Glass half empty.

Coke officially is done producing their iconic, 6.5oz glass bottles. The bottle was designed by the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1915. It went on to become a product and advertising phenomenon. So the next time you see Santa in a Coca-Cola print ad, he may be holding the plastic kind. Read more here.

George Lucas finds Star Wars fans' lack of faith disturbing

George Lucas tweaking the Star Wars movies once again for the Blu-Ray release has tweaked more than a few fans. But this excellent banner ad on espn.com is the latest example of how the Star Wars brand is letting advertisers have fun with it.



The question remains though: Will #ishallnowselectakicker be trending on Twitter?

Thinking outside the cereal box.

Sweet commercial for Fruity Pebbles. From Burns Group out of NYC. Not many ad agencies would do a :30 Flintstones animation that has absolutely zero dialogue from the main characters. Fred and Barney say nothing throughout the spot while "funny-dentist-looking-guy" takes all the lines. Gutsy. And very, um, tastefully done.

Too Much Holiday

We all love Vampire Weekend, yes? But during the holidays it’s common to overindulge. Take Honda and Tommy Hilfiger for instance, who are both using the group’s seemingly upbeat single “Holiday” in current TV spots. And nearly the same cut as well.

Sure, it’s a happy-sounding song that’s just untraditional enough, but the lyrics aren’t actually as carefree as the spots make you think. Let’s hope this overexposure doesn’t, well, suck the life out of the Vampire’s musical credibility.

VW AR OMG!

Jump to the 21s mark for the steak.

I'm thinking Steak 'n Shake

Remember 'Oven Mitt' from the Arby's commercials? Apparently he works for Steak 'n Shake now.

See the commercials here.

Image up your retail

No project goes without love at HRW. Not even those freebie-coupon ads you get in the mail each month. And in a Great Recession, it's even more important to lay out price points with pride and making sure the brand is alive and well in every medium. After all, if it's intended to be seen, it may as well be entertaining. Hear that, air duct-cleaning service place?

Yes, Christina, it's still possible to sell-out

Used to be music celebrity endorsements were hard to come by. To be seen as selling out seemed such a risk that at least such stumping was generally few and far between. But those walls have long been torn down. Probably around the time Sting was doing Compaq commercials.

These days, people don't really care if Gwen Stefani and Jay-Z peddle for HP. Especially if the concept is entertaining and unique. Or if Justin Timberlake is part of an ensemble cast for Sony. He is half of the Barry Gibb Talk Show after all.

But Christina Aguilera's spot for DirecTV proves that selling out is alive and well. It just takes a cheesy script and a talent that's willing to send pride on a potty break to read it.

"I'm savin' the world...from cable." Aw, snap.


The chintzy production value compared to Beyonce's and the Black-Eyed Peas' commercials doesn't help either.

Think non-traditional and take the competition for a ride

Continuing our 'take it to your competition' theme of the week, we share this simple idea where Volkswagen literally takes the fight out to the parking lot.



For all the rhetoric about "do you know what's being said about your brand online?", it's important not to overlook the impact participating in the outside world can have on the consumer conscience and competitors' nerves.

So think: Where can you ambush your competition in the wide open? What public spaces can you use to tag your competition? Where are they most vulnerable?

The answer will take the competition for a ride and consumers by surprise.

Thought bubbles hang like the sword of Damocles, awaiting their next victim.

Banish your competition to the Island of Misfit Toys

The iPhone - the Charlie-in-a-box of the gift-giving season. Seems hard to imagine that this too-cool-for-school gadget could ever possibly be equated with the mistakes from Santa's workshop, but Verizon is working hard to position the iPhone as just that.

Verizon's argument is oversimple: Sure it's shiny and cool and does a million things, but when you look at the chink in the armor that is the comparably poor coverage AT&T offers nationwide, the iPhone might not be quite so automatic for the people. (Unless, of course, your city's covered just fine, in which case why wouldn't you go for the gadget of the millenium?)



What can you learn from this? Well, maybe, just maybe, that first-to-market competitor of yours has a functional oversight. Maybe that best-thing-since-sliced-bread service of theirs lacks the meat to be worth the hefty price tag.

So don't bury your head in the sand. Cross-examine the competition. Exploit their weaknesses. Find a hole in their story and find out how your product fills it in. Cast a shadow of a doubt on the competition in strategic ways to slow down their momentum. You'll give customers pause and cause to consider you as a smart alternative.

Were you a Halloweenie?

Hope you weren't too scared by the economy and had a few treats for your audience this Halloween. It's really one of the best times to ease your way into the consumer conscience with some fun soft-sellin' before the holiday hard-sell.

