Scanner : marketing

Advertising Event Promotes Full-Frontal Nudity As Business Model

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:50:00 GMT

For the past several months, we've been reporting on the advertising industry's desperate descent into nudity-focused marketing campaigns. Normally, we would applaud any stripping away of censorship, but marketing agencies have always pissed us off by cynically co-opting all up-and-coming movements, milking them, and so oversaturating the mainstream with their ideas that even outsiders want nothing to do with what they once loved. (Case in point, graffiti-- once Madison Avenue realized hip kids "dug" that fresh style, everything in the 1980s had that awful, fake "tagged" look. Now we want to vomit anytime anyone mentions "taggers.")

Luckily, in Austria, people have a healthier attitude toward the nude form. Of course, that won't stop advertisers from having an event specifically geared toward nudity in hopes more people will pay attention...

We better let the website itself explain their 21st century ideas:

XIPAX - Show us your best bits.
XIPAX.com gives creative people the chance to present their ad campaigns – and of course their best work. The key message of the campaign: Show me yours and I’ll show you mine. The idea: double meanings that encourage people to show off their best work, but also hint at showing oneself in the nude. The kick-off for the campaign: a guerilla promotion at the annual gala hosted by Creativ Club Austria (CCA).

Why they have to do this naked is beyond us-- just sounds like another gimmick. But the video is mighty entertaining... watch as a guy comes up to the stage, drops trou, and holds up a sign promoting XIPAX. How many years before Valtrex tries this at a Dodgers game?

NOTE: We could not embed the video after all, so click here to see the multiple naked people...

Top 5 "The Price Is Right" Clips

Coke Ad Offends the Entire Country of Sweden

From Porn Stars To Prostitutes... The Latest Ads

Nude American Apparel Ads Aren't Going Away

Sasha Grey Completely Naked in New American Apparel Ad

Taste The Rainbow, Just Wash Your Hands First

Emily Farris — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:54:00 GMT

As we mentioned in Sloppy Seconds Monday, in an effort to "embrace social media" Skittles relaunched their website as a Twitter feed—meaning every Tweet that mentions Skittles appears on their homepage. Obviously, this was either incredibly idiotic or an act of genius on the part of the Skittles marketing team, because no one is monitoring the feed, one only has to fill out an age waiver before entering the site. Scarmouch from Yes But No But Yes happened to log on to the Skittles homepage just in time to get the best screen shot/Tweet ever.

The picture juxtaposed with the Tweet is priceless.

In keeping with this theme, we will totally give a bearded man a handful of Skittles to dry hump us. (Dare we Tweet it?)

Related:

Sloppy Seconds: Wanda Sykes Says "I Do"

Spirit Airlines Releases Sex Commercial, Pisses Everyone Off

The Mammary Game: Test Your "Boobie" Skills

Sloppy Seconds: Wanda Sykes Says "I Do"

Emily Farris — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:11:00 GMT

We usually wait until we have a mid-week lull to watch Flight of the Conchords (On Demand, baby!) but we're going to watch it as soon as we're done writing this post just so we can see the "Garfunkeling" in better quality. Also, why is it that Jemaine is the only one ever getting laid? [Jezebel]

A woman who was pulled over for breast-feeding her baby while driving gave a TV interview about it while breast-feeding her baby. She said the baby wasn't willing to wait for the milk at that time (when she was driving, and apparently also when she was giving the interview). Um, okay. [WLFI]

Umm... Skittles are now Twittering. Taste the rainbow? (Is this how Twitter is going to make money?) [TechnologyExpert]

Jennifer Aniston is still talking about her divorce from Brad Pitt. But to be fair, if we were her, we probably would be, too. [Jossip]

Rumor has it Lindsay Lohan's friends are now on Lilo death watch. [FadedYouth]

Recently-out Wanda Sykes has teamed up with a California non-profit to educate the public on equal marriage. [AfterEllen]

Atheists in Italy Learn That God Hates Them

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:04:00 GMT

The atheist bus campaign rolls on.

Its latest victims and champions can be found in Italy, where the city of Genoa was supposed to be rewarded for its long ties to some small religion (it apparently involves worshiping an old kook in a big pointy hat) by facing off with the greatest of all evils: a billboard ad.

This time, however, the controversial slogan went unseen by the brainwashed/enlightened masses, thanks to either define intervention or faulty mechanics...

According to the UPI, the first bus to feature a hotly-contested ad ventured out into the streets this morning, only to be confronted by a dying battery. Within minutes, the public transit vehicle was back at headquarters for repairs, and Catholics (and, well, other religious people) were laughing and praising their Lord.

By the way, this is far from the end of the story. The bus should be back on the streets again soon, having survived only the latest of rounds in a long-running dispute. It originally was going to feature an ad reading "The Bad News Is God Doesn't Exist. The Good News Is You Don't Need Him," a much harsher version than the original atheist bus ad running in various parts of the world ('There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.")

The new bus reads: "The Good News Is There Are Millions of Atheists In Italy; The Excellent News Is They Believe In Freedom Of Expression," which gives the impression we're going out with a whimper... and not with a big bang.

Via UPI. Photo via Flickr.

Related:

All Aboard the Atheism Bus

Exorcist: Keep It In Your Pants Or Beelzebub's Gonna Getcha

Christians Retaliate Against Atheists With Even Lamer Ad Campaign

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:02:00 GMT

Last month's story about the atheism bus and subway ad campaign is far and away the most-visited post we've ever run. Fools on both sides of the aisle are still debating the merits of the anti-God argument and every other aspect of the article. As of now, there are more than 80 comments (hey, that's a lot for us) and no end to the debate in sight.

