Louis Vuitton Advertises in Space Style

(Above: Louis Vuitton takes a new direction with luxury advertising)

(Above: On July 20, 2009, Louis Vuitton advertised with a drop-down ad that read "MEN WALK ON MOON on July 20, 1969. 40 years later, Louis Vuitton is taking you on a Journey Beyond." The ad links to louisvuittonjourneys.com.)

Louis Vuitton is taking a new direction on advertising. With the recent 40th anniversary of putting a man on the moon, Louis Vuitton is taking the opportunity to honor the journeys of three space heroes: Jim Lovell (commander of Apollo XIII), Sally Ride (America's first woman in space) and Buzz Aldrin (the second man to step on the moon).

The website louisvuittonjourneys.com takes viewers on an adventure through the lives and careers of the three space legends, as described by them in a private interview with Louis Vuitton.

It's an interesting take on luxury advertising. Best of all, I love how Louis Vuitton is not directly advertising their products. Instead, they are engaging viewers in conversations with great American legends. What a treat.

Jon & Kate Gosselin: The First Ten Years

Above: A screenshot of the video player on TLC's homepage, advertising the next special episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8

Last night, TLC played the special 1-hour episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8, in which Jon and Kate Gosselin, the parents of twins and sextuplets (8 children in all), announced that they had filed for divorce earlier on Monday (yesterday). Minutes before the end of the episode, a black screen with white text read:

On Monday June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin.

Now, on TLC.com, the network has already begun advertising the next episode, "Jon & Kate Plus 8: The First 10 Years". The trailer goes:

A lot can change in a decade. For the first time, go back to the very beginning to see the complete story of Jon and Kate's ten-year marriage. It's a special one-hour retrospective with a look at what's ahead for the family.

Wow. The network is relentless. I guess it's totally expected, though, as everyone's out for money these days. Ugh. What a depressing past few days it has been for the Gosselin family.

Don't Be a Victim of Flat Hair! ... Or Attrociously Large Hair!

Has anyone seen the newest infomercial about Bumpits, by Big Apple Hair? If not, please enjoy above. This commercial is outrageous, featuring big-haired moms, cheerleaders and a 10-year old dress-up girl... so intriguing, I wonder who this is actually targeting.

If I had to guess, I would say the Bumpits is perfect for Middle American girls and women, going out on the town... or to the local high school prom. Of course, this infomercial features women at the beach, at work, out and about, and just hanging out at home. So, I guess this hairdo could work anywhere.... if you're going for the "alien skull head" look. Ugh. This is absurd.

Cannes MoFilm: OMO "Dirt is Good"

A few good friends and I created the video that you see above for the Cannes MoFilm User-Generated Content Initiative, judged by Spike Lee!

As you might remember, we created our film all in one session at Central Park. We staged a huge dirtball fight and got a lot of people smiling and laughing. Now, we want to share our film with the world! So, click above and visit our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/omodirtball. And if you're really into it, plot your own dirtball fight and post it to our channel!

The Incentives

OMO is offering the chance to win a once in a lifetime travel experience – by inviting the winners to become their roving OMO reporters traveling to countries of choice, meeting mums and kids, telling stories around playing outdoors and child development. All they ask is that the travelers record their stories and encounters both on camera and online to be showcased as a travel log on the global OMO website. (Total prize value of €10,000!)

In addition to over $100,000 worth of brand prizes the winner of each of the 12 brand contests will be judged by Spike Lee and 4 leading marketing professionals. All 12 winners will have their work on display at the Cannes Advertising Festival and the top 3 finalists will be invited all expenses paid to attend Cannes France for the festival. Additional prize money of $21,000 is up for grabs with the winning finalist taking away $12,000 and an apprenticeship with Spike Lee himself!

I could totally see my team taking part in any of the above-mentioned prizes! Wish us luck!

Buitoni Turns 14th Street Subway Stop into Pasta Art Exhibition

Above: From a distance the Buitoni ads appear to be framed works of art with labels denoting the "artist", "title" and description.

Buitoni, the pasta brand owned by Nestlé that claims to be "The Italian Art of Food", has recently turned the 14th Street Union Square subway start into a pasta art exhibition.

This is definitely one of the most creative subway ad campaigns I've seen in a while. The creatives behind this one deserve a big pat on the back for thinking of such an interesting idea. Besides adding a little class to the Union Square subway stop, they also had multiple people stopping by the title cards, reading for more information. And, although I didn't get a picture, Buitoni also had turnstyle advertising at this station.

Bravo!

Bing Takes Over NYTimes.com

I was just stopping by NYTimes.com, when a huge Bing (Microsoft's new search engine) advertisement (as pictured above) frightened the heeby-jeebies out of me. What the?!?!?! It was so huge, I thought it was a pop-up ad. I guess whatever brings in the bacon for The New York Times is good enough for me, but jeeze, this is pretty extreme.

