Mark Holland has upgraded his social-media standing from "some random guy on Twitter" to "some random guy on Twitter who answered a largely rhetorical question from a 43-year-old TV ad." He did this by counting how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Holland posted his final count, 850, on Twitter last Saturday. That number conflicts with at least three previous studies—Holland needed many more licks than most people. (Officially, Tootsie Pop says the number of licks "depends on a variety of factors such as the size of your mouth, the amount of saliva, etc. Basically, the world may never know.") While Holland's hard work should definitely be acknowledged (and mocked), we can't consider this question settled. More people need to keep doing this and posting their results so we can move ever so slowly toward an accurate number. Photo above via.
Here's a simple concept executed simply for Adidas. This beautifully shot, expertly cut short tells the story of the opening of the D Rose Jump Store in London. This unique store gave fans a chance to jump with the Chicago Bulls point guard to get a pair of Derrick Rose signature Adidas sneakers. Hundreds of fans descended and tried to make the 10-foot jump. Great moments, from Rose laughing at a girl who can't get enough air to helping a kid reach a pair, are offset by some pretty impressive jumps—including a dude who not only reaches the shoes but manages to kiss them on the shelf. Best pop-up store promotion in a while.
You would think the epic-ness of a Strawberry Pop-Tart Ice Cream Sandwich would speak for itself. But just to be safe, Carl's Jr. has layered its new ad (via 72andSunny) for the dessert treat with breathless commentary from the blogosphere and perhaps the most awe-inspiring soundtrack around: Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra," otherwise known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Can the product possibly stand up to this grand teaser? Judging by the early reviews, yes—yes, it can.
UPDATE: Carl's Jr.'s sister brand Hardee's rolled out a new spot from 72andSunny today—for the Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwich, featuring bull rider and Texas native Douglas Duncan. See that spot below.
Talk about a loud poster! Novalia in England has developed a drum-kit poster you can play with your fingertips. The interactive paper works like a touchsceen and produces seven different drum sounds, including cymbals. (Sadly, there's no cowbell.) The poster itself acts as a speaker. There's also a Bluetooth version that plays through iPads and iPhones. When the neighbors complain, you can let them look around your apartment and honestly say, "Drums? I don't have any drums. Must be the people upstairs." (Ba-dum-bum-CHING!) Needless to say, the company has a more enlightened vision for the technology. "Packaging, greeting-card manufacturers, point-of-sale, bus-shelter advertising, books, newspapers—yes, you can touch a story in a newspaper and if you've got your smartphone with our app anywhere on your person it can automatically pick up the recording of the actual press conference," Novalia's Kate Stone tells Cambridge News. The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund volume production. Fusing traditional media with new technology is becoming a trend. What will they think of next—a print ad that charges your cell phone? Via PSFK.
Nothing says "this cultural phenomenon isn't cool anymore" like a branded coffee drink, so Grumpy Cat will have to make peace with being old hat now that it has one. It's called Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino (because Grumpspresso looked too awkward on the bottle, I guess), and it will have three flavors when it comes out, whenever that happens. The tagline is: "It's awfully good." Was coffee really the best they could do? A Grumpy Cat version of Duke Phillips's "You Smell" toy would have been more fun, and relevant to the cat's image.
Here's an awesome Friday-afternoon agency project: Toronto animation, design and VFX studio Crush decided to attach a GoPro camera to their dog Sadie and livestream her travels around the building today. The result was an entertainingly surreal perspective on agency life from shin level. The stream was only live for an hour, but drew nearly 1,000 viewers. Hopefully the staff—and the dog—will be up for doing it again. As someone who has worked in an agency environment for years, it just left me feeling jealous of someone who could wander the halls doing absolutely nothing and be constantly rewarded with love and food.
