It's All Advertising

Gone Nuts

2007-11-19T12:29:00.000-06:00

I don't know if anyone visits this site anymore since I haven't posted in... over a year (sorry). But now I'm over at AdvertisingForPeanuts as a weekly columnist. So come check me out there if you want and also read thoughts of some of the brightest minds in the industry.

See you there!

Adiou,

-Thomas

Sponge Bob Spinach Pants

2006-04-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

Most likely because all the crappy junk food already has a picture of him on it, SpongeBob now appears on...SPINACH!
Apparently Nickelodeon has signed a deal and will have its characters appearing on all kinds of fruits and veggies. Can it be true? Has the mad marketing machine finally switched it's gears to support health and wellness? Must be where the money is. Regardless of the reason, I'm happy that something positive is going on out there as we prey on the minds of the youth market.

Check out the new Nicktrition website.

Pearly Ad Gates

2006-04-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

Leo Burnett Chicago's Lobby

Door sign at TBWA Chiat/Day-San Francisco

CPB's entryway.

Here's something for all you ad nerds out there... Yes, exactly the type that would visit a blog dedicated to advertising.
If you've got one to send, please do. Send Here

Butt paste

2006-04-24T22:57:00.000-05:00

This one pretty much speaks for itself.

(oh crap, I think my ass fell off...oh, phew, good thing I had some butt paste on hand)

Cool Star Trek banner

2006-04-17T01:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice little banner ad from 72 and Sunny in Los Angeles. It's just a simple rollover, but it advertises the show nicely, and is kinda fun too.

No way it's True.

2006-04-16T17:28:00.000-05:00

Whether they'll admit it or not, every guy in the world both loves and hates the True web ads. They pop up on every website and make us look like total sleezes when we're browsing the web at work for inspiration. Plus, it's for a dating service that almost certainly doesn't have girls in it that look like those models. Which makes us hate them once again because that's just mean to both girls and guys. My buddy signed up to find out what the site was about. I asked him if he'd sent a message to the girl in the black dress yet. He said he had, and that it's a spinal condition. Glad that's cleared up.

With the right packaging...

2006-04-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

This dude is an absolute genius. A guy named Justin Gignac is packaging and selling...wait for it...GARBAGE! That's right, he's selling the finest select pieces of NYC trash in clear plastic cases, signed and numbered, to people literally around the world. He's sold over 700 so far, at $50 a pop. It seems ridiculous to me that someone can pull this off, but I find myself wanting to buy one. What a conversation piece! You can't even be mad at him because he's cleaning up the city too. This is the best thing since pet rock. I hope this guy becomes a millionaire. Check his site out.

WhiteWash

2006-04-07T12:23:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else noticed that every commercial seems to be going into this crazy all-white craze? Not all white people (that's not new), but all white backgrounds/clothing/etc. Check out these spots for Adidas, Subway, and Puma

Is this some new trend? Man, I can't wait until teal becomes the "it" color.

Pulled over

2006-03-29T20:30:00.000-06:00

Advertising For Peanuts pointed to the ad with the runner. And then I saw this ad for bicycles. It seems like it's a pretty common premise (pulled-over = fast). I really like the flip of the cop being on the bike instead of the person being pulled over. It's a pleasant twist. The other one might be a bit obvious, but it is nicely done.

Ad nerd shirt

2006-03-28T16:00:00.000-06:00

Here's the link to buy this very nerdy/ very cool art director shirt. I think it's astounding. Here's what the creators wrote about it:

"Drop Shadows Not Bombs, PLAYGROUND OF THE STARS first t-shirt project, is inspired by endlessly dropping shadows while working in advertising combined with the "drop acid not bombs" and "make love not war" mantras of the sixties."

Cool stuff. Looking forward to other awesome/stupid shirts to come.

Why old people shouldn't try to be hip.

