they're pulling a sheet over Brad's body while Kelsey babbles on about being able to check his Flickr stream from the back of the squad car. Someone cast Brad in a New Balance commercial, so he can run the hell away from all this. By Mother in New York, which has been playing the crazy card for Virgin Mobile for a while.

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Filed under Kiefaber, Mother, Telecom, Virgin Mobile
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'60s model Evelyn Kuhn sues over Stella ad

Mother London's recent work for Stella has an authentic 1960s vibe. Perhaps too authentic. The New York Post reports that Evelyn Kuhn, one of the world's first supermodels, is suing Corbis, the stock-photography company, after a 1963 photo of her popped up in a Stella campaign ad this past March. The ad is thought to be the one shown here, posted on Ad Broad—with what appears to be Kuhn in the upper-right image. The photo was reportedly taken in 1963 during a shoot for Polydor Records in which Kuhn wore a gold-lamé dress. Corbis says Kuhn lawsuit is "without merit." Not so Jacques d'Azur, the star of that Stella campaign, which was tied to the Cannes Film Festival. Jacques, a kind of World's Most Interesting Man Lite, is oozing in merit, as well as chicks.

Filed under Alcohol, Controversy, Mother, Nudd, Stella Artois
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Stella's ice contest is a chainsaw massacre

Stella Artois spotlights an elaborate ice-sculpting contest in this spot from Mother New York. And I'm sorry, but the losers here really got screwed. The winner openly bribed the judges with liquor, for God's sakes. It's Hayes-Tilden all over again. This is hardly the Christmas spirit under which Stella itself was born. I mean, come on. That ice-piano guy should have won, hands down. According to its description, the ad "is a playful take on the care and dedication that go into 'crafting' the winning ice sculpture, and relates back to the care and dedication that go into crafting Stella Artois—the beer originally crafted for Christmas."

Filed under Alcohol, Holidays, Kiefaber, Mother, Stella Artois
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Agency moves, messes with new neighbors

Mother New York recently moved to 595 11th Ave. on the far west side of Manhattan. To introduce itself to the neighborhood, the agency decided to screw with the locals—keeping them guessing about just what the new storefront was going to be. They put up banners pretending to offer hot dogs made from endangered species, cosmetic surgery for pets, funeral services for insects and transsexual moustache grooming. The people interviewed on the street seemed fairly good natured about being messed with, though PETA may have something to say about the panda hors d'oeuvres. Via Creativity.

Filed under Mother, Nudd, Self-promotion
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Stella Artois preferred to chick stuck in sofa

Ad agency Mother, along with filmmakers Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, deliver a retro-futuristic '60s vibe in this "Apartomatic" spot for Stella Artois, which plays like a deleted scene from an Austin Powers movie. Or at least, an Austin Powers movie directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola. In a high-tech swingin' bachelor pad, a guy's date pushes control switches and winds up getting swallowed by the couch. Her paramour is more interested in the beer, which is often true in real life, too. Hey, chicks come and go—beer's forever. Or else it just gets you drunk for an hour—that's good enough. The woman here isn't in a great position, but it could be worse. At least she isn't trapped in the libidinous, leathery folds of the Axe sofabed centaur. Groovy, baby!

Filed under Alcohol, Gianatasio, Mother, Stella Artois
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100 cats roam free in Ikea for new U.K. spot

Mother London released 100 cats in Ikea's Wembley, England, store to produce the retailer's latest ad, showing some cats enjoying the false comforts of their brief showroom home. The experiment, shown in the behind-the-scenes video below, is more interesting than the final ad, posted after the jump—which is just some cats in a store being cute. But I think they have a decent viral on their hands with the cat-umentary, given how the Internet loves cats beyond all sense and reason. The "Happy inside" effort is Mother's first for Ikea. According to Feh Tarty, creative director at Mother, "Cats know better than anything what makes them feel happy inside. They live their lives in pursuit of their own comfort." Which I guess means we'll be treated to a lot more cat executions, since everyone knows there's nothing better than cats, except more cats. Hat tip to all my Facebook friends who posted this simultaneously.

