Captain Morgan Gets Awkward: The Owl

Ok this might be funny, but what the hell. No relation to Captain Morgan or the brand or anything. I don't get it. But I did remember it...what's more important?

The Pee Poster: The Future of Advertising. You Can't Ignore It, and in This Case, You May Not Want To.

Awesome idea from Saatchi & Saatchi. The video explains it quite well. Hilarious or intrusive? Comments appreciated.

Wake the Heck Up with McDonalds Coffee and Tea.

Saw this one at an agency presentation last night at Hoffman | Lewis. The local shop out of Central West End produced this piece to get people to try the new beverages from McDonalds. Would I go there for coffee? Doubt it. But the piece is pretty darn funny. Your thoughts?

Office from Hoffman Lewis on Vimeo.

Close Your Eyes Peta. An Oldie, but a Goodie. Outpost Takes Creativity To the Next Level With a Canon and a Few Gerbils.

Humor doesn't always win with me. I like emotion, art, music, and design. Those are the main characteristics that move me. In the case of the Outpost ad below, I'll throw my opinions out the window. Great execution and a very effective ad.

A True Test of Patience. Viagra Turns 10. Do You See the Humor?

Seriously.

Comcast Cable: Faster Than a Rabbit Slash Panther With Turbines Backed By An Extremely Strong Tailwind.

What a crazy ad. I love the animation and the narration. Good work Comcast. Good work.



Your thoughts?

A Cinematic Experience With a Healthy Twist: A New Ad For a Breakfast Cereal Tells an Inspirational Tale of Man vs. Horse.

I've never heard of the product, and I don't think they really drive the brand home at the end, but the story they tell is pretty remarkable. Think National Lampoon's meets Seabiscuit. Your thoughts?

The Most Powerful Gum on the Planet? Stimorol Makes Us Think So.

It would be tough to film this commercial without laughing. I'd imagine there's a fan somewhere on high just belting out the wind. Either way, pretty funny ad with a new approach to gum. Take a gander. What do you think?

Jimmy John's: Dinner for Three. The Unexpected Experiences of a Delivery Guy

Uhh. I guess this markets Jimmy John's as the college version of Subway. I like the idea of delivery, but not sure about the ad. Pretty risque for most television stations, but then again, sex and comedy do sell.

Windows 7 Launch? What WIndows 7 Launch? Apple Throws the First Punch In the Mac/PC Battle. I Think It's a Knockout

Apples does it again. Simple concept, awesome ads. Check out the newest below that coincide with the Windows 7 release.

My Love for Unconventional Marketing Continues, Even After a Rough Battle With Astro Boy

Marketers are doing crazy things nowadays and I love it. Every now and then you're bound to come across something that just doesn't strike your fancy though. Most recent case for me? An upcoming movie, Astro Boy, is being sponsored by L.A. Looks, a company specializing in hair gel for men. The catch? How does Astro Boy get his perfectly spiked hair? He uses L.A. Looks pomade. To make matters worse, they are setting up salons in certain cinemas where they will have brand ambassadors giving kids the Astro Boy hair with the L.A. Looks product. Gag. Maybe if this was a a new Barbie movie and they wanted to have a dress up station for girls or something, but this is Astro Boy, we don't want hair salons regardless of how cool his hair is. Plus, it's not even that cool!!

I mean seriously, how underwhelmed could these kids look.







Your thoughts?

The "It's So Bad It's Good Dilemma." Tabasco Puts Pepperoni's On Trial.

I'll probably expand on this in a blog in the near future, but how do you feel about the "It's so bad it's good" phrase. Yesterday my dad and I were watching television and saw Tabasco's new ad featuring singing pepperonis. He used the dreaded phase and I thought, well, does that mean the commercial was effective or was the commercial horrible. Since I'm short on time, I'll just post the video below and anticipate your comments. So bad it's good or so bad it's bad. Let me know.

Amp "Before You Score" App Gets High Scores in Innovation and Low Scores on Ethics. What are your thoughts?

So iPhone applications are creating a lot of buzz now a days. The newest app to hit the scene is Amp Energy Drink's "Before You Score" application. Rather than try to explain it myself, go ahead and watch the video.



