Reframing the solar power pitch (sort-of)

"You just heard 'solar" and assumed I'm some weird pickler guy"

A new Fast Company post features this fun campaign by Heat for  SunRun, a San Francisco-based provider of domestic solar power systems.

This one's the best:



By making gentle fun of environmentalists, the approach does two things well:

1) It appeals to people who are more thrifty than "crunchy", and
2) It appeals to people who are a little crunchy, but have a healthy sense of irony

In other words, the ads appeal to smart people who want to live more sustainably — one way or another — and lower the barriers to trial.

It's a refreshing attempt to normalize solar.

I guess I want America to fail #FdAdFriday

I have no other comment.

(Thanks to Kerry and Casey for sharing)

Peeing on an electric fence is this week's hot political metaphor #FdAdFriday

It's based on a Will Rogers quote

Roland Sledge, candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, says, “Isn't it about time we elected political leaders that have sense enough not to pee on electric fences.”



Indeed it is.

Via Buzzfeed

Not the typical gruesome distracted driving ad

If you're freaked out by going to the dentist, don't watch. This very strange ad about distracted driving by the US Department of Transportation may be a little too extreme in its goofiness and gore to actually get its point across:



My other question: Is this campaign real? Or is it another spec nightmare?

Via Illegal Advertising

Today's batshit insane Herman Cain video features killer chickens

The crude attempts ar comedy make this ad too awful to even be considered "so bad it's good."


Over at sickofstimulus.com, they are now crowdsourcing themes for their next ad.

 Why "Sick of Herman Cain's batshit insane videos" is not an option is beyond me.

Also, this made me laugh:

Hillbilly Food Porn

Ohhhhhhh baby....

If you are a foodie who eats meat (and who does not consider pork "unclean") I dare you to watch this ~10 minute documentary without getting ravenously hungry.


CURED from UM Media Documentary Projects on Vimeo.


Allan Benton is a man who loves some good preserved pig. And he brings that love to the family bacon and country ham business he inherited in Madisonville, Tennessee.

My favourite part is when he makes the bacon-fried potatoes and ramps (ail des bois) in the open air. I have to try that when the rare wild delicacy shows up in the farmer's market here. But sadly, his pork products do not ship outside the United States.

Via The Aggregate

Herman Cain's latest ad is really special

Shades of Monty Python and The Holy Grail...

Herman Cain has really gone off the deep end, and has now become a comedy act.



I thought we had heard the last of Mr. Cain's bizarre campaign ads after he dropped out of the Republican leadership race. But now he's pitching sickofstimulus.com to promote his ideas about smaller and cheaper government.

Interestingly, the site has a poll:

After viewing the Rabbit video, do you think it was offensive?Even if you didn’t like it, do you think it should've been censored by YouTube?If the video had remained down permanently, do you think it was a violation of Cain Connections’ First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech?

I missed the censorship episode, although I am pretty sure no animals were harmed in the filming of this bit of crazy. There are much worse things out there.

Welcome to Obamaville

Rick Santorum's team have cooked up a rather epic plan to discredit the policies of US President Barack Obama: Obamaville.

It's a dystopian "Anytown, USA" in 2014, two years into President Obama's second term: People are out of work, Main Street is a ghost town, gas prices are up, religious bigotry (sorry... "freedom of religion") is under attack and people have to deal with the horrors of semi-socialized healthcare.



Oh yeah, and the USA is under nuclear threat from Iran.

Or is its biggest threat its own President?

Dun dun dun...

David Weigel at Slate talks about the weird TV thing. To me its the least of this ad's idiocies.

For example, what is the meaning behind this baby image? Is this supposed to be "pro-life"? If so, it's confusing.

And what the hell does this symbolize? Sexual immorality? Loss of free speech? Too many public libraries full of secular books?

And then we're transported back to the industrial revolution for some reason.

Hey, cool! It's The Matrix!

Perhaps they'll explain all these random images when the 8-part webisode series launches on the Santorum campaign site in a couple of weeks.

But for the time being, let's imagine what "Santorumville" would look like. (I'm thinking something like Stepford, Connecticut, but with more Jesus.)

The art of the liquor store sign

When I see retail booze maketing in its purest form, I am saddened that Ontarians are denied this kind of independent statement in our government liquor monopoly.

Via boston.com (as seen on buzzfeed). See more Sav-Mor signs at their Tumblr.

The best Jesus bumper sticker ever

Okay, so the copy's too long (and font's too small) to read while tailgating this truck in Alaska, but the message is still pretty clever.

Via Buzzfeed.

