Monday, December 21, 2009

Bose SoundDock

DM9JaymeSyfu (yes, that's an agency name) has created a couple of interesting print Bose ads. At first glance, they're nothing special. Just an iPod on a dock centered in the middle of nothingness. "Hear More. SoundDock." is in the bottom right hand corner. I figured it was a little too simple - there had to be something more. When trying to analyze it, my first thought was - is the white space being used as a metaphor for the "more" that you're hearing? I then clicked on the original sized ad, and realized what was going on. While the white space may very well be a metaphor, the key element of the ad is only visible in its large size.

Well, I'll let you see for yourself:





They're a little boring, but I kind of like the simplicity.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Target Holiday 2009 Campaign

Now don't get me wrong, Wieden + Kennedy Portland have got some great ads out there (LOVE The Levi's "Go Forth" campaign - commercial here), but I have to say, I'm not a fan of their Target ads. Their new holiday campaign has two commercials in particular that I'm thinking of. The first features a family on Christmas morning. The mother opens up a big screen tv, and she and the father bicker about how Santa should have realized they were in a recession. The second is a couple at a restaurant exchanging gifts. The girl opens her box to find a necklace, and says that she didn't think they were really "there yet." He says it didn't cost that much.

The point? Buying at Target isn't all that expensive. Effective? Not for me.

Of course, I've always been a big fan of Peterson Milla Hooks' Target ads. I think that their Target commercials were not only extremely visually appealing but also postmodern... and I love postmodern. They'd sell me some cheap clothes and makeup over a bickering family or an awkward couple any day.

NOTE:
The videos have been removed from Youtube, but can be found here:
Family
Couple


And just because I love them so:
Peterson Milla Hooks' Target ad 1
Peterson Milla Hooks' Target ad 2

Friday, December 18, 2009

Twix "Crooked Face"

Brazilian ads are pretty cool too.

AlmapBBDO came out with a new Twix ad today, which BBDO in the US promptly translated into English. In this new spot, a man with a crooked face (who kind of looks like he's got Bell's Palsy) meets his girlfriend in the library with a Twix and a rose. She runs out, jumps onto his moped, and the two embark on a romantic date, all the while with him eating his Twix. But when his Twix is finished, a bell sounds, and he returns to a wrestling ring, ripping off his shirt to expose his washboard abs in the meantime. My god. But I guess that's not the point. He positions himself back next to his opponent's fist, and finishes receiving a punch. The tagline is "Invent a pause. Open a Twix."

Alright, so the tagline is a little corny, but you have to admit, it's a pretty interesting ad. I kept wondering where the hell it was going. And the song is great - "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Worth a watch.

Buzzed Driving "Save A Life"

I'm sure many of you have seen a TAC (Transport Accident Commission) ad at some point (and if not, you can find their 20 year montage here). These ads, which are used to promote safe driving, are known for being extremely gory.

But does gore have to be used to make a point when it comes to safe driving? National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't think so. Their new ad features Rachel, a woman who after drinking, chose not to drive home. In this spot, Rachel is honored by the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and thousands of other people for not only keeping herself safe, but her family as well.

Should we be honored for not driving drunk? No, it should be in our common sense. Unfortunately, not many people use their common sense. I guess this ad is targeted toward them.

Is it as effective as TAC's dead body advertising? No. But Mullen Boston used some creativity and came up with something new. Good for them.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

McDonald's Steaming Transit Ad

At first glance, this transit shelter ad by Cossette Vancouver appears to be simply a McDonald's coffee cup. Stick around long enough, however, and the steam from the pretend coffee will reveal a message - "Your free coffee is ready."  Not only does this attract attention, but it's something that should stick in the mind. Very cool. Below is a video of transit-riders' reactions.


AdFreak's Freakiest Ads of 2009

Check out Adfreak's freakiest ads of 2009... some really cool... some just a little too weird.

Here.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Dignity in Death's Park Bench Ads


Okay, so I may have a bit of a soft spot for Toronto's Cundari Advertising (I did an internship with them and had an amazing summer), but I really do have to say that this is a very creative campaign. At first glance, it seemed like something zig might do. 

