• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, March 6, 2013

The American Cancer Society launched "Finish the Fight" to commemorate its 100th birthday on May 22. Rather than take a moment of silence to reflect and remember those who died from cancer, the ACS proposes just the opposite, arguing that silence is the last thing needed: be loud and outspoken so we can “Finish the fight.” TV ads star Mary J. Blige and Josh Groban turning otherwise quiet moments upside down. Blige takes her microphone and speaker to a quiet library, informing people that countless research projects for cancer cures go unfunded due to limited resources. Blige encourages everyone to make noise so future research isn’t silenced. See it here. Groban and his speaker take over a train station to discourage a moment of silence for those who died from cancer, encouraging aggressive action until all cancer patients can be cured. Watch it here. A great print ad, launching in May, shows a young Michael Douglas and his life list: some things like “produce ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ and co-star with my father” are crossed off. Remaining are two things: “Find a cure for throat cancer” and “global nuclear disarmament.” See it here. The Martin Agency created the campaign.

Volkswagen Jetta launched a pair of ads showcasing its hybrid model and gas efficiency in its diesel model. “Passing Lane” shows a couple stuck behind a slow-moving camper on a tight mountain road. Or so they think. When a passing lane opens up, the couple realizes they have been stuck behind a slow hybrid car, not the camper. Coincidentally, the couple is driving a Jetta hybrid that has some pep in its step. See it here. “Laugh” is great. A man gives a friend of a friend a ride on a nine-hour journey. He says something witty, and she laughs a horrid laugh, one that you don’t want to hear for nine hours. Man wishes his car wasn’t so fuel-efficient, meaning fewer pit stops along the way. Watch it here, created by Deutsch LA.

Backseat drivers can be really annoying, unless they’re kids; then it’s funny and cute. In a video for Volvo, a group of high-energy kids gave honest opinions on its XC60 and XC90 models -- all from the back seat. Fascinating things were revealed, like kids love that middle drink holder for food, beverages and perhaps a small dog. The Volvo-branded headphones, for kids to watch videos were a big hit, too, for their high level of comfort. Watch it here, created by Cake.

The Guardian launched its first U.S advertising campaign, called “Voice Your View,” which combines Guardian's editorial voice with open journalism. An outdoor ad campaign, illustrated by Noma Bar, tackles hot-topic political views like individual freedom versus government regulation when it comes to Internet privacy, gun control and women in the military. Each illustration, running in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, shows one side of an issue; when flipped, it illustrates the opposite view. “Keep out of my stuff” reads one side to Internet privacy, showing a person surfing online. “Keep out the terrorists” reads the flip side, with a depiction of a masked face. See it here. “Military Liability” shows a helicopter and military tanks when describing whether women should serve. “Military equality” reads the flipped picture, where the tanks now serve as a woman’s eyes and the helicopter her mouth. See it here. The final ad on gun control can be found here. People are encouraged to take the picture of the side they support and upload it to Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #VoiceYourView. BBH New York created the campaign.

Tomorrow is the big day: Taco Bell debuts its Cool Ranch Doritos Loco Taco, which looks tasty. A teaser ad, “Hola,” has been running, where a man at a bus stop tries desperately to add cool ranch Doritos to his taco. Did I mention Lionel Richie’s “Hello” could be heard in the background, sung in Spanish? Just when the man in the ad perfects his Frankenfood, a truck splashes him with water. Then the man sees a sign… on a bus, advertising his dream concoction. See it here, created by Deutsch LA and directed by Zach Math.

A&W Restaurants has been around since 1914 and witnessed a great deal of change, both good and bad. When the brand revamped its website, it added a game called Now & Then to the mix. Think of it as a pop culture time machine. Users are shown images of something current now, compared to what it looked like back in the day. People can then vote on their preference and see how others voted, too. For example: do you like your coffee in K-cups or ground? Most prefer ground coffee. And horror movies. Do you like the current vat of “Saw” films, or the days where Jason and his hockey mask kept you up at night? No question, Jason wins easily. There are more than 300 questions to answer, and the past doesn’t always win out. Not surprisingly, the iPhone easily beat the rotary phone, yet Apple the computer lost to apple the fruit in a showdown. Play it here. Cornett-IMS created the site.

Leo Burnett Chicago launched the "Anatomy of a Creative" print campaign, which promotes the 2013 CLIO Awards' Call for Entries. Creative reveals humorous facts about what it takes for creatives to win CLIOS, how they celebrate wins, dress for the award show and behave in meetings. Each factoid is described in percentage terms and illustrated by items like a champagne bottle, coffee cup and Chinese takeout container that were chopped into horizontal pieces and photographed. For instance, in meetings, most creatives “nod head, pretending to pay attention while checking Twitter feed.” A whopping 24% of creatives will wear “vintage slacks from deceased grandfather” to the awards show. And after that win? “Nineteen percent will lose CLIO in back of taxi.” See the ads here, here, here and here.

I’m still amused by these second graders in AT&T’s ongoing “It’s Not Complicated” campaign that promoted the brand’s 4G network. My favorite ad is “Grandma.” AT&T guy asks the kids for examples of fast things, like a spaceship, cheetah and car. A slow thing, one boy admitted, was his Grandma, suggesting they tape a cheetah to her back to make her faster. ATT&T guy doesn’t miss a beat, saying, “Seems like you thought about this before.” See it here. The next ad shows a boy describing why two laser beam eyes are better than one. Essentially, one laser eye could produce minimal damage, but two laser eyes could make things explode. Watch it here. The final ad, seen here, depicts why a bigger tree house is better than a small one. The reasoning: more room for a disco ball and flat-screen TV. BBDO Atlanta created the campaign.

Random iPhone App of the week: Oddka Vodka has a quirky personality to match its ODDstache app that allows men and women to grow their own ODDstache. To accelerate growth, users can groom and share their picture with friends on Facebook. The more “Likes” received, the more ODD it will grow. DËBRAIN created the app, available for free in the App Store.