American Atheists going after Muslims and Jews now #FdAdFriday

Animal NY reports that the Hebrew one will be erected in an Jewish area of Williamsburg (known for its Hasidic community) and the Arabic one will appear in a predominantly Muslim area of Paterson, New Jersey (home of the American Arab Forum).

It's as if American Atheists are daring both communities to see which one reacts first, and how.

I just think it's stupid. And I don't even believe in any god. But affronting people's deeply-held faith with fighting words like this is no way to open minds. It will just shut you out more forcefully.

Don't look too closely at this Santorum mosaic #FdAdFriday

That is, unless you want to see more Santorum.

Not the man, mind you, but the substance. It's made up entirely of gay porn.

Via Death + Taxes

Somehow, I don't think this beer will sell well in the UK #pong

The Consumerist shared the news about this new brand of beer made specifically for American students' drinking games.

Beer pong is similar to the "quarters"game I played in high school, but uses ping pong balls rather than coins. The object is the same: get one in the glass, and your opponent has to drink. (Since your coordination diminishes the more you lose, it's pretty much a guaranteed puke for someone. Lovely.)

According to the Pong Beer site:

"We are beer fanatics committed to providing the highest quality, most flavorful, premium product at a reasonable price.  

Pong Beer is brewed using only the finest natural ingredients to produce an exceptionally crisp, smooth, and refreshing light beer."

 A "crisp, smooth, and refreshing light beer"? Great. But the brand name also brings to mind an unfortunate bit of British slang:

Obscure? The thesaurus entry even has a picture:

Probably not a problem for the brewers, though, since the Brits probably already think most mainstream American beer is pongy...

"Come-from-behind" Santorum headline is still there #FdAdFriday

And now, the political headline of the week:

via

The best part? It's still there!  If you don't get it, you will if you click this link.

Nicely done, completely twisted viral cartoon ad

The Magic Fun Store is "a small art gallery and  tattoo studio in Tucson, AZ." Now you know who they are. And in a minute, you won't be able to forget them (or unsee these images):



It turns out animation is a side-business at the shop, so they decided to promote themselves with a little ditty about a unicorn who can't get enough dolphin love. This one was done by BAMiAM.tv (B.A. Miale) "a video artist who mashes up her playfully psychedelic visuals in real time on a keytar."

Considering their industry, and the shop's carefree brand, this ought to work out well for them.

Via Illegal Advertising

Canada for President!

"In our riots, people get laid"

This cute video proposes a third option to cynical American voters for the 2012 Presidential Election: Canada.

Think about it: better healthcare, a stronger economy, poutine... we really have a lot to offer. And, as the Canada Party points out, we've been getting more American lately anyway.



The video could have been much funnier, but according to an interview in the Scottish ad blog, The Drum, there are many more campaign ads to come between now and November.

Here's the background:

"[Brian] Calvert and American-born writer Chris Cannon developed the idea while throwing around concepts for a politically-based comedy project and Cannon's idea of Canada as a political party. 

Of the present US election debate, Calvert says, 'I can't believe anyone can see who to vote for.' 

Filmed in a friend's living room, the video has the national anthem, O Canada, playing softly in the background as Calvert pokes fun at both America and his homeland. 

Running on a platform of 'America, but better,' Calvert explained the theme was actually a position many political candidates were taking: restoring American to its former glory.
Putting aside that it's a country and not a person, Calvert acknowledges that Canada was not born in the U.S. 

'But the first seven presidents weren't born in America," he says. "Both of our parents are the British, so it's like we're brothers.'"

Bad Lip Reading does Rick Santorum

And this is the most sense he has ever made to me.



Via Buzzfeed

New condom ad rolls out an old idea

This condom ad by Marcus Thomas, in Cleveland, brings back the old "parenthood is a nightmare" gag that seems to appeal to younger singles.



The problem is, it's been done before — by a much better ad.



The only advantage of this new ad is that it brings a unique product benefit into the mix. But hearing about penile sensation while watching screaming children is not exactly a great viewer experience.

Via Ads of The World

Yoga: not for the weak

Ads of The World's Ivan Raszl shared this online yoga ad that is guaranteed to make men and women alike feel physically inadequate:



Shot for Equinox Fitness, it features Yoga Asana instructor Briohny Smyth showing off what focus, training and discipline can do for the human body. Unbelievable.

F'd Ad Fridays: F'd political message prank

Deadspin has a post about Craig James, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate who has an unfortunate urban legend about being a serial killer of prostitutes when he was a university student. Yeah, really.

And apparently some wag, for the low cost of a $5 donation, was able to leave this message on his campaign fundraising page at Rally.org:

Did you see it?