Not All Dollar Shave Club Rip Offs Are Funny

While this Pure Storage video follows Dollar Shave Club fairly closely, it's really two minutes of waiting for something that's actually funny to happen. Sadly, it never really happens. Which doesn't necessarily make it bad. It's just not as good as it could be. Capiche?

Suicide Prevention Effort Makes Interesting Use of 'Skip Ad' Function

Publicis Brussels has created an ad for the Belgian suicide prevention line, Centre du Prevention de Suicide, that makes creative use of the pre-roll skip ad feature. The work aims to recruit good listeners for the prevention line.

Those who don't listen to the woman in the ad and hit "skip ad" are shown a scene that results in suicide. Those who don't click "skip ad" and listen to the woman's story get thanked by the woman and are shown the recruitment message.

t's an interesting approach both for the use of the "skip ad" feature and for its commentary on today's world where everyone is in a rush and doesn't care about the well being of others.

Of course, we can't really conclude that people who don't skip the ad will be good prevention line listeners or that people who do skip the ad won't be but we do like the analogy Publicis used.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Don't Text And Drive

In a new BBDO New York-created PSA for the It Can Wait campaign, we meet Xzavier, a boy who, while in a crosswalk, was hit by a driver who was texting. His mother explains what happened to her son and wonders whether the text, "Im on my way," sent by the girl who struck her son was really that important.

The It Can Wait campaign is a partnership between AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile which aims to educate the public on the dangers (and illegality) of texting while driving.

Don't do it this weekend. Or ever for that matter.

How to Insure Your Brand's Digital Experience Properly Serves Consumers

Each year, digital plays an increasing role in the relationship between brand and consumer. And it's showing no signs of slowing. In it's report, Digital Customer Experience Trends to Watch, 20013, Forrester takes a look what kinds of digital experiences shape the relationship between brand and consumer and how these changes will affect how brands communicate with their customers and prospects.

Download the report now to make sure your brand is on track to provide the right digital experience for your customers and prospects.

JWT Amsterdam's Creative Use of Retargeting Rejuvenates Ad Banner

Here's one of the most interesting uses of retargeting technology we've seen in a while. For those who don't know, in a nutshell, retargeting allows marketers to, in essence, "tag" you when you visit a particular site (on which they have placed an ad banner) and then show you another banner (retarget you) on another. Most marketers simply show you the same banner over and over again.

JWT Amsterdam approached retargeting a bit more intelligently and used the technology to tell a story.

JWT client, Dutch Customs, wanted to inform travelers it's illegal to bring back fake designer bags and small knifes from holiday destinations around the world. The agency created re-targeting banners in which street vendors attempt to sell the travelers these products and placed them on travel websites.

Using retargeting, the street vendors followed a person around as they visited various travel sites delivering ever more desperate pleas for people to buy their products each time. After several version of the banners were delivered across multiple site, the final message was delivered: it's not OK to bring these items back into the Netherlands.

Check out the case video below. See? The ad banner may not yet be dead.

Microsoft Reduces Apple's iPad to 'Chopsticks'

The Apple bashing is heating up again. Joining Samsung in the battle against Apple, Microsoft is out with a new commercial that takes on Siri's less than perfect multitasking skills. In the ad, a Windows 8 tablet sits next to an iPad and while the Windows 8 tablet gets busy, Sire simply can't keep up, "I'm sorry, I can only do one thing at a time. I guess PowerPoint isn't one of those things. Should we just play 'Chopsticks?'"

The ad leads to a page on which a comparison can be made between the Windows 8 tablet and the iPad.

Kmart Now Offers 'Big Gas Savings'

It seems Kmart plans to embark upon campaign filled with alliteration and word play. Having recently shipped it's pants, Kmart is now offering Big Gas Savings. Will this latest outing from Draftfcb top the original's 17 million YouTube views? Does a 4th grader love to tell fart jokes?

Why Your Emails Should Be Designed For Mobile [Infographic]

Did you know that 75% of the companies do not optimize email for mobiles yet? With 43% of the people now reading and responding emails through mobiles -- a figure that is expected to hit 50% in 2013 -- coupled with the fact 97% of the people view emails once, it becomes clear marketers should design emails to render properly on mobile devices.

Check out this infographic that's packed with charts and graphs that share how mobile is permeating the email experience.

Forget Preachy PSAs, Agency Discovers How to Actually Stop Drunk Driving

PSA campaigns have traditionally relied upon scare tactics to make their point. But for many young people who feel they are invincible, this approach rarely works. So how do you get young people to listen -- and in the case of Don't Drink and Drive efforts -- actually insure people do not drive drunk? You literally stop them. As in, like literally.

And that's exactly what Publicis Brussels did for Belgium-based Responsible Young Drivers. On the weekend of of its 22nd anniversary at Belgium's most famous nightclub, Carre, the agency worked with B Park engineers to create a parking lot gate that would only open if a car's driver passed a breathalizer test.

While this was a one-off event and 90% of club goers were sober enough to leave the parking lot, the organization plans to roll this effort out across other venues in the future. Hmm, pretty soon there will be a healthy business for pop up hotels around nightclubs.

NakedWines Does Dollar Shave Club

Following in Dollar Shave Club's footsteps, online wine retailer NakedWInes is out with a video that touts the retailer's frugal methods of operation which allow for offering the consumer better wine at cheaper prices.

It's like a Genie came right out of the bottle.