Saturday Night Live alumnus Bill Hader has teamed up with T-Mobile to become the brand's first spokesperson in several years not to wear a bright pink dress. The spots, directed by Adam & Dave of Arts & Sciences, advertise a new program called Jump, which does away with the crazy multi-year wait times for phone upgrades—a $10-a-month fee lets you upgrade twice a year. The spots, created by Publicis, show Hader in unfortunate but familiar situations like dropping his phone in a urinal, trying to dry it out in some rice, getting one-upped by someone with a better phone, having it squished by a large mustachioed man, and getting stuck with a phone that won't hold a charge. Hader is funny, but even funnier is Brian Huskey of Swagger Wagon and Sonic commercial fame, who delivers his usual awkward deadpan brilliance.
Today's toy ads aren't perfect—the one for Kackel Dackel is disturbing in its own way—but at least they don't give you nightmares. The one below, for Remco's 1971 toy Baby Laugh-a-Lot, is not something your kids ever need to see. The horror-movie style editing and the deranged voiceover certainly don't help. In fact, the only thing more frightening than Baby Laugh-a-Lot might be Baby Laugh-a-Lot with her batteries running low.
Re-enter the dragon? Johnnie Walker and BBH resurrect Bruce Lee via CGI technology (and footage of lookalike actor Danny Chan) for this boring Chinese commercial. The spot, approved by Lee's daughter Shannon, has proven predictably polarizing. Some critics trot out the old objection that showing dead stars in ads is in poor taste, while others claim the memory of Lee—a paragon of physical fitness and athleticism before his death 40 years ago this month, at age 32—is somehow tarnished by his doppelgänger pitching whisky.
The bigger problem is that the ad is dull, something its inspiration never was. Fake Lee walks around a Hong Kong balcony, runs a hand through some water in a pool and mouths lines like, "Dragons never die, because dragons draw power from water. Water. It's like instincts … You cannot grasp hold of it. But let it flow and it has the power to change the world." Dude, drop-kick the faux-losophy … you're supposed to be Bruce Freakin' Lee! The guy was a human CGI machine who routinely defied gravity with furiously elegant fighting moves he choreographed himself. How can you bring him back and not put him in motion—shirtless, freaky, fists-and-feet-flying motion!?
Heck, they should have shown CGI Bruce battling barehanded against Undead Audrey Hepburn—or at least something more groovy than what's on display here. Far from being disrespectful, I believe a highly physical, even frenetic approach would have honored Lee and captured the essence of the man. Bruce Lee was a mischievous badass who reveled in his sensational stunts and brought a transcendent sense of subversive fun to his movies. His violent yet controlled release of kinetic energy forged his connection with audiences around the world. Flying through the air while screaming at the top of his lungs was his defining spiritual statement. Instead, the spirits brand pours us prattle about being a … "game changer"?! Bruce would have demanded such jargon expunged from his film scripts and employed his unshod feet to smack the silly screenwriters upside their heads.
Sadly, the ad fails because Lee is present in body—sort of—but not in spirit.
It's an image that was nearly too hot for Los Angeles, a town that regularly sees bare bums and lithe bodies in various states of undress along its famous streets and highways. But after some wrangling with ad sellers, and the threat of a ban, Lifetime will be able to launch its risqué billboard in L.A. after all to promote the 12th season of Project Runway.
The ad, from agency Ignition Print in Santa Monica, Calif., shows Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn lording over a bunch of nude models. The same image, by the way, got a swift and unconditional OK in New York, where it's debuting Wednesday on hundreds of bus shelters, kiosks, newsstands and other high-visibility spots. Guess the Nanny State of Bloomberg doesn't extend to public displays of flesh. The cable network, which wouldn't comment on the flap but said privately that it didn't want to scrap the campaign, had planned to make adjustments via Photoshop for L.A. But now, the image, sans added clothing, will appear in a single spot in L.A.—above the storied Sunset Strip, where no one impressionable ever goes.
If the models had had Glocks in their hands like all the one-sheets for Hollywood action flicks, this would've been a non-issue to start with. The series, which has used suggestive advertising with the smokin' hot Klum many times in the past, returns July 18.
Colle+McVoy has its fishcake and eats it too in a new Times Square ad campaign urging people to get the hell out of New York already … and go fishing. The Minneapolis agency is kicking off the summer season for the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) with a digital billboard urging passersby to "Get away from all of this"—as arrows point to the urban hell all around the sign. (It is indeed a tempting suggestion.) The next screen promotes TakeMeFishing.org, the RBFF's boating and fishing resource. The campaign will not heed its own advice, however—it will remain in Times Square all summer long.
