Stockholm-based Kollektivet Livet created Use Condoms, a music video for a song created by using the sounds of condoms. It was filmed by Yosef Elkelany and was originally created as an ad for Swedish sex advocacy group RFSU, but was never used.

via Doobybrain.com

Over on the Burning Blog, our friend Evil Pippi explains in detail how Krug Champagne exploited the Burning Man 2011 event with a publicity stunt where they staged a photoshoot in the form of an elaborate dinner party by the trash fence, with food prepared by NYC chef Phil Winser of The Fat Radish. The feast was setup in order to promote their champagne and they invited “society bloggers” to cover the event, which was written up by Notes on a Party and Taryn Cox The Wife. The event was also featured in serveral publications including Town & Country and W Magazine (since removed).

Evil Pippi writes:

Krug, a centuries-old luxury champagne house, and its publicity machine, staged and hosted an elaborate dinner party at the trash fence on Friday night of the 2011 event. Pre-event, Krug’s PR agency pitched members of the media to photograph and report on the staged dinner for publications such as Town & Country and W Magazine. They invited society bloggers to the “exclusive” champagne dinner with the expectation of getting even more coverage, and pro photogs to shoot it. And it worked. The organizers of this event brought paid photographers to the playa and had them falsely register with Media Mecca saying they were there to cover general art and playa happenings, instead of telling the truth; that they were there to act as representatives of Krug – obviously knowing that if they had told the truth, they would not have been allowed to photograph. They then pulled the dinner off entirely under the radar, had the dinner covered both by their captive media and the general media, and managed to get product placement articles published.

The event was called The Zoo Camp and Krug Champagne at Burning Man and it was organized by the creative events agency Silkstone based in NYC. Here’s how they described it:

In addition to catering breakfast and dinner for the Zoo Camp (120 people spread across 30+ RVs), we built a dinner table for the 120 Zoo Camp guests and hosted a seated three-course meal (accompanied by Krug Grande Cuvee) out on the playa. We began the build on Wednesday the 31st and completed it just hours before the first course went down the following day, with string lights, lanterns, and a walkway leading guests to the long table. Our head catering chef, Ana Morris, spent all day prepping the dinner back at the campsite, located about a mile away from the dinner site. Just before the dinner, our team drove our refrigeration van out toward the dinner and plated all the dishes from a makeshift kitchen space we created just next to the table.

Burning Man has always been a non-commercial event and all media has to be approved in advance via the Media Team at Media Mecca, which Krug went out of their way to circumvent. Making things worse, they did not clean up after the dinner, leaving the table, food and trash on the playa for others to clean up, an affront to Burning Man’s long standing policy of “leave no trace”.

Of course at this point the damage to their brand will end up being much greater than the promotion gained by their stunt. The Burning Man community is outraged to say the least and has been going after Krug on Twitter and Facebook.

Here’s the full story on the Burning Blog: How Not To Burn: Commodifying Burning Man

The story has also been picked up by MetaFilter, SFist, Inside Scoop SF and Burners.me.

UPDATE: Bret Bernhoft has written up a really great case study and timeline of the Krug Champagne Burning Man PR Meltdown.

photos via Silkstone & Taryn Cox, video by Raquel Baranow

To capture the attention of prospective clients, French creative agency Murmure designed these very clever concrete business cards.

via Freshome

This creepy Bic Shaver commercial from 1977 suggests using their razor is like getting “stroked”. Fred, the young groom in the ad, is told on his wedding day to “stop shaving,” that it’s “better to get stroked in the morning.” He tries it and proclaims, “I’m going to get stroked like this EVERY morning!” Later his bride awkwardly announces (at his wedding no less) “that he really got stroked this morning.” The woman in the blue dress seems to be the only one who understands what getting “stroked in the morning” actually entails.

Get Stroked in the Morning.

via Everything is Terrible

In Case of Emergency: Eat This Book is a giveaway book for select owners of Land Rover vehicles. The book not only gives life-saving tips on how to survive in the Arabian Desert but is also made of edible ink and paper and has the nutritional value close to a cheeseburger.

Ad agency Y&R Dubai created this clever campaign for Land Rover which is described in detail at Ads of the World:

While Land Rover vehicles can take on any obstacles in the desert, it cannot be said the same of their owners. Scorching temperatures, deadly animals and sinkholes are just a few things they might encounter. And when they venture deep into it, even the most experienced drivers can quickly succumb to the harshness of the desert. We wanted to create something that would cut through the clutter and that these people would like to keep. So we created a survival guide, which explained the basics for staying alive in the Arabian Desert, and packaged it in a way that would spur the attention of our target audience. We researched every indigenous animal and plant, people could encounter in the Arabian Desert and how they could be used to survive. We studied the topography of the region to guide people to safety. We used a reflective packaging similar to army rations, which could be used to signal for help, and bound the book with a metal spiral, which could be used for cooking. Finally, we even took an extra step so that in case of emergency, people could always EAT the book. It was made out of edible ink and paper, and it had a nutritional value close to that of a cheeseburger. We sent the book to 5,000 existing customers, gave it away as a supplement to the cars’ manual and made it freely available in sports shops. The initial response was very positive. And the client was so happy with the concept that they asked us to include the book as an insert in the next edition of a car magazine, with a 70,000 circulation.

