The art of conversation

Another reason I wish I got a mini instead my Honda Civic Si.

The Account Directing dynamo, Kimberly, sent me this New York Times story by Barnaby Feber (log-in required) on mini's personalized billboards. A few quotes from the article:

"The boards, which usually carry typical advertising, are programmed to identify approaching Mini drivers through a coded signal from a radio chip embedded in their key fob."

"The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: “Mary, moving at the speed of justice,” if Mary is a lawyer, or “Mike, the special of the day is speed,” if Mike is a chef."

"The program was first suggested to Mini a year ago by Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners, a San Francisco advertising agency that wanted to intensify the already strong “tribal” feeling among Mini owners and stimulate their desire to support the brand, according to Greg Stern, a partner with the firm."

True Graffiti

spotted this at the Wooster Collective.

Interesting project playing with video ads in NYC from the Anti-Advertising Agency and Graffiti Research Lab. They claim advertising is the vandalism of the Fortune 500. Hard to argue judging by the barrage of work (good and bad) we put out there.
First saw the techinque used in the Abstractor by the bubble project.

Not you see it, now you don't

I thought this was a pretty boring ad for Westin hotels when I saw it.

Then I tried to turn the page.

Moving on up

Saw this in Vibe magazine last month and love the headline.

But I wonder, does the media buy make it a stronger ad?

Waredrobe Kerning

Veer is offering this great jacket to keep your art director warm
on those cold, late nights at the office.

Found at Boing Boing.

Engage, Rinse, Repeat

I found this execution and it completely negates my previous post on Sprite's sublymonal campaign. A sample shampoo is just weird enough to feel right. I even felt compelled to try it.

The shampoo has a nice lemon/lime smell,
so kudos on the attention to detail.
But their conditioner is terrible.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky created the campaign, so you can blame them for this.

Sprite sticks it

click on ads to read copy

When I first saw this spread (with real magnet attached) I thought, "What a waste, do they really expect anyone to stick that on their fridge?" Of course that's beside the point, since you can't ignore the ad. But I wish it were more engaging somehow. It doesn't seem to live up to the madness of the TV that launched the sublymonal campaign.

Here’s a screwy idea.

Seth Godin wrote a post about how compact fluorescent lightbulbs have a story problem.
I don't quite agree. After Keith Knight told their story in this comic, I gave my Dad a few for Christmas.

The real problem occurs at the shelf. All the do-gooder logic can't convince most people to spend over seven dollars on a pack of light bulbs. So if it’s not enough for these bulbs to be good for you and the rest of the planet, what will it take? Why not try the opposite approach?
Who are these bulbs bad for?