Today's edition isn't really an ad review as much as it is a huge compilation of ads utilizing sex appeal. And by huge I mean like John Holmes huge. Most of the stuff is pretty recent ranging from the WTF:
to the creative:
to "I'm pretty sure they're crossing the line"
to "Yeah, they're crossing the line"
It's obvious that human eyes will avert to your work when it is so blatantly sexual. But remember, if there is no substance or story or concept, you are just another scumbag advertiser trying to trick the poor, innocent American consumer. At least we're not lawyers.
I know that this is a really old spot and that this post seems like kind of a cop out, but I don't care. I really should have a category for classic spots and damn right this piece deserves it. It's by Wieden + Kennedy for Heineken's Let A Stranger Drive You Home campaign. It features a classic rap track with one of the catchiest hooks in history; people have compared it to that Journey song except the difference is that Journey totally sucks. It's a perfect set up and a punch that delivers like Heineken had to deliver that cabbie actor his paycheck. Its only industry rival was a campaign that told you to stay thirsty.
Another strong and successful spot was the walk-in fridge one with the match shots of women and men freaking out at their respective pleasures. However, this spot just had it all: great acting, photography, direction, music and message. It's a truly persuasive beer commercial. It's a classic.
And let me preface my answer by saying I am a huge fan of Bob, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, and Gregory Isaacs. But I hope the answer is yes, since the list of Jamaican associations goes: Rastafarianism, marijuana, dreadlocks, reggae, and maybe poverty. What I'm getting at is that Usain Bolt could become an international sports superstar. He struck big with just murdering the 100 and 200 meter races in Beijing last summer. He's been linked commercially to Puma, Gatorade, and Digicel (you would think that Sprint would try to steal him away); he already has a signature move; and he actually is an amazing athlete. The questions are: does the building of Bolt's brand have anything to do with Jamaica and what exactly can someone as young as he is (turns 23 tomorrow) do to revamp the country's image? The possibility is definitely there; check out the new 100 and 200 meter records below.
On the real, I really hope that Bolt can get Jamaica some much needed positive pub (and maybe a shower). It's a place that could really use a hero who is not 50 Cent.
Well, there's a decent chance that she's here to promote Nestle Raisinets' new Cranberry Raisinets. And she does so in highly fashionable fashion in two new webisodes from the chocolate giant. The first is full of innuendo, normal raisins gossiping, and a mildly clever rip off of the theme from Shaft. The piece seems a little too cute considering its demo: crazy women. The product itself seems perfect; what's better than cranberry and chocolate besides doing the dishes?
The second one is kind of obvious. They're setting up some tension (seriously, a fresh new individual enters the realm of wrinkly old prunes, of course there's some chocolatety tension) that will reach a peak into part 4 of the series but then everything will work out and cranberry will be a part of the Nestle family. Plus, you have to love a shot of a berry with Jesus light in the background.
I'm iffy on the idea that the pieces include "drama." They're very lighthearted and incorporate bright colors. The level of feuding is more likely to reach High School Musical than what this could have been. Upcoming webisodes include 'Cran Fan' and 'Dance Off.' Though the pieces seem more Disney than guilty pleasure, you've got to love a bunch (get it?) of jealous women.
Really? They bombed the Baldwins. They extended Andrea Bargnani 50 million for 5 more years. And they (partially) produced this. Anyway, the story is that Coors Light, which has done a lot of goofy outdoor work, has pissed off some people in Toronto with their new billboards shown below featuring a cold certified brewski next to, "Colder Than Most People From Toronto." The ads themselves were placed in British Columbia (not the American one, that's the District) and probably got a few laughs, eh. Because these stiffs have no sense of humor, the boards were taken down and the company apologized.
The tag sure seems like a self fulfilling prophecy at this point. This goes to show that you can't count on Canada for anything, whether it's taking a joke, inventing a watchable sport, or making Sarah Palin look sane. And you know what else Toronto? Measuring the temperature in degrees Celsius is totally lame.
So not all of my posts are going to be titled with an inane rhetorical question, fancy that! By the way, these are just going to be random things and will in no way be substitutes for my amazing ad reviews. Anyway, the awesome, holy-shit, can't-believe-it news is that parolee and former dog fighting organizer guy Michael Vick, who was just signed by the Eagles, is set to star in the new Disney film "Benji Joins The NFL" with the famous and lovable Benji. It's obvious that there are millions of jokes one could do about this unexpected partnership (maybe Vick can kick the little pooch through the uprights for the extra point). I would guess that the late night comedians and Jimmy Fallon are going to have fun with this one.
