The Guardian reports that the OAA campaign designed to promote the effectiveness of billboard advertising has withdrawn the poster that read: "Career women make bad mothers" after an outcry from the offended public. "Educashun Isn't Working" and "1966. It Won't Happen This Year" will be running instead.

The campaign was devised by veteran creative Garry Lace, from the Beta agency, to show the power of billboard advertising as an alternative to digital advertising. He was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

This Badlander is hilarious, and classic. The ideas are good, and unusual, they appeared in the same city, only ten days apart (or less even). If there was ever a time I'd bet on the idea-God messing with creatives heads, this one is it.

Around the 16th/17 of December, TBWA\Neboko sent people with giant boxes out in the Christmas shopping crowd. Presumably, they had bought some lucky fellar a walk-in-fridge, just like in that ad. This made for eye-catching ambient, especially as people were trying to bring them on trams.

Clearchannel have been looking at the plethora of bus handle ad stunts created around the world and thought it was high time to promote this possible ad-space to be used on a regular basis in Stockholm. They reached out to Triwa and offered the space coupled with an idea on how they might use it, and Triwa jumped on the opportunity of getting their "colorful watch" message out to commuters. Now that the ads are running we can't help but notice how it looks cribbed straight from Jung von Matt's award winning IWA Large Pilot Watch campaign. Tsssk.

Anyone who is a bit of a geek (like me) knows about the Mojave Phone Booth. It has its own "Mojave Phone booth" wikipedia page summarizing its raise to fame and later demise due to all the traffic of geeks who went there just to play with it. It was removed in 2000, and even the plaque placed there has been removed by the National Park Service. *sigh*

It was the very first thing I thought of when I read this:

Here at TVF we have just launched the very first attempt of live viral ever. 
We put a guy in the desert of the south of Spain, his name is Rob, with a camp and a phone box, and he will be there answering calls of anyone from
around the world. And there will be an amazing suprise...
Check this out: phoneboxexperiment.com

Who will be the first one to enter this viral into the Mojave phone booth wikpedia page, I wonder. I should probably care about the sender, or wonder what the surprise may be, instead I'm busy pouring out a little jolt on the ground for old desert phone-booths no longer with us.

It's already five years ago that Caff wrote Tag mimicking Axe and warned about the dangers of copying someone elses exact strategy. " if a consumer doesn't watch through to the end when the board comes up with the tag line and brand name, there's every reason to assume that people will be thinking that Tag's advertising is for Axe (or even Old Spice Red Zone). Causing confusion for consumers isn't really what I'm sure Arnold was intending to do. But by letting this ad get out to the airwaves, that's most likely what is going to happen."

Funny, the only thing she didn't predict was that Lynx (Axe) would be copying visual executions of Old Spice Red Zone. It's come full circle with the new "Bullet" campaign showing Lynx snow angels.

The idea is the same as in the 2005 execution of Old Spice Red Zone. Funny.

To be honest, I don't think this is much of a Badlander, but I hafta keep up my title of most hated person on the ad-intarwebs in order to keep my rightful place on your dart boards, so here ya go.

The recently released HiFi-klubben hamster ad created by Lowe Brindfors, Stockholm and shot by Bacon, Copenhagen has been accused in emails to the hostmaster of borrowing its murderous hamster legs from G4/Midnight Spank. Lets watch, shall we. Get the the popcorn.

And, as it aired back in April, the G4 midnight spank from BBDO/ New York and shot by Daniel Kleinman at Kleinman Productions.

Fair enough, they both have deadly hamsters in it. Had they been white bunny rabbits with pointy teeth the Rabbit of Caerbannog comparisons would never end. What do you think, total coincidence or borrowed idea?