• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, March 11, 2009

Remember the creepy print ad The Dorchester Collection launched last November that grouped famous guests of the hotel, both living and dead? I didn't think I'd see another one of these ads. But here's a new version, this time promoting the Le Meurice hotel in Paris. The first ad featured Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Sellers, Noel Coward, Joan Collins, Andy Warhol and Thandie Newton. The latest ad has Grace Kelly, Albert Einstein, Kristin Scott Thomas and Orson Welles seated around a table. Copy reads: "Dali won't be joining us for dinner. He's ordered a bicycle from room service." Kristin Scott Thomas, the lone living celebrity in the ad, does not look her usual glam self, which I found surprising since she's dining with dead people. I'm equally disturbed by this ad and have yet to find a person who disagrees with me. See the new ad here and the older ad here. Draftfcb London created the campaign.

Kia Soul launched a 60-second cinema ad Feb. 27 called "Hamsters." People are replaced by hamsters as the creatures of habit performing mundane daily rituals like going to work and sitting in traffic. The lone difference is the furry creatures are driving around in hamster wheels. Until a Kia Soul, packed with hip, trendy hamsters, pulls up to a red light. Music is blaring and the car instantly becomes the envy of all the creatures stuck in ordinary hamster wheels. Watch the ad here. David&Goliath created the campaign and Initiative handled the media buy.

Who says radio is dead? Not Virgin Radio 999 in Toronto. The station launched an outdoor and transit campaign on March 2 to differentiate itself from other pop music stations. And to confirm that radio is not an old, dead medium. Creative depicts suicidal radios about to end it all by jumping off a bridge, into a bathtub and into the path of a subway. "Give your radio a reason to live," says the ads, seen here, here and here. The campaign reminds me of an outdoor campaign from a few years ago for Gelazzi Gelato Café. Created by Looney Advertising, the campaign took a swipe at chocolate Easter bunnies, depicting despondent candy rabbits on train tracks, in a bathtub with a plugged-in toaster nearby and atop a bridge, tied to a cinderblock. See those ads here, here and here. The Virgin Radio campaign was created by zig and Astral Media Outdoor handled the media buy.

Pearl Jam's debut album, "Ten," is being reissued in four new and expanded editions on March 24. Sony Music is promoting the reissues with The Pearl Jam Ten Game. This is very cool. Players must complete a block puzzle containing ten rows. With each completed row, players unlock a song to hear. Once the timed puzzle is completed, no pressure there, users unlock a video about the history of "Ten'"s release. Freedom + Partners created the site.

Nonprofit company 1% For The Planet  launched a print and online campaign to drive traffic to its online store, which donates proceeds to environmental organizations. Creative is unexpected, out-there and great. One ad stars a manatee that collects porcelain dolls. Another ad features a butterfly wielding a medieval weapon from its vast collection. My favorite ad is an estuary that collects Joey Lawrence memorabilia. Each wishes they could shop at 1% For The Planet's online store, but that whole non-human thing gets in the way. The lone problem I have is the copy found in the butterfly ad is practically unreadable because it blends in with the forest background. See the ads here, here and here. TDA Advertising & Design created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Boston Market now serves Crispy Country Chicken. What better way to portray "country" than office workers riding one another for eight seconds? Someone's getting bucked off. A colleague asks for a taste of his co-worker's lunch. He can have a taste, if he can ride another co-worker, Hank, for eight seconds. Hank is on all fours, attempting to fix a printer, when he's jumped on and smacked. The co-worker makes it to six seconds, then is thrown to the ground. "Leave country to the experts," concludes the ad, seen here. Radio ads, heard here and here, show what happens when ordinary people attempt to summarize their life experiences through a self-penned country song. Outdoor ads show the same chicken picture with varying copy, such as: "We wear our chicken expertise on our sleeve. And occasionally, some gravy on our apron." See the ads here, here and here. Fallon created the campaign, Horizon Media handled the radio and TV media buys and Wilkins Media Company handled the outdoor media buy.

The Travel Channel launched a rebranding campaign called "Travel Bug," along with a predictable tag line of "Catch It." The TV and outdoor campaign promotes "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches" starring Bridget Marquardt and "Dhani Tackles The Globe" starring Dhani Jones. Marquardt meets a die-hard fan that's been bitten by the travel bug and the urge to wear thong bikinis. Did I mention the fan was a guy? See the ad here. The ad for "DTTG" follows Jones through an airport as he passes rugby players, sumo wrestlers and other characters, which he will undoubtedly meet on his journeys. Watch the ad here. And here's a close-up of Marquardt's cleavage, part of the outdoor campaign component. Moroch created the campaign.

Culver's Restaurants launched a national TV campaign during the Oscars and just bowed an additional two ads. All attempt a "Culverization of the Nation." I have yet to be "culverized." Ads follow a man studying this supposed "Culverization." In the latest ads, our investigator hides in the bushes, attempting to block customers from entering Culver's. He also finds a mother and son happily enjoying their custard, so he tries to order a frown with his food, and fails. See the ads here and here. An older ad shows the conspiracy theorist charting an outbreak of niceness on his living room wall; in another spot he watches his mean neighbor become jovial and friendly. Watch the ads here, here and here. MARC USA created the campaign and handled the media buy.