In Columbia Sportwear's newest documentary-style campaign, the ads feature an anti-spokesperson who will never wear the brand's clothing. That's because Wim Hof doesn't get cold. To Wim, jumping into the icy Arctic ocean wearing only a pair of shorts is no big deal. The secret to his success? Simply his mind. He's set 18 world records and completely confused scientists with his baffling ability to stay warm in the coldest conditions. Unlike Wim Hof, the rest of us aren't always so hot. Luckily, there's Columbia's Omni-Heat Electronic outerwear — which provides instant warmth at the touch of a button.
Sigh… Well, where the hell do we begin with this one?
"HEY! Some of you think our logo is a little outdated and we agree." No shit. We're holding a contest rebrand MacHeadQuarters logo and you're invited."When's the proofreading contest? "You can help us get to 3000 likes! Once reached, MacHeadQuarters will give away another $1000 shopping spree!!" So what you're saying is that you value the graphic design industry so much so that you equate the worth of your company's logo the same as clicking "Like" on Facebook…
Enter the MacHeadQuarters "Freaking Awesome Logo*Contest". We've been told that this is a current promotions that is actively happening although the poster advertising the "Logo*Contest" was clearly designed two decades ago.
Thanks but no thanks MacHQ - as someone that makes a living selling expensive tools to the very industry you're looking to exploit, you yourself do not have to take on the said properties of a "tool" and throw this rubbish crowd-sourcing in our face. A $1000 Spree? At a Mac Reseller? Does not compute. Oh but hey, even if you vote, it's worth a $500 spree! So the act of voting and liking your Facebook page is equivalent to the act of creating your fucking logo. Well good luck with that one. This isn't even a civic event or otherwise community involved endeavor. It's a computer-reseller and repair shop. Basically, you go here if you were stupid enough to not purchase AppleCare.
Maybe it's time, MacHQ, that you bucked up and actually paid for a respected company/individual to create you a decent logo instead of putting on a lame ass competition. Well, we guess that's how your previous logo came into existence.
It seems never ending, doesn't it? Should we be mad, forgiving to a small local business looking to save money on marketing or rather completely apathetic? It seems that these contests will never disappear fully...
Let 'em know what you think in the comments. Or shit - just leave your thoughts right on their Facebook wall as so many have already (to our chortling delight).
*Okay, we had to include a view of these (Since you can go straight to MacHQ's facebook wall and see them without any hindrance there is no need to hide the commenter's names here):
We had to hold on this spot for awhile until we got the Coolfire Insider finished earlier this week, but figured the community would maybe want to view/critique/give feedback on this St. Louis CVC spot promoting tourism.
We like the message and the concept behind this spot, and obviously there is some nice camera work & CGI (courtesy of Coolfire) with a plane casually roaming the streets of St. Louis with no one noticing - but something seems slightly off. And honestly, it may just be the soundtrack that isn't bringing it home for us - it sounds like the intro to a saturday morning gardening show.
The spot, entitled “Jetsetter,” tells consumers that they could fly off to those exotic destinations, but why, when St. Louis has so much to offer, so close to home? It’s a direct evolution of the CVC’s ongoing campaign in which viewers are taken on what appears to be a European adventure highlighting the city’s architectural wonders, only to reveal at the end that this adventure took place in St. Louis.
“The goal was to create an epic commercial to unite our marketing campaign and communicate our unique positioning in an inspirational fashion,” said St. Louis CVC Chief Marketing Officer Brian Hall. “We target travelers within a three hour drive of St. Louis, and this spot perfectly captures the idea that St. Louis has so much beauty, both natural and architectural, within a quick drive from your home. Plus, I couldn’t resist the idea of putting a jetliner on the streets of St. Louis.”
After poking around a bit, we found this spot by the CVC earlier this year that saw absolutely no coverage, there's a few of them out there. This direction is a little less focused and pro-St. Louis in our books; "St. Louis - The Poor Man's European Tour".
We heard on the news that the "Jetsetter" commercial was in the neighborhood of $150,000 to produce (which really isn't too bad) and that it will be airing in places like Indianapolis and Chicago. Do you think it accurately captures the spirit of our city?
One of our previously featured photographers Brian Cummings & studio mate Rob Grimm recently launched their separate portfolio sites recently after a much needed upgrade from what we remember being a flash-based site that didn't quite do their work justice. Now, the images are the front & center focus of the new layout while the design takes a backseat.
Here's Kevin Kelly from Anti-Agency with some thought-process behind the sites:
We wanted to take aspects from some of the most recent photography sites we've seen, tweak the functionality and cut the fat to exhibit exactly what we've always wanted in a site like this without that red-headed, bastard-stepchild Flash. Brian & Rob's work are both incredible to look at in their own right and we tried to trim down any extraneous design elements where possible to showcase their ridiculous skills with the camera.
None of the ideas would've worked without the close collaboration of The Able Few. They helped make the site concepts feasible and functional while integrating an awesome & easily customizable ruby on rails CMS; the real beauty of these sites is all behind the curtain.
We're happy to see these two talented local photographers getting a unique treatment for their portfolios and hope to see more quality projects coming out of all of these creative shops in the future.
We're not sure why more agencies don't open their doors of their own accord (aside from REBUS events) to college students looking to get an idea of agency life and career focusing. We're glad that RT does this - let us know if you're agency does something similar and we'll get the word out.
College students home for the Thanksgiving holiday will have a rare opportunity on Tuesday, November 22, when Rodgers Townsend hosts their fifth annual Fall Forum. “We began the event as a way for students to get an inside peek at the agency and learn about the different career paths available in advertising,” said Jennifer Oertli, VP and Director of HR.
This year’s event will feature a lineup of agency speakers including CEO Tim Rodgers, Chief Creative Officer Tom Townsend, and others. Topics covered will include creative, digital, media, account planning, and more.
“We enjoy opening the agency to students, and it’s a great opportunity for them to network,” said Rodgers. Intern Abby Wood adds, “I attended the forum last year and found it really helpful in terms of focusing my career path.”
The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, November 22. Attendees can learn more and RSVP at the agency’s facebook page.
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Check out the series of promotional poster printed on sponge. That's right, on sponge. Get it? GET IT? Alright, this has been your first lesson in creative advertising. Soak it up kids.
Oh my God, we're on a roll.
Check out how this ad pulls a 180 right when you're getting thirsty for a single malt. We're loving the originality and honesty that's being covered in substance abuse advertisements lately. Solid work from Forsman & Bodenfors.
by Moosylvania
