Here's a couple of ad campaigns I see Hubertus Bigend and Blue Ant as being capable of producing. Of course I can't prove if they did or not (secrets are after all "the very root of cool" as HB would say), but they seem to have that certain something, that to me just screams Blue Ant...

Geico

Volkswagen


Have you seen any out there that you think Blue Ant would find worthy?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oddmanrush,

So, you think "Blue Ant" was based on a real company? Curious.

Absolutely. Well, I think it was based on a few of them. They're definitely out there. Ad agencies as good.. or even better than the Blue Ant gang. Daily they're casting spells and conjuring your fondest dreams in the mediasphere. I really like the way Gibson captures their essence in PR and Spook City. It's all about marketing in our society. From war to sex to consumption to religion to politics and all points in between, marketing rules our lives. In ways subtle and overt. Gibson I think nails the insidious power and inherent creepiness of that whole scene beautifully with the continuing adventures of Bigend and Blue Ant. I, for instance, have been looking at advertising and marketing a bit differently since first being introduced to HB and Blue Ant in PR. I now find myself looking for campaigns out there, that if HB and Blue Ant were real, I'd imagine they'd be the ones behind them. The real good, cutting-edge ones, those I've come to deem (and you could too) Blue Ant worthy. You know, those made with a secret and powerful magic sauce that only somebody like HB and his crew could provide. The irresistible ones. In a way it's kind of like bird watching for me. I sit in front of the TV and from time to time go, ooooh!, there goes another spot that Blue Ant could've done, hadn't seen one in days. Anyways, here one from a series that I think Blue Ant could've put together. Yeah, I could see Jobs using Bigend's services. Absolutely.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oddmanrush,

... But do you buy the product?

We all have buttons that types like HB will go to ANY length to learn how to push to get desired results. Yes, I do have mine. Don't we all? I try and fight the bastards for control over my buttons as hard as I can. But they are strong and my buttons are within easy reach.

I remember a few years ago the Levi's "Nice Pants" ad campaign. They started putting real pairs of pants at bus stop displays to INSURE they were stolen. Once the pants were gone the words 'I guess they really were nice pants' were revealed.

I always thought of that campaign when I first read about Blue Ant.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: editengine,

quote:

Originally posted by editengine:
I remember a few years ago the Levi's "Nice Pants" ad campaign. They started putting real pairs of pants at bus stop displays to INSURE they were stolen. Once the pants were gone the words 'I guess they really were nice pants' were revealed.

I always thought of that campaign when I first read about Blue Ant.

Apple should have done that with the IPhone! I know a spot near where I live that would be ideal!

quote:

Originally posted by editengine:
I remember a few years ago the Levi's "Nice Pants" ad campaign. They started putting real pairs of pants at bus stop displays to INSURE they were stolen. Once the pants were gone the words 'I guess they really were nice pants' were revealed.

I always thought of that campaign when I first read about Blue Ant.

This Grand Theft Auto inspired Coke ad always struck me as something I could see coming from Hubertus/Blue Ant.

.

I've always assumed that Blue Ant's name was inspired by web design company Red Ant, btw.

quote:

Originally posted by Gromit:
I've always assumed that Blue Ant's name was inspired by web design company Red Ant, btw.

Good find! You may be right!

I'm not sure how this infamous Cartoon Network guerilla marketing campaign worked out for them looong-term? Short-term, lots of pub, that's for sure. I wonder what adpunk agency was involved with that one?

Formerly broken-up band that hasn't released new material in ages writing new song that's used in a commercial?

Only the Germans would come up with this variant on the beer babe: Heineken ad

As much as I normally hate beer commercials, I have to give them points for the directing.

quote:

I really like the way Gibson captures their essence in PR and Spook City.

oops!

ooooopsie, indeed.

Spook Country. My bad.

I was looking at a book about recent non-traditional advertising today. The one I liked was an actual SUV that drives down the highway apparently followed by heat-seeking missles--actually highly realistic balloons attached by fishing line or somesuch. It was an ad for a TV channel somewhere, I think.

Not really Blue Ant's style, maybe.

Here's definitely NOT a Blue Ant worthy ad. ...or maybe it is. Opinions could vary. It's certainly embedded itself in my brain all these years. Not in a good way though. I'm haunted by these creatures and won't go near a Quiznos as a result. This campaign always struck as coming from a agency that possibly took the whole thing a little too far off beat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oddmanrush,

That looks like Joel Veitch's work: rathergood.com. In fact, there's a spongmonkey at the top of the page.

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:
That looks like Joel Veitch's work: rathergood.com. In fact, there's a spongmonkey at the top of the page.

Yep, you nailed it Kradlum. It's Joel Veitch's spongemonkey work.

quote:

In early 2004 the Spongmonkeys began appearing in television advertisements for Quizno's Subs singing an altered version of their song called "We Love the Subs." One commercial featured the oft-imitated line "they got a pepper bar," referring to the self-serve assortments of peppers that are a Quizno's selling point. The comments on the commercials were mixed, and a few months later the commercials stopped airing.

The Spongmonkeys Quiznos commercial was a topic on an episode of VH1's Best Week Ever. The Modern Humorist said that "they are what you see before you die."

Seeesh, no wonder they haunt me so much after all these years. They're mutant grim reapers. That Quizos series of commercials has got to be one of the oddest major ad campaigns ever.

quote:

Originally posted by Artemis_of_OZ:
Only the Germans would come up with this variant on the beer babe: Heineken ad

I kind of liked the Pirelli Film's.

The Call with John Malkovich and Naomi Campbell.
Mission Zero with Uma Thurman


A bit different, you know.