Boy am I stupid. I’ve had to move twice in the last nine months (long story, don’t ask) and each time, it was hoisting the fridge into the U-Haul that I dreaded the most.
     What I should’ve done is just bought a case of Guinness, sat back, and let the dang thing move itself as we see in this new spot from Irish International BBDO.
     Sigh. Well, we do learn, don’t we?

     Ads that poke a finger in the eye of vegetarians are nothing new. And sure, the vegan crowd makes an easy and sometimes undeserved target, but there’s just something inherently funny about the idea of embracing meat.
     E.g., this hilarious viral video by Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners for Wendy’s that has been making its way around the Internet as of late. It, and the landing page for the campaign called “Metatrians Unite” seeks to, and I quote “eat meat, and only meat, without the inclusion of other non-meat products…”
     While that may sound like a bad case of constipation (not to mention atherosclerosis) just waiting to happen, you’ve got to love any banner headline that's spelled entirely with ground beef.

     I’m usually not a sucker for great editing, great shots and great music. Unless they’re done by Wieden & Kennedy. Then I’ve found I fall for them hook, line and sinker.
     Say what you will about spots like this (which is one of many to mark the 20th anniversary of “Just Do It”) being an execution in search of an idea, but I love it.

     In the back of everyone’s microwave-bombarded brains, we’re all at least a little concerned about the possible long-term effects of chatting it up too much on our cell phones.
     Enter this month-old viral YouTube post by Bluetooth accessory manufacturer Cardo Systems.
     It’s actually kind of a funny idea that had a lot of people going. Why, even Good Morning America performed their own highly scientific test (not a shining moment in morning television).
     Granted the whole thing plays on people’s fears and is no way rooted in actual physics, but I’m willing to excuse that in the spirit of a cool marketing metaphor. Where the company really dropped the ball was in the second part of the equation – the reveal video: “no popcorn… …more sound… sounds like you” say the title cards.
     What the?!
     That’s the best job the copywriter could do to convey the “use a Bluetooth device so you don’t grow a tumor” idea back to popcorn? Sounds like somebody’s been frying their creative brain cells by talking on their phone too much.

     Nearly 20 years ago, when I saw Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy, the first thing I thought was, “hey, that’s the dude from The Electric Company.” Now just last week, PBS’ Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop) began filming a new version of the show and has announced it plans to launch 26 new episodes in January of next year.
     Admittedly, my third grader has a lot more viewing options to choose from today than I did at her age, so it remains to be seen if PBS will be successful. But I say “h…” “…ats,” (together now) “hats” off to them.

     If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the ad biz has one swollen head. At least judging from today’s new list of The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies of All Time from Nerve.
     Deservedly, the majority are from Saturday Night Live. But they’ve also managed to amass some from other sources as well – including SCTV, MADtv, In Living Color and Chappelle’s Show.
     My personal favorite is this one from SNL (circa 1988) for “First CityWide Change Bank.” Reminds me how much I miss Phil Hartman.