Out to Launch

by Amy Corr, Jun 17, 2009, 4:01 PM

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Baby talk used by adults is just plain creepy. Fairy laundry detergent is running three TV ads in the U.K. that brings this creepiness to life. A grown man watching TV with his mother is asked if he "needs to go pee-pee," and if so, to "let Mommy know." He's not the least bit thrown off by her baby talk or by sitting on a plastic-covered sofa. "You can only baby them when they're babies," ends the ad for the detergent that softens "their world while you still can." Watch the ad here. In the next ad, our Peter Pan chews on a pen cap and is forced to spit it out in his mother's hand. See it here. I saved the best ad for last. Our scene is an all-pink bathroom and our adult male is taking a bath. Mom pops in unannounced to proclaim that she's found his rubber ducky. She puts it in the tub, then asks him to find it. When he does, he gets a pat on the head and called a good boy. Watch it here. Leo Burnett Toronto created the ads, produced by Partners Film Toronto.

Ray-Ban launched another video in its "Never Hide" campaign called "Paint Balloons." The video watches a man get pelted with colorful balloons full of paint that leave him looking patriotic from a combination of red paint, blue paint and his pearly whites. Ray-Ban's tagline of "Never Hide" is etched into the man's chair. See it here. I like the video; it reminds me of something Sony Bravia created in 2006. Cutwater created this video.

Monte Carlo resort and casino in Las Vegas launched a print campaign that combines highbrow photography with lowbrow copy that spells a handful of words as they sound. Tag-lined "Unpretentiously Luxurious," the campaign had one hit: I did enjoy the ad for "Bon Appetit." Shown here, the ad spells it a different way --"bone app a teat" -- and features a trio of guys who let nothing prevent them from eating wings. Nothing. Click here, here and here to see how rendezvous, debauchery and tres chic are spelled. David&Goliath created the ads and MGM MIRAGE Media handled the media buy.

No matter how amusing these TV ads may be, I'm not eating SPAM. The company launched three animated TV spots that use stop-motion technology to "Break the Monotony." The first spot, seen here, shows a bread meeting in a bored room. The carbs are bored and restless, until a can of SPAM busts into the conference room like a stripper. There's fire, ample lighting and an employee not afraid to let her hair down. In another spot, a classroom full of eggs sleep through attendance until SPAM turns the classroom into a dance club. See it here. Macaroni and cheese are on a dinner date in the final ad, seen here. Their tired routine comes to an end when SPAM enters the fray. BBDO Minneapolis created the ads and PHD handled the media buy.

Microsoft launched two PSA videos promoting Internet Explorer 8. The "Special Internet Service Announcements" star Dean Cain as a spokesman describing Internet afflictions and their cures. The first problem, F.O.M.S. (Fear of Missing Something), shows a woman frantically checking multiple Web sites for status updates, auction results and emails until she loses it. She starts hearing voices and seeing things, namely a bearded man clad in a silver unitard. She becomes unwound when informed of losing a bidding war for a decorative bowl. Watch it here. S.H.Y.N.E.S.S. (Sharing Heavily Yet Not Enough Sharing Still) describes people who share too much, yet not enough. A woman sends lolcats to her friend thinking she will enjoy them... but she doesn't. See it here. Videos highlight IE8 features like InPrivate mode and WebSlices and drive traffic to the newly launched BrowserForTheBetter.com. Bradley and Montgomery created the ads. 

AAMCO launched a $30 million multimedia campaign called "The Romance of the Road." The TV spots, which look like they were made on the cheap, present older cars as family members and friends -- so treat them well and take them to AAMCO. One family has had their minivan almost as long as their children. They're want her around for years to come. Watch the ad here. The next ad follows a woman who recalls the milestones shared with her car such as paint jobs, accidents and boyfriends. But the only man allowed under the hood works at AAMCO. See it here. The final ad promotes the different services AAMCO offers customers. Watch it here. The brand's recognizable tag line, "Double A - Beep Beep - M-C-O," remains. Qorvis Communications created the campaign.

Creative Recreation shoes launched a viral video that begins with a close-up of a graffiti artist's shoes. The artist tags a wall, and is about to show his friends his handiwork when the tag comes to life, chasing him down the street. The Graffiti Monster knocks the artist to the ground, lets out a primordial scream and the artist opens his eyes to see that something's missing -- his shoes. Watch the ad here. Alan Whitcher directed the viral.

"There are fans. And then there are hockey fans," voiceover Morgan Freeman states in an ad for Visa that launched on Canadian TV networks May 19, featuring the Visa tagline "Go Fans."  One fan superstitiously steps over his Vancouver Canucks-branded front door mat while hockey pucks are used as coasters, a Calgary Flames flag flies at half-mast and a jersey waits to be ironed. See the ad here. TBWA/Toronto created the ad and OMD handled the media buy.

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