Badass Advertising

Volkswagen: The Force

Agency: Deutsch LA
Client: Volkswagen
Product: 2012 Passat

The Force is strong in Volkswagen's newest ad featuring the new 2012 Passat. This badass ad will most certainly be a crowd favorite for the 2011 Super Bowl. It is funny, a tad emotional, and there is a lot of potential to take the idea further.

I would love to see this idea develop into a larger campaign. Just brainstorming here but how about a kid dresses up as various super heros/villians and interacts with the different functions of the new Passat. For example, kid Superman could use his "laser eyes" to heat the seats, a kid dressed as Batman could use the wide headlights for his bat signal, and maybe even a little Avatar could be seen appreciating the Passat's low emissions and environmental friendliness.

Badass Meter: Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Zis is ze car you are looking for." -Obi-Wan using the Force and his flawless German accent to convince a group of weakminded stormtroopers to buy the new 2012 Passat

THIS IS FOR ALL THE TOSTITOS

So normally I either critique or compliment various advertising campaigns BUT this Tostitos name drop at the 2011 National Championship was too great to not post. Thank you, Brent Musberger. Im sure you will be receiving a very early Christmas bonus.

"This is for all the Tostitos" - Brent Musberger

Badass Meter: Cam Newton

Cam once kicked a field-goal during his peewee days, that football is now called Halley's Comet.

ALICIA KEYS is DEAD

Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York
Client: Keep a Child Alive
Campaign: "Digital Death"

On December 1st, World AIDS Day, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Usher and others ended their digital lives and signed off from all social networking platforms including Twitter and Facebook in solidarity for those in Africa & India affected by HIV/AIDS.

The participating celebrities in the Digital Death campaign, in conjunction with the Buy Life fundraising campaign for Keep a Child Alive, will not come back online until their digital lives have been bought back, when $1 million has been collectively raised for Keep a Child Alive.

A truly incredible campaign. Although I am surprised the American public brought some of these B-list celebrities back to life (*cough* Kim Kardashian), I am very impressed with the use of social media to make such a huge impact in providing treatment and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS. It's campaigns like these that remind me why I love advertising.

(download)

Click here to download:

lady-gaga-dies-oDBdmmwslmminzsletdy.zip (1.09 MB)

Badass Meter: Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson's shake and bake HAS been proven to cure AIDS. Side effects may include: feeling terribly humiliated, crying, pooping your pants, and running home and telling your mommy.

Moustaches Make A Difference

Agency: TBWA\Singapore, Singapore
Client: Singapore Prostate Cancer Research Fund
Campaign: "Moustaches Make A Difference"

Just in time for MOvember, TWBA\Singapore brings us a brilliant advertisement for a great cause. Wonderful creative work and strategy behind the campaign, clearly targeting men. The art direction is simple but extremely effective in conveying the message. My only objection is their choice to include Stalin in this cast of badasses. Last time I checked, he killed approximately 20 million human beings, most of them being innocent people.

(download)

Click here to download:

moustaches-make-a-difference-plaFmvHeGwBiCnHhClHG.zip (2.64 MB)

Apollo astronauts reported that only 3 objects on Earth were visible from the Moon. 1) The Great Wall of China, 2) The Himalayan Mountain range, and 3) Mr. Miyagi's moustache.

**This month, help support prostate cancer research by growing a moustache. If you can’t get grow one, get one at www.mosmakeadifference.com, and encourage your friends to donate.

Badass Barbie Campaign...

Agency: Firedrill Productions, El Segundo, CA
Client: Mattel Barbie
Campaign: "When I Grow Up"

Yeah...I said it...the new Mattel Barbie "When I Grow Up" campaign is BADASS. It is beautiful and sincere, speaking to parents about how their girls(or boys) can do anything if they use their imagination. Brilliant insight on the idea that young girls play with types of Barbies that they one day hope to be like. The re-branding of Barbie is a great move for Mattel, who is working to break their negative reputation of materialism and consumerism. Congrats to Firedrill Productions and Mattel on a job well done.

Badass Meter: Kerri Strug

Kerri Strug uses live piranhas as bath toys.

AXE calls out Old Spice's horse fixation

Agency: BBH
Client: AXE
Product: AXE Deodorant Body Spray

As much as I love the Isaiah Mustafa, Old Spice viral videos, I am going to have to agree with AXE on this one. Bold move, calling out Old Spice (and Wieden+Kennedy) like that, BUT the future of advertising belongs to the boldest brands. I look forward to seeing a rebuttal from the creative team at Wieden+Kennedy.

"For Men Who'd Rather Be with a Woman than on a Horse"

Ray Lewis once kicked a field-goal during his peewee days, that football is now call Halley's Comet.

Lego: Mind

Agency: Tempo Advertising, Bucharest, Romania
Client: Lego
Campaign: "Exercise your Kid's Mind"

Cool and simple visual with an insightful creative strategy. Excuse the short post, I am going to go play with some Legos.

"Exercise your kid's mind."

Badass Meter: Qui-Gon Jinn

Darth Vadar's father is Qui-Gon Jinn.

ADC Young Guns Hungary

Agency: DDB, Budapest, Hungary
Client: Art Directors Club Hungary
Product: Art Direction Competition for Creatives under 28

Favorite campaign of the year.  Brilliant, creative advertising that almost made me buy a plane ticket to Budapest to join the Art Directors Club of Hungary. BBD did a great job of directing the campaign to their target audience (young art directors) with these bold print ads. I never thought I would laugh so hard at Teddy bears having sex, squishy monsters getting caught using "cocaine", and a decapitated doll covered in "blood". Good work DDB.

ADC Young Guns Hungary: "For Those who Play Seriously."

(download)

Click here to download:

adc-young-guns-hungary-fvtFrwqAhlAgcJDcwhao.zip (723 KB)

Badass Meter: Tony Montana

Tony Montana starts everyday with a protein shake made from Carnation Instant Breakfast, one dozen eggs, pure Colombian cocaine, and rattlesnake venom.

Google - "Did you mean?"

Agency: Grey, Istanbul, Turkey
Client: Google
Campaign: "Did you mean?"

Anytime you use a BATTLESHEEP or an ASTRONUT in a campaign, you know you are on to something GREYt. The ads are funny, the message is clear, and the tagline displays one of Google's best features.

Did you mean? Battleship.
"Google. We know what you are searching for, even when you don’t. ”

Did you mean? Jetlag.
"Google. We know what you are searching for, even when you don’t. ” 

Did you mean? Astronaut.
"Google. We know what you are searching for, even when you don’t. ”

Badass Meter: Buzz Aldrin, the kickasstronaut

Space is continiously expanding because other galaxies are running away from Buzz Aldrin

Did you know? After receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in combat in the Korean War, Buzz Aldrin decided to prove that he wasn't all asskicking and no brains, he went out and got a Ph.D. in Astronautics from MIT. He then signed on with NASA, and went to work training as an astronaut – a job which, of course, is undisputably one of the most badass professions this side of "pirate" or "ninja".

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: John Lennon Strawberry Fields

Agency: Knarf, New York
Client: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Campaign: John Lennon Exhibit

To promote the opening of this exhibit at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, die-cut strawberries containing the event info were mounted on stakes, then planted in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park in New York. Instead of mailing or distributing invites by conventional means, pedestrians actually picked the strawberry invitations from the grounds of Strawberry Fields. Such a creative alternative to a boring and most likely less effective direct mailing campaign.

(download)

Click here to download:

the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-john-lennon-strawberry-fields-ichhABsxftDtEaBpgrAJ.zip (2.52 MB)

Badass Meter: John Lennon

John Lennon can touch MC Hammer.