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

The people at Greenpeace are none too pleased with Unilever, the makers of Dove beauty products. According to Greenpeace, Unilever is purchasing palm oil from suppliers who are destroying the rainforests in Indonesia. This deforestation is causing all sorts of problems such as climate change as well as the extinction of certain species. So, what is Greenpeace doing about it? Well, on April 21, 2008, they released a bunch of apes (or possibly Orangutans) into London and Merseyside to guilt Unilever into stopping this madness! They also came out with the following video to hopefully raise awareness. I guess the price you sometimes pay to be beautiful may not be worth it after all.

Here’s a great commercial from Belgium that not only gets the point across about having safe sex, but it does it in a skillful and comical way that also shows how you don’t want to end up like this poor guy. The makers of Zazoo condoms definitely hit the nail on the head with this one! As for that kid; I hope his father is “responsible” enough to make him clean up that awful mess he made in the store!

When will Honda stop coming up with such catchy advertising? I swear, their commercials just keep getting better and better. Back in 2006, Honda released a commercial in which an entire choir comprised of people made noises that sounded like a car- or more specifically- what a Honda vehicle would sound like juxtaposed with clips of a Honda vehicle traveling the roadways. If you close your eyes, you cannot tell the difference; amazing. Those other car companies could stand to learn a thing or two from these guys.

If you thought you could tell time, try using one of these unique watches from Tokyoflash Japan. How the heck do you tell the time on it? The watch goes for 14,900 yen or roughly $145 US bucks. This particular brand watch is the Shinshoku design, which consists of a stainless steel band and looks like it was attacked by a hole puncher. Twenty-nine brightly colored LEDs light up to somehow tell you the time. According to the makers, 12 red LEDs tell you the hour, 3 green LEDs indicate increments of 15 minutes, and 14 yellow LEDs indicate single minutes. Confused yet? Don’t worry; it comes with directions.

Since when did drinking water become boring? When the creators of Gatorade dipped their hands into it, that’s when. Now, there’s no such thing as “water” anymore. Rather, there’s regular water; there’s sparkling water; there’s tonic water; and there’s Propel Fitness Water. Marketed by the makers of Gatorade with some pretty schnazzy commercials that have athletes falling out of drops of water and into action, it kinda’ makes you want to see what this “water” is all about. And with all the different types of water out there now, it’s no wonder it takes me forever to shop at the supermarket!

Check out this advertisement for Postbank. At first, you don’t know where in the world this commercial is going. A guy is in a locker room, getting dressed when his phone rings. He answers it and speaks to whom we naturally assume is his wife, but viewers are in a for a slight twist by the end of the commercial. You know, it never ceases to amaze me how incredibly brilliant some commercials are; and if they’re funny-well, then that’s an added bonus.

“People always say that I’m raunchy, but how can I be raunchy? I’m eternally 12.”monstersandcritics.com 2.23.07

The above quote was just one of many Mariah Carey has said. Speaking of Miss Carey, has anyone been paying attention to the metamorphosis that this “butterfly” has made? No longer, the innocent, multiple octave singer she used to be, Mariah seems to have slipped into the common, but all too ill-fated trap of using sex and sultry R&B crooning to sell albums. It seems that this singer is playing strip poker with each album that is released. I’m afraid of what the album cover will look like if she ends up making another record!

And by soft I mean good. Check out the latest work for MS Office:Mac 2008. Kudos to McCann for producing this smart, clean and well executed site. It’s refreshing to see Microsoft embrace white space and a light-hearted approach. Smart writing and a quirky illustration style breathe life into a familiar product that doesn’t need to be over-sold. Supported by an equally clever ad campaing (check out the ads here) this site rewards exploration and discovery, speaking well to the Mac audience. Thanks for talking to me and not down to me.

Technorati Tags: review, advertising, online, beyond madison avenue

As I recently viewed a new M-B commercial, I was reminded of this one that debuted about a year ago. I kind of liked this one better… so, I’ll discuss this SL History one I call “Timeless”.