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Filed under Cullers, Europe, Furniture, Ikea, Mother
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Virgin Mobile finds its niche: total nutjobs

In Mother New York's new campaign, "The Crazy Life," Virgin Mobile seems to be staking its claim as the cellular service for the mentally imbalanced. Well, I suppose Droid cornered the market on sci-fi geeks, and Apple has a lock on self-centered hipsters, so there weren't many niches left. The insane need cellphones too, mainly to talk to themselves. Some of the Virgin hijinks, presented in annoyingly loud, quick-cut fashion, include screaming man-hugs in the locker room, checking into Flickr while on the birthing table and an all-texting church congregation led by Rob Halford of Judas Priest. Some of these behaviors are a tad out of the norm, perhaps, but nothing outright crazy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to take an important call. It's me on the line, and I'm just dying to know what I've been up to.

Filed under Gianatasio, Mother, Telecom, Virgin Mobile
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Enjoy a Schweppes before being eaten alive

In this ad from Mother in London, doofus Dad gets home from work to find his house—and to an oddly bloodless extent, his family—torn apart by a big cat. Don't you hate when that happens? Thanks to Schweppes, Dad keeps cool, and lets the kid keep the kitty. (He'll be hitting the hard stuff later, after the animal quits playing around.) Mom's also pretty dim, which is refreshing, and that's what Schweppes is all about, I guess. Since the toothy terror is a leopard, more spots should be forthcoming. Ha ha!

Filed under Animals, Europe, Gianatasio, Mother, Schweppes
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Pot Noodle will turn your home into a disco

It seems like only yesterday that we all laughed ironically at Mother London's Pot Noodle ad about turning women into soup. Well, that was a sane idea compared to their latest offering, directed by music-video wizard Joseph Kahn, in which a homely guy and his disproportionately attractive girlfriend turn their apartment into a club by spilling Pot Noodle on his turntable. As if the Auto-Tune vocals ("Oh what's that flavor all over my lips? It's new Pop Noodle's Sticky Rib!") weren't unappetizing enough, they had to throw in a gratuitous teabag shot (thankfully blurred) during the breakdancing sequence. I think the flavor in my mouth is vomit. Just like it would be if I went clubbing after downing a cup of salty, spicy "Sticky Rib"-flavored broth with reconstituted noodles.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Europe, Food and drink, Kiefaber, Mother, Pot Noodle
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Stella Artois goes green via black-and-white

Mother London goes full-throttle retro-futuristic to promote Stella Artois' new lightweight bottle with a spoof 1960s French TV variety show whose hosts are obsessed with saving carbon dioxide. (The new bottle creates less CO2 during its production.) This kind of high-concept mishmash usually falls flat, but while the humor here is stretched somewhat thin, the self-consciously oddball approach succeeds through sheer manic energy. The gigantic VHS tape and 1980s-style VCR, treadmill-running hedgehog and spacey Marina and the Diamonds music video add to the sudsy fun. The swingin' dance-robot, however, is clearly just cooling his jets until the time comes to incinerate us all. See a second clip after the jump.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

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Filed under Alcohol, Europe, Gianatasio, Mother, Stella Artois
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Stella looks at dying art of hand-painted ads

Mother in New York hosted a screening of its short film Up There for Stella Artois at the Grand Hotel on Thursday night. The 13-minute film (embedded after the jump) profiles the waning art of hand-painted advertising while chronicling a 21-day project during which artists from Sky High Murals painted the Belgian beer brand's "pouring ritual" on a 20-by-50-foot wall in SoHo. The documentary short, directed by Mekanism's Malcolm Murray, shows the painters, including retired artist Bob Middleton of Mack Sign Company, talking about the years it takes to perfect their artistry. By the time some of the young guys in the film become masters, there may not be much work left for them. So, take a minute to look up and check out the real thing the next time you pass a painted original. It's advertising's high art. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

—Posted by Eleftheria Parpis

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Filed under Alcohol, Mother, Movies, Parpis, Stella Artois
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Oasis juice hauls the sandwich shop to you

Mother London recently gave birth to this Oasis fruit juice ad in which the company goes way beyond the call of duty to satisfy a customer. Rather than see him go without his favorite sandwich after moving to the city for work, they bring the responsible sandwich shop to him. They also presumably hooked it up to a portable generator, septic tank and plumbing system so the shop wouldn't be awash in health-code violations by the time they got there. Of course, this ad is funny enough to enable suspension of my disbelief. And if they're still in the business of making outlandish dreams come true (with a brand-name tie-in), launching the Gallagher brothers into orbit would make me very happy.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Europe, Food and drink, Kiefaber, Mother, Oasis
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Diet Coke pulls the strings in new puppet ad

