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To share you favourites AdSpoofs email the YouTube links to Bill Britt, bill.britt@haymarket.com, who will review and add them to AdsSpoof Watch.

 

9 July

I should like this spoof ad that Friends of the Earth has posted on YouTube, which bemoans the closure of local shops because of people making one big weekly shop at Tesco.

After all, I walk to my friendly local butcher every Saturday morning, then buy coffee beans from a local roaster, pickup the fruit and veg from a market stall, and occasionally pluck up the courage to give my custom to the grumpy fishmonger.

But this spoofs illustrates why user-generated media should be left to the amateurs, because they do a much better job at it than a committee sitting round a table. The FoE spoofs sounds like an overly preachy, 1970s Public Service Announcement. They’ve got a sensible message, but should try to convince shoppers -- who are increasing short of time an money short -- to shop locally using a bit more fun and humour instead of relying so much on guilt.

AdSpoof Rating

4/10

Every Little help Tesco

 

6 July

So many Xbox 360 consoles are dying from what gamers have dubbed 'the red ring of death', Microsoft is having to set aside $1bn to cover replacements and repairs.

Irrate users have flocked to YouTube to vent their anger or share tips on how to temporarily fix the machines, such as wrapping the box in a towel for 20 minutes to overheat.

This is one of the best anti-ads, with the death lights nearly flashing in time to Queen's 'Another one bites the dust.'

Having bought three faulty Xbox consoles, the unlucky user's technical solution has been to buy a Sony PS3.

25 June AdSpoofs Cannes Grand Prix

Now that the ad industry’s great and good have gathered in Cannes and awarded Dove Evolution the Grand Prix, I thought it a good idea to hear what the user-democracy has to say about this Unilever ad that questions society’s distorted notions of beauty. The original ad uses time-lapse photography to show how the fashion industry uses Photoshop to make models more attractive.

Dove Real Beauty ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 parody Ad

AdSpoof Rating 8/10

There are many other Dove Evolution spoofs with higher production values, but this one goes for Unilever's Anglo/Dutch jugular, claiming the cosmetic giant's Self Esteem Fund for girls is hypocritical.

It intersperses pictures of cute girls with concerns about their hair etc. with shots of Unilever products relevant to their worries. It ends with the tagline: `Dove - help us raise money - buy our products.'

To drive home the hypocrisy/cosmetics theme, the soundtrack is Cindy Lauper's `I see your true, colours shining through'

Slob Evolution

AdSpoof Rating 7/10

This parody gets high markets for its superb production values, showing a male model morphing into a slob through eating, drinking and smoking. Unfortunately, It defends western society's cult of the beautiful and challenges the premise of the Dove Real Beauty campaign with the depressing tagline. 'Thank God our perception of real life is distorted. No one wants to look at ugly people.'

dove spoof

AdSpoof 6/10

The message here is that women don't need to worry about what some men think about their looks. After enough drinks, some men's brain's do the Photoshop editing themselves.

28 March

PS3 Song

AdSpoof rating 10/10

This spoof explains in a clear, memorable and passionate way how Sony screwed up the marketing of the Playstation 3. Apparently created by a hard-core gamer called Heavyarms117, the vitality of the spoof comes from a song, ‘How to Kill a Brand' written by voiceover artist Doc Adams, with the refrain:

`Hope this song has helped, you understand
Now you know, How You Killed Your Brand.'

For those of us who are clueless about pros and cons of the latest games consoles, this spoof is an excellent primer on the PS3. It makes the case that the PS3 is difficult to play online, surf the net, has no good exclusive games and costs the most. More than 900,000 people have viewed this spoof in the month since it was posted.

Nintendo Ennuii

AdSpoof rating 6/10

Thanks to Richard Johnston for sending in this spoof of the current hot games console, Nintendo Wii. Created by two London copywriters, the spoof cuts to the heart of Wii's USP - that the novelty factor of the Wii remote could wear off. Great concept but the production values are a bit weak.

 

21 March

Spoof Marks and Spencer Advert

AdSpoof rating: 6/10

This spiteful spoof strikes a chord with many who view M&S's food adverts by RKCR Y&R as pretentious. Smashing plates of foods with a mallet reflects the mood of those who want to eat a meal, not admire a work of art. Very high production values from this student in Bourne End.

 

Adidas Jose + 10 Parody (kutsko +1 Beer Pong)

AdSpoof rating 4/10

Thanks to JH for sending in a link to this warm parody of 180's 2006 World Cup advert in which two small boys pick teams from among the world's greatest footballers for a match in a Spanish street. In this version university students play beer pong.

 

Sony 'balls' Bravia? More like Brovio!

AdSpoof rating: 9/10

Okay, so Fallon won a Gold Lion at Cannes for Sony balls, but that doesn't mean the ad, like the product, isn't beyond reproach. Paying extra for a HDTV doesn't mean all the channels are being broadcast in high definition. The message behind this user-generated spoof is clear: the TVs are overpriced. What a tagline: 'The cheaper, the better, Brovio, made in Boliva. '

Sony Balls Spoof

AdSpoof rating: 0/10

This lame attempt to spoof the Bravia 'balls' campaign was posted on YouTube by somebody named RKCR, ... hmmm ... that name sounds vaguely familiar. The ad consists of some office workers chucking some balls down some stairs.he message is clear: some ad agencies are overpaid.

15 March 2007

Not just another Spoof M&S Ad

AdSpoof Rating: 9/10

M&S ads with their overly-reverent depiction of food attracts an inordinate number of spoofs. Here's one of the best spoofing the traditional Christmas dinner and deflating the notion that there's something unique about the provenance of M&S food, with brussel sprouts hand picked by leprechauns.

 

Slob Evolution

AdSpoof Rating: 7/10

This AdSpoof pillories the Dove Evolution commercial, which highlight the shocking news that the fashion industry uses Photoshop to make models prettier. This makers of this spoof ask, does anyone care? More than 460,000 people have viewed this spoof.