How are a plum and a rabbit alike?

They’re both purple, except for the rabbit.

It is bizarre, ridiculous and would irritate the reserved and solemn of the world. If you were to ask me “how are hotdogs/pretzels/tacos and All Bran cereal alike?” there is a great chance i would respond similarly to the this rabbit:plum explanation.

However Leo Burnett Colombia have seen beyond these antijokes and have found a dense relationship, i.e. All Bran will help “release” the hotdog/pretzel/taco in digestion.

What better way to communicate that All Bran helps you poo? Who wouldn’t think of creating characters from common foods that often sit in bowels without relief? To feed off the tagline “help them find the way out,” simply place them in social situation where they may be lost.

I actually really love this campaign. It is so revolting and obscure that it is genius. The simplicity of the design and warm colour use is superb, and the character illustrations are beautiful. The faint All bran box gives it a raw sketch essence, like something doodled in the back of a book. I can see how some may may criticize the transparent All Bran, but to me it reiterates the “clearing” of the bowels. Moreover, if you see a blind pretzel, chances are you will continue searching for the advertiser.

My only criticism lies in their depiction of ‘lost foods’ finding their way out. They have illustrated ‘lost’ with one struggling busker, and two blind characters. Did they really have to assert the blind as lost twice? I am sue there are others that may need to find a way out. Perhaps somebody stuck in a box, or in a religious sect? Yet that may not go down* too well in Columbia.

*pun intended.

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Bogotá, Colombia
Creative Director: Francisco Castillo
Copywriter: Daniel Payán
Illustrator: Rafael Fornaris

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Marc Jacobs, designer par excellence and creative director for Louis Vuitton, was one of the millions who beheld the Madonna apparition known as the Sticky and Sweet Tour, last year’s highest-grossing concert. Already, it’s the all-time highest-grossing concert tour by any solo artist. Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson are probably writhing in their literal and proverbial graves.

Whenever the Queen of Pop holds court, her subjects (aka humankind) do not genuflect—they stand there, reminded of their relative diminutiveness in the face of musical sovereignty. Marc, who caught the concert in Paris’ Stade de France, confessed to being “totally blown away,” as anyone less-than-royal would.

But Jacobs is fashion royalty and, armed with this healthy self-awareness, proceeded to make what LV termed as an “amazing coup.”

Zut alors! For Antoine, Louis Vuitton’s communications director and son of LVMH head and French mega-billionaire Bernard Arnault, nothing could be more farfetched. He recalled how one Monday, Jacobs just broached the idea of Madonna plugging the French fashion house.

LV has done Jennifer Lopez before, but Antoine never believed it could now make off with the highest-selling female musician of all time. That Monday meeting, Marc then and there casually texted Madonna, asking, “Love, would you like to be the new Louis Vuitton woman?” Within minutes, Antoine was reading the diva’s reply: “Yes, I’d love to do it.”

In just a week, an ad was in the offing, a blitzkrieg resting on as much faith in the wisdom of Jacobs, an LV veteran, as in the Madonna brand. Arnault justifies: “Madonna is glamorous….a global image….the ultimate performer and businesswoman, and not someone who is just a famous singer.”

And with that the Material Girl became LV Girl for Spring/Summer 2009.

Here Madonna, 50, warps time two ways, first through a youth-inducing lifestyle that began long before Jacobs became famous. Given that, a 1940s-styled Parisian bistro was just the other thing in order for drop-dead nostalgia.

On these ads, Madonna models the newest ready-to-wear creations of Jacobs, plus a few “it” bags here and killer-heeled shoes there. The fishnets and yogic poses are the model’s own.

Those nods for authenticity could be saved though; the ads were not shot in Paris, but rather in Los Angeles. Although the photo shoot required a 50-strong crew, Madonna, the consummate artist, would finish the shots in just 15-minute durations.

Making things easy for Madonna was the presence of Steven Meisel as main shutterbug. The photographer had worked with Madonna in many projects, one of which was the diva’s pornographic 1992 coffee table book, Sex.

How much Madonna earned from this, LV has kept mum. Speculation has it she took home $10 million.

