div|whisperer

The animation in this advertisement is fantastic. Kind reminds me, in terms of sheer epicness, of the Guinness award winning commercial Evolution, which is one of my favorite ads of all time (the Cannes judges agreed with me).

It’s in German, but you can’t tell until the very end - at which point you’re not sure if she’s trying to sell you something or asking if you want a spanking. The ad is called The Evolution of Technology and is actually for an electronics retailer called Saturn, if that helps you understand the concept. Probably not.

Client: Saturn Electronics
Agency: Scholz&Friends

My girlfriend and I almost never agree on commercials that we both enjoy. I enjoy good advertising, and she apparently does not.

Every couple of years however there comes along an advertisement whose quality is so beyond reproach that we manage to somehow agree. Jill found this one on YouTube and gestured me over with so much enthusiasm that I assumed something must be 50% off somewhere.

It’s about time someone realized they could sell stuff to Canadians by reminding them how much they loath winter. All this commercial needs now is that guy with the beard from the old Canadian Tire commercials and Midas had a classic on their hands.

Client: Midas
Agency: DDB Canada Vancouver

Wieden & Kennedy dropped Starbucks as a client in September and I’m not sure if this is a leftover from their work or from one of Starbucks’ other agencies. I love typography ads. Starbucks is promising to give everyone who votes in the U.S. election on November 4th a free cup of coffee (while supplies last of course).

This is a great idea. From a strictly profit standpoint it is sure to drive people through there doors where they will likely realize that free coffee is good, but a not-so-free triple mocha skin milk latte is even better. I expect the financial damage will be minimal.

PR wise this is a victory because while free stuff does not make for a good sales strategy is does help a company who is better known for being everywhere than helping anywhere.

Of course this could all be a clever Republican tactic. Those democrat-leaning Starbucks drinkers end up in eight-hour lines at the polls and a bladder full of Nicaragua’s best.

My American friends, please STFIL!

Fallon lets loose with four new additions to the Holiday Inn Express campaign that suggests that sleeping in their hotels can help ordinary people overcome being an idiot.

The latest batch includes some celebrity appearances from Cal Ripkin Jr. and Jeff Burton - neither of which is particularly funny.

The rapping spot above featuring a previously unknown (and presumably cheaper) actor is somewhat funny if only because in reality the statistics would suggest he would have been beaten, robbed and possibly killed.

The last spot, a delivery room scene, is also entertaining. The ad suggests humorously that a baby’s intellect is determined by where it was conceived - a fact we all already knew was true as proven by Arkansas.

Client: Holiday Inn Express
Agency: Fallon Minneapolis

While risking killing any watchers with a corn or cheese allergy, Microsoft has released the first ad in their second wave of advertising for the Vista. The first two ads from Microsoft featuring Seinfeld, which you can watch here and here, were in my opinion, targeted solely at a “nerdish” audience. They seemed specifically designed to attack Microsoft’s reputation as being formal and boring.

The new campaign is smart. The weakness in the incredibly popular Apple “I’m a Mac” campaign from TBWA/Chiat/Day is that the PC character played by John Hodgman is the funny one. Justin Long the Mac character comes across as not funny - I would go so far as to say dickish.

The new Microsoft campaign grabs a hold of this message firmly to remind ordinary people that they’d rather be the PC then some pretentious hoody-wearing snot. Then it reminds them that they’re not alone.

Client: Microsoft
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

I don’t really find that Jerry Seinfeld is funny. In fact, the next time you catch an episode of Seinfeld, pay attention and you’ll probably think he’s not funny either. The other characters on the show though, they were funny, and to me that’s Seinfeld’s strength. He makes the people around him seem funny.

In the new ad from Microsoft featuring Jerry Seinfeld (part of a new $300 million campaign), Bill Gates is the funny one - at least in my mind. Do I think paying Seinfeld $10 million dollars to be funny is a good idea? Absolutely not - but paying him $10 million to make Microsoft look funny sounds like a bargain to me.

Client: Microsoft
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Some fantastic pro bono work for Vancouver-based Looking Glass Foundation by DDB Canada. There’s two others in the campaign as well.

The web site for the campaign is also well done and there are some print components as well that I hear were well done as well.

If I manage to find the print pieces online somewhere I’ll update this post to include them. If anyone has seen them, please add the link to this post in a comment - I’m lazy.

Thanks for the tip AdFreak.

Client: Looking Glass Foundation
Agency: DDB Canada

The Discovery Channel has launched a new channel image for what used to be their Discovery Home Channel. The new network, called Planet Green is supposed to be all about sustainable living.

It sounds wonderful until you learn that the makers of Hummer are the exclusive automobile sponsor. Swing and a miss.

The security guard in the ad however is really, really funny. His delivery of his line makes this entire ad worth the price of admission.

Client: Planet Green / Discovery Communications
Agency: Amalgamated LLC

This is an older ad, from french shop DDB Paris. I first saw it on various ad boards back in April but I think the campaign started running in May. Nicely done.

Client: GQ Magazine
Agency: DDB Paris

Great viral campaign from Gatorade. No tagging at all, just a rather subtle bottle placement in the last shot. Well done though now if you visit the web site of the agency behind it, Element79, the enthusiasm they’re putting into telling people that they made it is reminiscent of that smarmy guy that everyone remembers because he paid a prostitute to take him to prom. Every high school had one.

Right?

Client: Gatorade
Agency: Element79