advergirl

Elf the vote!

Tired of the endless stream of local political ads? The petty accusations about real estate taxes and miscellaneous law suits? The really, really bad suits and worse ties?

Here's an election that will renew your love for democracy: Big Lots spokeself.

Starting tomorrow, three elf finalists will attempt to wow the country with their spokeself auditions (handily condensed to :30 second spots). Viewers can visit a voting site to cast a ballot for their favorite elf. The winning elf - announced on Thanksgiving - will be the brand's national spokesperson for the rest of the holiday season.

Check out the site - watch back stories, see elf rejects and more:

(My name is Advergirl and I approved this message)

Agency: SBC Advertising

Emotional appeal

Does it strike you that some of the best advertising being done right now is about the quality of worklife?

The category - from the Career Builder monkeys to Monster.com's "When I grow up" series to these simple vending machine displays below - there seems to be a universal understanding of the emotional appeal in this category. Not money, not shorter hours, not even a better title - just, simply, be the person you want to be. Very aspirational. And selling like crazy.

Scholz & Friends, Berlin

Found at: Spoiled

MTV recycles tired joke

Judging from the lace-bottomed leggings, big hoopy earrings and giant sweaters spotted on the tiny, emaciated bodies of marauding teenagers at the nation's malls, I'm guessing there is a vibe of "everything old is new again" in pop culture. After all, if you don't have old school photos of clam bangs, florescent t-shirts and jelly-braceleted arms, how could you suspect just how evil the 80s really were?

So, perhaps it's no surprise that MTV is recycling this boring old "walk into the wrong bar" business to sell their Rhapsody-knockoff: Urge. Really, the S&M clubs and dominatrixes of the world should seek PR council ... not only are they always forcing good kids into bondage in mass media, they also all look like crap.

Camera work is great though. Nice perspectives.

Agency: MTV On Air Promotions

Willie Nelson sings the Ad Guy Blues

Here's a conference call exercise. See how few words you have to change in a Willie Nelson song to take out the cowboy and put in the beleagured ad guy. Here's my take on "Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys"

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be ad guys
Don’t let ‘em write snappy headlines and client suck up
Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be ad guys
They'll never come home when they’re in the zone
Even when they’re really drunk

Ad guys ain't easy to love and they're harder to scold
And they'd rather give you a free sample then diamonds or gold
Logo-ed tshirts and old faded khaki’s each night begins a new day
And if you don't understand him and he don't get fired young
He'll probably just fade away 

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be ad guys
Don’t let ‘em write snappy headlines and client suck up
Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be ad guys
They'll never come home when they’re in the zone
Even when they’re really drunk

Ad guys like smokey bars and pizza delivered
White paper, Addys and little criticism
And them that don't know him won't like him
And them that do sometimes won't know how to take him
He ain't wrong he's the creative guy
But his pride won't let him do things the client says are right

Oh where, oh where has Advergirl gone...

Greetings, long-lost readers. Apologies for being gone for so long. Alas, I was off in the glamorous world of advertising... working too many weekends, too many late nights and generally just falling into that habit I know you know: work, drink, eat badly, sleep; repeat. Lucky for me, I was doing it for great clients - easy to stay motivated; difficult to blog.

I do have some fabulous reviews of the very best of vending machine food as well as a few well honed tricks to cover up yawning in meetings. But, meanwhile, let me show you a couple of things I was working on and then I'll get back to that caustic commentary you likely came here for...

First up: a big challenge.

What do you do for a pre e-commerce retailer focused on America's treasured treasure hunters in 2006??

Our answer: Build a community; presell; own your wacky heritage; convert visitors to a captive marketing audience; give and have fun...

I love this site for what it is and what it will become. And, the best - the part I can't wait to tell you about - is still a week away. So, stay tuned for that and check out the new BigLots.com on your surf...

Ok, one more (AAA) and then onto our regularly scheduled Adver-rants.