Brain-teaser Monday.

What is this carefully redacted print ad selling?

• A real estate agency
• A company that makes miniature models
• A moving service
• A mortgage company
• A seller of RVs
• Zoloft

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 7. Pretend they addressed the changes

Brain-teaser Monday.

The client wanted a bigger logo and larger body copy. What did the creatives do?

1. Tell the brand managers at P&G to go fuck themselves.
2. Cave in quicker than Barack Obama.
3. Split the difference by increasing the logo but leaving the body copy the same size.
4. Split the difference by increasing the size of the body copy but leaving the logo alone.
5. Resign the account in protest.
6. Throw a hissy fit and then quietly do what the client asked.
7. Pretend they addressed the changes.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 1. 3 noses; 2. 1 nose; 3. 3 noses; 4. 1 nose; 5. 3 noses; 6. 2 noses; 7. 2 noses; 8. 3 noses; 9. 3 noses

Brain-teaser Monday.

This upcoming outdoor ad for the Centre For Inquiry in Canada is provoking a lot of debate. Look out for my commentary. But in the meantime it has inspired this brain-teaser.

The advertising industry is infested with all sorts of extraordinary claims. Boastful claims. Unprovable claims. Outrageous claims. And I'm not even talking about the Shamwow guy.

Rank the following advertising claims. Three noses for complete bullshit. Two noses for bullshit. And one nose for probably not true, but plausible.

1. You, me, we're all loving McDonald's.
2. BMW is the ultimate driving machine.
3. There is nothing like a Sony.
4. When cats meow they are asking for Meow Mix.
5. Drinking Chivas Regal is the first step to being chivalrous.
6. When you go to Home Depot you end up saving and doing more.
7. Fed Ex understands everything.
8. With Verizon you rule the air (isn't that God's job?).
9. Dr. Scholl's = gelling time = not a care in the world.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 7. 2 + 4 + 5

Brain-teaser Monday.

I recently created this promo for the BBC series, "I'd Do Anything". But I am not really proud to admit to it. Why?

1. Bad concept.
2. Poorly written.
3. Uninspired editing.
4. Flat voice-over.
5. It stars Andrew Lloyd Webber.
6. 1 + 4.
7. 2 + 4 + 5.
8. 3 + 4 + 5.
9. 2 + 3 + 4 + 5.
10. 4 + 5.
11. All of the above.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: "For one more year I did not have to go pharma"

Brain-teaser Monday.

Today's brain-teaser gets into the Thanksgiving spirit. Which of these advertising stories do I have most to be thankful for?

• Thanks to Nike's unofficial World Cup tour de force I was left feeling creatively inadequate for most of the summer. Then bitter envy took hold during the fall.
• Thanks to Old Spice's social media marketing blitz I was left wondering why a major influencer like myself failed to get a personal response from Old Spice guy.
• Thanks to Staples' "Wow that's a low price" guy I was able to reinforce my long held belief that advertising, like guns can be deadly in the wrong hands.
• Thanks to another season of Mad Men there are now even more episodes I can boast about not having seen.
• I didn't get hired by the now defunct Cosette New York.
• I got hired by the still functioning BBC America.
• This year I got ignored by fewer creative directors/recruiters than last year.
• Thanks to a paucity of newly produced work I didn't have to spend a lot of pain-staking time reworking my website.
• For one more year I did not have to go pharma.
• The Met Life review has been resolved. 

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 3. Home

Brain-teaser Monday.

Here is a banner comp for a type of online service that is becoming more and more popular. So what should you rent to get more out of your vacation?

1. Giant Fridge
2. Hooker
3. Home

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: c) A blog for BBC America

Brain-teaser Monday.

These days, it's blog this and blog that. And blog you if don't agree.

So what blog is this promo selling?



Answer to last week's brain-teaser: A) 3. Hal Riney; B) 4. Saatchi & Saatchi; C) 1. Where's the beef

Brain-teaser Monday.

It's election eve so it only makes sense to get political with today's brain-teaser. Here are three politically tinged questions to ponder.

A. Which famous ad guy created Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" commercial?

          1. Bill Bernbach
          2. Jay Chiat
          3. Hal Riney
          4. Don Draper

B. Which British advertising agency made a name for themselves with the legendary "Labor isn't working" billboard for Britain's Conservative Party.

          1. Bartle Bogle Hegarty
          2. Mother
          3. Legas Delaney
          4. Saatchi & Saatchi

C. What famous ad slogan did Walter Mondale co-opt in a Democratic primary debate with Gary Hart?

          1. Where's the beef
          2. Don't lay a finger on my butterfinger
          3. Pizza Pizza
          4. It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Monster Advertising

Brain-teaser Monday.

