The Week on AdFreak, April 18-22, 2011

The best of AdFreak for the week of April 18, 2011. Old Spice [jwplayer dcmloUP8-1kT9Z8rj] It was a celebrity-heavy week on AdFreak, but the biggest star of all turned out to be an unfamiliar face—Old Spice's new super-suave spokesman introduced in ads overseas for the brand's Danger Zone line of products. In a hilarious spot by Wieden + Kennedy, our hero treks through a jungle in pursuit of a woman, getting ravaged along the way by snakes, crocodiles, and pirañas—and hit by a bus. But he proudly survives, even if all flesh below his waist does not. The ads may target non-U.S. markets, but Isaiah Mustafa might be quivering in his towel nonetheless. Brand-New Manly Man Freshens Up Old Spice Campaign Celebrity billboards A pair of celebrity billboards were notable for their hilarity this week. First, Rebecca Black, the 13-year-old star of the much-loathed YouTube hit "Friday," erected a monument to herself in Hollywood—a garish billboard celebrating 100 million views. Also in Hollywood, Mike Tyson appeared, bizarrely, on a Last Chance for Animals billboard advocating veganism. "Love animals, don't eat them," said the board, showing Tyson kissing a dove—and surely not biting the side of its head in the process. Rebecca Black Celebrates Herself With Giant Billboard Mike Tyson Gets Even Kinder, Gentler on Billboard Tuki Brando Another curious celebrity ad presented itself on Friday—a new print execution for luxury watch brand TechnoMarine starring Marlon Brando's grandson, Tuki Brando. Tuki isn't your ordinary spoiled celebrity progeny. His father was shot dead before he was born; his mother committed suicide; and his grandfather left him out of his will. If you can survive that, you're probably not taking much for granted in life. A fascinating figure in a fascinating advertisement. Marlon Brando's Grandson: Not Your Typical Ad Model Kate Moss [jwplayer NCwbvCAl-1kT9Z8rj] We wrap up our celebrity beat this week with Kate Moss's crazy-odd commercial for Chilean clothier Basement in which she breeds with a giant rabbit. After seducing the bunny with her charms, as well a big bunch of carrots, the supermodel wakes the next day to find herself surrounded by little Moss-Bunny offspring. How this sells clothes is unclear, but it's a decent safe-sex PSA. Kate Moss Breeds With a Bunny in Lunatic Fashion Ad Honda Civic The most enjoyable new mainstream advertising of the week was the Honda Civic work out of RPA. The campaign rolled out Wednesday, and features a motley cast of characters—a zombie, a woodsman, a ninja, a luchador and a monster—to make the point that there's a Civic for everyone. Zombies might be getting a little tired as ad characters go, but RPA at least freshened this one up by showing him losing his arms during a golf swing. Honda Civic Perfect for Zombies and Other Freaks Sexist weight-loss ad The most sexist ad of the week might be the most sexist ad ever—a print ad for an Indian weight-loss tablet with the headline: "Hubby is coming back ... I must look fit and pretty." The first-person narrative is truly horrifying, as the woman says she is "very much fond of ice creams and fast foods" and has "a dirty tummy with abdominal tyres killing my body shape." The readers at Jezebel, where we spotted the ad, were upset about the content, sure, but they also loudly objected to the double spaces at the end of each sentence. Because you know, the ad might be sexist—but it's also a typographical nightmare. Weight-Loss Ad Might Be the Most Sexist Ever Honest logos Finally, we discovered a wonderful project this week from Swedish design artist Viktor Hertz called "Honest Logos." Basically, he recasts logos to reflect what the brand is really used for—CatVideos instead of YouTube, of course. He's done a handful of these redesigns, and he needs to do more. If Brand Logos Were a Little More Honest

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The Week on AdFreak, April 18-22, 2011

Tim Nudd

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