'Spore' creatures would like to have a word

As aspirational messages go, it's hard to beat the headline, "Tail today. Feet tomorrow." That's one of the snappy lines from the poster campaign for Spore, the new videogame in which players try to direct a new species from primordial ooze to galaxy-touring super race. "Tail today. Feet tomorrow" would actually be a decent Campaign '08 poster, too. See a bunch more ads from the campaign on this page.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Nudd, Print, Video games

Classic stars come out to play in Emmy ads

WongDoody has created the ad campaign for the 60th annual Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 21 on ABC. The tagline, "Where TV comes together," is unfortunate, but less so than the name of the agency that created it. The campaign's visuals, however, are lots of fun, focusing on the small-screen characters we've come to know and love over the past 60 years. A wrap shows them riding the bus! Ha-ha! Hardly a new idea ... but look, there's the Incredible Hulk and Eric Cartman! I bet neither paid the fare. Hey, Fonzie, "sit on it!" No really, take my seat, you shouldn't have to stand. But … why would Superman need to take the bus? A collage of more than 400 characters and personalities will run as a poster or two-page spread in magazines and newspapers. But seriously, why would Superman be taking the bus? Is Lex Luthor on the bus?!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Emmys, Gianatasio, Outdoor, Print, WongDoody

Twin Cities urged to be nice to Republicans

While all political eyes are now on the Democrats in Denver, the Twin Cities are getting ready for the Republican conclave next week in St. Paul. And Minneapolis agency Campbell Mithun is getting into the act with a campaign developed with Hungry Man Productions, and launched via the UnConvention Web site, that urges the locals in this traditionally Democratic state (or, more precisely, Democratic-Farmer-Labor state) to be gracious hosts. Republican delegates who check out the Web site's video and the posters may wonder how sincere the welcome is. But after the treatment their party is getting in Denver, anything short of open hostility may seem like a warm embrace.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on August 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Campaign '08, Campbell Mithun, Dolliver, Political ads, Print

Sears not an expert on video-game systems

Judging by this back-to-school ad (click to enlarge), Sears doesn't fully grasp the concept of "playing hard," a phrase reserved for things more physically taxing than sitting on one's ass playing video games. But there are greater inaccuracies here: The kid is playing Metal Gear Solid 4, a PlayStation 3 game, with an Xbox 360 controller. Sears is clueless about video games? Color me shocked and appalled! Seriously, I'm finding it hard to get too upset about this. And I'm not alone—even the commenter nerds at Kotaku aren't getting that worked up. Maybe they're like me and accept that Sears has enough trouble organizing its stores, let alone keeping gaming systems straight.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on August 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (7)
Filed under Kiefaber, Print, Sears, Video games

Ad creatives whip up '08 campaign posters

Adweek asked a bunch of big-name creatives to come up with mock ads for the presidential candidates. Deutsch's take on Obama as chick-magnet party-guy (in the ad above, whipped up before Obama chose Biden instead of Paris) hits close to home for me: It's a vivid reminder of how hip I'll never be. Butler, Shine's McCain poster reads, "God is my running mate," but recent poll numbers don't bear that out. Anomaly plays the age card and takes a poke at "McCain Erickson." Um ... I don't get it. Maybe it's a typo. Waaait. ... No, still don't get it. Check out all the work, and support your favorite in the Adweek comments section (and the election in November).

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Campaign '08, Gianatasio, Print

David Barton Gym wants everyone naked

David Barton Gym is back with more advertising encouraging rampant nakedness. Its new campaign uses the tagline, "I'd pay to see you sweat," superimposed on images like this one, showing a nude, shaved-headed model being sketched by two art-school dudes. Presumably the model has sculpted her body at the gym; the dudes may be the ones who would shell out the bucks to get her to perspire. It's all a bit unclear, and it's not clarified much on the Web site, LookBetterNaked.com. The one saving grace: David himself is nowhere to be seen.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on August 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under David Barton, Nudd, Print

Jessica Simpson prefers an intelligent beer

Jessica Simpson is known for a quite a few things: her looks, her singing career (such as it is), her acting career (ditto), and her disastrous effect on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. What she isn't known for is towering intelligence. So, perhaps her new print ads for Stampede Brewing, tagged "Be smart. Drink smart," represent a bit of self-parody. Probably not. We wouldn't go so far as to say she looks like a drag queen in this ad, as this post does (have they seen a drag queen before?), but she does sort of resemble Fergie here. Which isn't the look you want for a beer that values include "healthy living, individuality, and personal responsibility."

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on August 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Alcohol, Celebrity endorsements, Kiefaber, Print

Read a book, or risk a nasty shrunken head

This "Read more" ad from Young & Rubicam for Israeli bookstore Steimatzky (see a larger image here) may appear to champion literacy. But the image, which could have been pulled directly from a Tom Piccirilli novel, simply shows non-readers that they have lucrative careers ahead in carnivals, freak shows and Rob Zombie movies. Dabitch at Adland points out another problem with this ad: "Most men I know always want a little head." Still, AdFreak is officially in favor of reading, at least until we get that vlog started.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on August 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Freaky, Kiefaber, Print, Y&R

Every Zippo tells a (potentially true) story

Who says smoking is bad for your health? Let’s see, there’s the Surgeon General, the American Legacy Foundation and cigarette companies themselves, in those warnings on the sides of packs. But don’t believe it! Just ask “Zippo Owner” of Garland, Texas, whose tale is featured as part of the lighter company’s 75th anniversary print and online ad campaign, called Zippo Stories. He writes: “We were deployed along the Vietnam/Cambodian border. ... During the ensuing firefight, I thought I had been shot when I felt a powerful hit on the left side of my chest.” Guess what? He survived because “my Zippo had been in my left shirt pocket and had taken a direct hit from an AK-47 round!” There’s no way to check the veracity of that story, but I’m sure a company that makes cigarette lighters would never dream of making it up. Zippo’s inviting consumers to submit stories of their own. Here’s mine: I was trying to hail a cab when some guy lit up with a Zippo and blew smoke in my face, and as I was coughing, he climbed into my cab and drove away. True story? You never know!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on June 29, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Print, Zippo