The Pinata Revolt

Here's an old commercial from the director of the Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" spot (Tom Kuntz):



Which reminded me of this old favourite:



And that got me searching for a really great Starburst commercial. And I found one:



I'M A SCREAMING MIME!

Jacob forgoes photoshopping (kind of)

This month, Jacob, popular retailer of very nice women's clothing, announced a "no-retouching" policy for photos of its models, to "promote an honest and realistic image of the female body."

Good news, but can you tell the difference between the three images below? The left is the original image, the middle an example of the kind of image Jacob will use for its campaigns moving forward (colour-corrected, scars and tattoos removed, etc.), and the one on the right is supposed to illustrate the degree of photoshopping in their past Jacob Lingerie campaigns.

The press release's title is a bit troubling... does it mean that other photos--those of non-models--would (and should) be retouched? And, as Jenna Owsianik pointed out on Shameless's blog, this lady doesn't exactly need a lot of photoshopping.

Emwow and the Shampon

It's all the same... except for Kim Kardashian

Who's commanding top dollar on the Internet? For all their bitching and moaning about how they can't compete in the world of online entertainment, the big players--Martha Stewart, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and NBC and FOX (via Hulu)--are still rated by agency buyers and media sellers as the most powerful sellers of ad space.

But one lone lady is making it on her own: Kim Kardashian charges $10,000 for just one tweet. MMMM Carl's Jr., so tasty.

Who makes it happen? Ad.ly

.........
from Ad Age

This ad combines many things I like: San Francisco, (some) skateboarders, big thinking, and TETRIS.



via BoingBoing (but the post has since been taken down -why?)

AMMMERRCA!

Courtesy of the SAD crew, I bring to you Levi's Go Forth Campaign by W+K Portland. Be inspired. Read Walt Whitman. Light fireworks and shoot a gun, or something.





Original hat tip goes to Brzaaandon!

"Soul" Commercial from McD's

You could wrestle with this video a little and think about why you've never seen it in Vancouver, ask yourself, "Is this racist?" (as they are doing on Bossip), or just watch it for a laugh.

Nikon S-60

Detects up to 12 faces



Fubiz

THE HORROR

And now for a series of commercials I absolutely loathe. LOATHE. In fact, it makes me want to hit something and scream. There is an Indian and Chinese version of these. You can't really tell what's going on in the Chinese one because it's so absurd so I'll show you episode one of the Indian version.

Ponds has a SKIN WHITENER cream that is extremely popular in China and India. In India it's called White Beauty and in China it's called Flawless White. Surveys state that two thirds of women in these countries bleach their skin to achieve a "pinkish, white glow" because darker skin is considered undesirable. Men surveyed have suggested that they prefer lighter-skinned women to darker women. Lighter skin has traditionally been associated with wealth and aristocracy. And it's not just women who are lightening their skin. The trend is catching on with men as well.

Ponds is advertising their disgusting product via the story of "Karan" and "Ria". There are five episodes. This is the first and you can click through to see the rest but maybe you won't want to.

The Return of Phoebe

I like commercials next to never but this is cute. Nintendo DS is trying to win over girly girls with a series of commercials featuring Liv Tyler, Carrie Underwood and Ugly Betty. They're all on Youtube:

Previewing the Simpsons Halloween Episode

Feel-good advertising