Hasta La Creative!

Before they played the piano, sang, danced or appeared in Super Bowl ads, the M&Ms characters went for a little swim.

The little guys first made a splash way back in 1954, when Mr. Plain and Mr. Peanut jumped into a chocolate pool and rinsed off in showers that gave them their shell coating. Another early ad in the campaign — which is the subject of this week’s Rewind – begins with the “melts in your mouth, not in your hand” slogan before showing yet another dip in the pool. The now-famous tagline was just gaining traction at the time.

Suffice it to say, the early 1950s were a monumental period for the Mars-owned brand, which went on to become the top-selling candy in the U.S. by 1956, according to the Ad Age Encyclopedia.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

A series of PSA posters for the Singapore Cancer Society depict women in a Marilyn Monroe-like pose that some have dubbed sexist and voyeuristic while others mistook the poster for a fashion ad. Not great for a just cause that’s trying to encourage women get tested regularly for cervical cancer.

In a poll conducted by Strait Times, 25% of respondents found the ad offensive yet 64% found the ad perfectly acceptable.

The imagery is certainly iconic and eye catching which, of course, is half the battle when creating ad campaigns. However, sexualizing ads which carry a serious message is rarely a good thing. Via.

Less than a month after introducing the HTC First — the first-ever “Facebook Phone” — AT&T announced it is cutting the price of the phone from $99 to $0.99 with a two-year mobile service contract.

AT&T and HTC downplayed the significance of the price cut, saying such promotions are typical in the mobile industry. But AT&T is just shifting the cost of the phone to the data plan, which will become more expensive over time.

Initially priced at $99, the Facebook phone isn’t intended to be a high-end smartphone. Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 cost $199 and $149 with a mobile service contract, respectively. Rather, it was a halo device for AT&T, HTC and Facebook and intended for Facebook “super users” who access the social network all throughout a given day.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

(TrendHunter.com) Emilie Moysson’s new editorial for Numero Thailand entitled ‘Bold’ is just that: bold.

From the over-saturated colors to the stark outfits, Bold is a memorably melancholic spread….

Lord, forgiveth as we’ve receiveth this news from the newswire and not a scoop, but yes, as you’ve probably seen in other realms, Tim Maleeny has been appointed as chief strategy officer for Havas Worldwide’s flagship New York office. You might remember back in the day, when hires, etc. were in bullet point posts on this here site, but yes, Maleeny joins from Ogilvy, where he spent nearly four years as a senior partner/head of account planning.

We’ll spare you the hellishness of the usual hyperbolic quotes and just tell you that Maleeny will work alongside Havas Worldwide Chicago CSO James Lou, who has been with said agency for 18 months (dating back to when it was still Euro RSCG) and has served on the strategy side at the likes of DDB and McCann during his career. As for Maleeny, the newest Havas exec will now lead strategy for clients including Dos Equis, New York Life, Charles Schwab, Merck, and IBM.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Apple is no stranger to the Viral Chart, where its demo videos frequently rank among most-viewed, but never, ever mention the competition. But last week Apple was the whipping boy from two corners: Samsung and Microsoft, which together racked up 9 million views taking shots at the iPhone.

In a spot released last week, Microsoft took on both iOS and Android loyalists in its latest spot for Windows Phone, a wedding brawl between families divided by allegiances. Samsung’s first spot for the Galaxy S4 continues its tradition of hammering at Apple.

Meanwhile, Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” keeps chugging away. The campaign has generated 56.9 million cumulative views in three weeks on the chart.

Continue reading at AdAge.com