Ad Crunch

In a one of its own kind associations, Vodafone mobile users in India can now make use of the Shaadi.com matrimonial service on their hand phone. Powered by Mauj Mobile, this tie-up will allow customers to search and view profile details of shaadi.com members without having to log on to the internet. Not only this, they will also be able to browse through profiles, express interest in suitable matches, accept/decline offers and even send personalized messages.

“This is yet another service to add value to our customers’ lives,” shared Harit Nagpal, Director – Marketing and New Business, Vodafone Essar. A perfect marketing strategy that will rake in more moolah for the two brands. Firstly, polls show that the young India is no longer commitment phobic and in fact, looks forward to settling down with that special someone. Secondly, this service can be accessed by Vodafone customers through a call, SMS or on Vodafone live at the cost of Rs.3/SMS, Rs.6/min and 10p/kb respectively.
Via techshout

Working late seems to have spelt trouble for Burger King in Miami. Apparently, three operators started a revolt last month in a lawsuit claiming that the new extended hours policy hugely advertised (in a new ad directed by Spike Lee and starring Sean Combs) by the burger makers makes very little money and overworks the employees. Though the suit covers only 57 locations, it has already got the support of the company’s franchise association which stands for 5000 of Burger King’s 7000 locations.
Burger King, on its part, claims that it has the right to enforce hours of operation by way of a clause in the franchise agreement, stating that hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., “unless otherwise authorized or directed.” Actually, the deal is that BK is threatened by the popularity and sales of its competitors like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. The security risk involved is another issue.
Via AdAge

Yeah, you heard it right the Lenovo Olympics ad was created in India. We know about the optimistic chances of India winning a few medals at the Olympics, but no one expected the country to make a mark in such an unexpected way at the opening ceremony of the Games.

For those of you who didn’t know, the Lenovo (which by the way is the main Olympics sponsor) ad aired during the telecast of the opening ceremony across the world was created by the Bangalore branch of Oglivy and Mather Ltd. The “Sumo” commercial, for Lenovo’s X300 laptop, has already made its debut on YouTube and shows 200 Sumo wrestlers walking in the streets of Sydney among people dressed in their winter wear. The sumos do a jig and then make a formation like a plane, before they run and actually take off. Two of the sumos look down and curl their feet in a manner that a plane’s wheels turn up during take-off. The line follows: “Heavy on features, light in weight” Lenovo Think Pad X300.

Via livemint

Beijing Olympics have begun with a bang and on this occasion, Nike recently launched its new sportswear range. The latter’s launch has also been conducted in an interesting manner. The company redecorated the NikeTown NYC store. The entire fifth floor (where the store is) was given a Sportswear treatment. The NikeTown 5th floor sports a new architectural look and houses an entirely renovated range of products. The first and perhaps the most impressive thing that meets your eye is the five story chandelier-inspired windrunner installation. It spreads across several floors and is built around one of the most important silhouettes of sportswear-the Windrunner. This installation will be taken down in a month’s time but till then it remains the most spectacular thing found in a sports store anywhere.

This unique installation also includes the symbolic Windrunner of US team model (also worn by the U.S. athletes during the Opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics and will be worn again at the closing ceremony as well!).While everybody cannot be in NYCity to visit the NikeTown NYC store, those from diverse parts of the globe can have a look at the renovated store (as a part of the marketing campaign) here at adcrunch:
 

 
Via: highsnobiety

It is interesting to note how media is helping companies in innovative advertising styles, outdoors being one of the norms today. Junior, Brisbane (Australia) has done a creative outdoors for Treasury Casino at a bus shelter. The avert which looks like a print/poster is actually made up of 7563 dice. Placed one upon the other these dice make the adshel an innovative piece that advertises about the Casino’s philosophy – “Let The Good Times Roll”! Those responsible for this wonderful display include Steve Minon (Creative Director), Sharon Edmonston (Art Director), Misha McDonald (Copywriter) and Kurt Brutton (Agency Producer). If you are in Brisbane then, go ahead and play for a fortune!
 
