What’s strange and weird and red all over? Fred & Farid and Wrangler

True story: Paris-based superstar agency Fred & Farid was in Australia late last September, shooting the next evolution of its bestial “We Are Animals” campaign for Wrangler jeans. They began setting up for the shoot when without warning they were engulfed by a huge cloud of red dust, a raging dust storm that spread across the entire southeast of the continent.

All that’s old is new again: BBH’s “Levi’s Modern Vintage” campaign

Levi Strauss & Co. has been around since 1853, and while the brand’s popularity may rise and fall with the trends, it’s still a major US cultural icon in many areas of the world. Besides, you can’t last for more than 150 years without having that certain caché, and Levi’s has enough of that to last several more decades.

The story continues: BBDO Chile is caught scamming for Sony

I’m not even sure what the ad means, but a BBDO Chile ad for Sony PS3 featuring a 21st century video gamer giving a blood transfusion to famous Nazi Field Marshal Edwin Rommel is out there, and like all things featuring Nazis not being bludgeoned to death by basterds, it’s offending people. And much like the DDB/WWF “Tsunami” ad that made the rounds on an international walk of shame a few weeks ago, its creation was not exactly on the up-and-up.

Screw audiobooks, now we have videomagazines

Traditional magazines have been taking a nosedive in readership in the past few years, with more and more people turning to the internet for all their magazine-y needs. But we’re about to see if adding technology to the printed page will bring back readers who left for more technological pastures to begin with.

Zig brings in Gary Coleman! Whoo hoo! (oh yeah, it’s for New York Fries)

ihaveanidea Inbox Rule #529b: any ad submission featuring Gary Coleman goes to the front of the line.

New York Fries, a fast food restaurant that, despite its name is headquartered in Canada with locations in the Middle East and Asia, is hitting that landmark 25th anniversary.

TAXI chases cheese for Dairy Farmers of Canada

You know those sports skills we talked about in the last Inbox post? Well it looks like the residents of British Columbia can put those skills to work a few weeks from now by chasing cheese down a mountain.

This August marks the 2nd Annual Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival, a raucous event being held in Whistler, the world famous ski resort town north of Vancouver. The event was created by TAXI Vancouver for Dairy Farmers of Canada, and the centrepiece of the festival is a mad dash down the side of Whistler Mountain while chasing an 11-pound wheel of cheese.

BBDO Argentina: How about a nice cold…”PECSI”?!

Very cool article in AdAge yesterday about Pepsi rebranding itself to suit the linguistics of a particular country – Argentina, in this case.

According to the story, Spanish speaking people — particularly those with an Argentine accent — tend to mispronounce the brand’s name. Instead of calling it “Pepsi”, about 25% of Argentina pronounces it as “Pecsi”.

English beer trounces Australian brew in a campaign by DLKW

The 2009 Ashes series has officially kicked off, pitting the Australian national cricket team against England, in a long standing rivalry that might puzzle North Americans as much as the game of cricket itself. Trust us, it’s a big deal in the UK, and tensions are running high… only to be cooled off by rain delays in Cardiff, Wales.

We got our copy of Killed Ideas Vol. 1…

… and it’s pretty sweet, sorta like an awards annual for ads that never ran. In essence that makes it no different than other awards annuals. ZING!

In all seriousness, Killed Ideas, the project created by Blurb and curated by Adrants’ Steve Hall is a great concept. 50 of the greatest ad and design ideas that never saw the light of day until now, all in one slick volume that gives these gems some semblance of the dignity they deserve.

Wrath of Cannes Winner Tells His Tale

Last Thursday, while the advertising world frolicked on La Croisette at the Cannes Lions Festival, New York ad agency Woods, Witt, Dealy & Sons held the third annual Wrath of Cannes “award” show in Brooklyn. Beer was savored, the state of the industry was discussed, leading to more beer being savored, and dozens of juniors and students displayed their wares in hopes of winning the Grand Coney, the highest honor at Wrath of Cannes — if you can call a trophy of a man with his head up his ass an honor.

OTHER STORIES

• La Comu has Corona Light drinkers dancing in the moonlight
• King of Shaves continues longstanding tradition of using sex to sell
• TBWA\LA’s Pepsi Diner 2pointZero: no calories, no sentimentality
• Let freedom rev: W+K Portland puts Washington in a Dodge Challenger
• Grip Ltd. helps Budweiser show its World Cup colours
• Ogilvy HK: Shangri-La hotels are amazing. Getting to one though…

ALSO IN THE INBOX

MORE NEWS

• Kobe Bryant “kloses” things down with Vitaminwater
• WWD&S brings back the Wrath of Cannes for a fourth year… God help us all
• Mother London makes Stella Artois green, retro and French once again
• JWT NY gives Jose Cuervo drinkers “a shot of adventure”
• Dentsu’s got Sapporo crammed full of Japan
• GJP: recommend Fallsview Casino for a feeling that lives on

MORE NEWS HEADLINES

• Sid Lee brings adidas World Cup action to a galaxy far, far away
• Victors & Spoils DISHes it out in space
• Award Show Bedlam! Tomorrow Awards Shortlist, D&AD, Cannes Lions
• There are no words for Y&R to describe winning the Stanley Cup
• The Viral Factory, Best Buy want Brits to comment their way to a man-cave
• W+K and Nike Kick Off 2010 World Cup Fever