Author: AdweekMedia

Did the fashion world learn nothing from the Ralph Lauren Photoshop controversy of last fall? That would be the heinous print ad where the model’s head was actually wider than her hips and she was unrecognizable as a female form. Short answer: Nope. Pictures of models in Ann Taylor’s new summer outfits on the marketer’s Web site look like they’ve been stretched through a funhouse mirror. Major distortion! Just eyeballing it, I’d say the models’ waists must be about 18 inches, and total body weight couldn’t top 100 pounds. And these chicks look about Na’vi size—roughly 8 feet tall. Really, Ann Taylor? The feminist blog Jezebel busted you on this Photoshop-of-horrors, and you apologized, but those images are still on the site. Deplorable, and just plain dumb, especially since your sweet spot has always been adult, mostly professional women. You know, the ones with real bodies and middle-aged curves. You might want to think you cater to the young and hip (and/or size 00), but that’s not the reality. Neither are these pictures.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Kraft is bolstering its flavored mayonnaise with a dash of star power, courtesy of HGTV Design Star‘s Candice Olson, Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip. Wel, OK, "star power" is pushing it, but they’re nevertheless the new faces of Kraft’s Sandwich Shop brand, making over humdrum sandwiches in TV spots from mcgarrybowen patterned after reality shows. There’s also a range of print material, including one ad that goes so far as to "deconstruct" the sandwich. For those of you trying to pinpoint the exact spot at which post-modernism died, look no further. The campaign is geared toward bored middle-aged women who look to makeover shows for inspiration, hence Kraft’s repetition of phrases like "go bold by stepping outside the flavor norm," which I can just hear Vern Yip saying with complete sincerity. Not for nothing, but mayonnaise hasn’t inspired much except possibly heart disease, and there’s a real difference between dramatically altering your appearance or living space and eating a BLT that tastes slightly different than before. It may still work, especially considering the amount of money Kraft is putting behind it, but it’s definitely a stretch.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Erica Kane’s airplane just took a nosedive on ABC’s once-great, now-middling soap All My Children, but that’s nothing compared to what’s about to happen to the network’s sister cable channel, SoapNet. It’s going bye-bye. For good. And excuse the well-worn expression, but hell hath no fury like a soap fan scored. First, a bit of background: Parent company Disney just announced it will take over SoapNet’s space on the TV dial with a 24-hour preschool channel. Instead of reruns of General Hospital and One Life to Live, viewers will be "treated" to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jungle Junction when the network transforms into Disney Junior in 2012. (Maybe it really is the apocalypse?) The bottom line for business, obviously, is that soaps are aging and dying (as are their fans—sorry!), and there’s much more upside to a cable net dedicated to tots and their tchotchke-demanding ways. Inculcate them early, and they’ll be Disnified for life, or so the thinking goes. Soaps, on the other hand, don’t sell a lot of swag, even if you count the Erica Kane Barbie doll (yes, there is one). SoapNet, for its part, is trying to be upbeat about it all, with a chatty glass-half-full feature on its homepage. "You get 18 more months of SoapNet," it says, towing the company line. Fans, meanwhile, are having none of it. "I am totally disgusted and appalled by this decision," says one. "This bites," says another. Diehards are threatening to boycott Disney and/or start some viral campaign to keep the network. I hate to tell them they’re probably swimming upstream, but go ahead and vent, fanatics. It might be more satisfying than counting the Lost rip-offs in All My Children.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Paint marketers have it rough, as BrandFreak pointed out recently, because it’s difficult to show people just how vibrant or rich or textured their products are from within the confines of a TV commercial (even with the help of animated paint-chip animals). That’s where YouTube can be mighty handy. Dulux, for a European campaign, shot in-progress footage of its "Let’s Colour" project and posted it on the video site. There’s much more to come, like a documentary and other entertainment-based content. It helps, too, that this work, shown in time-lapse photography in the two-minute clip here, changed entire neighborhoods from dirty, drab and graffiti-pocked to bright, clean and tag-free. The community painting events happened over the last four months in the U.K., France, India and Brazil, with 500 volunteers using about 1,800 gallons of Dulux decorative paint. Ad agency Euro RSCG London handled the campaign, which includes a making-of film, Web site, Twitter, Facebook and Orkut. The company also gets points for the gritty ‘hood makeovers and for resisting the temptation to go with some sappy soundtrack like "Color My World" or "True Colors."

