Now what?

So what now?  My project for class is finished...no more required blogging.  However, I have developed a new interest in this searching and perusing of blogs.  Hopefully it will continue and I will keep making posts, actually, I know I will.  Until then, if you like what I have to say check out my idea blog.  Until then, adieu and good advertising (cheesy, I know...but hey...I need the training!)

Come together

"Come together, right now...over me." Awesome song, awesome lyrics, and it makes awesome ads.  More and more creative teams are now taking this dynamic of combining things, here are a few television examples:

Arnold Worldwide
Boston Office

This ad, though not entirely unique is still entertaining and the style is very popular.  Someone sees a product they like, so they run after it, and others tag along until it is a mob.  I remember seeing this style mostly in clothing commercials, but not as much in car commercials, especially for VW, usually they are a bit more original.  Still the multiplication ad is a classic.

Wieden + Kennedy

Portland Office

This entire campaign is very unique and interactive.  It involves bringing people together through a quest for some prize...when really it is all about Levi's jeans.  This idea that not exactly a ton of people are in the ad but it brings a ton of people into the commercial and campaign goes with the aspect of "a lot of stuff."  And it is a quest, how much fun could that be?

McCann Erickson

New York

This ad brings people of the world together on one place, which is a really good thing.  It also brings them together with coke, which is good branding and true.  Anywhere you travel in the world, it seems you can get a coke.  The part that does bother me, though, is that they are all speaking English.  I would have liked it if everyone was speaking different languages.

Modernista!

Boston Office

The gap cheer factory commercial is on ALL THE TIME and is incredibly annoying, but it brings a big group together.  What is nice is that it doesn't have skimpy uniforms, it has girls that talk about how they want to be covered, which is good.  This commercial presents a universal and has a lot going on (...so...many...colors...).

72 and Sunny

LA office

If you want to make a global effort for something, why not use the globe?  This Discovery Channel commercial is brilliant and incredibly entertaining.  It promotes unity and uses all the Discovery Channel shows to do so.  It is so entertaining and really brings people together with well...a lot of people and different ideas.  What makes it so great is that it is for the Discovery Channel, something that is universal, with a universal idea.

Tiny Tim

A Christmas Story would not be near as memorable without Tiny Tim, the same goes with the small, independent agencies that Morrison would dub "radicals."  Without these little guys we wouldn't have some of the most memorable advertising that lately we have come to love.  Here is a small example of these little boys that aren't so cripple.

Rethink

Maybe there is something in the maple leaves up there in Vancouver or maybe it is just Canadian genius but this is an awesome and interesting way of sharing alternative media.  In a lot of US commercials people venture outside on exercise equipment but eh, the Canadians actually did it.  This campaign really just make me smile at the ingenuity presented by our neighbors to the North.

Droga5

This company knows how to make an ad pop.  Who else would be brave enough to "tag" Airforce 1?  Or fake it even?  Droga5 knows where its at and how to sell adventure.  I think this agency is very well matched with the Tony Hawk video game line, they have the character of a skateboarder and live on the edge, and they are incredibly successful.  This talent goes to their office in the USA in Los Angeles.

La Comunidad

This company works on ads that are for companies that are "popular" like Rolling Stone Magazine and MTV.  This ad from the Buenos Aires office features a man who can either be an office dork or a partier and though it is intriguing, I don't particularly like the message.  I would rather use the concept for masks in another light rather than to promote insanity, but then again I am a 30 year old in a college body.

Ground Zero

fg

To me, this ad is a hilarious stab at the advertising industry...draw graffiti or be a creative director.  I love it, it is humorous...and it is a beer ad that is not too tasteless, genius and different.  This ad shows what makes the "radicals" so entertaining, they can do whatever they want creatively, they are limitless!  This ad is from the LA office.

Strawberryfrog

I have seen this ad time and time again and every time the creativity blows my mind.  Granted, there was a whole movie (and another after the original airdate) based on this concept, but the mental and computer power to create this is astounding.  This ad comes from the Amsterdam office for Chevrolet, so if the movie didn't sell enough cars maybe this will make us all embrace our inner bumblebee.

22 Squared WestWayne

This ad represents one that is advertising and art in one; especially if you look really close and see the face in the...ahem...liquid.  Again, the benefit to being a smaller independent is that you can experiment and come up with more creative material and this ad does just that, from the office in Atlanta, which is considered to be lacking in creativity and ad business attraction...well this sure goes against that assumption.

Modernista!

I remember when this campaign became popular.  It was in high school and everyone had to go to Gap to but (RED).  Now the trend has passed and TOMS shoes are in (which I am currently wearing, FYI) but the commercial greatness lives on.  This dual campaign is from the Boston office.

Wongdoody

Although every time I see this company's name I can't help but snicker, I really like some of their ads.  This one, for a particular poker game from the Seattle office is really interesting due to its irony.  I like how it looks incredibly somber and dramatic, though it is a gambling ad.  It really drew me in when I saw it and I wanted to read it, which is what an ad is supposed to do.

