Digesting advertising

I have a friend who doesn’t eat anything he hasn’t had before without a huge amount of coaxing. He decides he doesn’t like things even before he’s tasted them. There are literally thousands of amazing foody experiences he’s going to miss out on because of this. It boggles my brain how he can be so phobic of food – all he needs to do it pop it in his mouth, give it a whirl, and low and behold he’d probably like it. Maybe even love it.

The same thing happens in advertising. Clients are the main culprits of this extremely frustrating trait.…

I eat so much Cadbury’s – why don’t my eyebrows do that?

Ahhh, this ad is joyful. It’s almost as good as the chocolate! Almost.

Playstation 3 Murals

Lately the spots for Playstation have been a little odd, reaching beyond the realms of normality – definitely attention grabbing. This newest spot from Deutsch in Los Angeles for Playstation 3 is no exception. Entertainment basically takes over an urban neighborhood because of one person’s drawing. The ad is all about the effects, keeping viewers trained to the video graphics and movie scenes as they come to life and literally invade a cityscape with the action.

Toshiba’s TimeSculpture

Toshiba shines in it’s newest spot from Grey, London. There have been very few spots that make me say wow…and this is takes first place. It’s rather hard to explain the spot…except to say that this is spectacular! This spot was made not with special cameras, or special film…but with 200 of Toshiba’s hand held video cameras. Andy Amadeo, Creative Director for Grey, London says: “This commercial is simply demonstrating Toshiba’s commitment to staying ahead of the technological advancements that are being made in film and television.” I have to say that they have accomplished that completely. You can watch…

Welcome to the Wiserhood…

Have you ever received a present that made you wonder: “What in the heck were they thinking?”. I have received several presents from caring relatives who “should’ve known better”; and like the rest of the world - I smile and thank them for the aforementioned atrocity. Its the thought that counts right? Once they are gone, I take the present hide it in the back of the closet and bring it out when they come for a visit. Sounds familiar right?

Well, Wiser’s Canadian Whisky chose the route that most people wish they had the nerve to take. Ruining the present. Here is…

ACDC Rocks in Excel

AC/DC has released its latest video, for “Rock ‘N Roll Train,” in low-res ASCII style. You heard me right, there is a version of the video that has been whipped up in ASCII type using Microsoft Excel macros, creating the world’s first music video in Excel format. But don’t make the mistake of thinking there’s audio embedded in the Excel file, as the video would have you believe. The error noise keeps the beat as the ASCII video plays, but otherwise there’s no sound. The band claims it’s providing this version for fans who work at companies that block YouTube.…

Columbia Sportswear Admires Pioneers

When I was younger, Columbia Sportswear was the thing to wear. You were not cool unless you had some form of Columbia Sportswear. I have to admit, I gave into pressure (well really my parents) and got a jacket. That was the best jacket I ever had, it was warm when it needed to be and cool when it called for it. I loved that jacket. Then when I got older, I never looked back.

I even thought that they discontinued making Columbia Sportswear. Then I saw their awesome commercials, where the Chairman Gert Boyle blows a knockout dart to the…

Marketing Lotion As a Tool

Most men in America today don’t use lotion normally, for example Nivea has a lotion line specifically geared towards men; and it’s not doing so well.  They sold roughly 15,000 bottles last year in the US, according to Information Resources.  While, in contrast Nivea’s other lines have sold 5.7 million bottles.

In its marketing research, Vaseline found that “men were concerned about feeling greasy and appearing lady-like when using any lotion”.  In an effort to introduce their new lotion for men (Vaseline Men – catchy right?), Vaseline has teamed up with ESPN for “help”.  I surmise that to most men, anything…

I’m sorry…

I know…I haven’t posted this week. Don’t give me that look, I can’t help it. What? I’ve been really busy with a pitch coming up. Seriously, I have to fly out of town Monday morning. Yes, sometimes it gets hard to explain to loved ones the long hours and the missed birthdays…it’s a crazy world this advertising. And if it wasn’t so ingrained in our blood that we had to show three concepts (as fellow blog writer Jason Fox pointed out earlier), maybe we’d be a little more excited to show the one or two awesome ideas. Which thankfully, is…

License to Create – Part 1

The 2008 Licensing International Expo just wrapped up last week in New York City and this show was marked by a few significant factors. As a creative, we love getting out of the office and out from behind our Macs to seek out visual inspiration, practical application and what directions creative work is going in. The entertainment category is one of the most creatively opportune categories to work in. In 25 years of being in the business, the entertainment world always seems to offer the widest berth for doing great work. After all, what’s better than doing creative work for…