:: adgruntie :: ads gone bad

+ Tripp, "a luggage-maker, has been criticised for an advert that appeared to encourage people to steal from hotel rooms. The newspaper advert for Tripp's expandable suitcases read: "Now you can steal the bathrobe as well as the toiletries." The Advertising Standards Authority upheld 11 complaints that it encouraged people to break the law. The company said the advert was a "tongue-in-cheek" reference to the way people raid hotel toiletries."

+ Top 10 UK ads that made the news in July. "Martin Loat, director of Propeller Communications, said: "Controversy continues to be a factor that turns adverts into high-profile campaigns. It is rarely clear to what extent the publicity is planned -- whether the ad was created with the intention of being banned or whether the brand is genuinely surprised by the ban." Load said banned ad campaigns often made a greater short-term impact on the public consciousness than if they had not been so controversial. "It is a technique worth noting as it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve standout," he said."

+ Sunday Times "domination" ad called misleading by the ASA. "An ad for the Sunday Times that asked 'What turns businessmen on?' has been cleared of being sexist, discriminatory, irresponsible and offensive. But the ad, which prompted a string of complaints from the public, was deemed to be misleading because it used the word "businessmen" to cover both men and women.
The ad appeared in the Sunday Times' appointments section and claimed the paper was the most read publication among businessmen. After posing the question "What turns businessmen on?", the ad read "Domination". This prompted a rash of complaints from readers, who said it was discriminatory because it excluded businesswomen, was sexist and could encourage bullying and sexual harassment."

+ RIP. According to mediapost.com, Maxwell (Mac) Dane, the last remaining founder of legendary ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 98. In 1949, he joined with Ned Doyle and William Bernbach to form Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency whose work was renowned for its wry wit and credited with defining an era in advertising through such campaigns as 'Think Small' for Volkswagen, 'We Try Harder' for Avis, and 'You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Rye bread.'"

+ 'Guerrilla' marketing stalks Olympic sponsors. "Welcome to ambush marketing, where you can cover yourself in Olympic glory without having to pay a cent. The practice, also known as guerrilla marketing, describes how companies try to associate themselves with an event without paying sponsorship fees or steal the show from the official sponsor, particularly where that happens to be a competitor."