Two Contrarian Views on Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches”

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Every now and then, an idea captivates the advertising world and beyond. This week, that honor goes to Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches.” It’s a very simple idea rooted in a universal truth: We don’t see ourselves the way the world sees us. And to dramatize that through the lens of a criminal sketch artist — [...]

Buzzfeed Spreads Content Around Like Butter On Toast

Does Buzzfeed Know the Secret? -- New York Magazine

Native advertising is a stupid name for a decent development in media circles. Regardless, sponsored content is on a lot of media and marketing minds today, because online advertising is a disaster from a brand building perspective. Native is definitely on the mind and the desktop of Jonah Peretti, MIT grad and co-founder of BuzzFeed [...]

Advertising Is Full Of Sinners. Now We Can Confess.

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Pride. Sloth. Envy. Wrath. Lust. Gluttony. Greed. What would advertising be without them? We all have those dirty, secretive thoughts we have during meetings or concepting sessions, or when we’re alone at our desks. Now, creatives David Ma and Nick Hugh Schmidt are letting you confess. And then be judged. Enter yours at The Creative [...]

Four Tips to Help Create Viral Content

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It’s no secret that in today’s digital world, the best and most effective kind of content for promotion is viral content. Many viral videos have no sort of marketing plan behind them and are created simply for entertainment, but the value of viral marketing for companies is incredibly high. If you have a video or [...]

Dumb Ways To Die Was Born Out Of Simplicity

I always like to read “how they did that” accounts of good advertising work. On Adweek today, there’s a good account of McCann Australia’s effort for train safety, which features a video showing “Dumb Ways To Die.” Frankly, this song is so damn catchy I downloaded it, burned it to a CD and am playing [...]

Taco Bell Airlifts Taco Truck To Remote Alaska Town, Feeds The Tacoless

Some pranksters (that may or may not be employed by Taco Bell and/or its ad agency, DraftFCB/Orange County) posted flyers in the small town of Bethel, Alaska announcing that a new Taco Bell would be opening on July 4th. The flyers included a fake web address but a real phone number belonging to a local [...]

Quick, Name Five YouTube Sensations. If You Failed To Do So, You Might Welcome YouTube’s Help.

“Hey, we need a ‘YouTube sensation’ for this concept to really fly.” If you’re a producer, and you just heard those words from the creative director’s mouth, what do you do? Where do you go? The YouTubes is a rather large place to look for a sensation. According to Ad Age, YouTube feels advertisers’ pain, [...]

Meowbook Is The New Catvertising

Cadbury sells a chocolate bar in Australia called Boost. Droga 5 in collaboration with BE VIACOM, Ignite Media Brands and Carat sold Cadbury a cat video. Sadly, it’s a mocumentary that’s been done before. According to Campaign Brief, the three-part series, cleverly titled “Meme Myself and I,” is running on MTV Australia. The video also [...]

Don’t Know About The Blades, But The Commercial Is F–in Great

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The Dollar Shave Club is definitely making a splash with this spot: For some backstory, Fastcocreate has more: It turns out the guy in the video really is the founder and CEO of the new start-up, Michael Dubin. What’s more surprising, though, is the fact that he made the ad himself. “The world is filled [...]

Because Placing A Message In A Bottle Is So Two Centuries Ago

According to Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a Florida man came upon a weird object washed up by the sea this morning. No, not a bail of cocaine. A man made of Legos. Given that Legoland, a 150-acre interactive theme park in Winter Haven, Florida opened earlier this month, there must be a connection. Right? No. A spokeswoman [...]