The stats suggest you've probably watched this already, but here it is again—the official gameplay video for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V, coming Sept. 17. Gaming spots often blow up quickly online, but the engagement with this one since its release on Tuesday is staggering—7 million views already, and more than 230,000 shares, according to Unruly Media. It's an interesting spot, too, with a woman's voice narrating as we get a comprehensive look at the fully revamped game, which includes three lead characters, a more fully realized Southern California landscape, and a dual-environment structure that lets you toggle between heists and open-world exploration. The trailer is the perfect mix of informative and exciting. And the game quite simply looks badass.
Undeniably stupid, but worth banning? That was the tough call facing Britain's ad watchdog as it dealt with 176 complaints over the spot below, for soft drink Irn-Bru. The plot, such as it is, involves a mom proudly showing off her push-up bra to her son's friends—much to the acute embarrassment of the son, and the slack-jawed awe of the friends. The soft drink is positioned, also stupidly, as an antidote to the embarrassment. Each time the kid takes a swig, he becomes blissfully mellow again despite his dire circumstances.
The Ad Standard Authority's ruling? It cleared the spot on all grounds, saying the interaction between the mom and the friends did not constitute irresponsible behavior. "We considered that the action relied on the mum being confident and attractive, but not consciously or overtly behaving in a sexualized or flirtatious way," the ASA said. "We also considered that the focus of the ads was the son's embarrassment at the effect his mum's appearance was having on his friends. Therefore, and particularly in the context of ads intended to portray a surreal and lighthearted comedic approach, we did not consider that the action or depiction of the female protagonist was sexist or demeaning and concluded that the ads were not in breach of the code."
For its part, Irn-Bru maker AG Barr said it simply wanted the ad, created by The Leith Agency in Edinburgh, to "stay true to the traditionally cheeky and irreverent sense of humor" of its previous ads.
Witness the cautionary prankvertising in this viral spot for a Belgian bank warning you not to give out financial information online. Recounting more than just a simple case of credit-card fraud, the video shows how one truly creepy guy befriends an ordinary Belgian dude on Facebook—who was stupid enough to give out his deets in response to a phishing email—and tries to steal his life. Not content to post hilarious or insulting messages on the poor guy's hacked Facebook page, creepy bank rep has facial prosthetics made so he looks exactly like his victim, and starts posting pictures that the guy's wife probably won't find too funny. Then the doppelgänger orders an antique harp, has it delivered and signs for it, eventually appearing face to face with our our woebegotten protagonist to serious freak the crap out of him. Duval Guillaume Modem, the same agency that was behind "A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square," brings the whole thing to life in a chilling way. Those who heed the warning can check out tips at safeinternetbanking.be to make sure they don't become the subject of the next freakishly disturbing identity theft.
Colin Firth is a solid choice for any ad. But a 12-foot-tall version of the Oscar winner rising from a lake, wet shirt sticking to his chiseled physique, is marketing gold. UKTV made the latter happen in London's Hyde Park this week—installing a giant statue of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, as portrayed by Firth in the BBC's 1995 version, in the middle of a lake to promote its new TV channel, Drama. It's a fitting image to choose, as that scene was named the most memorable British TV drama moment of all time in a recent survey.
Three sculptors spent two months designing, constructing and painting the fiberglass model."We took Colin Firth's famous lake scene as a starting point for creating Mr. Darcy, but we also read the book and looked at performances of the brooding hero by Matthew Macfadyen, David Rintoul and even Laurence Olivier," says lead sculptor Toby Crowther. "The challenge for us was capturing the spirit of Darcy as handsome and noble but also aloof and proud. The Mr. Darcy sculpture is a real mix of the many portrayals of Jane Austen's most famous hero."
The statue will head next to Scarborough beach in North Yorkshire before finding a semi-permanent home at Lyme Park in Cheshire, where the scene was was originally filmed. It will remain there until next February. The campaign, including the survey, was orchestrated by Taylor Herring PR. Check out the case study here.
Those still annoyed by Roxy's sexualized portrayal of a woman athlete will enjoy this more kick-ass 30-second spot for espnW. The first brand promo for the ESPN property, it broke Tuesday night during the premiere of the film Pat XO, part of the network's Nine for IX series. The spot, from creative agency 77 Ventures, was directed by filmmaker Raama Mosley and edited by Therapy Studio's Kristin McCasey. The original soundtrack was written and performed by Greta Gaines exclusively for espnW. Among the athletes featured are Serena Williams, Brittney Griner, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Heather O’Reilly, Shannon Boxx, Sara Errani and Elena Delle Donne.
