Another Pet-Food Ad Makes a Dog-Whistle Sound Spot speaks directly to canines

Fetching a gimmick that's highly suspect, Bakers dog food, a Purina brand in Britain, has embellished one of its commercials (in which pooches hijack a delivery truck filled with product) with a whistle sound that the client claims only canines can hear. The goal is apparently to make dogs take notice and bark at the TV, thus catching the attention of their owners. (Yeah, great way to endear the brand to humans. "Dammit, Fluffy, shut up!") Beneful tried the same tactic in Austria last year. We haven't heard much about that campaign since, though of course we wouldn't, as sounds above 18,000 hertz can't be detected by the human ear. Actually, most commercials would be improved if we couldn't hear their voiceovers and soundtracks, though there are exceptions.

The Week on AdFreak: Feb. 3-10, 2012 'Mad Men' ads remixed, the best movie poster of 2011, and Will Ferrell's great Super Bowl spot for Old Milwaukee

The 10 most-read AdFreak posts from the past seven days:
1. Old Milwaukee Airs Will Ferrell Super Bowl Ad in Nebraska
2. Super Bowl Backlash: The Five Most Debated Commercials
3. Falling Man on 'Mad Men' Posters Gets Some Visitors
4. Grainy Footage Reveals Draftfcb's Unorthodox Training Methods
5. OK Go Smacks 1,157 Instruments with a Chevy Sonic
6. Was This the Best Movie Poster of 2011?
7. James Franco Tries Advertising, Directs Spots for Seven Jeans
8. Courtney Stodden Stars in Worst Ad of 2012 So Far
9. Doritos Pays Double to 'Crash the Super Bowl' Winners
10. Jack in the Box: If You Love Bacon, Why Don't You Marry It?

Grammy Promos Star Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, Skrillex and Adele Lovely spots by TBWA\Chiat\Day

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards, unofficially subtitled the 2012 Adele Lovefest, is happening this Sunday. To promote it, the Recording Academy and TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles did these lovely little (mostly) animated promos, themed "We are music," featuring Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, Skrillex…and, oh look, Adele. This is the fifth consecutive year that TBWA\Chiat\Day and the Recording Academy have partnered on the Grammy marketing campaign. Three more spots, and a comprehensive look at the whole campaign, after the jump.

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Amazon's Kindle Ice Queen Is Back, Now With a Couple of Kids Brand takes another shot at Apple's iPad

After seeing Samsung's spirited swing at Apple users, Amazon's continuing anti-Apple pandering just feels weak. The new ad for the Kindle Fire pits a dorky, single iPad user against a Kindle-reading mom in a bikini—the same ice queen from the 2010 spot, though now she's warmed up a bit and seems to have a couple of kids. They might as well show the Kindle riding a dragon in space if they're this desperate to make it look appealing. Gizmodo pokes some more holes in the new spot, saying that ripping the iPad for not being like the Kindle is like "making fun of a Lexus for not being a Kia." And the Los Angeles Times points out that Amazon is losing money on every Kindle it sells. Of course, Amazon is making up for that by Walmarting the publishing industry out of existence, so they won't be going belly-up anytime soon.

Chipotle's Famous Willie Nelson Spot Getting a Run on TV Stop-motion masterpiece will air on Sunday's Grammys

It's fitting that Chipotle's stirring two-minute "Back to the Start" film—released last summer on the Internet and in theaters, supporting sustainable farming practices—will make its national TV debut during this Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast on CBS. After all, "what makes the spot truly transcendent is the music," noted my colleague Tim Nudd in ranking the clip second on Adweek's list of the best commercials of 2011. Coldplay's "The Scientist," sung here with resonant intensity by Willie Nelson, sports lines amazingly attuned to the subject matter: "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart." The soundtrack adds immeasurable power and depth to the stop-motion tale (crafted by Chipotle, CAA and Nexus director Johnny Kelly) of a farmer who eschews industrial methods and releases his animals to roam and graze. Nelson's performance is achingly honest as he acknowledges by nuance and inflection the missteps of the past while looking ahead to a brighter future that's by no means assured. It's an affecting and memorable performance, one that might well upstage the selections presented on the actual broadcast.

Sir Paul McCartney Loves His New Wife…and JBL Equipment Ex-Beatle stars in Doner's new work

Two of this week's big themes—love and music—come together in this Doner commercial for JBL starring none other than Sir Paul McCartney. The former Beatle recently married again and wrote a song called "My Valentine" for his new wife. The song is featured in the JBL spot, which will break Sunday during the Grammy Awards, two days before Valentine's Day. "JBL is synonymous with great sound and has consistently met the standards for my music," McCartney says. "I've used JBL's professional equipment throughout my career as a recording artist and touring musician. I want my fans to 'hear the truth,' and that's what JBL delivers." So, is that Nancy Shevell lying in bed in the spot? We're guessing no. A print and online campaign for JBL will follow. JBL will also be a sponsor of McCartney's upcoming summer tour. "My Valentine" is the first single from Sir Paul's new album, Kisses on the Bottom, which was released this week.

