• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, May 28, 2009

EA Sports Active for the Wii debuted on May 19, and Electronic Arts launched a TV, print and event marketing campaign, targeting women, prior to the launch. "I'm Active" shows women boxing, running in place, doing lunges and bicep curls, with EA Sports Active keeping score. The reasons to get fit differ from woman to woman: strength, endurance and date night are a few causes for motivation. This is a workout that offers convenience because it's done at home and saves users a trip to the gym. And you can sweat on your home rug! See the 30- and 60-second spots here and here. Print ads, running in People, InStyle, Shape and Family Circle, offer additional reasons for being active. Think skinny jeans and bikinis. See the ads here, here and here, created by Draftfcb San Francisco.

This ad makes me want to plant something while wearing a shirt that reads, "compost happens." Clearly, I'm a fan of garden humor. The ad for yard equipment manufacturer Troy-Bilt is the brand's first TV spot in five years. It also includes a clip from the song "Shinin' Down," written by Austin Hartley-Leonard solely for the TV spot. The song can be downloaded for free at Troybilt.com and for a limited time on iTunes. The ad is full of DIYers wearing their love of gardening on their shirts, cars and belt buckles, adorned with quirky sayings like, "compost happens," "kiss my grass" and "I love heirlooms." Watch the ad here. Marcus Thomas created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Children tell it like it is, so if you want an honest, unfiltered answer, ask a kid. Ally Bank, a unit of GMAC Financial Services, launched four great TV spots where children play the role of consumer and react to a bank's hidden clauses and fine-print jargon. A little girl is about to take her bike for a ride when a suit stops her from moving the bike out of a red, rectangular box. If she leaves the box, he'll have to charge her. "I can't really ride in this little space," says the girl. Exactly! The spot, seen here, promotes Ally's no-penalty CD. The man plays hide and seek with a boy in the next ad, shown here, and promptly leaves the tyke once he's hidden in a playhouse. "Pony" is my favorite ad. Two girls sit across from the suit, who asks the first girl if she wants a pony. She says yes and receives a toy. The next girl answers similarly to the same question, except she gets a REAL pony. The look on the first girl's face is priceless. "You didn't say I could have a real one," says the first girl. "Well, you didn't ask," replies the suit. See the ad here. "Truck" is the final ad in the series and watches the suit take away a toy truck from a boy because it was a limited-time offer. He replaces the truck with a cardboard cutout and the boy calls it junk. Love it. Watch the ad here. BBH New York created the ads.

I didn't think Boost Mobile could get any more "Unwrong'd" than its TV spot of a hungry coroner who eats his burrito after it dropped on a cadaver, but I'm wrong. Man boobs trump hunger. The latest ads in the company's "Unwrong'd" campaign star Danica Patrick, man boobs and men in drag. Patrick signs two sets of man boobs in the first ad, even remarking that one man had a great rack. Oy. See it here. The next ad shows Patrick's pit crew dressed in drag as they pump gas and change tires. See it here. Both spots promote Boost Mobile's $50 a month unlimited service. 180LA created the ads.

Live long and prosper. And charge your cell phone while camping, for that authentic wilderness feel. Brunton launched a print campaign for its high-tech camping products that's out of this world. Really. Creative takes place on another planet, and launched about the same time that "Star Trek" was released. Ads, running in Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Men's Journal, Backpacker, Field & Stream and Camping Life, promote a solar panel, which provides electricity anywhere, a dual-fuel coffee maker and combination range/grill. Under the tag line "The Future of Camping," ads feature a sky filled with two moons, floating square and hexagonal boulders and pithy copy such as, "screw flying cars." See the ads here, here and here. Cultivator Advertising & Design created the campaign and Backbone Media handled the media buy.

Qwest offers free Wi-Fi at places you'd want to frequent, as opposed to being an unmarried man who attends birthing classes so he can snag free Wi-Fi. Once the teacher discovers him, he asks her for a pillow. See the ad here. Two previous ads from the company touted its free automatic data back-up option for customers. One ad showed a young boy forced to relive his childhood because his Dad ruined his laptop and lost all baby pictures. Watch the ad here. Another ad features a grad student who lost her thesis when her computer crashed. She now spends her time milking and artificially inseminating cows. See it here. Draftfcb Chicago created the ads and Initiative handled the media buy.

Marshalls/T.J. Maxx launched two "Spending Intervention" TV spots, marking the first time the companies have been featured together in a campaign. The ads follow a group of girlfriends who stage interventions for their friends who spend entirely too much money on designer labels when they can simply shop at Marshalls or T.J. Maxx for the same products at lower prices. See the ads here and here. GSD&M Idea City created the ads and Hill Holiday handled the media buy.

Earlier this year, Ovaltine launched a print campaign touting the wealth of vitamins and minerals packed into one glass, and an online video that places an operatic twist on children spitting out deplorable vegetables. The video is precious and the operatic voice belts out "The Yuck Song" to the tune of the "Habanera," from "Carmen." Watch it here. Four print ads, running in Parents, Parenting, American Baby and Wondertime, show a side-by-side comparison of Ovaltine and a gross culinary concoction that contains less vitamins than Ovaltine. Who wants spinach-sardine yogurt? See the ads here, here, here and here. Marcus Thomas created the campaign, Moxie Interactive handled the online media buy and Zenith Optimedia handled the print media buy.