Seeing as how she is the richest and highest-paid female musician alive,  the amount makes perfect atonement. The woman has that certain Midas touch advertising agencies and publicists could only dream of. Whatever the brand, Madonna turns it into gold.

No, scratch that: Madonna is the brand. There is virtually nothing as successful for galaxies, her single-minded ambition almost ethereal, the only thing longer than her years in the limelight, promoting herself.

Long may the Queen of Pop reign over us, marketing novices all.

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Too easy. Advertisers often use recognizable brands to advertise another company. You may recall a hint of a certain clown in Thai Food Express’ campaign. This approach however calls for great creativity and risks some legal whinging.

When a logo is recognized worldwide, it seems foolish not to use it. MacHerman have made Mac pairs their business and fruit. They assure us that their service turns our semi-bitten Apple apple into wholesome food again. However at the same time, are they also assuring that Macs are in fact purchased faulty. It appears they are as reliable as half bitten fruit.

I can’t say its groundbreaking or the art direction is exceptional (note that it took one art director/copywriter of the same name). It makes us semi-smile, as we recall whether our Mac needs/probably needs fixing. For some of us (ie myself), this may be followed by a craving for an apple (seriously, I’m eating one now. At least it is less expensive than craving a Mac).

Advertising Agency: New Message, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Art Director / Copywriter: Chris Sant

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As long as smokers continue to inhale, the campaigns against tar will never cease. Advertisers and NGOs have the task of continuously rolling new ideas to get the message into people’s thick and damaged head.

They have targeted our stomach (note the gruesome images of damaged lungs), our guilty conscience (note the sick child from second hand smoke) and the fear in our minds (note: you will die/ lose family/ turn into a worthless zucchini soon).

There is so much of this blown into our face, that we now wave the message past us like a bad smell. It may be slelective hearing, or  the fact that excessive coughing from smoking hinders hearing capacity. One way to combat this ear  non-utilization is outdoor media encouraging interaction.

It is easy to ignore a picture on a box, but a life-size lung cigarette lighter will leave some remnants in the brain. Agency Six Inches Communication have executed this very well.

The fact that shops already have a device to light cigarettes, gives it greater substance. They have contaminated a normal smoker’s habit . You can just imagine a smoker casually moving to light his cigarette as per usual. To his shock he has killed human lungs.

My only question is whether cigarette shops will agree to changing their coil of rope for dying lungs. Perhaps not so good for sales? Or maybe they see it as aiding greater publicity for their shop. People will flock to view the lungs die. And packets will sell so they can all have a turn.

Advertising Agency: Six Inches Communication, Mumbai, India
Creative Directors: Pravin Shah, Sanjay S
Art Director: Rutul Mistry
Visualizer: Sachin Rane
Copywriter: Amogh Kate
Photographer: Nikhil Idurkar
Account Executive: Cheryl Britto

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We all know about French peoples reputation when it comes to sex. In fact, its safe to say I’ve seen Gerard Depardieu‘s ample backside more often in films than I’ve seen his face. Frankly speaking, neither sight appeals to me. Leave it to the experts, then, to turn hedge trimming sexy.

Stihl‘s “TIME TO TRIM” campaign plays on two main emotions – Sex and Fear. At first glance the images don’t appear either controversial or noteworthy – a fairly generic back garden complete with overgrown hedge, something all of us can relate to. Upon reading the captioning, however, we quickly realise the message this ad is sending us.

I can honestly say I never expected to see the words “lacey bras” contained in a hedge trimming advertisement. Know your target audience is the golden rule of advertising and Stihl certainly have appealed to Saturday afternoon, beer drinking, hedge cutting males out there. Not once in any of these advertisements do they make reference to the superiority of their model or discuss a single part of its features. Instead, they focus on what you’re missing out on by not owning their product. Be it: attractive neigbours getting changed, your car being robbed, or your cat being experimented on by budding young scientists.

The tounge-in-cheek nature of this campaign is something I salute, and from a male point of view certainly motivates me to finally go about trimming that overgrown hedge out my back garden.