This campaign for Dignity in Death, an organization providing information on voluntary euthanasia, takes stickers that look like brass plaques and places them on benches around Toronto as if they are memorials. Each one describes a death through suffering, and really makes you think. Very unique.






Thursday, December 3, 2009

Guinness "Slide"

So Guinness' new spot is not quite as elaborate as their last one (which can be seen here), but it is still pretty entertaining. BBDO New York has moved from tagline "Bring it to life" to "Fortune favors the bold." And this character sure is bold. In salary negotiations with his boss of less than a week, he's already asking for a raise. But no, that's not all - he also drinks openly on the job. Check out this spot below, where a pint of Guinness makes it all the way from a quaint bar up to a high rise office with just a little push:

Science World's "Ice Creamy Goodness"

With exams approaching, I've been finding it harder to get around to posting, but I decided to take a night away from the books. Thank God too, because I came across this commercial from Vancouver agency Rethink Communications that first aired in November. In today's youth obsessed culture, we are used to seeing sexy young women whoring themselves out. This spot for Science World (a non-profit organization attempting to get Canadians more interested in science) gives the fact that Vanilla is the most arousing scent for older men. And what better way to appeal to older men, then having old women sexually licking vanilla ice cream to hardcore techno beats. Awesome ad, you go Grandma.

MySky HD "Que Sera"

Que Sera Sera - Whatever will be, will be.

DDB New Zealand's brand new advertisement for SkyTV certainly uses a song that suits it perfectly.

The main characters in this spot go through quite a few downs. One finds out that the smoking hot woman he met on the street is in reality a man, one gets hit by a car, one is attacked by a shark, one is blown up by a land mine, and one finds his best friend in bed with his wife. Do these characters get upset though? Of course not - whatever will be, will be. And they've got SkyTV - their "happy place."

A little gruesome, but cute all the same:


Thursday, November 19, 2009

PACT's "Office of Eden"

I came across this ad while Youtube surfing, and it definitely caught my eye!

PACT Organic Underwear worked with San Francisco director-duo Ian Kibbey & Corey Creasy (known as Terri Timely) to create this awesome commercial, released November 5th.

Featured is a boring, no - I'm going to go with mundane - office. The employees, clearly disinterested in life, are shown in slow motion. As the slow music starts to pick up, a male employee's clothes are ripped right from his body (by who knows what). The same happens to a female and the two, in their matching red underwear and reminiscent of Adam and Eve, run out into a forest. The tagline "Change starts with your underwear" appears.

Definitely worth a watch:


Sidenote: PACT Underwear was started by Ian Kibbey's brother (pretty cool family) and Jeff Denby and is a socially responsible organic underwear company in which 10% of every sale goes to either protecting endangered forests, mentoring young writers, or ocean conservation (the cause you're supporting depends on the color you choose). It's a pretty cool company, and you can check it out here

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Verizon DROID "Does"

Droid finally talks about what it does.... sort of.

Droid's teaser ads (go back about 4 posts for an example) have been well, teasing us for weeks. Mcgarrybowen's newest edition to their campaign talks about robots, and how Droid is so much more than a smart phone - it's a robot phone. Robots crush rocks and punch holes through steel walls, they say. That would be awesome for a phone to do, but still not technologically possible. No, Droid has a giant screen, runs thousands of android apps with ease, and it does "swap semi-functional giggling brat vanity for a bare knuckle bucket of does."

What does this all mean? Guess we'll have to wait for the next ad.

Sony Bravia "Paint"

I thought I'd post another oldie, but goodie. The Sony Bravia "Paint" commercial by Fallon Agency was filmed in Glasgow in 2006. Fallon's idea was to have a fireworks show, but instead of using fireworks, they wanted to use paint. 70,000 litres of paint (environmentally friendly, don't worry), 622 bottle bombs, 330 metres of steel pipe, 455 mortars, 57 kilometres of copper wire, 1700 detonators, one clown, and a whole lot of creativity later, Fallon got across Sony Bravia's point - "Colour like no other."

