Entries Tagged 'Advertising' ↓
March 4th, 2009 — Advertising, Culture
I’m one of those people that believe fashion, beauty, and their related industries are, essentially, a psychological grind which prey on both feminine delight in things that are lovely, and feminine insecurities, particularly with men. I’m not against these industries, their products, or against people who use what they make. I just believe that, to a great degree, women are bent out of shape by them, that these entities are needlessly exploitative, and that that characteristic is a necessary aspect of being capitalist.
That said, is it just me, or does the model in this ad for Ookisa Hair Care System for Beautiful Hair actually look better in her “Before” picture than her “After” one?
February 16th, 2009 — Advertising, Film
Before you lose one of ’em by looking too closely, feast your peepers on those shiny adamantium claws, and on this new advance, double-sided poster for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, out May 1.
Some of you will recall my recent rave about the trailer for the upcoming movie, so, you can guess I’m convinced that, marketing-wise, 20th Century Fox / Marvel are doing everything right. From Movieposter.com, $20.
February 9th, 2009 — Advertising, Design, Politics
As Moth said on Missbehave, “There is something really familiar about the new Pepsi logo,” left, “but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Me, either, but every time I see it, I wanna run for President.
February 5th, 2009 — Advertising, Art, Photography, Politics, Pop Culture
By now, you’ve seen a billion pictures of Barack Obama. But if you’ve got a good eye or visual memory, you’ve already noticed something unusual, something familiar, about this one, above.
The image, by photographer Mannie Garcia, was, as he notes on his blog, taken of
then Democratic Senator from Illinois, Barak Obama, when he was with actor George Clooney at the Press Club in Washington, DC in April 2006. They talked about human rights and Darfur.
But the association with Clooney, or Darfur, is not what makes this image special, or unique. Or controversial.
This is:
Continue reading →
January 30th, 2009 — Advertising, Film
The birth of Wolverine: Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I went to see Notorious on Wednesday—an a’ight film about the astounding Biggie Smalls—before my panel at the Brecht Forum.
During the previews, they ran the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, above, out May 1st.
Now, blogs work by connecting readers to content on the web, much as I’ve prospectively done by linking the name of this film to a 480p QuickTime file of its trailer. We do this in order to inform our audiences, and build traffic for our sites.
So, I’m going against all standard blogging protocol when I say the following: Please do not click on that link.
Instead, find a theater where they’re showing the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and see it in all of its widescreen, multitrack stereo glory, as I did. When the clip was over, to put it simply, my mouth was literally hanging open. (Not even a brief appearance by presidential troubador Will.I.Am, as mutant John Wraith, could spoil my delirium.)
I’ve gotta admit: After three X-Men films, I was sure that 20th Century Fox / Marvel had gone to the well one too many times with this one.
Dead. That.
January 15th, 2009 — Advertising, Controversy, Race
Freelance writer, novelist, and screenwriter Erica Kennedy‘s Facebook group, Feminista’s Advertising Hall of Fame (or Lame?), documents the “best and worst examples of commercial advertising.” In fact, this winner, above, isn’t an ad, as American Apparel rushed to make clear, shortly after the page ran in i-D Magazine back in 2007, but part of that publication’s own outré fashion pages. (You’ve gotta be offensive if a scummy advertiser of half-naked immigrant women like AA doesn’t want anything to do with your editorial.)
Readers who recall my quasi-crusade against VOGUE’s foul LeBron James / Gisele Bundchen cover almost a year ago aren’t surprised at the way racist imagery continues to be subsumed into white High Style, and neither am I. However, upon sight of this photo, I have to admit to a flash of weariness. Like, the need to create this stuff never dies, does it?
January 13th, 2009 — Advertising, Film
It’s 1998. A group of hardcore Star Wars devotees plot a road trip to George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch headquarters, hoping to steal a print of the soon-to-be-released Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Hilarity ensues.
That’s the plot of Fanboys, out February 2009. More than the movie, however, I’m drawn to the one-sheet design by The Refinery, above, parodying Crew Creative‘s now famous poster for Steve Carell’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin, right. Fanboys, apparently, relate.
January 12th, 2009 — Advertising, Pop Culture, TV
Pepsi sure ran whole hog with their “Choice of a New Generation” campaign, back in the ’80s. But nothing demonstrates the level at which they were feeling themselves more than this award-winning, 1985 commercial, “Archaeology,” directed by ad great Joe Pytka.
Take a gander at it: Nearly 25 years later, the payoff is still one of the best disses ever in corporate marketing. (Plus, the shuttle, departing overhead, is pure visual magic, the cherry on top, the ping! in the overture.) It would be some sweet writing if I could end this paragraph’s first sentence by saying, “…and a blow from which Coca-Cola never recovered.” In truth, Coke still kicks Pepsi’s behind up and down the street.
January 5th, 2009 — Advertising, Animation, Film
In Dreamworks’ upcoming Monsters vs. Aliens, above, an invasion of Earth by a patronizing race of four-eyed, little gray men, below, moves the U.S. to send out an inoffensive clique of mutants to defend the planet. They include
the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus.
Along with a 49-foot-11-inch woman named Susan Murphy, aka Ginormica, the group soon challenge the massive Alien Robot, against whom even America’s best missiles vaporize in blooms of meaningless, multicolored plasma.
From my perspective, though, this is all backstory to what’s really going on, namely a small revolution in computer animation, marked by an ever increasing capability in the form.
Continue reading →
December 31st, 2008 — Advertising, Photography, Pop Culture, Science-Fiction
Greg Pittelli, with his son, Anakin, sports a No. 77 Darth Vader football jersey (Star Wars was released in 1977) as he reveres the grave of his mentor. His snap is the third place entry in Chronicle Books’ Obsessed with Star Wars competition, promoting their recent eponymous book.
Third place?
