July 09, 2009

11 observations about Kim Jong-il's delusions of Auggie Busch.

Look, everyone else has already covered what some have reported as the "first television ad ever to run in North Korea." But, as you know, beer is one of our favorite topics.

1. The copy of the ad reportedly promises that beer relieves stress, improves health and lengthen life. We thank The Great Leader for allowing truth in advertising.
2. We have a case of good American beer for anyone who works that Wii-on-crack soundtrack into a real project.
3. Seriously.
4. This spot proves the old adage, "When in doubt, use reverb."
5. By the by, Don Pardo has some real competition in Korea.
6. AKA Mr. Black and MK12 can suck eggs. The motion graphics here rule. Some of those Korean characters look like they're made out of real chrome! That's the kind of stuff we thought only Nebraska Furniture Mart could pull off.
7. That North Korean waitress is not wearing 37 pieces of flair.
8. The Sam Adams guys can learn something from this spot. Beer-making employees look most concerned with quality when wearing white lab coats.
9. Why do we feel like that beer mug is made out of lead glass?
10. Just can't help but wonder if this is the kind of craftsmanship that went into North Korea's nuclear missiles?
11. If there's TV to be done in North Korea can a giant holding company office be far behind? McCann Pyongyang anyone?

Posted by John on July 09, 2009 at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Current Affairs , Entertainment , News of the Ad World , Television , The real world

May 06, 2009

They're playing Simon's song

American Idol may or may not be great television.  But there's no denying that it is freakin' brilliant marketing.  And tonight's results show is the ultimate example.  


A couple bazillion viewers will tune in and will happily sit through a buttload of traditional TV commercials, several "special appearances" by celebrities who all just happen to have something new to sell right now, and several plugs for iTunes.  By the end of the show, viewers will have absorbed sixty solid minutes of marketing content, all for a ten-second payoff.  (Even if the losing contestant has a name with lots of syllables - like Allison Iraheta - and even if Seacrest talks real, real slow, I'm pretty it wouldn't take more than 10 seconds to say the loser's name.)  Absolutely brilliant. Advertisers pay top dollar to run spots that each require more air time than the actual program content.  And I'm guessing that the weekly "special guests" are paying Fox for the exposure, not vice-versa.  Anybody know?

Simon is making noises about leaving the show after next season.  He's saying maybe it's time for a change.  What he's talking about, of course, is a change in the number of zeros Fox puts on his paycheck. And he should.  American Idol is Fox's gravy train, and Simon's the engineer.

Posted by Joe on May 06, 2009 at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Television

March 20, 2009

Coke Zero demonstates deep understanding of basketball glory.

It would seem the magnificent bastards at W+K, sorry CP+B, do, in fact, understand the glory of college basketball. With apologies to our MU fans, Rock Chalk.

Posted by John on March 20, 2009 at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Brands , Entertainment , Food and Drink , Games , Marketing to Men , Sports , Television

February 12, 2009

We love the WTF blanket.

Genius.

Posted by John on February 12, 2009 at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Current Affairs , Entertainment , Pop Culture , Television

January 19, 2009

BSG and the misfortune of placement

Yikes. Yeah, see this why bulk buys are not smart buys. If the splattering tomato soup doesn't get you, wait for the final lyric of the very familiar soundtrack. Two warnings: If you haven't seen the latest BSG this is a spoiler. And if you are squeamish, well, you know, skip this altogether.

Props to Dabitch at Adland.

Posted by John on January 19, 2009 at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Entertainment , Food and Drink , Pop Culture , Television

December 18, 2008

Law & Order, Co-Starring Shatto Milk

ShattoLawOrder Last night, while sitting down to eat dinner (yes, while watching TV), my gal and I randomly landed on a show that neither or us watch. Ever. But there we were, checking out Law & Order. Not ten seconds into our random viewing did we spot something that neither of us could believe. It was a Shatto Milk bottle. Scratch that, it was FOUR Shatto Milk bottles.

I quickly hit record on the DVR and called one of the Shattos to tell them the news.

While they were excited that it was on there, it wasn't a complete surprise. Apparently, someone from NBC contacted the Shattos a while back asking for a wire milk carrier. The Shattos obliged to send one and told NBC that they were going to send some milk as well. NBC wasn't too thrilled with the idea, considering product placement and contracts and this and that, but they sent some milk anyway.

My guess is that someone really liked how it tasted, or how it looked (maybe even both), because it appeared on the show. I'd say for a good 30 seconds. In various shots.

Now I don't know how much it costs to do product placement, but I'm willing to bet the Shattos just got the hook up from NBC. I think it speaks volumes that the episode was about reducing carbon footprints and they chose to feature Shatto milk (seeing that the milk comes from cows that aren't treated with hormones). What a fun brand to work with.

Congratulations to the Shattos and a big thanks to whoever at NBC gave them a co-starring role on Law & Order. That rules.

I've uploaded 9 photos to my Flickr account. But if you happen to have any better ones (aka, some that weren't taken from a console television), please upload them and let me know.

Posted by SethyG on December 18, 2008 at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Television

December 10, 2008

It's the agency card project, Charlie Brown.

Too, too true.

Hat tip to Danny G at Adpulp.

Posted by John on December 10, 2008 at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Current Affairs , Television , The Creative Life , The real world

December 03, 2008

Mad Men 2.0

Episode two can be found right here.

Hat tip to MTLB and Angela.

Posted by John on December 03, 2008 at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Pop Culture , Television , The Creative Life

October 29, 2008

Homer Simpson meets Don Draper.

The Simpsons spoof Mad Men. Mmmm. Pop Culture collision, agagagagagag.

Tio o' the hat to Pop Loser.

Posted by John on October 29, 2008 at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Advertising , Design , Entertainment , Pop Culture , Television , The Creative Life

October 07, 2008

Aha's Take on Me: The Really Literal Version

I'm only slightly ashamed to admit having a real soft spot for Aha.

The "Take on Me" video is, arguably, THE iconic 80s music video. It proves a couple of things. 1. People love rotoscoping. 2. The 80s were worse than we feared.

Regardless, enjoy this delightful rework of classic pop culture.

Shout out to Mr. Vilhauer

Posted by John on October 07, 2008 at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Categories: Design , Pop Culture , Television

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