The Marijuana Policy Project is spreading its message to Nascar fans by purchasing video ad space on a Jumbotron just outside the entrance to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis from today through Sunday. Not only that, but the 30-second spot they're running (see below) disparages alcohol multiple times, something that Nascar sponsors Miller Lite and Crown Royal might not be too happy about. The video's specific claims are that marijuana has "no calories … no hangovers … [and] it's not linked to violence or reckless behavior." Drug cartels might have something to say about that last point, but I get what they're trying to say. If the MPP is truly interested in public service, they'll tell Nascar fans where to find decent weed. I grew up in Nascar country, and the stuff they smoke is total garbage.
UPDATE: The ad was pulled after the Drug Free America Foundation complained about it to Grazie Media, which owns the jumbotron. "Grazie Media does not, in any way, shape or form, support the use of marijuana nor the promotion of illegal drugs at a family event," Vanessa Wojtala, CEO and director of programming at Grazie Media, said in a statement.
Here's a fun project for beer lovers. Boston-based video editor Trevor Carmick has started animating the labels of some of his favorite brews, sharing his creations as animated GIFs. The results are subtle but enjoyable, like the Magic Hat #9 can whose label now swirls hypnotically, practically mesmerizing you into drinking it. On his LinkedIn profile, Carmick notes the initial success of his side project: "To my surprise, people enthusiastically responded to my label creations and I now enjoy a small online following of craft beer lovers as well as several breweries." Given the way his site is making the rounds on some of the nation's largest blogs this week, he might need to rephrase that soon. Check out a few of his creations after the jump, and visit his site for more.
Not many brands have embraced the Anthony Weiner debacle as inspiration for ads. Spirit Airlines did it in its own traditional sleazy fashion. And now Mini has come out with a little auto erotica of its own—creating (as Weiner did) a fake Twitter identity, @CarlosDMotor, and tweeting out an image of a Mini in a bathroom, showing off a little grille. "Wanna get your hands on my stick?" says the tweet. Agency: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners.
You plug Google's new $35 Chromecast dongle into the back of your TV set to wirelessly stream Internet video on a larger screen. "For Bigger Fun," this minute-long commercial by 72andSunny, shows all kinds of people doing just that. They watch mainly Hollywood fare (Charlie Chaplin, Austin Powers, etc.) or candid footage from their own lives. In a way, this is the YouTube generation coming full circle, as we can now broadcast ourselves onto our living-room screens and enjoy a stripped-down version of old-school TV stardom. The spot works hard to portray Chromecast as an enjoyable shared experience, though watching people watch TV isn't that exciting. The music, "Zorba the Greek," sets my teeth on edge. It reminds me of the bloody bouzouki that drones on and on and on and on in Monty Python's "Cheese Shop" sketch. Now there's some video worth streaming! Bottom line: Dongle's a funny word. Kind of.
Here's an ad that's really the dog's bollocks. It's by Grey Mexico for Motor Master floor disinfectant. "What is on your floor is not always on your mind," says the tagline. The ad, though, may be on your mind for some time, and not in a good way. It is topical, though, and Grey confirms it's a real ad. "They don't have big budgets, but they are very willing to use our creativity," a Grey executive in Mexico City says of Motor Master. There's also a cat version of the ad. Via Ads of the World.
Residents of the giant hipster trap that is New York City are setting miniature hipster traps—baited with Pabst Blue Ribbon, dorky sunglasses, bike chains and American Spirit cigarettes—as a public art project around Brooklyn. One of the responsible parties, Jeff Greenspan, is the same guy who made the separate sidewalk lanes for tourists and locals as an Improv Everywhere prank last year. Fellow prankster Hunter Fine describes their efforts as laying "traps for certain subcultures. Our goal is protect neighborhoods from infestation and collect different species for further study." A worthy goal, but who cares about hipsters at this point? The real challenge would be setting traps for North Jersey commuters.
A jokey-yet-serious campaign called Bribe the Senate, intended to get the U.S. Senate to at least discuss the idea of mandatory background checks on gun purchases, has hit a legal snag and its organizers are rethinking their approach—lest they end up in prison.
Four creatives at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners came up with the project (a personal one, not an agency endeavor), which was designed to raise money to offset donations from the gun lobby to six senators who could provide the swing votes to consider legislation on the topic. At midnight Thursday—100 days after the Senate voted to keep background checks from even being discussed—the campaign's website will count down to zero, at which point it was supposed to start collecting donations. Now, that won't happen.
