Meme Machine

New "Puntastic" Kmart Ad Goes Viral, But Is It Funnier Than 'Ship My Pants'?

2013-05-24T08:32:36Z

Kmart is back with a new "puntastic" ad campaign. Fresh from the huge success of 'Ship My Pants' - which last month became the 11th most shared commercial of all time - the US retail chain has created a new video to promote its Shop Your Way rewards programme.

Called "Big Gas Savings" (say it again and you will see the joke), not only is it created by the same agency as "Ship My Pants" - Chicago-based Draftfcb - but even features many of the same actors.

The ad is currently motoring its way up the Unruly Viral Video Chart, racking up an astonishing 138,000 shares and 911,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Like many sequels, the success of the first campaign is driving a lot of attention around the second installment.

However, like a lot of sequels, it's just not quite as funny as the original. Watch it, and let us know what you think.

New Call Of Duty Trailer Storms Its Way Up The Unruly Viral Video Chart

2013-05-23T20:16:42Z

It's the most highly-anticipated videogame of the year. Now Call Of Duty: Ghosts has the hottest trailer.

The latest installment of one of the biggest videogame franchises of all time is not due out until November 5, but already fireworks are going off on the Unruly Viral Video Chart.

Since its launch on May 21, the action-packed two-and-a-half minute trailer has racked up over 318,000 shares and 5.5 million views.

So what can we expect from the 10th Call of Duty? Well, a whole new adventure. by the looks of the new ad campaign.

Developed by Infinity Ward and boasting slicker graphics and new multi-player features, the game focuses on the "Ghosts", who are basically super soldiers that are left to fend for themselves after America's armed forces are crippled by war.

It's also got some kind of super dog in it. How could you resist?

Louis Vuitton's Handy Guide To Packing Clothes Races Up Unruly Viral Video Chart

2013-05-23T08:24:12Z

Let's face it, packing clothes can be a nightmare. We've all been there - you have fine minutes to somehow cram four weeks of clothes into a small suitcase, without creasing them completely.

Personally, I just throw them all in there and then sit on the suitcase to fasten it. However, thanks to fashion label Louis Vuitton, I may not have to anymore.

They have come up with a handy video which explains the correct way to fold and pack clothes so they take up the least amount of space and ironing time.

You can even choose which item of clothing you want from the menu in the video.

The handy video is currently trending on the Unruly Viral Video Chart, with almost 8,500 shares over the last 24 hours, and is a good example of a brand thinking outside the box - or should that be inside a suitcase?

Roger Federer Kills A Fly, Gabby Douglas Becomes A 'Cat Flap Burglar' In Nike Free Campaign

2013-05-22T11:03:14Z

Gymnast Gabby Douglas - Olympic hero, the golden girl of US sport...and now an international cat burglar. Or should that be 'cat flap burglar'.

That's right, in the latest ad campaign from Nike - created by W+K, Oregon - Gabby shows off her unique flexibility by somehow opening a door by sticking her leg through the cat flap at her family home.

But, of course, the point is not to show how flexible Douglas is - we already know that - or to defy logic by opening a door that was apparently already unlocked, but more to show how flexible and comfortable the new Nike Free training shoe is.

However, the 17-year-old is not the only sports star to limber up in the campaign. Tennis superstar Roger Federer uses the new sneaker to swot a fly at his spacious Swiss home, while track-and-field stars, Ashton Eaton and Allyson Felix, also star in 'Toy Claw'.

Roger Federer - Fly

Nike - Toy Claw

New Pitbull And Arianna Music Video Blurs Lines Between Music Video And Advertising, Could Be Music To Ears Of Brands

2013-05-21T13:34:57Z

Is this new video starring Italian singer Arianna and Pitbull a music video or an ad for Fiat?

Judging from recent entries on to the Unruly Viral Video Chart, it's the kind of question that could well be asked with a lot more frequency over the coming months.

