No no no no NO!  NO, Tay!  Check out this ridiculous commercial from Dr. Pepper and "Tay to tha Z".

This commercial just fills my body with rage.  And I even like Dr. Pepper.  Hell, I liked Tay when I saw his original YouTube clip.  Voice is kinda fucked up and the song is repetitive, but he has that underdog geeky charm that makes a person root for him.

Not anymore.  This ad is just terrible in so many ways.  First wrong move:  never, ever spell things with "to tha" in the middle.  Second, never try to pull off the Hef jacket and hot ladies on the arm thing if you look 12 years old.  It just makes you look like a little shit.  Third, if you’re going to try to milk a bit of internet celebrity for all its worth, at least have the decency to switch up the material.  We’re tired of hearing about chocolate rain, Tay!  Tired!  Putting "cherry" on the front doesn’t make it new!

When critiquing an ad, I feel it my responsibility to watch the whole thing before casting judgment.  I cannot tell you how hard that was on this one.  I just wanted to reach through the monitor and choke the little bitch.

Oh, and "Mista Johnson"?  The fact that you rapped about a soft drink officially makes me "harder" and "more street" than you.  And I’m a white guy from the suburbs.  A white guy from the suburbs that has never tried to make a carbonated beverage sound dangerous.  You fucking tool.

So to sum up.  Tay, your 15’s over.  Go away.  Dr. Pepper, I’m switching to Pibb….. oh, and the squirrel getting doused in chocolate?  Brilliant!

Sprint has some gorgeous new spots airing right now for their “Ahead” campaign.  Check out the post over at Transbuddha to see the spots and learn a little about how they were made.  Evidently it’s an art style called “lightning doodle”, which was invented by the owners of a site called Pika Pika (I wouldn’t bother visiting it - the site is pretty lacking in info/nav).  Not a whole lot of detail on the process there - something having to do with lights, stop-motion, long-exposure photography, and fetal pig blood… I think.

Anyway, Sprint has latched onto the art form and built a website (above pic) and tv spots around it.  Just another example of web virals bleeding over into traditional media.  Now, if Sprint just spent a little less time filming art fags* running around with flashlights in a park, and a bit more time on delivering good customer service and a reliable network.. why hell, they just have a product worth buying.

I live in KC - the world headquarters for Sprint, and I hear their coverage still sucks (I ditched them years ago).  I do not claim to have any expertise regarding mobile phone business strategy.  But christ, I would think that a mobile network provider would at least want to ensure near-perfect coverage in the city of their World F’ing Headquarters.  I mean come on, that’s just a matter of pride.  If I were to advertise myself as a master landscape artist, you’d better believe I’d have a goddamned Miagi garden in my backyard.  “Holy shit!  Is that an indoor/outdoor koi pond?!”  “Yep.  Here’s my card.”

Oh and while we’re at it, let’s have a look at the KC-local Sprint advertising (right).  “Oh, I get it!  Kansas City is known for barbecue and barbecue has lots of sauce on it and I live in Kansas City!  Sprint is really appealing to me as a Kansas Citian!  Sprint gets me!”  Fucking retards.  

* I dig artists.  I have gay friends.  But damn it, “art fag” is such a funny term to me.  So indulge me.

Brilliantly done new viral from Sprint/Nextel - Connectile Dysfunction Treatment Center .

Just so you can preview the jist…:

I would sit in the end stalls of airport bathrooms… trying hard…to get a connection.”

Slightly edgy. Nails the “horribly cheesy 2am informercial” vibe. Just well done.

(thanks to Aaron for the link)

Here’s a new flash game from Houlihan’s - the flash version of “I Never”.

I guess the web version of me is about 5′6″

I’m sure you all know the game. You get drunk with your friends and start asking revealing questions, starting with “I never..”. Those that have done said actions lift their glass. Well, now you can play that same game! On the web! Without alcohol! How awes- oh wait..

Seriously though, this one might just catch on. Great idea by Houlihan’s.

Why settle for just swiping music from the 80s for your ad? Hell, swipe a whole ad!

Here’s an obviously effective (3 million views as this writing) ad mashup using the famous Apple 1984 ad. Ouch, Hillary. Ouch.

Interesting nexus of modern social networking and games from our childhood – it’s the YouTube Scavenger Hunt. I think there’s a lot of potential in this idea. “Item 1: film yourself eating a BK Whopper!”