What The…?

You may have seen this ad bouncing around Jalopnik, Digg and a host of other sites lately. But, we figure a digital ad of this quality deserves applause from the advertising industry. In fact, the tipster who recently sent us this said, “Everyone who’s in advertising should quit. The best ad that will ever be created … has just been created.” Maybe that’s a little extreme, but we encourage you to one-up this work of art.

The ad posted on Craigslist has it all, from engaging header copy (“Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ”) to a compelling price point (over $199K off the original asking price) to compelling statistics (1995 was a banner year for Pontiac). Jalopnik has an interview with the two men behind the ad, the car’s seller Joe Strachila and the art director/copywriter Kyle Miller. According to the interview, Miller is in marketing, but declined to disclose his employer “to protect my company from the blasphemy that’s been blasted all over the Internet.” The number on the ad is a suburban Seattle area code, so feel free to speculate who this Kyle Miller fellow might be. He’s due a Cannes Cyber Lion.

Strachila’s mailbox is understandably full, but as of yesterday, he’s been weeding through the various calls and texts he’s received to see who actually wants to buy the car. Looks like the broken gasket isn’t going to be much of a problem. See the full-sized ad after the jump, and be humbled at what a host of other agencies with a giant budget can’t seem to do with their own auto accounts.

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Well, guess this is a new way of crowdsourcing, at least to feed one’s own ego. Meet Kevin Meagher, kiddies. Really, does this separate dog from man in this day and age? Good luck, sir.

To be honest, we’ve never heard of Replay, but what Stockholm-based studio Perfect Fools recently concocted for the clothing brand at its flagship store in Milan certainly caught our eye. Forget Laser Tag kids, here’s “Laserblast,” an installation that essentially encourages people to tweet what they please along with the hashtag #replaylaserblast, then watch as their profound messages get tweeted onto the jeans display.

Well, why we certainly wouldn’t buy any pair of jeans with tweets on them (though we can probably expect a Marc Jacobs collection at the next Fashion Week), we can politely applaud the effort. Perfect Fools is rolling out Laserblast, which it calls “a new denim treatment which is more eco-friendly and chemical-free than sandblasting,” in stores worldwide.

Well, this doozy landed in the tips box last night and comes from someone who apparently works in digital advertising and wants start a movement centered around banners. Yep, banners. The title of this opus is called, “Can’t We All Just Click Along?” Without further ado, here you go, verbatim:

What’s up, haters? Yeah, you, person who is about to leave an inflammatory comment on some advertising blog about someone else’s work. Here’s an idea, maybe instead of hating, start creating. Creating what you say? Creating a movement. Yeah, I know movements are boring, and they’ve been done before. To death. Like a million times with forks sticking out and a cooking thermometer with mercury shooting out of the top. But, this movement is one you can get behind. Why? Because it means more money and recognition for you, for me, and for all of your friends working in digital advertising.

Ah, yes, now I have your attention. Or should I say, Benjamin Franklin does. Every day, you see banner ads, those banal animations you are forced to ignore. Yes, they’re annoying. But, did you know that your client and my client is keeping track of how often they are clicked? In fact, they’re probably looking at those numbers right now. They’re tearing what little hair they have left out of their heads, trying to figure out how to explain to their bosses, why these numbers are so low. They’re probably photocopying an article in Adweek about how “click-through rates don’t matter all that much and aren’t necessarily an indicator of intent to purchase.”

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From Portland-based prodco Mmmmm Society comes “Put a Job On It,” a new political ad for Portland mayoral candidate, Eileen Brady.

As fans of IFC’s breakout hit Portlandia will note, the spot borrows heavily from the style and tone of the satirical TV show, with Brady walking optimistically down the streets of the Rose City accompanied by younger-looking facsimiles of comedic stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. It seems that while the dream of the 90s may be alive in the hipster haven of the Northwest, young professionals who move to the city for its vegan-friendly, craft brewery heavy, bicycle-loving environs are being devastated by a difficult job market. Yes, there are only so many Fair Trade coffee houses in the city that need tattooed, Sleater-Kinney fanatic barisitas. So, the Brady campaign is focusing on job creation, borrowing its title from one of Portlandia’s most-beloved skits, “Put a Bird on It.”

According to a press release, the spot was produced as a donation in association with members of Portland’s thriving film and television industry. Of course it was. Brady says in a statement, “I’m honored to have been supported by the incredible talents of Mmmmm Society’s Michele Carnes Ellis and an amazing team…assembled on a collaboration with my campaign team. Their creativity was only matched by their professionalism, dedication and attention to detail.” Well, we’ll see what percentage of the bohemian vote she receives come election time, when Brady will face off against 22 other quirky, eccentric candidates. Seriously, Portland. What the hell. Credits after the jump.

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Our pal who busted rhymes about the adventures at Whole Foods and eventually got a gig spitting it for Hyundai might have to step his game up. We don’t really know what else to say, but these rappers who go by the name of Buckwheat Groats provide us a sordid music video that’s the result of them crashing various McDonald’s locations in NYC. All we can say is turn your headphones up and maybe watch this after work. Gothamist, for whatever reason, took the time to pinpoint all the locations in which the video was shot, which you can read here.

There aren’t too many details surrounding this, um, rather interesting spot from o.b., the tampon brand from Johnson & Johnson, which if you remember apologized towards the end of last year for a shortage of the product. Anyhow, we’ve been told that this spot, which features a talking crab no less, comes to us from LBi. From the looks of it, this particular crustacean is rather resourceful, making use of applicators that pollute oceans on a daily basis. We don’t know whether to applaud the environmentally-friendly effort, slightly cringe or do both. We can at least say it’s an interesting take on a sandcastle.

Expectant parents, rejoice! You can get sarcastic, pop-culture laden quips from your baby before its born with “Wee Mail,” a new mobile app from Charlotte, NC-based BooneOakley and developer Limbua.

Now, if there’s anything a pregnant woman want to help her ease into pregnancy, it’s daily mobile updates from the tiny human growing inside her. And, Wee Mail’s nearly 300 one-liners aren’t limited to such zingers as “I’m always naked and demand a lot of attention. You sure I’m not a Kardashian?” for girls and “I have to admit, most days I feel like a man trapped in a woman’s body” for boys. In fact, by setting the baby’s due date, the baby will send you Wee Mail about growing various extremities, organs, and appendages as it prepares to burst forth into a world where people create iPhone apps likes this. Well, at least you no longer have to worry about going into labor unexpectedly, right?

Wee Mail is currently available as a free download from the iTunes app store (where it already has two glowing reviews), with themed add-on packages expected to be available soon for $.99 each. A marketing campaign for the app is currently being targeted toward mommy bloggers, baby photographers and parenting magazines. Credits after the jump.

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Here we go again with the ad ripoffs and this one concerns a certain agency based in Richmond, VA not named Martin. Work Labs is shouting out loud about what they feel is a blatant ripoff of an ad campaign they created seven years ago. The shop’s target is called New Belgium Brewery. Here are two examples below and you can check out the rest at their blog here. So, after checking out said site, do you really they should be flattered or mad?

Well, guess it was only inevitable that Mother’s Mary J. Blige‘s Burger King ad which was pulled for, um, “music-licensing” issues, would be given the parody treatment, but even this is ridiculous. Here, the Second City Network , which has spawned almost every funny, famous person and/or SNL cast member you know since at least the ’70s, provides this clip that takes the stereotype shlock to 11. Guess we can understand why Dave Chappelle fled his show. The original ad is below.