New Ad Campaigns

Thursday, April 09, 2009

New Ad Campaigns

Amy at Mediapost writes this for us each week:

Shred bills while waiting for the bus. Foodless food ads. Keep your pants on; Big Brother is watching. Let's launch!

The third time's the charm for the Dorchester Collection. Its first two print ads, seen here and here, promoted different hotels from its portfolio by combining pictures of living and dead celebrities to showcase their famous guests. The ads were creepy, to say the least, which is why I'm thrilled to share the third execution, containing zero celebrities. The latest ad, seen here, promotes the Beverly Hills Hotel and its famous swimming pool. "Where the world's most visible people come to be invisible," says the ad, as pool water splashes up. The ad debuts in the U.K. and U.S. issues of Vanity Fair. Fun factoids about celebrity guests can be found on the Dorchester Web site. Here's one: Johnny Weissmuller landed the role for "Tarzan' after the director saw him jump into the hotel's swimming pool to save a drowning girl. Draftfcb London created the campaign

The California Milk Processor Board launched an animated TV spot on Spanish-language television that stars a princess who's sad because she's PMSing. I much prefer the universal language of: do we really need to advertise milk as the heroic figure for hormonal women during their monthly cycle? The ad begins with a beautiful princess, who cries tears that become an ocean of water, engulfing anything in its way, including a suitor bearing flowers. A knight in shining calcium, OK, armor, brings the princess a glass of milk and the clouds part and the sun shines... until next month. Watch the ad here. Grupo Gallegos created the campaign and handled the media buy. Animation house Psyop produced the ads.

Boost Mobile launched 3-D transit shelter ads in Chicago and Boston as part of the company's "Unwronged" campaign, promoting the lack of hidden fees in its $50-a-month unlimited plan. One ad features an actual working paper shredder along with the tag line "UNcontract'D." The remaining two ads place a giant screw and a hose in between UN and D, forming "unscrewed" and "unhosed." See the ads here, here, and here, running until May 24. 180LA created the ads.

In conjunction with the G20 summit, Divine Chocolate, a fair-trade chocolate brand, created " Egg a Politician" in an effort to place fair trade on the agenda. Players can throw chocolate eggs at Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh or Wen Jiabao. Once two eggs are thrown, an optional petition appears for players to sign, showing support for the importance of free trade.

The more iPhone ads I see, the more I want one. Is there anything it can't do? Apple launched three TV ads Monday promoting its app-tastic device. One ad targets college students, showing off apps for finding apartments close to campus or places to buy the cheapest textbooks. See it here. There's an app that turns your iPhone into a compass! And another that helps newbie birdwatchers figure out what they're looking at. Once they've stopped bird watching, they can look up ways to treat poison ivy. Watch it here. The final ad shows apps ideally made for small business owners, such as processing credit card transactions, printing labels and tracking packages. See the ad here. TBWA/Media Arts Lab created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Co-workers having sex at the office. Nothing novel about that, but don't expect the U.S. Postal Service to deliver you an anonymous postcard promoting that nugget of knowledge. Adam Rifkin shot his movie "Look," from the point of view of security cameras. The film follows the actions of random people when they think no one's around. In an effort to promote the movie's May 5 DVD release, Rifkin created four anonymous postcards for distribution. The first was sent without a hitch. The second, not so much. The picture is a still from the movie, and what you see is two people, surrounded by lamp boxes, getting it on. Copy reads: "It is legal for your company to get permission to install hidden cameras in the workplace." The back reads: "Will you be watching? May 5, 2009." See the picture here, because it won't be arriving in the mail anytime soon.

Newcity magazine, a free arts and entertainment weekly in Chicago, launched a print and outdoor campaign where human puppets remove their strings and men shave their wooly sheep legs so they can break away from the monotony. "Reject the herd mentality," reads the ad, featuring a man shearing wool from his leg. In another ad, a man bites through the rope that keeps him in puppet formation. "Detach from the mainstream" reads the ad. See creative here, here and here. Euro RSCG Chicago created the campaign and the media buy was handled in-house.

The Gatorade ad that ran during Monday's NCAA game gave me goose bumps. The black-and-white ad features retired UCLA coach John Wooden reading a poem while vintage, memorable footage of Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker and Kevin Durant is shown onscreen. "A careful man I must always be; A little fellow follows me... He thinks that I am good and fine, believes in every word of mine. The base in me he must not see; This little chap who follows me. I must be careful as I go, through summer's sun and winter's snow; because I'm building for the years to be; this little chap who follows me," reads Wooden. Watching a college-aged Jordan dunk the ball is incredible. See the ad here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles.

Nu-Kitchen launched a print, transit shelter, wildposting and online ad campaign in New York earlier this year to promote its subscription-based gourmet meal delivery program. There's not a drop of food to be seen, just copy and food names placed on white plates. "Applewood smoked turkey with orzo normandy" reads one ad. "Knock knock. Who's there? Orange-chile tilapia with black forbidden rice," reads another ad. No joke. Click here, here, here and here to see the ads. ML Rogers created the campaign and Media Alternatives and Ad Ventures handled the media buy.