Great advertising I've ust fallen upon that perfectly fits the message and brand/product promise. And makes the brand promise a reality at each contact point.

To highlight the benefits of the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive car, that is to be fully environment-friendly thanks to its 100% electric engine, BBDO Düsseldorf interpreted that feature by creating an imperceptible advertising. In practise, the ad has been cut into thin strips stuck on the inner side of the fence. From front: nothing to see; from aside: the full ad!

It may not be a first of its kind; still, in the overflooding of billboards in the city environment, that ad works: people stops to see it! And if you read the small billboard nearby the invisible ad, what can you read : "Für die Umwelt kaum wahrnehmbar und deshalb absolut ökologisch korrekt." In other words: Quite imperceptible to the planet, 100% environment-friendly. The promise starts with the ad! Good job guys!

Sources: www.reversestreetads.com + http://advedia.wordpress.com/

Nice advertising campaign to educate drivers in Brasil and make them stop stealing carparks dedicated to disabled drivers.Not a lot to explain even when Brazilian sounds like a foreign language, right?

Thanks Beats Below agency in Brasil for your clever ad!

Advertising Agency: Beats Below, Curitiba, Brazil
Creative Director: Sulivan Cruz
Art Director: Felipe Cleto
Copywriter: Sulivan Cruz

Source: http://www.ibelieveinadv.com

Very interesting idea from English paint maker Farrow & Ball that launched their new collection late March showing it on a new material: ceramic!

I find that material perfectly suited to enhance Farrow & Ball delicate and so English colours, don't you think so? May I dare to say this is a creative "advertising" ? Congrats!

Source: www.ceramique-design.fr

evian baby inside - Director's Cut - version française from evian on Vimeo.

Spotted: the new Evian TV spot. As usual: an awarded-to-be advertising! Congrats BETC guys!

PS: They have thought about everything: should you fall in love with the Tshirt of the ad, don't panic, you can buy one right here! And if not enough, you can even be part of the ad: try your face with the Evian baby body here!

Spotted: H&M advertising on the Opéra Garnier façade in Paris.

The opera-house may be being renovated and works be covered, in a time of innovative advertising and technologies, wasn't there any other solution to cover the ongoing works, make some revenues and enable the visitors to still enjoy that architectural work-of-art? Is it the price to pay for our historical monuments to stay alive? This kind of "wild advertising" is no good for H&M which presence may become overwhelming either for the Opéra Garnier's brand image whose choice can be questionned. Not to mention the ad agency.

Source: www.docnews.fr

This is the latest TV ad by Danish jeans brand Jack&Jones for their new collection named "Girl Toy".

Beyond the beautiful way of filming it, a great warm photographic style, that ad let a strong impression on me. Not because of the final statement "Become a girl toy"; more because it's not very common to hear the following assertion from a man's mouth: "Woman are pigs" and watch them behave as such. Like the whole gender is. Girls, don't you feel a bit ackward after watching that advertising?

This is the latest video clip from flip-flop Brasilian brand Havaianas to promote their new collection of sneakers. Apparently tarp surfing is not new; still, it's matching perfectly to Havaianas baseline « Always Summer Spirit »! What are you waiting for to celebrate the fall in the Northern hemisphere?

Source: www.luxsure.fr

The summer holidays have started in Italy. But crisis is still there. Why not encouraging the Italian inhabitants to spend their holidays in their home country? ... and spend their money at home?

This is the latest "measure" for the Italian government to try to stamp the crisis out. The government believes so strong in such a measure than even Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is participating to that effort by being the voice-over of the advertising the Ministry of Tourism has just broadcast on TV!  

Too bad: the TV ad is a flop and Prime Minister rating has plummetted a little bit more!


What's being said in the TV ad:
"What you can see is your Italy, a unique country for its sky, its sun, its sea, but also its history, culture and art. It's an extraordinary country that still remained to be discovered. Take the opportunity of your holidays to better know your magical Italy."