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Dude, you think you work hard? Well, think again. Mitchum, the antiperspirant/deodorant brand owned by Revlon, last week kicked off a contest to find the "The Hardest Working Person in America." It’s asking the nation’s workaholics to upload video nominations of themselves to the brand’s YouTube page, where friends, family and the rest of the sweaty masses can vote. (Contestants can also campaign for themselves via social media.) TV spots, now airing, show some of the country’s hardest workers. One is a police officer who goes home to take care of his wife and four kids. Another is a coach who can’t stand the thought of "free time." Mitchum is awarding two prizes: One for the hardest-working person, and another for "most captivating video." The former gets $100,000. The latter gets $5,000. In other words, only the winner gets to take a nice long holiday.

—Posted by Elaine Wong

There’s a giant Oreo Blizzard truck making its way around the country, and if you’re lucky enough to spot it, it might give you a yummy Kraft- and Dairy Queen-inspired treat. To celebrate the Blizzard’s 25th birthday (it is, after all, one of DQ’s most requested treats), Kraft and the soft-serve and fast-food chain have teamed up to introduce a limited-edition Oreo Blizzard Cookie. It’s a "combination of smooth Blizzard-flavored crème blended with crunchy Oreo cookie pieces" all sandwiched "between two dark chocolate Oreo wafers," according to Kraft. The mobile truck (which is shaped like a giant Oreo Blizzard cup) is distributing mini versions of the cookie, but for those of you who can’t wait (hey, the truck is only making 25 stops), the new treats are available at Walmart and Target for $3.29. DQ will also begin selling mini Oreo Blizzards in August.

—Posted by Elaine Wong

Dipsy Doodles, baseball and dance contests go together like, well, nothing I’ve ever heard of before. But just go with it, people. Wise, a marketer known for its chips, popcorn, puffed cheese thingies and other salty snacks, just launched a summer-long contest to name New York City’s best dancer ($10,000 to the fleet-footed winner). In this era of Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Your Ass Off and the upcoming, awkwardly titled Got to Dance (with Paula Abdul!), an urban dance-inspired promotion does seem too unique. The surprise here is the name, Big City Boogie, which sounds more like something that would’ve caused grandpa to get jiggy back in the day. Wise, via agency Source Communications, will show up in a branded vehicle at lots of New York street fairs and outdoor events over the next few months, dragging a portable dance floor and street teams to capture contestants’ moves on video. (Anyone can upload their "talent" to bigcityboogie.com.) Online voters will pick finalists, who’ll compete for cash at the Mets-Phillies game in Queens on Aug. 14. Dance-cam alert! Social-media and viral campaigns, along with a Fuse TV partnership, radio, TV and outdoor ads support the promo. Now, if they could just find a logical connection between Bravos and break dancing.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

As Sex and the City 2 hits U.S. movie theaters on Thursday, women across the country will be organizing ladies’ nights to mark the occasion. (I know, because my girlfriends are among them.) As is the case with other potential high-grossing films, marketers like Skyy Vodka are jumping at the opportunity for tie-ins. The spirits brand partnered with T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants to offer patrons Sex and the City-themed cocktails. With names like Park Avenue Princess and Glamour Gal, the pink-hued drinks are sure to cater to the female demographic. Or so Skyy Vodka thinks. You won’t see Carrie Bradshaw sipping a beer or Jack and Coke, but I know plenty of women who do. Marketers may risk turning off some women with "girlie" stereotypes. But then again, Sex and the City is as girlie as it gets. So, pink drinks with glamorous names are a perfect fit.

