No stranger to controversy (see #1 #2 #3) Music channel Fuse is at it again with a little help from their agency, Amalgamated, N.Y.
Amalgamated's Charles Rosen on the conceptual homage: "Much like Mother's Lilt soda spot spoofing BBH's Levi's 'Odyssey,' or the many commercials spoofing the Honda 'Cog' spot, our campaign is paying tribute to the cultural impact of the Chiat/Day ads. As with any parody, there are elements borrowed from the original that are transformed or twisted, in this case to capture Fuse's brand personality and the lifestyle of its viewers."
The new york post reports that apple is "outraged" about the parodies.
Apple lawyers have been calling Fuse and threatening to sue unless the ads — which went up in outdoor locations in New York City on Monday — are taken down.Not only do the ads resemble Apple's iPod ads, but they also are quite risque: one depicts a man masturbating, while another shows a woman pole dancing.
Apparently, Apple has received numerous calls from iPod users who have expressed outrage over the advertisements, a source said.
Adland® is a commercial-laden heaven and hell for advertising addicts around the world.
This advertising publication was founded in 1996, built on beer and bravery, Adland® now boasts the largest super bowl commercials collection in the world.
Adland® survives on your donations alone. You can help us out by buying us a Ko-Fi. Adland® works best in Brave browser
I agree. I was going to make the exact same comment but andromeda beat me to the punch.
- reply
PermalinkNot only am I stupid. I'm blind to... (or it's just the fact that I'm a cw :))
Like this? ;)
http://w1.243.telia.com/~u24314771/adbusting_chilipot.jpg
- reply
PermalinkNobody is being whipped - they're setting farts on fire. You could see the fart-man do that over ten years ago on David Letterman.
- reply
PermalinkWell... being whipped, getting beer through a hose isn't mainstream for me. ;)
- reply
PermalinkIt surely do.
- reply
PermalinkThey are well-crafted spoofs. I'll give them that. Nicely mimiced design and all.
- reply
PermalinkSure the ads are getting attention. But if people are confused and thinking they are Apple ads, I don't see how that builds any branding or gets any sales for Fuse. Plus, the imagry they are using is supposed to portraying non-mainstream stuff but I don't think that it is. So they're trying to use shocking images to get the attention of their target who isn't into the mainstream stuff, using images that portray stuff that is pretty mainstream these days.
- reply
Permalinkandromeda is correct - I did mean "shocking for attentions sake", which as you can see nulls your argument.
- reply
PermalinkHm... I think I heard it somewhere... where can it be... maybe on the Buzzword Channel :).
The thing is: branding and selling isn't possible without getting the attention. The saying "not attention for attention's sake" is therefore meaningless. Seems more like talk from the ad-men, trying to be artists.
Of course there's no need for more noise, but that's different from trying to get the consumer's attention. The latter is what's the game is about. Or have you found some strange way to brand and sell without getting the consumers' attention?
- reply
PermalinkWe are supposed to sell and brand our clients, not make the most noise that falls on deaf ears. I guess you never heard the expression before deep.ed.
- reply
PermalinkAttention for attention's sake is the name of the game. Serious... isn't it what advertising is all about? No attention, no dough.
- reply
PermalinkFunny me too. They are getting attention though, at least on the web (as any apple parody does). Gizmodo just linked it for instance.
- reply
PermalinkAbsolutely fucking brilliant!
If you never knew FUSE or Amalgamated before, you sure as hell do now!
Advertising at its very best...
- reply
PermalinkMy Milage is the same - while the Sally Struthers ad spoof was a great parody with just the right tone of voice, this fails and falls into a classic trap. Attention for attentions sake is nothing but a cheap trick.
- reply
PermalinkDon't spoil your bloodpressure...
- reply
PermalinkCheap.Trick.
I understand that "fuse" campaign idea seems to be "parody". I loved the sally struthers - that idea kicked bootay - this "idea" does not. First - people are confusing these for actual apple ads - how does that "brand" fuse? Answer - it doesn't! Second - strippers and lighting farts is not mainstream? Since when? That stopped being "shocking" ten years ago. This is the poorest FUSE campaign to date. IMHO and YMMV.
- reply
PermalinkCopy Whore made a good point .. these ads are true attention grabers.
- reply
Permalinkahahah :) gsus they're great .. quite corrosive but with the type of language that Fuse viewers will relate to, no doubt!
ps
- reply
Permalink*giggle* I like it. It says more about the state of Apple than about the said-to-be bad tasting in these ads. Apple is afraid of the Moral Majority. And have forgotten how themselves used to mock other companies. Sad.
- reply
PermalinkTruth is, this FUSE campaign is actually more "creative" than the iPod campaign in that there's an actual idea in the FUSE ads. It seems the iPod bit was just cool iconography...(which, it could be argued, WAS the idea...But that's a different discussion altogether)
- reply
PermalinkThen again, the ipod campaign is hardly a case of unbridled creativity itself. Great media buy and PR yes, but as for an actual creative idea...? Amalgamated has done some much funnier, creative stuff. But this piss-take was great just because heavyweights like apple and mtv got their feathers ruffled...they both could use a reality check, don't you think?
- reply
PermalinkYeah, the campaign will get your attention, but it lacks creativity...or maybe that wasn't Amalgamated's plan. I'm a big fan of MTV's advertising. You can always expect MTV to be original and different.
- reply
PermalinkSeems Amalgamated is the NY hotshop with balls at the moment. Controversial? Brash? Isn't that what NY advertising used to be famous for? Kudos guys, keep it up!
- reply
Permalink