Today's brain-teaser gets into the Halloween spirit. There is only one real agency amongst the following. Which is it?

• Droga 666
• Omenicom Group
• Monster Advertising
• House on Haunted Hill Holiday
• Jason Walter Thompson
• Fallen Angel Wordwide
• Crispin Porter + Bogeyman
• Organ Doner
• Dentsaw
• Scali Macabre & Sloves
• Ogilvy & Cotton Mather
• David & Ghouliath
• Norman Bates
• TBWA/Chiat/Day of the Dead
• Young Frankenstein & Rubicam
• Amster Graveyard
• Bartle Boogle Hegarty

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 1. Lady SpeedStick (bonus point - died)

Brain-teaser Monday.

What brand is behind this exploratory print concept. (And a bonus point for guessing if the concept lived or not)

1. Lady SpeedStick.
2. Bank of America.
3. Puma.
4. Uncle Ben's.
5. Sky Vodka.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Mob Rules; Hoi Polloi; Rome; People are People; The Tea Party

Brain-teaser Monday.

Advertising agencies built on crowd-sourcing platforms are popping up faster than a zit on Kate Perry. And recently I've had the pleasure of working with a couple of the best.

But despite their popularity there are still only a handful to choose from. Weed out the made-up agencies from the following list:

• Mob Rules
• Victors and Spoils
• CrowdSpring
• Adhack
• Hoi Polloi
• Guided Collective
• Rome
• Idea Bounty
• People are People
• Eeden Labs
• Tongai
• The Tea Party

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: c) Ghoul Britannia

Brain-teaser Monday.

What is this BBC America movie promotion called?


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 2. BBC America

Brain-teaser Monday.

What brand is behind this little online stunt.

1. Creative Artists Agency.
2. BBC America.
3. Netflix.
4. Bad Boy Jeans.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 4. Cable Television (Dish Network)

Brain-teaser Monday.

What should be dumped according to this recently killed, carefully redacted print ad?

1. The Tea Party.
2. Democrats in Congress.
3. Imported Beer.
4. Cable Television.
5. Verizon.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 1. The History Channel

Brain-teaser Monday.

What cable channel is behind this print ad?

1. The History Channel.
2. Discovery Channel.
3. Black Entertainment Television.
4. Comedy Central.
5. Fox News Channel.
6. BBC America.
7. Game Show Network.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: b) An MP3 player

Brain-teaser Monday.

Just because it's a labor day holiday doesn't mean your brain should take the day off. What is this commercial selling?


Answer to last week's brain-teaser: A lite beer that really does taste like a premium beer

Brain-teaser Monday.

What can't they make?

• A bean that doesn't give you wind.
• A delicious cup of soup.
• A decent cup of instant coffee.
• A lite beer that really does taste like a premium beer.
• A bathroom cleaner that actually removes scum.
• A subway system that runs on time.
• A cat box that cleans itself.
• A printer that never jams.
• A credit card that doesn't try to fleece.
• A gin that doesn't make you violent.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: 4. An animal shelter 

***The pet shelter in question is Animal Care & Control, a great place that is doing amazing work to help stray animals find new homes. Right now there are hundreds of beautiful cats and dogs and a few rabbits waiting to get adopted. 

Brain-teaser Monday.

What is this print ad for?

1. A travel site.
2. A dating site.
3. A credit card company.
4. An animal shelter.
5. The Central Intelligence Agency.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: Burned at the stake

Brain-teaser Monday.

In this banner comp for the Metropolitan Museum of Art suspected heretics were what?

• Boiled in oil.
• Waterboarded for 40 days.
• Tickled with features.
• Called rude names.
• Burned at the stake.
• Urinated on by the Pope.
• Eaten by rats, alive.
• Sawed in half.
• Whipped to death.
• Ripped from limb to limb.

Brain-teaser Monday.

In this commercial for American Airlines, a director asks, "why squirrel hate me?" Why does the squirrel hate him?

• The director ate the squirrel's nuts
• The director tickled the squirrel's nuts
• The squirrel is French and so hates everybody
• The director asked the squirrel to perform certain acts demeaning to a rodent of his stature
• The squirrel isn't used to working with c-list directors
• The squirrel left his happy pills at home
• The director is dating the squirrel's ex-fiancee
• The director doesn't understand that when squirrels love someone they act like assholes
• The director is a paranoid schizophrenic
• The director came all over his tail

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: BBDO