Zappos isn't the only advertiser combining workplace scenarios and puppets these days. Diet Coke and London ad shop Mother get into the act with "Maniac," presenting glammed-up marionettes that dance around the office in this spot, airing in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Check out the pair by the vending machine near the end—he's gonna be awfully sore in the morning. And the redhead with mile-high eyeshadow looks blitzed after chugging some product—of course, it's diet, not caffeine free. The spot's a winner, but why must they bust moves to that insipidly catchy Flashdance song, last seen in that Kia commercial? And why do puppets and the workplace seem like such a natural fit? Ouch! Quit yanking like that! I'd better get back to work.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Coca-Cola, Europe, Food and drink, Gianatasio, Mother, Soda
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Surrender to the guy with the chocolate pud

Life can be strange. I woke up this morning craving a tongue-in-cheek, psycho-sexual spot for rich chocolate dessert. And splat! London ad shop Mother dishes up this little treat for Gü Chocolate Puds. Is "pud" short for "pudding"? Why can't those Brits speak English?! The cinematic, 60-second clip has a delightfully overwrought vibe. Note how the repressed babe drops the doggie leash to the ground at the start. Symbolic! Later, at a gathering that plays like a scene from Twin Peaks, a smarmy smirkmeister asks the inhibited hottie: "Gü you ganache?" She replies, uncertainly, "I ... ganache ... gü." Then she licks the pud from his spoon and makes an orgasm face. Makes perfect sense to me! Of course, it's all a matter of taste.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Food and drink, Gianatasio, Mother
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Women, beer: What's the difference, really?

Here's a new Stella Artois commercial from Mother London, which compares a tall glass of Stella to a tall, fetching brunette. There's not much difference, as it turns out. Both are elaborately prepared for men's pleasure and equally refreshing. Just don't mix the two. Via Copyranter.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Alcohol, Europe, Mother, Nudd, Stella Artois
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Mother London enjoys honest holiday spam

This came to our attention too late to include on our list of best agency holiday cards. But it's doubtful any shop will top Mother London's "Giving is Glorious" idea for its combination of cleverness and charity. The agency sent out a spam-style e-mail promising recipients $10,000 if they replied with their full name and bank details. Lots of people responded, but only one guy—commercial director Theo Delaney—was willing to surrender his bank number. He wound up with the money. And in a nice twist (which almost makes you wonder if the whole thing was staged), Delaney quickly decided to donate it to a women's health charity called Forward Nigeria.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Filed under Agency web sites, Europe, Holidays, Morrissey, Mother
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Schweppes brings 1950s Christmases to life

Mother London adds live-action arms and hands (along with some goofy and mildly smutty humor) to classic 1950s Christmas illustrations in these amusing 10-second spots for Schweppes tonic water in the U.K. The voice talent includes Martin Freeman, who played Tim on The Office. The best line has to be: "Don and Tabitha, you're just in time. I'm about to hose down Felicity!" Via The Inspiration Room.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Food and drink, Holidays, Mother, Nudd, Schweppes
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Polar bears more screwed than you thought

The U.K. is on a roll with its climate-change PSAs. First, there were the dogs drowning in rising seas. Now, we get this gruesome spot from Mother (posted below) for PlaneStupid.com, in which polar bears fall from the sky to splattery deaths—to make some point about airplane emissions. "An average European flight produces over 400kg of greenhouse gases for every passenger … that's the weight of an adult polar bear," the spot says. There's plenty to find objectionable here—the nonsensical connection between that stat and the rain of bears, as well as the general airplane-skyscraper-death theme, complete with a pretty blatant 9/11 Falling Man reference, which will evoke extremely negative emotions for some. Why do environmental groups shoot themselves in the foot like this? Via Animal.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Previously on AdFreak:
'Dead pets' climate-change ad feels the heat

Filed under Environment, Europe, Mother, PSAs
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truTV's viewers are violent, blithering idiots

