Entries from June 2011 ↓

Latch on to the news of the day and—voila!—an ad campaign appears. W Hotels, nimble in its marketing and liberal in its thinking, just launched a "Right to Unite" package that's perfectly timed for the summer tourist season and New York's newly passed same-sex marriage bill. At W properties in New York, couples can get a car service to and from City Hall (or upgrade with festivities at the hotel), a "Right to Unite" Flip camera to document the nuptials, champagne, cake, dress and/or suit spiffing, and a hotel suite. (Honeymooners who want a tropical getaway can also check out the W Vieques in Puerto Rico.) Expect many more marketing messages and offers like this, as New York becomes the sixth state to recognize same-sex unions. In fact, NYC & Co., the city's official tourism agency, is already at work on a global marketing campaign called "NYC I Do" to promote the city as the top gay-wedding destination in the U.S. Love, humanity, consumerism! Ain't it sweet?

In keeping with Adweek's comedy issue, there's was plenty of funny business going on this week. We looked at 10 of the most amusing commercials ever made, and also witnessed some humorous new work—including a menstrual brand's song about the vagina, and a British farmer's wild and woolly ads-on-sheep initiative. Oh, and a 30-second spot put an end to a 16-year manhunt. Our most-wanted stories from this week, after the jump.

1. The Funniest Ads Ever
   
   Hey, someone had to pick them. These were our choices for the 10 commercials that had the last laugh in a world full of comic ads. 10 Funniest Commercials of All Time
2. The Vagina Song

   Who doesn't love a good song about vaginas? British ad agency St. Luke's and Mooncup (makers of an insertable, reusable, silicon menstrual cup) sure so. They collected more than 14,000 nicknames for the vagina and put 25 of them into a song. Not a family song. Menstrual Brand Squeezes 25 Pet Names for Vagina Into New Song

3. TV Spot Catches a Mobster

   A 30-second spot ended a mobster's 16 years on the run this week. Legendary Boston mobster Whitey Bulger was arrested in California after a tipster saw a new television PSA about the case and recognized Bulger's girlfriend. The 30-second spot—not quite sleeping with the fishes. Here's the Ad That Led the FBI to Whitey Bulger

4. Facebook That Looks Like Excel

   Diesel's "Be Stupid at Work" app makes Facebook look like an Excel spreadsheet, allowing you to continue circulating unfunny memes when you should be working. Slackers, rejoice! Diesel Makes Facebook Look Like Excel, so You Can Slack Off at Work

5. Ads on Sheep
   
   Consumers are often described as sheep, so perhaps they will be receptive to ad messages scrawled on the farm-animal variety? That's the hope of one British farmer, anyway, who was blocked from placing billboards on a nearby highway. No one's going to pull the wool over this guy's nose. British Farmer Gets Wild and Woolly With Ads on Sheep
6. Heidi Klum Gets Naked (Again)
   
   It's not really news—but Heidi Klum stripped down for a new ad promoting season 9 of Project Runway. "I guess you could say 'Hans and Franz' are celebrating season nine!" she said, referring to her breasts. Does that mean they're artificially pumped up? Heidi Klum Gets Naked for Latest 'Project Runway' Ad

Imagine, if you would, a world without bees. Nobody gets stung. Pretty sweet, huh? Like honey, I'd say. Alas, there's a cutesy campaign in the U.K. from ad agency LIDA (using illustrations by Magnus Muhr) designed to generate support for the buzzy bastards, which have become endangered in recent years. The bees in this pro-bono effort are admittedly adorable. Well, OK, they're dead bees affixed to cartoon images and then photographed for print and video ads. Anyway, they suffer all sorts of urban mishaps and wind up in hospital beds, on stretchers and—most ironically—hooked up to I.V.s. In real life, of course, these yellow-jacketed flying furies would dive-bomb Buckingham Palace, jab those dopey guards in the ass and install their own queen to reign over the humans spared to toil in the hives. Ultimately, the British Isles would resemble the bee-centric world envisioned in that Vodafone campaign from last year. I say, if bees are heading for extinction, good riddance! As for the broader ecosystem, I assume some other species will learn how to pollinate flowers. Probably sheep. Via Osocio.