Australian yuppie hipsters … crikey, who better to pitch cars in Kia commercials? The answer appears to be anyone, judging by the pervasive negative reactions to the automaker's "Man of Now"/"Woman of Now" spots from ad agency Innocean. The spots popped up Down Under in January and were panned by pundits at the time, but they're just now gaining global traction (and fresh abuse) following recent airings during Wimbledon coverage on Australia's Channel 7. The Guardian, among others, asks if these might be the most irritating ads ever made, and warns viewers, "Once you've seen the spots, you can't unsee them, so be careful what you click for."
Each ad follows its subject through bustling city streets as the Man and Woman hurry to reach their Kias, extolling their own "virtues" in rapid-fire, brand-building beat poetry from hell. The "Man of Now" informs us: "I push the envelope, push a button, push a pram … push 'em real good. I wear the pants, I wear aftershave, I wear the blame … and I wear it well." Wow, I wonder how many roommates he goes through in a year. The "Woman of Now" confides: "I'm texting, typing, LOL-ing, OMG-ing, I'm digitally in touch, but not retouched. I'm a storytelling, canteen-helping, fundraising, muffin-making, party-going yoga lover." Hey, aren't we all these days?
This stuff's easy to criticize as smug nonsense. Yet, I'm not in the hater camp. Though it's largely unintentional (I think), the commercials actually do a fine job of both reflecting and skewering cultural modernism and revealing the shallow stereotypes that some self-styled "men and of women of now" have become. Viewed thusly, these ads are a hoot—irritating, yes, but also strangely compelling as warped signposts of the times we live in. (There's an ironic bit in both spots where the Man and Woman briefly bump into each other, but they're too self-absorbed to break their stride, too focused on their personal manifestos to really see the world around them.)
Kia has been a good sport, with a rep explaining that the campaign mirrors "the modern lifestyle—it's a metaphor," and adding, "Some people don't get it. You can't please everybody." The automaker even embraced a parody from Priceless Productions, which features a beefy rugby hooligan type who brags, "I spent $20 on my mum for Christmas. My haircut cost $80. I'm international, I'm interconnected, I'm interrupting people all the time because everything I say is f—ing hilarious." Good on ya! Now, go drop-kick a giant hamster, mate! ("We think it's great," Kia said of the spoof.)
In fact, the real spots play like parodies, and while that presumably isn't what Kia intended, they're generating commentary and heightened awareness without being offensive—and they're poised to go viral. That surely beats driving into instant obscurity, which is the road most car commercials take, after all.
Everyone is raving about NeverWet, a spray-on waterproof coating that Rust-Oleum is manufacturing and distributing in North America in return for royalty payments. I didn't get what all the fuss was about, but then I saw the product demonstration video below. And, uh, holy crap. If any of this is legit, then NeverWet isn't so much hydrophobic as it is an ancient voodoo curse against liquids. Now if only they could rename it something that people could ask for in stores without blushing.
It was probably just a matter of time before Whit Hiler and Michael Dubin worked together. Hiler—the ass-kicking Kentucky adman, flier-making crazy person and mastermind of Beardvertising—has lured Dubin's Dollar Shave Club right into his sneaky trap. Yes, Dollar Shave Club, known for its own wacky marketing, has signed up for a Beardvertising program, in which 25 hairy dudes across the country will soon have tiny Dollar Shave Club billboards clipped to their beards. "We're excited to be building our business of beardlessness with these badass, bushy Beardboards," Dubin says in a statement. Hiler tells AdFreak: "For brands interested in joining A&W Restaurants and Dollar Shave Club in some hot and hairy 'Beardvertising' action, we've got over 1,400 eager guys ready and willing to place little advertisements in their epic beards." More photos below.
Surf and sports apparel brand Roxy's teaser ad for the Pro Biarritz 2013 surfing contest, which it's sponsoring, is more about butts than surfing, which hasn't sat well with some viewers. (See what I did there?) More than a few critics have sneered at the ad's focus on the surfer's body instead of her skills, and I have to say, I agree with them. The idea of not showing the woman's face was to have fans guess who she was—turns out it was Stephanie Gilmore, as you can see in the reveal video after the jump. But coming from a company that claims to speak to female athletes, the teaser video pretty much ignored athletics for blatant eye candy, and Roxy's official response to its critics was a non-committal word salad that didn't actually address the main complaint. Besides, it's not like Gilmore would be less attractive or marketable if they actually showed her surfing.
Sure, I've tried to cross a dog with a cat. Who hasn't? All I got for my trouble was a face full of claws and another year in therapy. Ad agency VCCP does a better job of it for U.K. mobile telecom O2 in this commercial, in which a ginger Tom starts chasing cars, fetching sticks and generally behaving like Rover. I'm not sure why Queen's bellicose, bombastic theme from the campy 1980 version of Flash Gordon is used on the soundtrack. Maybe the song doesn't really suck, but only dogs have sharp enough hearing to tell? Anyway, Tabby's willingness to "Be more dog" (the spot's tagline) is supposed to inspire viewers to get out of their ruts and try new things, like products and services from O2. That stretches the leash a bit in terms of brand message. Even so, any pet that catches frisbees and can be trained to use a litter box is OK by me.
