May
24
May
20
Visitors to This Open House in Canada Found an Elaborately Staged and Disturbing PSA
Posted in: UncategorizedIt was advertised like an ordinary real-estate open house, at a residence that looked fine on the outside. But when visitors came for a look inside, they got an eerie surprise—a glimpse at how people can be living in poverty even when they have a roof over their heads.
The Salvation Army and Grey Canada were behind the “Open House” stunt, which has a robust online presence, where you can tour the house yourself. The home is representative of a family living in poverty, and contains plaques and visual displays highlighting the struggles of the more than 300,000 Canadians who live under the poverty line.
May
20
This Stroller Brand Made an Exact Adult-Size Replica So Parents Could Test-Ride It
Posted in: UncategorizedEvery new parent probably wishes someone would come along and push them around in a stroller for a change. A few lucky moms and dads got to live that fantasy, and give their feet a rest, thanks to an adult-sized test stroller from manufacturer Kolcraft.
The marketer and agency FCB Chicago say they designed the outsized baby carriage to show parents how smooth a ride on the brand’s Contours Bliss wheels actually is—because the reviews of infants and toddlers tend not to be so articulate.
May
18
Airbnb's Cool Retro Ads for the Brooklyn Half Marathon Ask You to (Gasp) Call This Number
Posted in: UncategorizedAirbnb is going old school in its newest local campaign—promoting New York businesses with a phone tree.
To support its sponsorship of the upcoming Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon, the hospitality tech company is running billboards and wild postings created by agency Collins. They feature a minimal, doodle-style aesthetic, an anthropomorphic version of the company’s logo striking various running poses, and an invitation to learn more about all the borough has to offer—by dialing a 718 number, the classic area code for Brooklyn landlines.
May
18
TBWA Made a Provocative Floating Tribute to Syrian Refugees Who Died at Sea
Posted in: UncategorizedLast month, more than 200 gravestones appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, about 200 meters off the Aegean coast of Turkey. Made of waterproof styrofoam that resembled marble, and anchored with weights, each stone bore the name of a Syrian refugee who died in the water while trying to reach Europe.
Created by TBWAIstanbul for humanitarian aid group Support of Life, the “Sea Cemetery” bobbed on the waves like a cluster of buoys, eerie monuments to human tragedy.
May
17
Here's the Best Reason Yet to Put Cats on Every Ad Space in This London Tube Station
Posted in: UncategorizedHundreds of years from now, a new bionic race of human beings will look back on this moment—among other vestiges of our time—and conclude we all shared a god after all. (It’s happened before.)
Remember Glimpse, the socially conscious agency that wants to fill a London subway station with nothing but billboards of cats? With just three days left on their Kickstarter campaign, they’ve found a way to sweeten the deal.
Battersea, the animal rescue center and one of the U.K.’s biggest charities, has agreed to partner with Glimpse to put stray cats on the posters—so, in addition to thinking fewer ad-cluttered thoughts on their commute, Londoners may actually be able to take a furry friend home with them.
But that’s not all. The agency could still use help getting this off the ground.
May
17
Krispy Kreme Is Selling Kyrie Irving's New Nike Shoe Boxed Up Like Donuts
Posted in: UncategorizedKyrie Irving has an arsenal of secret tricks that make him great at basketball, but his latest reveal may be his most surprising edge yet—his own personal donut.
May
16
Agencies on Canal Street Are Waging a Post-it-Note War, and It's Awesome
Posted in: UncategorizedIt started out, reportedly, with a single word: “HI.”
That was early last week. By the weekend, a full-blown Post-it note art war had erupted on Canal Street in New York City, with a number of agencies participating—including Havas Worldwide, Horizon Media, Cake Group and Harrison and Star.
On social media, the posts have been tagged #canalnotes and #postitwar and have been flooding in. It’s a wonder any client work was getting done at these shops last week.
May
16
JetBlue's Times Square Billboard Calculates Your Exact Travel Time to a Dream Destination
Posted in: UncategorizedTo push its JetBlue Card—and hopefully drive some impulse trip planning—JetBlue created a digital billboard that tells people standing in Times Square how quickly they can get to nicer climes, right from where they’re standing.
The Android-based billboard, created with OutFront Media, uses the Google Maps API and JetBlue’s active flight schedule to produce driving and flight data in real time. Whenever people see a special hashtag, the first person to tweet it with the JetBlue Twitter handle can score a voucher for a round-trip flight.
May
04
Why Every Ad Space in This London Subway Station May Soon Have a Cat on It
Posted in: UncategorizedIt can be exhausting to travel by subway, especially when you work in advertising. Subways are home to some of the grabbiest, ugliest creative in all of existence, often in multiples.
