Best Placed Ads!

1. Whoever thought of this one is a genius. They took advantage of a building (Shanghai’s Haitong Securities building) that’s famous for its wavy design and placed a huge fan advertisement behind it!
2. Oreos go with milk. You should know this! Especially since this Oreo’s been dunked everytime the elevator went down…
   
3. In Vista’s normal advertisement space on CNET, Apple placed a “DON’T GIVE UP ON VISTA” advertisement. It got pulled after, but it still cracks me up!
4. This isn’t an advertisement, but it’s adorable and I really wanted to share it with you.

Know of any other great ad placements? I’d love to hear about ‘em!

Creative Awards & Bogusky!

I’m consistently impressed by creativity. Especially the kind that ad agencies come up with. They don’t reinvent the wheel (pardon my cliche), but they come up with something new, fresh, and relevant without being totally off the mark. As a creative person, the creative process is mind-boggling to me. To fully appreciate said creativity, check out this years Creativity Winners List. Trust me, people. You will enjoy these – I hadn’t seen many of them.

And while you’re checking out those creative commercials, make sure you look at Crispin Porter & Bogusky’s ads. Because if you haven’t heard about a certain Alex Bogusky, it will definitely amuse you to hear about him now. Among the other mildly entertaining things he does, he:

• Wrote a diet book while advertising for Burger King and Domino’s Pizza. (Aside from the blatant contradiction I just wrote, that’s pretty darn funny.)
• Interviewed himself on his own blog. (Hey, I could do that! But I won’t, because I’m not Alex Bogusky. I am also sans millions of dollars that would justify interviewing myself.)
• Has a business card with one rounded corner that reads, “25% safer than most other business cards.” (I have to admit that I absolutely love this.)
• Designed the (dare I say it?!) sweet new Microsoft ads. I’m an Apple fan, but I’m loving these ads!

Which is your favorite ad campaign? Take the poll… do it now.

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You WANT To Be

I’m reading this book for my Creative Processes class. Boring? Think again.

I would recommend reading It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be to pretty much anyone who wants to be successful in their chosen field. It’s not a very intense read – I’ve just been flipping through pages that look interesting.

Here’s an excerpt from a chapter entitled “My Finest Hour”:

“I remember the moment vividly.

My feet seemed not to touch the pavement and I thought, ‘I am going to be fired for these pictures.’

Would I rather be fired for having done them or not be fired having not done them?

There was no doubt in my mind. I would rather be fired.

Those few seconds on 74th Street were my greatest moment in advertising.

When I got back and showed them to my partner he thought I was mad.

Fortunately the client loved them. ‘This is art,’ he said.

They won every award there was to be won.

The sad conclusion is the client got fired.”

That was almost all of the chapter right there. He (Paul Arden) makes his point in the title of the chapter and gives you inspiration and wisdom in just a few sentences.

Why I Love Advertising.

“Somewhere between these two places, however, is where you want to be – a balance between a healthy skepticism of your reason for living and a solar confidence in your ability to come up with a fantastic idea every time you sit down to work.” -Hey Whipple, Squeeze This