LONDON – Advertising ideas marketplace OpenAd.net has awarded British creative Angie Davies with first place in a competition to create a direct mail package for non-profit organization Dress for Success.
LONDON – The Body Shop has appointed The Search Works to manage all elements of its search engine marketing strategy.
This Axe spot from Argentina represents a rare moment of clarity from the deodorant brand, as it deconstructs the Disney trope of being dressed by animals. That men wouldn’t dig this is a given, but I’m not sure women would like it much, either. Animals poop more or less constantly, and there are other sanitary issues with them carrying your clothes in their mouths. But since the guy in this ad wants chicks in bunny and fox masks soaping him up, his tastes are unconventional to begin with. Via Brentter and others.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
It is to some (like me the old fart who remembers the first time that moon-dude planted an MTV flag, and Mick Jagger mouthing George Lois genius line “I want my MTV”) just a tad weird that MTV stills host the Video Music Awards, as I haven’t seen an actual music video on MTV for years. This year marks the 25th annual VMA’s – and like with the age of pop-starlets thats right about the time you become largely irrelevant and only watched by die-hard fans who can’t let go. (Madonna excluded by she makes up her own rules doesn’t she?)
Still, they do it, and they give out little moon-men shaped awards and all the pop-starlets and stardudes are there and some directors get to show off their work – so lets have a look at three winning videos this year shall we? (all inside)
Co-director/Founder Chris Robinson (aka Mr. Roboto) of Robot Films and Co-Director Erykah Badu took home the Best Direction VMA Sunday night at Paramount Studios in Hollywood for Erykah’s single Honey off her latest album, New Amerykah.
Robinson is no stranger to the VMA’s with over 15 nominations in various categories, but this year marks his first win for Best Direction.
On Tuesday, reports the Associated Press, Col. Sanders’ handwritten original KFC recipe was moved, under heavy security, from KFC’s corporate offices “for the first time in decades.” It “was placed in a lockbox that was handcuffed to security expert Bo Dietl, who climbed aboard an armored car that whisked away with an escort from off-duty police officers.” There’s more: “So important is the 68-year-old concoction that coats the chain’s Original Recipe chicken that only two company executives at any time have access to it. KFC executives said they decided to upgrade security after retrieving the recipe for a new line of Original Recipe chicken strips.” Three observations: 1) That armored car better not stop to let a bunch of chickens cross the road. It’s a trick! Those hens are packing heat! 2) For a nonsensical PR stunt, this is way more compelling than most current media news, notably the story that Esquire‘s 75th anniversary issue will feature an “electronic paper” cover. 3) If Esquire ever figures out how to polybag KFC drumsticks, it could revive print media and also provide the perfect tie-in for Capri Sun juice pouches and Wet Naps.
—Posted by David Gianatasio
LONDON – Television is still the favourite media source of affluent Europeans, followed by the internet and then radio, according to Synovate’s EMS Digital Life survey.
LONDON – A radio ad for Vodafone, by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority because the terms and conditions were spoken too quickly.
Apple’s done quite a few of these Flash-based PC and Mac ads, but the latest one, designed to run on news sites (and currently live on NYTimes.com), is especially well rendered, as PC drags a news-style text box onscreen to literally put himself in the story. John Hodgman makes some truly funny faces, while Justin Long, scowling down from above, at one point looks like a monkey. When I saw this clip, my immediate reaction was: 
Here’s the first Mac/PC ad I’ve seen since Microsoft debuted its Seinfeld-Gates extravaganza last Friday. And I wondered how Jerry and Bill would fare in such a set-up. I know most people hate the Microsoft spot, but if nothing else, it makes you look at Apple’s marketing efforts in a new light—and that’s got to be some kind of progress. Would I switch to a PC running Windows Vista? Lord, no! Though I do seem to get that spinning pizza of death icon popping up on my Mac an awful lot. I blame Justin Long. Bad monkey!
—Posted by David Gianatasio
LONDON – The Official Charts Company, which runs the UK’s music and video charts, has rebranded with a new logo to emphasise its credentials as a compiler and supplier of “official” data.
I have some issues with BMW’s Mini Baby Racer Power Slide Parking advergame. The guys in the game—Hank, Otis, Mike and Pete—seem like scruffy slackers with nothing better to do than tool around in a kid’s toy car and disrupt traffic. Sure, we’d all indulge in such arrested development if we could. Most of us can’t. At least, I can’t. And that’s why I hate those four jerks and want them to die in fiery wrecks, rather than “park with precision and style,” or what ever the object of the competition is. Oddly, there’s a fiery explosion graphic at the start of the game (probably not the best choice for consumers concerned with safety), but the implied mayhem never materialized, at least in the three minutes I spent with the game before drooling with boredom. The experience begs one final question that I can sum up in a word: Otis?
—Posted by David Gianatasio
LONDON – There will be no terrestrial coverage of England’s grudge match against Croatia tonight due to the continuing impasse between rights holder Setanta and the BBC and ITV over the value of the highlights.
LONDON – Actor Neil Morrissey and chef Richard Fox have launched their eponymous Blonde Ale, with branding by creative agency Antidote.
LONDON – ITV has announced watchmaker Sekonda as the sponsor of two new music shows that will feature well-known stars including Rihanna and Will Young.
LONDON – Charles Allen, the non-executive chairman of Global Radio and former ITV executive, has aligned himself to his second TV company this week, after accepting a non-executive role at Virgin Media.
LONDON – Blue Marlin Brand Design has hired Jean Koeppel as managing director of its New York office and Stephanie Brown, formerly of Landor Associates, London, for the new role of global marketing director.
LONDON – Wootmedia, the advertising network that specialises in inventory for cult websites, has added independent music brand Clashmusic.com to its online network.
LONDON – Scientists at the Cern Large Hadron Collider have taken time out from conducting colossal experiments that delve into the deepest, darkest secrets of the universe and strike fear into the heart of the average layman to produce a viral sensation with their YouTube video — Large Hadron Rap.
LONDON – MTV is reported to have asked Russell Brand to return next year to present its Video Music Awards after he sent rating up by 20% and attracted thousands of comments to its website after he caused controversy by labelling US President George W Bush a “retarded cowboy”.
LONDON – ITV1’s 8pm-10pm coverage of ‘The National Movie Awards’ pulled in a lowly 2.8m viewers last night beaten by BBC One and Channel 4’s 9pm offerings, ‘Holby City’ and ‘The Sex Education Show’ respectively, according to unofficial overnight figures.
LONDON – Five has secured games publisher 505 Games as its new sponsor for the Five Family Movie schedule for the rest of the year.
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