Of course, product placements are nothing new. From shameless movie sequences to stars being 'caught' with shopping bags by paps, we have all seen celebs flaunt their supposed tastes in fashion, cellphones and cars for extra cash over the years.

But lately it's noticeable we are seeing more and more videos which could arguably be identified as both a music video and a full-blown ad.

Take Arianna's video Sexy People, which also stars American rapper Pitbull and boasts a cameo from Charlie Sheen, for example (below).

The Italian pop star was last year asked by a friend who produces music for TV commercials to record a few lines of a Neapolitan folk song, Torna a Surriento, for a Fiat campaign.

The recorded song, also featuring Pitbull and bracketed as '(The FIAT Song)', was originally used in a Fiat ad called "Immigrants", launched way back in July 2012.

But rather than starring the two pop stars, the traditional commercial instead showed the Fiat 500 range travelling under the sea to reach America. In other words, just a typical ad.

However, possibly guided by the popularity of the song, the Italian car brand has come back with a video that uses elements of the original ad (cars travelling under sea), but this time uses Arianna and Pitbull as the stars of the show. Uploaded on to Arianna's popular Vevo channel on April 26 with a updated remix, the result is almost the perfect hybrid of an ad and a music video.

In fact, despite it quite blatantly being a music video, it has not stopped some in the YouTube comments section to call it, 'the greatest commercial I have ever seen!"

Rather predictably, the video has attracted a lot of interest across the internet, with already almost 7 million views and more than 130,000 shares.

But why is mixing the two, just like Beyonce did to a lesser degree with recent popular ad spots for Pepsi and H&M, such a significant trend in social video advertising?

After all, isn't this just another music video with a slightly more blatant product placement?

Well, for me, it is the next logical step for advertisers looking to engage the social web. In fact, the only thing surprising about it is there have not been more brands doing it. Why? Well, for three very good reasons:

As the advance in technology blurs the line between content watched on TV and video content watched online on mobile and laptop devices, it's only natural that more and more brands are happy to embrace their roles as content creators. And what is the most popular video content online? Music videos, of course - by a long way. Just look at the top 100 most shared videos on the Unruly Viral Video Chart and you will see what I mean. Altogether, of the top 100, only one, Kony 2012 at #62, is not a music video. A huge viral sensation, like Talking Twin Babies, barely makes it on to the top 200;

While guidelines strictly enforced by the ASA mean that TV viewers are protected from over-zealous advertisers, online campaigns - also subject to strict guidelines - are less regulated;

Music and advertising is a magical combination. Look at the greatest online ads of all time, and the vast majority boast an incredible song or catchy jingle. It's not hard to see why. After all, recent academic research has found that the most shared ads are the ones which elicit the strongest emotions from its audience. And what better way to elicit strong feelings of joy, sadness or exhilaration than through music?

It's certainly music to the ears of a lot of advertisers, but whether it is a trend that will catch on, we will have to wait and see.

Cute New AT&T Ad Will Blow Your Mind

2013-05-20T20:12:46Z

Is there anything more annoying for adults than having to admit to children that you are wrong and they are right?

Well, maybe we should ask this guy from the latest ad in AT&T's It's Not Complicated TV campaign.

Children do say the funniest things, but sometimes they can annoyingly come up with the smartest things.

So when he asks a group of kids in a classroom to come up with the biggest number they can think of, he probably wasn't expecting one of them to beat his own number, especially when one of his cheeky interviewees had earlier offered '10'.

Suffice to say, his response to being trumped is priceless, pushing this short TV ad into the Unruly Viral Video Chart's top 20 most shared ads over the last 24 hours.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Sort Of) Does The Harlem Shake For YouTube Comedy Week

2013-05-20T10:20:44Z

As we all know, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a comedy legend. Who could forget his hilarious performances on Twins, Jingle All The Way and, best yet, The Expendables 2?

So when Arnie says something is funny, you listen, particularly when he is willing to participate in the Harlem Shake and even attempt Ben Stiller’s famous Blue Steel pose to make his point.

