Pantene - Thai Commercial

I feature a lot of humerous advertisements here, but some of the best ads use an emotional appeal as well. This is more of a short video rather than a 30 second clip, but it is a very touch video and you may just need Kleenex.

Beretta Heating Systems

Is your heating system winter ready? With simple, colorful images, Beretta is easily able to get their message across with this series of print advertisements.

Creative Posters

If you have a smaller business in an urban setting, posters can be a very effective use of your advertising dollars. The ad above is for a door to door lollipop salesman. And while too many lollies can make your teeth fall out, I thought this might be a great idea for a dentist!

Numa Numa Guy & The Gecko

If you have a TV you have probably seen the Geico commercials with the stalkerish bundle of cash that is "the money you could be saving with Geico" I'm no fan of these commercials, as they have always struck me as creepy. I much prefer the caveman series. What I am impressed with is the video of the Gecko, Kash, and the Numa Numa guy. It's a great tie in with a video that has over 32 million views, and a dancing Gecko is always good for something!

Mr. Clean - Habitat Centric

While I will always remember the Mr. Clean jingle, that is not their only claim to fame. Here is another great example of Habitat Centric Advertising thanks to one of my favorite cleaning brands.

Because they have such a strong brand and Mr. Clean has become an icon, their advertisements can be simple and still be effective. It truly shows the strength of a brand when all you need is a white stripe and a small drawing of a man.

Pepsi Jackie Chan Stunt Double

Although I am a diet coke drinker, I can definitely appreciate the Pespi Advertising Team. This commercial originally aired in 2006.

The Death of Online Advertising?

How many times a day do you look at an online ad and really consider the product? Today I saw an advertisement that promised to get me ripped muscles in only 30 days. Nevermind that the before and after pictures were two completely different men with the same tattoos painted on. Online advertising, for the most part, sucks. Ads are often irrelevant and many times annoying and interfere with your enjoyment of the website.

Scott Brinker over at Chief Marketing Technologist, posted a great article on Wednesday about the Death of Online Advertising, or maybe, the death of the internet itself. He makes three points:

1. Most people claim to dislike advertising on the web...
2. Some gurus claim that social media marketing will supersede
advertising...
3. Almost all of the social media platforms are advertising
supported....

Read all of Scott's article here. There is a big push towards social media platforms and building a relationship with your customer. Relationships are very important and social media platforms are another tool in the marketers arsenal. But they are only one tool of many in the toolbox. I'm a big supporter of using your advertisements to help build your brand. TARGET your online advertisements to specific websites where they will be relevant. DESIGN them with the customer in mind. ADD VALUE to the site and your relationship with the customer. If your online ads aren't doing this, your company is better off skipping the online ads.

Blumarea Dive School

This is a great humerous print ad for the Blumarea Dive School. It took bronze at the 2005 New York Festival.

Post It - Draw It

If you like pictionary, you'll like this advergame from 3M post it notes. It is aimed for the UK, but open to anyone. Play it here: http://www.post-it-game.co.uk/

Commonwealth Bank

Here is one way to show that your bank focuses on customer service. Just beat someone over the head with a hammer!

3M Security Glass

I'm sure this advertisement was not a wide spread phenomena, but it's a great case of putting your money where your "mouth" is. It clearly communicates that 3M is very confident in their security glass. I would be interested if anyone had any information on how long this advertisement was left up.

Pepsi Godfather Ad

I posted a great Soprano's advertisement on the 7th. This video is an example of a classic advertisement tie in with the show.

Nikon - Habitat Centric

Complete with red carpet directly to store, this Nikon advertisement takes habitat centric advertising and digital technology to the next level.

At a busy Seoul subway station, Nikon mounted a huge interactive, light-box billboard displaying life-like images of paparazzi. Huddled together as if at a premiere, the "paps" appear to be jostling and competing for the best celebrity snap. The celebrities in this case were the passersby, who automatically triggered a deluge of flashing camera lights as they walked past the billboard. The accidental superstars then followed the red carpet all the way out of the station and into a mall - directly into the store where they could purchase the new D700. Mission accomplished. - Lisa Evans

My concern with this advertisment would be the distance that the red carpet would have to run to the store. To me, it seems like this type of advertisement would work best within close proximity to the store. Without that, there seems to be little relation from the advertisement to what the product actually is. Thanks to The Cool Hunter for the heads up on this advertisement!

To Edit or Not to Edit: Ralph Lauren

I posted last week about Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty where they show the lengths that some images in advertising have been altered. Yesterday, I noticed this print ad from Ralph Lauren over at BoingBoing.net. This unnaturally skinny model is a very obvious example of photoshopping gone awry, but there was some controversy over whether the image was legit or whether it was altered after release. Well, the facts are in. This advertisment was released in this version in Japan. Ralph Lauren reacted to the controversy by sending DCMA notices to Boing Boing and Photoshop Disasters where the images were originally posted. It all went down hill for Ralph Lauren after that. Boing Boing openly mocked the company much to the glee of its readership. This could have been the end of it... but oh no...

Breaking headlines this morning: The model, Filippa Hamilton, who was featured in this advertisment has been FIRED! Why? Filippa told the Daily News, "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore." Umm... Mr. Lauren... It's the public on line one, they're a little outraged at you calling a 5'10 120lb model fat. The official word from Ralph Lauren is she was unable to meet her contractual obligations. Filippa will be ok though, as a result of the controversy she made it on the Today show and was offered an eight page spread in Cosmo.

