Homeless in Ireland are like Christmas trees
It's a little early to think about throwing your Christmas tree to the curb, if you even have one yet. But the discarded trees—which enjoy a stay indoors and then find themselves on the street—serve as a metaphor for the homeless in this Irish PSA campaign from BBDO in Dublin. (Click the link to see three full-size ads.) Details like the ornaments clinging to the branches and straggling bits of tinsel enhance the emotional resonance in an unforced, non-denominational way. We've all seen these withered forms, needles starting to brown, discarded in alleys and gutters after Jan. 1. Sadly, one often finds homeless folks in such places, in basically the same condition, year round. Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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James Lipton's beard protecting teens' junk
LG and Young & Rubicam have enlisted James Lipton, and his great and powerful beard, for some amusing PSAs urging young texters to "give it a ponder" before spreading hurtful gossip and/or pics of their junk across the interwebs. The Inside the Actors Studio host literally lends his beard to each troubled youngster to get them to do the right thing. One spot is posted below. See all four here, along with four print ads. They're all hair-larious. It's just really fun to hear Lipton say things like, "The last thing he needs is tweets about his beets." Over at the Web site, JL's talking beard will guide you through the standard social-media components. Will these ads break through to jaded teens? My husband happens to have a whole class of 9th graders who saw the ads during homeroom. What did they say? "Why does she have a beard? I don't get it. That's retarded." But you have to know how to read a 9th grader. Apparently, they hate everything. The important thing is: They didn't say it was gay. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers
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Published on December 2, 2009 | Permalink
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NYC subway system full of squandered food
It's irritating when you wait 15 minutes for the subway, and then a train shows up and it's full of apples. Draftfcb and The Mill enlisted half a million CGI apples for this anti-hunger PSA on behalf of City Harvest. They also supposedly shot the live-action footage on an iPhone, for even more Apple. The point is to remind New Yorkers how much food is wasted every day in the city, and ends up aimlessly riding the 7 train all day and night. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on November 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Canadians all sick and tired of cancer's crap
Web videos are the centerpiece of DDB's "Join the Fight" campaign for the Canadian Cancer Society. Non-actors whose lives have been ravaged (and in some cases, ruined) by the disease address the illness as if it were a person, expressing their outrage, grief and resolve to keep fighting. Unlike TBWA's recent prostate-cancer ads, where the disease is played by a guy in a costume, here cancer is an unseen yet palpable presence. We get the idea that the fight is tough, often heartbreaking, but sometimes winnable. The message is gritty and honest, but empowering. If I were cancer, I'd clear out, because that guy in the white T-shirt who spits into the mirror looks angry enough to whip the disease with his bare hands.
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Published on November 30, 2009 | Permalink
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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: |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Prostate cancer gets a proper street beating
TBWA\Chiat\Day goes the high-testosterone vigilante route in this pair of anti-prostate-cancer PSAs. The guy in the cancerous-mass suit looks like an alien from '70s Dr. Who or the grotesque but misunderstood Horta from Star Trek. Sure, it strikes the first blow in the spot above. But the thing was cornered by that gang of scruffy toughs with their "Movember" men's-health-month moustaches and was basically just defending itself. And the dudes are so ... unlikable. It's unfortunate when PSAs drum up sympathy for the diseases they're battling against. Contrast this approach with last month's New Zealand breast-cancer campaign. Same basic concept, but the NZ effort quietly generates menace by simply allowing the deadly growth to expand, just like it does all too often in real life. |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Big Tobacco ad interviewer meets his match
I'd grown weary of American Legacy's fake-job-interview "Truth" spots from Arnold, but the latest iteration, this Web-only clip called "Nostradamus," ranks among the campaign's best. The phony Big Cig exec almost gets one-upped by a guy who frankly comes off more like a professional actor or repressed psychopath than a job seeker unaware he's being filmed for an anti-smoking commercial. Anyway, he challenges the notion that the tobacco business will cause 1 billion deaths around the world this century, pointing out that the world could end on December 23, 2012, at least according to Nostradamus. If the 16th-century French apothecary and reputed seer is correct, the guy says, that's when "all the planets align ... it'll throw off the gravitational force, we'll go out of orbit, we'll leave this galaxy, and we'll just go into oblivion." The interviewer replies, "Um ... why are you lookin' for a job, then?" More to the point: If the world really will end in three years, now's the time to start smoking. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Vodafone ads show sad face of text bullying
