Commentary

Out to Launch

D.L. Couch wallcovering launched its first-ever national advertising and branding campaign. Targeting interior designers, print ads feature different periods, objects and people juxtaposed with D.L. Couch wallcoverings inspired by these eras. I thought the woman in the first ad, seen here, looked like a young Drew Barrymore working on a period piece. The remaining ads, shown here and here, are running in Interior Design Magazine. Young & Laramore created the campaign and EchoPoint Media handled the media buy.

The Black Eyed Peas are starring in the latest ad for Target, promoting a deluxe version of their album that's sold only at the retailer. Fergie, Taboo, Will.i.am and apl.de.ap begin as faceless entities that blend in with bed sheets, a black and white background, wallpaper and brick. The Target bulls-eye is prominently featured as the group removes the ties that bind to reveal their identities. And then they dance. Watch the ad here. It reminds me of an OK Go video from 2007 where band members dressed to matched the wallpaper. See it here. Wieden + Kennedy Portland created the ad.

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Where there is food, there's Amy. See you at NYC Restaurant Week. A print, outdoor and online campaign launches June 30, coinciding with the opening of reservations for the July 12-31 food fest. Twitter users who follow NYCGO will get first dibs on booking meals. NYC Restaurant Week has replaced its longtime tagline, "Eat Famously," with "Love NYC Restaurant Week." Creative consists of a canary yellow background and a woman eating a strawberry. Copy pays tribute to the 257 participating restaurants by providing 257 reasons why people should participate in the event. My favorite is reason 16: "Because NYC Restaurant Week has been keeping foodies full for 18 years." See the ads here, here and here, running in New York magazine, The New York Times, NY Observer, TimeOut NY, AM NY, Metro, Harlem News Group and El Diario. NYC & Company created the campaign.

Red Tettemer is making its first trip to Cannes. The agency packed accordingly, meaning an abundance of red Speedos will run rampant. I received one in the mail and it's sitting on my desk as I type. To complement the Speedo, there's a video packed with "11 kinds of awesome." Be prepared for some strange occurrences. A Speedo-wearing man admires his physique in the mirror, breaks boards with his head, flies a kite, table dances and drinks grapefruit juice. Watch to see how he gets the juice.

Dell's latest TV spot, "Treats," takes place in a factory where laptops are packaged like candy and offered in an array of vibrant colors and flavors. Workers sing while they work, to the tune of "Lollipop" by The Chordettes, as viewers watch the creation of individual laptops from the time they are liquefied goo, pressed into shape, cut to size, microwaved, slapped with a logo and wrapped. Watch the ad here, created by Mother New York.

Oh, how I love ads for Klondike. A trio of TV spots, posing the famous question, "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" show the lengths men will go to for this tasty treat. Pain and embarrassment ensues. A man gets his ample chest hair waxed in the first ad, seen here. The pain is worth the reward. When the voiceover asks, "What would you do now that it has a thicker, more chocolaty shell?" the aesthetician waxes down south. It's a cute ad, but the joke was funnier when Steve Carell did it in the "40-Year-Old Virgin." A man would carry his girlfriend's hideously dressed Chihuahua in another ad, seen here. He'd even go as far as dressing like it. Another man would not only hang with his mother-in-law, he'd also throw in a foot massage. Watch the ad here. DDB New York created the ads, edited by Cutting Room

The South Carolina Aquarium launched "Fish Breath," a TV spot promoting its Penguin Planet exhibit. Office water cooler talk turns to the "new guy," a close talker whose breath smells like fish. Gossip quickly comes to an end, when the "new guy," a penguin, approaches. The exhibit allows visitors close encounters with penguins. The spot closes with the penguin abruptly moving in close to his co-worker, who's caught off-guard. See the ad here, created by Hook.

Southwest Airlines is coming to New York. To promote its service out of LaGuardia Airport, beginning June 28, the airline launched The Southwest Porch at Bryant Park. The porch is located in the southwest corner (get it?) of Bryant Park, complete with rocking chairs, porch swings and games. In addition, Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft will offer a Southwest-style low-cost menu on weekday evenings throughout the summer. Food will be inspired by destination cities, so look for soft-shell crab sandwiches for Baltimore and bratwurst for Chicago. See the porch here, created by Civic Entertainment Group

Random iPhone App of the week: Since iPhone Apps are about as common as rain in New York City, I thought it was high time I started highlighting them. This week's iPhone App is the Peek-O-Matic. Created for and by Walrus, the App is a modern-day novelty pen, the kind that stripped men or women of their clothes when you turned the pen upside down. Users choose an illustration, such as beauty, beefcake or golden girl, and flip their phone. There are also different states of undressed to select, like retro, sexy and wild card. It costs 99 cents. See the App in action here.

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