To wit: Yesterday, while stepping out of the Paris Métro, I saw a billboard for the Chatons d’Or, or The Golden Kitten, a new tongue-in-cheek ad awards show. I was tired, not in the mood, and—worst of all—it put my brain back in work mode again, well after midnight.
Given how many award shows we already have (I mean, did you know we even have one for TV interstitials? Those are literally ads to advertise your upcoming ad break), and how many other lowest-common-denominator inanities we’re subjected to when traveling to and from anywhere, we’re pretty receptive to this Kickstarter campaign to replace all the ads in one London tube station … with pictures of cats.
Nothing else. Just cats. No $9.99 bikinis perched alongside gym memberships. No award shows, ironic or not. No blockbuster movie posters all in a row, punting an aged actor as a hilariously bad grandpa. Cats. Cats.
May
03
Sprint Turned a Wrecked Car Into a Mangled Emoji for This 'Don't Text and Drive' Sculpture
Posted in: UncategorizedApril was Distracted Driving Awareness month, and Sprint saved one of the most eye-catching PSA for last—unveiling the sculpture above in downtown Miami last Friday.
Titled “The Last Emoji,” it was made by ad agency Alma from a junkyard wreck and warns Miami drivers of the dangers of texting and driving.
According to Alma, Florida is one of the only states that doesn’t list texting while driving as a primary offense, so Magnacom Worldwide secured a prime location at 1200 Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami to reach commuters.
May
03
McDonald's Turns Placemats Into Little Music Production Stations Connected to Your Phone
Posted in: UncategorizedWasn’t it fun when we were kids to doodle on restaurants’ paper placements with crayons? Well, McDonald’s has introduced a high-tech, musical version of that sort of play with McTrax—a snazzy placemat that acts like a little music production station.
TBWANeboko in the Netherlands created McTrax. The placemat, developed with This Page Amsterdam, uses conductive ink, a small battery and a thin circuit board with 26 digital touchpoints. You put you phone on it, download an app and make music with in-house produced audio loops, synths and musical effects. You can also record your own voice.
Aug
11
Yahoo Is Bringing Back Its San Francisco Billboard, but It Won't Be as Iconic as It Was
Posted in: Uncategorized
Yahoo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and to celebrate, it’s reviving the iconic billboard that welcomed (or repulsed) San Franciscans driving on Interstate 80’s eastbound approach to the Bay Bridge. The original board was taken down only four years ago, so calling it a revival might be a stretch, but whatever. Let them have their fun.
As you may recall, the original ad looked like a campy roadside motel sign, with a yellow-and-purple color scheme that always seemed a bit too John Waters for that side of the country. It did have a lot of personality, though—check out these great snapshots on Flickr—but that’s unfortunately been stripped away from the drab new sign, which is just an oversized version of the current Yahoo logo.
Here are some photos of the construction:
The new board will be used primarily to update people on product offerings, local events and other company news worth sharing. I feel like they’re missing a lot of opportunities for fun, but that’s why they’re Yahoo and not Google.
Aug
11
Leinenkugel's Beer Tricks Out Homes in Brooklyn and Austin, and Rents Them on Airbnb
Posted in: Uncategorized
As if the hipster havens of Brooklyn and Austin weren’t already funky—and beery—enough, Leinenkugel’s has transformed vacation properties in each location into Northwoods, Wis.-style “Leinie Lodges,” and made the units available for rent on Airbnb.
The promotion is designed to help the Chippewa Falls, Wis.-based brand (owned by SABMiller) gain extra visibility in those markets, where it has been testing its brews of late.
“We wanted to create a space where people can relax and enjoy beer,” founder Dick Leinenkugel told Austin Fusion. The two-bedroom Brooklyn property (above) can accommodate six guests, includes a roomy roof deck and rents for $449 a night. Down in East Austin (below), you’ll pay $375 for three bedrooms with space for eight.
The rentals are available through the end of August.
Airbnb has become renowned for offbeat promotions, both for itself and in tandem with other brands. Stunts range from hosting a sleepover in an Australian Ikea store to tricking out an Alpine ski lift as a mountaintop crash pad.
The “Leinie Lodges” provide more down-to-earth accommodations. Renters get thoroughly modern, upscale digs—with lots of Leinenkugel’s-branded extras. These include bean-bag toss games, bar signage, canoe paddles, Adirondack chairs and plenty of crimson throw-pillows embroidered with the brewer’s name. At each location, the fridges come packed with Leinenkugel’s brews such as Summer Shandy, Grapefruit Shandy and Canoe Paddler.
