There are are some interesting shakeups happening in the marketing world as of late…

Apple pulled an odd PR move this week. They spotted a fan created ad by a teenager on YouTube and decided to get their ad agency to collaborate with the creator.

Nick Haley, an 18 year old from England loved the iPod Touch so much that he created his own commercial and put it up on YouTube. The people from Apple saw it and liked it so much that they contacted him and decided to “buy” the rights to it. You can see Nick’s version on top, and the actual produced spot on the bottom.

via AdGoodness

Slightly older news, but interesting none-the-less. Radiohead decided to release their new album “In Rainbows” digitally and allow their buyer to decide how much they think the album is worth—An astonishingly groundbreaking move in an industry that guards its intellectual property like a cure for cancer.икони

I kind of miss a time before advertising was regulated. Can you imagine the outlandish claims that would be made if the FTC wasn’t sticking their nose in everything? McDonald’s would give us abs of steel and blemish free skin and Mr. Clean would help you find the man of your dreams.

Look how happy these lard eaters are. Wouldn’t you like to live in that world? I know I would.

Help her! That burger is eating her head!

When great ads support “not so great for you” products

Have you seen this new Wendy’s baconater commercial?

This ad is a great example of a really funny use of innovative graphics to do what?
sell you a hamburger that is bigger than your head!
Now I am not adverse to a good hamburger every now and then, but I usually choose In-N-Out Burger who I believe do not even advertise anywhere, yet they are always packed.
But back to the baconater, these ads remind me of David Wojnarowicz, when he took all these pictures around New York City with a iconic mask of Arthur Rimbaud on, Rimbaud is the poet who inspired everyone from Surrealists to Patti Smith.

You know this ability to use such compelling graphics to sell stuff that makes us really fat is the reason why I am such an advocate of culture jamming being done by the people over at AdBusters. I am pretty sure that no one ever needs to eat in one sitting: Six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb. patties of beef, complete with two slices of American cheese. EEEEEK!
As my good friend Gwendolyn always says “you have to use your powers for good, not evil.”
Someone who is using his power for good and not evil is Shaquille O’Neal, in his new ABC show called Shaq’s Big Challenge, he takes 6 children through a weight loss program and inadvertently deals with school lunch programs and physical education (or the lack thereof). Shaq is so empathic towards these kids, you can see even this mighty man being demoralized by the forces that weigh these children down (no pun intended)
We have a responsibility to create inspiring exciting design for good not evil.

Tell us some examples you have of great ads that are created for “not so great” products.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this:

via Ads of the World

Recently advertising is taking a turn towards the absurd… well I shouldn’t say recently, advertisers have always pushed the envelope as far as unconventional humor goes, but you typically only saw this approach with smaller brands that were more flexible and willing to take risks.

I’ve posted one print campaign and three separate tv commercials from major brands to exemplify my point.

Orbit Gum:

There are two benefits immediately apparent in this style of marketing:

1. It is, or can be, dirt cheap.
2. It is very effective with mellinials (god how I loath that word, but it’s very apropos in this instance)

One warning though, it is much easier to execute this style in video rather than in print.

I would be curious to know what all of you think of this?

Unfortunately, for legal reasons, I had to take down a series of ads that I posted a few days ago, but I found these substitutes, which I really, really like.
They have the same light and warm feeling in their approach, and there is something fresh about these. The photos were taken by Jan von Holleben. Amazing work!

Via Ads of the world

I found this over at Twenty Four while browsing their awesome collection of ads. These ads are apparently fairly old, but still relevant; I love the idea of taking the mundane and making it spectacular.

A campaign for BIC Pens. A writing experience so good that you’ll take a long time even when you need to communicate an emergency situation. The campaign is an Epica Bronze Winner and was created by Jung Von Matt.

Credits: Creative Director(s): Mathias Stiller, Wolfgang Schneider >> Copywriter(s): Michael Haeussler >> Art Director(s): Michael Janke >> Photographer(s): Daniel Zoubek >> Other(s): Account Supervisor: Frank Lotze, Frauke Schmidt, Henning Gerstner

These ads are an example of why a horrible idea on paper always equates to a horrible outcome, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in this pitch meeting. “Let’s figure out a way to exploit the history of Japanese art for a cheap and ridiculous reason, because, you know, we are Japanese so it’s okay.”
For shame Honda, for shame.

Via AdsoftheWorld

Collage Images is a flickr group that is a great collection of vintage copyright-free artwork that you can grab and use as you wish.

I really hope that we can see more of this in the future. Take a few minutes and explore the collection, they have some really great and obscure images. Believe me, these images are a much better option than using clip art, and a lot cheaper than hiring a designer.

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P.S.
You do have to register with the group before you can view the images.

This video was pulled from Three Legged Legs via Drawn!. When I saw this I was struck by how, a campaign framed in this way, would be infinitely more effective than the advertising that PETA puts out, which is odd since Three Legged Legs isn’t trying to change the world, they are just showing off their amazing animation skills.

That’s the problem with non profits in general – they get so bogged-down with changing the world that their message gets lost because of their own self-importance. Shoving images of butchered lambs into the hands of people who are enjoying their morning Starbucks (à la PETA) is alienating the people they are trying to influence; however, a simple re-framing that connects to the audience would work wonders.

This video communicates the same core message just in a way that is much more accessible to everyone.