Clothing Brand Helps You Love the One You're Not With Moosejaw creates permission slips for affairs this Valentine's Day

If your idea of a great Valentine's Day gift is passionate sex with someone other than the person you're actually dating, then Moosejaw Mountaineering has got your back. The quirky clothing retailer has created a permission slip (link goes to a PDF) that asks your loved one to officially endorse your fling with someone else. The form, offered up today to Facebook fans, begins with a description of how nature's notoriously promiscuous bonobo apes use sex to alleviate social conflict. "With that beautiful spirit in mind," the form says, "I'd like to ask you something." Applicants can request permission to "snuggle," "French," or "fully do it" with a person "you know that I've always loved." It's quite a touching gesture, one that harkens back to the brand's previous attempt at relationship support: "The Moosejaw Breakup Service." They also created an X-ray specs app that helps you view Moosejaw catalog models in their underwear. Obviously, Moosejaw's marketing research has found there's intrinsic value in keeping its customers unattached and oversexed.

Ben Stein Is Pissed He Wasn't in Honda's Ferris Bueller Ad Wants a 'top-of-the-line Toyota' as payment

Ben Stein would have enjoyed Honda's Ferris Bueller ad for the Super Bowl, if it hadn't disrespected him so badly. "They had a guy imitating my voice, they should've had me in it," Stein tells one of the goons from TMZ upon being ambushed at an airport. Frankly, if RPA passed on having Alan Ruck (aka Cameron) appear in the spot, there wasn't much chance for Stein—even though a bellhop in the ad (above) does imitate Stein's teacher character from the movie by droning "Broderick? Broderick?" Asked if he feels disrespected, Stein replies, "A little bit, yeah." He actually says he liked the spot, but adds: "Just my humble opinion, but since they used my voice ... they should give me a top-of-the-line Toyota … I mean, Honda!" At least he remembered the brand—barely.

Courtney Stodden Stars in Worst Ad of 2012 So Far Plays a mermaid in parody spot

[Note: This is not a real FreeCreditScore.com ad. See update below.]
     Jezebel's writers can be a little overly sensitive, but they're right to heap abuse on this Courtney Stodden ad for freecreditreport.com, because it's just aggressively stupid. The "I'm so wet" line makes no sense, which the article points out. Plus, how do you even catch a mermaid with a fish hook. Plus, Stodden doesn't turn 18 until August, meaning the natural reaction male viewers might have is still technically a felony. That didn't stop her chickenhawk husband, of course (incidentally, he was the weaselly prison guard in The Green Mile), but it still sent a horrible douche chill up my spine. This ad makes GoDaddy look upscale.
     UPDATE: FreeCreditScore.com tells AdFreak in a statement: "Ms. Stodden's video is a parody on an assignment that FreeCreditScore.com initiated with PopTent. While we appreciate Ms. Stodden's enthusiasm and interpretation of the assignment, FreeCreditScore.com had no involvement in the creation or funding of her video, nor was her video approved by FreeCreditScore.com."

Cycle of Life: Resetting L.A.'s Smoking Deaths Billboard Once a year, for a moment, a clean slate

Ushering in the new year at the Smoking Deaths billboard above Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A. has become a somewhat morbid yet surprisingly meaningful tradition. Each year, just before midnight on Jan. 1, locals gather to watch as the numbers, which tally the nation's annual smoking-related deaths, are manually reset to zero. Onlookers aren't necessarily drawn by personal ties to smoking or cancer. A mixture of curiosity, camaraderie and community compel most to make the scene. Gideon Brower, in an affecting piece in the L.A. Times, describes the scene this past New Year's Eve: "About 30 celebrants … watched as the huge counter on the billboard slowly turned from 420,127 to six brightly lit zeros, and then to one zero. Some people cheered. The mood was light. Even the sign seemed to join the party: For this brief moment, there was not one smoking death in America. And then, inevitably, the counter turned over. One death. Then two. Then three. After that, people walked home or drove away. … By the time I left, the death toll was up to 18." The West L.A. gathering is infinitely more intimate, poignant and real than the the bombastic, mass-media-driven ball drop in Times Square. The life-and-death nature of the sign's message seems especially in tune to the trials, terrors and hard-won triumphs of daily existence. In the 60 seconds or so before the Smoking Deaths billboard begins its countdown anew, onlookers collectively exhale, sharing a renewed determination to press on. Photo by Gideon Brower.