Still prefer the XXX one, but this is enjoyably crazy:

Do you ever wonder why a wife stays with an abusive husband? As much as those of us who are not that wife find it difficult to understand, I think it’s because of something I refer to as The Whole Package (TWP). I believe that the lady in question adds up all the other factors (place to live, their kids, getting another job, psychological reasons, his looks and status etc.) and decides that the pros outweigh the cons, however bad those cons might be.

For a more a more lightweight example, it’s the same as when you choose to watch an Edward Norton movie despite the fact that you’re not keen on him. That movie might be what your other half wants to see; the subject matter might be of enormous interest to you; it might also star Natalie Portman; you’re just not in the mood for a romantic comedy. So TWP is assessed and you see the movie.

Bus or tube?
Thick and beautiful vs clever and ugly?
Giving to Amnesty over the Red Cross?
Go to the loo before the meeting or risk having to leave during?
Evian or Volvic?
Visit grandma or leave her lonely for another week?

Maybe I’m stating the obvious here, but there are hundreds of factors involved in the various decisions you make on a daily basis.

And advertising can be one of those factors.

Often one tiny one in a crowd of other angels and devils sitting on your shoulders.

It might well have no bearing on your decision at all, but it’s one of the few parts of the process that the owners of the product can control. They can’t tell if you’re in a Twirl mood versus a Twix mood. They have no idea if you have enough change in your pocket to buy an EAT club sandwich. They don’t know if you were planning on buying a Nissan Micra, but just before you got to the showroom you received a text informing you that your hated next-door-neighbour, who happens to own a Nissan Micra, has been making the beast with two backs with your wife.

They can just spend thousands/millions trying to create a good impression and hope that it makes a difference to TWP.

No one said it was easy.

I love Penn and Teller. I saw them at the MGM Grand in Vegas right after I got married.

The only thing I would prefer to the following trick would be a duplicate of it involving Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee:

And don’t forget to vote in the brand new, completely original poll to the right.

Last week’s result showed an astonishing lack of interest in being eaten by mice. Let’s see to what extent you’d prefer to be fucked to death by them.

Sometimes, having two minutes to say something is not a good thing:

I think it was shot by Ringan, although it has a vibe of Traktor circa 2000.

I’d say it’s going to get the kids going potty, and that’s a good thing.

The other good thing is that it’s batshit fucking crazy, and, ironically, we need a few more of those ads to keep us sane.

(Actually, I think that may be the promo for a shorter ad.)

Daryl and I once hired a team called Chris Bowsher and Fran Leach. Fortunately for them, they left our evil clutches and ended up at Dye Holloway Murray, where Dave Dye’s influence will be of far greater benefit than ours ever was.

As proof of this, I present their excellent Economist ‘Pad’; a notepad where each sheet has has an application for the patent office on the reverse. Brilliant, simple, listed at the Campaign BIG Awards:

Also by DHM is this exquisite trade campaign for the same client. It looks to me like the kind of thing that should walk into D&AD several times:

Congrats to Dave Dye, Ollie Wolf, David Goss, Janson Choo, Chris Bowsher and Fran Leach.

Have a lovely weekend. Mine will involve Arsenal and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

But it’s too long and a bit fuzzy.

I think I’m trying to say that I don’t really get it. Was he an alien? Why? I’d have another look but I don’t care enough to watch it twice.

But wait till you read the copy:

Although I write a bit, I’m no more than 80% sure about how to deploy the colon and the semi-colon. However, I am 100% certain the above has got it really fucking wrong.

‘Joy is not being found relaxing in front of the television’? Do you mean that the abstract notion of ‘joy’ does not relax in front of the television, or do you mean that you can experience joy by not being found relaxing in front of the television? Either way, your opening sentence has the verbal equivalent of cerebral palsy. If you mean that you won’t find joy by relaxing in front of the television, I beg to differ. Try watching The Wire or The Sopranos or series two of Deadwood, or Weeds (I could go on). And if the BMW X1 is perfectly engineered to ‘satisfy every whim’ then I fear for the way in which it caters for sadomasochistic paedophiles.

Stop it. Please. YOU ARE MAKING ME HATE YOUR BRAND.

N, from Bristol, writes: ‘I was reading your blog about an ad addict & wondered if you’d seen these cartoons that are running in campaign? I think they’re pretty nifty, but no-one seems to have picked up on them yet. I just dragged the images off the campaign website, there are more on there if they interest you.’

Thanks, N.

I had actually noticed the ‘placement team in the lav’ one, but not the others. To be honest, I think of the diary page of Campaign as the final circle of hell where there will be nothing but pictures of morbidly obese management types in fancy dress, regurgitations of articles from the Home section of the Sunday Wank about how such-and-such Head of Planning has a really nice Aga in their country house and ‘water cooler’ conversations that make me wonder and worry about the sanity of Campaign’s staff. And let’s not even mention the routinely interchangeable pick and turkey of the week.

Anyhoo, yes, N, these cartoons are very good. Witty, perceptive and well-drawn. The artist, Jay Taylor, has a website. Enjoy. meanwhile, here are the cartoons:

PS: I love this ‘crowdsourcing’ of blog posts. Makes me feel great. Until I use the word ‘crowdsourcing’ and then I feel like a prize cunt.

PPS: I can’t get the pics to enlarge. Sorry. They’re just about readable but probably bigger on the website.