Now, I’ve always been a fan of the Batman movies. Heck, I grew up with the original being a favorite of mine. As Warner Brothers prepares for its Summer 2008 release of the movie, some of you may have come across the viral websites for the movie. Perhaps you even saw Jeff’s post on the last site to be launched and the scavenger hunt games that users are encouraged to become involved in. However, what I didn’t realize was the extent to which this viral spread. Not only are there several game sites, there are a handful of sites that simply deal with organizations, characters and more from the movie. 33 in all. That’s right, 33 websites all devoted to the launch of The Dark Knight. So… feeling bored? Here’s links to all of them. Enjoy. I’m just going to wait for the movie to come out.

 

Why So Serious, I Believe in Harvey Dent,  Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham, Clown Travel Agency, The Ha Ha Ha Times, The Gotham Times, Maiden Avenue Report, Gotham Cable News, Dana Worthington, Trust Garcetti, Citizens for Batman, Saint Swithuns Church, GVA Foundation, GPDIAD, Gotham Cab, Joseph Candoloro, Gotham Election Board, Gotham City Clerk, Rory’s Death Kiss, Gotham City Rail, Acme Security Systems Homepage, Acme Security Systems Password, We Are the Answer, A Taste for the Theatrical, Gotham Police’s Major Crimes Unit, Gotham Police, Kinsly Travel, Gotham City Ferries, Gotham National Bank, Betty’s House of Pies, Rossi’s Deli, Gotham Intercontinental Hotel, Operation Slipknot.

 

Technorati Tags: Batman, Gotham, The Joker, advertising, viral, websites, marketing, promotion, Harvey Dent, Acme, The Dark Knight, Warner Brothers

 

Yesterday I wrote about my excitement for the coming Amstel Light campaign from the Richards Group. Well, as I watched the season finale of The Office last night on NBC (side note: can’t wait for July’s webisodes!), I got my first glance. Today, I scoured YouTube and found the spot for you all to see. I personally do like the spot. Although the jury is still out on whether it may act better as a travel ad for Amsterdam. Because it totally makes me want to plan a vacation… but drink Amstel Light? I guess if that’s the closest I can get to a city of party and sin, sign me up. What are your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Amsterdam, Amstel Light, Holland, Heineken, beer, alcohol, party, nightlife, bier, brewing, tradition, commercials, TV, advertising, marketing, branding

Apple is known for it’s advertising. Has been for awhile. Recently, mostly with the invention of the iPod, Apple has been responsible for helping to launch the careers of some once-unknown artists. I don’t think I actually know anyone that had heard of Feist, CSS, Yael Naim or The Ting Tings before their partnerships. And hey, as an up-and-coming artist, can you think of a better way to launch your career?

Now, while I’m excited that these talented artists are getting some of the attention they deserve, whenever I hear “New Soul,” by Yael Naim I want to throw my TV/radio/computer through a window. I don’t know if this is because the commercial was WAY overplayed or what. But this morning, while watching VH1, the song started playing, I immediately turned around to change the channel, thinking it was the ad and having zero desire to see that laptop in an envelope one more time. However, I found that it was actually VH1 doing a little news blurb on her. So I feel like I’m torn. I like the ad… but only for the first three times I see it, because next thing I know, I can’t stand hearing the song. Unlike other ads I could watch over and over without getting old. It got me thinking… does this happen to anyone else? Do you hate Apple commercials? Or do we just grow tired of the song, like being overplayed on the radio? Maybe a mini test you can try for yourself. MacBook Air commercial is below, followed by music video for the song. Can you make it through the whole thing? I can’t.

Technorati Tags: Apple, MacBook Air, iPod, music, Yael Naim, CSS, Feist, The Ting Tings, advertising, promotion, commercials, music videos

This morning I read an article in Ad Age about new campaign that will be launching soon for Amstel Light. Previously, Publicis had dubbed Amstel Light as a beer for the connoisseur, someone who was looking for a sophisticated taste and used the tagline was “Live Tastefully.”

