Archive Category: Advertising
Top 10 Ironic Ads From History
Consumerist has a great list article with 10 ads you’d never see today. In it, you’ll learn how the World Trade Centers could have been saved by asbestos, why you should wrap your children in cellophane and why doctors love Camel cigarettes. Hilarity ensues.
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Civilization
I can’t say I begin to understand this video from Marco Brambilla, but the sheer scope and intricacy of it takes my breath away.
This interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy is precisely the experience video artist Marco Brambilla (director of Demolition Man) and Toronto-based studio Crush were striving for in Civilization, a video mural created for the new Standard hotel in New York City.
The entire mural uses over 400 video sources, including samples from several films—something Brambilla is well-known for in his work. This particular project came with some special technical challenges, though.
Link to story. Link to video. -via Dark Roasted Blend
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‘National’ Sues ‘Naughty’ American University
Well, the headline pretty much sums this one up - disgruntled university is suing an adult content site for treading on their trademarks. Unfortunately for National American University, however, the similarities mostly end at the same-sounding names starting with the same letters. One of the more hilarious claims of the former of the two NAU’s is that students, faculty and others may begin confusing one for the other. When folks affiliated with a school begin to confuse their campus for a pornography production set, however, it might just mean something is missing from the curriculum.
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Hide and Seek
(YouTube link)
Socks play hide and seek in this new ad from PES for Orange Telecom in Europe. -via Unique Daily
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The Great Urban Handbag Hunt
Handbag designer Rachel Nasvik had a great idea on how to promote her new line for cheap: stage a great urban hunt for handbags!
Rachel places her handbags, stuffed with all sorts of girly stuff like lip gloss and bobby pins along with the note "You didn’t find this bag, this bag found you," hidden in public places around New York City. If you find it, you can keep it.
Clues on the whereabouts of her handbags are on Rachel’s Twitter. You can see imags of the discovered bags on her blog Thrill of the Chase - via Steve Hall and Angela Natividad’s Adrants
Whatever you think of the ad campaign, the photo is priceless! PLEASE NO PEE-PEE.
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Missouri Family Christmas Photo Turns Up in Czech Ad
As if we needed further proof of the vast reaches of the internet, and the frightening reality that what people put on the net stays on the net, comes the story of the Smith family of St. Louis.
Danielle Smith had taken a photo of her family last year and sent it to friends, as well as posted it on social networking sites. The photo shows her and her husband holding two kids.
About 10 days ago, one of Smith’s college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their huge smiling faces in the window of a store specializing in European food. He snapped a few pictures and sent them to a flabbergasted Smith.
“It’s a life-size picture in a grocery store window in Prague — my Christmas card photo!” said Smith, 36, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon.
Mario Bertuccio, who owns the Grazie store in Prague, said the photo was from the Internet. Details were sparse, but he said he thought it was computer-generated. When told it was a real photo — of a real family — he said he started taking steps to remove it.
“We’ll be happy to write an e-mail with our apology,” said Bertuccio, who said he would send the Smiths a bottle of good wine if they lived in his eastern European country.
The Smiths and photographer Gina Kelly hadn’t authorized anyone to use the pictures. Kelly said she has asked a professional photographers’ organization to help figure out how her image wound up in Prague.
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Hammer Pants Flash Mob
One minute you’re shopping for skinny jeans in a trendy hipster store and the next, you’re in the midst of a flashmob wearing Hammer Pants, dancing to U Can’t Touch This.
Sure, it’s a viral for A&E’s Hammertime, a documentary about the rise and fall of MC Hammer, but it’s worth watching if only for the old bald dude in suit & Hammer pants gettin’ down @1:25.
Link [embedded YouTube clip]
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Iconic Neon Signs From Around the World
Photo: Roadsidepictures [Flickr]
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s no denying that neon signs have become a big part of the urban landscape. Take, for instance, the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign above was designed by Betty Willis for the Young Electric Sign Company in 1959. She never copyrighted it, because she considered it a gift to the city - as a result, the image became synonymous with Las Vegas.