This :60 spot featuring the convertible SL models over the decades successfully does more to celebrate the brand, position Mercedes-Benz as a premier, ritzy icon through the last half century than it does actually “Introducing the 5th Generation SL”. No matter…it works for me. I think most of us who dream of buying or leasing one of these 4-wheeled icons are actually purchasing the brand — both its history and its present.

Although I don’t think the execution of such an idea is all that challenging, I do think it was done well. The ad’s music is aspirational and not offensive to anyone… as it takes us for a ride from one decade to the next (in each of the 5 generation SL convertibles). We re-visit the people, the trends, the fashion (or lack there of), as we witness the timeless elegance of the M-B SL Convertible. The lines and balance of this car (regardless of which generation) never seem outdated — even today.

The car, the icon, and this ad make me agree with the partially tweaked tagline for Mercedes-Benz, “Timeless. Unlike any other.” Timeless, indeed.

Technorati Tags: mercedes, sl, tagline, commercial, beyond madison avenue

Check out the latest concept in mobile gaming courtesy of Vans and the Miami Ad School. Leveraging the iPhone’s touch screen capabilities, Finger Fracture would allow you to control the skateboard in a way similar to finger boards. Different finger movements and combinations allow you to do different tricks. Brand integration is done seamlessly throughout. Select a shoe to pick a rider and their corresponding riding style. Then see how you rank on the worldwide ranking list. Very cool! So nice to see such a smart and engaging mix of branding and technology. Lets hope this concept makes it to launch.

Technorati Tags: review, advertising, iphone, mobile, games, beyond madison avenue

A light-hearted take at selling language lessons. Grey, Tel Aviv has fun focusing on the “dramatic difference” you’ll notice after only 2 weeks with the Berlitz Language School. It’s nice to see other countries having a little more fun and not being as uptight as us — even in more politically volatile locales. Then again, the language category has always been a little more experimental. But even the liberal sensibilities of overseas consumers can be offended by our ad brethren as evidenced in this banned Dutch ad for a language institute (Warning: not for the faint of heart!).

Technorati Tags: review, advertising, broadcast, beyond madison avenue

It seems like only yesterday when Tivo first came on the market much to advertisers dismay. Marketers everywhere attacked the service, with the CEO of Turner going so far as to accuse commercial skippers of theft. A lot has changed since then. Advertisers have slowly come to terms with the fact that people will fast forward through ads and Tivo has introduced a new products in an attempt to appease these advertisers including pop-up banners and other more interactive units.

But even as this un-easy alliance has been forged, no one seems to be taking much notice of Apple TV. With the latest version now supporting not only a slew of popular tv shows but the ability to rent movies — and with both options being available in HD — I’m surprised we haven’t heard more screaming from marketers. Imagine if everyone started consuming all of their tv and movie entertainment in this a la carte style and the implications it would have not only for advertisers but cable providers as well. Let’s do the math. I’ll use my own television and movie consumption as an example. As someone employed in advertising I figure it’s my duty to watch tv, and I do enjoy a HD picture so I currently subscribe to DirecTV. My package includes some premium channels, the HD and the DVR options and currently runs me $101.97 a month. I also use Netflix which runs another $18.43. So a month of tv and movies costs me $120.40. The reality is I don’t watch that much tv and often don’t get through my 3 movies a month — who has that amount of time? Out of the zillions of channels I have I really only watch a handful of shows: 30 Rock, Lost, The Office, Project Runway, Top Chef and a few others that I’ll just refer to as guilty pleasures — so 7 shows in all a week or about 28 a month which is probably a little high since I never seem to catch them all.

