Some of TV's Best Fake Doctors Are Back to Get You to See a Real Doctor

Four decades’ worth of TV’s top doctors are finally sharing the same screen. The bad news is, it’s an ad. But the good news is, the ad’s pretty good.

To encourage you to get an annual check-up from a real doctor, Cigna brought together an all-star team of fake doctors.

We’ve got Alan Alda (MASH’s Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Patrick Dempsey (Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd of Grey’s Anatomy), Donald Faison (Scrubs’ Christopher Turk), Noah Wyle (ER’s John Carter) and Lisa Edelstein (House’s Lisa Cuddy).

The “I’m not a real doctor, but I play one on TV” shtick has been milked plenty of times before, but if you’ve been a lifelong medical TV fan, this one will probably give you a healthy dose of nostalgia.  

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Air New Zealand Created a Video Asking James Corden to Come Do a 'Cockpit Karaoke'

If you love yourself some Carpool Karaoke, Air New Zealand’s hoping you’ll be willing to watch celebrities hit new decibel levels in an airplane cockpit.

The below video is a public pitch aimed straight for late-night talk show host James Corden, who has created viral hit after viral hit with the popular segment, featuring musicians and other stars singing along with him to popular tracks while driving around Los Angeles. Corden notably even convinced Michelle Obama to jam to Beyoncé last month).

“Mate, we’ve got a pitch for you,” the Air New Zealand video begins. “Picture this: You. Us.” 

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CBS' Hamilton Promo for the Tony Awards Is One of the Best 360° Videos Ever

Sure, we’ve all been seeing and hearing a lot from Hamilton, the hottest musical in years, but here’s a video that puts other clips to shame.

CBS’ Facebook promo for Sunday’s 70th Tony Awards uses 360-degree video to put you right on stage as the Hamilton cast rehearses a song. Technically it’s just part of a song—an a cappella snippet of “Wait for It”—but it’s  still downright incredible.

Most 360 videos rely on scenic backdrops or action, but this one tones things down and lets you just enjoy looking around at an unbelievably talented cast that most of us would be damn lucky to even see from the nose-bleed seats.

Check it out below, and be sure to drag the video around with your mouse or finger to make the most of it:

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Girls Have No Time for President Barbie in SNL's Latest Mock Ad Knocking Hillary Clinton

A couple of months back, Saturday Night Live depicted Hillary Clinton hilariously morphing into Bernie Sanders. Now, the show is ribbing the leading Democratic candidate with a bit about “President Barbie”—the boring new doll nobody wants to play with.

A group of little girls star in the spoof ad, showing off their favorite toys and imagining themselves in space, Paris, and in a magical fantasy world they’ve cooked up. 

But to the growing chagrin of the faux Mattel voiceover artist, none are particularly psyched about the blonde-bobbed figurine who comes clad in a blue pantsuit—even if she comes with a mini smartphone pre-loaded with Snapchat.

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Two L.A. Ad Guys Welcome Zombies to Their Midst With 'Cheer the Walking Dead'

“Just what Los Angeles needs. Fewer brains.”

Unfortunately, that’s not a tagline for Fear the Walking Dead, which premieres this Sunday on AMC as the second series in the cable-television-eating Walking Dead zombie franchise.

Rather, it’s a line from two freelance L.A. creative directors, Charlie Noback and Brian Engleman, who are launching an Instagam called Cheer the Walking Dead. The idea is simple: Celebrate the arrival of the undead in their fair city by zombifying classic L.A. images.

They’ve posted half a dozen so far, and are hoping to get submissions (via email) from other creatives. “There are so many overworked ad professionals right now, sometimes I think we’re the real zombies,” says Engleman.

But mocking up L.A. zombie scenes can be nourishing for the soul, and clean out those festering creative minds, can it not? Says Noback: “I hope by getting the word out, we’ll help turn some zombies back into ad professionals.”

Philly Police Lifted an Anti-Drug PSA From Saved by the Bell and Made it Downright Mind-Altering

At a time when young people have a conflicted relationship with police, it’s good to know there’s one reliable voice of unity: Zack Morris, circa 1991.

The Philadelphia Police Department, which is no stranger to odd, retro memes and callbacks, has resurrected an anti-drugs PSA from the George H.W. Bush years. The clip replaces NBC exec Brandon Tartikoff with the poorly Photoshopped head of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who also dubs in his own somber name drop. 

The whole thing is so weird and lazy and baffling, it’s quickly generated national attention.

The department’s social media director, Sgt. Eric Gripp, told the Daily News that his original idea was to replace each cast member’s head with someone from the police department, but when schedules didn’t allow for that much customization, he just dropped in the commissioner and called it a day. 

