Suggestive Toyota ad gets a good pounding
"I'm here to take Jennifer's virginity out tonight." "She can take a good pounding in any direction." "I'll have her on her back by 11." "I'm ready to blow." This innuendo-laced online Yaris spot won a short-film contest held by Saatchi & Saatchi and Toyota Australia but has been pulled after angry protests that it's sexist and even incestuous. It probably does cross a line when the kid demonstrates what he plans to do with the airbags. The spot was created by production house Play TV in Brisbane. The director, Frazer Bailey, seems a bit baffled by the uproar. "I thought it was funny—a bit of a boy's joke," he tells the Sydney Morning Herald. "And then my mum read it and she laughed out loud." Via Jalopnik. —Posted by Tim Nudd
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Published on December 14, 2009 | Permalink
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JCPenney back in the doghouse once again
JCPenney had some success last year with its Beware of the Doghouse holiday campaign. Yes, the Web site got millions of views. But I knew it had broken through when my father-in-law sent me the link, along with the message, "Too FUNNY!!!" So, naturally, Penney and Saatchi & Saatchi are back with an encore: Return to the Doghouse. The clip below is basically a replay of last year's video, featuring guys who've bought their wives and girlfriends crappy, insulting gifts (vacuum cleaners, gym memberships, etc.) and so they get thrown in the doghouse, which leads to an underground tunnel where they have to fold laundry and face all-female tribunals for parole hearings. Same setting, same actors, even some of the exact same jokes—and it will probably get the same impressive amount of traffic. —Posted by Tim Nudd
Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 23, 2009 | Permalink
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Saatchi's fight for the last beer ends meekly
This Malaysian commercial for Tiger beer from Saatchi & Saatchi has such a visually arresting buildup, I never felt like I was being primed for a punch line until the trap sprang at the end. Two faux-macho goobers try to one-up each other for the last Tiger on the table, transforming into imposing characters ranging from a robo-Stormtrooper type to Tarzan and a gorilla. The latter steals the show, and of course calls to mind Cadbury's drumming simian, but this guy seems more intent on delivering a beat-down than keeping the beat. (Oh man, that's clever writing!) The "twist" ending is predictable, but I didn't see it coming. You might ask: They're in a bar, why not just order more beers? Answer: They're men. And in fact, I've seen this kind of scenario play out similarly in real life. Complete with Stormtrooper and Gorilla. We had way too many that night. |
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Published on October 28, 2009 | Permalink
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Ads urge Brazilians to urinate in the shower
Peeing in the shower is shameful no more. In fact, it's encouraged and even celebrated in this colorful, animated PSA from F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi in Brazil. The "Xixi no banho" ("Pee in the bath") campaign is all about water conservation. Brazil hopes its multitasking citizens will save thousands of liters of water a year by flushing the toilet less. Via Osocio. See also: |
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Published on August 4, 2009 | Permalink
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French Alzheimer's ad not quickly forgotten
It's French PSA day on AdFreak. Here's a powerful Alzheimer's awareness ad from Saatchi & Saatchi Paris. Compare it with the fluffier British Alzheimer's spot below, produced by Red Bee Media. |
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Published on June 22, 2009 | Permalink
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Luvs empathizes with cast-off older siblings
Psychologists might disagree with the premise of this Luvs ad from Gerry Graf and Harold Einstein over at Saatchi & Saatchi. There's a pretty wide gulf between telling a kid he's getting a sibling and telling a husband he's getting cuckolded. Different emotional and physical bonds, different stages of brain development, etc. Plus, the ad feels a bit long. Still, it's an amusing way to highlight an issue that parents, already overloaded at that stage, usually shrug off. But if your younger, more attractive brother starts putting the moves on Mom, you'll want to call someone other than Luvs. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on June 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Toyota eyeing the giant-tire-swing business
Call me dense, but I don't see what this Toyota spot from Saatchi & Saatchi in New Zealand has to do with, well, Toyota. In fact, it seems to encompass nearly everything but Toyota, including envy, materialism, good parenting and the sturdiness of Oceanic craftsmanship. The only time Toyota even enters into things is when the dad goes out for supplies, and that's maybe five seconds out of 60. Although it has convinced me that Toyota should start producing enormous tire-swing contraptions. |
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Published on June 11, 2009 | Permalink
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Modern dancers interpret the art of Cadbury
