Fauxlympics

Unfortunately none of these adverts are officially supporting the Olympics, these adverts were designed for the Fauxlympics, a competition set by marketing company the Drum. Inviting all ‘creative athletes’ to help brands and agencies discover what will and won’t be allowed by LOCOG.

The competition was split into four catorgories:
The Sprint: Guerrilla ads that would be taken down faster than Usain Bolt can run 100 metres.
The Long Shot: Ads which probably should be allowed to run, but probably won’t.
The Hurdles: Ads which manage to get around the advertising rules.
The High Jump: Funny ads which break all the rules.

Here Ive selected a few of my favourites but there are endless amounts of humorous ideas, the entry date for the competition has already closed but voting continues until tomorrow night. To view more and to vote for your favourite visit http://www.facebook.com/thedrumpage

the boys

(all images from streetfsn)

 Feeling really uninspired with the high streets end of summer sales and limited new collections I looked endlessly through style blogs yesterday for some new inspiration. And it appears that the men of the streets are stealing the show. Covered in tattoos with their graphic prints, camouflage turn ups and modern tailoring its nice to see some alternative style emerging. Currently loving all things oversized its time for me to route through the mens collections and follow these guys with original pieces and laid back style. Would also love to know where these guys go in the spare time. 

David Beckham takes the stage

For a while now I’ve been banging on about how the use of celebrity endorsements is usually just a waste of money, however after seeing this video I take it all back. I don’t know if it’s my strong love for David Beckham or whether the idea itself is so simple but Adidas have definitely hit the nail on the spot with their ‘Take the stage’ campaign. Adidas invited people from around the country to support TeamGB in their photo booth at the London Olympics, but little did they know a guest visit from David Beckham was coming their way. It’s clear to see what an impact this endorsement had on the public, sometimes its just knowing how to use a celebrity to your full advantage.

Meet the Superhumans

Although many people living in London are dreading it, I’m quite looking forward to the start of the Olympics, in particular the Paralympics. Every time I turn on the TV I seem to catch same advert supporting the Paralympics ‘Meet the Superhumans’ campaign and each time it grabs my attention. I admire the way Channel 4 have portrayed the athletes and their approach to telling their stories. To me I feel a lot more interested and intrigued to watch the Parlalympics after the release of the campaign, and the idea of watching the ‘superhumans’. Director Tom Tagholm said, "We knew we had to make some noise. We knew we had to add some edge and grit and attitude.” The campaign has been a huge success, with critics saying ‘its put other Olympics adverts to shame’ and I think I have to agree.

Porn is moving

Slightly crude but still love this. Great way to let viewers know that internet porn was moving to the new .xxx domain, playful work from M&C Saatchi.

vending trending

I originally started writing this post on the latest BOS Iced tea vending machine campaign and the term 'vending trending'. But when I researched the different ways vending machines are being used in marketing I found Unicefs Dirty Water campaign. We have all seen the adverts on tv about developing countries having to drink dirty water but when the people of New York were presented with the same dirty water, it finally hit home. With the choice of 'Hepatitas water' and 'Typhoid Water' priced at $1 many people got involved and helped to donate. With the alternative option to text, one dollar could provide a child with 40 days of clean water. The campaign was a huge success and spread online and offline around the world.

I think its easy to be impressed by brands like Coke and BOS for their attempt to create a cool marketing vending machine but when organisations like Unicef create lifechanging machine they deserve a lot more recognition. Unicefs approach was subtle, it got the hard hitting fact across that the consumption of clean water is still an issue world wide whilst collecting donations in the process.

the power of Youtube

Anyone who has a blog knows that it takes a lot of reading and searching through websites for inspiration, today I read through a lot of rubbish but eventually I found this. Ad agency BBH created a short tutorial on 'how to look your best the morning after' but the video is not quite the make up advice you'd expect. The ametuer style video shows an abused women giving tips on how to cover up any bruising and cuts with the help of make up and the use of accessories. As soon as I realised what the video was supporting I was taken back by the idea. Combining the simple concept of Youtube tutorials with the message 'Dont cover it up' has such a strong impact. Its not an easy issue to tackle but its possibly one of my favourite ads of seen in a while.