It's not such a g'day Down Under when text-messaging bullies go all Qwerty on your ass. That's the basic thrust of this Colenso BBDO print campaign for Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand. The work effectively (if somewhat derivatively) plasters frowny-sad emoticons on the faces of school-age victims. Of course, if they actually look like that—bright yellow disk-shaped heads with no ears or noses—then they do have something to cry about and they will get teased. But seriously, this is a legitimate mobile-age problem that's generated its share of tragedies, so kudos to client and agency for confronting the issue, um, head-on. Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Oxfam's holiday PSA asks you to give a sh*t
This bleep-happy PSA (done by 15 Ideas in Chicago) for Oxfam America's Unwrapped gift-giving program plays like a South Park gag before revealing that the "Give a sh*t" line is actually meant literally as well as figuratively. Yes, you can indeed buy manure ($12) in the Unwrapped gift shop. ("This green gift transforms waste into power—agricultural power.") It's one of scores of presents you can purchase this holiday to help people in need around the world. The actress's performance is right on, too—her squeaky delivery on "Why the hell wouldn't you?" at the end is priceless—and the ad's impossible not to like. It's bracing to reflect that for some, a stocking full of manure would be greatly appreciated. Probably not by the girl in the spot, though. She probably wants a bike, or a Droid phone. Brat. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 17, 2009 | Permalink
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Anti-violence site urges you to 'hit the bitch'
There are subtle ways to raise awareness about relationship violence. And then there's "Hit the Bitch," a Web campaign by a Danish advocacy group. Setting up an interface where you're encouraged to slap and punch a woman seems pretty extreme. It's almost like an advergame, except you're delivering an adverbeating! (You can use the mouse, or connect with your Webcam and swing at the girl with your hand.) Getting called a "100% idiot" at the end doesn't feel like much of a rebuke. Perhaps you're supposed to feel guilty, like a real-life abuser might, for continuing to hit the woman just to see what happens next? Who knows. Maybe something's getting lost in translation from the Danish. Via Adverblog.
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Published on November 16, 2009 | Permalink
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Italian child-abuse PSAs truly heartbreaking
McCann Milan is behind these eerie new ads for Casa do Menor in Italy. The print ad (see the full version here) shows a girl covered in hands—a favored image in lots of PSA campaigns lately, serving as a metaphor for everything from AIDS to Parkinson's disease. The companion spot below is truly harrowing, showing a boy struggling for normalcy as he carries a dying version of himself through his daily life. Rough stuff, on a par with that German sexual-abuse ad with the slithering snake. Via Animal. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Kids would prefer you not destroy the Earth
Zig's cinematic spot for Moms Against Climate Change pits child protesters (shouldn't they be in school?) against cops (don't they have parking tickets to write?) to illustrate that if kids knew what was at stake, they'd take action. There's no denying it packs a punch. That said, something feels off. I think I was expecting a boffo climax to really drive the point home. Why not have the sides embrace, each kid finding one of his or her parents among the riot squad, to symbolize that we're all in this together? Conversely, acid rain pouring from above and "frying" every last person? That would make a strong statement! Sure, it's easy for me to second-guess—that's why I enjoy it so much. Still, using children is a form of hot-button emotional manipulation. And to stretch a metaphor, failing to turn up that flame delivers a lukewarm message on a globally incendiary issue. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Douchebags reclaim dignity with proud PSA
Douchebags have had enough of people mocking them for their pink shirts, Axe body spray and public fondling of women. So, they've put together the moving commercial below (includes some foul language), in which they promise to take no more crap. They're even taking back the word, whose original meaning, they point out, has positive connotations. "Don't think of us as disgusting. Think of us as cleansing." Via YesButNoButYes. |
