Advertise Fire with Fire

Was just talking about this oldie-but-goody. Kaboom!

Google Gets Geeked

Google is known for the virtualizing of nearly every facet of our modern world. But in its advertising style, it aims for the other extreme — often using outdated, throwback and highly tangible materials as metaphors for its intangible technologies.

Whether meant to be tongue-in-cheek, hyperhipsterist or simply clever, these ads show just how much Google’s virtual world has become more real to us today than the ‘real’ world.

Check Out This ESPN Spot Featuring Michael Jordan

This post isn’t about Michael Jordan. Well, it is, but not that Michael Jordan. Disappointed? That’s the whole point of this commercial, which — ironically — doesn’t disappoint. Ummm, let’s get to the point…

(By the way, why can’t he just change his name to “Mikey”?)

Dreaming of Next Year

Maybe it’s because I, too, dream of the day when a party like this erupts on the North Side of Chicago.

Maybe it’s because I’m still a little bitter about the well-written, but short-sighted Gawker rant claiming that advertising sucks the souls out of creative professionals.

Or maybe it’s just because this short spot for a video game embodies everything that I believe advertising — yes, that demon of modern capitalist ennui — can and should strive to do: just tell a great story.

Bad Buzz — Lean Pocket, Heavy on the Ham

I wonder how my Bavarian brothers will feel about their rich history as told by… um… Lean Pockets. “Filled with meaty goodness, just like me?” Oh, Bruder.

Zombies a Good Candy Commercial Make

Well, Starburst has done it again. I’m not sure that a Korean-Scottish… um… bagpiper is officially a contradiction in terms, but this spot sure keeps with the brands’ funny-weird-wtf-ish style. Zombies… does anything say juicy, sugary, Yellow Number Fivey deliciousness better? I’ll take that as a ‘guten tag, mate!’

 

How Do You Take Your Coffee Commercials?

Premium coffee brands – they bring to mind the values of energy, inspiration, creation, creepiness… wait, what?

But, that’s the reaction you might have to this campaign of Seattle’s Best Coffee spots that are more akin to a head-scratching fast food commercial – or a scene from the Hangover – than it is to the standard blueprints of its industry.

But with a less pretentious placement in many fast food restaurants and bookstores, maybe humor – albeit a bit odd – is the way to go. Namaste, SBC, it’s good.

Morning Brew Pt. Deux

Wha-what? That’s right – Jimmy Dean strikes again. This time, JD gets puuurty campy with some hilarious new spots that debuted earlier this year featuring some very “special” heroes of the morning meal.

So what gives with the awkwardly funny bits? Apparently mama brand bear, Sara Lee, did a little digging and found out that what people want are good old fashioned breakfasts, but they don’t have the time.

So, voila, Jimmy Dean is here to save the day! I don’t know about the products, but the ads sure are tasty. Oh no!

Everything’s Better with Bacon

Here’s to your biggest fan – the one who stands by you through good times and bad, smart moves and sour, the bright lights and the dark alleys. Your biggest fan might be your mother, your 4.5 lb. Chihuahua, Daisy, or that cute blonde that lives down the street (okee, it’s your mom). But for classic B-lister, Kevin Bacon, his biggest fan is clear: it’s Kevin Bacon.

At least according to this hilarious new LogiTech (yeah, LogiTech) spot. And you don’t need six degrees of separation to chow down on this  Bacon on Bacon action. After all, it’s not the first time that Bacon is actually a ham… and it probably won’t be the last.

Man, it’s Tough Being the King

Weird is the new black. At least in terms of advertising… or at least in terms of fast food advertising. Remember the crowds of lemming-like red-headed ‘Wendys‘ running through the fields? Pretty weird. Or Checker’s gangsta feline, Rap Cat? Hilarious, true… but weird. And of course, the literal and figurative king of them all, Burger King’s bulbous-headed, mono-expression-wearing monarch, ‘The King’. Weird beyond belief.

So what? Apparently the new trend in fast food advertising is head-scratchingly amusing creative. That’s funny right? Well apparently some people aren’t laughing.

The King’s latest spot, in which he’s accused of being a lunatic because of his ‘crazy low’ deals on flame-broiled burgers, has mental health organizations up in arms.

“I was stunned. Absolutely stunned and appalled,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “We understand edgy, but this is beyond edgy. Way beyond.”

Okee, we know that advertisers have to be sensitive to unfortunate conditions (thank god they didn’t claim he had athlete’s foot). But to be fair, the King isn’t exactly drooling from the mouth and babbling like an idiot. If you ask me, this is just another Lohan-like outburst at a funny commercial for the sake of hyper-sensitivity. I mean, look at the Wendy’s commercials. It’s not like red heads around the world are protesting…

Oh, wait.