Oobject has an interesting list of The 10 Most Important Examples of Neon Signage for your enjoyment (don’t miss the Vegas neon boneyard!):
The most impressive neon districts in the world include Tokyo’s Ginza and Shibuya, Osaka’s Dotonburi which was the inspiration for Blade Runner, the worlds largest shopping street, Nanjing Road in Shanghai and, of course, Vegas and Times Square. Bangkok’s Soi Cowboy district (named after an American who opened one of the first go go bars in the 70s) deserves inclusion on account of its unpleasant strangeness, with live elephants paraded up and down the pink neon streets.
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Vintage Canned Meat Advertisements
Old advertisements are always interesting. But, combine old advertisements with canned meat, and you have a winner.
Tell her if she finds SPAM to buy it at once!
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The Axe Calendar
Sure it’s a little bit sexist, but at least it’s creative! When Gee Seoul ad agency created this giant "calendar" ad for male deodorant Axe on the side of a female dorm. You get the message, I’m sure.
Larger pic at directdaily: Link
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Caution: Ferocious Turtle
I met a ferocious turtle once. Turns out it was just hungry … Actually, the sign above is an ingenious direct mail campaign by SulAmérica, a provider of home insurance. The company has a very unusual database of what pets their clients own.
Sun/MRM ad agency of Brazil engineered a clever direct mail campaign, where they send funny signs to people who have birds, turtles, ferrets but no watch dogs to protect their homes! With this customized campaign, over 85% of the people renewed their insurance (as compared to 30% the year before the campaign).
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Taco Bell Drive-Thru Folk Song
[YouTube - Link]
A variation on the rap drive-thru. Done for viral advertising purposes but still enjoyable. I think Neatorama ran a less-slick version of this long ago, but I can’t find it.
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T-Mobile Extreme Karaoke
(YouTube link)
In this ad, 13,500 people sing Hey Jude together in Trafalgar Square in London on April 30th. Participants talk about the experience in a related video. -via Viral Video Chart
Previously at Neatorama: The T-Mobile Dance
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Bruce Campbell Strikes Back, Sings Hungry Like the Wolf
So. John recently posted about Jeff Burk’s novel Shatner Quake, in which William Shatner (William Shatner? William Shatner. WILLIAM SHATNER!) battled all characters he ever played, after a failed terrorist attack by the Campbellians (who worships Bruce Campbell).
Though I haven’t read the novel, I immediately feel that this is an unwarranted attack on Bruce. First, take a look at the clip below, then tell me, is this the kind of man that can summon the Army of Darkness? Or cavort with The Evil Dead?
Duran Duran has got nothin’ on Bruce Campbell (plus, he probably smells good!)
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Chinese Fakeaway: Brand Names That Makes You Go Huh?
British tabloid Daily Mail recently noticed that some Chinese products have suspiciously familiar names, occasionally with really funny results.
Do you think your children would notice if you brought them home a Polystation 2? Or maybe you’re in the market for some Birkinsticks? I can’t wait until someone opens the first branch of McDucks or Pizza Huh in my neighborhood!
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Makita Drill Ad Made From 20,081 Drill Hole Pixels
Now this is a manly man’s ad. Here’s an advertisement for Makita power tool by Bennie Du Plessis of Saatchi & Saatchi in South Africa - if you look closely, the "pixels" are 20,081 carefully drilled holes!
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Re-Interpreting Star Trek’s USS Enterprise
To help promote its new movie, Star Trek invited graffiti, special effects and pop artists from all over the world to "re-interpret" the USS Enterprise. This one above is by Jeremy and Claire Weiss, model by Quantum Mechanx.
Link - via diskursdisko
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Philips Carousel
[YouTube - Link]
Philips Carousel is a short film by Adam Berg and Stink Digital (music by Michael Fakesch) to promote the company’s new movie theater-proportioned 21:9 LCD television set (the clip itself is 2:19, get it?).
Whether or not you like the concept (cops vs. clowns - really?), it’s hard to resist the quot;one take" stopped motion special effects.
There’s even an interactive feature over at Philips Carousel website:
The 2 minute 19 second cinematic feature is filmed in one continuous tracking shot and offers an exploration into the world of movies being made for the cinema screen through the eyes of the director and the special effects and lighting experts. During playback of the movie, users have interactive touch points in which they can access additional content and feature demonstrations.
