Skinnydipping: out, Phatdippin’: in

As they write on the Rhett and Link Blog,

“Skinnydipping is old. Phatdippin’ is NEW.”

I’m curious if the concept came first (and then they approaced a sponsor) or if Sanyo approached Rhett and Link first. Either way, one of the more captivating product-linked internetainment videos I’ve stumbled across on the web. Not sure it really makes me want to buy a Sanyo any more than I did before… although it may be one of the first names that will come to mind. either way, an ejoyable video.

Honda insight: “Let It Shine” … Honda continues to shine

I’m a bit tired. It’s early and I’m sitting in an airport waiting to go home… but this spot flat out rocks:

W+K Amsterdam amazes once again with a simplistic yet powerful spot for the new Honda Insight. I’m not sold on the car, but this spot blows me away. And the custom-orchestrated soundtrack is dead on perfection.  Directed by Erik van Wyk, the spot is a beautiful orchestration of Honda headlights, computer software, and a good dose of creativity. More info on the filming, a behind the scenes, and full credits can be found over at the inspiration room.

when it’s okay to use clip art

Let me preface this by saying it’s been a long week. I have to get up early and get to the airport in the morning… my brain is fairly fried, so my judgment may be somewhat impaired… but this is just plain awesome:

I don’t know how I missed this one. or how I didn’t give proper attention the first time. Anway, I’ll be gone for a few days… so enjoy the insane complexities of this clip art clip, courtesy of Oliver Laric via wooster.

Some billboards don’t make sense: The Quaker Oat Guy is Back (and scares the oats out of me)

I’m all for a crazy billboard. but this one may be a bit far. I applaud the simple, easy to read copy. But I’m not sure what the message is. “Go humans go” could imply a few things… from extoling the laxative properties of oatmeal to proclaiming that the Quaker Oat guy is actually a cybernetic creature from the future coming to eradicate the planet of our species. Either way, the giant Quaker dude is freaking me out a bit. The Quaker Website sheds a bit of light on the subject, but fails to make the billboards any less creepy.

Retelling the classics: Red Ridinghood exploded with techno

Sometimes, there’s a video/clip/animation that just blows me away. This is one of those times.

I’m a sucker for animation, diagrams, graphs, charts, etc. so this one already starts good. Through in the european techno and the retelling of one of the more bizarre and morbid fairy tales, and you’ve got a winner. Done by Tomas Nilsson, for a “School assignment to reinterpret the fairytale Little red riding hood.” The track is “Sponsored by Destiny” by Swedish electro-pop group Slagsmålsklubben(wiki here). Pretty amazing… And you should take the time to click through to either the vimeo page or the youtube page so you can watch it in HD – significantly more impressive.

Samsung turns to the sheep

Extreme and Sheep are usually things I stay away from, especially when they’re together, but in this case, Samsung seems to have hit the proverbial nail on the head with this viral spot that’s getting play all over the net from ad blogs to art sites, and everything in between.

While virals are always questionable in authenticity, this one is clever and creative enough that I don’t even really care that much. Plus the kitchy western music makes it all highly theatrical and slightly comical.

Samsung seems to be succeeding in branding themselves alongside with LED technology. So not much more is needed than sheep in LED suits. Well done. And I have to wonder if sheepvertising is on the rise.

The Wild Things Are Back!

somehow I missed the news that Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are will be releasing this Fall… October 16, 2009, to be exact. Featuring the voice talents of Forest Whitaker and James Gandolfini, to name a few. A while back, there were rumors that the entire project was being scrapped and had to be re-shot because of the darkness of it all… so needless to say, I’m stoked to find out that’s not the case. And for some reason, a few different blogs today all decided to post up reminders for me, so I’m echoing the trend. The image above up top is courtesy of the always interesting Black Bunneh Sees.

and the official movie poster:

Snacklish and Patrick Chewing?

I keep seeing this billboard on my way to work, and it bewilders me. Not necessarily clever enough for me to chuckle, it feels a bit contrived and a bit forced. Plus, it’s on the side of a highway in Beaverton, OR, home of Nike, Tektronix, etc… not exactly the urban basketball hot-spot… Then I see this:

I want to find it funny, but I just can’t quite. It just doesn’t go quite enough into the bizarre, and just kind of flounders around in some gray area between weird, funny, and boring. Other billboards, OOH, and commericals in the new “Snacklish” campaign include “Put Your Hunger in a Nougaplex” that will run as :05 TV bumpers during wrestling programming, and “Get a Degree in Snackanomics” in, yup, financial districts, and “ride four hourses of the satisfocalypse.” what?!?  It all just feels a bit contrived and like first round ideas that somehow got pushed through. I’m still not sold… maybe I’ll change my mind with time. But personally, I miss Mr. T yelling “GET SOME NUTS! ARRGH!“

As the economy goes down, animals in commercials goes up?

I’m workin’ on this theory… the gist of which is that as the economy goes down, money matters tighten, and ad spending begins to trickle, there’s a directly proportional increase in the use of animals in commercials. Commercial after commercial on broadcast TV seems to contain some animal, either comical or cute and fluffy. Either way, just an interesting observation I’ve noticed. I may develop the idea a bit more. or maybe not. But either way, here’s one more animal spot:

From the International Fund for Animal Welfare, out of Germany, this one is definitely interesting, both for its bizarre use of animals and the overused pseudo-home-video style. Either way, some interesting stuff.

When Spec Work Works: Guava, Apples, and Blackberries

This has been floating around lately and I’m diggin’ it. It’s a spec piece from GuavaNYC, beautiuflly illustrating the world of technology as it sits today. An amazing piece both in terms of graphics and use of sound, plus enough spice to generate a bit of controversy and a bit of buzz. and the key: it all links back to GuavaNYC, who does have a pretty impressive reel.