So, you’ll basically be living inside a huge ad, stocked with toys and free beer. You’ll be living the American Dream. Cheers!
Jul
29
Google Paints Stunning Portraits of Disability Rights Heroes on Washington, D.C., Steps
Posted in: Uncategorized
In 1990, a group of disabled people pulled themselves up the steps at the U.S. Capitol building to advocate for the Americans With Disabilites Act, protesting delays in an event that became known as the Capitol Crawl.
Now, a new outdoor ad campaign from Google and 72andSunny marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark legislation by featuring painted portraits of key figures in the disability rights movement on the steps of major cultural buildings in Washington, D.C.
Posted from July 24-27, the billboards featured a range of notable activists—like Claudia Gordon, the first deaf female African American attorney in U.S. history, and Ed Roberts, a leader in the drive for the ADA as well as the movement more broadly—at buildings like Gallaudet University and the National Portrait Gallery, respectively. They also celebrated legislators like former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.
A quote accompanied each portrait. “This vital legislation will open the door to full participation by people with disabilities in our neighborhoods, workplaces, our economy, and our American Dream,” reads Harkin’s, posted on steps in the Newseum.
The steps leading up to the Carnegie Library also feature a quote—sans portrait—from President George H.W. Bush, who signed the ADA into law.
72andSunny hired artist Darren Booth to illustrate the campaign. An accompanying website features more in-depth tellings of each figure’s role in the movement, including, in most cases, video interviews with the subjects themselves. It also ties more directly back into the brand’s products, with a Google Map offering a “tour” of the locations that hosted the portraits.
Here are all the paintings and their locations:
Claudia Gordon at Gallaudet University
Tom Harkin at the Newseum
Patrick Kennedy at Woodrow Wilson Plaza
Justin Dart Jr. at Woodrow Wilson Plaza
Tia Nelis at the National Museum of American History
Kathy Martinez at the National Museum of American History
Ed Roberts at the National Portrait Gallery
Judy Heumann at the National Portrait Gallery
Tatyana McFadden at the National Portrait Gallery
CREDITS
Client: Google
Agency: 72andSunny
Artwork: Darren Booth
Jul
27
Why Two Billboards in Massachusetts Were Made to Look Like They're Not Even There
Posted in: Uncategorized
There are lots of ways to make billboards more appealing. You can turn them into art. You can make them into homes or playgrounds. You can get them to help the environment. Or you can just completely white them out.
The latest response to billboard blight? Seamlessly blending them into their surroundings.
That’s what artist Brian Kane did over the past month with “Healing Tool,” a project that took over two digital highway billboards in Massachusetts. Healing Tool is a Photoshop tool that allows you to clone areas of an image to patch over other areas. Kane mimics that process here by making the board space look like its surroundings—trees in the daytime, moon and starscapes at night.
“The goal is to provide a moment of temporary relief and unexpected beauty during the daily grind of commuting,” Kane writes on his website. “During the day hours, a series of images from the specific location are shown on the display. We replace the missing background and create a magic dimensional window. A dynamic motion parallax effect occurs as the vehicle passes the location.
“During the evening hours, high-resolution images of the moon are shown. Synced to the daily phase, people can view the moon despite the effects of urban light pollution. An image of the Milky Way is shown on new moon night.”
The changing images give drivers “something to look forward to: a curious and abstract narrative over time,” says Kane, adding that the project is a form of “unvertising.”
“By removing the marketing message from the advertising space, we create an unexpected moment of introspection,” he says. “People are allowed to interpret an image based on their own experience, and not necessarily with the singular focus of the advertiser’s intent.”
The project wrapped on Sunday after a month. More images and a video below.
Via Osocio.
Jul
24
Wienermobile's Pint-Size Offspring, the Wiener Rover, Is a Cute, Destructive Little Bastard
Posted in: Uncategorized
The Wienermobile is one of the world’s most revered vehicles, seemingly capable anything, except for one pretty major flaw: It doesn’t actually deliver hot dogs.
Which is part of the reason why Oscar Mayer just created a miniature version called the Wiener Rover—a tiny, indestructible beast that will roam the country delivering a “precious cargo of warm, ready-to-eat hot dogs to fans wherever they find it.”
The Wiener Rover is one-seventh the size of the Wienermobile. It’s 23 inches tall by 43 inches long—or using the Oscar Mayer measurement system, about four hot dogs by eight hot dogs. It is battery powered, travels up to 20 mph and can hold up to eight hot dogs, plus condiments.