via Ads of the World

French artist Florian Rivière converted a rotating ad kiosk in Berlin into a fun carousel for kids.

via rebel:art & today and tomorrow

Eight British blood donors recently paraded around London painted in circulatory system body art as part of a campaign to encourage blood donation ahead of the London Olympics. The campaign is by the National Health Service.

via Metro.co.uk & Street Anatomy

In this astonishing commercial for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, an amputee runner sprints on a track, passing vignettes depicting the runner’s traumatic injury in a car accident and subsequent rehabilitation. Directed by Mark Zibert for ad agency BBDO Toronto, the commercial was filmed in one continuous shot without CGI trickery (making-of video). The runner is Canadian paralympian Alister McQueen.

via PetaPixel

Japanese ad agency I&S BBDO Tokyo developed Design NORI, intricately patterned laser-cut sushi nori seaweed sheets, for their client Umino Seaweed Store. The store’s owner Umino Hiroyuki wanted to rebuild his business after the wake of the March 2011 tsunami and hired I&S BBDO Tokyo to help. Each of the five nori designs are cut in a traditional Japanese pattern: Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Mizutama (Water Drops), Asanoha (Hemp), Kikkou (Turtle Seashell), and Kumikkou (Tortoise Shell). Design NORI is currently featured through May 27, 2012 at KATAGAMI Style, a 19th century Japanese stencil art exhibition at Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo, Japan. RocketNews24 recently interviewed Umino Hiroyuki who was surprised by Design NORI’s worldwide success and is hoping to lower production costs so that it can be made on a larger scale.

via Make and Jeannie Jeannie

images via Jeannie Jeannie and RocketNews24

These mugshots of kids were taken by Very French Gangsters to promote their collection of prescription eyewear for children. Be sure to take a look at the entire image gallery of cute kids posing as criminals.

via My Modern Met and PetaPixel

photos by Cécilia JAUNIAU

This photo series of famous artists “dissected” to reveal the art within them is an ad campaign for the MASP art school in Brazil (see Dali, Picasso, & Van Gogh). The campaign was created by DDB Brazil.

via Street Anatomy

These cleverly applied mask stickers were a promotion for Goodwill stores last Halloween. The campaign was created by Canadian branding agency RED.

via Super Punch

Polaroid cameras sponsored “The Tonight Show” with Steve Allen and later Jack Paar for many years in the 1950′s and 60′s. In that era show hosts commonly endorsed products during the show rather that just cutting to commercials. This clip from a 1960 episode shows Jack Paar trying to do his in-show plug for the Polaroid Land Camera while comedian Jerry Lewis generally runs amuck and literally drives Paar up the wall.

Nearly 40 years later, here’s a Polaroid I-Zone camera ad circa 1999 which features a young Aaron Paul (Jesse on Breaking Bad) as a happy sticky-picture-snapping teenager–he was about 20 at the time. Click the image to see the video.

Of course Polaroid ain’t what it used to be:

On October 11, 2001, Polaroid Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Almost all the company’s assets (including the “Polaroid” name itself) were sold to a subsidiary of Bank One. They went on to form a new company, which also operates under the name “Polaroid Corporation”. It stopped making Polaroid cameras in 2007 and stopped selling Polaroid film after 2009, to the consternation of many users.

However Polaroid film is at least available again thanks to the Impossible Project. A vintage Polaroid commercial montage is below including both these ads plus appearances by Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Barry Manilow, James Garner and more.

In 2011, Atlanta-based Red Brick Brewing created a campaign centered around the Beerbulance, a sort-of ambulance that could be called out for a “beermergency.” The campaign was designed by Josh Robinson who states on Behance, “What started as a simple van wrap became an Atlanta icon.” From what I can tell, if you are in the Atlanta area, it is still possible to contact the Beerbulance in times of beermergencies.

If you’re experiencing a beermergency, don’t dawdle. Tweet #beerbulance to @redbrickbrewing, and we’ll dispatch our lead-footed Beerbulance drivers. Remember to include your emergency and to geo-tag your tweet. And stay calm. Beer is near

via Lance Boyle

images via Josh Robinson

Say NO to Crack, Say YES! to Roller Skating is a brilliant commercial created by comedy duo Rhett & Link (Dope Zebra, Chuck Testa) for Reno, Nevada’s Roller Kingdom.

Starring Roller Kingdom Owner and Employees: Brad (Owner/Kidnapper), George (Skate Instructor/Gang Leader), and Julio (DJ/Drug Dealer).

via Neatorama and b3ta

Ad agency Ogilvy in Buenos Aires, Argentina created this commercial where a roller coaster called the “Shaker” blends flavors of the fruit-flavored beverage Tang Re-Mix for thrill-riding children. Since Tang was originally part of an astronaut’s breakfast, this ‘shaking up of the product under extreme circumstances’ almost makes sense.

via Ads of the World

Ad agency Y&R in Brazil created these iconic movie posters as viewed from different angles for a campaign for LG’s Home Theater 3D Sound. The three movie posters for Kill Bill, Forrest Gump and Pretty Woman are represented in this campaign.

