Adidas Yanks $10M iAd Campaign From Apple

...within an hour of Vatican complaint

(NEWSER) - Well, so much for that: Just hours after its debut, an ad featuring a PhotoShopped pope kissing a top Egyptian imam was yanked. The controversial ad, part of clothing company Benetton’s latest head-turning campaign , was released yesterday and quickly pounced on by the Vatican. "It shows a serious lack of respect for the pope" and is an "unacceptable" manipulation of his image, said a Vatican spokesperson in a statement. Benetton pulled the ad within an hour or so of the complaint, the AP reports. More»

'Man your man could smell like' Isaiah Mustafa returns

(NEWSER) - The "I'm on a horse" Old Spice commercial was a tough act to follow, but the body wash's latest spot is a thing of beauty, Linda Holmes blogs for NPR . Former NFL player Isaiah Mustafa is back, but his horse isn't. "There are so many ways this all could have turned out so pedestrian," Holmes writes, "and instead, it's still awfully funny." More»

Kotex commercials aim for a bit more reality

(NEWSER) - Tampon ads make your period seem downright fun, typically featuring girls clad in white, twirling around on the beach or perhaps doing yoga. One tampon company, however, is calling those ads what they are: ridiculous. “How do I feel about my period? I love it,” says the woman featured in a new Kotex commercial. “Sometimes I just want to run on a beach,” she continues, as clips from old, stereotypical Kotex ads are shown. “Usually, by the third day, I really just want to dance.” More»

Bud Light sales down 3% thanks to confusing campaign

(NEWSER) - From “I Love You, Man” to “Real Men of Genius,” Bud Light is known for its memorable—and funny—ad campaigns. Not so with its latest: The “Drinkability” campaign has brought with it a lack of laughs, as well as the brand’s first negative sales year in its 27-year history, Advertising Age reports. As a result, “we’re going back to that familiar Bud Light voice,” says the CEO. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft has changed at least one of its highly successful "Laptop Hunter" ads after Apple called to complain about it, Advertising Age reports. In the original, a law student shopping for a laptop observes: "This Mac is $2,000, and that's before adding anything." Her mother adds, "Why would you pay twice the price?" But Apple's lawyer called to say the ad was out of date, and Mac prices had gone down. So the shopper now says only: "It seems like you're paying a lot for the brand." She still rejects a Mac in favor of a $972 Dell PC. More»