“I showed [the video] to him and he laughed,” Gripp told the Daily News. “Fortunately for me the boss is very down-to-earth and has a great sense of humor.”

Of course, one would hope the police department got the appropriate copyright permissions from NBC to use the clip. We’ve asked the department about that aspect and will update if we hear back.

While many are charmed by the spot’s low-budget quirk value, a skeptical AV Club asks some valid questions about the clip’s audience and message: “Who is this appealing to—people in their 30s and 40s who have probably already determined their feelings on pot? And if they are so stringent on marijuana laws, why are they not as strict about copyright infringement?”

Here’s another retro, repurposed clip the department posted earlier this year:

Comedy Central Bought This Full-Page New York Times Ad to Send Off Jon Stewart

Many of Jon Stewart’s fans—and even his longtime nemesis, Arby’s—are sending him well wishes today, and his longtime employer is no exception.

Comedy Central took out a full-page ad on the back of The New York Times’ A Section today, marking the end of Stewart’s 16-year run as host of The Daily Show. 

Quite perfectly, the ad references the show’s iconic Moment of Zen, which has marked the end of each episode since the days when Craig Kilborn filled the anchor seat. 

Here’s the original design file for the print ad:

Mad Men Is Auctioning a Chararacter's Suicide Rope and These 9 Other Weird Props

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner was nothing if not detail-oriented—each scene had to have the right wardrobe, furniture, tchotchkes, and so forth, for the time period—so it makes sense that at the end of the show’s seven-season run there would be quite a few props leftover.

Roughly 1,400 items are currently up for auction on Screenbid until Aug. 6, and they range from iconic and practical to altogether odd. (Sadly Ginsberg’s nipple isn’t for sale.) 

Here are the weirdest (and yes, there will be spoilers for those who haven’t watched all the way through):

Lane’s Rope — $225

Description: “It all became too much for Lane. He was found in his office late in season five, hanging from this rope just inside the door.” 

Only someone who’s a fan of the macabre would want this. 

Ken’s Eye Patch — $200

 

Description: “The things Ken Cosgrove did for his clients. In the twelfth episode of season six, he returns to the office wearing this eye patch, after a duck hunting trip with his clients at Chevrolet results in him accidentally being shot in the face.” 

Just think about how much sweat from actor Aaron Staton’s face is on that patch. 

Roger’s LSD Sugar Cane Tray — $300 

Description: “Yes, you too can imagine you’re watching the 1919 World Series! From a bathtub! While on LSD! This Suisse Langenthal ceramic plate with golden-colored plating was used to serve Roger and his wife LSD in the sixth episode of season five.” 

If you’re looking to have a trip like Roger, purchasing this tray isn’t the way to do it. Plus, this is certainly more expensive.  

Duck’s Duck Print — $175 

Description: “Herman ‘Duck’ Phillips took his nickname seriously. This is one of two large, framed duck prints we found in his office.”

Duck’s drinking problem makes more and more sense. 

Sally’s Psychiatric Evaluation Folder — $125

Description: “Sally Draper needs a shrink… or so her mother is convinced. Sally exhibits some disturbing behavior in the fifth episode of season four and Betty wastes no time trying to find out what is happening to her little girl. Here is a black folder containing young Sally’s psychiatric evaluation by Dr. Edna Keener.” 

Yes, the psychiatric evaluation of a fictional teenage character is valued at $125. 

Don’s Note to Megan on Whale Picture — $325

Description: “In the ninth episode of season five, Betty discovers this drawing of a harpooned whale (“Why is he smiling?”) and a note from Don to Megan on the back (“Lovely Megan …”). This leads Betty to reveal part of Don’s past to Sally.” 

While the note did factor into the show’s plot in a major way, the actual whale drawing, credited to a young Bobby Draper, really isn’t much better than any other small child would do. 

Joan’s Ceramic Clown in Frame — $100  

Description: “This ceramic Chinese girl sits alone in a black frame, with no back cover. An interesting piece that belonged to Joan.” 

Not even the auctioneers knew how to sell this one. And no one should ever own clown art, even if it belonged to Joan Harris.

Playtex Media Plans —$125

Description: “‘Playtex protects a woman’s touch,’ some excellent work from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’s star copywriter Peggy Olson. Here are two of the Playtex Media Plans offered to executives in season four episode eleven of ‘Mad Men.'”

These might be a good investment, if you had a one-on-one pitch meeting with Peggy.  

