Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – The closing date of Friday, 20 June is looming for entries to the Media Week Awards 2008.

In junior high, my best friend and I would fill a plate with junk food and head to the basement to pillage his dad’s LaserDisc collection, a cornucopia of high-fidelity hits like Warriors and Logan’s Run. I remember thinking, “Wow, these 12-inch golden discs are the future.” I haven’t seen one since. The LaserDisc is just one of many overhyped fads referenced in this new video by College Humor, which imagines a world where failed brands reached pinnacles of success. Sadly omitted: the Audrey, the Sega Dreamcast and ordering groceries online. What do you think is missing from the video? Let us know in the comments.

—Posted by David Griner

Once again, marketers have taken the lead in the quest to discover extra-terrestrial life. As NASA’s Phoenix Lander pitifully fumbles and pants, trying to scoop dirt into an oven on Mars, Doritos broadcasts a 30-second spot into space.

A few months back, the brand challenged the British public to create a spot that summed up life on earth. The winning entry, as judged by popular vote, is called Tribe and was directed by 25-year-old Matt Bowron of the UK. According to Science Daily , “the message is being pulsed out over a six-hour period from high-powered radars at the EISCAT European space station in the Arctic Circle.” The message is aimed at a solar system in the Ursa Major Constellation, one that the EISCAT Director believes could, in fact, “harbor small life-supporting planets similar to ours.”

Tribe will air June 15th on ITV in Europe. But who cares? The real question is: do aliens TiVo?

Your move, Pringles.

Denver invented a better ad club and a better local awards show, according to Matt Ingwalson, a senior copywriter at Karsh/Hagan in Denver.

I’m sure they are better, but I’m not all that interested.

Ingwalson did pique my curiosity with this line, though:

Ad agencies are launching social networks, incubating new technologies, and inventing fresh, relevant ways to connect brands and consumers.

What soc nets are agencies launching?

Please tell me it’s not some b.s. on Ning.

We Can't Have People Laughing at Us!

State Farm used to be such a good neighbor. You never heard a peep out of the insurance giant, except for its cloying Barry Manilow-composed commercial jingle, which was “iconic,” I guess, so we had to put up with it. Now, the company is courting young adults via a soon-to-be-revamped NowWhat.com, backing the Mountain Dew-fueled mayhem of the AST action-sports tour, and hosting “After-Dark parties featuring live musical performances that will stream live on NowWhat.com throughout the ’08 Dew Tour season.” This sounds raucous and not really what you want in a neighbor. For those who find even Barry too rocking, here’s a vintage pre-Manilow State Farm spot with a decided decaffeinated car-insurance jingle. Bands on the live streams should be required to play their interpretations.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Yahoo to Microsoft: no, you can’t have the company, and no, you can’t buy our search, either.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Creative Director / Copywriter: Yongsun Kim
Art Director / Illustrator: Jongok Shin
Photographer: Yoonhee Choi
Chief Creative Officer: Wain Choi
Released: April 2008

Advertising Agency: Publicis Venezuela
Creative Director: Demian Campos
Art Director: Maru Ñeca Prato
Copywriter: Manuel Fleitas
Photographer: Oswaldo Brostein
Published: May 2008

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Creative Director: Jaehyuk Jang
Art Directors: Suewon Chang, Hyoyeon Kim
Copywriter: Sunbok Lee
Illustrator: Hongjin Choi
Photographer: Boha Kim
Chief Creative Officer: Wain Choi
Published: May 2008