Dropped Calls

Cingular Ad. Clever. 

Orange, White and Blue

The first time I saw this sign for Mark Ellmore's congressional race in Virginia I did a double take. The sign bears a striking resemblance to that of Jerry Kilgore who ran for Governor of Virginia just 3 years ago. Ok, it is absolutely IDENTICAL. Both of their names even end in "ore."  

I understand that those who design for political campaigns often "recycle" the layout for a mailer etc. However, if you're going to make your logo completely identical here are a

 few suggestions: 

1. Recycle a sign/logo that hasn't been used IN THAT GEOGRAPHICAL AREA in at least 2 major political cycles [city council doesn't count]. 

2. Perhaps change the color or use a design that isn't so drastically different from the "norm" [aka blue, white, red...you know...patriotic colors]

3. Use a design that actually worked. Don't choose a design that didn't even work the first time around. If you want to connect yourself to someone, why not hook yourself to a winning campaign? 

I apologize for the small Kilgore example. Apparently, the campaign stripped the internet of all evidence that he ever ran for Governor following the campaign. 

your ________ is showing

Last winter, the Las Vegas based ad firm R & R partners created the new ad campaign "Your Vegas is Showing" for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. While the new campaign, in my opinion, wasn't half as brilliant as the firm's 2003, "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," the new slogan was pretty clever. 

Fast forward to this fall and Tide debutes an ad campaign with the EXACT SAME SLOGAN as the LVCVA?! 

Tide's new ads endwith the tag line, "Your Tide is Showing" and while it may be slightly more relevant to Tide's product [although LVCVA's use is more clever] it still makes them look like nothing but a bunch of COPYCATS. 

This leaves me with a few questions: 

1. Aren't slogans copyrighted or something? 

2. There had to have been a lot of focus groups conducted before the campaign debuted, were the deaf/blind/all of the above?  

3. There were more than 6 months between when LVCVA's ads hit and Tide's ads hit, doesn't that look a little suspicious? I mean it would be one thing if they both came out within a month of each other, but this just looks like someone said 'hey great idea, lets use it' and THEN put the ads into production.   

pocket sized cars

This is a great new outdoor advertising project for the Smart Car developed by the Swiss agency Jung von Matt. The tagline, if you couldn't guess is "fits anywhere." 

[via fubiz]

critters invade san francisco

This summer, the San Francisco Zoo is encouraging San Franciscans to "find their inner animal." The interactive campaign, Critter Quest, is aimed at encouraging people to connect with wildlife. In order to accomplish this goal, they have taken to the streets. The zoo has created photo spots featuring one of ten different animals and is encouraging the public to take their craziest photo and submit it to the Online Gallery. 

the blues for jetBlue

When the airline jetBlue first flew onto the scene not long ago, their logo and design were fresh, their seats were comfortable and spacious, and they were affordable. But most of all, they understood their demographic. They communicated to their people, and never lost sight of who their public was.

Fast-forward to 2007 and there's the jetBlue meltdown that grounded passengers in airports all over the country. Mix in the fact that their tickets no longer seem so affordable to the average traveler, and jetBlue was in the midst of a major public relations crisis. What does any respectable company do in such a dire pr predicament? Turn back to their people-focused roots that got them recognized in the first place? NO. Spend way too much money on an advertising campaign that won't (pardon my pun) fly in today's economy? DING DING DING. 

jetBlue recently kicked off its "Happy Jetting" campaign. The campaign strives to return to the glamorous days of air travel when being a stewardess for airlines such as Pan Am was nearly as alluring as walking the runways in Europe...ok maybe not THAT glamorous, but still pretty good. But most of all, when being a jet setter meant something special; it also meant dressing up for flights, not rolling into the airport wearing sweatpants and bed head.

The new campaign features a special website with games, trivia, and other pointless dribble. By adapting the term "jetting" and attempting to establish a clear cut difference between jetting and flying, jetBlue is hoping to rid itself of the negative connotations associated with flying such as long lines, cramped seats, delays etc. Which is understandable.

Happy Jetting Website

One slight problem, in today's economy where gas exceeds $4 per gallon, people can barely afford to fill up their cars let alone go "jetting." For a company that has always connected so well with their customers, they completely missed the mark on this one. Rather than establishing jetBlue as something only for the elite (which will only alienate their key demographic even more) they should have been positioning themselves as the people's airline, relating to people and offering compassion during this tumultuous economic downturn. 

Louis Vuitton Ad with the Coppolas

I love this image. 

This is the new Louis Vuitton Core Values Ad which was photographed by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz and features the father-daughter directing duo of Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola. The new ad which was just released a few weeks ago appears in the August 2008 issue of Vanity Fair (I'm sure others as well, but that's where I first saw it) and it is so beautiful in print- the internet doesn't do it justice. Oh, and unlike some celebrities who use their fame to earn extra bucks with endorsements, these two didn't get paid for this shoot, instead Louis Vuitton made a donation to The Climate Project in their names. 

When the mood strikes

Prime Condoms' new print ads advocating that no matter where the mood strikes, you should use a condom are pretty good. The ads are done by Draft FCB, Buenos Aires. I think they are much more tasteful than many of the ads run in the U.S., yet the message is still very clear and powerful.