This app has been getting some severely negative backlash. I however, think it's pretty brilliant. I apologize if I offend any females by saying this, but this is what Amp's target market wants, so why not give it to them. I have a theory that interactive marketing needs to grab attention first, and lead to action second. This app does both, not to mention, the art, the idea, the links, and the innovation make this one of the most unique apps on the market. Do I think Amp should have put their name on this app - it could be debated. But it is a funny app that appeals to the target, and in the end, negative or not, has garnered a ton of attention making it the 2nd most downloaded app in the iTunes store.

What do you guys think of this idea? If a girl version was made would there be any conversation about that? I'm always interested in your opinions. Now I'm going to go see how I can land a set of twins :-).

Verizon Spoofs Apple: There's a Map for That

I'll give it to Verizon. This is a pretty solid spot. Whether or not the maps are true representations of geographic 3G coverage can be debated, but the idea behind the spot is solid. I still wouldn't give up my iPhone, but I will give credit where credit is due. Overall, a small step in the right direction, but still leaps and bounds away from Apple's gold standard "App for That" campaign.

Some day Verizon, some day.

Overgrown Parrot Man Wants a Cracker, or In This Case Four Boxes.

Tell me these aren't hilarious. Think overgrown parrot meets Curb Your Enthusiasm. I've never heard of Vinta Crackers and I don't think this ad would persuade me to buy them, but c'mon, this is some funny stuff. I think it's the blinking eyes that get me or the girlfriend who apparently has no qualms about dating a parrot man. Check the ads below and try not to laugh.

Tiger Beer: The Woman Always Wins

I haven't followed Tiger Beer too much in the past but this ad makes me pretty interested. I think they're playing off every advertisement cliche in the use of gorillas, superheroes, wrestlers, robots, etc. Or maybe their just trying to show us that the "good-looking" woman always wins out. Either way, watch this hilarious ad. It's amazing how real it looks when they transfer from one body to another.

Kimbo Slice Wants to Do Bad Things To Your Caterpillar...Allow or Deny?

Norton Antivirus is one of the most trusted virus protection software programs on the market. This new spot features Kimbo Slice, a professional UFC Fighter (and former street fighter) and a small, gentle caterpillar. I think it's a pretty funny spot, especially when the caterpillar shoots lasers out of his eyes. I do however wonder if the ad gives any credibility to the software by using using such a spoofy idea. Ehh, for now, I'll just laugh at the dialogue. "Unleash a world of hurt." I love it.

The Woody Effect: TGIF Says TYSM (Thank You Social Media) as the Woody Campaign Tops 500,000 Fans.

It’s official; TGI Friday’s “Woody” campaign is a hit. Less than a month ago, the popular restaurant chain put out a social media campaign focused around an average guy with a serious soft-spot for the chain’s burgers. What was the goal? Gaining 500,000 fans through Facebook. What was the incentive? The first 500,000 would get a free Jack Daniels Burger for signing up. Well, it’s been less than a month and Woody is rocking 565,739 fans. How long did it take him? 12 days.

Now for some of you, this might have you wondering. Alright, they got the fans, but now they gotta give away the burgers. In fact, that was my first reaction too. The key to success is digging a little deeper. Sure, they’re going to be giving out 500,000 burgers, but people will bring friends, buy drinks, buy appetizers, deserts, gift cards, and, if they like what they eat, will return back and become brand loyal customers. The return on investment for this campaign, whose budget must have been rather low, has the potential to be extremely high.

Only time will tell how well this promotion will carry on into the future, but if they keep the strategy interesting and the Woody character appealing, I think they might have a long-term social media strategy that’ll put them one step ahead of competitors.

Check out Woody’s Facebook page here:

Follow Woody on Twitter here:

One of the videos promoting Woody:

Bud Light Lime Takes It In the Can

I love this new ad for AB's Bud Light Lime. I think it might be a little too controversial for some television stations, but I think it could find a great audience during one of the games or as a sidebar on ESPN.com. Funny as it is, I don't think anyone will start asking for it in the can. It's always safe to say throw in the word "beer" somewhere; but then again that's the great part about the ad - they don't even mention it.

Old Spice

Old Spice commercial. Appealing to almost every type of man. They are finally starting to get on Axe's level. I think it's pretty funny.