Home theater 3D sound LG.
Every side of the sound.

via Ads of the World

Color Forecast shows what colors are trending in real time in the fashion capitals of Paris, Milan and Antwerp. High speed cameras are strategically placed in these cities and the color information is analyzed by software created by Pedro Miguel Cruz. Ad agency Happiness Brussels created the project for retail chain Pimkie.

…The cameras are connected to Mac Mini’s with color tracking software developed by Pedro Cruz…
The software analyzes the passing colors and shows in real time which colors are worn the most.
All colors are then compiled in nice infographics, so you can follow how the cities evolve and how trends change.

via Wired

Mother New York created this fun PSA music video titled Book People Unite for children’s literacy nonprofit Reading is Fundamental (RIF), Library of Congress and the Ad Council. The Book People Unite campaign “helps put books in the hands of kids who need them the most.” The songs’s track “was produced by The Roots with vocal support from Jack Black, Chris Martin, John Legend, Jim James, Jason Schwartzman, Nate Ruess, Melanie Fiona, Carrie Brownstein, Regina Spektor and Consequence.” Look for the cameo by actor LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Reading lovers are coming together to help us get books into the hands of kids who need them the most. Remember visiting Narnia, playing Jumanji, and eating Green Eggs and Ham? Books can have an incredible effect on children’s lives, yet there’s only one book for every 300 kids living in underserved communities in the U.S. So we’ve brought together some of our most beloved literary characters to help make this film and rally Book People for the cause.

via Ads of the World

These iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaning robot commercials feature the awesome robotic dance moves of Marquese Scott (aka NONSTOP), Marie Poppins and others. The videos are part of Roomba’s Dance Robolution campaign. We have featured NONSTOP dancing videos in the past: Slow Motion Robotic Dancing To Dubstep Version of Pumped Up Kicks and Amazing Dubstep Dancing by NONSTOP on the Great Wall of China.

via Om Malik

To promote their viral marketing efforts, Italian advertising agency Enfants Terribles (aka Ebolaindustries) created these microscope slide business cards. Ebolaindustries employees operate under pseudonyms, but their real names are printed on the slides in 1.6 point type—so small the names can only be read with a microscope.

via Super Punch

In celebration of sports, this ESPN commercial shows that life would kind of suck if your name was Michael Jordan.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to share a name with a superstar? Here, we follow an ordinary man who has been saddled with a legendary name. It’s not crazy, it’s sports.

via Tastefully Offensive

David Mitchell’s Soapbox is a series of 3 to 5-minute videos featuring monologues by the eruditely irritated British comedian David Mitchell who vents on such topics as phones, naming your child and signing boobs. The series, co-written by Mitchell and John Finnemore, has run for 64 episodes over 3 seasons; you can find it on YouTube and as a podcast.

If you like Stephen Fry but you wish he wouldn’t be so *nice* about being so *smart* (though you like the patterns of *em*-phasis in his well-mannered *rants*) then David Mitchell will be right up your street. Your street will be in England, and you will sneer down at it from an upper window with a comfortable certainty that it IS okay to feel a bit superior (as long as you are parenthetically a bit self-deprecating soon after). “Consensus“, you should know by the way, is a trap.

Actually Mitchell is the British John Hodgman. He’s the “PC” character in the UK version of the Apple “Get a Mac” campaign anyway, the role that Hodgman played in the U.S. ads. Here’s a collection of the ads that were unique to the British market (there were others that were based on the US originals).

Mac in the ads is played by Mitchell’s comedy partner Robert Webb. Mitchell and Webb have co-starred in a film and two TV series together: “That Mitchell and Webb Look” is a sketch show which grew out of their successful radio show and “Peep Show” is an award-winning sit-com whose 8th season starts later this year. Both shows are available on Netflix and Hulu at the moment. Here’s one of my favorite sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look: Bronze Age Orientation Day.

Beyond his work with Webb, Mitchell stays quite busy appearing on and hosting various panel, quiz, and news satire shows including 10 O’Clock Live (which also features Charlie Brooker who we’ve covered before). Mitchell also writes a column for The Observer. He was interviewed by Jesse Thorn on The Sound of Young America (now “Bullseye“) in 2008.

image via Bullseye

Here’s one more from the Soapbox, David Mitchell’s honest opinion on “LOL”…

This clever Twitter-based animation for smart Argentina unfolds over the course of 455 Twitter messages by @smartArg. Each tweet is an ASCII art animation frame—the viewer can watch the animation by scrolling down through the messages (or watching this video version). The commercial is by ad agency BBDO Argentina.

via PandoDaily

Life is either daring adventure or nothing at all.

Filmmaker Casey Neistat was hired to film a commercial for the Nike+ Fuelband #Makeitcount campaign. Instead of making a straight commercial, he took the money, went on a 10-day around the world adventure with his friend & editor Max Joseph and created the fun film short titled Make it Count.

via Gizmodo