Don’s Why I’m Quitting Tobacco Newspaper Ad — $3600

Description: “It’s among the more memorable moments in the entire run of “Mad Men.” In the 12th episode of season four, without informing the other partners, Don pens the letter ‘Why I’m Quitting Tobacco,’ which is placed as a full-page ad in the Sept. 16, 1965 edition of The New York Times.” 

Buying this piece of memorabilia isn’t all that odd but its price sure is. 

Don’s Typed Pages About Advertising  $950

Description: “‘It’s bigger than a car. It’s everything.’ In the eighth episode of season six, Don typed this rambling page of thoughts on advertising while in a drug-induced haze.” 

We watched Don Draper pontificate about the ad business for seven seasons. Is it really worth buying a printed version of his Jack Kerouac-esq ramblings, too? 

VH1's New Ad for Dating Naked Is All About Jumping Naked (in Super Slow Motion)

Coming up with fun ad ideas for a show like Dating Naked isn’t exactly Pluto-level rocket science. You think of fun things naked people can do besides dating, and you film them doing it. Then you blur their privates and watch the YouTube count rise.

Last year, VH1 got Los Angeles agency Mistress to make a Dating Naked ad with people dancing naked. Now, agency and client have followed that up with an ad showing people jumping naked. The twist: It was filmed in super slow motion at 1,000 frames per second.

Check out the spot below, which the agency describes as “a graphic visualization of the insight that it is all about our true selves, finding true love—without all the bullshit.”

CREDITS
Client: VH1
Agency: Mistress
Production Company: Bastard
Director: Bob Hope
Editorial: Bastard
Editors: Kyle Stebbins and Ian Kalmbaugh
VFX: Kyle Stebbins
Sound Design: Lime Studios
Engineer: Sam Casas
Partner/CD: Damien
Art Director: Rachel Guest
Copywriter: Celine Faledam
Producer: Kay Lynn Dutcher
Brand Director: Tor Edwards
Brand Manager: Kylie Wu
Project Manager: Alex Clewell 

Orange Is the New Black's Latest Inmate Is a Character From a Virgin Ad Campaign

Last year, Virgin Media in the U.K. introduced an ad character who’s literally a night owl, staying up late to binge-watch show after show on Netflix. Now, that owl—who goes by the name Ally McNab—is one step closer to her anti-heroes on Orange Is the New Black.

A new campaign from BBH London, pushing Netflix streaming on Virgin, actually sends Ally to Litchfield Penitentiary, where she becomes the latest orange-clad newbie inmate. And the show’s famous characters even filmed scenes with their freaky new cellmate. (Not surprisingly, Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren takes a shine to her new feathered friend—either because they have a similar stare, or because Crazy Eyes befriends everyone.)

The spot actually combines new and existing footage. It’s an interesting bit of film, considering all the players involved.

“It’s a piece of content involving an entertainment property, a subscription streaming service and a broadband provider,” says Jeremy Ettinghausen, innovation director at BBH and BBH Labs. “It stars characters from a TV show interacting with characters from an advertising campaign, in an advertising campaign for a TV show, a broadband provider and a subscription entertainment service. Is this a new content type? We don’t know. Is it interesting? We think so, maybe simply because we can’t put it in a box.”

The campaign is running online, on social media, in retail, and on video on demand. The third season of Orange Is the New Black hits Netflix on Friday.

CREDITS
Client: Virgin Media
Head of Brand Advertising & Sponsorship: Ellie Tory
Partnership Marketing Lead: Rob Cannon
Agency: BBH London
Creative Team: Dan Morris & Charlene Chandrasekaran
Creative Director: Tom Drew & Uche Ezugwu
Strategist: Elle Graham-Dixon
Account Team: Phil Lloyd
Production Company: Black Sheep Studios
Editing House: Black Sheep Studios
Post Production: OutpostVFX
Sound: Factory



First to Tweet and Take Selfies? It Was This Horrid Family From a Century Ago

Kim Kardashian may be the queen of selfies, with a bestselling book to prove it, but she’s not the first over-sharing, narcissistic reality show star. That dubious title would go to the Bellacourts of the upcoming Comedy Central series Another Period.

They’re the debauched, filthy-rich members of a famous-for-being-famous clan that the cable channel is calling “the original ballers.” The Rhode Island bluebloods never fail to make an entrance (think upskirts and crotch shots), and they’re social media early adopters (credited with early, crude tweets and swipe lefts). They know a thing or two about virality, quite literally—they are 19th century celebrities, after all.

A handful of promo spots, created in-house, launched this week. They mix the show’s turn-of-the-century twisted Downton Abbey-esque setting with today’s tropes. “We wondered what these hilariously terrible people of another time would do with modern technology,” said Lu Chekowsky, the channel’s svp of brand creative, “and wanted to play with all the ingredients of the show that make it great—the gilded age, the reality show excess and the hip-hop sensibility.”

