In an addy state of mind

Opus ads tout the return of the flightless bird. (via clay.)

South African Chicken wars- "In complaining to the ASA, KFC submitted that the ad was "disparaging in the extreme as it shows the colonel to be listless and somewhat impotent until he eats Chicken Licken." (via clay.)

Foster's new TV ad, which masquerades as a wildlife documentary, shows a reporter having his head bitten off by a pelican, with the endline "don't lose your head". Shown during daytime sports coverage during the weekend, the ad sparked 15 complaints to the Independent Television Commission, mostly from parents who considered it too graphic for their children to watch. The ITC ruled the ad can't be shown before 7.30pm. See their other ad, showing "Big Doug" making a bungee jump from a crane above a river, only to have a crocodile lunge at him, apparently biting his head off as he hits the water. It ends with the voice-over: "New Foster's hit tap. Don't lose your head." Aired before Jurassic Park in theatres, it received 180 complaints. (via Dab & Clay.)

Colgate vs. P&G over whiteners - "Colgate-Palmolive Co. sued Procter & Gamble Co. Monday, alleging P&G is misleading consumers with new advertising comparing the companies' do-it-yourself tooth whitening products. The federal suit accuses P&G of lying in commercials that say its Crest Night Effects and Crest Whitestrips products are "clinically proven" more effective than Colgate's Simply White Night and Simply White products. New York-based Colgate also claims P&G used questionable measuring tactics to reach results showing its products make teeth several times whiter. The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to order P&G to pull the advertising -- including TV ads, newspaper inserts and cardboard coffee-cup holders."

Sainsbury's online shopping service, Sainsbury's to You, has a new TV spot not featuring Jamie Oliver, but his parents. Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO is the agency for Sainsbury, and has a longstanding contract with Oliver, who is credited with boosting sales at the supermarket chain. "This ad is one of 14 executions being run by Sainsbury's in the run-up to Christmas. In the ad, Jamie's mother opens the door to a delivery driver, but by the surprise on her face, viewers realise she is not expecting the delivery, and she presumes that Jamie's father, Trevor, has made the order. It turns out that their Christmas decorations have sprung to life and have ordered the food in their excitement at Christmas. Penny Slatter, head of online marketing for Sainsbury's, said: "This is the first time we have advertised online shopping nationally. We hope the ad will encourage more shoppers to shop online and make shopping at Sainsbury's more convenient, especially towards Christmas time." Jamie Oliver has roped friends and family, including his grandmother, to appear in ads for Sainsbury's." Does anyone else find this a bit odd? I mean, it's one thing to have the celeb, but to have their family and friends in the ads, alone, is kinda weird. Why are we supposed to care what their friends and family do? Seems like a bit of a stretch to me.

A nice little article from CA about if it's possible to find a creative solution within creative confines, including budgets and other restrictions.

McDonalds fries magazine ad will not run again. It attempts to alert the public that their french fries are made from real potatoes and not reconstituted stuffs. The ASA felt that "material parts of that process were omitted from the advertisement, the authority concluded the advertisement was misleading." Follow to see the ad.

Mazda is hoping Britney Spears and Madonna can achieve what Celine Dion has conspicuously failed to do for Chrysler: reverse a decline in car sales. In the promo the Spears drives up to a nightclub in the Mazda sports car and then goes inside for a spot of dirty dancing with Madonna that doesn't quite culminate in another kiss.

Tesco's ad doesn't score with Mrs. Wilkinson - "As PR gaffes go, they don't come much bigger than offending the sporting hero of the moment. But that's just what Tesco has managed to do by splashing a photograph of Jonny Wilkinson's mother across eight national newspapers without her permission.
But today the company was forced to apologise and make a donation to charity after it emerged that, in the excitement, it had failed to ask permission to use Mrs Wilkinson's picture in its adverts. "Obviously we were very excited about Jonny Wilkinson's mum being in one of our stores," said a Tesco spokeswoman today.
"We should have telephoned the family first but we telephoned Jonny's agent once we had run the advert and he wasn't happy about it. Heh. Whoopsie! Follow the link to the see the ad.