- via philips
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Two Bytes Are Better Than One
Who says being a geek isn’t sexy? Flickr user SA Steve has a large collection
of neat vintage computing ads from old magazines and other photos. Check it out: Link [Flickr Photoset]
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Bokito Viewers
These creepy eyeshades make you appear to look away when you’re looking forward! They were inspired by a gorilla attack at the Rotterdam Zoo last May. The gorilla named Bokito attacked a woman, presumably because she had made eye contact with him. Health insurance company FBTO took advantage of the situation and issued “Bokito Viewers” to zoo visitors to protect them from gorilla attack. The glasses were conceived by advertising agency DDB Amsterdam. Link -via the Presurfer
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Every Guy’s Lightsaber Duel Fantasy
While we’re still in the subject of sexy nerdery (is that a word? It should be!), here’s a faux ad by Adam Green of two ladies fighting with lightsabers where they cut each other’s clothes off.
No, no nudity (this is, Neatorama after all) but it does feature women in undies. Link [embedded YouTube clip]
"These aren’t the girls you’re looking for." Priceless!
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Gadget Grand Prix
(YouTube link)
Who will win the office race -the digital camera, the mouse, the PDA, the remote control, the cell phone, or another hand held gadget? This is another of those creative Samsung ads that go viral about once a week. -via Bits and Pieces
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Funeral
(YouTube link)
From Think Family, a campaign from the National Family Council in Singapore. Link -via Viral Video Chart
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Bose Ads by Nirmalya Chakraborty
Nirmalya Chakraborty created a series of fantastic print ads for Bose, featuring many of their sound equipments to create faces of famous musicians: Link | More at La pubelle blog
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Zimbabwean Dollar: World’s First Trillion Dollar Ad Campaign
To protest the hyperinflation that has rendered the Zimbabwe currency worthless and to raise awareness of the dire economic situation there, the Zimbabwean Newspaper created an ad campaign featuring huge posters, wall murals, flyers, and even billboards all made out of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars. Check out the photos from the newspaper’s Flickr photostream.
The Mugabe regime has destroyed Zimbabwe. It has presided over the brutal oppression of the opposition, a cholera crises, massive food shortages and the total collapse of their economy. Furthermore anyone brave enough to report this has been bullied, beaten and driven into exile. One such group is ‘the Zimbabwean Newspaper’. However, not content with having hounded these journalists out, the regime has slapped an import ‘luxury’ duty of over 55% on them which makes the paper unaffordable for the average Zimbabwean. In order to subsidize the paper they need to sell it in England and South Africa, to raise the foreign currency.
A unique campaign was devised to promote the paper to raise awareness and increase readership. One of the most eloquent symbols of Zimbabwe’s collapse is the Z$100 trillion dollar note, a symptom of their world record inflation. This note cannot buy anything, not even a loaf of bread and certainly not any advertising, but it can become the advertising, it can be a powerful reminder about Zimbabwe’s plight and the need to hold someone accountable.
Link - via thehouseofmarketing
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A Chicken in Every Pothole
Is this a great way to save public funds or a step down the slippery slope? KFC wants to fix potholes in city roads, then paint the company’s name on top. They’ve already begun work in Louisville, and have offered the service to other cities.
But Brian Steele, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, which is charged with repairing the city’s potholes, said “We don’t allow any type of printing or advertising placed on a city street or sidewalk.”
He said the city was looking to promote and seek support for its own pothole repair program, and said they’ve been “in discussion” with an advertising firm for more than months about the idea.
As for the KFC offer, Steele said the city first learned of it Wednesday. “Were looking into it [the KFC offer]…..Until we learn more we don’t know how it stacks up.”
The KFC offer is part of its “Fresh Tastes Best” advertising campaign. Link -via reddit
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Pixel Cars in Honda Ad
(YouTube link)
Honda’s new ad features pixels made of car headlights!
W+K’s Amsterdam office one-upped the Sheep LED ad spot with this one. There is no CG here! This was put together the good old fashion way, with laser sights, GPS, and a land surveyor! It’s a good thing all those cars are hybrids! Directed by Erik Van Wyk.
-via booooooom
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15 Vintage Household Ads
Kitch and nostalgia abound. Definitely got a kick looking at these! Favorite? "Weighting only 8 lbs" to describe the portable TV of the future.