Source: Le Figaro, 07/07/2010

I've just been sent this picture by a friend of mine:
This is the very brand new advertising that Sony has just issued on the back cover, full page, of a leading French newspaper: a beheaded cock and two words "Game over". 

Simple. Efficient. To make the disastrous French football team that makes any French citizen be ashamed understand how disastrous and shaming they were. Great. Understood. But is it really efficient to sell their latest Playstation to the French consumers? Don't you think French people are fed up to hear everywhere around them "Ahahah, you arrogant Frenchies, it's over!!" Do you think we are so ashamed we can accept any critics? Tomorrow, I gonna throw away my husband's PSP and Wii!

Buzz for sure, but sales?

The latest TV ad campaign for AT&T about their 97%-USA-coverage: so poetic, magnificent and clear! Just check it out!

The police can be a brand too. The proof: this ad for the Hampshire police (UK) to communicate about their participating to the Pedal Car Grand Prix to come next July!

Who's affraid of the Big Bad Wolf? He can be a lamb too!

Source: www.w3sh.com

Unfortunately not. This wonderful real scale 1 crystal-clear glass car, copy of the trendy Nissan 370Z, is the result of an order placed by Shell and their ad agency to the Asylum Models & Effects company for their latest ad campaign for the Shell Helix oil!

Indeed, what a better idea to prove the active cleansing technology of their latest Shell Helix oil, that claims "performance you can see" that exactly illustrating both promise and baseline?! Brilliant idea that makes the buzz around the performance of the car first for sure (the car being the exact copy of a real car; only the engine has been doubled in size for the need of the camera being able to show the oil progression. But still, isn't it interesting to see the way oil moves throughout the engine? After that, don't you think you'll think twice about which oil you gonna put into your engine? I'm sure you will!

A perfect "simple" and efficient ad to me! Congrats!

Source: http://www.juicedmagazine.com/

There's a TV spot currently broadcast by MTV Denmark that I deeply love! The latest Adidas Original ad campaign just on the screens. 

What is interesting with this ad to my mind is that this is not particularly innovative, no new "technology", new way of filming. It's just a good old TV spot that Adidas ad agency mixes to the envy to adapt the message. Once it's for the women collection, the other time for the Star Wars co-branding, after that the spirit of the new collections etc. But everytime, it's just so good! So I'm wondering why it's so good: the music, the way it's been shot, the explosion of colours, the cool attitude feeling? Actually I don't care, I'm just feeling like: "ShouldI wear some Adidas sneakers, I would be the cooliest girl on Earth"! Problem is I'm a stilleto addict!! What a shame!

More on Adidas Original brand positioning here.

Today, I say "No"! No to brands that appropriate the latest buzz in town that does not match their personality. Has branding something to do with trends?

A few days ago, seating in the Parisian Metro, I thought I saw a billboard for French top bank Banque Populaire, mixing the universes of both the bank and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland successfull movie. I was wondering "What the hell can be the link between Banque Populaire and Alice in Wonderland" (sorry for the colloquial language, see how shocked I was)? 

Indeed, my sight had not abused me! Banque Populaire has well partnered with Alice in Wonderland and so have so many brands by the way! Welcome in the wonderworld of the branding industry! From a branding point of view, partnering with the latest buzz in town is for some brands a real good branding strategy; for others, might sound fake. And unfortunately, to me, this is how the Banque Populaire/Alice in Wonderland partnership sounds: all too fake, sorry guys!

Let's have a look closer to the branding strategy Banque Populaire claims. In their press release, the legitimation is the following: "With this campaign, Banque Populaire intends to pursue the modernization of their image, first launched in 2008 with the Banque Populaire saga around fairy tales, turned to young adults, students and young professionals." "Initiatory trip towards independance and self-assertion, this fairy tale by Tim Burton is a further opportunity for Banque Populaire to position as the key partner of their clients lives, trusting everyone's ability to undertake and find his/her own way." ... ... Yes, Banque Populaire Communication staff has found THE link between the bank and Alice in Wonderland: the beloved shared values! Think about it everytime you need to legitimate a co-branding. In those hard times of crisis and financial industry global disbelief, the speech is attractive: a bank that would trust you and your choices when it comes to undertake something, humm, yeah why not? Oh true, it's what a bank is supposed to do, sorry!

