I ran across this ad and thought it caught my eye. I really like ads that you can interact with, I’m not sure if that’s everybody or just me. This was a cool looking, typical, SUV and you could pick from one of six grills with logos on them to figure out which one matched correctly. Now what’s really fun that you can’t see through your monitor is that these six front grills were stickers. When you peeled them off the word “WRONG” was printed behind the sticker on all of them except for the Kia one that said “CORRECT. The Kia Borrego, a new kind of Luxury SUV.” When you flipped the page over the ad continued on the back and told you all about the vehicle. Pretty cool. You would never think this ad or this vehicle for that matter was from Kia, and that’s the point.

There is something about a television ad that doesn’t have words that intrigues me. Does it have a song, or sound, or is it strictly visual and silent. As one who totally subscribes to the “less is more” idea wholeheartedly, it’s fun to see these types of commercials in action. Television commercials that don’t have words have to work harder at drawing a viewer in to pay attention to the message they are trying to relay, and I think it’s this very limitation that drives them harder and farther to get that message across in an interesting and memorable way. The marketers have to make sure that without a doubt you look up from you newspaper, magazine or at the screen when walking for a snack and are intrigued enough to pay attention and take their message away with you or it fails. I think this ad succeeds. I won’t reveal what it’s for because it’s a nice surprise, as it shows the product in a new and unexpected way, which helps keep their brand in your brain.

These ads put out by Russian Bear Vodka started in South Africa to help curtail drinking and driving. They have this propaganda/dictatorish feel to them and appear to be in the russian language, but upon closer inspection (looking at them in a mirror) they reveal their true message. Does this clever trick make them any more/less effective in actually slowing down drinking and driving? I’d be curious to know, but would probably bank on not really. But they do ad a fun twist to the ads and deserve a nod here.

The Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Vista commercials have been scrapped. Already. Before you could even figure out what was actually happening in them, and from what I hear they weren’t really leading to anywhere are done. (Seinfeld make a commercial about nothing? What?) 2 weeks and a lot of money out the “window”, here are the newer commercials from Microsoft that try to identify with you, the user. And like borrowing ideas from Apple for their operating system, they have a dead ringer for PC guy John Hodgeman kick off this 30 sec spot. Do these work? I’m not sure, but they are better than the unfocused meanderings of Gates and Seinfeld. And why is Microsoft scared of Apple? They have 80% of the market, (In desk-top operating systems anyway) So why are they reacting this way to Apple’s campaign? Could it be the not so successful Zune? Apples growing brand and now new phone market? Well at any rate it is fun that they now care more about a company, they could care less about before.

Things have changed a bit since Snow White, especially when it comes to soap. This Axe commercial from Argentina shows what can happen when you accidently use a bar of woman’s soap… So if my wife uses a bar of Irish Spring, does she get visited by leprechauns or drunken irishmen? Does this go both ways? I guess if you don’t want to take any chances, Axe is the way to go. Or Dial, or Irish Spring, or Old Spice - maybe just skip bathing all together.

I think it’s fun sometimes to see the progression of a brand through the years. Here is a Doublemint commercial that ran pretty heavy back in the 80’s and here’s one that is being shown now. These are just 20 some years apart age wise, but miles apart content wise. Remember that this commercial is just for gum. The stuff you chew. Not Hubba Bubba, Bubblicious, or even Big League Chew, this is the 5 stick Doubleminty Big Reddy gum, that I guess is a little more adultish, but the spots are on MTV. I must say though the effects are pretty sweet. (pun intended) Between this and the Redvines commercial I put up a couple of weeks ago, this just helps illustrated a lot of money is spent on candy commercials. Or none at all. Go figure.

This is a recent ad for a new Harvey Nichols store in Bristol England. It uses Bristol’s Local claymation personalities of Wallace and Gromit, wearing designer clothes. Cross promotion doesn’t always work, but I think this is successful because it combines a local (known) element and the new store in a fun and unexpected way.

This is a cool Toyota Television spot that is airing in Australia. The light music is instrumental in illustrating the mere thought of how many people and hours and ideas it takes to build a car. This simplifies/dumbs down what it takes in a refreshing and fresh way. A simple concept, but powerful in the fact that not a word is spoken. This is Every Bit as Brilliant as Toyota is.

How do you wash clothes in Spain? Well with Flor of course, apparently Spain’s most versatile laundry detergent ever. Take that Tide! Need your battleships squeaky clean, or at least smelling of flowery freshness? Thank-you Flor, Now I can wash my socks and fighter jets in the same load, AND YOU CAN TOO! Just pop them in that 400 square foot washer you own and away we go. (REMEMBER to set your fighter jets cycle to delicate for the sensitive equipment on board.) But seriously aren’t these cool? This series of 3 print ads ran in Europe where they are a little more open to this kind of advertising. These ads are well constucted and definitely get the point across. If your idea is super-strong like this you don’t need body copy to tell consumers what it will do for them because they already know. [created by EURO RSCG Spain]

I was drinking a coke and stumbled upon this one. (me and a billion others.) What a smart idea though-Showing how coke is seen on cans in other countries really gives a sense of how far Coke actually reaches, what a world-wide brand has to do to be relevant where it’s sold, and the unity this whole campaign creates in relation to the olympics. Cokes brand is titanium-strong when you can see other languages printed on the side of the can, but instantly know what it is. I like how even the foreign letters feel coke-ish, although some do more than others. A simple and solid product design that speaks volumes. The bottom coke visuals are just inventive and clever product design they’ve incorporated before.