Household chores may never feel effortless, but appliances that make our day-to-day lives easier have definitely come a long way over the decades. Take a fun look back at vintage ads that tout then-innovative inventions, such as the gas range, electric broom, portable television and more!
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Six Controversial Moments in Beer Advertising
Old Milwaukee “Swedish Bikini Team”
In the early 90s, Old Milwaukee decided to compete with the imports by inventing the Old Milwaukee Swedish Bikini Team. The ad features a bunch of guys out fishing and being manly men and they think that it just can’t get any better. And then, of course, the Swedish Bikini Team shows up wearing spandex, cans and six-packs of Old Milwaukee parachute in, and the camera pans in on lots of jiggling boobs.
The ad triggered a sexual harassment suit by five members of the Stroh Brewery who said that the ads perpetuated an environment of verbal and physical abuse that had been going on since the mid 80s anyway. You can tell it really scared the company - shortly thereafter, the “bikini team” was featured in Playboy For your viewing pleasure…
Miller “Beachin’ Times”
In 1989, Miller ruffled more than a few feathers with a 16-page pamphlet distributed in 55 college newspapers across the country. Called “Beachin’ Times,” it instructed college students on how to get drunk and pick up babes. One such gem includes a piece on “Lite Beer Pro Beach Volleyball” which asked readers to “Name something you can dink, bump, and poke. Hint - it’s not a babe.” You can tell it was 1989 because the pamphlet is liberally peppered with “babe” references - another section was called “Four Sure-Fire Ways to Scam Babes.” I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally hearing Jeff Spicoli in my head. Even college students were offended - groups of students at two universities organized protests and threatened to boycott Miller, which was enough to scare the company into an apology. They sent letters with the headline “We Blew It” to all 55 student newspapers the pamphlet had appeared in. It didn’t impress some people, though - the University of Iowa’s Daily Iowan ran an opinion column that compared the apology to after-the-fact birth control - “It might make you feel better, but it doesn’t do a damn bit of good.”
Grain Belt “Girl in the Barley”
Looks pretty tame, right? But when this ad was first published, complaints rolled in by the barrel-ful. The look on the girl in the barley’s face was apparently much too suggestive for the liking of the general public, because the Minneapolis Brewing Company received so many letters that they recalled the posters as so not to offend any more potential customers. Photo from Land of Amber Waters by Doug Hoverson.
Rolling Rock “Beer Ape”
This is actually not a controversial ad, but Rolling Rock wanted you to think it was. I watched the You Tube video and wondered what people found so offensive about it - girls in bikinis? Because there’s much more scantily-clad women on Rock of Love every week (trust me, as an avid viewer, I know). But that was all just part of the scam. A little more digging revealed that Rolling Rock actually released “Beer Ape” as a viral Internet campaign. They put up billboards and other ads, apologizing to anyone who was “offended” by the campaign… the campaign that never actually aired anywhere except YouTube. Of course, this resulted in people flocking to YouTube to see what this offensive commercial was all about. Kind of genius… kind of underhanded and sneaky. Check it out for yourself:
Budweiser Fish Controversy
Yes, there are controversies that don’t involve Swedish Bikini Teams and seductive women - this one involves fish. Animal rights activists were outraged at the treatment of the fish in this ad and called for its removal.
Photo from World News’ 25 Most Controversial Ads
Miller Lite “Catfight”
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember Miller Lite’s “Catfight” ad. It ran in 2002 and showed two women getting in an out-and-out down-and-dirty catfight over whether Miller Lite tasted great or was less filling… you know the schtick. They end up tearing off each other’s clothes, wrestling into a public fountain and eventually tear it up in a pool of cement. At the end of the ad, we see that the whole thing was really just the fantasy of two guys sitting at a bar.
Miller contends that they were mocking the stereotypical male mentality, but that didn’t really hold water with the hundreds of people who called or wrote to complain. Miller made it a point of pointing out that the majority of people who complained were women over the age of 40 who had children… I find the fact that they pointed this out more offensive than the actual commercial, personally. Here it is in all its racy glory:
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True Blood “Emergency Vampire” Posters
I spotted these in Auckland, New Zealand (where the show True Blood is only just starting on TV). They’re made of wood, and the stakes are designed to snap off in case a vampire attacks.
They’re screwed down though, which makes them safer but rather counterproductive.
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