"Honestly, we started this whole thing with the intent to fundraise for the bribes," says Simon Bruyn, one of the creatives. "But the lawyers were very adamant that this was go-to-jail illegal. Not just for us, but for anybody who donated. So we had to change our approach late in the game."
Instead, the site will simply direct tweets to the six senators and ask them to revisit their stance on the issue. Not so much as a bitcoin will change hands.
"We get it. Bribes are bad. You can't pay a politician to change their vote," says Emil Tiismann, another of the site's creators. "Next time we will form a proper political lobbying organization so that we can collect unlimited cash in order to have a meaningful political conversation with our elected officials where we strongly express our opinions."
Tiismann adds: "Please don't send us to jail for this. We'd hate to have to share a cell with a mentally ill killer who bought his murder weapon at a gun show without a background check."
Jacob Sempler and Andrew Livingston were the other two creatives who built the campaign. Check out its appeal video below.
Remember that time you thought babysitting for a few extra bucks was a great idea? What could be so hard about putting an 8-year-old to bed, right? Fast-forward a few hours, and Mikey's got his head caught in the stairs. Sarah's got a wad of gum in her hair. You're fashioning a makeshift diaper out of duck tape for the one whose name you forgot. Or worse, the house catches fire. Seriously, anything can happen. Have you seen The Sitter?
Lucky for you, the Red Cross has developed "Babysitting Basics Course," an online tutorial that teaches you how to handle—or better yet, avoid—babysitting blunders. Oh, and they teamed up with BBDO Atlanta and director Daniel Strange to produce the PSA below. The spot is a charming and adorable one-minute piece about the potential hazards of babysitting. And those cute little tykes are clearly more aware of them than their absent-mind teenage babysitter. So, to you would-be sitters out there: Before you decide to conquer you neighbor's living room, hear the warning of unlucky kids, go online and take the course.
Pereira & O'Dell's social film "The Beauty Inside" for Intel and Toshiba was a major success—an engaging episodic tale with a delightful premise that propelled the small San Francisco agency onto the world stage when it won a Daytime Emmy and three Grand Prix at Cannes last month. So, what do they do for a sequel? They have Harvey Keitel battle zombie alien mustaches, of course.
"The Power Inside" stars Harvey Keitel, Craig Roberts, Analeigh Tipton, Reid Ewing and Zack Pearlman in the apparently somewhat campy story of aliens who disguise themselves as mustaches or unibrows and attach themselves to unsuspecting humans, turning them into unthinking drones. With the help of his friends and technology—and you—the main character, Neil, discovers he’s the only guy who can stop the invasion. (Intel-inspired Ultrabook devices by Toshiba play an important role, we're told.)
Check out the trailer below, and visit thepowerinside.com to audition to be in the film—as a Urick (bad guy) or Guardian (good guy). The six-episode series premieres Aug. 15 at facebook.com/insidefilms.
If I ever want to drive up Pikes Peak in Colorado fairly fast, I guess I'll buy a Range Rover.
That's my takeaway from this five-minute video showing the 2014 Range Rover Sport setting records for both production-standard SUVs and standard vehicles of any kind on the 12.42-mile Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course. In June, performance and stunt driver Paul Dallenbach, who has won several events on Pikes Peak, took 12 minutes and 35.61 seconds to climb the hill, traveling at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour.
It's a twisty track with dense forest below. This is Dallenbach's first time back since he crashed there last year during a race while driving a different type of vehicle. Footage of that accident is re-run, and race officials, a safety crew member and a Pikes Peak Ranger are on hand to discuss how perilous the course can be.
The clip—the first in the automaker's "The Driven Challenges" series—makes every effort to play up the drama and danger. And while it's a solid piece of work, I still felt dissatisfied.
I mean, they'd never post the video if Dallenbach drove off a cliff and smashed the SUV in a flaming heap on the rocks below, now would they? We know that he and the SUV are going to be just fine, which makes the whole approach feel strained.