The performing arts are taking a beating from advertising today. First, we had the Breathe Right nasal-strips guy who quietly snoozes through a pretentious theater performance. Now, we get this Cadbury Caramilk ad from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, in which the process of creating the candy bar is "revealed through modern dance"—which is another way of saying, revealed through a bunch of jiggling, costumed buffoonery. A commercial ridiculing an orchestra would round things out. |
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Published on June 8, 2009 | Permalink
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T-Mobile turns London into big karaoke bar
T-Mobile is getting good at these big public advertising stunts over in London. First, they organized the spontaneous dancing in Liverpool Street Station (below). Then, last Thursday, they managed to get 13,000 people into Trafalgar Square for what they thought might be another dance-a-thon, but which turned out to be a collective karaoke rendition of "Hey Jude" (above). The American singer Pink showed up and joined in, too, for some reason. These flash-mob stunts, coordinated by Saatchi & Saatchi, are less notable for how they reinforce T-Mobile's brand message, which is the typically vague "Life's for sharing," than for the brand-specific way in which they're mobilized: via text message to T-Mobile customers. |
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Published on May 4, 2009 | Permalink
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Disabled dancer going with the flow for Visa
Saatchi & Saatchi London created this fun new spot as part of its European "Life flows better with Visa" campaign. It stars Bill Shannon, a freestyle dance artist who was born with a degenerative hip condition and has come up with a fascinating way of dancing on crutches. Some are ragging on Saatchi for essentially copying a music video by the band RJD2 that also features Shannon. And that's a fair point, though it's still nice to see Shannon getting a wider audience through advertising. Visa has posted a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot to its YouTube channel. And check out a short documentary about Shannon here. |
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Published on March 11, 2009 | Permalink
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High Life guy tries out one-second comedy
Even Windell Middlebrooks, the Miller High Life delivery guy, has trouble being funny in just one second. He's asked to do so in MillerCoors' new campaign from Saatchi & Saatchi. The idea is to poke fun at Anheuser-Busch for shelling out so much cash for its Super Bowl slots. In contrast to A-B's big outlay, Miller will run just a single one-second ad on game day—and a :30 all next week advertising the :01. There are also a slew of one-second spots with Middlebrooks on 1secondad.com. In this lousy economy, the idea isn't so bad. But of course, by focusing so much on A-B, Miller does run the risk of seeming a little jealous. |
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Published on January 21, 2009 | Permalink
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THE FREAKIEST AD OF 2008: Saatchi's comic, gory spot for 'Evil Dead the Musical'
In the end, it wasn't even close. This gory/comic spot for Evil Dead the Musical, by Saatchi & Saatchi in Toronto, has bloodily sauntered off with the title of AdFreak's Freakiest Ad of 2008, after collecting 49 percent of the vote in the four-way final. Converse's KissingWithRoss.com came in second, with 22 percent. The Dutch Socialist Party and Doritos rounded out the top four, with 18 percent and 11 percent, respectively. The Evil Dead spot is a worthy successor to the Dexter viral that won our contest last year. So, congrats to Saatchi. To see all of this year's 32 freaky finalists, click here. |
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Published on December 24, 2008 | Permalink
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Heads off to this 'Evil Dead the Musical' spot
Standing beneath a marquee for Evil Dead the Musical can be hazardous, judging by this ad for the production, which just wrapped after almost 400 performances in Toronto (making it the longest-running Canadian show of the past 15 years). Earlier we looked at some of great print ads from the same campaign. All of the work is by Saatchi & Saatchi Toronto, of whom Bruce Campbell would be proud. Via YesButNoButYes. —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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Published on December 11, 2008 | Permalink
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Toyota storms our turf: high-school football
As if it weren't bad enough that Toyota crushed our proud domestic auto industry by making quality, fuel-efficient cars, the company now has to shame us further by stealing our heritage. This fall, Toyota took to the road with Saatchi & Saatchi and visited select high-school football teams across the country for Line of Scrimmage, an ultra-folksy take on what's goin' on in small-town America, the last safe haven for freedom-loving car buyers. What will happen to GM if there are no football moms left buying Yukons to take their kids to practice in? And to Ford if the Tundra becomes the football-coach truck of choice over the F150? Not even the U.S. government can save the Big Three if Toyota wins the battle in the small-town trenches. Then they'll just have to be saved by zero. |
