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Category — Online Advertising

Sam Katz: He Kicks Children in the Face – Mock Political Ad

Back in August, Sam Katz, the incumbent mayor of Winnepeg accidentally kicked a teen in the head during a charity soccer match between some adult city workers and a team of kids from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba. The video went viral and achieved semifame on the internet among Canadians. Now a clip from that video has shown up in a hilarious mock ad supposedly paid for by an unknown group called “FOPATKITFOC” or, “the Friends of People Against the Kicking in the Face of Children.” Nice.

Robert Mackey at the New York Times blog calls it the “mock Canadian attack ad of the year”.
Check out the original video of the facekick, complete with audio:
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October 15, 2010   Comments Off

In Honor of Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame Induction: Get Your Basketball On with Leroy Smith – The Master Motivator

“M.J. was introduced as the greatest player ever and he’s still standing there trying to settle scores,” one Hall of Famer said privately

In the lead-up to and in the wake of Michael Jordan’s big Hall of Fame induction weekend and the (disturbingly petty) speech he gave during it, Nike has been pushing these “Leroy Smith” viral videos. Question is, Who is Leroy Smith?
Check it, Savvyites:
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September 13, 2009   1 Comment

(NSFW) Naked Is The New Black: Selling Clothes With Nudity

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A few months ago I wrote some words about American Apparel’s style of advertising, and how I think they’ve really tapped in to our collective idea of what’s sexy in the internet-pron age. That porn chic style of advertising has been serving them well so far, and just recently, they turned it up a notch and released a few ads with actual nudity. Now, I’m the first to say that some of AA’s original ads were actually more sexually explicit than an image of a woman’s nipple, but it’s still a line, and they’ve crossed it. Whether this will be a positive or a negative for them is still in question.

However, they’re not the only ones flaunting bewbz these days. The skin is spreading. Urban Outfitters has much less clothing on the models than usual in it’s newest catalog. But they’re still shooting in that hazy, soft-focus sepia that we’re so used to, so they can’t say they’re all that cutting edge just yet. Read on to see some pictures of the naked bodies selling clothes:
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January 23, 2009   1 Comment

Grand Illusions Toy Collection

The above video is from one of the best toy websites on the internet, Grand Illusions. They sell an interesting range of educational, science based, and optical illusion type toys, and for almost every toy they sell, they have a video similar to the one above.

Toys like these are exceedingly difficult to find, so it’s nice to have them all available in one spot. The best part of the site is the Toy Collection, which is a series of toys from the personal collection of Tim the toy expert, the man in the videos. Enjoy

http://www.grand-illusions.com/

December 31, 2008   Comments Off

One Ad Agency’s Way Of Getting Clients To Pay Their Bills: Pick Whom To Fire

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Brussels advertising agency So Nice sent out an email to its clients saying they need to shrink their staff, and asking the clients to choose which employee should go. The email had a link to youchoosewefire.be, where each of the prospective ex-employees lists their strengths and weaknesses.

The small 10 person agency has apparently been financially squeezed by it’s clients paying their bills later and later. Co-founder of the company, Laurent Duffaut, said the email was a “scandalous and provocative way to get a reaction from our clients”. But the email has generated a ton of interest outside of just its client base. In five days, the site has had 30,000 unique visitors casting 17,500 votes.
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December 23, 2008   Comments Off

Jones’ Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage Facility Drunk Discount Sale

According to the Jones’ Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage Facility website, Toby Jones is an aspiring rapper turned “street pharmaceutical sales rep” turned warehouse owner. His current warehouse supposedly cost him 1 dollar, and he’ll store whatever needs storing. Anything from Firebirds to elephants. The thing is, it’s not for real.

