One of the Best YouTube Takeovers I’ve Ever Seen

This seriously has to be one of the best YouTube takeovers I’ve ever seen, from Desperados – a pale lager flavored with tequila.

The reason I love this takeover so much is that it plays on existing mechanisms found in a YouTube video page, yet incorporates them into the story in a fresh and different way to take on new meaning. The takeover also gives you the option to use Facebook connect to incorporate your friends into the story if you want, and then at the end, share this experience with your friends on Facebook.

You can play with the actual takeover here.

When I Grow Up, I Want to Work in Advertising…

Ah, all these kids are after my own heart… :)

For all those advertisers reading out there, what did you want to be when you grew up?

24
Feb 2011
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POSTED IN Love
DISCUSSION 1 Comment

The Love & Hate Relationship with Advertising

Advertising can be such a love and hate relationship – ask anyone in the business. There are some days where you just want to break down and cry, rip the ideas off the wall and crawl into bed.

And then there are some days where you feel so inspired, so excited with the endless possibilities, with the idea of doing amazing, wonderful, fan-freakin’-tastic work that you can’t even sit still or stop grinning.

This video captures this two-sided relationship so well.

Hate/Love from CRUSH on Vimeo.

Created for the 2010 Advertising and Design Club of Canada (ADCC) Awards. Original here.

08
Nov 2010
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POSTED IN Love
DISCUSSION 4 Comments

Video: Cerveza Andes | Teletransporter

Ok. Men, women, watch this video. And then let’s chat.

“The result: More happy men at bars. Less broken up couples.”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhrgh!

Because, I, as one part of couple, absolutely want to be in a relationship with a person who lies to me about where he is. THAT, according to Cerveza Andes, is a good relationship. Thank god for Cerveza Andes! Because of them, I too can be in a relationship with a liar! Phew, dodged that bullet.

Listen, I know the state of the nation. Beer commercials are all aimed at men. Women are always cast as either sex objects with skimpy clothes, or as the “ol’ ball and chain” girlfriend. And it’s getting really old.

I am female. My drink of choice? Beer. I have beer several times a week. And I will allow for some stereotypical commercials with the guys and the party and the hot tub with the girls in them in the mountains. What I can’t stand? The portrayal of females as being crazy, clingy or a drag. To the point where their boyfriends HAVE TO LIE TO THEM ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE. RAGE!!

Screw you Cerveza Andes, you have truly insulted me. I’ll stick to my brand of Keith’s, whose spots are at least original and interesting. And you know, DOESN’T INSULT HALF OF ITS BUYERS.

Dedicate “Truly, Madly, Deeply” to Your Sweetheart (Then Go Watch The Game)

This. Is. Awesome.

Great creative from Puma.

25
Mar 2010
POSTED BY
POSTED IN Love
DISCUSSION 0 Comments

Life Goals: Do We Have the Guts to Follow Through?

Did a blog post YouTube style tonight. Let me know what you think in the comments guys. If I sound out of it, it’s because I did this post-NeoCitron. Might be feeling the efftects…. zzz.

#WriteOff09 – Day 11: Friday Five

If you’re behind the game, here’s a link explaining The Great Write Off of 2009. You can find links and discussion to all posts by checking out the Twitter trending topic, #WriteOff09.

Heck yes, cheap video cop-out!

That’s right, I did a Friday Five type of video where I tell you 5 things you may or may not know about me. Seriously, at any point you just want to go ahead and contact me to tell me just how stunningly original and brilliant I am, I am sitting here and waiting to hear from you!

This weekend I’ll be in Montreal visiting a good friend, oui oui oui! I may be posting from there on Sunday. Have a great weekend everyone and stay “cool and hip” like “The Hut”.

