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Skiing Ostriches Return Marketer: East Japan Railway Co. Brand: East Japan Railway Co. Title: "No Snow" Agency: Tugboat, Tokyo The Japan Snow Project's skiing ostriches have developed a cult-like following over the past three years. The wonderfully goofy ad campaign promotes train travel to Japan's ski resorts. In the latest episode, the gawky, ski-shod birds are wandering through a snowless city in search of what they really need. Which, in the end, they find back on the slopes at the end of a happy train ride. Also see Previous ostrich spot.
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Bullets, Basketballs and Elephants Marketer: WildAid Brand: WildAid Title: "Shot Blocker" Agency: Gartner This public service announcement pairs Nelly, a real elephant, with Yao Ming. Directed by Jim Weedon of Gartner, the spot depicts Ming leaping high to stop a bullet fired at the elephant by a hunter. Thus, the Houston Rockets star becomes a 'shot blocker' of a higher order. The campaign's message is 'Never buy illegal wildlife products.'
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Great GM Ad Marketer: General Motors Brand: General Motors Title: "Then and Now" Agency: McCann-Erickson, Birmingham, Mich. Hitting a high note in its latest effort to burnish its sliding image, General Motors has a winner with this 'Then and Now' spot. The best part of the commercial is the music -- 'AM Radio' by the '90s grunge band Everclear, which harkens back to the world of the 1970s.
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Bad GM Ad Marketer: General Motors Brand: Hummer Title: "Hummer" Agency: Modernista, Boston In contrast to GM's nostalgic success with 'Then and Now' (see above) the automaker went awry with this ultra-modern Hummer spot. It uses a parabolic-mirror lens to create images like those seen in 360-degree theaters. The audio and visual effect of the whole thing is as unpleasant as it is disorienting.
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Looking Like Your Clock Marketer: Manpower Brand: Manpower Title: "Wake Up US" Agency: Grey Worldwide, New York It's easy to imagine how people often resemble their pets but have your ever thought about how they might also resemble their bedroom alarm clocks? Here's a spot that does just that.
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Financial Barn Raising Marketer: Chittenden Bank Brand: Chittenden Bank Title: "Barn" Agency: Kelliher Samets Volk, Burlington, Vt. Trumpeting its century-long history as a Vermont financial institution, the Chittenden Bank of Burlington uses an artistically pleasing animation of an old barn's renovation as a symbol for its own efforts in financing local business.
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Rent a Fantasy Marketer: Avis Brand: Avis Title: "Montage" Agency: McCann Erickson, New York What appears to open as a commercial for General Motors' overall brands actually turns out to be spot for Avis, which now pampers customers with Hummers and other types of vehicles they wouldn't ordinarily drive. They can also get XM radio to put a song in their rental cruising.
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Cellphone Brendalization Marketer: Alltel Brand: Alltel Title: "Brendalized" Agency: Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich. In a new series of ads that hype the customizable nature of Alltel's cellphone plans, Chelsea Pictures director Evan Bernard gives us Brenda, who has totally 'Brendalized' her life. Naturally, she perfers phone services of the same sort.
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