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Published on November 4, 2009 | Permalink
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Living with a gross cancerous blob is tough
An expanding, grody pink blob that takes over a suburban home and eventually smashes through the windows in this spot by Colenso BBDO for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. The agency also created an installation in downtown Auckland, with an initially tiny blob growing so large it blocked the street. Local white-collar types didn't seem to mind, and the well-intentioned stunt made the nightly news, drawing attention to the cause. The generally light tone dovetails with other recent category efforts, like "Musical Butts" and "Save the Boobs," though it's less over the top than Grey's NSFW PSA. The New Zealand campaign successfully treads the middle ground: It's "wacky" enough to catch viewers' attention and slightly sinister, emphasizing that early detection can avert problems before they grow out of all proportion. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 2, 2009 | Permalink
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British get naked, then set their clocks back
When British people take off their clothes, the results are rarely positive. The exception is when it's a current or former EastEnders actor or actress doing the stripping. The ladies in particular seem quite fond of the PSA above, featuring Mr. Robert Kazinsky, and don't seem confused at all that this is how they're being reminded to set their clocks back an hour this weekend. In the U.S., we'll wait another week, until Nov. 1, to fall back. Hopefully Indiana has the routine down pat by now. Via AgencySpy. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 23, 2009 | Permalink
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Keep depressed food alive so you can eat it
Hinting at suicide in ads is always risky, even when the potential building-jumper is an animated head of depressed cabbage, as in the Draftfcb spot above for RescueFood.org (an initiative of City Harvest, which helps feed New York's hungry). But what's the worst that could happen if it did jump? The corned beef would need therapy? Besides, the cabbage is just going to get devoured by that family, so any "rescue" will be temporary at best. The campaign also includes a poker-playing tuna that goes fishing for danger (below) and a tough-talkin' tomato primed to be tenderized in the electric chair. These fairly amusing clips have been around for a little while, but expect a big push as holiday food-drive season begins. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on October 23, 2009 | Permalink
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Colorado wants you healthy and/or arrested
The LiveWell Colorado program is all about challenging your friends to shoplift from shopping malls and flirting with strangers in grocery stores. That's the sense I get from these spots by Sukle Advertising & Design. Such an initiative sounds like fun. Alas, LiveWell actually promotes exercise and healthy eating. Like Mr. Chubs in aisle 6 ever ate a sprout in his life or stands a chance with that junk-food-crazed minx he self-righteously scorns. And wouldn't the mall guard lose his job for knocking down the displays every day? Is he even a "real" mall guard, or just playing dress-up with his pal? Friends don't make friends sweat needlessly or challenge them to eat salad for lunch if there's a Dunkin' Donuts in town. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on October 21, 2009 | Permalink
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'Dead pets' climate-change ad feels the heat
This new British climate-change ad is drawing a large number of complaints. It shows a father reading his daughter a bedtime story in which puppies drown and rabbits are left without water to drink because of rising CO2 levels. More than 200 complaints have flooded in, wasting the precious resources of the Ad Standards Authority, whose time could be better spent looking at ice-cream ads featuring oversexed nuns. About half of the complaints about the climate-change ad involve the science presented in it. The rest of the people, according to an ASA rep, think the spot is simply too scary. Because of course, you don't want anyone feeling any sort of discomfort while considering the issue of global warming. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 21, 2009 | Permalink
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BBC trying to make British a happier people
The BBC's vision of happiness seems to involve multicolored, happy-faced balloons hanging out in an eerie laundrette and babbling endlessly in working-class British accents about what makes them smile. That's what happens in this PSA from the U.K. broadcaster, part of an effort to promote good mental health among Brits, who are not always known for their sunny disposition. This ad, by HarrimanSteel, coincides with World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10 and invites the public and celebrities to share their own smiley stories online at BBC.co.uk/headroom. Smiling was selected as the main theme because it's considered a universal sign of well-being. Of course, people with less robust mental health smile a lot, too, usually while wrapping tinfoil around their heads to keep hostile signals like the BBC's programming from assaulting their brains. The campaign includes a nationwide tour by the balloons, which will spread joy, and static electricity when rubbed, wherever they go. Crazy stuff. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 7, 2009 | Permalink