#WriteOff09 – Day 9: Why I Love Advertising

If you’re behind the game, here’s a link explaining The Great Write Off of 2009. You can find links and discussion to all posts by checking out the Twitter trending topic, #WriteOff09.
Advertising is the greatest art form of the twentieth century.
Marshall McLuhan

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to articulate why I love advertising so much for a long time now. And I don’t think it’s something I can really explain in a concise way. It’s not a logical love for me. It’s just something I feel – something I am passionate about right down to my very soul.

There was a quote that my Google-Fu failed to find that I used to see every day at my old job. Something to the effect of, “Great advertising, when done properly, approaches art.” Because I couldn’t find it I went with the one above, and while I don’t agree with as much, the sentiments remains. Advertising is business’s take on art and that’s one reason I like it. Sometimes I am blown away by the beauty in an ad or the story it tells. Some ads, to me, are mini-films. It’s best not to talk to me when advertisements are on TV, because I will be paying attention to the more important thing in the room (the ads).

It is a kind of business that touches many people’s lives (whether they want it to or not!). With advertising, you can actually point to a campaign on the street or while watching TV with a friend and say, “See that? I worked on that” and they can instantly relate to what you do. It is the kind of industry that you could be minding your own business on the bus and overhear someone talking about the campaign you’ve just spent a couple months pulling together. You can get instant feedback on whether someone liked the strategy you went with or didn’t at all.

Advertisers likes to push the envelope sometimes and are encouraged to do so. Ad agencies have gone to some extraordinary lengths to get their brand in front of the public, to create discussion, impressions and interest in the product. Remember when T-Mobile took over Trafalgar Square with a public sing-along to “Hey Jude”? Or the viral Bridezilla Hair Freakout for Sunsilk? These are the kind of ads that are trying something new – throwing the idea against the wall and see what sticks. I like that there is that room for experiments in the industry. And that some brands are willing to take a chance on an idea. The status quo is always challenged in advertising and it keeps the industry fresh, young, and on top of new ways to get information across.

I’m going to end this post with one of my absolute favourite ads for a brand I very much like: Volkswagen. This is “Big Day” for the Volkswagen Jetta VR6.

This is an ad that I find to have stunning depth for a 60 second spot. The music not only compliments the feel and the visuals, but takes it to a whole other level. The editing helps build the climax to a point where the story we believe we are being told changes in a split second and then everything: perceptions, expectations, notions, shifts in that moment. The watcher is left with a wonderment of, “what happens next?” and you realize that life is full of unpredictable changes. Then the tagline, Fasten Your Seatbelts comes in to connect your life with the Volkswagen brand at the exactly right moment.

This is the kind of advertising that I hope to help make one day.

Today’s Big Viral Video

I saw the following video pop up on my Twitter feed this afternoon at 1pm on the Leo Burnett Twitter account, with the tweet, “#culturalfuel Vendor-Client relationship in real life situations: Just found this on FB. No comment..”

I watched this video, laughed and marveled at how true it rang and then re-tweeted it on my account.

Since then I’ve seen it pop up at least 4 times on other accounts I follow on Twitter and on advertising blogs, such as AdJoke.

As of 5.47pm, this video has been viewed over 2,500 times and my guess is the majority of them were today. Already it’s received well over 63 comments – a much higher view/comment ratio than one would normally find on a YouTube video. It’s also been favourited 524 times, so clearly the video is clearly hitting a nerve in the ad industry.

Comments include things such as, “This made my stomach hurt. I have had this same type conversation three times this week alone” (shawngoesgreen) and “Five stars isn’t enough” (jforrest55).

This video was added to YouTube 5 days ago on an account that was made 6 days ago. Sounds like someone’s trying – and succeeding – in making this thing viral. Should be interesting to see what the numbers are like in a few days. I’m also curious to see whether “Mr Bennett” really did see this thing on Facebook or whether it was actually created by Leo Burnett itself.

Nutrigrain Ad from 2005

This is an apparently very old ad (from 2005 – holy, that’s ancient!) but it’s still absolutely hilarious and messed up.

This is exactly why I love advertisers. They are so, so weird sometimes. So weird.