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Nothing says “waiting for the bus” like the smell of baked potatoes. Okay, clearly that sentence didn’t make sense, and people usually don’t want to think about food while they’re waiting for the bus. And the sad truth is this bus stop is probably going to smell like the worst scents a human beings can muster in a few weeks anyway, so why bother with a gimmicky ad?
Well, the folks at McCain Foods are betting that these bus stop ads, with the scent of a baked potato available at the push of a button, will help them sell their Ready Made Jacket Potatoes.And there are coupons available, in case you decide to grab a box on the way home.
Maybe they’re on to something, but I’ve personally never wanted to think about food while waiting for the bus, and bus stops in my town tend to be akin to outhouses, without that crucial front door. But what do you think-are scented advertisements a good idea, or are they a real stinker?
You have to wonder if the eight-foot-tall woman has to pay extra to get her legs waxed. Or is the aesthetician just very small? There’s some question of whether this picture is a Photoshop disaster or just a photo taken at a strange angle. What do you think? Link
Hooters, the chain restaurant that is built around showing off women’s *ahem* assets, is getting an extremely unlikely crossover in their Japanese restaurants as they introduce Hello Kitty elements just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Apparently, the Japanese don’t feel like characters intended for children should be kept separate from adult and sexually suggestive merchandising, which makes me wonder-where do they actually draw the line?
And were those Hello Kitty “personal massagers” I saw online actually licensed by Sanrio? Ewwwww!
How
do you tout the benefits of your fancy-schmancy lawn mower? Lawn mower
maker Jacoben turned to advertising icon Stan Freberg to create (now classic)
ad campaign.
Stan's answer? Compare it to a sheep. The Presurfer has the video clip: Link
Do you watch the Super Bowl for the sports or the commercials? Back in the 1960s, a 30-second ad spot cost about $42,000. Now, it's $3.5 million, a whopping 8,300% increase. And something that costs that much money ought to be good, right?
This one above from 1973 is Noxzema's "Creamed" ad with football star Joe Namath and pre-"Charlie's Angels" Farrah Fawcett.
The Los Angeles Times has the timeline of the Best Super Bowl commercials through the years: Link
AMC is promoting the return of the TV show Mad Men with a minimalist poster showing a falling man, with a blank expanse around him. The only other thing the poster contains is the date at the bottom right. That’s just asking to be embellished, and plenty of folks have great ideas about what to add. Gothamist asked for submissions, and has been collecting the “improvements” to post for your pleasure. Link to gallery one. Link to gallery two. -via Laughing Squid
Who showed up in MetLife's toon-filled Super Bowl ad? And can you find Waldo? Cartoonist Mark Anderson has the answers (and one question in his blog - see if you can identify the mystery character): Link - Thanks Mark!
They had the best of intentions, but certain public service campaigns ended up making something really bad for you appear awesome. The bad experiences were tempered to keep from frightening children, which only undermined the message. And some downright pushed the bad stuff, like a 1997 physical fitness campaign featuring children gorging themselves on chocolate cake.
Look back at those screencaps! You’ve never enjoyed anything as much as those children did those chocolate cakes. They make fudge smoothies (which, we’re sorry, is a bad idea how? That’s the entire business model of Cold Stone Creamery) and even build whole fortresses out of chocolate; that’s like the most fun afternoon of anybody’s childhood. Have you guys never seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? It’s like all the best parts of that movie come to life, and without all the child murder.
Other campaigns managed to make drugs and venereal disease look attractive. Read about them all at Cracked. Link
This Super Bowl commercial from Budweiser Canada features two recreational league hockey teams in Port Credit, Ontario. No, it’s not an original idea, but it is done well in this instance. The ad will not be broadcast in the U.S. so we have to show it to you here. -via Buzzfeed
Now this is advertising so clever it's criminal: Y&R agency in Amsterdam, The Netherlands came up with an unusual ad to feature the slim LG's new TV. Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Ads of the World
When a five-year-old girl recognizes your brand logo, you’ve done it right. Of course, when your dad is in the logo design business, you might have a leg up. Adam Ladd’s daughter knows her logos, but as far as big cats go. she just likes cheetahs. -via Laughing Squid
The upcoming film Chronicle is a dark story about teenage boys who develop superpowers. To promote it, marketers made RC planes that look like human beings and flew them around New York City.
-via Colossal | Chronicle Movie Trailer
This ad for Moe’s Southwestern Grill shows either how terrible or awesome microwaves are. I had no idea that bar soap would do that in a microwave.
Question: what would happen if you tried to microwave a microwave?
-via NotCot
Michel Gondry produced this ad for Sunshine Sakae, a Japanese department store. The store connection will eventually become clear, although you may be giggling too much to catch it. (via The Daily What)
DC Comics has been making some ambitious moves lately, from a logo re-design to a 52 title relaunch, but their newest move should prove to be most heroic-a charity called We Can Be Heroes which will raise money to benefit humanitarian efforts in Africa. Here’s the dollars and cents of it all:
Donations of any amount made at the We Can Be Heroes site will reportedly be matched by DC Entertainment 100 percent, with 50 percent of branded “We Can Be Heroes” online merchandise sales being donated to the fund (unless you buy in Maine, Massachusetts and Alabama). Between these and other efforts, DC says that its three WCBH partners will receive a combined total of at least $2 million over the next two years.