Barton F. Graf 9000 just sent around this amusing case study outlining its social-media activity for Little Caesars during the week of July 4. Without giving too much away, let's just say the Twitter and Facebook campaign did very well—or, as the agency says in the email, achieved "astounding, almost Oreo-esque results."
We asked, and boy did you answer! Thanks for the 800 million+ fireworks set off last night in support of the DEEP!DEEP! Dish pizza!
Ikea is a family brand, except when it comes to showing dozens of Hot Malms in compromising positions.
A new website, HotMalm.com, shows loads of explicit (yet completely safe for work) photos of Malms—i.e., Malm beds sold by Ikea. The photos have captions like "Black Twin Malms Get Supermanned," "Hot Malm's Box Filled Up," "Check Out the Pussy on This Hot Malm" and (our personal favorite) "What a Little Tease." You can also search by category—Ebony Malms, Big Beautiful Malms (BBM), Mature Malms, Teen Malms, Blonde Malms, Animal on Malm, Exposed Malms and Twin Malms. All the photos link through to the Ikea site.
HotMalm.com is "dedicated to bringing you the hottest Hot Malm action on the Web," the site says. "Our diverse and international team prides itself on curating and maintaining the Internet's most comprehensive collection of Hot Malm videos, images and content. Hot new Malms are being stripped down, screwed and laid by the thousands every day, and it's our mission to expose them."
HotMalm.com was created by some Droga5 creatives and their friends, and was tweeted out by David Droga on Monday. But it's not an official Ikea project and is meant purely for entertainment.
"The idea for HotMalm.com built up over a span of three years," says Asa Block, who worked with Droga5 colleagues Spencer Lavallee and Jen Lu and two freelancers on the site. "My roommate and I were on the obligatory post-collegiate Ikea trip and buying new beds. Of course, we started giggling at the Malm series and before long, every time someone said the word 'mom' we would reply 'HotMalm.com.' Fast-forward three years and we are both grown men, still living in an Ikea furnished apartment, and still thinking way too much about this stuff. Now, we just have a website to show for it."
Block adds: "We have never watched porn."
Ikea has yet to comment, though it now seems unlikely that it will be moving its account to Droga5 anytime in the near future. Credits below.
CREDITS Asa Block, Spencer Lavallee and Jen Lu of Droga5 Graham Douglas, freelance creative director Adrian Cabrero, freelance Web developer
Hey, David Hasselhoff, want to make a cheesy video? That rhetorical question came from East Coast convenience-store chain Cumberland Farms. His answer? Well, what do you think? The Hoff, long past the drunken sad-clown days of eating burgers off the floor, is firmly rooted once again in a self-deprecating happy-jokester period. He worked with Cumberland Farms last summer, and according to reports from the brand's ad agency, Full Contact in Boston, increased the chain's iced-coffee sales by a whopping 147 percent. (Thieves also became quite enamored with the cardboard cutouts of the Hoff placed outside the New England/Florida chain's stores.) This new campaign—more of a goofball Lonely Island-style music video—has the Hoff hang-gliding, skiing with dolphins and vamping on the beach, all while singing (er, "singing") and holding a ginormous Cumberland Farms Farmhouse Blend iced java. The clip already has 150,000 YouTube views and earned the Hoff and the marketer a prime spot on CNN's morning news show. (He called in by "surprise" on Monday. Watch the clip after the jump and see him get New Day's "When You Wish Upon a Star Award" for making somebody's dream come true.) The ad hits all the Hoff's infamous marks, like shots of his bare, preternaturally tanned chest, melodramatic song lyrics, wind-blown hair and knowing winks at the camera. Thirsty yet?
Random YouTube person Chad Neidt put out a call on Twitter for classic advertising jingles and promised to include them in an epic acoustic-guitar mashup. I must say, he covers a lot of ground. Big Red, McDonald's, Skip-It, Juicy Fruit and even that "You don't always die from tobacco" song—complete with Neidt's best impression of a mechanical larynx—are featured here. I sense that Chad is That Guy with the Guitar at every party he's ever been to. He also reminds me of the girl who sang the Stanley Steemer jingle in a lot of different styles. They should date.
Robinsons isn't the only British brand drafting off Andy Murray's historic win at Wimbledon yesterday. The Adidas ad above, posted to Twitter, is nice and simple and a worthy tribute. The tennis star's other sponsors, including Head and RBS, also congratulated their man on Twitter. Head even used the same headline.
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