PublicAdCampaign Takes Back the Space

An unaffiliated group takes it upon themselves to reclaim over a hundred illegal advertising spaces in New York City. It seems there are a large number of billboard advertisers that cover billboard and building space without permits. PublicAdCampaign covers and re purposes a larger percent of the illegal postings with public art, the result a slightly less ad filled air space, and only 4 arrests.

You Want the Moon? Moon Advertising Could be Yours

Talk about the sky's the limit, you're guaranteed to reach your target demographic but it's the ultimate blemish on the horizon and man made noise in the sky, unavoidable unless you happened to be locked in jail or a stuck in a cave - but then we dont need you to buy our products anyway - advertising on the moon. Moonpublicity.com launched bidding on the first Moon ads July 20th to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing starting at $46,000.

What do you think - brilliant or so wrong you can't find the words? I'd love to hear your thoughts! For more info check out MoonPublicity.

HBO Voyeur Project

Motionographer has a fantastic post featuring building projections up. It's a must check out. They are focusing on projects that use the existing architecture as an integral part of the projection, windows look like buttons, a castle deconstructs a la the Escher staircases in Labyrinth, is that a helicopter coming in for a landing? I love the combination of old and new to create unique and complex art pieces.

One of my favorite projection projects immediately came to mind as I was watching this collection, the HBO Voyeur project. In 2008 HBO created a projection installation on an apartment building in New York. The projection was a peek inside eight different apartment buildings, each with their own storylines to provoke the idea of what people do when they think no one is watching. The integrated project drove traffic to a wbsite where each story could be viewed in full and once at a time.

The integrated project was completed by a superstar cast including BBDO, Jake Scott, and Asylum, and went on to win shelves full of awards, including the Cannes Grand Prix in 2008. You check out images from the stories via Flickr and check out the archived website to navagate the stories yourself.

Guess 2009 from Photographer Matthias Vriens

My dear from Andrea tipped be off to this latest campaign for Guess that started showing up on billboards in the LA area for the Summer 2009 line. They are almost like a modern take on the classic pin up, with enough sex appeal for the new millennium. The photographer is Matthias Vriens, and it turns out the Fall/Winter campaign was also amazing if not even more fabulously retro glam. How gorgeous is that red head?!

adidas Every Runner is Different in the Boston Marathon

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching Mike participate in the outstanding accomplishment of the 113th Boston Marathon to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation in the name of our dear friend Jon. Being a Bostonian I've always participated in the celebration surrounding Marathon Monday but have never seen it through the perspective of being so close to some one who has run it. From the months and months of training and ice packs, to the dropping Mike off on the Common to be bussed 26 miles out of the city and told to run back, the anticipation, the unity, the sense of community, and the pride in seeing him round Boylston Street to the finish line sporting his charity's colors is a feeling I know I can't transcribe here.

...though, I couldnt help but notice, sponsor adidas did a pretty good job of isolating the pride of the individual runners accomplishments in their 2009 Boston Marathon ad campaign.

Steven Wilson and BBH Urge us to Go to NYC

A few weeks ago some new ads appeared in bus stops around the Boston area that jumped out from the graying New England cityscape. These NYCGO.com billboards left me dreaming of a fun filled dayglo city life even though i know in reality New York is just and gray as Boston by this point in December. Maybe it could feel bright and lively enough to make up for the weather?
The ads are by illustrator Steven Wilson who's portfolio is hours of inspiration and includes editorial work, advertising, album art, fine art, and even some videos. Take a visit, or stay tuned as he has lots more I'd like to share. Thanks for the images Steven!

ikea Rearranges Furniture for the Holidays

Somehow ikea ads always manage to put a smile on my face. This new print and outdoor campaign from Zig Totonto did not disappoint. I wonder if I have the space to create any sort of joyful message with the furniture in my apartment...hmmm.

McDonald's Recycles Paper and Advertising

These new outdoor ads come from TBWA Paris. McDonald's uses recycled ads to reiterate the McDonald's recycles message. You know I love vintage advertising!
I found these on Best Ads on TV.

Samsung Olympic Promo from Tronic

This quirky monochromatic animation from New York motion design studio Tronic reiterates the apparent theme of this Olympic games, that it takes many small pieces working in unison to make a whole. The segmented blue athletic figures perform on a stark background high above Times Square before disbanding and ultimately reconfiguring in the form of the Olympic Rings.

Shark Sighting on The Charles

No, they aren't shooting the next installment of Jaws, the shark attack mania comes from the Mullen Agency for the Sharks and Rays Exhibit at the New England Aquarium which opened yesterday.

The campaign features shark fins and teeth on iconic Boston landmarks, and fins on the roof of taxis to be seen as they navigate through city traffic.









There is one poster that shows a man struggling to levitate only feet above a fin, and also a viral that taps into the universal fears we all have for the signifier of the beast. Smart I think, and affective. The exhibit itself hopes to alleviate some of these exact fears.

I wanna be a Vespa...

Ok, i really just want a Vespa...really really want one...so what if it snows 5 months out of the year here, it snows that much in Canada or more and look how much they love them. I found this over at Adrants. Dentsu Canada created Vespa heads, via Fauxreel, to hang out with the locals in Canada's biggest cities.

You Suck Sarah Marshall

When I was in New York last week I couldn't help but notice the posters splattering the city to promote the new film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I think they are pretty great, eye catching and funny, "My Mom Always Hated you Sarah Marshall" is one of my favorites.Of course there is a website in the style of a blog for the film, ihatesarahmarshall. And, what I though was quite smart, a flickr page where people can share their photos of the campaign.

A City Without Advertising?

Wallpaper Magazine is featuring the work of photographer Gregor Graf, whose latest exhibition, Hidden Town, explores what cities across Europe would look like with all of the advertising and language stripped away.

The result is amazing, and somewhat disorienting. My first thought was that it looks like the Universal Backlot, my second thought was, what would Boston look like or Sunset Blvd.? I found myself trying to imagine the signage that might be there, and have to admit I was forced to look at the captions to tell which city I was looking at.

The Wallpaper article that accompanies the work is quite good, give it a read.

Advertising on the Streets of Dublin

Publicis QMP, Dublin has been peppering the city for a new campaign to raise awareness about water conservancy. They group has placed huge vinyl stickers over manhole covers to make them look like drain plugs.











Last year the group created a successful ambient campaign for the Dublin City Council to hinder littering.