You think Warhol would be promoting Campbell’s Soup. They asked Andy to paint a picture of the Pioneer receiver. He couldn’t finish because he was so wrapped up in the beautiful sound. What?? That painting doesn’t look like anything he would paint.

Bill Gates pitching for Radio Shack.

Interesting that OJ is promoting shoes since later he would run away.

I attended the National Association of Realtors show this past weekend in San Diego, California. I was shocked when I first saw the billboard at this booth and noticed what appeared to say “You Suck.” I was anxious to find out who would display such an audacious message. After approaching the billboard from a different angle, I noticed that it really said “YOUR SUCCESS.” I was curious if this was intentional or completely accidental.  Unfortunately, the message didn’t turn out to be the insult I had first perceived. Either way, because of the position, it mostly looked like “YOU SUCK.”

I love the “Don’t be that guy” spots created by OLSON for Fifth Third bank. They are clever and funny at the same time without ramming the message down your throat. The problem is that I’ve never actually seen any of the spots on TV even thought Fifth Third has a presence in my town.I believe these videos are intended to be viral. With that said, it’s about time some clever spots got some air time.

The “In the dark” spot with the Snuggies is classic. They never mention the product yet the message ties beautifully back to the Fifth Third tag line at the end. Well done!

Our goal was to swim upstream on this one. We thought “What if we created a campaign with NO houses, NO photos, and NO long copy?” The result was the lean green vector series. With a right-read placement and the brand’s pulsating neon green background, this ad definitely stood out. Way out!

Copywriter: Tom Myers
Creative Director: Me
Illustration: Simon Oxley | Bortonia

“Stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life!”

America’s favorite new pitchman is back with “slap chop.” “You’re going to be in a great mood all day because you’ll be slapping your troubles away with Slap Chop” proclaims Vince. You know, Vince from Sham Wow. This time he’s pitching the the perfect kitchen chopper.

How is this chopper different from the bazillion other choppers out there you ask? Simple. Slap chop is easy to clean. One, two, and bingo, it pops open. The other choppers get bacteria in the food. Not Slap Chop! Face it, those other choppers are worthless because you can’t clean them.

Looks like there’s a new sheriff in town Billy Mays. And he’s gunning for you!

There are a couple of holiday viral videos floating around this season. Let’s run down a few of them:

Elf Yourself
This is the one that OfficeMax turned into a powerhouse franchise, and is back once again with an expanded version with new features. This time around they partnered with JibJab. I’m fairly sure everybody had a glimpse when it went around last year. See the one I created here.
Elf Yourselfl

The Big Hint
Lexus rips off the OfficeMax “Elf Yourself” in a clever retread idea… Put your head on a person and dance with a Lexus! You can send the video around to give someone the big hint. See the one I created here.
thebighint.com

My Ginger Head
Virgin Mobile spins it a bit further with adding your head on a ginger bread man or woman. You get to customize your ginger avatar with some bling and icing.  Then it’ on to a holiday message complete with music. See the one I created here.
mygingerhead.com

Sit on Santa’s Lap
Digital frame maker Ceiva gives you a chance to sit on Santa’s lap … sort of. You can upload a photo of yourself and put it on a Ceiva digital frame. 
sitonsantaslap.com

I recently purchased a LASKO fan for a family camping trip. On the flap of the box are these selling points:

Why Buy a Fan?

• Create a Wind Chill
• Circulate Air Conditioning
• Bring Fresh Air In
• Dispel Stale Air & Odors
• Use for Only Pennies a Day
• Get Comfortable!

WHAT? If you’re buying a fan and you’re thinking to yourself Hmmm, I’m not convinced yet and you ask yourself why you should buy a fan – chances are you probably don’t need a fan.

The Honda Element Commercials are well done, funny, and simple. Honda reaches out to their key demographic with a BIG “What up?” On the other hand, the Honda Odyssey commercials also reach out to their target demo but without the pizazz.

Check out the mini site:elementandfriends.com Here you’ll be able to play the companion game driving either the EX or SC model. The game is fun to play and addictive. The basic premise is you drive around an island, in an Element of course, looking for the animals from the commercials. When you see one, a talk bubble pops up. You can either speak with them [initiate dialog between the Element and the animal] or play a game. The animals are an interesting bunch.

So, which commercial do you like the best?

Also see:
Forget the Honda Odyssey Viking spot

I think it’s great that Starbucks is committed to the environment. Shouldn’t every organization be concerned about it? Of course they should. Okay, sounds great so far. What about this:

Starbucks is committed to reducing our environmental impact through increased use of post-consumer recycled materials. Help us help the planet.

WHAT? Talk about buzzword central. Here’s what they’re really saying “We love the planet. That’s why this sleeve is made of recycled material. We wanted you to know. We want you to know that we’re thinking about the environment, okay?”

Wouldn’t it be easier if they just said “Recycled sleeve” or “We’re smart enough to recycle, you should too.”

Here’s where it gets confusing for me:

First-ever 10% post-consumer fiber cup
60% post-consumer fiber sleeve

HUH? What is that supposed to mean? It’s the first ever post-consumer cup and it’s only 10%? Shouldn’t it at least be 50%. I’m not sure what post-consumer fiber is but I’m not that impressed that it’s only 10%.

This is an interesting line:

Intended for single use only.

Hmmm. I hope they don’t mean use it once then toss it? That wouldn’t be very cool.

Also see:
Jackhole goes to Starbucks
Do Starbucks corporate employees get free coffee?
Akeelah and the Bee and the Starbucks employee

The Honda Odyssey Viking spot isn’t all that cool. Oh yeah, sure I think I’ll buy an Odyssey because it reminds me of the old van culture of the 70s + 80s. But van culture is so much cooler now, right? Nothing says cool better than a Honda mini van.

I know men who are cringing right now at the thought of even owning a mini van. Because they’re probably thinking “Hey, that commercial was pretty cool.” “If I purchase that mini van, I probably won’t feel like a soccer mom driving it.”

Commercials over the years have certainly become more entertaining. Agencies will use bands you never thought would end up in commercials. They use humor as the main hook. They dig deep and deliver a result that has you saying “what the heck was that?” I still haven’t seen anything as cool as the Honda “Cog” spot. It’s nothing short of brilliant. The funny thing is that the commercial is two minutes long and I remembered that it was Honda. How many times do you see a spot and cannot for the life of you remember who it was for. Only in Europe does an agency get to produce something so cool that it becomes an instant classic.

Isn’t it nice when things just work…