Skittles "Touch"

Alright, so this commercial is a little old... in fact it's been around since 2007. However, it's been airing quite often lately and my roommate has fallen in love with it. Tbwa\Chiat\Day New York has created quite a few hilarious Skittles ads, but this one has to be my favorite. In a King Midas reference, everything this man touches turns to Skittles. While his coworkers think it's "awesome" he goes through the cons of it. A little depressing, but definitely a good laugh.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Moms Against Climate Change "Demonstration"

Now zig agency may be small, but they live up to their motto - "ideas in their most powerful form" (I'm thinking specifically of their print ad campaign for New York Fries "real fries in a fake world" here or the prostitutes they paid to walk around Toronto with signs stating "Should prostitution be legal?" for CFRP in January 2009 here), and their new commercial has proven to be controversial too.

Moms Against Climate Change are begging Canadians to take action and to remind PM Stephen Harper what he needs to do in the UN Global Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen December 2009. zig decided to do this by staging a protest. Rather than your typical angry protesters charging the police line however, this PSA shows children and ends with, "My future is at stake." Rick Smith of Environmental Defense Canada stated, "If we are going to get the action we need from our government in Ottawa, we need Canadians to start feeling global warming as an emotional, personal issue, and not just an intellectual one," yet viewers don't seem to be huge fans of this approach. Youtube commenters (who we all know are the royalty of intellectuals, ha.ha.) are calling it a "pathetic use of propaganda," "a joke," and "the stupidest video on YouBoob."

I can't say I agree... I think zig has made yet another powerful statement. Thoughts anyone?

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Verizon DROID "Stealth"

I've always been a sucker for a good teaser ad. Well agency mcgarrybowen has done it once again with another Verizon DROID teaser.

Now I'm a dedicated iPhone user, but DROID's blatant attack on the iPhone in their last teaser even had me interested. Now this new one, "Stealth" (said to be airing tomorrow), is even better and more focused on its audience, rather than its competition.

Its complete ambiguity has everyone wondering what it's all about. This aggressive hyped up commercial seems to be screaming at it's audience to wake up. And it's complete lack of information is keeping them awake. I can't wait to see what the DROID has in store for us.

Guinness "World"

To start this off: wow.

Guinness' new commercial "World" by agency AMV BBDO which aired for the first time yesterday (November 4, 2009) is quite the production. Though I may only be 21- for as long as I can remember, Guinness' tagline has been "Good things come to those who wait." They have decided finally, however, to scrap this and replace it with "Bring it to life." This new commercial features a group of men bringing a new world to life by providing fish for the ocean, grass for the ground, and so on.

As Guinness explains in their "Behind the Scenes" video, this commercial was filmed in New Zealand, Canada, AND Fiji. They required a rocket scientist for part of the filming and their production crew included the set designer of The Lord of the Rings. They took 3 days to film the underwater scene, and it took 45 women and 6 days to hand-stitch the grass for the grass sequence. There were 3 months of preparation before they could even begin filming in Canada.

While Guinness has yet to release production costs, one can be lead to believe they're quite high! Yet the connection of this world with Guinness beer is a little vague. Either way, it's an amazing commercial and a must-see.

Cadbury "Eyebrows"

Alright, let's start with the adsurd (ha.ha.). This ad may not be new, but Fallon London's January 2009 Cadbury "Eyebrows" commercial still has people talking. That's why I figured this ad would be perfect for a first post. This "Glass and a Half Full" Production (featured below) is still receiving ample air time. Hell - even Lily Allen did a parody of it. Sure this ad catches the attention of the viewer, and maybe even has them bobbing their head along with the tune (a digitalized version of "Don't Stop the Rock"), but does this ad really shout out, "HEY YOU, BUY CADBURY CHOCOLATE?" While the young girl's purple dress may be reminiscent of a Cadbury wrapper, I don't seem to see an established link between the dancing eyebrows and a chocolate bar.

For some reason however, I still seem to like it. Who knew.