“We consistently hear that people are hungry for a hot dog after they see the Wienermobile, but we have never been able to offer them the deliciousness they desire,” Corey Rudd, senior associate brand manager at Oscar Mayer, said in a statement. “We developed the Wiener Rover to go where no Wienermobile has gone before to surprise and delight our loyal fans at their local parks, beaches, festivals and beyond.”
Watch out, though. As you can see in the video, the Wiener Rover—which made its debut in New York City on Thursday, which was National Hot Dog Day—appears to have a mind of its own. It may, given the opportunity, jump up on your picnic table and just mash right through your carefully arranged picnic place settings.
Jul
23
McDonald's Billboard With Heat-Sensitive Paneling Doles Out McFlurries in Super Hot Weather
Posted in: Uncategorized
Heat-sick Dutchmen rejoice! McDonald’s in the Netherlands teamed up with outdoor ad company JCDecaux to create a billboard with heat-sensitive paneling that contained 100 free McFlurry cups. When it gets too hot outside, the panel opens, and people can take a cup to redeem for a free McFlurry.
Not sure how this even qualifies as a billboard, really. If anything, it’s more like a vending machine. I do love the hubris of McDonald’s challenging the sun, though (as implied in the video for this thing).
Unfortunately, the temperature has to be 101.48°F for it to open, which seems unfairly high for this kind of promotion, unless Dutch summers are more brutal than I’ve been told. I live in Maryland, where even the low 90s feels like death thanks to the crushing humidity.
If it ever got hot enough down here to trigger a free McFlurry, I wouldn’t be able to accept it because I would be a puddle of sweat and curse words by then.
Jul
23
New York Lottery Posts Fliers in Last-Ditch Search for Winner of Unclaimed $7 Million
Posted in: Uncategorized
The popular knock against the lottery is that you can play it, but you’re an idiot if you do, cause nobody ever wins. But a new campaign for the New York Lottery is about a different kind of problem—someone who actually won, but who’s yet to claim the $7 million prize, and almost a year later, is about to run out of time.
McCann New York has posted street fliers in Canarsie, the Brooklyn neighborhood that’s home to Milky Way Deli, where the winning ticket in a Cash4Life game last summer was bought. A sketch of the ticket and the headline “Have You Seen Me?” adorns one flier. A stick figure smiles dumbly on a second with the headline “Is This You?” The subtext of both is: Are you the fool who’s about to let seven figures slip through your fingers?
In other words, the whole thing is devious and hilarious because it’s playful and it also reinforces the perception that people actually win—and invites everyone who sees it to imagine how much smarter they would be if they did.
Of course, it doesn’t really seem like the New York Lottery’s heart is really in the mission of finding the lucky lost soul. The winner, whoever he or she is, bought the ticket last July 24 (and needs to come forward by the same date this year, or the money goes back into the pool). But the lottery only started its canvassing campaign yesterday (July 22)—and the super high production values of its posters pretty much say it all.
Maybe the whole thing is a grand hoax—and the organization has the really winner stashed away somewhere, to roll out at the last minute—or there’s no winner at all. Then again, none of that really matters in the end, because whatever $4 million lump sum pittance would be left after taxes still isn’t enough to live in New York anyway.
Jul
20
Congrats, Omaha, You Now Have the Country's Most Disgusting Billboards
Posted in: Uncategorized
A graphic sexual health campaign aims to combat rising STD rates in Omaha, Neb., by grossing out young people with giant flesh-and-pus letters that deliver off-putting puns.
Billboards and bus posters around the city, as well as digital ads, feature twisted plays on sentimental clichés, with lines like “Him and Herpes” and “Ignorance is blisters.”
The Women’s Fund of Omaha’s Adolescent Health Project created the visually striking ads, with all-volunteer ad agency Serve Marketing, to encourage viewers to capitalize on free testing, and ultimately lower infection rates. (Serve was also behind these fake storefront businesses in Omaha with STD-type names.)
But, especially with flourishes like toupees and tattoos, the humor-meets-horror approach may also risk coming across as ridiculous—if not just too terrifying to get through—to the target audience. In any case, they make Unilever’s hideous-germs-on-holiday ads look gorgeous by comparison.
CREDITS
Agency: Serve Marketing
Executive Creative Director: Gary Mueller
CD/Art Director: Matt Hermann
Art Director: Carsyn McKenzie
Copywriters: Bruce Dierbeck + Evan Stremke
Illustrator: Shawn Holpher
Retoucher: Anthony Giacomino
Account Executive: Heidi Sterricker
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.