Handmade Advertising

30 11 2007

Beringer trees

Here is a very neat-looking, handmade TV spot for Beringer, a wine company. Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco chose the perfect music for the spot. It has a simple, almost “jerky” adolescence about it, which completely works with the childlike paper environment it creates.

I found this commercial because today, I met with Matthew Bunk, of Daniel Brian & Associates. What a fabulous place, (I’m not trying to fluff anyone’s feathers.) We had a good conversation, from which I remembered to check out NOTCOT.com. It’s a really neat site, full of inspiration and lovely, creative things. Like paper vineyard commercials.





Wes Anderson Directs Commercials

26 11 2007

I love me some Wes Anderson.

Here is a spot he directed, for AT&T.

Here is a more biographical spot he directed, for American Express.

Before those, he directed a Dasani water commercial with the agency, Anomaly. He’s also directed commercials for Sony and IKEA.

Inspired by American Copywriter.





Facebook Has ADS

19 11 2007

All over the place. Ads ads ads ads. I added the iLike application today, (because one of my friends dedicated a song to me, and I had to add the application to see it). There are always little applications popping up over there, and I see them as little demographic gold-diggers for advertisers.

Which is fine.

Playing the iLike Challenge is fun. Here’s how it goes: You’re taken swiftly through a bunch of songs, one by one, and asked a) who the artist is, or b) what song by the artist it is. Great There’s even a mix across genres.

But the wacky, off-beat, annoying part is THIS:

iLike screenshot

A big, fat movie clip ad for Beowulf! Weird, because …

  • It has nothing to do with the music challenge I was just taking.
  • It’s for a movie that I haven’t seen.
  • It’s for a movie that I do not plan on seeing.
  • It asks questions that are easily found after watching the clip for about 10 seconds.

So, I thought that was strange. We all know Facebook uses its demographic information for marketing research – but I worry it’s getting too clogged with mainstream marketing. Just sent a little pang of irritation through me.

Another Source: Facebooks “Beacon” Infuriate Users, MoveOn – Silicon Alley Insider





Drivers Size Up Fords (Unknowingly) in New Campaign

16 11 2007

I love this new marketing + advertising idea.  It comes from the heart of great advertising, which is having a great product and great customer service.  With that kind of business, the product advertises itself!

Drivers Size Up Fords (Unknowingly) in New Campaign — Commercial Alert
Dozens of people who had recently bought new cars from competitors traded them temporarily for Fords.

And don’t we size up every car we ride in?  Popular people, who often drive people around in their cars, are SO important to the success of the brands they love.





Bee Movie – No Thanks

11 11 2007

According to American Copywriter, the Bee Movie shorts on NBC prime time are “very confusing,” and I completely agree! They’re weird. Who are they trying to excite? Children? Adults? Adults with a children’s sense of humor? I’m glad I’m not the only one worried about the little Bee Movie previews.

Bee Movie image

My guess? The previews are for adults and children, both.  But I don’t think the humor hits either target.  Confusing!





Into the Wild

9 11 2007

Into the Wild

Have you seen? Have you heard? Into the Wild is the talk of the suburbs and cities, and it’s coming out of the wood-paneling of the ’90s, to a theater near you!

Into the WildGreat book, too. I was gifted the book at age nine. That’s 1992. I savored it like a hot roast beef sandwich, between pre-teen sheets. How thrilling, how interesting, how real-life and how exciting, to read about such a person! I also read Jack London during this period, and formed a very primal prescription for adulthood with those pages.

It’s a story about a guy trying to stick to his morals, a strictly roots-and-berries philosophy of life. It’s about anyone, even you, walking down the street alone with unique thoughts in your head. He chooses to isolate himself, probably trying to extract the marrow of life from this experience. He sure got it.

Going it completely alone is probably more than most of us can handle – in any walk of life.

And if there’s ever been a way to avoid, “going it alone,” it’s the world of blogging. Which lead me to something called IMEEM, a social and media networking site that, until now, was nothing more than a strange word. The Krakauer book must have a relationship with IMEEM, because they have a site there.

I dig it. The site, the book, the dude, the legend. I passed the old dog-eared copy to my Dad yesterday, as he left in a van for Las Vegas. Northern Michigan to Las Vegas in a van (with a girlfriend and a rabbit), not a bad winter plan at all.





So Good, It’s an Ad

3 11 2007

Here’s a great video-turned-advertisement for the Sony product that was used to create it.

I bet it’s like the student-made iPhone Touch ad, made just for fun, then turned into a “real” ad:

Love it!





Daniel Brian & Associates

1 11 2007

There is an advertising agency in Rochester, Mi. It’s called Daniel Brian & Associates. Everyday, their people create campaigns and communication materials for clients. What sets them apart?

Their Mission:

  1. God is the source of all creativity and the only authority above a client.
  2. Love is the only rule. All others were made to be broken.
  3. Character is the beginning of all success. For this reason, we will never intentionally lie to a client or for a client.

DBA

What? Really?

They are way ahead of most agencies, with such a strong mission (or a mission at all).

If they were a football team, I would be their painted, foam-fingered #1 fan.