Out there in the ether

French equivalent of Adland's Badland is Joelapompe. Check it out. Very cool.

Trying to identify a font? Check out Identifont.

"People have forgotten that the best tool for selling a product is the product itself," says CP+B president Jeff Hicks. A short and interesting article on CP+B from Fast Company.

MSN heads to Cannes for a second year. From the Brand Republic article:

MSN will position giant Connect Four games at the Cannes Lions Festival to add even more friendly rivalry to the International Advertising Festival.
The giant games tie in to MSN's overall theme of 'Create a Connection' -- encouraging creatives to get connected to their consumers in the digital decade.
MSN aims to inspire creatives to review the way they target consumers -- bearing in mind the changing patterns of media consumption, proliferation of technology and changing consumer behaviour. These social changes present huge challenges for both advertisers and media owners like MSN, so they aim to present a vision at Cannes of how technology and consumer behaviour will evolve, the challenges ahead for both advertisers and for the digital marketing sector and most importantly the opportunities in embracing digital marketing to deliver campaigns to today's consumers.

Prepare for the games and play connect four online.

"Scorching Girls" is the latest Virgin Mobile ad campaign which spoofs "both East End gangster flicks and chicks-with-guns videos" in attempt to drive consumers to check out their latest deals. Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R created the ad which can only be seen/viewed online.

It begins showing a gangster pacing menacingly around a scrapyard. He is then seen taping his "victim" up with gaffer tape to the window of a wrecked car. It is only after this that the victim is revealed to be an old mobile phone. The gangster gives the signal to three bikini-clad henchwomen who use a flamethrower to torch the phone. The ad ends with a rich Cockney voiceover telling viewers: "With our great deals you might want your mobile to have a little accident".
James Kydd, brand director for Virgin Mobile, said: "Continuing our successful series of online viral campaigns with DMC, this time a spoof ad is being used to convey our brand's renowned quirky sense of humour. "The ad will be available exclusively online. It aims to generate buzz, raise awareness and entertain culture-driving, technology-savvy users who are early adopters of viral material."

It's interesting to see how viral marketing is really catching on pretty quickly. I find it very interesting. Especially the ads that are used only as virals verses the ads that are used as virals and in tradional media as well.

Diesel embraces treehugging. Revolution Magazine has the news on a new online campaign created by Airlock, which ties in the concept of treehugging brand Diesel's 'Love nature while it lasts' campaign.

Online communications agency Airlock created the campaign, which uses traditional banners, three-dimensional ads, along with a new DHTML format the "See-Through", which allows users to reveal a hidden image from the advertising campaign via a pair of binoculars. The advertising is set in a Garden of Eden, with young, attractive models getting back to nature in rather intimate ways. The online creative is based on the offline campaign, created by Diesel's advertising agency KesselsKramer. The "Love nature while it lasts" campaign will run in 18 countries worldwide, including on Vogue.co.uk and Xlr8r.com.

Unfortunately, these are online units which block the content on the page. I think they are interesting from a creative point-of-view, but from a consumer stand point they make me annoyed.

Volvo rides the tails of pop culture in their new ads for the S40 to reach their target. First they did a spoof in Europe of the "mystery of Dalaro", and a spoof within a spoof regarding Carlos Soto, the fake director of the mockumentary.
Now in the US, a mock-hip-hop video style ad featuring L.L. Cool J has hit the airwaves, along with another spot which is a cross-promo with XBOX. The first ad is directed by music video director Dave Meyers, and veatures the music of Dilated Peoples. L.L. is used as a spokesman and says "When it
starts showing up in music videos, don't let the style and flavor mess with your mind. It's still built like a Volvo."
The second ad is video from the new, not-yet-released video game Rallisport Challenge 2 by XBOX. It features music from Atlas Plug titled "2 Days or Die" composed/produced by Tom Salta. Music clip of the song featured in the ad can be listened to here.
TheAutoChannel.com has an article that devels into the campaign as a whole.

The marketing campaign is multi-faceted, covering television, movie theaters, magazines, billboards, the Internet, direct mail, partnerships with Virgin Megastores and Bloomingdale's, and even video games. The television aspect of the campaign will focus on national cable stations such as Comedy Central, E!, ESPN, The Learning Channel and VH1. It will also include TV ads in Volvo's top 20 markets on prime time shows such as CSI, Friends, Alias, Third Watch, ED and Will & Grace. In May, at the start of summer, ads will also be seen in movie theaters across the nation.
Magazines are an important part of the print launch strategy. Ads will appear in publications that are essential to young and diverse audiences, with genres that reflect lifestyles, entertainment, pop culture, sports and technology. Those magazines include, among others, Details, Entertainment Weekly, In Style, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair and Wired.
The Volvo web presence started in September of last year and the online media campaign began in January with a "Four Friends, For Life" promotion where people can sign up to win an all-new Volvo S40 and trip for themselves and three friends to their fantasy destination. The online advertising media placements are the first of their kind in the automotive industry, with advertising designed to reach the all-new Volvo S40 target consumer, not just on automotive sites, but also where they are spending time online -- on travel sites, social sites, such as Friendster and Match.com, and other special interest sites, like Daily Candy, Time Out and Atom Films. A DVD mailer to 500,000 potential customers supplements the online campaign. The interactive DVD features product highlights, an exclusive "behind the scenes" video of the filming of the all-new Volvo S40 music video, and previews of other all-new Volvo S40 launch activities.
VCNA has also started a relationship with Virgin Megastores and are offering day and nighttime drive sessions, coupled with live performances by the hot new recording artist Gavin DeGraw -- an industry first. One lucky participant will win a trip with their friends to the EuroRock concert on Virgin Atlantic, backstage passes and an all-new Volvo S40.
And Bloomingdale's customers will have a chance to win an all-new Volvo S40 through a sweepstakes designed around the ultimate weekend getaway with friends -- along with high-end premiums designed to make those getaways unforgettable. The all-new Volvo S40 will be on display in Bloomingdale's stores around the United States starting March 11.

Why such a big campaign?
"It's not enough to just reach people with a campaign," says Thomas Andersson, VCNA Executive Vice President, Marketing. "We want to go beyond that and touch and move people as well. "The campaign is surprising, refreshing and cool, yet reassuringly Volvo at the same time. The tone we are using is youthful and confident, but not arrogant. With this campaign we will show that Volvo can be sexy and fun."
Adweek.com reports that "the scenarios were selected because they were two areas of pop culture that fetishized cars the most, said Kevin Roddy, executive creative director and partner at the New York agency. RalliSport game developers created footage for the video game commercial, and music video director Dave Meyers directed the music video-style spot. The latter was shot in Barcelona, Spain, and features music from hip-hop group Dilated Peoples. Ernest Lupinacci served as art director and copywriter on the campaign."

UPDATE: I found the the latest Antoine Bardou-Jacquet ad for Ford Fiesta here. Link found at The Mill. I'd love to find another version of the ad though as this one doesn't appear to have the audio mixed in yet.