HBO still taking shots at George W. Bush

The George W. Bush era is thankfully gone, but HBO and Venables, Bell & Partners channel the former president's less-than-lucid vibe and penchant for incoherent phrasing in this banner and billboard push touting the DVD release of the Will Ferrell special You're Welcome, America: A Final Night With George W. Bush. The election-poster-style ads include Bush-inspired slogans like "Never misunderestimate me," "Celebrate the era of strategery" and "Mission still not accomplished." The work's amusing, but the tongue-twisted ex-leader of the free world is such an easy target, attempts at parody are, as the man himself might say, akin to shooting fish in apparel. OK, he probably would've said something worse. He wasn't good with words, though his eight-year record of anti-achievement speaks for itself.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Gianatasio, HBO, Politics, Venables, Bell & Partners

HBO's Comedy Fetish may scratch your itch

My colleague Mark Dolliver, perhaps the least weird person imaginable, christened HBO's ComedyFetish.com campaign "truly weird" over at Adweek.com. What's really weird is how genuinely amusing the spots by Venables Bell & Partners turned out, given the potential for disaster inherent in mixing elements from cut-rate cable-TV commercials, porn come-ons (it's only a pun if you think it is) and Chiller Theater-type programs. It probably works because the cues are immediately (almost subliminally) familiar to generations of comedy fans, so combining them to promote a site that houses humor clips feels perfectly natural. In others words: If you get the campaign, there's a strong chance you'll also enjoy the programming it promotes. Personally, I found the host's passing resemblance to Kenny "Footloose" Loggins circa 1981 exceptionally weird. His sidekick was just annoying. With her phony Euro-accent, slinky get-up and litany of faux-fetishes, she seems more like a representative of the PR industry than a sexcapades mansion.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on July 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Gianatasio, HBO, Venables, Bell & Partners

Audi does not want your stinking foreign oil

Oh, how I remember those slick Oil Parades of my childhood, when I'd barrel home to gasoline alley. ... OK, that's enough. Let's slam the brakes on the silly wordplay (had to slip in one more) to consider this "Oil Parade" spot from Venables Bell & Partners touting Audi's TDI diesel-powered cars. There are oil barrels, lots of them, shown rolling down the country roads and city streets of our great land, onto a tanker that will apparently transport them back across the sea to where they came from. Yes, we'd be free from the tyranny of foreign oil. Still, I'll be sad to see them go. Drums are the best part of any parade.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on June 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Audi, Automotive, Gianatasio, Venables, Bell & Partners

Real or not, it's nice to see the faces of Intel

Intel's new "Sponsors of Tomorrow" ad campaign by Venables Bell & Partners puts a face, or several, on the technicians and researchers behind the company's many innovations. As it turns out, at least one of these faces is impersonated. Ajay Bhatt, who helped develop the USB, is portrayed by an actor in the "Rock Star" ad above, which takes place in a much trendier version of Intel's Hillsboro, Ore., office. It's probably safe to assume central casting sent over a couple of people for the crowd shots in the "Oops" ad below. While it's tempting to rake Intel over the coals for not delivering on its pledge to humanize its product, tearing employees away from important work to make silly ads wouldn't be the most effective use of their time. Besides, Intel's heart is in the right place. Guys like Ajay rarely get the praise or recognition they deserve, so why not give them their moment in the sun? It's not like there are any interesting actual rock stars left to reserve that spotlight ahead of time.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on May 7, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Intel, Kiefaber, Technology, Venables, Bell & Partners

'Sopranos' does pretty well on election map

Venables Bell & Partners created this election-themed ad touting Tuesday's release of the complete-series DVD set of HBO's The Sopranos. On the map, Obama and McCain are represented by blue and red. They haven't won a state, but the show, represented by black, has run the board. Maybe the agency should have gone with some other color—any other color—to brighten things up. How about plaid? Gangsters like plaid, right? Look, there was no reason to attempt a Sopranos election tie-in. It was more of a stretch than Ralph Nader's third-party candidacy.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Gianatasio, HBO, Venables, Bell & Partners

Audi's vision of progress not great for dogs

This new Audi ad from Venables, Bell & Partners claims that "progress is beautiful." As evidence, it shows a living room being renovated over time from old and stodgy to modern and snazzy—and the old car in the driveway being likewise replaced by a shiny new Quattro. Which all seems great, unless you're a dog. The first dog we see vanishes into thin air a mere 12 seconds into the ad, and is replaced by a second dog. The first one has apparently either died during the extensive (and time-consuming) home improvement, or the owners have just "progressed" to a better dog. Then, after another turn of the room, the camera finds the second dog again, who humorously scurries out of sight, lest he suffer the same fate as the first one. The agency people probably got a laugh out of all this, but their best friends might not see the humor in it.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on October 16, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (9)
Filed under Audi, Automotive, Nudd, Venables, Bell & Partners