Hasta La Creative!

Electronic Arts doesn’t make mistakes. That’s clear from this nifty bit of customer outreach. What happened was: A player of EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’08 found a glitch in the game that allows Woods to walk on water. The player, Levinator25, filmed and posted a video of the glitch to YouTube. EA responded with its own YouTube video showing Woods on an actual golf course, strolling out into the middle of a lake for a shot—to show “that the ‘glitch’ Levinator25 thought he found in the game, is not a glitch at all.” It seems possible, though maybe not likely, that whole thing—the glitch, the discovery of the glitch, the response to the discovery of the glitch—was orchestrated by EA. Either way, it’s an inspired and engaging bit of marketing. Covered by Fark, Deadspin, The Social Path and others.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

MillerCoors goes back to the future, tweaking the current Miller Lite NFL campaign by adding the tagline, “Great taste, less filling.” The slogan harkens back to the 1970s and ’80s, when George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Bob Uecker, Bubba Smith, Rodney Dangerfield and others starred in the classic “Tastes great! Less filling!” spots. Martin, the oft-fired Yankees manager, appears downright tipsy in the commercial above—and the way he and the Boss blow the take is so genuine, you can’t help but laugh along with them. I’ve been screaming “Tastes great! Tastes great!” in my cube for the last 15 minutes. The reaction: angry calls to HR. Once the retro tag hits the airwaves, then they’ll all understand and shout in unison: “Less filling!” Now, if you’ll excuse me, some guys from security have shown up.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Hot on the heels of Wal-Mart’s new logo, Stop & Shop/Giant unveils a redesign of its own. The grocery chain’s effort looks like half an asterisk. Wal-Mart, perhaps owing to its larger inventory, gave us the whole thing. The S&S logo is part of a broader set of initiatives which, according to the press release, include the opportunity for consumers to “consult with an in-store butcher and request cut-to-order meats.” I think “in-store” goes without saying, as most people would avoid the blood-splattered, cleaver-wielding maniac on the street. And why couldn’t you request meats from the butcher before? At last, his gag have been removed, and he can speak freely about pork loin. Then there’s the promise of a “family-friendly … tabloid-free, candy-free checkout aisle.” Screaming kids denied their glucose, grumpy parents denied their Brangelina—that doesn’t sound like an enhanced shopping experience, really. Why would anyone shop at such a place? Because it’s cheaper than Whole Foods, and they don’t get all Al Gore on your ass if you want your produce double-bagged!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Got a bug report – but I can not recreate the issue. If you are logged in and go to post something! do you meet this turnoff?

Mommy is on a bug-hunt, see. I’ll fix it.

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LONDON – Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon has joined the cast of ITV1 drama, ‘An Englishman in New York’.

LONDON – T-Mobile has retained Tullo Marshall Warren to handle its DRTV activity following a competitive pitch.

LONDON – WPP Group has made its third overseas acquisition in just over a week, buying a minority stake in a Chinese in-game advertising agency.

LONDON – Michaelides & Bednash partner Andrew Quin has been appointed business planning director on MindShare’s EMEA Nike and Diesel accounts.

LONDON – Channel 4 has appointed Ofcom’s senior adviser for digital media, Tom Loosemore, to head its efforts to develop public service digital media.

LONDON – Campaign has discovered the identity of the third agency pitching for the Stella Artois global ad account.