The clothing store H&M is in it’s third season or raising funds for Fashion Against Aids. This year, the store has decided to cast well-known runway and editorial model Josh Beech to be the face of this season’s campaign. In conjunction with the editorial campaign, H&M is launching its first festival collection, with 25% of all sales going directly to youth HIV/AIDS awareness projects. The campaign involves many designers and celebrities who have done a variety of PSA-style videos, as well as designed a wide variety of awareness-related promotional items such as t-shirts and bags. I love this ad campaign because I feel like H&M does really care about HIV/AIDS awareness and they are able to help involve consumers who would not necessarily give to this kind of charity by using high profile people, making beautiful, fashion-forward campaigns, and selling affordable, stylish clothing to the masses.

To look at what H&M has done in past seasons for this charity please check out these links below:
http://www.hm.com/us/press/pressreleases/fashion__prfashion.nhtml

When I initially found this ad what first got me was the fact that there was a beer ad targeted solely to women, which is rarely ever the case. The second thing that got me was the surrealism of the ad: the colors, the doors leading off onto a sort of wonky pathway, and the stark contrast between the black abyss of a background and the club lights shining onto the girl waiting at the table. And the third, most important thing that drew me into this ad was what was written on the doors” “Never Go Home Alone” and “Always Have Standards”. I love how the girl is placed in between those two doors, and with her drink empty and holding her purse, she looks ready to make a decision–and judging by her teased hair and tight, short, aqua blue dress–it looks like she doesn’t always make the right one. Then, down in the right hand corner, it says “Life is What You Choose”.

Now I am pretty sure Beck’s is telling us to choose the door on the right. I love how the ad has drawn a similarity between having standards with men and having standards with the beer you drink. I assume since Beck’s is a fairly light and low-calorie beer it is one of the few beers that targets to women. I really like the way they have executed this ad. It is aesthetically interesting, simple, responsible, and still maintains some sense of humor that makes beer ads so fun. And of course, it is always nice to see a brand in a product category go against the norm!

I found this ad campaign by using “Stumble-Upon” and I thought they were really effective ads. They are made for the Anchieta Colegio, a fundamental and secondary school located in Brazil. They have campuses all over Brazil and this ad campaign was made to raise awareness about the importance of school funding. I think the overall theme of, “When you run out of pencils, you run out of education” is really effective. I like that the ads are somewhat humorous but still get the point across in a very simply and honest manner.

Free iHop Pancake Day

February 23, 2010
Join IHOP to celebrate National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., we’ll give you one free short stack (three) of our famous buttermilk pancakes.* All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children’s hospitals through Children’s Miracle Network, or other local charities.

Free pancakes and a chance to help people… sounds great to me! Not only do I find what iHop is doing for the Children’s Miracle Network amazing (they are raising so much money!) but I also love how I have only seen this day promoted on Facebook and Twitter. And while I have found out that iHop runs some ads to promote Free Pancake Day, I feel that most of the awareness from (at least for my age segment) was made through Facebook fan pages, groups, and tags via Twitter. I think iHop has found a great way to make their social media endeavors virtuous, and it looks like it really pays off.

Check out the video on the link below!

That’s So Gay- Hilary Duff Ad

I recently saw this ad on, of all places, PerezHilton.com. It is an ad that speaks out against using the word “gay” as a negative slur. From my understanding, its original intent was to be aired during the Superbowl, but was cut due to its sensitive nature.

Now while the video is only thirty seconds and includes one of my least favorite actresses, Hilary Duff (I’m not sure why she is still famous or why we still care what she has to say), I still think the commercial provides a simple and responsible message about respect. It serves its purpose of explaining why using the word “gay” as a negative can be offensive without the commercial getting too highly emotional or political. And although I do understand why this commercial did not make the “cut” for Superbowl advertising, I find it hard to reconcile that Tim Tebow’s pro-life commercial was aired and this was not. It seems to me that they are both of “sensitive nature”, so if one was aired…why not the other? Any thoughts?

Although I would consider myself something of a “feminist”, I will always hold a soft spot in my heart for beer commercials. And while, yes, they may sometimes objectify women and include insensitive humor, I (and I think most of this country) will always look forward to seeing the latest funny beer advertisement during a commercial break of a sports game.However, when I found this Amstel print advertisement last night, I was pleasantly surprised. Upon first glance it looks like a typical, misogynistic ad of what looks like a wife serving her husband a beer while he watches a football game, but when you read the small print it says, “A bit old-fashioned, isn’t it?”. Since the ad is for the new twist open caps, Amstel took the approach of showing an image that is typically associated with beer and made fun of it (and really, their past ads). This is the first socially responsible beer advertisement that I have seen that does not have to do with just “drinking responsibly”. And, as a woman, Amstel now stands out to me over other beer companies because of this one ad. What a great idea of Amstel!

I “stumbled-upon” this ad campaign earlier this afternoon and I couldn’t stop looking at them. I have chosen three of about thirty images, all of which you can find at http://www.presidiacreative.com/31-clever-and-meaningful-ads-from-the-world-wildlife-fund-for-nature/.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature is the world’s largest conservation organization and has been known for strong, emotionally-charged advertisements. And although the foundation and its ads may be controversial to some, it is unarguable that this particular campaign is, simply put, really good print advertising.

The three images I have chosen above show a housing development portrayed on a leaf, a bucket spill of pollutions onto a valley, and the evolution of a tiger to a fur coat. My favorite thing about these prints is that they speak volumes without really having to say too much. By using beautiful photography, even more amazing Photoshopping, and strong, carefully chosen juxtapositions the WWF was able to create honest, artistic, creative advertising that is noteworthy, yet still able to avoid being too “preachy”. I am always excited to see campaigns that approach advertising as more of an art, rather than just a necessary means to an end, and the fact that these ads are equally relevant and provocative as they are aesthetically pleasing is the reason I feel this ad campaign is truly worthwhile. Because, in the end, if the ad makes you look and then makes you think, it’s done all the work it needs to.