Zippo rules like Satan in garbage wasteland

Can print ads depicting a sooty, charred, burned-out wasteland sell lighters? In this campaign from Brunner, Zippo says yes! See the full version of this ad here, and another one here. Like the shop's past work for the brand, the new effort is eye-catching and memorable, but perhaps not in a good way. If Hieronymus Bosch (Google him, people) had been hired to come up with a fire-safety or anti-smoking campaign, these grimy, arid, almost apocalyptic visuals (note the devil's head on this Zippo) might have been the result. "Disposable. Just another word for garbage," it says at the bottom. The overall effect calls to mind (and nostril) the noxious stench of smoldering trash at the city dump. Ignited by Zippos, perhaps? No matter how you spin it, that stinks.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on March 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Brunner, Gianatasio, Zippo

Zippo's banners too hot for neighboring ads

These Zippo banners by Brunner are hot. Ha-ha-ha! I don't get it. Anyway, Brunner created fake banners to place above Zippo lighters, and had the actors in them react to the heat of the flame below. See the ads in action here, here and here. A woman in one starts stripping—because sex sells, baby! Sorry, I just watched Mad Men, and I can't stop talking like that. Still, it fits, because Zippo would've been big in the early '60s. Did JFK light his cigars with one? Let's just say he did. The guys in two other Zippo banners keep their clothes on—because it's a man's world, baby! Sorry, I've been doing that all day. My officemates are so sick of it. Who cares—I'm on fire, baby! No, really, they just set my shoes on fire. Thanks for ruining my day, Zippo.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 3, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Brunner, Digital, Gianatasio, Zippo

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

Dark days for lighters

David Ogilvy loved Zippo lighters, partly because of their lifetime guarantee. But what good is that if you can’t take the damn thing with you on a trip? That’s what Zippo’s asking now that the Transportation Security Administration has decided to ban lighters from airplanes as a security measure and to strictly enforce a long-standing law keeping them out of checked luggage, too. Zippo agrees that its lighters shouldn’t be allowed in the passenger cabin but insists there’s no safety reason why they shouldn’t be checked. It claims the ban could cut into sales by as much as 30 percent. Partly, the company says, this is because “Zippo collectors often travel around the country attending ‘swap meets’ and other events frequented by collectors.” Pissing off collectors: Not a good idea. Imagine if they went after Star Trek memorabilia?

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on March 3, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Zippo