What do you all think? Are huge advertisements a good source of revenue or just total brand killers?

H&M Invades my Pandora

Above: H&M's "Fashion Against AIDS" campaign in action at their storefront

Above: H&M invaded my Pandora today

Above: Cute H&M tagline, followed by world-savers, U2.

Today, H&M invaded my Pandora "Pop/Rock" playlist with their "Fashion Against AIDS" advertising campaign. Cute tagline, though: "Be smart. Do your part. Think Twice. Wear one." Hmmm, what a mystery... what could they possibly be talking about? ... hmm.

Anyway, my favorite part? It was followed by U2 and their glorious song "Mysterious Ways". How appropriate. I wonder if that was planned out.

Search for "Sustainability" on Dictionary.com and Get a Prius Ad

Above: I searched for "Sustainability" on Dictionary.com and found a Prius ad.

I tried looking up Sustainability on Dictionary.com and indeed, a lovely Prius ad was served. Other words that served a Prius 3rd Generation Solar Roof ad included "Solar Power", "Green", "Moonroof", "Hybrid" and "Hybrid Car".

Oddly, when I looked up "Prius" (definition: "Before; former"), the ad was not served. Iiiiiinteresting.

To read more, check out this All Thing's Digital article, entitled Prius Takes Over Dictionary.com's Home Page.

Get hit in the face with DIRT!!! FREE COOKIES!!!

WE NEED YOUR TALENT!!!! (In exchange for FREE COOKIES!!!)
Facebook Event: http://tinyurl.com/dirtintheface

Some friends and I are shooting a commercial on Saturday, May 30th for the Cannes MoFilm User-Generated Content Initiative, judged by Spike Lee!

Come get hit in the face with dirt, and we'll give you free cookies! We are making a video montage of 100 people reacting to the goodness of dirt in their faces!!!


The commercial is for Omo, a Unilever laundry detergent brand and one of the top 12 brands in the world.

Meet us in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Avenue at East 82nd Street) on the steps at 9:00am for our first shoots. Or call us throughout the day to see what our location is in Central Park!

I will be updating my Twitter and Facebook statuses with our location on the day of the shoot! So, if 9:00am is too early to wake up for you, just check in on my status and see where we are! Or call me at 870.565.5200!

If we win the contest, you could become famous, as the video would be shown at Cannes! Woooo! So, come join us for some dirty fun!!! AND FREE COOKIES!!!

RSVP on the Facebook Event: http://tinyurl.com/dirtintheface

Burnt out? Final Exams? Summer Internships? Smoking Pot?

On April 20th I received another compelling email from the NYU Wellness Exchange, titled "Burnt out?". Last time the Wellness Exchange sent out one of these emails it was about over-drinking. This time, on the national high holiday (4/20), it was only fitting for it to be about smoking pot. Read the image above, which was the body of the email.

Wow, seriously, who makes these PSAs? I wasn't expecting that at all. Somehow, I didn't get the flow from papers, final exams, internships... to smoking pot.

But, whatever, it caught my attention.

It was also fitting that on April 20th, the New York Times ran an article entitled Marijuana Advocates Point to Signs of Change. Ever wonder where the term "420" originated? According to this NYTimes article:

Mr. Hager said the significance of April 20 dates to a ritual begun in the early 1970s in which a group of Northern California teenagers smoked marijuana every day at 4:20 p.m. Word of the ritual spread and expanded to a yearly event in various places. Soon, marijuana aficionados were using “420” as a code for smoking and using it as a sign-off on fliers for concerts where the drug would be plentiful.

In the end, I think the day went over well. The NYU Wellness Exchange would be happy to know that I didn't hear of any students smoking up on the notorious holiday, although I'm sure there were plenty of festivities behind closed doors. What can ya do?

Cheers.

Turnstyle Advertising

Above: A turnstyle at the 14th Street - Union Square subway stop that advertises

On March 30th, the NYC Health Department began a new campaign for targeting parents who smoke. The official press release points out the danger of smoking as it relates specifically to NYC parents:

About 400,000 New York City adults who smoke live with a child. Sadly, smoking takes the lives of 8,000 adults each year in the city, many of whom leave children behind. New Yorkers are urged to quit smoking and to call 311 if they need help.

The campaign launch a television commercial that "features a young boy in a train station who has lost his mother. He is terrified and begins to cry. This painful moment shows the viewer how vulnerable a child is when a parent risks their life by continuing to smoke – and how scary the death of a parent would be." The commercial is a licensed version of one created months ago in Australia for quit.org.au:



You can see the entire campaign on nyc.gov/health.