Now, the Richards Group is taking a stab at changing the brand and naming it, “Dam Good Bier,” proudly showing the beer’s Amersterdam heritage. The campaign, which will heavily hit New York City, is set to feature Dutch-style bikes (including a beer bike, like a traveling bar), and will rely on lots of print and TV as well. Personally, I’m pretty excited to see how the Richards Group is going to pull this off. It also makes me wish I lived in NY and could see these bikes riding around. Perhaps a special trip is in order.

So as the new campaign will be upon us, it’s time for beer drinkers everywhere to say goodbye to tasteful living and embrace Amstel Light as a lawless party beer, Amsterdam style.

Technorati Tags: beer, Amstel Light, Amsterdam, party, alcohol, advertising, branding, guerilla marketing, bier, Dutch

With Walt Disney taking the reigns in Austin, TX, there is going to be a whole new way to test the effects of advertising on the viewer. Disney ultimately wants to find out if consumers are more impacted by interactive ads and if their money would be well spent on these high-tech ads.

“TV is not a rational medium, it’s an emotional medium,” Varan said. “We can get to a deeper layer of what’s motivating people by seeing how they behave, observing them in experimental settings and seeing how their body reacts.”

Biometric testing has been used when testing print ads as it gauges a reaction that focus groups and surveys don’t always catch. Now, should Disney’s new lab open by year’s end, we’ll know the same thing about TV spots, mobile and interactive ads. Depending on the outcome, this could mean that for ads of this high-tech calibur, agencies could ideally charge more since they will be more effective. Is it really making someone’s heart beat faster? Are they truly feeling the emotional connection you are trying to convey? ABC and ESPN may just be the first to know.

Read more about it here.

Technorati Tags: Disney, ABC, ESPN, advertising, testing, focus groups, biometrics, television, interactive

Check out this new ad by London-based CHI&Partners for their client, Drench, a bottled water brand in the UK. In this Napoleon Dynamite-esque spot, you watch as a marionette impressively dances across a stage to “Rhythm is a Dancer,” by SNAP!. The puppet featured is Brains from the hit British TV series Thunderbirds from the 60s. The name Brains cleverly works with the product’s positioning that since your brain in 75% water, you should keep it topped up and it also brings back the marionette animation that the TV show was known for. For those unfamiliar with the show and character, enjoy the spot for the entertainment factor. And for those who know Brains, well, this one is for you.

 

Technorati Tags: bottled water, Drench, Thunderbirds, Brains, hydration, advertising, London, UK, Napoleon Dynamite, SNAP!, commercials, TV, advertising

Last week, I posted a blog about the announcement of this year’s One Show winners. I received a comment questioning my belief that winners of The Golden Pencil help to shape advertising to come. In this post, I’m going to share with you why. Just today, while brainstorming with fellow creatives at work, we flipped through this past December’s Communication Arts Advertising Annual for inspiration. It is my personal opinion that things like the Ad Annual, The One Show, Cannes Lions and the Addys are all important in shaping what’s to come in advertising. Why, you ask? Work from all over the world is looked at with these competitions. Some of the best ads I have seen in my life have received this coveted awards, and I can only hope to one day have one of my own. I’m not saying they shape advertising in a sense that these brilliant ideas will be ripped off and re-done, etc. but that when I look at ads like this, I feel inspired. It makes me want to think outside of the box… to be the next to come up with that great idea, that great execution or that great headline. While all out there may not agree, that’s fine. But I can’t believe you could have your heart and soul in this industry and truly not trying to create award-winning work. To each his own, but I will always stand by my previous post and this one. As a special treat, check out some of my favorite winners of last year’s Cannes Lions - as the 2008 festival will be upon us sooner than later!

  

Technorati Tags: awards, Cannes, Gold Lion, Grand Prix, Addys, One Show, One Club, advertising

The accusations of photo retouching could have been devastating to Ogilvy, Dove and Unilever. Today, all have released statements along with Dangin, the photo retoucher and Annie Liebovitz, stating that the women in the Real Beauty campaign were not retouched. Dangin, however, has admitted to working on the Dove Pro-Age campaign but only to remove dust and provide color correction - neither of which destroy the integrity of the women in the photographs. So, world of advertising and BMA readers - you can all rest assure that Dove and it’s Real Beauty as well as Pro-Age campaigns do exactly what they are supposed to… give real women a sense of inspiration and beauty.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Dove, Real Beauty, Pro-Age, photo retouching, digital altering, photography, Annie Liebovitz, advertising

 

This week has hosted the 2008 One Show, hosted by the One Club. Although the official last day is tomorrow, last night was the One Show Awards. These awards and winners are known to shape advertising for the next year to come. Here are just a couple of my favorites:Gold - Newspaper or Magazine Single Ad - WWF Thailand “Tree”, Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok Gold - Single TV Commercial - Halo 3 “Diorama”, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco For a full list of winners, Gold through Bronze as well as as Merit, click here then select the link for Download One Show Winners List.