Advertising Agency: Publicis Conseil (Paris)
Brand name: STIHL HEDGE TRIMMER
Team: Camensuli / Royer
Campaign: Hedges
Country: France

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In an age when shock comes soft, these male underwear ads look demure and virginal. For advertising standards, these are piteously tame, Calvin Klein and Guess redefining risqué with every chance they get nowadays.

But the model here is not in the business of repeating himself. He has downright nothing left to prove—not when he is a living, breathing gay porn star.

Now that is making every other male model tame. Rufskin, a clothing startup, picked X-rated hunk Johnny Hazzard for this month’s underwear campaign.

He’s left nothing to the imagination already in his tens of movies. But for this campaign, the lad reckoned to put at least something on. On Rufskin’s part, the company found it didn’t have to invest in some supermodel or a soccer star to advertise tighty whities. There’s one on the gay smut for half the price.

Ohioan Johnny Hazzard first delved into the skin flick business in 2003, with his first film Oral Exams 2. Like most porn stars, the chap had been strapped for cash. It wasn’t long before he registered on the radar of gay porn mistress Chi Chi LaRue.

Eventually, Johnny Hazzard (Frankie Valenti in real life) earned enough stripes to star in his own Rascal Videos. His stellar movie credits include Detention, A Night at Bruno’s, Wrong Side of the Tracks, Bolt, Köllide, What Men Do, Sun Soaked, and Deceived.

Hazzard is, in his own right, an award-worthy actor. At the 2004 GayVN Awards, the lad got nominated for such plums as “Best Newcomer” and “Best Group Scene.”

One would be daft not to identify Rufskin’s core demographic by this point. Rufskin was started by Douglas Coats and Hubert Pouches in 2000. Since then, their clothes have been featured in such prominent gay rags as Out, Detail, and DNA. True to form, Rufskin has hired several other gay porn actors for its ads.

Porn stars are models by default. Truth be told, lines are bound to blur, and not one industry has a claim to one star.

Today’s is a crossover revolution. Celebrities could choose playing to their advantages, sticking to their fortes. Or go the greener side: That’s why Jared Leto and Jennifer Lopez are not only acting, they’re also singing. Britney Spears may be a singer alright, but she sure has some NSFW pictorials to her credit. And hasn’t Madonna moonlit in Playboy? Paris Hilton even claims to be actress, singer, model, and porn star all rolled into one.

Acts are hard on the heels of Jenna Jameson, probably the best-known crossover event in porn. The blonde babe has gone mainstream and back, starring in big film productions like Analyze That and PETA ads with equal aplomb. Why, she even has her own wax replica at Madame Tussauds!

As an afterthought, here’s Johnny Hazzard modeling Rufskin’s Preston denim pants:

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I’ve always considered Dubai to be a bit of an anomaly. People travel halfway across the world, straight into the hub of the Arabian Desert, and then spend good money to go indoor skiing. One of the worlds top honeymoon destinations, yet anything more then a peck on the cheek in public can wind you up in prison. A country where billion dollar deals are negotiated by men wearing a dishdash and sandals.

The head honchos in Burger King’s Middle East Marketing Department clearly had all all night brainstorming mission to try and solve their own million dollar problem. The equation they faced goes something like this:
People + Booze + 3am Bar Closing = Greasy Food Craving.

And while there are a number of watering holes in Dubai to satisfy the expats needs, to be drunk in public is an arrestable offence. Which makes it a highly risky business to drunkenly stumble the streets at the end of the night in search for your local greasemaker.

Burger King’s strategy is simple but effective: If you stamp them, they will come. Upon leaving the bar, all one has to do is show the taxi driver the stamp they received upon entry and hey presto, your drunken cravings are satisfied and you don’t wind up in the can for a night.

Everybody wins. Although my sympathies do lie with Burger King’s staff who now have to deal with the increased influx of inebriated punters.

Avertiser: BURGER KING
Agency: Tonic
Creative Director: Vincent Raffray
Art Directors: Thomas Derouault
Copywriter: Kris Richardson
Country: UAE

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