Adiocracy

First, let me say that I hold no agenda against soft drinks. But I do have an agenda against mindless drivel. This fall, I came across these two outdoor ads in the space of a few blocks.

How the agency thought these to be clever communications, and how Coke approved them would make for an interesting study in advertising myopia.

But getting back on point, this is a solid example of the thoughtless communications that muck up our streets and our brains. My good guess is that these were not actually meant to be read — more half-absorbed as you scurry by a bus shelter or subway entrance. The strategy being that they might seem sort of logical sound when half acknowledged.

It’s my only interpretaton of the strategic discipline at misplay here. One of the first rules I give my ad students in Killer Work is ‘make a pun, go to jail’. But these are worse. I can’t construct a syllogism where ambition = drinking soda. And in what world (besides being stranded in the desert) would a Coke be your most valuable liquid asset?!

A refreshingly honest communication might be to mash up TARP with the prevailing wisdom on childhood obesity, substituting ‘toxic asset’ for ‘liquid asset’. But now I sound like I have an agenda. Which I don’t:

This one I shot with what looks like the negative filter effect on. Not intentional.

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Here are three new creative briefs from Victors and Spoils. It’s a an open squabble they lovingly call squirrel fight. If you have time, get in on it. The guys here are great.

GAP | $10K
Create a recurring sales event for GAP that can become a cultural phenomenon

SRAM | $15K (3 bikes)
Help SRAM communicate their stance on the electronic-shifting trend

Shark Week | $8K
Open call for ideas to promote Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2011

Full Briefs are at: victorsandspoils.com/squirrelfight

Adiocracy is cooked up for copywriters, art directors and advertising students everywhere.

As ugly as it is, domestic violence is too often a difficult thing to spot, even when it’s happening right before your eyes. This ad campaign created by DOJO, Berlin for Senat of Berlin’s (oddly named) Dept. for economics, technology, and woman, makes the point in ingenious ‘Where’s Waldo’ style.

(For another another unusal visual expression of this difficult aspect of domestic violence, see the video MakeUnder for Beauty Cares done by this author.)

Here’s a close-up:

Close up:

Adiocracy thanks adsoftheworld.com for this find.

Ad credits: Creative Director: Joachim Bosse; AD’s: René Bieder, Sarah Grote; Copywriters: Joachim Bosse, Dominic Czaja; Illustrator: Sarah Grote

Adiocracy is cooked up for copywriters, art directors and advertising students everywhere.

For those of you freelance creatives and ad students looking to get in on a potential high profile pitch, see Victors and Spoils new open brief for WD-40. For those in my Killer Work class at SVA who worked on WD-40, here’s a chance to develop your ideas with an actual deadline and see what you can do. Good luck!