What has got him so excited, you may ask? Well, YouTube this week launched its first ever comedy week, and The Terminator star was more than happy to add his considerable muscle behind it.

Not that Arnie himself will be tuning in to watch seven days of brand new videos and live events from some of the biggest names in comedy. He simply does not have the time in between visits to the gym.

But Schwarzenegger is confident that with acts such as The Lonely Island, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller all lined up this week, that it will be a week to remember.

Comedy Week started yesterday, prompting a huge surge in shares for this video. The ad has so far attracted over 3.1 million views and almost 40,000 shares since its release on May 13.

Arnie is back!

Cracking New Ad From Rhett & Link Will Make You Wince In Pain

2013-05-17T10:07:03Z

The Commercial Kings, Rhett & Link, are back with a new commercial - and this cracking campaign will make you feel even more uncomfortable than their usual ads.

It's for the Ryan Lee Chiropractic Center, in Los Angeles, and essentially consists of the eponymous Lee cracking the bones and contorting the bodies of a number of his patients.

His tagline is "Gentle. Comfortable. Professional" - but by the looks of the terrified faces of the array of attractive ladies he has on his table and the sickening, bone-crunching noises that accompanies every procedure he makes, I'm not so sure about the second adjective.

However, as always, The Commercial Kings have come up with an ad that is far more watchable than it should be.

Volkwagen's New Safety Ad Will Make Your Heart Skip A Beat

2013-05-16T08:25:48Z

Here is an ad that is sure to wake you from your morning drowsiness with a jolt. Volkswagen's "Lucky Man" may start like a saccharin-sweet breakfast treat, but it certainly doesn't end that way.

Created by Deutsch LA, the commercial begins with the perfect family man waking up from his perfect slumber in his perfect house. Let's call him Jim.

Jim kisses his perfect wife and then bonds perfectly over the breakfast table with his son. Even the song - a cover of Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Lucky Man" by My Morning Jacket's Jim James - perfectly portrays Jim's life. Lucky Jim!

But can Jim's luck last? Well, clearly, Jim has taken his blessed life a little bit too casually as he seems to think that if he reverses into the path of a speeding car he will somehow avoid an accident.

Well, he doesn't, but thanks to the Volkswagen Passat (and the vehicle's coveted status as a 2013 IIHS Top Safety Pick) he escapes unscathed. Not sure about the other driver, though!

The choice of music is, of course, ironic. Jim is a lucky sod, but the fact that he walked away from the accident is more down to the vehicle's design, not luck.

Directed by MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen, who also shot the Cannes-conquering "The Bear" spot for BETC and Canal+, the spot is a well-made safety message that could well make you think twice the next time you buy a car.

Are These The Strangest Old Spice Ads Of All Time?

2013-05-15T08:56:51Z

A baby with muscles, a giant bearded man who vomits Old Spice shaving gel cans, solar panels that can talk - are the newest Old Spice ads also the strangest?

It certainly seems that way. Sure, we have become accustomed to the male grooming brand's weakening grip on reality. We can even tolerate listening to shouty Terry Crews once in a while.

But the latest couple of ads - once again put together by W+K - make surreal TV show Twin Peaks look like the most warts-and-all episode of One Born Every Minute.

Clearly, Old Spice is in some kind of battle with Skittles to see whose festering lizard brain can out-David Lynch the other. On the evidence of these two ads, the P&G brand has just taken the lead.

In the first ad, "Baby", there are talking socks, a talking bed, a talking mouse, and, of course, talking solar panels. But these are relatively normal compared to 'Crews Jr', who appears ripped like his dad.

In the second ad, "Shave", we see a giant wake up in hospital confused. No wonder, as he seems to have Crews tangled up in his beard armed with a razor. But he can't have a shave without gel, right? Well, thankfully, one just so happens to spew from his mouth. Job done!

Old Spice's descent into sheer madness is charming, but the best part of both ads is the call to action at the end - "Download this to Your Face!"

Baby

Shave