Technorati Tags: One Show, awards, advertising, marketing, branding, campaigns

This morning, I checked my email as usual and opened up my daily AdAge email. The first thing I read is an article about how Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty might not be so… real. It has come out that renowned photo retoucher, Pascal Dangin, may have had something to do with Annie Liebowitz’s final photos. After Dangin was featured in an article for The New Yorker, the writer, Lauren Collins, found out that Real Beauty was a Dangin job. Of course, there is still doubt out there about the extent, if any, of Dangin’s involvement and if he worked with Liebowitz this time around.

 

So what will this mean for Dove and even Ogilvy? While something like this could definitely cause an uproar, I wonder, from a personal stance, how this will really affect how women will look at Dove products. In my opinion, okay, so they were touched up. But when I look at the photos I still see women who aren’t stick thin, have curves, wrinkles, tattoos and other “imperfections.” I still see real women. I see a woman, that if I walked out of my house right now and started walking down the street, I would run into in my little town.

 

In the same breath, we all remember the award-winning “Evolution” viral video, one that takes a stab at the act of photo-retouching.

 

Hello, hypocrisy. So, as a woman, what am I supposed to think about this? What is Dove trying to tell me? It’s okay to be real but only so real? Maybe I should be okay with not being a size two but not too okay with it? Maybe I should be self-conscious about a blemish but that tattoo I regret is okay? I’m interested to see how this story unfolds but in the meantime, how do you all feel about this coming out? 

Technorati Tags: Dove, Real Beauty, viral, campaign, beauty products, photo retouching, airbrushing, controversy

Absolut is bringing one of their print ads to life in the newest spot from TBWA, titled, “Dissection.” The original print ad featured an exploding glass that reveal the vodka within. In the spot, TBWA takes it to the next level with the Absolut bottle itself exploding in slow-mo and the liquid inside staying in the quintessential shape. According to AdWeek, the vodka was actually shot in slow frames and minimal (20% or less) was CGI animation. I enjoy the ending where the pieces assemble themselves back together for the end tagline, “In an Absolut World.” Check out the ad for yourself below… what do you think?

Technorati Tags: Absolut, vodka, liquor, advertising, marketing, CGI, animation, commercials, TBWA

A few days ago I wrote about the Subway commercials advertising $5 foot-long subs with the annoying yet catchy jingle. Well, what do you know. Today, just now, I got home from work, find an excellent rerun of Top Chef and the firs thing I see is an ad from Quiznos for $5 foot-long subs. However, this one is lacking a little jingle. Instead I find myself in a laundromat where the lady behind the counter peels a five off the wall and eats it. The payoff? There is a better way to “eat five dollars.” They also boast more meat than Subway, which is why you are getting more bang for your buck. When it comes down to it and the battle of the $5 foot-long, Subway did it better. Quiznos strikes me as overdone and obvious (and what seems to be done in a crunch to compete with Subway’s offer). But take a look for yourself. I’ve even posted the Subway spot again.

Technorati Tags: Subways, Quiznos, sandwiches, commercials, food, offers, specials, fast food

In one of the coolest guerilla marketing campaigns I have seen in awhile, HP and Publicis (in Malaysia) have created giant fake black holes to give the appearance that you are walking towards a background.

  

Each “black hole” was placed in different urban settings (as you can see above) and they look like someone has busted through. Now, clearly this is selling the realistic look of their photopaper. I mean, from what I can tell from the photos, that must be some darn good paper if it looks that real. I guess I’ll just have to plan a trip to Malaysia and check it out for myself… but in the meantime I’ll just sit and wonder why I didn’t think of that.

