INTERPUBLIC

McCann Erickson Italy



I don't know how I feel about this one. For one, it reminds me of the lamp in "A Christmas Story." For two, Dr. Scholls, really? When I think Dr. Scholls, I think old people. I think Bengay (ok, maybe that's a stretch) but my mind definitely doesn't go straight to sexy leg lamps. Am I wrong here or does this ad seem like a brand misfit?

The Martin Agency Richmond, VA



Ha! This commercial totally plays off the attitude of a lot of golfers. And being a collegiate golfer myself, I can say that. We have one good shot and suddenly we feel entitled to an exemption into next year's Masters Championship. I can, however, speak well for the Ping brand. I have the G10s and absolutely love them. This spot's sarcastic, funny, and witty.

TM Advertising Dallas, TX



This non-tradition piece of art is really eye-catching. It's massive, so how could you miss? Especially with that obnoxiously bright yellow color of paint. The best part is that they totally doused cars and bus stops on the ground when making the huge puddle in this parking lot. I love the way non-traditional ads look and how the people behind them think. Another neat thing about this ad is that it advertises two things in one. The places providing the destructive paint on the left, Coop's Paint, and the company that will help with the clean up on the right, Nationwide Insurance. Ads like this make me feel like I'm in the action instead of looking at a 2D print ad. So cool!

DraftFCB New York



This ad isn't anything extraordinary, but I thought it did a great job of getting the message across that Starbucks wanted to portray. Usually, people go to Starbucks; they meet others there or stop on their way to work. This campaign really drove the point home that Starbucks can be part of your routine without ever changing out of your pajamas. The menu board is now in your own kitchen- something that could be dangerous for serious caffeine addicts but good news for Starbucks!



This ad, also by Draft FCB in NY, is one of my favorites in the heart string tugging department. Right up there with the "Home" spot for American Airlines, this ad gets me every time for no particular reason. Oreos aren't usually a family gathering food, but now they can be. It seems awkward to reminisce about cookies instead of something like biscuits and gravy or peach cobler.

Lowe New York



Thank you J&J for pointing out the obvious. "Having a baby changes everything" isn't something I've ever heard or anything. Still a cute commercial despite the painfully obvious copy. Who doesn't love babies and frogs in the same commercial?

Carmichael Lynch Minneapolis, MN



I find this campaign to be a little over the top with its tag line, but every ad is still pretty funny. This one in particular is just ridiculous with that cute old man. I just couldn't resist. But, for some reason, I find it hard to believe that, if this organization didn't advocate for the preservation of our nation's bike paths, bikers would be at a loss and begin doing ridiculous activities they don't enjoy. There are plenty of places to bike in the United States... correct me, if I'm wrong.

Hill Holiday Boston, MA



Wow. I hate this commercial. I'm not even sure where to start. The song: obnoxious. Am I missing something here? What does the phrase "lefty loosy, righty tighty" have anything to do with a good cup of coffee? Can you really get more done with DD in one hand? Besides, I would think you would need both hands to accomplish the tasks being shown in the ad. Oh, and John Goodman to do the voiceover? Fred Flintstone to be the spokesperson for your donuts, really? Maybe I'm too bias because I would take a Krispy Kreme and Starbucks over Dunkin' any day of the week..

Deutsch NY




If you haven't caught on yet, I really like non-traditional guerrilla advertising. IKEA teamed up with Deutsch on a hilarious campaign that placed mock rooms using their furniture all over the place. I highly recommend researching the rest of the ads, they are pretty great. In the meantime, this bus stop/park bench combination looks pretty comfortable.

Mullen Boston, MA



I love what Mullen did for the Grain Foods Foundation. This ad is just a visual snapshot (literally) of the entire interactive campaign. They had an entire website devoted to the campaign where users can create their own artwork like the pieces of burnt bread seen in this ad. What a great way to spread the scary statistics of hunger all around the world. One dollar is donated for each piece of art made by visitors. Check out the website at http://breadartproject.com/#/home and head to the gallery to make your own!

Campbell Mithun Minneapolis, MN


Another great visual for a another great cause. Nothing fancy, but it's true. They sure can't speak or fight for themselves, we have to help!

Dailey & Associates Los Angeles, CA



This was a really interesting find, I thought. I haven't ever seen an agency advertise..for themselves. It was light-hearted and funny, not flashy, and definitely wasn't trying to sell the company. It was just a nice message from them to us. I wonder where it aired, if it aired?

WPP GROUP

JWT Milan


I love this spot. I had no idea what they were trying to get at...I knew it was a hospital commercial but what does that have anything to do with video games? Besides, since when did hospitals invest in creative advertising? I thought the concept was really unique and the short copy at the end brought the whole ad full circle and gave it a whole new meaning. It was so cool!


Ogilvy & Mather New York


For such a dull product like deodorant, this is one of the coolest ads I've seen. Things like toothpaste, toilet paper, and deodorant are all things people need and buy on a regular basis. The opportunity comes when consumers aren't loyal to any particular brand in these categories. One great visual like this might make you a loyal customer for Dove for a lifetime!



