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Ad of the Day: Newspaper Brilliantly Re-enacts Scenes From Art, Music and Film in One Take

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 16:31

In marketing, sometimes the greatest obstacle to greatness can be attempting to re-create greatness. Advertising seems to know only how to cheapen art, making it incredibly rare to find an homage that doesn't feel like a commercialized cardboard cutout of the original. So it was ambitious enough for The Sunday Times and agency Grey London to attempt this ad devoted to iconic moments in art, music and film. But then they doubled down by choosing to create one seamless take that brings each of these masterworks to life.

This Whiskey Ad From South Africa Is More Heartwarming Than Most of the Super Bowl Commercials

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 15:47

South African whiskey brand Bell's and ad agency King James might just lift your spirits with this story of an elderly man struggling to overcome his illiteracy so he can celebrate a family milestone. Director Greg Gray of Velocity Films employs a restrained cinematic style to show "The Reader" diligently practicing his A-B-Cs at every opportunity. There are some deft details: Our hero initially misspells "Kat" while playing Scrabble but gets it right later on, and he places cards reading "Kettle," "Oven" and "Taps" on corresponding objects around his home.

New Ad Campaign Shows Teens the Real Cost of Smoking

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 15:07

The Food and Drug Administration is hoping a little fear can go a long way in warning teens of the cost of smoking. In the agency's first national public education campaign ads dramatize the health consequences of smoking mixed with a little bit of vanity to convince teens not to smoke. Created by Draftfcb, in one set of ads, an African-American male teen and a white female teen are told by a clerk in a convenience store that the money they've just laid down for a pack of smokes isn't enough. The male then takes a pair of pliers and rips out his teeth.

Your Hair Can Now Leap Off Your Head and Hit on Women, Thanks to Old Spice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 15:03

Attention men: Want hair-care products that turn your hair into a sentient toupee capable of the most charming antics? No? Really, it's better that it sounds. It's great for when you're in a business meeting and some dial tone is droning on about whatever who cares, and the hot woman across the table is eyeing you hard … it will mack on your behalf without anyone noticing. So says one of two new oddball spots from Wieden + Kennedy for Old Spice hair products, vaguely reminiscent of Axe's walking-hair-loves-headless-boobs commercial from 2012.

Chipotle's Next Tasty Marketing Gambit: A Scripted Satire Online

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 13:27

IDEA: Chipotle has won scores of ad awards and legions of fans with its gorgeous animations and haunting soundtracks. Now, the burrito chain is getting even more ambitious with a longer format and a whole new tone—launching a satirical scripted comedy show on Hulu humorously attacking the evil ogre of industrial farming.

Why Celebrity Weekies Should Worry About Dreft's Baby Notice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 05:08

Are brands the new celebrity weeklies? A tweet announcing the news and first pic of the birth of pop singer Kevin Jonas' daughter came not from People or OK! Magazine but a non-media source altogether: the detergent maker Dreft. The Jonas Brothers singer and his wife Danielle teamed up with the Procter & Gamble brand to reveal exclusive content on their baby's arrival that was delivered via Dreft's Facebook and Twitter handles.

Moonshine Leaves the Woods for Store Shelves

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 04:18

Despite grumbling from some quarters that the Discovery series Moonshiners—which shines the camera light on the bootleggers of backwoods Appalachia—is a dramatization, one component of the show just got real: Tim Smith, the series’ bibbed-overall-wearing star, has gone into retail. Prost Beverage has inked a deal with Smith to sell his booze under the name Climax.

Some of Today’s Coolest Digital Devices Take a Page From the Past

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/04/2014 - 04:09

It was Albert Einstein who said “The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” He was talking about relativity, of course, but just hold the thought for a moment. In case you haven’t looked up from your iPhone lately, an unusual countertrend has crept into our gadget-obsessed world. It’s one that acknowledges the fact that even as we embrace the latest technology, there’s something inside many of us that misses the look and feel of the old stuff.

These Brands Scored Big on Sunday Without Expensive TV Spots

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/03/2014 - 23:16

Another year, another conversation dominated by the biggest spenders. Or was it really? While official advertisers monopolized the stage during Sunday night's big game, even those shops that didn’t plop down millions of dollars managed to ride the social buzz through cleverness and quick thumbs. First let's look at the main players for context. Official advertisers during the game enjoyed an overall boost in social mentions 6.2 times above an average day, according to data from Adobe Digital Index (ADI).