Ralph Lauren is not the first company to get itself into trouble over a little photoshopping (ok, a lot of photoshopping) and it won't be the last. ABC ran a story about it last week, with highlights of some of the top Photo-Editing Flubs.

So, as a tip to all Creative Directors, Ad Agencies, and all Marketing Personnel... think twice before you edit that photograph!

HP Print Ads

Here's a great series of print advertisements for HP Printers, encouraging people who buy new printers to trade them in. I assume HP is using these old printers for either parts or to refurbish.

Subway - Eat Fresh

Subway is no stranger when it comes to great advertising campaigns. It all started with Jared, who with the help of Subway sandwiches lost a lot of weight (and kept it off for over 10 years). He became a brand spokesperson who has really helped Subway focus on the fact that their sandwiches are a healthier alternative to that fast food burger. Jared has done probably hundreds of commercials, including several with celebrities including Tony Parker and Ryan Howard. But, Subway has taken that healthy sandwich concept and also added a great bit of humor to it. The following are some of my favorites:

McDonalds

How do you best advertise a really big burger? With a really big napkin!

This advertisement was featured in Stockholm, Sweden! And yes, those giant napkins are made of the same material as your everyday mcdonald napkins.

Dove - Pro-Age

As I posted on Tuesday, I am a huge fan of Dove's current advertising perspective. As an offshoot of the campaign I featured on Tuesday (which seems to be aimed at the 20-40 age group) they have added the Pro-Age campaign. It's full of the same no-nonsense pot shots at the beauty industry and it really seperates Dove from the other brands.



I've included the following video because it helps shine some light on how the campaign is being perceived and the beauty of advertising that connects with its audience.

MacBook Pro - Ultra Thin

This is a great concept for a magazine ad that is advertising a thin product, however it has been used several times for other products. Not the most unique concept but it is effective in getting its point across.

Zoo Advertisement - Habitat Centric

I have run a few posts about habitat centric advertisments and how they are currently able to break through the advertising clutter that surrounds us. I found another great example today. This advertisement is for a Zoo. You often see zoos and museams featured on banners around the top of light poles. This takes it to the next level.

The Sopranos - Taxi Habitat Centric

Where I come from, it is not unusual to see tiger tails hanging from the back of cars every Saturday with a home game. However, I have never seen an arm hanging from the back of taxi and I can imagine it would get quite a few second looks. I love this advertisement, but I would like to see the ad on the top of the taxi also be for the sopranos (kind of hard to tell from this picture) The bumper sticker is perfectly placed, but might be hard to see without getting pretty close to the taxi. This certainly falls under buzz marketing!

Dove - Campaign for Real Beauty

I could not believe that I had not featured this advertising campaign before. In my opinion it has been one of the greatest campaigns I have had the pleasure of seeing evolve. The Dove campaign for real beauty centers around how the fashion and beauty industries have been skewing our perception of what beauty is through their advertisements.




This original Evolution ad was a big hit because it strikes at a truth we all know. Unless you have been far removed from technology, most people know that models in advertisements have been photoshopped. But this ad showcases the extent that it is being taken to. Dove has capitalized on this great advertisement and has expanded the campaign.



I find this campaign very refreshing and it really sets Dove apart from the rest of the "beauty brands." Instead of trying to convince us that if we use their product we're instantly going to become as beautiful as the model, Dove is more saying, "If you use our products, we'll help you look the best that you can." Might have seemed like a risky strategy, but I feel that it pays off with big returns.

Yay or Nay? Peephole Covers

Here is a very creative idea for an advertisment from Saatchi & Saatchi for Papa Johns in Peru. It is simply an adheisive cardboard piece that sticks to a door making it look like there is a pizza delivery person on the other side. It is definitely unique! But is it a good advertisement?

This ad relies on the customer seeing it as they look out from the door. If the customer is not home at the time of the placement, all they see is a piece of cardboard stuck to their door.

And what about safety? Peepholes were designed so that you could see who was on the other side of the door before opening it. Is having an advertisement stuck to the other side a major obstruction to the customer's safety? Even if its not a major obstruction, could it cause the customer to perceive it as an obstruction and thus result in negative attention?

So the effectiveness of this advertisment is debateable, but it has earned a spot here for its creativity.

Steamiest Commercials

Back in June, Forbes came out with its list of steamiest commercials ever. Most of these commercials you would not see on tv today, but they were break through ads for their time. Classics would be another word to describe them. I'm sorry Paris Hilton, your Carl's Jr. Commercial just did not make the cut. "The judges said they liked racy ads that left something to the imagination." See the story and complete list here.

When using sex to promote a product, does it pay to leave a little intrigue in it? Or, is "the racier the better" the way to go?

The Eyebrow Dance

I must admit that this commercial slightly disturbed me, and has absolutely nothing to do with the brand it is suppose to be promoting. See for yourself:



So.. Eating a Cadbury's bar will make your eyebrows suddenly able to dance? What does this have to do with the brand at all? To me, it seems like a very poor marketing job. Seems like they've tried to make a viral video and then tacked on a brand endorsement on the end. Effective? Probably not. But hey, we are talking about it, aren't we?

Babies Everywhere!

Babies, like puppies and kittens have been used for years to market a wide variety of products. The newest baby-themed commercial that has caught my eye is for bottled water...