If I were to purchase those same programs through Apple TV I’m looking at $55.72. If I throw in 3 movies, which again is a little high, I’m looking at another $14.97 assuming I’m going with just new releases in HD. So for only $70.69 I can have access to all of the content I regularly watch (with much of it in higher quality HD) at a savings $49.31 a month and all without any advertising! Hmmmmm. Advertisers and cable providers need to prepare themselves as an increasing amount of different entertainment distribution models become available. TV spots, it’s been nice knowing you. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Technorati Tags: review, advertising, broadcast, beyond madison avenue

So Sony has finally bitten the bullet and starting January 15, 2008 will be offering their music catalog DRM-free. Hooray! In an attempt to regain some market share from our good friends at Apple, the clever folks at Sony have finally ditched DRM on at least some of their catalog. Yes, not all, just some — 37 albums by artists including Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez and I’m hoping at least 35 others. But it gets better. Never mind that they were the last of the major labels to do so. Nor the fact that you can already purchase DRM-free music on iTunes, all be it for a premium. What really sets Sony apart is their ingenious model. Yes now if you want to buy Sony music online, you first have to go to an off-line retailer, buy a “Platinum MusicPass” then go online and visit MusicPass.com, where you then enter the code from the back of your card and finally get your music. Voila! Online music shopping really couldn’t get an easier than that. Amazing. And I’m assuming that because they are just so confident that hordes of people are going to run to stores, and then run home to buy their music they are not really promoting the new offering at all. Guess they’re counting on all that great word-of-mouth they hope to get.

Technorati Tags: review, music, advertising, beyond madison avenue

The world’s smallest ad?! Check out this clever use of print. Love it or hate it, it gets noticed just like the those pesky pimples it promises to vanquish. The latest work for Clearasil from Euro RSCG Düsseldorf, Germany uses a “specially created pimple sticker” to instantly turn the covers of popular youth magazines into Clearasil Ads. The back of the sticker drives to clearasil.com, and due to high demand they are producing more of the stickers to be used as giveaways. Yeah, I know I can’t wait to cover my Trapper Keeper in pimple stickers — so cool! Still, it’s a really smart use of media. Just wish they would have given a little more thought to the online experience. Once you get there, it’s just another generic product site. Why not replicate the print experience there? Let people upload photos, pimple-ize them and share them with friends? Seems like a huge missed opportunity — almost as big that pimple. How can you miss it?
Technorati Tags: review, advertising, beyond madison avenue

As this year’s ski & snowboard season ramps up, companies are doing everything they can to push product. Vermont-based Burton Snowboards has re-invented their “open minds, open mountains” campaign with a hefty challenge to “sabotage stupidity” by poaching at the four resorts in the US that still ban snowboarding. In the video on their microsite, there’s a lengthy intro by Jake Burton where he mentions Facism and Draconian bans, and proceeds to talk about the Declaration of Independence, freedom, and poaching as a form of protest. It’s a bit heavyhanded, but I wouldn’t expect any less from Burton. To top it off, there’s a $5000 purse per resort for the best user-generated poaching video posted to the site. That’s one way to invite participation. And to make the pot even sweeter (and voice support for the campaign), companies are pitching in, like Seattle snowboarding retailer Evo Gear who added an additional $5000 to the purse.

It’s interesting to see a company the size of Burton, the world’s leading snowboard manufacturer, pushing something along the lines of poaching. I’d have to question the legal implications of a possibly illegal endeavor on a private resort. They do have a “Poaching 10 commandments” page on the site, the first of which is don’t break the law, but it’s still something unexpect from Burton - which may be a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, and to see if they actually get some cool content out of it.
Technorati Tags: advertising, snowboarding, user-generated, beyond madison avenue

A really lovely spot for Adidas and the 2008 Beijing Olympics brought to you by the talented folks at Psyop & TBWAChina. The first of four spots, “Together” uses a combination of live action action and illustration to create very distinct look that is both clean and austere, while also being warm. A welcome respite from the traditional athlete montage pieces, this spot really conveys the emotion and power that is the Olympics. I don’t think they really needed to end on the full live motion footage, but hey, all-in-all really nice work. Read more about what went into it here.
Technorati Tags: review, advertising, broadcast, beyond madison avenue

