Cracked dot com, which touts itself as, "America's Only Humor & Video Site, Since 1958" has put together a compilation of what can be called "The 5 Creepiest Advertising Techniques of the (Near) Future."

Funny thing is, most of these "techniques" are already in practice. If your place of business (or one you know of) employs these methods (or other, creepier ones not mentioned, let us know at agencyspy@gmail.com, IM agencyspy, or twitter).

They are, as follows (in short):

5. Tracking Every Site You Browse and Every Show You Watch
— This is pretty self-explanatory, and also possible thanks to cookies and deep-pocketed marketers. Wait, those still exist?

4. Custom-Made Shilling
— Or, ads customized for the viewer. Ladies, ever see an Axe commercial and think, "I've never had a stripper pole in my apartment..." Conversely, Summer's Eve commercials are always lost on your male counter-parts. Nevertheless, you know you've been hyper-focusing spots since your first day on the job.

Click the "continued" button for more.

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AdWeek's digital editor and notorious twitterer Brian Morrissey, has an impostor of sorts ala FakeSteveJobs.

Those following Morrissey's numerous tweets will understand the tone and style of his tweets. And whoever the doppelganger author is, aptly named FakeBMorrissey, has picked up pretty well on the journalist's quirky tweet style.

My favorite "fake" tweets thus far:

"Why are there so many sesame seeds on a sesame seed bagel? There's at least 50 too many..."

"I'm thinking I might run a full marathon tonight...backwords. Just for the hell of it. I'll probably average less then 7 minutes a mile."

If I were FakeBMorrissey, I'd write, "I am digital media, so I can't possibly hurt my reputation by tweeting whatever the hell I'm thinking."

Update: An interesting note — Morrissey himself is following FBM, as are Jason Calacanis CEO and co-founder of Mohalo.com, Sarah Hofstetter of 360i and 43 others (ourselves included).

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This piece from Meteorite and RSA Films, London was produced for Christian relief, development and advocacy np (that's non-profit) World Vision UK. It debuted this morning on YouTube, and frankly it's just the kind of kick in the teeth a lot of us need when it comes to realizing how shitty it must be to deal with simple (yet complicated) problems like dirty water.

Holly Bocock Maxwell of Meteorite tells us, on the subject of providing low cost work for nps, that going viral is a good way to effect change. This spot is aptly named, "Dirty Water."

"We've worked out that the best way to (get the point across) is to hold up a mirror to Western life — either using humour (she's English) or shock to spread the word of mouth."

That said, this isn't Meteorite's first stab at making a difference. Click here if you feel like helping a good cause.

Thanks to RSA's Damiano Vukotic for helping me put the pieces together. Learn more here.

This crafty piece of work brings a very good point to light that I want you all to pay very, very close attention to. When an attractive, svelte young lady is the focus of a spot, people of both sexes will pay attention. Enjoy as you head out the door for lunch.

Bob Garfield has a lot to say when it comes to responsibility, as many of us know. He puts Grey NY up on a (deserved?) pedestal for their latest Captain Morgan responsible drinking spot, which you can check out above.

But when you've done work at NPR, you tend to get a little wordy. So I'll share with you the point Garfield made that got me thinking most. The article covers the difficulty of maintaining the CM brand image while simultaneously promoting responsibility. In Grey's case, it's a job well done, Garfield says (and I agree).

"But, man, it's expensive to devote, say, 5 (percent) of your ad budget to undo the other 95 (percent) — especially since the responsibility messages are typically lame, working directly against the edgy/sexy/macho/cool image you've spent years and fortunes trying to cultivate. In a perfect world, your do-gooder ads would not only be forceful, but they'd utterly and unhypocritically coincide with your image and therefore complement, not neutralize, your swig-our-firewater appeals."

I'm sure groups like MADD disagree. After all, outwitting a sober guy after tossing back a few rum n cokes is a rare feat, more likely replaced with the two bar dudes drunkenly swerving home in their '94 Taurus. Nonetheless, this all reminds me (somehow) of the fall of Joe Camel. The sweet, male-genitalia-esque character was not unlike the Captain. His products, like CM's, were life-threatening, and as a result he was eventually stricken from airwaves, billboards and cocktail napkins alike.

A few years after Joe's burial, the TRUTH campaigns began flooding screens — paid for by the very company that created the problem. So when will the end come for the Captain? Because as witty, cool, fun and responsible as the product may seem, people will still die after consuming too much of it. And no 30-second spot will ever change that.

Thoughts? Comment below or email me at agencyspy@gmail.com or IM, AgencySpy (Twitter that name, too).

Admittedly, this video has little to do with advertising per se, but it's Friday and this thing will only make you happy. So if you have a few minutes, check it out.

It's received a few million hits on YouTube, and if you want to learn more, head to wherethehellismatt.com.

To see an interview of Matt, check click here.

Update: Adcop points out that Stride paid for the trip, making this a pretty damn sneaky-but-still-great bit of viral. Also, this isn't so new, but Friday means videos, and this one's pretty great.

p.s. This is an update to the original. Nothing brand-spanking new here.

So um, I headed out this a.m., on foot, to run some errands and when I returned my scooter was no longer...there. I can only assume it's been stolen, since it wasn't illegally parked or anything. I'll be dealing with that for the time being.

If anyone sees a black vintage looking scooter puttering (and I mean it, it needs a tune-up) around Manhattan, think of me. Or maybe tackle whoever is riding it — dinner on me for whoever finds the bike.

Sunnuva...

Expect to see mostly SuperSpy posts today, this will undoubtedly take awhile.

SpyWriter has posted a few bits about addies around the country that have produced personal sites that offer a take on why a company should consider them. To me, this isn't all that interesting.

But what happens when your microsite goes up while you still have a job and AgencySpy finds out about it? This guy appears to be on the hunt for work, as you'll see here.

Can parlaying your experience via microsites be bad for biz? The site you may or may not have just clicked on is for an ACD that does freelance work, too. We'll presume that's why the site is up. Scary effing world we live in kiddies, scary as hell.

Anyone who's got a bit of spare time on their hands should check out the new exhibit at the New York Public Library's Healy Hall. The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue exhibit is a compendium of work by the ad world's most notable addies.

Your friendly neighborhood AgencySpy stopped in last night to check the thing out, and I have to say it was worth a visit. Although it's a smaller exhibit, the history packed in it is enough to give any out-of-work copywriter hope for the future.

Every once in awhile, it's good to take a look back at what's been done, and done, and done. This ain't no Communication Arts stuff. Find out more about the exhibit, put on by the One Show, here.