The 10-episode series, from writer-producer-stars Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, also features Michael Ian Black, Christina Hendricks, Paget Brewster and Jason Ritter.

The show debuts June 23.



These Creepy Ads for Synthetic Humans Have Britain All Freaked Out

People in Britain who had settled in for a nice viewing of Prometheus this weekend were distressed, to say the least, when a realistic 30-second spot aired—completely unexplained—that advertised synthetic human housekeepers for sale.

“Meet Sally. The help you’ve always wanted,” the freakishly soothing voiceover began, as a lovely though dead-eyed cyborg is seen folding sheets, organizing the kitchen and putting the kids to bed. “She is faster, stronger, more capable than ever before.”

The ad then pitched a company called Persona Synthetics, which claims to make androids that are “closer to humans than ever before.”

By Tuesday, there had been 100,000 searches for the brand on Google, and the website was nearing half a million visits. It was all a hoax, of course—a campaign from Channel 4 for Humans, a Black Mirror-esque futuristic drama.

Along with the TV spot, there are print ads, a fake store on Regent Street, social accounts and a mock auction on eBay inviting visitors to bid on a robot (sadly, no one met the £20,000 minimum bid). At the Regent Street store, two screens used Microsoft Kinect technology to show giant robot models reacted to their movements of the people watching.

It’s freaky indeed, and we’ll only be seeing more of this kind of stuff going forward. The ads are also beautifully made by in-house agency 4Creative, whose prior work included the stunning “Meet the Superhumans” ad for the 2012 Paralympic Games.



Fox Sports Had Quite a Surprise for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day surprises were aplenty this weekend, including a big one for the U.S. women’s World Cup soccer team.

Due to their demanding schedules, it’s been years since many of the players have seen their moms on Mother’s Day. In a very sweet video uploaded to Facebook and YouTube by Fox Sports, the team sat down for a pre-game dinner, and their coach introduced special surprise guests—their moms.

The mother-daughter reunions are lovely to watch. Maybe even more remarkable is seeing the a second surprise happen—check out the video to see what it was.

“Abby’s been on this team for 14 years. For 14 years, I have not had you around for a Mother’s Day,” says Abby Wambach’s mom, Judy. The video cuts to the two of them standing side by side on the field.

The video closes with a request to “Cheer on our women this summer.” (Fox will be broadcasting the tournament across its networks, including 16 matches live on the flagship broadcast station.)

The team won the game 3-0 with their moms watching. Wambach scored career goals 179 and 180, and turned around after her second goal to point at her mom.

Heartwarming and inspiring all around.



Zooey Deschanel Says the Word 'Adorkable' Came From Fox Marketing and Isn't Her at All

Many actors deal with fans confusing them with their characters. But not many have a term like “adorkable” following them around.

Unfortunately for Zooey Deschanel, the star of Fox’s New Girl since 2011, a cute marketing ploy for the show’s first season has dogged her ever since. The combination of the words “dorky” and “adorable”—featured on billboards for the show’s first season—has come to define people’s perception of the actress. 

“[Adorkable] was something that was calculated, you know what I mean?” she tells The Huffington Post. “That was our marketing department at Fox, and they did a really good job with our first season, but that’s a word that describes the character that I play, not me. I don’t personally have identification with that word myself.”

It seems marketing can be too successful sometimes. We’d bet Fox is still pretty happy with the campaign. 
 



Amy Schumer Unleashes a 'Big Booty' Anthem to Rule Them All

Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer is back for another season on April 21, but instead of a boring promo, she made a satirical music video offering an important cultural perspective on booty anthems, with the help of Method Man and Amber Rose.

If you don’t know the childhood rhyme about bodily fluids—”Milk, milk, lemonade, round the corner fudge is made,” where kids dance about the playground gleefully pointing to the relevant body parts—then I’m sorry. You missed an important part of American culture.

But your sad excuse for a childhood aside, we can all appreciate Amy bringing back this delightfully crass little jingle for a booty anthem that’s almost good enough to actually make it to the charts.

I think Schumer or Method Man or Rose or somebody realized it was a little too good, though, about halfway through, when you really get an urge to shake your rump along. So they decided that if you didn’t get that this is humor, they would start chanting, “This is where my poop comes out.”

It is this transcendent moment, my friends, where this promo becomes a viral piece in the making that you know you are going to send to all your friends. In fact, the video probably doesn’t need all the star power it’s got, which also includes Amber Tamblyn (from Two and a Half Men) and Jemima Kirke (from Girls).