As a part of the larger campaign, they feature turnstyle advertising, as shown above, in NYC subway stations. The ads are definitely eye-catching, as I've never seen this type of promotion. Furthermore, they feature a prominent comment: "Quit smoking today."

This is definitely a good cause. We'll have to wait to see if other advertisers start using this same medium in the future!

Erica is the New Black

Above: A subway ad at 71st-Continental Ave for WhatIsTheNewBlack.TV.

After seeing a thousand ads for WhatIsTheNewBlack.TV, I finally checked out the website. As the name suggests, it's a website that sees if you can identify "the new black". You pick one top, one accessory and one bottom, and then see "if your black is the new black". It ranks your picks on Creativity, Wearability and Trendiness. You are then ranked into a fashionista category of either The Futurista, The Eclectic, The Individualist, or The Classic. Here are my interpretations of the fashionista categories:

The Futurist: (They say: No matter what the season you stay a step ahead.) Interpretation: You probably work in the fashion industry or know what's going on in fashion.
The Eclectic: (They say: You mix and match with a style all your own.) Interpretation: You're an odd one..
The Individualist: (They say: You have the confidence to dress to please yourself.) Interpretation: You don't know how to dress yourself.
The Classic: (They say: You know what works and you work it.) Interpretation: You're boring.

After creating an outfit, you can email it to your friends! The email looks something like the one below.

Above: What do you think? I'm definitely all up for a splash of color!

Above: I sent it to myself to see what the email would look like. It was titled "Erica is the New Black". hahaha. Thus, the title of this post.

Overall, it's a great idea, but the flash player takes a really long time to load. But don't take my word for it! Go check it out!

McDonald's: See What They're Made Of

While on Facebook today, I saw the advertisement above for the McDonald's campaign entitled "See what we're made of".

On the website, they describe their supplier relationships with each ingredient, including the lettuce, tomatoes, beef and so on.

This is their newest campaign, as it has just recently been phased into packaging designs. By the end of this year, they hope to phase out the "I'm lovin' it" campaign that seemed to be a big hit.

The campaign has received a lot of backlash from organizations like EndAnimalCloning.org and World Society for the Protection of Animals, citing that "McDonald's has no policy on serving milk and meat from cloned animals or their offspring."

We could argue all day about whether McDonald's is actually adding utility to society or not, and I think the skeptics would win, but that's not the point of my post today. I'm just pointing out a new advertising campaign. Good or evil, they've come a long way from their first commercial:

Continental Airlines: Work Hard. Fly Right.

Above: An NYC tour bus ad that I spotted in Astor Place.

Above: A news stand ad (at Lexington Ave and 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: A news stand ad (at Lexington Ave and 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC subway ad (at Lexington Ave - 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC subway ad (at Lexington Ave - 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC subway ad (at Lexington Ave - 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: Two NYC subway ad (at Lexington Ave - 53rd Street) for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC subway ad for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC tour but ad for Continental Airlines.

Above: An NYC Chinatown scaffolding ad for Continental Airlines

Above: Subway posters for Continental Airlines.

Above: Two taxi ads for Continental Airlines.

Above: An inventive use of newspaper space for a Continental Airlines ad in The New York Times National section on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

Above: A Continental Airlines ad in The New York Times Business section on Tuesday, March 31, 2009. (Size: 6 columns x 7 inches)

Above: A Continental Airlines ad in The New York Times Business section on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. (Size: 6 columns x 7 inches)

Above: A Continental Airlines ad in The New York Times Business section on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. (Size: 6 columns x 7 inches)

Above: A Continental Airlines ad in The New York Times Business section on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. (Size: 6 columns x 7 inches)

Above: A Continental Airlines ad honoring International Restaurant Week in The New York Times Dining section on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. (Size: 5 columns x 13.5 inches)

Above: A Continental Airlines ad honoring International Restaurant Week in The New York Times Dining section on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. (Size: 6 columns x 7 inches)

Everywhere I go these days, I see Continental Airlines' ads, showcasing their worldwide destinations and unbeatable services. I'm not sure if it's because I have the travel bug recently, or not... but I think they're doing a pretty great job, regardless!

They could have one of the most integrated campaigns I've seen in a while. Everywhere I go, whether I'm walking on the street, reading the newspaper, or getting in the subway, I see their ads. I even see their ads online! Here are some of their recent online initiatives:

Above: Ads placed on Reuters.com with an embedded flight search feature.

Above: Continental Airlines ads on NYTimes.com.

Above: An ad targeted to Israeli-Americans and Jews that I found on SalutetoIsrael.com

And we can't forget their "Take Away" commercial. They're all pretty captivating and oh-so-true.

"Take Away"



"Clouds"



"Proud Parents"



"Free Time"



Makes me want to rush and and buy tickets to all of their worldly destinations! If only I had the time and money!