Now, comes word that the Christians are striking back publicly, with their own counter-campaign to the counter-campaign...

After more than 150 complaints about the above-pictured slogan from whiners who had no problem with the original campaign, a pro-Christian God-loving and in-your-face bus ad, the Christians decided that public momentum was on their side. They've decided to strike back with this new marketing strategy: a bus ad.

"There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life."

Wow-- what, was "I know you are, but what am I?" already taken? Golf clap for creativity, guys, just taking the original slogan and changing the words to fit your own opinion. That kind of thinking is why Democrats gave it up to loser candidates like George Bush and Saxby Chambliss. ("No, terrorists are not going to kill you" "no, we will not raise taxes on the middle class," "no, John Kerry is not Herman Munster," etc.)

Then again, this is all just preaching to the choir-- almost literally. No one will be persuaded by either of these arguments, but it was admittedly refreshing to see an ad that didn't use scare tactics (that means you, "show up to church or God will punish you" billboards in the American South) to express a religious message.

Related:

All Aboard the Atheism Bus

Famous Girl Trying To Find Guy Who Lost His Jacket? Total Fraud

From Porn Stars To Prostitutes... The Latest Ads

The Mammary Game: Test Your "Boobie" Skills

Emily Farris — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:48:00 GMT

Confession: we sort-of want to see Role Models and not only because we want to make sweet, sweet love to one of its stars, Paul Rudd. The movie is centered around Rudd's character Danny, and his friend Wheeler (Seann William Scott) who end up doing community service in a mentoring program after an energy drink fueled bender (really?) left a company truck trashed.

Anyway, apparently boobs (er, "boobies") play a big part in the movie, so the marketing geniuses behind its promotion have put together The Mammary Game, basically an online boob-matching game.

So, if you have nothing better to do than look at boobs all day, click through to find out how to play.

Play the Mammary Game

[Image]

We Will Totally Crap Our Pants if Bristol Palin Pops Out a Mixed Race Baby

Emily Farris — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:25:00 GMT

Meet Kevin. He's a registered Democrat who plans to vote for Barack Obama. He also claims to be the biological father of Bristol Palin's not-yet-born child.

Should we not believe Kevin because he lives in Los Angeles? Nah, he claims he was visiting his uncle who was working on the pipeline. Should we not believe him because he pronounces "Palin" incorrectly? Nah, we've slept with people whose names we don't even remember, so we can't fault the guy for that. So, uh, is there any reason not to believe this guy, except maybe the fact that Sarah Palin probably wouldn't have let Bristol keep a mixed-race baby?

Check out what Kevin has to say:

So now we're thinking maybe we shouldn't believe Kevin because that was the greatest bit of guerilla marketing we've ever seen. Check out his MySpace page.

We think tomorrow we'll make a video about our lesbian love affair with Sarah...oh, and Bristol!

Previously:

Top 5 Rumors We'd Like to Start About Sarah Palin... But Won't

What'll Happen To Sarah Palin?

**Palin's Grandbaby Daddy: Self-Proclaimed F*cking Redneck**

Indiana Jones is Making Your Kids Fat

Emily Farris — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:59:00 GMT

Is Indiana Jones making you, or your kids, fat?

Rahul Parikhn, an angry pediatrician who wrote an open letter to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg about their films' cross promotion with junk food, thinks so.

You tied "Star Wars" to Pepsi and Frito-Lay, plastering Yoda and Obi-Wan over 2-liter bottles and Doritos bags. Recently I was watching CNBC and saw the chief marketing officer of Burger King unveil the Indy Whopper, a mammoth, juicy burger with pepper jack cheese and jalapeño sauce (to give it "adventure," the CMO pointed out), a tie-in to "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." I see you also got Mars to manufacture a Snicker's Adventure Bar with coconut and chai that has Dr. Jones' face on the wrapper.

Besides the fact that none of these foods is healthy, one has to ask if they're what your characters would eat. Would Lord Vader chug down a Pepsi before he wielded his light saber? (If he did, would he drink it with a straw or take off his entire mask?) Wouldn't Indy, now a senior citizen, have more than just a little bump in his cholesterol if he had scarfed down his namesake burger with fries and a soda? How could he be fit enough to chase down ancient relics while dodging boulders and outwitting Nazis?

We certainly agree with Parikhn. When we were kids, we were part of the Pizza Hut readers' club. For every ten or so books we read, we'd get a free personal-pan Pizza and soda (or "pop," as it were). For as long as we can remember, we've been rewarded with fatty fast foods, McDonald's gift certificates, etc. And we're sure that, combined with the Little Debbies and the white-bread sandiwches our mom put in our lunch on a daily basis, contributed to our slow metabolism as adults. But we think he's barking up the wrong "you" tree.

Sure, directing the letter to Lucas and Spielberg is the best way to get some attention, but we imagine those two have absolutely nothing to do with the actual marketing of the movie, save their own appearances and interviews. Parikhn should be going after the studios and the marketing departments. Oh, and parents. Because, yeah, if you're a parent who allows your kid to eat junk food on a daily basis and have soda with dinner every night, then it's highly possible that Indiana Jones and other cross promotions are making your kids fat.

And we kind-of want a double-bacon swiss burger. Except not that one.

[Salon: Indiana Jones and the kingdom of fat kids]

Is This The Best Porn Poster Ever?

Bryan Christian — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:13:00 GMT

'Cause it totally makes us want to be gay and into sports -- and we've never been interested in sports before.

[via Fleshbot]