"When the stories are real, the effect is actual." That's the tagline for truTV's debut campaign from Mother in New York. It's probably best not to analyze the wording too deeply. Per press materials, the work targets "younger men who love real-life programming that immerses them in worlds they can't normally experience." In the spot above, that includes blows to the face, chest and other regions—experiences that guys have had, if they have brothers or any male friends. Yeah, guys like pummeling each other for any reason. If we get to watch someone else being smacked, all the better. The spot below is less captivating because there's no punching. Mother should feel free to include some gal-on-gal slapping in future commercials, and the gals could be wearing bikinis. I may be a doofus, but I know what I like.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Gianatasio, Mother, Television, truTV
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Dell's laptop factory sure is a magical place

Mother in New York more or less goes the Coca-Cola "Happiness Factory" route for Dell in this musical spot. The Dell factory's a bit too wacky-forced-happy for my taste, with burly hardhats shufflin' and singin' about lollipops as multicolored Dell notebook computers roll off the confection/assembly line. Why should I care that these dudes are happy in their toil? Does that somehow make the product better or more desirable? The upside: If these computers crash, you can always just eat them.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Dell, Gianatasio, Mother, Technology
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Stella isn't great for elaborate flirting rituals

Most brewers use their commercials to show how drinking their beer attracts beautiful women. Kudos to Stella Artois, then, for having the balls to suggest that its beer can cause you to lose an attractive woman to some douche with a beard. I guess the hidden message here is that after all your decorative-fountain flirting get sunk by an unforeseen episode of paper-boat piracy, you can still comfort yourself with another Stella. Good on Stella for bucking traditional wisdom, though, with a clever and acceptably random, if counterproductive, ad. By Mother in London.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Alcohol, Europe, Kiefaber, Mother, Stella Artois
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A whole lot of backstory on Coke's gremlins

If you enjoyed Mother London's "Organ Player" spot for Coke, with the goofy musical gremlins, there's more about them at CokeCreatures.com. The best part might be the biographies of all 10 characters over on their Flickr page. (Crétin and Tincré, in particular, sound about as dimwitted as they look.) There's also a Facebook page and various other gimcrack. (The song from the commercial is available on iTunes in the U.K. but is not yet in the U.S. store.) Meanwhile, some are wondering whether the whole campaign was inspired by this German cat piano from the 1600s.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Coca-Cola, Europe, Mother, Nudd
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Giant water-hating duck hawks Oasis drinks

It's turning out to be a Mother London kind of day. Here's the agency's latest work for Oasis drinks. Following up on last autumn's ill-fated Cactus Kid campaign, Mother sets this new ad in a Japanese dorm room, where one female student is somewhat suggestively feeding Oasis to another on the bed. A couple of parental types (university employees?) storm in, furious that the teens aren't drinking water, and accuse them of being under the spell of a giant water-hating duck. But the mere mention of the duck, aka Rubberduckzilla, summons the creature to the scene, where it proceeds to destroy everything around it—except for the adoring girls, who snuggle up on its beak. The tagline remains the equally absurd "Oasis. For people who don't like water."

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Europe, Food and drink, Freaky, Mother, Nudd, Oasis
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Stella keeps the 1960s French Riviera alive

As much as I enjoyed the vaudevillian switch-up gags in this Stella Artois ad below, from Mother in London, I'm not sure what the guy is so happy about by the end. Sure, he's got a nicer car and better clothes, but that hot blonde chick is long gone by the time he gets to the hotel. At best, he broke even. Whoever commissioned that chicken truck he was driving is bound to be upset, too, but that's more of a Pabst Blue Ribbon ad. The 1960s French Riviera theme extends to the print campaign, which features ads from legendary film illustrator Robert McGinnis, who did iconic posters for James Bond films. Mother convinced McGinnis, supposedly a Stella fan, to come out of retirement to create the ads.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Alcohol, Europe, Kiefaber, Mother, Stella Artois
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Ewok slaves play magical organ in Coke ad

Here's one of the weirder Coca-Cola commercials you'll see. A homeless-looking hipster dude wheels a box up a hillside, unpacks it to reveal an intricate organ with a bunch of Ewok/Spongemonkey type creatures inside who grunt and sing when given squirts of Coke from a series of jets activated by the organ's keyboard. Four more hairballs play as a little band down below. Soon, the music attracts a whole load of young hippie types, who slog up the hillside and dance in the grass, which starts sprouting bottles of Coke. Make of it what you will. By Mother in London.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Coca-Cola, Food and drink, Freaky, Mother, Nudd, Soda
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