The ubiquitous iPod has not only spawned hordes of similar products, but ads as well. And often if it’s not a blatant rip off of the the classic iPod style, it’s a feeble attempt at borrowed interest. You can almost here the marketer saying “Hey, I’m cool. I have an iPod in my ad.” Well a recent campaign from DDB Sydney turns that model on it’s head and slams it down on the ground — quite literally. The ads for the NSW Police Department seek to bring attention to the alarming rise in the number of teen deaths that have been occurring as the teens, lost in tunes, fail to pay attention as they cross the road. All of the ads feature a single line of copy “Watch for cars when wearing headphones.” Nice work. Simple. Clean. Arresting. It will be interesting to see what sort of response they get from Apple.

Technorati Tags: iPod,PSA, review, advertising, beyond madison avenue

All hail Bravo! the current reigning champ in the world of product placement! And I do mean that in all sincerity. Bravo! for the most part has done an excellent job in integrating relevant products in to many of the their programs. And while it can some times be executed a little heavy handedly I can usually get beyond that if it makes sense in a program, like the “Glad family of products” so often referred to in on Top Chef by the lovely Padma Lakshmi. But the other day I felt the the bonds of relevance strained as the designers on Project Runway were challenged to create an ensemble using only the things they could find in the Times Square Hershey’s store. In all fairness the designs they created out of a pile of crappy looking Hershey’s tschotskies were very impressive. And what I originally thought was a tenuous relationship between the marketer and the program at best, the contestants were able to bring back around. What really got me with this instance of product placement was Hershey’s rep Michelle Gloeckler monologue that was summed up quite nicely by Missy Schwartz at EW.com as having “all the gusto of a stale Twizzler.” (Check her out at about 3:00 here.) Marketers, come on now. You know product placement works so why not treat it seriously? Would you use an actor who with all the charm and charisma of bowl of cold oatmeal in a tv spot? I think not. How would that reflect upon your brand? Product placement, like any form of marketing, requires careful thought, planning and execution. It’s not bludgeoning your audience to death with images and references to your product. And if you are going to go the animatronic route, go with a model like Vicki the Robot in Small Wonder who was capable of delivering a range of life-like emotions.

Technorati Tags: product placement, review, beyond madison avenue

Before I even begin to discuss this new spot from Ford’s long-time luxury division, Lincoln, let me say that I am all for having corporations and brands create positive images for themselves while making the world and communities better. And, I think this was the impetus for this idea… the execution of which, I’m sorry to report, fell far short.

This :60 spot for Lincoln’s luxury crossover SUV (called the MKX), “HOMETOWN,” puts jazz musician, Harry Connick, Jr. behind the wheel of a Lincoln MKX. He is driving through his hometown of New Orleans reflecting about its devastation from Hurricane Katrina — while driving a $40,000+ automobile! Okay, maybe he is bringing building supplies to the needy neighborhoods, maybe he is donating the vehicle to a needy family or church group helping those displaced, maybe he will announce some great new campaign financed by Lincoln to help build up his hometown… nah!

He is meeting his friends and delivering a couple of buckets of crawfish! As he ruminates on the hope that “good times” can roll again in New Orleans, the announcer claims that this new 2008 Lincoln MKX is, “Designed to inspire, ready to uplift.” What? Did I miss something? Is the car, brand, or corporation doing ANYTHING to inspire and uplift the people and community of New Orleans?

And, why would I run out and buy this luxury crossover SUV over a Lexus RS 350 or Acura MDX? I don’t know… but, then again, maybe I missed something.

*Editor’s Note: After we published this article, Lincoln’s YouTube presence pulled the ad from the site. There is now an embedded link contained within the body of the entry that will take you to the video.

Technorati Tags: lincoln mkx, harry connick jr, new orleans, hometown, beyond madison avenue