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Worthy objective, but not THE first.

I just finished reading an AdAge article about the environmentally responsible efforts by Versus cable TV network and Brooklyn Brothers.
“In what is believed to be the first effort of its kind, the Versus cable TV network and Brooklyn Brothers ad agency have just completed producing a campaign of TV commercials in a carbon-neutral manner…software system that tracks and quantifies the amount of carbon pollutants generated when making TV commercials with studio and remote-location film shoots.”

Bravo for the effort. Glad to see it. Hope more follow suit.

However, I knew I had read a story months ago about this same premise and was able to find that story again tonight.

Turns out, back in Nov 2006, Instant Karma Films, an eco-friendly TV commercial production company launched in July 2006 in Santa Monica laid claim to shooting the first carbon neutral TV commercial ever. The spot for Maybelline New York and ad agency Gotham Inc, was shot in Shanghai where Instant Karma recreated the streets of New York City. The spot featured actress Zhang Ziyi best known for her work in Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

In addition to offsetting its carbon output and environmental impact through its donation and association with Carbonfund.org, Instant Karma Films planted 1000 trees for this production in its commitment towards environmental restoration. And is planning the development of a Carbon Calculator, in association with Carbonfund.org, which will determine the CO2 emissions your business or production will generate and allow you to offset its environmental impact.

Never ceases to amaze me what people come up with.

From the Handvertising web site: “We offer advertisers the possibility of campaigning aimed at this target group. Thanks to handvertising you sit literally on the skin of your customers and don’t even have to lift a finger!!”

I was enjoying a glass of wine and surfing when I clicked.

I was mid drink when the chipmunk started singing and I laughed so hard I sputtered wine all over my laptop screen. And my laughs got louder as the spot when on. When the wolf (or whatever it is) coughs up the bird, I lost it. Both my husband and daughter came in to see what had me laughing so hard. This spot is awesome!! I can’t remember the last time I watched a spot multiple times and laughed as hard each time. But not only is it hilarious, it’s brilliantly strategic. Fun is right. Love it.

Agency: Cutwater (formed by Chuck McBride former TBWA\Chiat\Day North America ECD)

Lawyers in Belgium may be new to advertising — only recently allowed to advertise their services. But this divorce lawyer got creative very quickly.

I suppose motel room closets are a perfect environment to reach prospective customers. But imagine your grandmother opening the closet to this nude cardboard cutout. Mine would have freaked out, but then probably try and figure out a way to fold him up and tuck him in her suitcase.

Advertising Agency: 10advertising, Antwerp, Belgium

When I wrote this post last week about my reaction to the latest Dove film, Onslaught, it seemed most everyone was praising it without hesitation. But I couldn’t.

While I respect the goal, the execution is south of the credibility line for me because I simply can’t separate Dove from Unilever and its many brands that perpetuate the beauty-is-everything stereotypes that are the core of the Onslaught message.

In the days since its launch, praise continues, but many have tempered it in the same breath…balancing praise with mention of the hypocrisy of the situation Dove finds itself in. From Bob Garfield’s AdAge review where he gives Onslaught a standing ovations but then goes on to say “Damn, if it just weren’t for the nagging hypocrisy of it all…. “What happens when Dove sales begin to flag and market share begins to slide? That will be the test of true righteousness. Does the “Campaign for Real Beauty” then get disposed of, like last year’s fashions, or dubiously “enhanced,” like a pair of fake breasts?” (Be sure to read the comments.) To this post from Stephanie Sage Smirnov of DeVries Public Relations. And this one by Danny G at one of my favorite blogs AdPulp. And there are more and more of this ilk daily.

In Wednesday’s LA Times there’s a story of a consumer group that has charged Unilever with hypocrisy “for running conflicting advertising campaigns — one for Dove that praises women and their natural beauty and one for Axe that the group said “blatantly objectifies and degrades” them. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood launched a letter-writing effort on its website and demanded that the company pull ads for the Axe line of grooming products for men, which one online pitch says makes ‘nice girls turn naughty.’ ”

So I’m most assuredly not alone in the reaction I had when I viewed the new film. But at the same time I feel a bit schizophrenic because I admire brands that take the risk to stand for something meaningful. I wish more had the guts. Yet I (and others) am calling them out for doing just that.

The reality is that putting a firm stake in the ground in a situation where you’re not pristine means you have to be prepared to deal honestly and openly with a whole different kind of onslaught…today’s technology-enabled, consumer-empowered world. And be able to deal with question about your motives AND the inconsistent behavior of those you are affiliated with. It’s a challenge AND an opportunity. Will they be up to the task? I guess time will tell.

Payback’s a bitch….and then you pee.

The Montana Meth Project campaign, launched two years ago by billionaire philanthropist Tom Seibel, is absolutely horrifying to watch. But it’s working. Big time. If you missed the Nightline segment on the effort, it’s worth checking out (it includes the commercials).

The goal is to stop a generation from using meth. And in just two years, teen meth use in Montana has been cut by nearly half, while abuse in neighboring states is on the rise. Positive workplace drug tests are down by 70 percent, and 96 percent of kids polled say they have discussed meth with a parent. The project has been such a smashing success, 10 other states are poised to copy the campaign, and federal money will help produce new ads.

This gritty and powerful private sector campaign is a long way from the simplicity of the government’s metaphoric fried egg “this is your brain on drugs” ad campaign of old. The shear horrific nature of the ravages of meth use shown in the spots scares the crap out of me and hopefully every other sane human who sees just what that stuff can do.

Today was a typical fall day. Clear blue sky. Crisp, almost cold air. And I absolutely could not stay awake. If I sat at my desk for more than 5 minutes my eyes started to roll back in my head.

I had to keep moving. At all times. Or it would become obvious to everyone in the office that I was dead on my feet.

Even 20 cups of coffee had no effect.

And I had meetings. With clients. Several of them. I’m not even sure what I said. Or if I made sense.

I went out for lunch just to drive around with the windows down to perk me up. Stopped at a quick shop to see if they had no-doze or something because I felt like I was just going to drop my head and bang it on a conference table somewhere.

Weird state for me. Because I don’t sleep much. Not an insomniac (at least according to the doctors), I just don’t need much sleep. And that’s worked out OK for me. But today, not so much. Maybe it’s knowing that winter follows these beautiful fall days. A season I don’t like at all.

Whatever it is…today I advocate hibernation. Just like the Black Bear.

Wake me in the spring.