AXE| The Puppet Master

 

Cape Times Newspaper| Medics -|- Police -|- War -|- Parliament

“Immerse yourself in the news first thing every weekday morning. Know all about it.”

Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa
Executive Creative Director: Kirk Gainsford
Creative Director: Alistair Morgan
Art Directors: Lisa Hodgkiss, Brendan Hoffman
Copywriter: Alistair Morgan

10 Sexist Ads <<<<< iLike

There's been a lot of fuss about the new "Got milk?" ads, which claim that milk eases PMS symptoms—thus making your wife or girlfriend slightly less of a crazy, irrational bitch every month. The work is intentionally provocative—some say irredeemably sexist. But to put that sexism in context, check out the 10 TV spots below—from the 1950s to today—which are all, to a greater or lesser degree, anti-woman (or anti-girl). A lot has changed in 50 years—the Folgers spot seems like something from an alternate universe today. Yet there's been a seesaw effect, too. As advertising has become less blatantly sexist, more ads than ever are being called sexist. So, where's the line? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

1. Allstate
   
   Click to view Let's start off mild. This Allstate "Mayhem" spot is more anti-youth than anti-girl, but it certainly paints a bleak picture of your average female teenager. She's vicious, boy-obsessed, "emotionally compromised" and flat-out hell on wheels.
2. Dodge
   
   Click to view Dodge's pro-male manifesto, which aired during the 2010 Super Bowl, came off as almost completely anti-female. In a world full of horrible nagging women and their endless demands, Dodge is "man's last stand."
3. Axe
   
   Click to view The core message of Axe's marketing worldwide is that women are unthinking animals who can't resist the scent of an alpha male (cosmetically engineered though he may be). The epic "Billions" spot, featuring wild packs of women in bikinis, just took it a bit further—suggesting that's true of every woman alive.
4. Nando's
   
   Click to view This ridiculously insulting South African commercial presents a fantastically stupid woman who can't find the french fries on her plate—because they're obscured by her enormous breasts. The ad was pulled after complaints.
5. Bud Light
   
   Click to view How can a woman make her marriage work? By doing all the chores, leaving her husband free to hang out with his friends, and frequently surprising him with cases of Bud Light. Something to think about on your wedding day.
6. Hasbro's Rose Petal Cottage
   
   Click to view It's best to teach girls early on that their proper place is in the kitchen—that is, when they're not in the laundry room. Thanks, Hasbro's Rose Petal Cottage!
7. Mercedes
   
   Click to view This idiotic Mercedes commercial is literally an ancient blonde joke brought to life.
8. Folgers
   
   Click to view The final three ads, beginning with this Folgers spot, are from a different era—a time when sexism was so ingrained as to be unremarkable. In Folgers' world, all women had to do was make coffee for their husbands—and they were usually shitty at that.
9. National Airlines
   
   Click to view In the early '70s, National Airlines (later merged into Pan Am) launched its "Fly Me" campaign, in which the aircraft were given female names and the flight attendants starred in the advertising. See, you didn't just ride on the airplane; you got to ride the stewardess as well.
10. Goodyear
    
    Click to view It's good to have quality tires on your car. But when your wife is behind the wheel? God, it's a necessity. Just look at the way she drives—all confused and overwhelmed and driving into potholes. What a useless and stupid woman!

After the jump:

People don't talk much about anti-male sexism in advertising—mostly because it sounds like whining, and also because it's so common. The bumbling man is an archetypal advertising character. Here are a few of the more notable examples.

1. Combos
   
   Click to view If your mom were a man, you'd basically be screwed.
2. Pizza Hut
   
   Click to view Hey, look at Dad. What a moron, he can't cook.
3. Roomba
   
   Click to view Your filthy, lazy husband is a complete ass. Literally.
4. Oven Pride
   
   Click to view Men can't clean the kitchen either. Look at this fucking imbecile!

