Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vextini's "What Happened?"

So I found some advertising of the future and couldn't help but post about it of course.

While flipping through LCBO's Food and Wine magazine, I happened across this ad for Vextini:



The headline: "Mix less. Miss less." The 2d barcode explanation: "Visit vextini.ca/WhatHappened and hold this up to your webcam to experience what you'd be missing."  

Naturally I just had to try it out. So I visited vextini.ca/WhatHappened and (after proving that I'm legal drinking age of course), came across this screen:



I connected my camera, held up my magazine, and voila! A video started, explaining that "missing" context in the bizarre print ad. There are actually 3 scenarios, so you have the option of searching for all 3 ads OR downloading and printing the codes from the site OR for those of you without a camera, who are just lazy (like me), or who wish to save paper, going ahead and just watching the videos.

The videos themselves could use a little work, but the interactive component sure makes this an interesting campaign. It's worth checking out the site for sure.

(PS My video had a hot guy busting through a wall. Oh yeah.)

Edit: Just heard from Vextini, and they used Bos Advertising Agency and Lollipop Productions for this campaign. Thanks Vextini!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Glades "Sunny"

So I'm kind of in love with this ad - despite how squeamish I am.

This spot by Bigsmack in Philadelphia came on before Get Him to the Greek last night and it definitely caught me off guard. I really can't say too much, but let's just say it's for a new A&E police drama called "The Glades" and it shows the main character (homicide detective, Jim Longworth) talking directly to the camera about his "pretty sweet deal".

Then there's a little twist.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Castle Lite's Celeb Endorsements

Usually when we see celebrity endorsements, they come in the form of some famous athlete sucking back a sports drink, a slutty popstar shaking her "thang" for Coke (or Pepsi), a B lister talking about an exercise machine, etc. But celebrity endorsements come in all shapes and sizes. And Castle Lite Beer has decided to use 80s has-beens to promote their brand in these commercials by Ogilvy Capetown.

The first spot features the classiest of the classy - yes that's right.. Vanilla Ice. As a few men at a party receive their Castle Lites, they go in for a first sip and suddenly some diegetic music pipes in. Vanilla Ice begins rapping to "Ice Ice Baby" and everyone at the party becomes a backup dancer. When the men stop swigging, the music stops too. Oh but don't worry, when they go in for the next sip, Vanilla Ice returns.

The second spot stars one of the same guys from the first one. He walks up to the bar in another swanky environment and orders a Castle Lite. The bartender pulls the beer out of the fridge, but oh no! The bottle is much too cold. MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" begins playing as the bartender throws around the bottle, finally throwing it up high in the air only to land in the hands of MC Hammer himself.

So I know I've been sarcastic.. but it's all in good fun. I like these ads - they made me smile.



Friday, June 11, 2010

Science World's "We can explain"

Rethink is a Canadian agency (Vancouver based) that has done some really cool work. These billboards for Science World are 2 examples of said coolness.

The first is about diamonds. Almost the entire billboard is covered by 9,000 fake diamonds, with the blank space creating the words “Diamonds aren’t all that rare.” The second is about gold. The whole billboard is gold, with part of it raised spelling out “2oz. of gold can cover a billboard.” In the corner of both billboards is a little circle stating, “Science World. We can explain.”

What can they explain? Diamonds really aren’t rare compared to many other gems. And gold can be hammered so thin that 2 ounces is enough to cover a whole billboard. And I’m sure a lot more.

I love the originality of this campaign. Go Rethink, go.



 
(Photos via Adsoftheworld)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Kraft Dinner's "You know you love it"

So I'm a big fan of Crispin Porter + Bogusky's work, but their latest campaign for Kraft Dinner bugs me.

Is it just me or does the slogan "You know you love it" sound a little like Cheez Whiz's "You know you want it"? And while I realize that Cheez Whiz is also a Kraft product, I guess I was still hoping for a little more originality.

Despite my annoyance with the slogan, the ads are alright. Below is one of their tv spots featuring a kid who got a timeout for a "minor dinner table infraction." He explains this to the camera as his dad eats KD right off the little boy's plate. The spot ends with the kid asking his dad "Have you had enough?" The plot is merely alright, but the casting is great. That kid is more sarcastic than House.

..Okay maybe not House, but you get the point.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Adidas' "Cantina"

So Adidas made a somewhat risky move recently.

They took the famous cantina scene from the even more famous Star Wars for their new Fifa ad. They didn’t remake it or parody it, but actually added to it with some recognizable popular figures of today.

That’s right. The cantina is the place to be when it comes to watching the Fifa games. David Beckham, Snoop Dogg, Canadian Jay Baruchel, Ciara, Franz Beckenbauer, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, and DJ Neil Armstrong (I’m sure I must be missing someone) all hang out there, along with the original Star Wars characters (yes, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and C-3PO are all present).

And at the end of this 2 minute spot? “Celebrate originality.” You can't deny it - watching Snoop Dogg use a light saber is pretty damn original.

I like it.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Hovis "Miss Chief 60s"

Think back to when you were growing up. Remember that kid who never followed the rules? A little bit of class clown mixed with a whole lot of troublemaker?

Well that girl stars in this ad for Hovis (created by MCBD), and you see her load a washing machine with much too much soap, race grocery carts, turn an innocent ballet class into a big wrestling match, beat the boys at soccer, and much more along to some very catchy music (“Ça Plane Pour Moi” by Plastic Bertrand).

“There comes a time when it’s good to be good” says the voiceover 40 years later as our main character’s toast pops out of the toaster. Hovis is made with 50% oats.

Huggies "I've got chic in my pants"

Sexy music and women with windblown hair are present in this ad accompanying a total babe… literally.

This JWT New York ad for Huggies (limited edition) denim patterned diapers is pretty hilarious. An adorable baby boy strolls down the street to a song composed particularly for this ad (or so I’m assuming, considering the lyrics include phrases like “My diaper is full… full of chic” and “When it’s a number 2, I look like number 1”). He shocks people with his great style, checks himself out in the mirror, and eventually climbs into his sweet ride.