The Drink Cart: Fighting over canned water
This week's dose of advertising people like, some we hate, design things and pop culture notes and even a cocktail from the cart after a long week of making ads.
If you cried over the solar eclipse this week, grow up. You have not earned a drink from the cart. If you are fighting with me in newsletter comments sections over your canned water brand, does that make me the troll? I see why Alberta was selling 4L jugs of discount vodka.
And if the eclipse and comments sections water fights were not enough it seems that AI might just lead to social order collapse. In the immortal words of Carl Spackler, “So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.” It’s time for another edition of The drink cart.
Things people like right now
It’s fitting to include boozevertising in this newsletter given my lacklustre review of another canned water product. These new Hennessy spots are pretty slick. Love the one where they get limes from a tennis ball machine. They sure have come a long way from the 1980’s vintage smug vibe. I think focusing on the cocktail aspect, rather than breaking out snifters all the time is clutch - If you’re not making the occasional Vieux Carre with some, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Everyone is doing billboards without logos or anything now. These are new from McDonald’s Australia (via Guillaume Huin). Only brands like McDonalds and British Airways can do this. But they are very fun.
You’ve likely seen the 70th Anniversary Burger King stuff. Burger King is such a funny concept. I’ve never once heard someone suggest it. You see them on the side of highways on road trips or at the En Route stop and you still would look for anything else.
I think this post nicely sums up some other parts of this campaign: “Burger King is hook-up zone for the over seventies. Makes me afraid of Burger King.” More of the campaign here.
Things I might hate right now
I have a love-hate relationship with Digital Out of Home (or as Homer would say, “D’OOH”) right now. While I love a good peanut butter cup as much as the next person. But it doesn’t need caramel and you can’t tell me this soiling of Olympic Stadium - sacred ground and home of the Montreal Expos - doesn’t just look like a giant poop emoji.
I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but there is a such a thing as having too much fun with your public health social media account especially when you are just randomly tagging Ryan Reynolds. If your sole job is being a credible source of information, maybe don’t do this.
Speaking of healthcare, what is the emoji for your feelings when you find out Lady Gaga is doing sponsored Pfizer drug instagrams? I did like how Emily Sundberg described this, “I’m not feeling 100% about her funds, and I hope she is doing all of this to avoid launching a weird booze brand in ten years.“ Times must be tough. She has a fortune of $150 million. But still needs that sweet, sweet Pharma money.
I would love to know after this campaign, how many people really type in random hamburger menu “codes” for Oreo. You have the world’s most famous cookie - do you really want them thinking about mobile UX and promo codes?
Things I can’t stop thinking about
What are we even doing in advertising? Not unlike canned water comment section fun, there are people deep in debating fake ads. Are they ruining advertising? Wait there is another Drum article on fake ads? Do we need to be having debates like this?
This is like when in 1998 both Armageddon and Deep Impact were released. 2 deadly asteroid movies? 2 fake ad articles. What is going on? If you’re still reading my hot take: Fake ads are still ads, and nobody cares.
People are also fighting over chili crunch.
There was no reason for these old science ads to go this hard.
The usual self indulgent baseball content
Not going to lie, this special corn dog branding for the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes is on point. Love that a Midwestern wood-bat summer league for college players has alternative stuff that is this cool.
What kind of person would pay $15 to get the sponsored patch on your MLB jersey? Sickos.
I’m not sure anyone really wants a Fanatics sports type version of comic con. Do they?
I can’t even contemplate these betting numbers from Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter. As Fast Company notes, it’s only a matter of time until really bad stuff happens because of how close the betting is to sports.
You had me at horseradish-infused brick sauce.
Last call: The Drink Cart Recipe
Such a good reminder that creative is not math. After some great meetings in Montreal this week with some other creatives, it’s good to embrace all hell breaking loose, especially on a Friday.
Today’s cart special is inspired by something I had in Montreal, a twist on the Old Fashioned at the same place where I had some life changing homemade focaccia with pepperoncini, Nora Gray.
Rum Old Fashioned
2 oz dark rum, maybe make it 3
Splash of Demerara Syrup
4 dashes Angostura bitters
An absurdly Large ice cube and orange peel