—Posted by Elena Malykhina

The best mascot the U.S. could come up with for the 1994 World Cup was a generic-looking brown dog with one foot on a soccer ball and his mind on chasing cars, taking naps and, well, anything except playing soccer. Because, you know, we don’t care about soccer here. But at least it wasn’t an ethnic stereotype or offensive representation of the host country, which is more the norm, judging by an illuminating Fast Company slideshow. (There have also been some vaguely creepy characters in the mix.) Take a look at some of the World Cup mascots of yore: an Argentine cowboy with a whip in his hand; British World Cup Willie, the first mascot, from 1966, who’s inexplicably sporting an ’80s rocker hairdo; and Pique, a jalapeno pepper wearing a giant sombrero, baggy clothes and huge ‘stache that Fast Company finds "just a hair behind Speedy Gonzalez" in the gross-cultural-stereotype department. This year’s mascot is kind of a head-scratcher, if you could find his noggin in that big bouffant. Zakumi, a leopard who’ll preside over the tournament starting June 11, represents "the people, geography and spirit of South Africa," according to a FIFA statement. But there’s still no explanation for that hair.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Ronald McDonald isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, who flatly refused to put the burger-peddling clown out to pasture at a recent shareholders’ meeting. For those of you who don’t know what he’s referring to, a group called Corporate Accountability International has called for Ronald’s retirement, calling him "a pied piper drawing youngsters all over the world to food that is high in fat, sodium and calories," and insisting that he is "sending insidious messages to young people." McDonald’s thinks its critics are overreacting, and to be fair, CAI obviously isn’t familiar with the company’s psychedelic era, which was probably worse for children than any of its current marketing. It’s also worth mentioning that a mascot is only as good or bad as the product it represents, and going after Ronald McDonald isn’t nearly as useful as targeting the nutritional content and business practices of his parent company. That said, if McDonald’s could put Ronald to work shilling healthier food choices for kids, that would be great, too. As long as they don’t go too retro on his costume.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Warner Bros. is preparing to relaunch its classic cartoon characters, something they do every few years or so, with a half-hour show on Cartoon Network. Called The Looney Tunes Show, it will cast all the familiar faces as neighbors in a contemporary cul-de-sac. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will be roommates, which will only add fuel to the implicitly gay fire that’s been blazing around their feet since my parents were little. Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote are also being pulled out of mothballs for some 3-D shorts, the first of which will hit movie theaters in July. What separates this project from all the other failed ones, according to Warner Bros., is the lack of forced modernization: Bugs etc. will be presented as they were during their golden era. Which is fine by me—Space Jam and Tiny Toons were the only updates to make money, and they both sucked—and Warner seems to be investing serious money and time into making this thing work. But they risk looking like a once-great company still trying to squeeze blood from old ideas, as opposed to Disney’s parallel operation of creating new characters and maintaining their classics. Plus, Warner’s theories about how to connect to modern audiences are often, uh, misguided. But as long as they don’t revisit their basketball phase, I wish them luck.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Whatever you thought of last night’s Lost finale, there’s no denying that the Target ads that ran during the four-and-a-half-hour presentation were pretty clever. As a presumed one-time-only event, the retailer ran spots that tied in thematically to the show. A vision of the Smoke Monster, for instance, led to a plug for a smoke detector. A shot of a guy typing in the 4-8-15-16-23-42 sequence was actually an ad for computer keyboards, and so on. The spots continue the "Life’s a moving target" theme, introduced by Wieden + Kennedy. Meanwhile, spoofs are already out there.