UPS commercial spoof

Andy Izzula and his UPS commercials "Whiteboard" from the Martin Agency are clearly very entertaining, especially since he is the one actually in the ads.  Last night, SNL decided to do a spoof of this, which I find HILARIOUS and will now share with even more of the mass public via Hulu, since youtube seems to be falling behind.

And I did it...MYYYYYY WAAAAYYYYYYY

Independence says a lot about an advertising company's character, especially in this economy.  One torpedo and you are sunk...sorry Titanic...there is no Carpathia to pick up your survivors, they just have to freeze in the North Atlantic.  These companies take their confidence to a new level and some of them generate some of the most original and creative ads to date that can deem them "unsinkable."

Dentsu

If you had to choose one company to be the Titan of Asian advertising it would have to be Dentsu...this Japanese company controls the country's market not to mention has a 20% stake in Publicis, the holding company!  Talk about advertising mafia!  Still, they present great, timeless ads.  This one from the Tokyo headquarters has actually become a tourist attraction that plays a tune if you drive the proper speed.  Now I don't want to say that this backs the stereotype of Eastern genius but....

Wieden+Kennedy

This company is crazy awesome.  It still blows my mind that they started with one campaign and now have built an empire around this one company: Nike.  This is really interesting too because it seems that traditional Nike commercials are their base, still the company has great ads.  I am a big fan of the GO FORTH campaign from the Portland headquarters.  I like how it incorporates the user and uses TV and digital media as a quest...all for Jeans.  They seem totally unrelated but I can really appreciate the campaign.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty

BBH is famous for tasteless AXE ads, known fact.  However, despite this negative image they seem to have created of women I do like this campaign for their London headquarters for Audi.  Still male-dominate with the creative aspect (the fact that it is a toy truck) I really like how the ads fits numerous groups of people and inspires people to purchase the car.  Also, it transcends the age gap, which I think is very important.

Richards Group

Oh Richards Group, I stare at your colossal building everyday wishing I was working there instead of at the mall across the street, sigh.  My favorite ads from this company are easily those that are part of the Chic-fil-a campaign that is driven by cows, so odd, so obvious, yet so unique.  This fast food company is altogether amazing in the idea that they close their offices on Sunday, have no value meal, and are still constantly the top seller of a quick bite.  I love the cows, I wish they would stay around forever...but maybe get some grammar lessons...

Doner

How did I remember this company for my exam? Doner=Detroit=Doner party.  Sad but true that Detroit is dying with the outsourcing of automobile jobs.  Still, although they may be "UPS-ing" the city's business elsewhere, Doner has this great campaign focusing on cardboard.  This ad is from the Detroit office and is for the UPS store, mind you...not like the Martin Agency and UPS itself.

Cramer-Krasselt

This company is known for their creative work with Target.  This ad is for Edward Jones and I like it because it is a lot like the time magazine ads.  It shows that an insurance ad can also be interesting, however I do not think that this is too original of an idea, it looks a bit like Allstate to me, still it is intriguing and makes me think more about the company.  This ad is from the Chicago office.

Just a Charity Case

Pro bono advertising is on the rise.  And, to be honest, is necessary for growth in the industry of both service and advertising.  In my opinion some of the best advertising has come from charity work.  Take Droga5's campaign with UNICEF encouraging people to drink tap water...this literally changed people and an entire continent.  This entire program was spread through advertising.  A movement that I am personally closely affiliated with is I Am Second.  This organization is responsible for getting people to talk about their faith, not necessarily in an evangelistic manner, but merely for communication.  In order to spread the word they created the webpage and advertise in all forms of outdoor media from billboards to bus stops, because of this advertising it is now a nationwide movement after only 10 months of operation.  Advertising truly affects the mass population of the world.

MDC...most definitely creative

This holding company is smaller than some agencies, yet some of the most creative agencies belong to this company, interesting?  I think so.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky

This company is the place to be, if you aren't here you seem to be hated by all the rest.  The work here that Alex Bogusky is producing is crazy, which seems to reflect his personality.  I like this ad because it is a little different from their usual off-the-wall tactics.  From the Miami office, this reflects more of a Bernbach-esque old style type of ad, or even as traditional as Ogilvy.  This ad shows how dynamic the company can be with their campaigns.

VirtoRobertson

This company, based in San Diego, revolutionized Taylor Guitars.  Their focus and ideas on this campaign is astounding and different.  They decided to sell the wood of the guitars, the wood for heaven's sake!  Still this campaign is one of my favorites in the originality category.

Cliff Freeman & Partners

Although this company recently closed its doors, it is a success story.  They made pizza famous by its name...so simple yet so creative.  Lately, I haven't really seen Little Ceasar's Pizza anywhere, except at Kmart, but I really like this commercial, it is captivating and entertaining, so even though we can't expect more from the New York headquarters like this ad, it is still a company that will be sorely missed.

Kirshenbaum Bond

This ad is just...different.  From the New York office the creatives take a completely different approach to the Frosty.  But I like it, it really shows how dynamic one brand can be.  Wendy's will always be tasty and my one of my personal favorites but this ad shows that the company is more than just the old-school hamburgers, it is creative.