France privatizes an historically socialist service — phones — and look what happens. KITAYNS EVRAYWHAR! It doesn’t matter if you speak French or not, this commercial proves that before long, capitalism and socialism will both be dead and the furballs will rule over all.

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Showcase Gallery officially opened in Darlinghurst this month, providing one a new avenue in Australia that supports creative professionals wanting to develop their artistic profile.

The Launch Exhibition features personal pieces by internationally regarded photographers Mark Mawson, Chuck Bradley and Nicholas Alan Cope, designers Bianca Chang and Terry Chisholm, and art directors Paul Meates and Jed DePyper. From the illustrations of Three Drunk Monkeys art director Jed DePyper to Chuck Bradley’s preference for beautifully lit photography, visitors will see an interesting departure from what these professionals are commercially recognised for.

Outer space will be advertising’s new frontier and, even if we’ll be too old by the time this business is going to be fully established, it’s worth to imagine how it will look like. This is a short sample of Space Ads I made up, imagining a future of cross borders (the United States of China) and new bio-technologies (Liz Taylor will be brought back to life for the joy of all of us).

The Credit Counselling Society is a registered non-profit service based in Vancouver. We created this unique business card for them by reproducing a plastic “credit card” and then cutting it in half. The name of the client and telephone number were embossed on the business card in the same way they would appear as a card holder’s name and credit card number on a real credit card.

Adelaide commuters are in for a little extra entertainment this month thanks to what may be the world’s smallest movie theatre in the form of a bus shelter. A brainchild of Clemenger BBDO, the mini-cinema features authentic theatre seating, curtains and a projector showing screenings each evening at 9pm. It has been transformed to promote the upcoming Adelaide Film Festival.

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Lovely work by Leo Burnett Kuala Lampur copywriter Paul Prabhakar for an Eco Heaven Bazaar, where junk is hand-printed and re-purposed into posters to publicise the event.

Probably the funniest — and creepiest — cheese commercial you’ll ever see. Introducing Panda Cheese from Egypt.

People travelling across the USA-Canada border (near Vancouver) might catch a glimpse of a newly erected billboard that advertises ‘clean air’. Created by Lead Pencil Studio, and funded by the US government, this creative piece is made from stainless steel rods, framing the clean air of Blaine, Washington.

The Everything Ages Fast campaign for Brazil’s Maximidia Seminars features fake vintage ads for Youtube, Skype and Facebook. It got me thinking about changes in society over the past fifty years or so. Before the world went digital, people read or watched a glittering product promise, or they heard about some new wonder-product from their neighbours. They saw ads, courtesy of clever Mad Man-type folk, and they bought the promise. Then they told people about the promise.

There were no digital reviews. No back-channel conversations on Twitter. No information. Man, what a quiet world! The ads showed showed something amazing, and boy were people amazed. But now society has become digital and we’re buying stuff we can’t necessarily hold.  We can buy something and have it instantly, but we can’t always touch it. And we no longer believe the bullshit false promises.

We want to see for ourselves. Value is about what we learn, experience and find out for ourselves. We don’t like being told, but to an extent we don’t mind being guided. We want to make damn sure it’s the right product before we dive right in. We’ll flirt with just about anything, but for a deal we need a whole lot of trust. One of the reasons for this is permanence. We can’t hold stuff anymore, and that same stuff stays with us – weightless – forever.

Put something and Youtube and it’s there forever. Delete your account, and it’s not really deleted. A whole lot of ones and zeros persist in digital memory, creating an untouchable archive of our lives across a web of digital services. Don’t tell me my stuff on Youtube will last forever. Tell me that if I want to, I can hold it and break it, and it’ll actually be broken.

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From the what will they stink of next universe comes this gimmick from Mattel to capatlise on the unwavering fandom around the Madman TV series and release an exclusive range of customised Ken and Barbie dolls, styled after four characters in the show. With a recommended retail price of $74.95 each, these will be for hardy collectors — and the absurdly curious — only.

Chapel Hill-based printmaker Bill Fick makes awesomely grotesque faces and creatures with linocuts, silkscreens, and tempera paint. They have a vintage feel to them, as if the rotted remains ’50s advertising images have risen from the dead.

Through watching cowboy movies, among other things, we’ve learned that Texas is full of dust. Fortunately, there are people such as Scott Wade who knows how to embellish something that is disgusting. Wade started to produce simple hearts or phrases such as ‘Wash me, you dirty fellow’ on the windshields and windows of cars. Later on, he improved his skills and now he can make a Mona Lisa or a Rembrandt by using the ‘dust extraction’ technique. He does not own a gallery because it should be really expensive but he has a huge permanent exhibition touring the city. The art of Wade reached the advertising world and brands such as Mitsubishi have used it in their graphic campaigns.

Director Doug Pray (Surfwise, Scratch, HYPE!) has released a new documentary about advertising and inspiration which ‘reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry’. Art & Copy is a must see for anyone even remotely interested in the advertising industry. It features some great insights into the thoughts of the people responsible for Just Do It, I Love NY, Where’s the Beef? Got Milk, Think Different, and many other brilliant campaigns.

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In Japan, when one makes squeezing gestures with both hands at chest level, one is gesturing that one wants candy — soft, round, bouncy candy. At least, that’s what this commercial would have us believe.

B-Reel is real smooth. And when I say real, I mean really. They created the latest ad for kicks brand Onitsuka Tiger. The campaign — Made of Japan — was launched in January 2007 with a giant shoe built out of Japanese collectibles. Then came the promo site. And now the campaign continues with this electric shoe inspired by Tokyo’s vibrant lights. Rather like L.A. Lights and a field of mushrooms.