2006-03-27T17:22:00.000-06:00

Even from some of the great agencies I've seen slop on the web. No doubt some CD in their 60s started explaining to their young creatives about how to write for young people. They probably said something like "look on the web, you just need to be random and stupid, that's what is viral, just something crazy!!!" And you know what...they're wrong. There is a deep sophistication to stuff that's popular on the web (tits and weird foreigners singing aside).

To an untrained (elder) mind, it may seem random, but it's the circular randomness (stupidity returning back on itself) that the web is great at. There seems to usually be some constant thought throughout whatever silly thing it is. Plus, (and this is crucial)it's not stupid done stupid, it's stupid done smart.

Also, webstuff is created in the author's voice. There are popular clips and websites from older web-folk, but they're not pretending that they're young and hip. I

That, and once something has been done, it's dead. If it's already popular on the web, you will find harsh blog backlash if you try and do it again.

I'd say the most obvious proof of how little most agencies get the web are their own websites (excluding Wexley School for Girls perhaps). If there are other amazing agency websites, drop a line and I'll update the post. I'd love to be proved wrong on this one.

Vagrant Creatives

2006-03-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

There was a time when I wanted to create a traveling creative team called the "Vagrant Creatives". But in this case I'm referring to the homeless community, and their occasional extremely witty approach. To start I'll mention a Chicago legend. The lovingly named "Shakespeare Bum" who despite wearing tattered clothing and having a ratty beard, quotes flawlessly from Shakespeare towards people passing on the street. He calls every man "kind sir" and every women "fair maiden". Quite a schtick.

I'm also reminded of a story (I believe attributed to the former DDB rockstar Susan Gillette). Supposedly known for her humanity and kindness, she once saw a blind man with a sign that read "Blind. Please Give Money" or something of that nature. She asked the man if she could edit his sign, she did, and the man was stunned as person after person began giving him money. He asked her what the sign said, she replied "It's a beautiful day outside, and I can't see it." Powerful stuff this advertising.

And most recently I saw a beggar on the streets in San Francisco with a sign that read "I bet you a $1 you'll read this sign." I say any sign that makes me laugh out loud deserves at least a dollar. Hell, there are billboards worth thousands that don't even make me smirk.

Personally I'm a fan of stories, and I always reward good ones with my hard earned duckets.

Adidas loves graffiti

2006-03-22T18:16:00.000-06:00

Some companies fight the up and coming hipness that's all around them, but not Adidas. They've hit upon another masterful idea with this. They're cool outdoor boards that taunt graffiti artists to mess them up/pretty them up.

Thanks to Woostercollective for the pics.
Thanks to Billy for the tip.

Buckin' Writers!

2006-03-22T13:37:00.000-06:00

Ok, I was going to wait to post this until I had a link to the actual spot, but nobody has come through and posted the clip. (well, except for Ad Critic, but then you have to subscribe).

So the writer, Jim Houck, actually used to ride rodeo. The spot seems so crazy and random, but if you consider his background, it's not that far off. But what's really cool about all this, is that I bet the rodeo riding itself is totally accurate. I mean, if you know it so well, you make it authentic, and that makes it extra good. Perhaps that's the allure of this spot (which I have to admit is my favorite CPB work as of late).

UPDATE: Aha! I found it! Here's the spot.

My photos

2006-03-22T13:03:00.000-06:00

So sorry to my loyal readers for the occasional crappy photo quality. They're taken with my cell phone camera. You see, I actually have a really nice digital camera, but I can't find the USB cord for it. Don't believe me? I'll prove it. Here's a picture of my camera that I took with my cell phone camera. (I'd show you the cell phone too, but I'd have to use my really nice digital camera).

Piercing Bench Ad

2006-03-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a cool little bench ad for a piercing parlor in Chicago. It's just a nice clean headline that let's you get what they're about. Nothing fluffy or pretty. I have no idea who did it, but good job.

Doing what the brand promised

2006-03-16T00:54:00.000-06:00

CITI Bank has put up little kiosk like phone booths next to their ATMs so customers can call them, and I think it's great. For several reasons I guess. One, if I ever feel the random overwhelming urge to talk to a guy in India, who is undoubtedly thousands of times smarter than me, then I can do so with ease. Secondly, what a great non-traditional marketing message! That phone probably costs them less than a single billboard, and it says so much more than they could ever put into words.