The film uses cinematic tools to build suspense where none really exists in the first place. Misty mountain tops and fast-moving cars are intercut with lingering shots of worried or thoughtful faces. Moody musical cues suggest danger in every note. The intensity peaks, so to speak, around the 2:15 mark, with the scene cutting from the starter to Paul … from the starter to Paul … from the starter to … just drive the damn truck already!
Contrast this with "Desire," Jaguar's 13-minute branded film from a few months back. (Jaguar and Range Rover are part of the same company.) "Desire" stars Damian Lewis as a mysterious "delivery man" searching for the new owner of a red F-Type sports car. There's action, gunplay and a twist at the end. Of course, it's complete fantasy, a schlocky story and utterly derivative at that. Yet on first viewing I found myself riveted by the tricky plot. I really did want to see how it all worked out, and those 13 minutes raced by.
Dallenbach probably was a bit on edge in that Range Rover on Pikes Peak. He'd crashed there recently. The potential for disaster was real. Still, in the video, a happy denouement is assured. Subtract any true tension, and what remains is a film about a guy driving a truck up a hill. The fact that it's a most impressive hill, and that he set some obscure speed records, didn't particularly pique my interest.
It might have gone down as one of the least interesting Twitter hacks of all time, except it was fake. Which makes it … interesting?
Chipotle has admitted to Mashable that the brand was behind a series of what looked like rogue tweets last weekend. On Sunday, @ChipotleTweets began posting odd messages like "Find avocado store in Arvada, Colorado" and, "Hi sweetie, can you please pick up some lime, salt, and onions? twitter." Shortly after, "Joe" from the Chipotle team posted a message that seemed to confirm a hack: "Sorry all. We had a little problem with our account. But everything is back on track now!"
While brand hacks seem to be a dime a dozen these days, this one was apparently invented for publicity. The tweets were meant to obliquely tie into Chipotle's "Adventurito" promotion, a series of 20 puzzles in 20 days celebrating its 20th anniversary. Sunday's puzzle was about the ingredients that go into guacamole. "We thought that people would pay attention, that it would cut through people's attention and make them talk, and it did that," company spokesman Chris Arnold told Mashable on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, MTV and BET (both owned by Viacom) did something similar when they pretended to be victims of hacks similar to those befalling brands like Burger King and Jeep. Some social media and PR pundits are already bemoaning the loss of reliability that a brand can suffer by lying to its fans. But come on. If you're disappointed by the ethical integrity of a burrito-hustling Twitter feed, you have no one but yourself to blame.
Vending machines have been developing unique personalities for some time. We've had generous ones, sadistic ones, patriotic ones. Now, we've got an exceedingly empathetic one. Check out the video below from a South African airport, where coffee roaster Douwe Egberts rigged up its vending machine with facial-recognition software to dispense free cups of coffee to anyone who yawned. It's a nice stunt that turned those yawns to smiles. The fittingly named agency behind it: Joe Public. Via Foodbeast.
Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign doesn't have many vocal critics, but here's one: Kelly Cutrone, founder of fashion PR firm People's Revolution and star of The Hills, The City and Kell on Earth. Here's what she has to say about thinness in fashion, and Dove's ads:
"Society has a hyper emphasis on thin, and that trend comes from the consumers—it does not come from the fashion industry. The fashion industry needs to make money. That's what we do. If people said, 'We want a 300-pound purple person,' the first industry to do it would be fashion. You look at the Dove campaign in Times Square—it sticks out like a sore thumb. Those girls in the white T-shirts and underwear, next to Calvin Klein [and all the other fashion ads]. As a consumer, it doesn't make me want to buy Dove. I'm all for the real look, but as a consumer it doesn't make me want to buy clothes."
They say celebrity endorsements are a questionable investment, but as you can see below, they can be staggeringly successful—if the celebrity is Dikembe Mutombo and the target market is this particular baby. The Martin Agency will enjoy this. Wonder what the kid thinks of the "Hump Day" spot.
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