Cape Times newspaper Drive Times: For Sale

The Cape Times newspaper supplement, the Drive Times, is one of the more reliable places to look if you’re interested in buying a vehicle. In order to demonstrate this, we went about dramatising just the opposite by creating three rather interesting characters who are attempting to sell their vehicles directly to the public at a remarkably good price (via posters around the city, emailers and ‘for sale’ signs attached to their cars). When callers call the cellphone number (+27) 82 234 5800, they are greeted by one of our three fabricated characters: Clifford, Mike or Doris. However, these are merely pre-recorded messages made to sound as if the caller has in fact gotten through to them. Once the caller puts down the phone, they are immediately sent the following SMS: Before you consider buying a vehicle from anyone else, consult the Drive Times for new & used vehicles. Free every Thursday with the Cape Times. Know all about it.


Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa
Executive Creative Director: Kirk Gainsford
Art Director: Romano Cardinal
Copywriters: Natalie Rose, Chris De Villiers
Client Services: Kyle Dewar, Claire Dodds
Media partner: Strike Media
Producer: Brian Scott
Sound Studio: Sterling Sound
Sound Engineer: Lorens Persson

The new Touareg. Fall in Luxury.

“The new Touareg. Fall in Luxury.”
Advertising Agency: DDB, Australia
Executive Creative Director: Dylan Harrison
Creative Directors: Steve Wakelam, Nick Pringle
Digital Creative Director: Matt Grogan
Digital Art Director: Ramon Rodriguez
Managing Partner: Nicole Taylor
Planning Director: Nick Andrews
Business Management: Patrice Bougouin, Josette Addinall, Dave Murphy
Project Director: Todd Osbourne
Agency Producers: Brenden Johnson, Sam Meehan
Digital Producer: Ellie Campbell
Digital Design / Production: Per Thoresson, Mauricio Massaia, Marcio Puga, Orrr
Production Manager: John Wood

Fall déjà-vu!

THE ORIGINAL?  Advil / Pfizer – 2008 Tagline : “Faster than pain” Source : Cannes Archive Online, Agency : Publicis (Netherlands)	LESS ORIGINAL  Solpadeine / GlaxoSmithKline – 2011 Tagline : “Fast acting pain relief” Source : Adsoftheworld Agency : Ogilvy & Mather (Ukraine)

WHEEL OF CONCEPT: A NEW SPIN ON INSPIRATION

When the client presentation is an hour away and you need impactful ideas immediately, look no further than the Wheel of Concept. This digital tool serves up pre-packaged client-focused cutting-edge ideas, taking inspirational pressure off overworked creatives. Simply go to wheelofconcept.com, enter your client’s brand name and spin the wheel. Your concept will be branded with your client’s logo for you on a ready-to-print PDF presentation board. Making your client happy 100% of the time has never been easier. Now with the new Wheel of Concept, thinking is one less think you have to think about.

Credits:
Creative Director: Saman Rahmanian
Account Director: Joshua Lenze
Copywriter: Hunter Simms
Art Director: Sherina Florence
Sound Design: Antony Demekhin
Programming: Andronicus Riyono
Voice Talent: Steve Brauntuch

Indestructible proof

Bike theft is an everyday occurrence in cities. As a cyclist, having your bike stolen is obviously inconvenient, but then so is the amount of locks, chains and tools that you have to carry around with you everywhere in attempt to keep your ride secure.

Owners of second-hand bikes never really escape the nagging sensation that the bike they've just bought through Gumtree or Craigslist wasn't already stolen, and no amount of local police force initiatives ever seem to fully address the problem of bike theft.

As a security device, the Lock-Off bike lock from Cheeky.com claimed to be "near-indestructible". Cheeky.com is an online retailer that specialises in unusual but useful inventions that challenge accepted conventions of purpose and design. As such, the most noticeable feature of the Lock-Off is the unmistakable message it sends to would-be bike thieves: Lock-Off is the only bike lock to give thieves the finger.

Opportunities to demonstrate the effectiveness of a bike lock are somewhat limited in traditional media. Manufacturers can make any number of claims about the strength and effectiveness of their product, but to the cyclist who has had their bike stolen needs some more concrete proof that their new bike lock is the ultimate protection from thieves.

To prove just how good the Lock-Off was, agency The Social House attached a bike some railings in a part of Dublin that was notorious for bike theft. Confidence in the Lock-Off was so strong that cutting tools were also chained to the bike. A sign with the words "steal me" was the final addition to the bait. A camera was left set up to record the stunt, and the footage used in a demonstration video hosted on YouTube.

Results

Full results to follow. Within 3 weeks of upload, the Lock-Off video had been viewed more than 8,000 times.