Is the AdWeak guy dead?

2006-03-13T21:09:00.000-06:00

If you haven't ever visited Adweak, do so now, and then return bitter that the guy hasn't posted anything in like a year. I miss that random, witty, and often painfully true commentary on whatever crossed the editor's mind. Plus, I miss the constant apologizing for not having written in a while. I just miss it all... WHERE ARE YOU MASKED AD WONDER????

[Thanks to this site where I got the milk carton image from]

Hindi Burger King?

2006-03-13T20:34:00.000-06:00

I knew it!!! CP+B stole "The King" from an Indian ad agency! (okay, so they totally didn't). Look at this guy though. The picture was linked from some awards through one of my favorite ad blogs called 24. Not sure what exactly the ad is saying. I think it's discouraging drunk driving by saying you might run over a burger icon wearing a silly disguise mustaches. You gotta love it.

The rest of the winners can be seen here.

Harvard...SMART

2006-03-10T12:31:00.000-06:00

For some reason people think that Harvardites are a bunch of lame snooty jerks. But Conan O'Brien came from there, and he's hilarious. But I digress (isn't that we people often do in this situation). Hadrian's Wall did this really smart, really cool ad for the Harvard Business Review that's approachable and smart. I really like it because it's rare to see a no-copy ad anymore that doesn't just show what the product is. That and I really like the agency. Any company that publicly makes silly football bets is ok in my book.

Waterboy for Evian

2006-03-09T18:17:00.000-06:00

A buddy just forwarded me the winner of 2004's Epica Awards (for those of you that don't know, the Epicas claim to be "Europe's premiere creative awards"). This video was done by BETC EURO RSCG (could they fit any more letters into their name).
Watch the video here

Mint ads unlike any other

2006-03-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

A buddy of mine who is an illustrator/designer (not at all involved in advertising) somehow ended up interviewing at a tiny agency in Chicago. He went to the interview thinking they were looking for an illustrator, but what they really wanted was an illustrator/designer/art director.

He had no ads in his portfolio (obviously), but the guy wanted to test him, and told him to come up with a campaign for mints with the thought "extremely powerful mints". This was what he came up with.

They passed on him (stupidly), but when he showed me these ads I almost died. I think they are twisted, edgy and terrific, and I want to put them here so others can see.

You can see more of his work here

Sex dolls promote equal rights

2006-03-09T11:26:00.000-06:00

According to a BBC article the Mexican government has created a campaign using sex dolls dressed in various work uniforms that are saying "women aren't sex objects". I guess it's a problem because even Mexico's president made a remark according to the article that "[women were just] washing machines with two legs". Take that Gloria Steinem!

If it ain't Crispin, it outta be

2006-03-08T19:10:00.000-06:00

"Techmaster" on techeblog posted about a street legal VW bug that somebody apparently welded a giant jet engine onto. The guy, who supposedly has a Stanford PhD in mechanical engineering (who despite the distinction still refers to cars as "rides" *cough cough*), uses a GE Model T58-8F helicopter turboshaft engine converted to jet to make his car push 1350 horsepower(and says it's street legal). but maybe it's legit... riiiiight.

It's got 178 comments as of this writing, and I think it's still pretty new. It's no Brooke Burke/King (hilarity by the way!) but still plenty viral.

Wait...wasn't this a Darwin Award Winner?

New Chicago IKEA train wraps

2006-03-07T15:26:00.000-06:00

This new train wrap for IKEA has the line "Los Angeles has Four, but they're probably fake" in regards to Chicagoland opening up its second IKEA. There were other train wraps including something about the twin cities only having one, and something else that wasn't as memorable apparently (since I can't seem to remember it).

It's just interesting that they would make a stab at their own company to be regionally relevant. Especially knowing that some jerk (me) might end up putting it on the web and stirring up some controversy. Los Angeles, can you believe they're talking that way about you? :)