This print ad isn't anything spectacular but I think it was a pretty creative ( and probably very cheap) idea. I always love to see ads where the product, the toy cars in this case, isn't even shown. It fascinates me how well consumers are able to pick up on and identify what is being sold without actually seeing it. I also love when advertisers use every objects to portray product benefits, like the stair railing. This ad combines both of those things perfectly for me.

Y&R London



Y&R Melbourne


The art direction in both these commercials is awesome; very beautifully done. Y&R seems to have a thing for exploding liquids in slow motion, but it works. I especially liked the spot for Schweppes. Some of the shots were so cool being able to see the water still in the shape of the balloon, even after it was popped. I've never seen anything like that. At first, I thought the "Schweppervescence" was kind of a tacky tag line, thinking they just put the brand name in with a word that sounded fancy. But, curious, I looked up the definition of effervescence. It reads: To escape from a liquid as bubbles; bubble up. It was no coincidence they chose that word to go with their commercial full of bubble explosion.

Grey Copenhagen



Besides just being funny to look at, this ad makes a bold statement. Kind of like "in your face, it's not about race." I sort of doubt that it helped either campaign one way or the other but still a very poignant ad in my opinion. Is it just me or is white Obama a lot stranger looking than black McCain??

OMNICOM

BBDO, Germany



This spot for Jeep is catchy. I love the childish approach, without being immature or unintelligent. They didn't even show the car, but you know by the grill and spare tire that the last car standing is a Jeep. I thought that was a neat approach since I thought for sure the flow of the spot would be ruined with a shot of the real deal on the showroom floor.

DDB, London:



I love this idea for an interactive and integrated campaign for Hasbro's Here and Now limited edition of Monopoly. I can imagine thousands of users being addicted to checking the status of their own game and how they are doing in comparison to the rest of the city, I know I would be. Not only did this campaign boost sales for a game whose demand was quickly dwindling, it rewarded consumers for getting in on the action, both with entertainment and material prizes.

TBWA, LA



If you don't feel compelled to adopt Otis, you must not have a heart. Let's be honest, they could have made him look a little more sad though...The copy for this campaign is very well written in each ad they put out as well. They do a great job of provoking a feeling of guilt, unfortunately.

180, Amsterdam



This ad for Adidas feeds off of the Olympic spirit. The cool thing about this campaign was that the photos were shot in Beijing a few weeks before the games. The handful of athletes that were featured in the campaign were some of the few who traveled to China very early to adapt themselves to the climate and the city itself. They epitomized the copy of the ads by proving that even though they were all very talented and favored to win gold medals, "gold's never a given."

Goodby Silverstein, San Francisco

http://helpthehoneybees.com/#/home/home/

This website done by Goodby for Haagen-Dazs raises awareness about the plight of honey bees. It's interactive, informative, and interesting in my opinion. The connection between honey bees and the effect it has on HD's ice cream had never occurred to me. It's simple but profound to the brand and I really enjoyed reading the little blurbs about each ingredient and how much the bees affect it.



This was also done by Goodby, for HP computers. I like it a lot, but...De Beer's anyone?

Dieste Harmel & Partners, Dallas



This spot for Gatorade really held my attention. We don't always think of soccer as being a really intense game but they sure portrayed it as that here. The music was thrilling, the slow motion shots gave it a really suspenseful feel, and they also made it very diverse in the people shown. Dieste was honored as Multicultural Agency of the Year in 2008 according to AdAge. They proved it in this spot, and in the intro video for their website, there are people from all over in it, check it out!

GSD&M Idea City Austin

http://www.josplumbing.com/

This website done for KOHLER is ridiculous on so many levels. It's tacky but yet, sort of funny. Trying to make a plumber sexy and giving her lines like "Flushing is fun!" and "NO no, that's too big!" has to be the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. I don't know how I feel about it in the end but in my mind it contradicts the image KOHLER portrays in its "bold look" ads.

LatinWorks, Austin



I don't care who the target audience is, I love this spot. The Indian guy really does it for me, I think. I'm not one to get sick of different renditions of the same great idea. I loved the spot teaching men how to say 'Budweiser' and I love this spot that's along the same lines. Besides, props to LatinWorks for working sherpas into their advertising.



To demonstrate the agencies loyalty to its name, I also found this print ad for the Spanish version of ESPN. It was a neat idea, but was it before the barbed wire ad for Adidas?

Martin l Williams, Minneapolis



The Not For Sale campaign struck me as a very poignant and moving one. This non-traditional ad in the form of a receipt really caught my attention. They didn't use brutal images to fear people into awareness, but they used real people with real stories in a way that really tugged at my heart strings. I wasn't oblivious to human trafficking but being pointed to the NOt For Sale website through this receipt gave me a much better understanding for how prevalent it still is today.