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Published on December 11, 2008 | Permalink
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Saatchi CEO does enjoy his Thai massages
These are tough times. Every day seems to bring more grim news to agency land. Thankfully, those at the top are showing their solidarity with the troops. Well, sorta. On his BNET blog, my former colleague Jim Edwards points out that Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide CEO and sisomo advocate Kevin Roberts blogged about his recent extravagant vacation at a Thai resort. K.R. isn't averse to Internet oversharing, raving about his "classic cleansing" and daily massages, including his first facial. Jim points out that the resort charges a sweet $615 per night. But let's be real here. Times are tough, but agency CEOs, particularly at top-of-the-line shops like Saatchi, are paid handsomely. How handsomely? The Publicis Groupe 2007 annual report says K.R. got $3 million in lovemarks in 2007. For that kind of coin, $615 a night at a Thai resort seems pretty reasonable. |
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Published on December 9, 2008 | Permalink
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JC Penney earns own spot in the doghouse
JC Penney this week rolled out just what the world needs: another Flash microsite for the holidays. I have to look at so many microsites that my expectations are never high. Still, some do stand out—the ones that make me wonder why anyone in their right mind would spend time there. "Beware of the Doghouse" is one of those sites. First, upon arriving at the site, it tells me my browser isn't good enough. You know what, JC Penney, it is. Next, there's an intro video to sit through—nearly five minutes of painful setup to the site's "idea." Which is: Men are doofuses—shocking that advertising would portray them that way—and get women dumb holiday gifts, even vacuum cleaners. They are then banished to a mythical doghouse until they buy their way out. Get it? Hey, it worked for Kobe. JC Penney employs an eye-rolling user-generated approach by letting visitors put men in the doghouse. (There's a techie twist with one of the earliest uses of Facebook Connect, which lets visitors check if their friends are in the doghouse. None of mine are, it seems.) How to get out? Diamonds! Men simply need to buy their ladies the three-stone ring, journey pendant or diamond studs—from JC Penney, conveniently enough. Saatchi & Saatchi and Razorfish boldly take credit for this. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 5, 2008 | Permalink
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Spoken-word artist fired up about Guinness
This Guinness commercial from Saatchi & Saatchi London, starring spoken-word artist Ainsley Burrows, might seem pretty far afield from the product, but it's not. Lots of Guinness drinkers walk around counting out loud. Police are usually making them do it, but that's beside the point. Even all the New Agey stuff about journeys is relevant, although that usually occurs when they're still in the bar. Read move over at Adland. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on October 3, 2008 | Permalink
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Who wants a big funnel cloud of Guinness?
So wait, Guinness is made from distilled tornadoes? We always thought it was roasted barley that gave it the dark ruby color and robust taste it's so famous for. That, or mice falling into the St. James Brewery vats. We've certainly never heard any weather-related explanations. We don't even know if Ireland gets any tornadoes, for that matter. Spot by Saatchi London. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on September 25, 2008 | Permalink
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Your rooster wants to play in the nighttime
—Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on August 28, 2008 | Permalink
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The Age of Sisomo
—Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on November 11, 2005 | Permalink
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Saatchi 17 saga hits ‘New York’ magazine
—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor |
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Published on June 14, 2005 | Permalink
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Love among the Saatchis
“As we know, making Saatchi & Saatchi NY a Lovemark takes more than hard work and respect. It calls for emotion, gratitude, loyalty, warmth and love.” (What’s a Lovemark you ask? You might be inclined to think it’s a hickey. But not in Kevin Roberts’ world.) “Do you remember back in grade school when you wrote Valentines to all your friends and put them in the big red box on your teacher’s desk? To help build some love in the Agency, we will be distributing two blank note cards to everyone. Please write a simple message to two colleagues whom you love working with and then place your ‘Valentines’ in the boxes located outside the cafeteria and in the reception area on the 16th floor. We will sort and distribute the cards on February 14th. “Roses are Red So, if you work at Saatchi and don’t get any Valentines today, perhaps a visit to CareerBuilder.com is in order. —Posted by Catharine P. Taylor Credit: Getty Images |
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Published on February 14, 2005 | Permalink
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