Alka Setzer: Lifeboat
Re | Myspace Video
There's been a lot of buzz and fainting lately over "127 Minutes", Danny Boyle's new survival movie. It brings back fond memories of this brilliant survival spot for Alka Seltzer, without doubt the greatest Alka Seltzer commercial ever made.
Kudos to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.
A busy Friday for good stuff. Here's a very clever movie promotion for "The Last Exorcism". Not sure how many will actually experience it live. But you can bet your fat ass that tons will see it virally. And that's all that matters.
Kudos to Lionsgate and The Visionaire Group/Los Angeles, especially for finding a socially redeemable use for Chatroulette.
(Sharing credit to adfreak)
I've been terribly disappointed with the lame batch of World Cup related commercials that are starting to dribble out. So far I've seen a lot of cheetahs, lions, elephants, tribesmen and other African related cliches. I've also seen a Budweiser commercial where people exchange their shirts???? Very feeble stuff.
Then Nike shows up. Wow! This three minute epic is pure rock n roll. And it's based on a simple premise to boot. Ha, boot!
I should add that the creative director on this spot is a good friend. So naturally I spent hours searching for all possible faults. Alas I couldn't find any, it's almost flawless.
And the choice of the brilliant Alejandro González Iñárritu to direct seems a particularly inspired one, given that the theme of "consequences of moments" is a central part to his recent movies.
The one small hiccup, and only a soccer fanatic would notice or care, is that Ronaldinho wasn't included in the Brazil squad and so is almost certain to miss the World Cup. No rosy future for him then.
Major kudos to my friend Eric Quennoy, Wieden & Kennedy/Amsterdam, Nike. And Alejandro González Iñárritu, who's new movie "Biutiful" is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this week. It probably won't be the only time this year that his work is honored at Cannes.
The good folks at Adfreak have compiled their 25 best "epic" ads. For epic you can read branded-entertainment.
It was good to revisit some old favorites, like BMW, AIDES and Stella Artois. But the real treat was to discover new ones. "Crysalis" for Pantene, for instance, is quite brilliant. Brand storytelling at its best.
Kudos to P&G, Grey/Thailand and director Thanonchai Sornsriwichai.
If you live in New York or Los Angeles you're probably familiar with the hand-painted billboard. Part art, part selling stuff it hangs above the urban landscape as a sweet reminder to a bygone era while still try to sell stuff.
Stella Artois has created this truly wonderful branded piece (12 minutes, every moment worth it, like the beer actually) that celebrates this dying art. We are introduced to some of the painters, part dare-devils, part artists who share with us their experiences over the years and their passion for this wall painting tradition.
And it documents, here's the branded part, just how painstaking this process is as artists create fifty-foot ads for Stella. It took them three weeks to paint the ads. It's quite a contrast to the heady world most of us live in, where things usually get accomplished at the speed of a click. Sometimes amazing things come to those who take their time. Oh wait I'm mixing my beer messages.
Here's a quick taste.
Lots of kudos to go around. Stella Artois, Mother, Mekanism, director Malcolm Murry and The Album Leaf for creating the perfect soundtrack. "Into the Blue Again" is unquestionably one of my favorite albums of all time.
And of course special kudos to the painters themselves. For more of their work over the years, check this out.
(Sharing credit to psfk)
In case some of you are unaware there's a major election going on across the pond. And I'm not talking about the final voting stages of "Strictly Dancing". The British Election is in its last two weeks. It could go down as one of, if not the most exciting ever. Hey you there, stop yawning.
Part of the reason for all the excitement is the rapid emergence of an "underdog" third party non-millionaire candidate. His sudden rise brings to mind Robert Redford's character in "The Candidate". Could Nick Clegg really end up having the "now what" moment?
The other reason is the introduction of American style debates, which funnily enough may have led to the emergence of said candidate. Two debates have passed already with much media fanfare and involvement. The live debate and post-debate analysis has led to a cottage industry of graphics and measuring tools.
It's hard to say just how effective this will be, but no question about the brilliance of the idea. Maybe one of the simplest and subtlest anti drunk-driving messages I've seen, like forever. Kudos to Ogilvy, Brazil. They don't just make great footballers and supermodels.
Finally, finally, finally I may have come across the first truly great web drama series! Hyperbolic words indeed, but two episodes in and I'm hooked. Nice premise. Socially and politically aware. Great production values, even if it was supposedly low budget. And staring a Bond girl. What's not to love. Below is the trailer.
There's advertising and then there's literally creating an advertising event. Although I should point out that as an avid Milan fan I would NEVER have succumbed in the first place. Still, I suppose all those boyfriends got laid for going along. Multi kudos to Heineken and JWT/Italy.
N.B. Following Milan's destruction by Manchester United last week I needed something a lot stronger than Heineken to soothe my sorrows. Those one thousand Milan fans from the event probably did too.
(Sharing credit to mediabistro.com)
It didn't make my top five of the decade, but it would have made my top six. One of the stellar viral campaigns of the early 00's. Kudos to The Viral Factory.
Advertising Age did it. Adweek did it. Now it's my turn. A humble tip of the hat to my five best advertising ideas/campaigns of the decade. My only gripe is that I had nothing to do with any of them. In fact, I don't even know anyone who knows anyone who had anything to do with them.
The decade started conventionally enough. I, for instance, was playing traditional ad guy at a traditional New York agency. A few days in saw me yucking it up at The Mondrian in Los Angeles, while shooting a typical thirty-second spot for a mainstream multi-national corporation. Who would have wagered that ten years later the best place to see a traditional advertising agency in action wasn't on set, but rather on a retro television drama series on AMC.
Not surprisingly then what inspired, wowed and provoked me to scream out, "fucking cock-suckers, I wish I did that" bared little resemblance to the advertising we once knew. The judging was unanimous. Me, myself and I all agreed that the two most mind-blowing pieces of work were "The Hire" from BMW and "HBO Imagine". Poetically, the former began the decade, the latter ended it.
Without question my favorite Playstation ad. And one of the best "anthem" commercials ever. Thank you, Frank Budgen. Oh yes, and the advertising agency too.
I wait with bated breath to see what Korean artist, Yong Ho Ji comes up with next. His mythical mutants made from recyclable tires were brilliant. So much so, I resisted the temptation to exploit them for advertising purposes. Even after I learned that his inspiration to use tires came from a childhood memory of the spare tire on his family's Jeep Wrangler. The ad practically writes itself. Won't be so honorable the next time, Yong.
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