Via: Coloribus

The WB.com is being reborn in the beta form by the famous Warner Bros. Television Group. They are promoting it as “the next great network that won’t be televised” offering classic series that aired on the old WB TV network along with new programs. However, cable operator Comcast will offer classic WB series via its video-on-demand service.  Johnson & Johnson is a charter sponsor.
The online network will feature classic series like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, Smallville and Gilmore Girls along with new shows like Sorority Fever. As part of the launch, TheWB.com will feature an original application that will launch on Facebook allowing integration of Facebook s social network onto The WB.com, and offer TheWB.com s content on Facebook. TheWB.com s shows will also be distributed free across the Internet on Comcast s Filmcast.com as well as on AOL.
Via adweek

A sand glass has been effectively used to count time lapse by our forefathers. Now, in 21st century the same sand glass has become a modern advertising tool! BMW erected a giant one at the Red Square in Moscow for the launch of its 7series uber-luxurious sedans. This has been the largest sand glass ever used in any OOH (out-of-home campaign), large enough to conceal a car in it!! Its dimensions being 12 meters (height) x 8 meters (width). Designed by agency MAB (Berlin), the German car was revealed  day by day, as the silver balls filled inside the huge sand glass dropped from the upper to the lower half of the structure. The launch happened a month ago and received a wide audience by the virtue of the campaign’s size and its strategic location.
Enjoy the close-up shots of this sand glass and jump over to watch the launch video!

 

 
the video…
 

 
Via: Blissblog

 
When it comes to the display of creativity in advertising campaigns, no body does it as Ogilvy & Mather! This outdoor campaign for DHL was done in Beijing. The ‘mobile’ on ground communication utilizes a gigantic outline of a cursor. The latter being installed on DHL runner vans through out the city’s Central Business District. Making use of such an idea imparts the 24×7 image of DHL- an attribute which it wanted to advertise about at the first place. Outdoors have a special place in advertising world because of the impact and if the outdoor advertising has a “live” element in it then definitely the campaign reaches across a diverse range of people in an effective manner.

So, a pat on the back to the team who created this Online Tracking Van! Here are the credits:
Executive Creative Director: Nils Andersson, KweiChee Lam;
Creative Director/ Art director: Michael Wong;
Copywriter: Yue Song;
Art Director: XiaoChen Li.
 
Via: adofthemonth

Gosh! This one is a really really sick ad! I just somehow managed to watch it though I admit at the end I was disgusted enough to puke! Virals have emerged as an effective way of advertising but this one indeed is a sad and brainless advert. The gal goes inside this hotel room and goes on licking everything from spoon to telephone, even shitpot!!! (I was just hoping that this item would not be on her licking-list but …sigh!) Interestingly this young lady isn’t shown licking the floor of the hotel about whose cleanliness she is advertising in a manner as if she is acting in a porn vid! I feel sorry for the guys who made this ad, the hotel which is cheap enough to advertise in such a disgusting manner and most of all for the actress of this viral. I bet she uses Domex or any other toilet cleaner instead of a mouth wash to take care of her oral hygiene. Yuck!!! And one thing I can guarantee is that this silly video is going to amaze only those who have a fetish for licking and sticking out their tongues. In general, the advertising campaign is super flop!
 
Via: brandflakesforbreakfast

The new Volkswagen ad campaign by Les Mesa Santiago of Chile is banking on the feeling of regret, “Oh, I just couldn’t afford to buy it in the past.” That is the impression that you get when you first rest your eyes on the classical setting of the three ads that are part of the campaign. All the pictures give the impression of the ‘past’, a bygone era. Let’s take them one by one. The first ad uses the image of a ship to sell its Polo car. There is a sad girl who gives a tug to the viewer’s memory of regret of having missed the ship. But the once unaffordable thing is well within an affordable price range now. The punch line says, ‘Polo. At a price that won’t be back’, as if urging us to not make the same mistake again.

A similar picture is drawn for Golf and Vento with a train and a plane respectively. I won’t discuss their imagery in detail because I didn’t like them much. All in all, the campaign wins with one ad while the remaining two could any day be better.

Via adoftheworld