adultery in advertising is new again

Mad Men has been creating a bit of a stir in New York with its ads, not only by creating controversy, but by introducing what appears to be a new form of advertising: adulterated print. Minimalist posters put up in the subway have invited "desecration" by...who? Passing artists? Or pseudo-Banksys commissioned by AMC? The added art seems just a bit too conceptual and artful to be random. But who cares? The posters are wiped clean every night (by overworked MTA officials? really?) and new art appears each day to give harried transit riders a bit of much needed entertainment. Which is, of course, the product that AMC is selling.

The Gothamist is featuring a "best of" collection of adulterated posters (including a beautifully executed save by Victor Cruz) and seeding viral engagement by inviting you to send your photoshopped effort to photos@gothamist.com.

Brilliant play by modern Mad Men. And women, no doubt. Aptly touted atop taxis on Madison Avenue.

photo courtesy Warming Glow

photo courtesy The Gothamist

photo courtesy The Atlantic

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/02/adultery-advertisings-hottest-trend/48290/

billboards that work without CTR

The disturbing billboard shown on the front page of today's New York Times reminds me of the power of an analog medium that (because of slashed budgets?) seems to be enjoying a creative revival of sorts. We all know what outdoor did for Ashton Kutcher. And there was good showing this year in Outdoor Category at Cannes.  (Though my own Grand Prix would have gone to BBDO's ingenious cross-platform idea.)

Here's a few more examples of creative use of the medium, in case you're looking for concepts to steal today. (Thanks, GardenBroad.) Sorry, no attributions. Please comment if you've got credit info.

new outdoor concept: walls that have ears

Big Love is an HBO show about a large polygamous family leading complex lies. I mean lives. Well, both actually. Promoting its new season, interactive murals feature images of people walking down a city street with headphone jacks floating above their heads. Passersby can plug in their ipods to listen in on the pedestrians' secret thoughts. Like: a woman who hates her baby and how it's ruining her life. Another hiding her drinking from her husband. An overweight man focused on the girdle he's wearing under his suit.

If only the placement was as brilliant as the creative. In NYC (murals are here and in LA) they're sited in the long tunnel from the subway to Port Authority bus station, a place people don't linger as they're usually in such a hurry to make a bus or a train. The few times I've passed it no one's been listening in. Seems to me subway platforms would have been better. Still. Big love for this concept, BBDO-NY.

dog days of summer, upper west side

Emily, play nice now, that's a good girl.

She's so well behaved.

Daycare makes all the difference.

We're trying to get Barker into one, but they're all waitlisted.

Or, it could be the Prozac. Dr. Kibblemeyer just upped her dose.

Emily has a shrink?

Behaviorist. He's helping her cope with the fact that she'll never have puppies.

entry for advertising slogan hall of fame

Thanks to Scamp, I've just been enlightened as to the existence of the Advertising Slogan Hall of Fame which has its own tagline, of dubious distinction: Where the endline comes first. Check out old mantras in this compilation, some of which are still ticking after almost a century. (Morton's When It Rains It Pours was launched in 1911.) Perhaps they'll consider this winning slogan from North Korea, wildly successful in promoting the last vestige of a Socialist regime: Let's Extensively Raise Goats in All Families!


 More winning Mao-era style slogans can be found here and here.

sourced from The New York Times