Demonstration videos and infomercials can often be quite boring for the viewer. Here The Social House have risked a product demonstration in a very public environment, which makes for entertaining viewing and a compelling case for the product

BRAND:

Lock-Off

BRAND OWNER:

Cheeky.com

CATEGORY:

Household Goods

REGION:

Ireland

DATE:

June - June 2011

AGENCY:

The Social House

MEDIA CHANNEL:

Out-of-Home

Credits

• 
  Director
  PJ Dillon
• 
  Creative Director
  Colin Hart
• 
  Copywriter
  Jonny Pittard
• 
  Digital creative
  Lucian Baiesan

Samsung S1 Mini HDD: Data Migration

Advertising Agency: Impact BBDO, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Executive Creative Director: Fouad Abdel Malak
Creative Director / Copywriter: Amit Kapoor
Associate Creative Director: Dinesh Tharippa
Art Director: Dinesh Tharippa
Digital Artist: Byju Ravindran
Image Library: Corbis, Photolibrary
Group Account Director: Claude Checrallah
Account Manager: Sirine Tueni
Marketing Coordinator: Nayla Mouawad
CEO: Eddy Cherfan
Group Marketing Director: Georges Azar

Associazione Donne Insieme Contro la Violenza (Women Against Violence): Difference

“It takes a little to make a big difference. Call 0290422123.”
Advertising Agency: 1861 United, Milan, Italy
Executive Creative Directors: Pino Rozzi, Roberto Battaglia
Art Director: Nicola Bolfelli
Copywriter: Emanuele Accurli Abenante
Photographer: Andrea Melcangi
Post Production: Martin&Rainone

Happy iPhone 4th Anniversary

Four years ago today, Apple released the original iPhone. The hype that preceded the release of the so-called “Jesus Phone” was nothing short of staggering.

Analysts, tech blogs and consumers oscillated between hyping the phone as the second-coming or deriding it as much-ado about nothing. In 2007, I was both an Apple fan (I purchased my first iPod in 2002) and a mobile phone fanatic. Still, I had my doubts about the iPhonebecause of its outlandish price, its carrier lock (and the carrier of choice) and the lack of third-party applications. I thought, OK, the iPhone will probably sell pretty well, but it’s not going to change the mobile phone industry.

The details and investment into the narrative surrounding the iPhone’s launch wasn’t like other tech products — or even other Apple products. It was more like a highly promoted, well publicized and much buzzed about movie. The only question was, would the iPhone be an Ishtar (a highly publicized failure), or a Titanic(surpassing even the most hopeful expectations)?

In four years, the iPhone has utterly transformed the mobile industry. One can debate how much Apple innovated versus refined when it comes to certain features (touchscreens and app stores existed before the iPhone), but when we look at the mobile industry, there is a very clear line between what happened before June 29, 2007, and what happened after. I would argue that every major smartphone that has gone into production since the iPhone’s release has, in some way, been a response to the iPhone itself.

The iPhone not only transformed the mobile industry, but changed Apple as a company. In 2007, Apple was nearly 10 years into a fantastic business turnaround. Propelled by the early success of the iMac and pushed further into the black with the iBook, iPod, iTunes and the transition to Intel processors, the iPhone took Apple into an entirely different direction.

As our lovely infographic showcases, Apple’s stock has nearly tripled over the past four years. The company now has a market cap of more than $300 billion, exceeding that of Microsoft. Apple’s revenues are now higher than Microsoft’s, too — something that would have been a laughable suggestion four years ago.

Four years after the first iPhone was released, a lot has changed in the mobile space. Smartphone adoption has finally gone mainstream. The fortunes of Nokia, RIM and Palm (now HP) have significantly changed. The big leader in the mobile OS space is Android, Google’s open source OS that debuted a year and a half after the original iPhone.

One thing that hasn’t changed (aside from Apple’s aversion to Flash on mobile devices) is the hype and fury that the iPhone still incites in both its supporters and its detractors. Rumors of the iPhone 5 are likely to continue to build throughout the summer, ebbing the hype to the point that all of us will ask, “Can anything really meet these expectations?” Only this time, we know how this story ends.

After all, if the iPhone was Titanic, the iPad was Avatar. Now we just have to wait for the sequels.