Commentary

Out to Launch

Baby Phat launches its fall ad campaign. Do you hear voices? Levitz gets hip. Let's launch!

The Federal Citizen Information Center launched a series of PSAs to raise consumer awareness about the plethora of information available on USA.gov, formerly FirstGov.gov. One ad features a man waiting to be interrogated by the feds, but the tables are turned when he interrogates them about buying a car at a government auction. Watch the ad here. Another ad is three vignettes culled together: a family on vacation asks a park ranger how to get student loans for their kids; a newly married couple asks a group of astronauts how to change the wife's name on her driver's license; the snippet of the man being questioned rounds out the ad. Click here to watch.Campbell-Ewald has created the "Ask the Government" campaign.

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Let's cut to the chase: GUNS=PRISON. Pretty self-explanatory, this latest PSA unveiled by the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City. Ads will be placed on phone kiosks, buses, subways, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, highlighting the city's three-and-a-half-year prison sentence given to anyone carrying an illegal loaded handgun in New York. Creative features the New York skyline erected out of guns, barbed wire and a gun forming the letter "L" in the word jail. Copy found in bathroom ads doesn't beat around the bush: "In prison, there's no toilet door," says one ad. Click here, here, here, here, here and here to view the work, created by Draftfcb New York.

The Canadian Tourism Commission launched an experiential program in New York City using the Whispering Windows technology to attract passersby to Canada. Now you can officially blame Canada when you're convinced that you're hearing voices. Whispering Windows technology kicks in when a person passes within a certain distance of the display, meaning that you might hear the voice -- but your friend a few feet away wouldn't. Three Manhattan storefronts have been wrapped with vinyl 18' by 24' containing Canadian imagery. See the wrap here. Get too close to the polar bear picture and you might hear what sounds like a guided tour of a polar bear exhibition. Click here to listen.DDB Canada created the campaign.

Saturn launched two TV spots under its "Rethink American" campaign. "Money" stars a group of overly wealthy individuals spending their money on outlandish, unnecessary items like jewelry for their cats, a golden throne and a jewel-encrusted mouse. "Just because you have money doesn't mean you have to waste it," says the ad. Watch it here. "Style" features another batch of unnecessary luxury items, along with the copy: "Spending money like it's going out of style, is out of style." Watch the ad here. Spots are running nationally on network and cable. Deutsch created the campaign and GM Planworks handled the media buy.

Levitz launched four TV spots positioning the furniture company as hip, stylish and sexy. In "Couple," game time takes on a whole different meaning after a couple chase one another around the sofa on a Sunday afternoon. Watch the ad here. A man gives his girlfriend a customized wake-up call in "Guitar." Click here to watch. A woman serenades her bulldog, lounging on a chaise, in "Singer." Watch the ad here. Even a nail biter of a baseball game can't keep a dad awake in "Baseball." He's snoozing while his sons eagerly await the outcome. Click here to watch. The ads will air throughout the summer in East and West Coast markets. DeVito/Verdi created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Zune launched a Zune Arts film during Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, marking the first time a Zune film has been broadcast on a medium other than online. Interesting way to promote an mp3 player. "Dogfight" is the story of two enemy fighter pilots who befriend one another while setting off distinctive mid-air explosions. Watch the ad here.72andSunny created the campaign and Universal McCann handled the media buy. Fulltank animated the film.

The Advertising Council and the Federal Voting Assistance Program launched TV, radio, print and online PSAs encouraging 18- to 24-year-olds to vote and volunteer in their community -- or else bad karma will find them. One ad shows two men pumping gas, one of them covered in a swarm of locusts. The other man offers up some friendly advice to rid himself of bad karma: volunteer or perform a selfless act. Watch the ad here. Another ad features a man with four arms, retribution for shooting out windows with a BB gun. Click here to watch. The PSAs drive traffic to www.GetGoodKarma.org and conclude with the tagline "Stay on the universe's good side. Volunteer. Vote. Get involved." The site brings users to "Karmalot," a world where karma is measured. I took the test and my score of 135 places me on the universe's food side. Phew. West Wayne created the campaign.

Baby Phat launched its fall print campaign starring company creative director Kimora Lee Simmons in Harper's Bazaar, V Magazine, Glamour, XXL and Vibe. Shot by Glen Luchford, the ads feature Simmons in an evening gown, dress, and jeans coupled with a leather jacket. She looks pensive and avoids gazing at the camera. Click here, here and here to see the ads. Chandelier created the campaign.
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