Herman Cain's New Ad: Smokin'

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan, which vaulted him to the lead of the pack of 87 Republican hopefuls, was a nice soundbite at first, but has since been quickly gutted by all the other candidates, not to mention the pundits as well as the poor people who can't afford 9% of nothing. But Cain has taken that early jump in popularity to produce the strangest, perhaps coolest ad a presidential hopeful has made in years. It's nearly avant garde, it's so different.



There are no gloriously billowing flags. Cain is not featured with his sleeves rolled up, engaging in tough talk with farmers and laborers or happily mingling with families and babies. The Statue of Liberty is absent, along with the stirring narrative of one man's rise from nothing to a powerful and rich man.

All we get is Cain's Chief of Staff, Mark Block, looking haggard and road-weary, talking to us head-on in a nearly too close close-up in front of a city building. And then! AND THEN he takes a drag from his smoke and exhales. It is the last thing you'd ever expect to see and yet it is perfection. It might even be a subtle dig at the rumors that Obama has never really kicked his nicotine habit.

And they finish the ad with, as expected, an image of Cain himself, and yet it is not at all what you'd expect in the end-of-spot image of the candidate. The background appears to be simple, vertical window blinds, and a slow, nearly eerie smile creeps across Cain's face.

I think Cain's people have just changed the game of political advertising. Shepherd Fairey was a game-changer with his "Hope" poster, but this thing is nearly an indie film. I expect to see some unexpected people taking a fresh look at Cain after this.

Saturated Street Scenes - Madrid, Spain

In front of the US Embassy. Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha sold separately.

Click for the big.

Workplace Motivational Poster

Click for bigger. I think Steve Jobs would be proud.

Saturated Street Scenes - Trégastel, France

It's low tide in the north of France. Click for the bigger.

Here's the map location.

All of these are archived here.

Wow - I Jumped on That Bandwagon Too Early

David Gianatasio at AdFreak points to this spot to prove that the previously blogged about spot getting so much praise lately is nothing more than a blatant rip-off.

Heart-Stringus Tugus Maximus

I Don't Copy Other Blogs. Generally, that's my policy. If it's being talked about all over the Internet, I don't want to be one more unoriginal voice in the echo chamber. I'm going to violate that policy by posting this commercial I just saw over at Copyranter. Such a simple premise with a surprise ending. Spot is for a Pro Infirmis, a Switzerland-based company focused on helping people with disabilities. Watch it twice and it's twice as powerful.  

Inspired by Iceland

Inspired by Iceland is a unique concept in an attempt to generate tourism, and being a resident of the Greater Orlando area, I see my fair share of tourism advertising. Icelanders, including the President, here offering you "delicious pancakes with cream and sugar," are getting together to generate interest in their country as they head into what I can only assume are their hibernation months. I suppose the idea is to show the world, "Hey! We live here year round! Come see why!" Dozens of the country's citizens are offering to act as your personal tour guides, taking you for walks, duck hunting, a thermal foot bath, a cup of tea to discuss literature, birthday parties, concerts, trips to see the Northern Lights and other unique and quaint invitations.

Inspired by Iceland Invitations from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

Everyone hoping to act as a guide made a video, well-shot and well-lit, and it's very intriguing. This lady invites you to help milk her cows, and afterward enjoy a meal in her small restaurant located in a cow shed. If you're interested, you simply link up with the person via a Facebook Connect window below each invitation. Pretty cool. Next up, a campaign to change their country's image by replacing the "Ice" part of their name with something more inviting. 

See, I don't hate everything.

Where Ya Been, Dave?

...asked a friendly email query.

Yeah, sorry. The job has been really crazy busy of late. Writing copy for 120 clients in a soon to be launched partnership between the company I'm with and a major airline. I know so much about day spas, kayaks, dog-sledding, salons and four-course dinners with wine pairings now, it's insane. I'm also learning a lot about Chicago and Denver, the two target cities we've been focusing on. It's actually quite fun to write about so many different things, as opposed to previous jobs where I wrote for one client day in and day out, and usually a client whose goods and/or services I had zero confidence in and would never purchase myself. We expect to launch later this month. I'll keep you posted.

Another thing keeping me busy is the sudden "success" of Radio Free Babylon on Facebook. I hovered around 100 "Likes" for months, but somehow one or two of my comics got shared around Facebook and now I've got thumbs-up all over the place. It's pretty cool, but at the same time now I feel pressure to create more of them, and faster, which is stupid since most internet comics release one a week. I've been on a four-a-day pace since I saw the spike in traffic early this week. Somebody once said, "Leave them wanting more." I should take the weekend off. It's not like anyone is paying me to do these, but I do love to do them. Maybe they will turn into something I can't even foresee at this point. Right now I'm just trying to learn to navigate the strange world of Facebook Fans, something I've done for clients in the past but never for myself. "What is the brand voice?" you find yourself asking yourself. "It's your voice, idiot!" yourself responds.

In other news; Fall has arrived in Florida. This is official as the pool is now too cold for swimming. I tried to prolong the inevitable, jumping in early this week. A Canadian might've found it delightful, but we're wimps down here, and it was "bracing." So soon we'll be pulling out the pants with cloth down to the ankle - whatever they call those things that aren't shorts - and putting on those funny things that cover your feet when you have to wear those other kind of shoes that aren't flip-flops.

Football is here and at Casa de Jetpacks we are thrilled. I hope to find a spot or two from the weekend viewing that is worthy of scorn, mocking, ridicule or praise.