Caped superfolks in print are fine, but stepping up to the plate and making a difference in the real world is truly noble indeed!
Link –via ComicsAlliance
This optical illusion street art was placed on the road outside of Universal Studios: Japan to promote their new Flying Snoopy ride. The characters can only be seen properly crossing the road from the right perspective and then voila! Peanuts-Abbey Road parody! What a creative and cute way to advertise a new ride!
Animation studio Virtual Republic turned classical music by German composer Ferdinand Ries into a rollercoaster ride for this clever ad for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
The musical notes are synchronized, so the visual part of the rollercoaster ride actually match what you hear.
Hit play or go to Link [Vimeo] - via The Atlantic
Allegedly, this is a photo of an electronic billboard in Odessa, Ukraine crashing. But those of us who understand that the entire universe is actually a holographic projection around the Earth know the truth. Worse: the universe runs on Windows.
Link -via Boing Boing
Volkswagen unveils their Super Bowl ad campaign. If you sold cars and were going to advertise during a football game, it only makes sense that you would feature dogs barking the Imperial March. Makes perfect sense! -via reddit
Remember libraries? You know, the place where they have books you can borrow for free?
Well, the Milwaukee Public Library has a pretty nifty ad campaign poking fun at social media while urging you to read a book. Via copyranter.
The South African division of the fast food chain Wimpy provides menus in Braille. To get the word out, its chefs produced hamburger buns with sesame seeds carefully arranged on the surface to spell out words in Braille. At the link, you can watch a video of visually impaired people reacting to the burgers.
I don’t know what Mannings is advertising here, but it’s a lovely story of selfless devotion nonetheless. A Babelfish translation of the related site offered no help, but if you can read Chinese, you may be able to clue us in. Link -via Everlasting Blort
I’m not going to explain this one, because the denouement is more fun than seeing it coming. Don’t adjust your sound -there isn’t any. -via reddit
Continuing the parade of “dear god, make it stop!” inducing advertising for The Phantom Menace in 3D, a new animated commercial has emerged for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea that, I must admit, is beautifully animated and very cute.
There’s even a mobile app centered around the battle between Yoda and Darth Maul, which you can check out here. Now, why do I have the feeling that these ads are going to look a whole lot better than a 3d converted version of The Phantom Menace?
–via The Mary Sue
The word below the swoosh is “run”. Annie Chiu designed this and other unconventional street advertisements to encourage you to purchase Nike running gear.
Link -via Blame It on the Voices
In what is sure to be the wackiest food marketing campaign yet, the French fast food chain Quick have released their Force burgers, to promote the release of The Phantom Menace in 3d.
This bold, and absolutely disgusting looking, burger features a bun that is dyed black, ensuring that only a true Sith Lord will want to have anything to do with it!
What do you think-would you eat a burger with a black bun, or is the color enough to put you off the Vader deluxe?
Well, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is trying. It's battling childhood obesity (Georgia is ranked second highest in the United States) with its new ad campaign, which has been labeled "grim" and "building a climate of hate" by critics.
The ads, which appear on the campaign’s website, strong4life.com, are modeled after blunt — but effective — campaigns attacking methamphetamine use and smoking.
In one spot, an overweight girl named Maritza says: “My doctors say I have something called hypertension. I’m really scared.” And in another, that ends with “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid,” a child named Tina says she doesn’t like going to school because the other kids pick on her.
Critics say the ads will further ostracize children such as Tina. In posts on the Strong4Life Facebook page, they accuse the campaign of building a “climate of hate.”
What do you think? Will that be effective?
Carrie Teegardin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the story: Link | Strong4Life website
Photoshop Disasters is always good for a laugh -or a nightmare. I may be seeing this model and her “elbow that won’t quit” in my dreams for some time to come. She is one of the Top 10 Photoshop Disasters of 2011, but she’s not #1. Link
Man, Christmas seems to come and go faster each year! These ads harken back to a simpler time, a time when cowboys were all the rage, and gun ads were allowed to appeal to kids during the holidays.
It’s a nice bit of nostalgia, and a few of the pics in this gallery are definitely chuckle worthy. Just don’t shoot your eye out!
Link –via BoingBoing
Is Santa an elitist grouch who doesn't "do poor countries"? That's the swipe that UNICEF's new Christmas seems to say!
A new UNICEF-Sweden commercial is taking a swipe at Santa Claus. In the video [...], Santa begins by laughing at his desk while he examines toys. Then he picks up a box filled with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) medical supplies — malaria tablets, rehydration bags, polio vaccines — destined for an impoverished country. Santa scoffs: "All this stuff goes to poor kids, like in Africa?" Santa then looks at a gift card the United Nations relief organization sends to people when someone makes a donation in their name. "What am I supposed to say when I give this out? 'Here's a picture of the gift you never got?' Come on. I don't do poor countries."
