Of women and road maps

Kenwood is an electronics firm that I usually associate with catalogue shops. Its Italian office has a certain affection for virals; I’ve seen a few of theirs knocking around the ether over the last few months. Here’s a new one I haven’t seen before, advertising one of its satnav products. It was hardly a great intellectual or creative achievement to link the concept of finding your way around town with navigating a hot body, but it is kind of cute and sexy without being too vulgar.
Personally I prefer to use my imagination, which is probably why I’m always getting lost.

More of these can be found at Kenwood Italia’s website.

Tags: Viral

Some people enjoy watching crap

Oh... my... god... I thought I was unshockable. Here's a new viral that's going to garner a few complaints, not that they'll do any good because ads released in this medium are pretty much untouchable. The ad is for a plasma TV supplier, but it would be interesting to know if watchers get the message about the advantages of this technology, and whether they'll turn to other suppliers out of disgust. Probably not.

Tags: Poo, vomit & wee-wee, Viral

There's the rub

What do you do if your girlfriend starts smoking? Slow down and apply some lubrication.
An over-the-counter impotence gel is expected to hit the shelves in 2008, which will have some interesting implications for those of us fed up with all that fake Viagra email spam. If anything is going to hit sales of the little blue pill, then this is it, pending approval by the authorities.
Seeing as there is a profound difference between the ad rules for prescription pharmaceuticals and OTCs, I am agog at the advertising potential for this new gel.

Tags: Sex

Aaaaah look ickle tiger

Two of my biggest phobias are deep water and cats. Little Tiddles I can take, preferably with barbecue sauce, but my ultimate nightmare would see me stranded on a lilo in the middle of a pool with lions around the outside licking their lips.
You’d think therefore that upon seeing this ad that I would be jumping behind the sofa in paroxysms of fear, but no, I felt instead goosebumps of cuteness; even my anxious account management serving girls sighed a collective aaaaaah. Tigers, you see, are cute.
I can’t see how this sweet spot from Orange will make you want to buy a new phone, but it may make you want to upgrade your cat.

Agency: Mother

Tags: TV ads

Life imitates ad

You’d need a heart of stone not to laugh. Ananova carries this story about some evil sod who has been leaving concrete-filled footballs around Berlin. As you wince in sympathy for the two known victims who have already tried taking a wallop at the balls, watch this old gem.


Tags: Morons, TV ads

Spunky Russian vodka advertising

Konstantin Dlutskiy’s Russian Marketing Blog is a fascinating read, covering a country that to my eyes seems chaotic, dangerous, seductive and exciting, while being only a couple of hours away by private jet. One of its exiled sons regularly joins me for lunch where we discuss the latest addition to his football team and investing in banana futures (which aren’t looking good, by the way).
There’s some mightily dodgy advertising over there, as well as some truly imaginative stuff, and my scatalogical eye couldn’t miss the blog’s current feature on a vodka brand’s advertising. Maybe I have a filthy mind, and have seen one too many vodka ads that play the sex card, but this poster reminded me of this hilarious but not safe for work quiz that featured on b3ta.
Don’t let that distract you from Dlutskiy’s article though – there is a legitimate reason for the naked babe covered in moo milk.

Tags: Bigging-up, FMCG, Press/outdoor ads, Sex

Vodka drinkers experience gay sex, tummy wipes and horses' heads

New Zealand vodka brand 42 Below has built a mischievous reputation through a series of subversive web and guerilla campaigns. It is fitting that while using the more conventional media of press and poster, it chooses an irreverent execution.
No surprise then that its US agency Saatchi & Saatchi gives you an amusing payoff after the effort of deciphering the ads. The campaign won a Gold Lion at Cannes. Some more examples are in my Flickr folder.
Tags: FMCG, Press/outdoor ads, Sex

Think shoes? Think bestiality and masturbation

The brain has the capacity to sexualise any part of the human body. We know about foot fetishism, although Spanish footwear brand Bunker manages to steer clear of this while going straight for the groin.

See also: Tissues at the ready

Tags: Sex, Viral

Eauver the top

26 million British adults drank 1.7bn litres of bottled water last year. Between 1993 and 2003, the UK market grew from 580 litres a year to two billion and it’s now worth £1.5bn a year.
Madness. There are very few things left that the British can claim to be very good at, and producing good quality tapwater is one of them. Admittedly, the country is experiencing one of the wettest droughts on record, but that shouldn’t stop sensible people from using something that’s virtually free.
Don’t like chlorinated tapwater? Chlorine’s a gas, so pour the water into a bottle, leave it unopened half an hour for the gas to disappear, then stick it in the fridge.
Still, if you’re hell bent on making self-hydration a fashion statement then humping around a bottle of Evian is the way to do it. Snuggled amongst the ads with footballers flogging sunglasses, aftershaves, watches and fashion tat in the men’s monthlies are these rather delicious spreads for Evian.
Despite having a phobia about swimming pools, I like these. There may be some self-mockery in them: pour it, waste it, fling it about. It’s only water, after all.
Agency: Euro RSCG

Tags: FMCG, Press/outdoor ads, Surveys

Hard

Five sweaty Italians looking hard. Sorry, but they're in their underpants. I can't explain it, but it's making me laugh. Dave, throw me another banana.

Tags: Press/outdoor ads

Northern crock

Before

After

Tags: Press/outdoor ads

Phase 1 ... getting there

Never mind the million monkeys on typewriters writing Shakespeare. That was my first job.
We've evolved into seasoned blog writers and it only took a thousand chimps and a thousand links to bring the first phase of the masterplan to a near-conclusion. Yes, the CMM News dominance of the world is well underway.
This is the chart that counts: Beyond Madison Avenue's top 25 ad blogs, and we almost shaded in at 25, and would have done if the others weren't so damned good.


Tags: Ad industry, Bigging-up, Online, Surveys