Technorati Tags: HP, photo, guerilla, marketing, advertising, international, Malaysia, Publicis, urban

 

We all remember the Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercials with Donovan McNabb and his oh-so-adorable mother and even Matt Hasselback and his mom. This September, LaDainian Tomlinson takes the reigns in the newest spots that will follow a day-in-the-life of the football star. However, this isn’t Tomlinson’s first appearance in the Campbell’s spots, he appeared last year among an all-star cast. As you patiently await the coming football season, check out previous commercials here and watch the oldie-but-goodie below.  (Source AdWeek)  

Technorati Tags: Campbell’s Chunky, soup, NFL, football, LaDainian Tomlinson, TV, sports

Oh the Oreo. That delightful bite of heavenly joy. Unfortunately, in countries other than the US, consumers disagreed. After being on the market for 12 years in China, Kraft finally learned that the lackluster sales of Oreo cookies were due to excessive sweetness. Their solution? Revamp the morsel into something less… sugary. Enter the Oreo WaferSticks. Layers of chocolate wafers, chocolate cream and vanilla cream all coated in milk chocolate. Now, to me, they still look sweet, but with the help of some guerilla marketing from college students the Oreo WaferSticks has taken off and become a top selling treat in China. So here’s the important question. When will this delicious looking treat be available in the US? Cause frankly, it looks fantastic.   (Source WSJ)

Technorati Tags: Oreo, Kraft, China, wafer, cookie, chocolate, international

 

A couple of commercials on rotation currently strike me as incredibly similar. In fact, I know people who didn’t even realize (at first) that the commercials were for two completely different products. Enter the AT&T Go Phone spot with Meatloaf and Tiffany and a handful of Comcast spots, including the “Lady Marmalade” ad. Notably I find them similar since each uses singing as the main means of conversing. Personally, I find AT&T’s spot much more interesting to watch as it is more of a mini-musical - including the song being edited to fit the product. As far as Comcast goes, their spots showcase one of the actors singing the song back as part of conversation, in a weird dubbed-over way, that I find, well, creepy. After much debate, I have found that most prefer the Meatloaf spot to Comcast’s. What are your thoughts? Do you find them similar? Maybe not? 

Technorati Tags: Go Phone, AT&T, Meatloaf, Tiffany, Comcast, Lady Marmalade, Patti LaBelle, tv, commercials, cell phone, singing

According to Bud Light’s (from DDB Chicago) newest commercials, one word says it all - Dude. While the spots themselves are hysterical and can pretty much guarantee a laugh out of anyone, it’s the new website that really brings it all together – dudemadness.com. Here you can not only test your “dudeness” by clicking on the poster your prefer, dude, but you can also send coded dude messages to your friends (which will be decoded via text message). And in case anyone out there was wondering, I happen to be 68% Righteous Dude, 17% Game-On Dude and 15% Redneck Dude (where did THAT come from?!?).

Technorati Tags: Bud, Bud Light, dude, tv, commercials, beer, Las Vegas, drinks, DDB, websites, viral

Slightly bizarre, mildly funny yet completely catchy. I don’t know about anyone else out there, but my office has been singing along to the newest Subway commercials all day. Apparently, for a limited time, Subway is offering $5 foot-long subs. Enter the jingle. The commercials feature a catchy little tune that basically repeats the offer. Effective? Who knows. But I definitely know where to go when I’m craving a foot-long sandwich for a small price. 

After the ABC series about Geico’s Cavemen, well, bombed, I was sort of hoping it would be the end of the cavemen altogether. My wish has yet to be granted and now the cavemen have entered the disco world. The new commercials show off their sweet dance moves, think “The Hustle,” and “Jazz Hands.” The purpose of the ads are to direct you to not one but two new viral sites from Geico - CavemansCrib.com and DancingCaveman.com. Visit the latter and you can even download your very own dancing caveman to put on your desktop. Hours of entertainment… or maybe just seconds. 

Technorati Tags: tv, commercials, Geico, cavemen, sitcoms, websites, viral, dancing, disco

Maybe I spoke too soon. After the amazement that was the Jordan spots, I came across W+K’s newest Heineken spot, “Share the Good,” for the Heineken Light product. The ad directs you to a