North Face escapes the pedestrian

Just thought we'd highlight some cool ideas from the Philippines. These ads were done for The North Face for their 'Escape the City' campaign. Nice to see some risk-taking illustrations out there. It would be cool to see these animated with a kind of heavy hip-hop beat scoring the chase.

9 dictionaries you've never opened

A tried-and-true rule of thumb is to write what you know. Of course, successfully marrying looming deadlines with wild imaginations requires finding the shortcuts to knowing a little about a lot, so you can craft a unique voice for your unique concept. Here are nine resources for words and phrases you never knew were exactly what you were trying to say.

1. Talk the Talk: The slang of 65 American subcultures

So you've decided to plunge your audience into a different world. Maybe one that you yourself aren't that deeply informed in. Don't just scratch the surface with a word or two you picked up watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. Add some authenticity to your scripts by getting a little silly with the slang used by those in the know from tattoo artists to flyfishers to online gamers to stamp collectors and more.

2. The New Joys of Yiddish

You have to ask? Sometimes when writing for broadcast or video, rearranging word order is a great way to present dialogue in a new and entertaining way without having to dig up some lost words from Samuel Johnson's dictionary that may go over your audience's heads (not to mention your creative director's).

The idea here isn't to grab words like "kvetch," "schlep" or "ibbledick" per se, but to take a cue from the beautiful arrangements in Yiddish syntax to make your wit more acerbic. Here you'll find eloquently backhanded phrases ("Smart, he isn't."), comical cries of dismay ("It shouldn't happen to a dog.") and the difference between ahA! and Aha!

3. How to Speak Southern

A classic from my grade-school days, this borderline exercise in dialect can easily be dismissed as a humorous detour, but it can also be a useful look into how pronunciation and accent can add life to voiceovers especially in radio and podcasting where so much relies on the talents' reads.

4. Urban Dictionary

This mostly user-generated online reference is funny, irreverent and topical. And in paperback. Here you'll find words and phrases that are signs of the times and sometimes even ripped from the headlines. ("Hiking in Appalachia" ring a bell?) Subscribe to the Word of the Day, and it'll unlock your mind to try to outdo the urbanites yourself, especially where the idea is there, but the word they've offered up isn't quite right.

5. How Not to Say What You Mean

Euphemisms are what make language fun. And oftentimes, you don't need to know what one means beforehand if surrounded by the right contextual clues. Again, another opportunity to dig deeper into what exists and maybe come up with one of your own phrases that's even better. And more branded.

6. Knickers in a Twist

Go beyond "guv'nuh" with this guide to British slang. It may even inspire your own take on Cockney rhyming slang. And remember, a clever idiom from across the pond can spice up even the most American of commercials, so you don't have to try to spoof Austin Powers to be funny. Please.

7. Baby Name Wizard

Searching for a good, believable character name? Try the Baby Name Wizard. Of course, the original online version is the true gem - a graphically inspiring resource that allows you to search by name or by year back to 1880 to really capture the essence of a certain time period with the Baby Name Voyager. Not to mention, it offers some sweet eye candy for creating dynamic user experiences.

8. Oxford Dictionary of Physics

Sound smarter without actually being smarter by swiping a few well-timed words or concepts from this tome.

Or if physics isn't your bag, try one of its companion resources in chemistry, math, astronomy and zoology among others. Who knows, you may learn enough to write a relatively unfunny hit sitcom.

9. Writing Dialogue

OK, so we're cheating a little, but this resource is a simple way to remind us how smart and succinctly real dialogue is written. It's a great guide for keeping conversations crisp, especially in our world where you only have seconds to sell your story.

I bet Packer fans think this is just HILARIOUS.

In honor of the big game tonight, here are some classic outtakes from the Brett Favre "cold feet" commercial. Hey, if he's up for this, Eggo Waffles should give him a call. Note the green screen monitors in the outtakes before a generic boat montage was inserted in post. Makes me wonder what would've been better inserted into the final....Maybe his retirement press conference(s)? A Wrangler commercial? Footage of someone in flip-flops? On second thought adding something clever would've taken away from the concept. Right? Can't decide.

(The finished spot will play at the end.)

Best Cubs ad ever

Typesetting and retouching aside, this ad taken out in the Chicago Tribune earlier this month may be the best way for those lovable losers from the northside to be remembered for their century of futility. Certainly more memorable than the '09 Cubs themselves. Wonder if Bartman will be the godfather?

Just based on brand loyalty, would you rather your brand image be that of the perennial machine that is the Yankees or the perennial punchline that is the Cubs?

Macy's soft launches holiday shopping season

We knew it was coming. The quiet murmurs have been heard throughout the retail advertising world as to when could the Christmas shopping season kick-off without annoying the collective consumer conscience.