Anyway, to me, there are so many things to tell about this 360° ad campaign and partnership in term of branding, in the form and substance:
- the link between both "brands": even after reading the press release, I don't get the point for that association
- the symbolic of Alice in Wonderland: for the Banque Populaire, "undertaking, risk-taking, self-assertion"; what about "absurdity, confusion, non-sense, lack of judgment, schizophrenia"? And what about entering a Banque Populaire agency reorganized to make you feel like in Wonderland (because, yes this is a part of the 360° strategy)
- "modernizing the image": have a look to some of the modernized communication tools and answer that question: "Is modernity the feeling you've got"?
- brand consistency: where can be brand consistency in the visual codes when your communication is based upon a concept such as the "fairy tales" in which the graphic codes you use are completely related to a precise universe and the only link to your brand is the logotype?
- and finally graphic design: I may be a fan of the ad agency that designed the whole package of Banque Populaire/Alice in Wonderland, I must say I'm far from being convinced by the creative choices.

If ever the Banque Populaire/Alice in Wonderland ad campaign speaks to you, then you may be the one Alice in Wonderland on Earth!

On January, 1st, 2010, Coca-Cola unveiled their latest ad campaign for Argentina "Lo increible es possible"! With Coca-Cola, ad has become lively with a live 9-minute air choreography "put" on a billboard for Coke Zero sponsoring the Avatar movie: see by yourself!

What I'm just wondering about is what is the relationship between an air choreography, Coke Zero and Avatar...The fact that "The incredible is possible"? My point of view is advertisement is changing: more and more brands, audiences are fed up with traditional ads and brands need to differentiate. Hence the development of experiential marketing and other more "spectacular" ways of advertising. But what if the need for differentiation preveils on the brand message? ...

Source: http://leblog.wcie.fr/

Just after Christmas, if you were living in Amsterdam, you would have been really surprised to discover among the Christmas packaging rubbish on the pavement a big cardboard packaging stamped with a Mini Cooper and a legible "99 euros" price tag on it! A Christmas gift amongst others!

But no, no, a car can't be delivered in a box to put at the Christmas tree yet! This is the latest street marketing campaign issued by BMW for promoting their financial offer in the Netherlands: a Mini car at a mini price! Guess every resident of the Netherlands can tell you the price by heart now!

By the way, for the environment friends, the cardboard are all recyclable!

Source: www.leblogauto.com, http://packaginguqam.blogspot.com

A pretty print ad campaign for Polish designer Ania Kuczynska 2009 Summer Collection imagined by Szymon Roginski and Kasia Korzeniecka.

The campaign is about photographing a picture made of fragmented 3D pictures. True, the idea of 3D pictures is not new, neither is the use of it by the fashion industry. But still. The result is nice, the collection is legible.


Source: www.todayandtomorrow.net

Advertising can be such a poetic job! The proof with the latest ad campaign of Miele in Hong-Kong.

Elegant, efficient, different. Don't you think so?



Agency: JWT Hong-Kong. Photographer: Benny Lam.

Source: www.fubiz.net

To relaunch its iconic Levi's 501 jeans, the brand launched the "Live Unbuttoned" street marketing campaign last July.

7 urban sites in London have been the theatre of ad sculptures created by artist XXX. The concept: an emotional interpretation of the iconic jeans through urban boards made with 501 jeans. Agency: Jack Liberties. 

Source: http://www.marketing-alternatif.com/

Not a new photographic technique, but still a poetic effect for the last (2008) Land Rover ad campaign, which baseline is:"Land Rover makes work play". Makes the job, doesn't it?

Gold award for best photography at the Creative Circle 2009 Awards (London, March 09). Agency: Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe Y&R London.

Source: www.fubiz.com