• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, August 15, 2007

Shelter animals pose for mug shots. What's the difference between Coke and Coke Zero? Let the lawyers decide. Let's launch!

Do you have what it takes to grace a coaster? Can you handle bottle sweat? Redhook Ale Brewery hopes so. Its ongoing "Defy Ordinary" campaign consists of print, radio, point-of-purchase ads and a new microsite to house the coaster contest. The "Defy Ordinary" coaster contest is open to consumers nationwide, although ads target areas surrounding Redhook's Northwest and Northeast breweries. Contestants can upload pictures of themselves "defying ordinary." Most coasters are tame thus far, although there are a handful of creative ones, such as the space needle morphing into a beer needle. Eight winners will have their photos printed onto actual Redhook coasters to be distributed to local bars this fall. Print ads promoting the contest feature smart animals: a dog balancing a plate and a beer bottle on its nose and pelicans that prefer beer to fish. Click here and here to see the ads. TM Advertising created the campaign and Busch Media Group handled the media buy.

I can't remember the last time I used Wite-Out, but apparently, people still use the stuff. BIC launched a sidewalk campaign positioning its Wite-Out brand as life-saving to busy New Yorkers. The two-week campaign uses 4-foot by 4-foot vinyl panels that adhere to busy sidewalks in the Midtown, Union Square and Washington Square Park areas. Ads feature a bottle of Wite-Out alongside a life preserver and the copy: "when you need it, you really need it." Click here and here to see the ads. G2 Promotional Marketing created the campaign and MediaCom handled the media buy.

The NFL launched a pair of TV ads to promote the upcoming season and the importance of fantasy football. A man is unable to be present for the almighty fantasy football draft in "Absent." He tells his friends he has no excuse, much to the chagrin of his wife-to-be. Watch the ad here. A group of fantasy footballers are in the process of choosing their commissioner in "Newbie." One new guy mistakes the perk of valet parking for ballet parking. Click here to watch the ad.BBDO New York created the campaign and media buying was handled in-house.

Baskin-Robbins launched another funny ad where ordinary people go to extreme lengths -- all in the name of ice cream. This time around, it's Mom that goes loco for an Oreo Explosion. A father tells his son that he must finish his peas if he wants Baskin-Robbins for dessert. When dad looks away, mom devours every remaining pea on the plate. Watch the ad here. "Peas" launched this week on network cable and will run until Sept. 16. Cliff Freeman and Partners created the campaign and WF of R handled the media buy.

Coke and Coke Zero taste very similar. Don't stress about the taste confusion; let your smarmy lawyer do that instead. That's the concept for Coke Zero's "Covet & Yourminy" campaign that uses the faux law firm C&Y to find prospective plaintiffs angry with Coke for creating "taste confusion." The campaign used inexpensive media buys, similar to those a local law firm might purchase, such as radio, bus shelter and truck advertising. Click here and here to see the outdoor ads. Online ads encouraged consumers to visit the C&Y microsite and leave the details of their case for paralegals to review. People who played along were mailed a C&Y taste kit, including a C&Y insulated beverage sleeve and coupons for both Coke and Coke Zero. Better still, radio ads gave listeners a toll-free hotline number to call and leave a message for C&Y's taste litigation experts. More than 17,000 real phone calls have been placed so far. That's a lot of free time. Crispin, Porter + Bogusky created the campaign and handled the media buy for the microsite, taste confusion kits, and the outdoor bus shelters and the trucks wraps in Atlanta. Starcom MediaVest Group handled the planning and buying for radio, print and online banners.

Animal Care and Control of New York City, home to more than 44,000 animals yearly, launched an outdoor and online campaign to raise adoption awareness and explain why most animals find their way to the shelter: bad luck, not abuse. Ads will run on billboards, bus shelters and subway cars throughout New York City, featuring mug shots of adorable animals guilty only of wanting a loving home. "I didn't do anything. Owner left for Iraq," reads one ad. "Owner allergic," "Owner died," "I didn't do anything. Landlord objected," and "Owner relocated," read additional ads. Click here, here, here, here, here, here and here to see the ads. Unit 7 created the campaign.

This Orbit ad has been running for a few months now, and remains one of my favorite spots for the brand. Promoting raspberry mint-flavored gum, "The Affair" takes place in an unusually empty office, where a man and his paramour are outed by the man's wife. Dirty words are thrown about: French toast, lint licker, kumquat, Stinky McStink face and, my personal favorite, Hoboken. Watch the ad here.Energy BBDO Chicago created the campaign, MindShare handled the media buy and Biscuit Filmworks produced the spot.

Connelly Partners developed a series of marketing initiatives with the Boston Red Sox to promote Bertucci's new grill menu. The Bertucci's "On Fire" Player of the Week billboard can be found atop a Bertucci's restaurant outside of Fenway Park. Each week a lucky player's wooden number is hung by hand over an image of a large white dinner plate with grill flames in the background. Click here to see it.