Advertising

Today's tempest in a teacup comes to us courtesy of NYC-based Frames Bowling Lounge which wants to make a big deal out of the fact the New York Times has pulled one of its ad banners because it's too racy. The ad banner shows a woman lying on a pool table (because, of course, all women do this) along with the copy, "Gentleman, It's Playtime" (because, of course, all men understand hot blonds who lay on pool tables want to have sex). Frames claims The Real Deal, New York Post and Village Voice are running the ad without complaint. There was a time we'd trash the New York Times for being such a prude but this time around we applaud them for helping to rid the world of cheesy advertising with no redeeming qualities.

Mozilla, maker of the Firefox web browser, must fix three areas within its third-party-cookie-blocking patch before it can be rolled out to users, according to Stanford graduate student Jonathan Mayer, who developed the patch. The problematic areas involve “underblocking,” i.e., inadvertently allowing unwanted tracking cookies past Firefox’s cookie blocking patch, Mayer explained in a blog [...]

When MJZ Director Rupert Sanders and Grey New York needed high-end VFX to bring a World War II epic, a medieval fantasy battle, and a bit of science fiction together in a new spot for DIRECTV, they turned to the team at MPC. The spot is a showcase of MPC's impressive skillset and resources. The LA office led a team that included artists across MPC's global family of studios, taking the project from rough concept design to photo-real rendering to flawless compositing. VIEW THE SPOT

Who babysits the babysitter? In a new video promoting the American Red Cross' Babysitting Basics online course, Tool Director Erich Joiner takes viewers through a tour of worst-case scenarios for childcare amateurs and parents alike. VIEW THE SPOT

Each year Amnesty International is organising writing marathons for people to write letters to ask for the liberation of prisoners. To encourage people to write they used pencils and pencil sharpeners to illustrate the problem. Finishing it all off with a brilliant commercial. Company: Amnesty International Agency: Cossette, Montréal Country: Canada

You would think that after all these years of highly publicized social media screw ups and popular SXSW panels that highlight such screw ups, brands would finally get the message; Don't be a jackass and alienate your biggest fans. Sadly, it seems there will always be an idiot in the mix. This time it's Italy-based Ferrero SpA, parent company to Nutella, a hazelnut spread loved by many The brand sent a cease and desist to Sara Rosso, founder of World Nutella Day, a 7-year-old event and organization that is all about the love of Nutella. Rosso launched World Nutella Day in 2007 to "celebrate Italy's edible treasure with online and offline tributes." The event's Facebook page has 40,000 likes. As to why Nutella sent the cease and desist, Rosso said, "They asked me to take down the site because they consider it to be an unauthorized use of their intellectual property and trademarks, the Nutella logo and brand." In lawyer speak, that translates to, "We don't have a fucking clue what social media is and we don't give a shit either." Without surprise, it seems it's only the lawyers who are the party poopers in this situation. Of her interactions over the years with Nutella, Rosso said, "I've had positive interactions with the company and its consultants in the past so I'm trying to stay positive about a resolution." Supporters of Rosso are having a field day at the expense of Nutella with one supporter posting, "Nutella...more nuts in company management than in every jar." While Ferrero SpA has remained mum to requests for comment, we're pretty sure there's nothing they can say that will explain away this particular brain fart.

This is hilarious! And so welcome. After years of trashing the anti-smoking Truth campaign for its idiotic use of anachronistic quotes from tobacco company executives and Derek Beckles, this new work from Arnold Worldwide made us laugh. Of course, it's 4th grade bathroom humor but no one ever really grows out of that. Take a look at how Arnold conveys the fact methane is found in dog poop and cigarette smoke and urea (aka carbamide which is an organic chemical compound and the waste produced by the body after metabolizing protein) is found in cat pee and cigarettes. Good stuff.

As a parent, you no doubt experience pangs of trepidation -- no, horror -- when you leave your children with a babysitter you may not know very well. You wonder if your children will be well cared for, whether they will be fed properly, whether they go to bed on time. But, if you've ever had any of the three types of babysitters featured in this BBDO Atlanta-created, Tool-produced commercial, your concerns are a bit more serious and you'll want to make sure your next babysitter has take the American Red Cross' Babysitting Basics course before leaving the house.

In Mexico, we are told 22% of car accidents are caused by women. That little stat forms the basis of Publicis Mexico-created ad campaign for MINI which urges women not to apply make up while driving, seemingly the cause of those 22% of accidents. Before we get into the actual campaign here, let's do a little math. If 22% of all car accidents are caused by women, can one assume 78% are caused by men? Why, then, do we have a campaign that just wreaks of the age old stereotype that women are bad drivers? And why is it assumed the application of makeup is the cause of these accidents? Hmm. Questionable marketing, perhaps? But hey, it's fun to blow up air bags in the Ladies Room while unsuspecting women apply makeup. And maybe makeup-induced accidents really are a thing in Mexico. Who are we to judge? And if all the other stats thrown at us in this ad are to be believed (stereotypical or not) then maybe this is a message that needs to be delivered. Maybe it's sad that 6 out of 10 Mexican women wouldn't dream of going to work without makeup or that 1 in 4 believe not wearing makeup could cost them a promotion. But if that's the reality then urging women not to apply makeup while driving is, perhaps, less stereotypical and more practical. Now if only MINI could come up with a strategy to curtail the apparent 78% of men who cause the rest of all car accidents.

Last week AdExchanger looked at the dynamic between ROI DNA, a performance-driven agency, and its preferred display-trading partner, Run DSP. (Read the story.) There are many such relationships in ad tech, where a mid-sized agency relies on a key network or platform partner to drive ROI and provide hand-holding to its planners and buyers. You [...]