—Posted by Todd Wasserman

Latching onto the 2004 movie Downfall to indulge in a melodramatic Hitler meme is one thing. (It’s not even really Hitler. It’s actor Bruno Ganz having an epic meltdown that’s been co-opted zillions of times now.) But using a photo of the real Hitler as a sales tool? For shame. New Form, a fashion boutique in Sicily, has papered the city with 18-foot-high posters of Hitler in a pink uniform—with a heart on his sleeve instead of a swastika—under the tagline, "Change style. Don’t follow your leader." Even if it made sense, it would still be offensive. Local politicians and the citizenry are outraged, naturally. The ad agency, according to HuffPo, says the campaign doesn’t cozy up to the infamous Nazi but instead makes fun of him. And hopefully makes a buck off him, to boot. It’s just all so distasteful and wrong. And maybe the start of a trend? HuffPo says Chinese communist leader Mao Tse Tung is New Form’s next poster boy. Let’s hope that’s a (horrible) joke.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

That harmless game of Truth or Dare—you know, the one you play when you have no intention of sharing past indiscretions—just got a techy new twist that may make it harder to fib. At the very least, it could open you up to all manner of accusation and humiliation. Let’s play! THQ, a video game company best known for releasing a lot of licensed WWE and UFC titles, might see some smackdowns in the living room when Truth or Lies debuts in the fall. The "party" game, in development now for the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, provides a bunch of "thought-provoking questions," according to its press materials. And with a "proprietary voice calibration system" that works with a USB mic or Xbox 360 wireless mic, the game will measure the stress level in players’ voices, acting like an on-the-spot lie detector. No detective required! So, parents can grill their kids (let’s just guess they’ll substitute their own questions) and gauge the answers in front of the whole family—all in the name of fun! I want to get a look at this ad campaign, which should include this caveat: Thumb tacks (for shoving into your feet and cheating the system) not included. Or maybe that’s the deluxe version.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

I have a Weber grill and I like it, but I’ve never done the crazy dances that the people do in this ad from rabble+rouser. But the dancing is only one of the points of interest here. When I think grilling, I picture the standard fat suburbanite, but here the actors are a bit more upscale and quirky, reflecting the brand’s aspirational tilt. There’s a woman who looks like Tina Fey, for instance, and a young Elvis Costello-y guy—not the types you’d associate with grillin’. The Costello guy is even on a rooftop surrounded by other hipsters, giving the illusion that barbecuing is all the rage in Williamsburg right now. (Maybe it is, for all I know.) Will Weber grills become the trucker hat of the summer of ’10?

—Posted by Todd Wasserman

If you can wade through the terrible puns in this article about Hot Chick-a-Latte, a new coffee shop in Denver, you’ll learn that it employs hot chicks to serve coffee in their underwear, which has to be the best and worst idea in a long time. It’s good because it follows a successful business model (Perky Cups, also in Colorado, among others), and it might revitalize the lackluster storefront it’s housed in, because hot chicks do get people out of the house. It’s problematic because once the appeal wears off for everyone who isn’t a perv with no impulse control, fights involving boiling water start happening. Plus, they could drive off female business, since I doubt a whole lot of girls will find the OMG BOOBS gimmick as appealing as guys do. Then again, Hooters is doing OK, so I guess picking a side isn’t a huge financial risk these days.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Will NBC’s fall programming lineup really be "more colorful"? Maybe, if the Mr. & Mrs. Smith-inspired Undercovers from J.J. Abrams turns out to be a keeper, or Law & Order: Los Angeles rips some celebrity shenanigans from the headlines. (Hello, LiLo?) Meantime, the network’s marketing sure is Skittles-like. Here’s a shot of taxis in New York plastered with the every-color-in-a-Crayola-box campaign, from Pitch in Culver City, Calif. The cabs got their makeover this week to coincide with NBC’s new-season announcements to advertisers. The Hilton Hotel, where the dog and pony show took place, also got wrapped with the net’s multi-hued peacock mascot. Expect more rainbow ads as the fall season approaches. And even if you don’t care about Love Bites (it has that funny fashionista chick from Ugly Betty!) enjoy the landscape beautification.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley