I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy the Citroen C4 transformer spot, which incidentally was released years before the Transformers movie. My love for the spot makes it somewhat painful to watch this new spot from Chevy Europe.

It does make me laugh a bit, but the Citroen fan in me cringes just a bit. It’s a clever shot at Citroen, and while I’m not very familiar with Chevy’s marketshare in Europe, I’d imagine taking a shot at Citroen via one of their most widely talked about commercials is a pretty good tactic. Although part of me wants to criticize the creative as an easy parody. But all in all, it seems like a pretty effective spot with a strong message - as much as I hate to admit it.

Follow the jump to check out the original Citroen transformer spot.

Anyone who knows me well knows of my affinity (a.k.a. problem) for shoes. And many are also aware of my love of art. While I certainly consider many shoes art, they don’t usually go hand-in-hand. But this past week, Nike released a new SB Dunk styled after the work of Piet Mondrian.

It’s cool to see Nike pay homage to great artists (even if it is just to get a cool colorway out of it), and it’s also cool to see people not familiar with the work of Mondrian getting exposed to it via hyped shoes.
There are rumors floating around that the Mondrian Dunk may be the first in a series of artist-inspired Dunks… I can only hope. Either way, it’s uplifting to see De Stijl on a Dunk.

I love Danger Mouse. And I love Cee-Lo. And while I liked what Gnarls Barkley was attempting to do on their first album, St. Elsewhere, I was a bit worried. I wasn’t 100% blown away by the music, and the performances, appearances, and show made it seem a likely candidate for a flash-in-the-pan type of album.  I certainly didn’t expect the duo’s second album, The Odd Couple, to be as rich and as evolved as it is. And I had anticipated that music videos would be predictably flashy and pop-ish.

Well, I was wrong. I’m absolutely in love with the video for “Going On,” the second single off of the new album (which released in March). I watched the video directed by Wendy Morgan at Revolver Films a few times early this morning, and it’s been on my mind all day. The artistic qualities, the filming, the message, and the feeling it yields are just beautiful. Hypebeast even goes as far as to call it “an artistic triumph.” Pretty awesome. And I have to say, I think I’m actually a Gnarls Barkley fan now.

If you’re into it, you should read the post/review over on Hypebeast.

I was doing a bit of reading for a blurb I was writing for another blog regarding movie theater advertising and the increase that it was seeing in popularity from the automotive industry. I stumbled across the full (i.e. movie theater) version of the relatively new spot for the Dodge Journey. You’ve probably seen the :30 spot and have had the frighteningly catchy Apples in Stereo tune in your head if you’ve watched just about any TV. Anyway, I watched the :60 spot, and realized that it made me happy. I think I actually smiled.

I don’t want to be in love with it, but it’s hard to resist. A good blend of slightly edgy, slightly indy, catch music, and just a generally fun feeling. It’s pretty on spot for creating a feeling - something most auto ads fail to do these days. Then I watched the “making of” and was just as impressed. And I hate to say it, but I think I actually like a Dodge spot.

Ahh, the Zune. I could rant for a bit, but instead, I’ll just praise the job 72andSunny has done with the branding and marketing. The idea of The Social and ZuneArts are both incredible. The newest video, just in time for Mother’s Day, is just beautiful. Done by French Animator Yves Geleyn set to “Come As You Were” by The Bird And The Bee.

If Keith Haring were still around, last Sunday would have been his 50th Birthday. Wooster Collective posted this tribute video in honor of the date. Awesomeness that I couldn’t not pass along.

Done by Peat Wollaeger last December for AIDS Awareness Month. Cool stuff.

Sometimes I wonder how some ideas get pushed through to execution. And other times, I don’t really have any interest in the answer, because it yields stuff like this:

For the Surfrider Foundation by Saatchi & Saatchi, LA, I think it pretty much speaks for itself. While bizarre, it’s definitely generating a bit of internet buzz. And it’s a nice break from some of the other Surfrider messages out there, like repackaging garbage.

In case you haven’t seen this, well… here it is. While I’m not exactly a die-hard ZooYork fan, they’ve got a great logo, and have definitely been pushing boundaries over the years, which is good for the sport, and good for media. The clip above is pretty self-explanatory. And their “How Do You Spread the Word” is an interesting (albeit not exactly earthshattering) use of YouTube and the whole user-generated thing. Whether or not it yields anything beneficial remains to be seen. But a thumbs up for using insects as a medium.

I’m a big Guy Ritchie fan, so it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that I’m elated with the newest Nike spot directed by Ritchie, “Take it to the next level.” Despite feeling a bit Prodigy-ish, it’s a cool short film, and it’s definitely carrying Nike in the direction they’re seeming to want to gravitate toward. A high-res version is on the Nike Football site right now. Monumental? maybe. Cool? Definitely.

Just saw this story on kgw.com and felt obligated to share for some unknown reason. My love for gnomes has been steady throughout the years, and sustained lately due in large part to the Travelocity commercials. Well, today is another good day for Gnomes, apparently, as the Mt. St. Helens webcam captured a gnome, complete with a “I will get the snow” sign.

It’s been a very bizarre winter here in the Pacific Northwest, with both 80 degree temps. and valley snow in the month of April, so a little gnome shouldn’t be very surprising. If there’s some brilliant branding/advertising tie-in yet to be realized, I’ll be thoroughly impressed. And I’m already pretty impressed by the mountain gnome regardless.

[via KGW.com]