I called the number a few times, and nobody ever answered. It has an away message saying it’s Jones’ Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage, but it’s a cell phone, and the mailbox was full. Plus the website directs viewers to this website, belonging to a sketch comedy group called Big Dog Eat Child. So it looks like Jones’ Bis Ass Truck Rental & Storage is a clever viral marketing campaign for a comedy troupe. Well done guys. Unfortunately for them, the Jones Storage commercial is the funniest video on the site. See for yourself:
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December 16, 2008   Comments Off

Viral Marketing For The Upcoming Film ‘The Mother Of Invention’

Meet Vincent Dooley, as played by Andrew Bowser. He’s the star of the upcoming film The Mother of Invention, a mockumentary about an aspiring inventor who dreams of winning the annual young inventor’s award. Unfortunately, he’s tried and failed for years, usually losing to Martin Wooderson, his arch-enemy.

Picture a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and The King of Kong, plus it’s about inventors. According to the film’s website, it was shot for an ultra-slim budget of $75,000, raised mostly by their friends and family. And judging from the viral videos online and the trailer for the film, I have a feeling it’s going to be a future cult classic, and make that money back plus plenty. So I’ve compiled all the viral videos related to the film here on one page. Enjoy:
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December 16, 2008   Comments Off

Burger King’s ‘Whopper Virgins’ Ad Is Great

Burger King has finally kicked off it’s slighted twisted take on the classic taste test this weekend. If you haven’t yet seen the set of 15-second teaser ads leading up to the launch, the campaign is a taste test with participants who’ve basically never heard of a hamburger. It features various isolated peoples from around the world, hence “Whopper Virgins”, to participate in the “world’s purest taste test”. They asked Thai Hmong tribesmen, Transylvanian farmers, and some Inuit from Greenland to choose either the Whopper or the McDonald’s Big Mac.

This is the latest bit of marketing from BK’s agency, Crispin Porter & Bogusky. CP+B is also responsible for previous ads like the motivational spoof Dr. Angus, the Whopper Freakout day where customers were told Burger King no longer sold Whoppers, and all the ads featuring the exceedingly bizarre King. This ad seems like the most ambitious to date though. “We wanted to see how the Whopper would perform in a world that didn’t have ad or marketing awareness or any sentimental attachments” says Russ Klein, president of BK’s global marketing. Of course, even before the main ads came out, tons of people were offended, as people often are. Read on:
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December 8, 2008   2 Comments

Microsoft To Handle Ads In Blizzard Games

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In-game advertising group, Massive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp, has announced that it signed a multi-year deal with Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment (maker of Starcraft and Diablo) today. Massive will be delivering dynamic in-game advertising to 18 titles on the Xbox 360 and PC platforms.

But in-game doesn’t necessarily mean in the game… Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment, was quick to point out that there won’t be any ads cluttering up your battle Blood Raven, or worse, Mephisto: “This partnership does not include in-game advertising, as Massive understands and respects our stance against advertising that might detract from gameplay or offend our players.” Good call.

Activision’s major game franchises like “Guitar Hero: World Tour” and “James Bond: Quantum of Solace” are among the 18 titles included in the deal. The youth market is tough to reach with traditional advertising, so this in-game deal will probably end up being very profitable for both parties. Look for in-game advertising to grow exponentially over the next few years until it becomes one of the major advertising trends. Check out the complete press release:
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December 5, 2008   2 Comments

Be Prepared For Black Friday and Cyber Monday

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If you’re unaware, have forgotten, or have been living in Soviet Russia for the past decade, step out of your time machine and onto the fertile ground of faux-capitalist America… it’s almost BLACK FRIDAY. The time of great discounts is nearly upon us. Prepare, prepare!

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, and it’s generally considered the first day of the holiday shopping season when stores start their special deals and discounts, and when you can usually get some of the best deals of pre-Christmas season. Cyber Monday, on the other hand, is the online shopping equivalent of Black Friday. It’s the Monday right after Black Friday and is really more of an advertising gimmick than an actual heavy shopping day. Either way, there are deals to be had on both days, and they’re fast approaching, so you need to get yourself together and make sure you’re ready for the traditional ultra-feast of American consumerism.
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November 27, 2008   Comments Off