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U.K. fire-safety ad filmed totally under water
The British government is raising awareness about house fires with the TV ad above, filmed entirely under water at Pinewood Studios. The message is that toxic smoke is much like water in its ability to hinder one's breathing and quickly incapacitate a person. But it makes for a bit of a mixed visual metaphor, as viewers inevitably think of a fire starting under water. That's not going to happen, unless you live in Lake Erie. —Posted by David Kiefaber Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Responsible play doesn't include giant balls
"Playing is fun if you don't push it too far. … Excesses can ruin everything, even the most innocent and safe games." That's the message of this weird campaign from Grey in Milan, Italy, advocating responsible gambling. To illustrate the point, we get images of a giant cue ball, a huge rubber duck and hopscotch squares that stretch on forever. If these examples seem a bit ridiculous, and disconnected from the dangers posed by gambling, that may be because the advertiser here, Sisal, runs an immense gambling network in Italy. It's like a brewer exhorting its patrons to "Drink responsibly" (that's worked wonders so far) or Big Tobacco suggesting tobacco isn't addictive in small doses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy some lottery tickets to redeem my damaged childhood! Via Ads of the World. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Aussies go bananas for condom campaign
Sometimes, a banana is just a banana. For the AIDS Council of New South Wales in Australia, however, it's the centerpiece of a safe-sex campaign encouraging gay men to "go bananas for condoms." International sportswear label teamm8 is the launch partner for the effort, which uses the tagline, "Slip it on." I think there's a double meaning there. Wait ... nah, I don't get it. Contrast this with recent similarly themed campaigns: the cell phones wrapped in condoms from the U.S. ("Practice safe text!") and that "quickies" blitz from Switzerland ("Too quick to think of condoms?"). Those had their charms, but the goofy Warhol-esque imagery and double-entendre-laden copy in the Aussie push seem especially good-humored and self-aware. Anyone who takes offense or disagrees with the bananas approach can split. Via The Inspiration Room. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 5, 2009 | Permalink
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Burnett plays its trump card in housing PSA
We missed this powerful "House of Cards" PSA when it broke in February, so here it is now. Leo Burnett in London created the spot for housing charity Shelter.org.uk. It features the Radiohead song "Videotape" and actress Samantha Morton doing the voiceover. As part of the campaign, Shelter also commissioned 53 artists, including Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, David Bailey and Vivienne Westwood, to design one card each for a special deck. Only 1,000 decks were made. They're going for £70 on the Web site, while they last, with proceeds benefiting the charity. Via idsgn. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on October 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Food gets expensive in WhyHunger.org PSA
This pitch-perfect PSA for WhyHunger.org from ad agency Duncan/Channon lasts one minute. It's cinematically gripping for the first 54 seconds, then pulls the trigger on a God-I-feel-so-guilty twist. The darkly ambient soundtrack helps build a sense of menace and gives the clip an increasingly apocalyptic feel. It all drives home the message that millions of Americans have reached a level of desperation when it comes to food. One question: a chicken dinner for $349.99? Are they roasting up the RSPCA guy in the chicken suit? —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Ad asks what kind of horrible drunk you are
The Swedish Web site IQ.se has an online test where you can determine which type of drunk you are, ostensibly as some kind of anti-drunkenness campaign. (If you can't understand the site, it's not necessarily because you're plastered. It's because it's written in Swedish.) Ad agency Forsman & Bodenfors made this spot to promote the site. Hopefully the test itself is more varied than this ad, which divides drinkers into three basic categories: violent asshole, amateur stripper and pathetic old binger nodding off in his food. If the test has any merit, it'll include vomiters, awkward huggers and ill-advised phone callers, too. —Posted by David Kiefaber Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on September 29, 2009 | Permalink
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