• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, June 1, 2006

"How often do you get it?" "The Way News Spreads" can put you in a haze. Milwaukee's Best bows the latest in "manly men" commercials. Let's launch!

MTV is at it again. To promote this year's MTV Movie Awards, airing on June 8, the network put this year's host, Jessica Alba, to work on three ads that allow viewers to learn hidden facts about the actress. "Golf" shows an elderly woman being carjacked. Alba comes to the rescue by using a high-heeled shoe as a golf tee and hitting a ball that lands on the thief's head, knocking him out. Hidden fact about Alba: She plays golf. "Tae-Bo" shows Alba buying dog food when a swarm of paparazzi surround her. She goes kung fu, or tae-bo, on each one until a pinned-down photographer points to the intended target... Nicole Richie. She thanks Alba like only Richie can, saying, "Thanks, Bitch." In the last ad, Alba plays a Benihana chef and comes to the rescue of a family of hungry people. The flagrant use of a body double (check out that stringy hair) gives the ad an added touch of flavor. Click here to watch the ad. The ads were created in-house and edited by Crew Cuts.

Coors Brewing Company has launched a series of seven print ads targeting the gay/lesbian market. Four male-themed and three female-themed ads show gays and lesbians dancing in a club and hanging by the pool, and use the "Now's The Time" tagline. Ads are running nationally and in 13 regional markets in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas in publications such as Chicago Free Press, Dallas Voice, Gay and Lesbian Times, IN Los Angeles, Just Out, Lavender Magazine, New York Blade, and Out Front. MergeMedia Group created the ads and Rivendell Media handled the media buying. The ads will run through the end of the year. Click here to view the ads.

These PSAs for meth addiction are downright nauseating. Hopefully they will deter teens in Montana from experimenting with the drug. The Montana Meth Project created four ads, targeting 12- to 17-year-olds, detailing that it only takes one try to become a meth addict. "Crash" shows a what-if scenario for a young girl: instead of crashing her car into a bloody mangled mess (a scenario she now imagines as preferable to the reality) the girl goes to a party where she tries meth for the first time. With her skin covered in sores and her teeth rotted, she says, "I did meth and now this is my life." "Jumped" shows a teen wishing that he was jumped and beaten by a group of bullies rather than being the meth addict that he is today. "Everything Else" and "Junkie Den" are equally disturbing. Click here to watch the ads.Venables, Bell & Partners created the campaign and Final Cut handled the editing.

The American Liver Foundation launched two PSAs in May to increase knowledge of liver disease, in conjunction with May being Hepatitis Awareness month. These ads are not as gross as the meth ones. Feel free to eat your snack. "Couch" shows a couple sitting on a couch, when the woman notices a third party... the man's liver. Next thing you know, it's dark and the liver hits his owner and tells him to take care of the organ. The spot ends with the tagline, "It's dangerous to ignore your liver." "Poker" shows a group of poker-playing guys and one man accompanied by his liver. The man tells his friends to ignore his liver, which prompts the liver to throw darts at his owner. The campaign is running on ESPN, The History Channel, and National Geographic, to name a few. filter New York created the campaign.

The Austin American-Statesman launched a TV campaign called "Get it!" that asks viewers how often they get it... now get your minds out of the gutter. The ads are quite funny. One ad shows people reminiscing about the first time they got it: in college, from a best friend's mom, a college professor, online or not until a couple got married. Another ad shows the different ways to get it: "from my assistant Ricky... on my desk," "after a long hard day with the kids," "from my dog." Click here to watch the ads. A two-week teaser campaign ran from May 8 to May 21 without any mention of the brand. Ads are now running on cable and local stations in conjunction with radio, outdoor, viral and mobile components. The campaign was created in-house and The Davis Group handled the media buying. Did I mention that we're talking about a newspaper?

Breaking news: CP+B did not create this manly men campaign. Milwaukee's Best has launched a series of TV spots exalting that "Men should act like men and light beer should taste like beer." "Trampoline" shows a group of men alongside a trampoline. One man does a girly jump and is pummeled by a can of Milwaukee's Best beer. "Beer Toss" shows the consequences of dropping a can of beer that's thrown your way. "Tiger" cracked me up. Friends are trying to fix a broken lawnmower, and one guy bends over and gives us a view of his tiger underwear. "Tent" shows men who are unable to pitch a tent and consider using tools to aid them. "Convenience Store" shows a guy buying wine coolers rather than beer in order to "mix it up a little"--an effort that does not go well. Mother created the campaign and Starcom handled the media buying.

Sometimes all you need is one animated .gif to spread the word. MSN has launched NewsSpreads.com, a site promoting MSN's Windows Live Messenger. "The Way News Spreads" plays funky music, might put you in a trance, and contains one link for users to download Windows Live Messenger. Be on the lookout for flying sharks with cameras, a musician performing on stage, robots showing their love of flowers, flying policeman with megaphones, and marching cameras. The site animation was created to show the flow of communication and how one thing leads to another. AKQA created the site.

Every day should be viewed as a special occasion, so use the good china and use it often, according to Royal Doulton's latest print and online campaign. The age-old brand washed away its stuffy aura by using copy such as "Life is short. Use the good china." and "Suddenly a midnight snack is a work of art" in a campaign targeting 25- to 35-year-old brides-to-be. Ads are running in InStyle Weddings, Brides, Modern Bride, HFN, and Tableware Today. Online ads are running on theknot.com and weddingchannel.com. Irwin Slater, New York created the campaign, its first work for the client. Media buying was handled in-house.

Talk about going to a fantasy world when you eat chocolate. A U.K. campaign for Magnum ice cream bars brings out an array of personalities in women, from wild and insatiable to explosive and unpredictable. My favorite part of the ad shows an ice cream bar being smashed in a person's hand. However, the chocolate spider web and chocolate ball of yarn are close runners-up. The opening shot shows a dancer flipping her head in slow motion so that black beads of chocolaty liquid explode from her hair as a voiceover says, "I'm explosive." McCann Erickson Worldgroup created the campaign; Cut + Run London handled the editing and MindShare is the media buying agency.

This campaign is a few months old, but still warrants a mention. Australia launched an international tourism campaign using an unlikely tag line: "Where The Bloody Hell Are You?" The campaign consists of print, TV, online and guerilla components and is running in Japan, U.K., the U.S., Germany, China, New Zealand and South Korea. Two 30-second spots and one 60-second ad shows Australians telling viewers that "we've saved you a spot on the beach," "we've got the sharks out of the pool," and "we've got the roos off the green," and ends with the $64,000 question, "So Where The Bloody Hell Are You?" Print ads are striking, highlighting Australia's scenery (rainforest) and array of animals (camels, whales). Click here to watch the TV ads. M+C Saatchi created the campaign and Carat USA handled the U.S. media buy.