Why, you make a short film, entitled COW, meticulously detailing a highway wreck set in motion by a distracted female texter. And a really hardcore one at that. Though you can feel that something is wrong from the beginning (you don't cut to two passengers in the back unless you're sure they're going to die), the piece just piles it on with smash after glass after crash, a highway sign reading 'Tredegar welcomes careful drivers,' and the ever-reliable "wake up Mommy and Daddy." The spot is from the school Tredgar Comprehensive and the Gwent Police in the UK. Not only is the work currently the number one viral video; it is very effective. I'd say it's almost too effective such that you forget about the texting causing the destruction and just start becoming spiritual again.
Here's part two featuring tense and grieving relatives. I really want the campaign to be about women drivers rather than txting (British translation I guess) because I'm totally in the mood for misogyny. But I won't. I also promise to limit my texting (which somehow is not a word on Blogger) to city driving.
It would appear so since director Jared Hess (responsible for this and this) and distributor Fox Searchlight (responsible for this and this) are still trying to build upon the success of the 5-year-old cult smash. Hess' "unique view of the world" presented in the aforementioned movies seems to be taken a step further in Gentlemen Broncos, which is coming out October 30. The trailer makes it very clear that the film will present a whole lot of quirkiness, weirdness, fantasy, or whatever buzzword the fat Hollywood producer signed the check to. The really bad-looking special effects work gels nicely with the clumsy way in which the reality-based portion is shot. The titles, however, do not communicate the movie's 3rd act very well; it seems that it is made up of some fantasy mind game when there is actually a movie-within-a-movie element.
I'm not going to see the damn thing, alright. Napoleon Dynamite was so bad that I needed a laugh track under the audio to figure out what was supposed to be funny. But I acknowledge that it is pushing the right buttons. I prefer comedies with characters, not just profiles based on some of your idiot slacker friends.
Yes. Because you need to be yourself. While reading SlashFilm, I caught this fake PSA for the new film Jennifer's Body. In the piece, Megan Fox tells kids to avoid the peer pressure that can crush your fragile high school self esteem. The catch is that she, although inexplicably introducing herself as herself instead of her character (though seriously what's the difference?), narrates the spot in the spirit of Jennifer Check, who in the movie is possessed and goes on a killing spree, yada, yada, yada. Look, there's only one reason people are interested in the movie and, despite Michael Bay's insanity, nobody is tired of Ms. Fox. Oh, and in case you "digital marketers" haven't figured it out: Megan Fox doing anything + The Internet = Great Success.
And when she says, "I say 'fuck em' cause they don't know shit," she almost isn't reading from a prompter. You're almost intrigued by her character; but not her acting (at least not yet). Whatever. It's called Jennifer's Body; you're going to watch because of Jennifer's body; 20th Century Fox is distributing this Megan Fox showcase. Sometimes things sell themselves and you just have to let nature take its course. Here's to the only person who kept me from protesting the Transformers movies.
I have never had any objections to building rapport. Even Michael Vick is working on it. If you try hard enough for a group of people and deliver on your promises, you should be okay. That's why VW's ongoing campaign called "See Film Differently" should warm cinephiles and film festival frequenters up to the idea of Jettas and Passats. The pieces aren't going to sell cars (does Obama even speak German?) but they can bring movie lovers together with stories of real emotion. My favorite new one centers around a man who moved by Rocky (hey, yo, who wasn't? ya know) became a content weightlifter.
There's also a piece about a kid into magic via Willy Wonka and one about a man practicing Dudeism via The Big Lebowski. See some older pieces on the Youtube channel. Now, no shit I'm in a bunch over the "Volkswagen supports independent cinema" tag since TBL is the only sort of independent flick. Haven't people been moved by Jim Jarmusch or David Lynch? Anyway, the efforts are very strong and are targeting areas that dumbass car companies have largely ignored. I wonder what the dude inspired by Caligula will talk about?
In promoting its fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew that premiered last Sabbath (accidentally caught part of it during breaks for the Joan Rivers Roast), the MTV (also producing) has been running spots with the tagline, "Sundays are for worship." While the line by itself makes no sense unless there's somehow a troupe called 'Worsh1p' or some involvement with Rev Run, the spot the MTV has been using features slick DP work, good sound, and a ridiculous move about 30 seconds in, resulting in an intriguing piece.
You can watch an extended clip via the MTV here. Look, I realize that the dance shows (like those silly dance movies) are stupid; for Moses' sake, the name-attached is Randy Jackson. But you've got to admit, some of that breakin' is mad fly yo!
I am from Honolulu, am into watching movies, listening to music, learning about marketing and advertising, and currently attend Elon University.
This blog is all about advertising and ads in Hawaii. However, until I come across a decent means of finding local ads, I'll mostly be playing with national campaigns. Enjoy.
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