Tegardless of how many rump-shaking celebrities you witness in this three-minute masterpiece, your main takeaway will be an unending refrain of “This is where my poop comes out,” stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You’re welcome.



HBO Punks Creator of 'Take My Money, HBO' by Sending Sopranos Guys to Shake Him Down

Last week, we saw HBO replying to 3-year-old tweets from cable cutters who wanted a stand-alone HBO option back then—something it is now launching with HBO Now. Today, the network unveils a companion video, in which it punks Jake Caputo—the guy who got people all riled up and demanding stand-alone service in 2012 by launching takemymoneyhbo.com—with help from some very special guests.

If Caputo really wants to give his money away to HBO, Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri and Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero will happily take it off his hands.



Bob Barker Returned to The Price Is Right in the Year's Most Charming April Fools' Surprise

Most of us were tired of April Fools’ hijinks before the day even arrived, but in addition to yesterday’s seemingly endless spree of high-profile pranks, there were a few real winners.

Chief among them, on TV at least, was Bob Barker’s return to The Price Is Right, which he retired from hosting in 2007 after more than 40 years. 

At 91, Barker’s obviously moving a bit slower these days, but he still has a singular warmth and ability to connect with both the crowd and his contestants. He hosted the show’s opening bid on Wednesday and a pricing game before handing the mic back to host Drew Carrey. 

Hat tip to Digg.



Take a Tour of HBO's Pretty Awesome SXSWesteros Game of Thrones Activation

Austin is swarming with interesting and weird activations at this year’s South by Southwest. And HBO’s Game of Thrones experience, cleverly named “SXSWesteros,” is a particular standout. 

HBO teamed up with design studio Red Paper Heart to help visitors become the show’s badass teenage heroine, Arya Stark, in the form of a pretty great interactive piece. As you enter the first darkly lit room, you’re first greeted by another brand partner, Ommegang, which has brewed up its fifth Game of Thrones inspired beer—a quite tasty, 7.2 percent alcohol-by-volume, dark saison ale, thematically titled “Three Eyed Raven.” 

Next, it’s over to the Iron Thrown to have your picture taken sitting in it. Asked what it was made of, my guide replied: “Fiberglass—er, i mean, the swords of my enemies.”

After you’ve had your turn as the ruler of all the land, it’s over to get your photo taken to prepare for your final battle. Then step up on stage and as the sounds of Westeros swirl around you, grab your sword and be ready to fight. Think of it as Fruit Ninja but with a darker twist. As you chop your way through the obstacles in front of you, your Game of Thrones-inspired portrait appears in front of you (which you can then email to yourself).

Check out our video tour below, as well as a couple of snaps from the experience.

Adweek responsive video player used on /video.

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A fan sits on the Iron Thrown:

Ommegang Three-Eyed Raven:



Now You Can Put Your Own Photos in Don Draper's Amazing Carousel Pitch

It is the greatest advertising moment from TV’s greatest advertising show, and now you can be a part of it.

To help promote Man Men’s upcoming final episodes, AMC has launched a Mad Men Carousel app on Facebook. The app pulls random photos from your Facebook galleries and drops them into Don Draper’s pitch for the Kodak Carousel from Season 1’s finale.

It’s a truncated version of the original scene, which you can watch below, but it’s still a great way of reminding us how potent and touching Mad Men could be at its best.

Depending on your results, you might find the video generated by the app to be hilariously off (as when it included the time I ate a hamburger between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts) or tear-jerkingly perfect (as when it showed my daughter’s birth as the first slide on my first time using the app).

So go give it a shot and see which of your memories get recaptured for the Carousel.  

Via Mashable.



TV Station Cuts to Reporter for the Weather and He's Ordering McDonald's Instead

It’s gotta be tough to work the weather beat this winter on the East Coast. Well, here’s a pretty hilarious video out of Baltimore, showing Fox 45’s Candace Dold tossing to “Traffic Jam Jimmy”—who just happens to be in the McDonald’s drive-through, trying to order a fish sandwich. 

“Hey Candace, we’re live? Whoops!” he says. “Hey, I’ve been in the car since 4 o’clock. I’m starvin’. I’m just gettin’ somethin’ real quick” Then a quick shout at the drive-through attendant “Hey! Is it too early to get a fish sandwich?!”

What’s great about the video is that the station just runs with it, showing the orange-bearded, O’s-capped Jimmy improvising the segment—and his meal, as it was still breakfast time.

Home video of the segment has been circulating around Facebook, but it seems Fox 45 is taking pride in the goof—it uploaded the segment to YouTube and has given us a perfect copy of the moment. 

Take a look at the video—and Let’s Go O’s!