Macy's has the answer. The campaign has hit the airwaves with subtle holiday references: the office party, vintage shots of the Thanksgiving Day parade. But the kicker is this spot showing Macy's as part of American culture since 18-blah-blah-blah from I Love Lucy to Johnny Carson.



Now they would be remiss if they didn't reference the greatest commercial ever - Miracle on 34th Street. But how much Santa do we need in September? Bob Hope singing in a Santa quartet, the classic Kringle with Natalie Wood, Snoopy donning his Macy's Santa hat. Macy's didn't even really spread them out.

But we do have to hand it to them. By stringing those images along with the other non-holiday related clips, they manage probably the only way to bring up Christmas without overselling it, relying instead on the power of suggestion - the oft-overlooked art of psychology in advertising.

Macy's may have found the answer to conjure up Christmas without turning off consumers. We'll just have to wait and see if they have better results reminding America what a pop culture icon it is than Chevy did.

Mad Men Mania

AMC’s third season of the colossal success that is Mad Men returns this Sunday at 10pm.

In case you’ve just emerged from decades in your fallout shelter (in which case this series will make you feel right at home), you're probably well aware of Mad Men’s acclaim, including Emmy and Golden Globe nods, not to mention its influence on fashion and all around cool culture (one word: hats).

Before times of sensitivity training and political correctness, it gives us a refreshing view of “bad” behavior in the workplace that is somehow still…refined. When throwing back a scotch at the office was commonplace, and the idea of casual Fridays would’ve been absurd. And what is a better backdrop for this “anarchy” but Sterling Cooper, a Madison Ave. advertising agency in the 60’s.

Not only does the series demonstrate mastery from an art direction and writing standpoint, it seems to have some real staying power, leaving audiences wanting more and more inappropriate ad agency drama.

Clever also have been the sponsor's tv spot executions during the show, often leading into commercials with an artcard factoid about whose spot you are about to see.

Art imitating life imitating art.

This seems to be the concept in promoting the 3rd season as well. You can create a ‘60s style Mad Men avatar of yourself or win a walk on role in conjunction with Banana Republic.

But like the storylines, the new season doesn’t come without industry drama. About what else, but...advertising.

To sell more advertising space and make up for lack of revenue, AMC has shortened the length of each episode by 2 minutes of actual programming. However, due to this thing called an economic downturn, most advertisers aren’t able or willing to purchase the spots. Thus leaving AMC to sell the space at a premium or form partnerships with the likes of Vanity Fair, Banana Republic, Clorox, Variety.com and BMW, who will be the exclusive sponsor of the Season 3 premiere, providing limited commercial interruptions.

Just another reminder that Mad Men is really about the good ‘ol days of advertising. Will they ever be back?

Make mine a double.

Skin is the new denim

Proving the universal truth that selling jeans is really about seeing more skin, two major jean companies have recently used the same provocative photographer for their new ad campaigns.

Ryan McGinley, buzz-worthy photographer known for his carefree, and often clothes-free, photographs of youth frolicking through nature, is the chosen visionary for both brands.

Levi's launches its new campaign today with the tag “Go Forth.” And Wrangler recently launched a rebranding with “We Are Animals.”

Even though McGinley’s voyeuristic lens captures images for both, the campaigns are quite different in tone.

Levi's takes a rebellious, young American approach, while Wrangler creeps darker and more primal to say the least. Pictured is one of the tame ones (more here)…thank goodness it's only appearing in France. Americans are not prepared for something so very…how you say…French.

Case in point, the removal of a recent Calvin Klein Jeans billboard from Houston Street in New York City. It’s nothing new for Calvin’s imagery to make the grown-ups nervous, but this made even jaded New Yorkers blush. Judge for yourself. Now go immediately to church.

Name that adtune

Ever find yourself watching TV and wondering where that song or background music comes from? Well, wonder no more. From commercials to TV shows to movies to video games, Adtunes has the answers. This open chatroom for and by music junkies guides you through the links, backgrounds, sidebars and oftentimes the actual answers to your most burning questions.

While you're there, check out the voiceover thread of awesomeness where you'll quickly become addicted to learning inane facts like Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State) was the voice of the Cottonelle puppy and Stockard Channing, aka Rizzo, is the v/o for AIG. (Suddenly those spots don't seem so cheap.)

You might never see/hear commercials the same again.

Most Valuable Puppet

The LeBron-Kobe debate may rage on, but for my money, Penny's still the undisputed king of puppet commercials. For basketball. By Nike. Imagine what Chris Rock could've done with 60 seconds. Dare to compare for yourself.



"I know my spot, fool."


If only Jimmy Kimmel, et al, had been called in for some Crank Yankers magic.