Karl, still stoked from searching for vintage liquor commercials as post material, shared this gem with the staff today. (All Glory Be to Klockars). This is actor James Mason, with his rich baritone, English accent and gentlemanly comport, shilling for the mother of all "bum wines," Thunderbird. One can only hope that mason was having fun with the ad copy when he touts the "unusual flavor" of Thunderbird. After the repeal of Prohibition Ernest and Julio Gallo marketed Thunderbird, Night Train, Boone's Farm and other bargain wine brands to depressed inner city communities as part of Ernest Gallo's wish to make his winery the "Campbell Soup company of the wine industry." more ›

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Alexi Giannoulias strikes back at GOP opponent Mark Kirk in a new ad that addresses his family bank's federal take-over and places part of the blame on Kirk. more ›

Yesterday, on the eve of this year's Masters and Tiger Wood's return to golf, Nike launched a new ad featuring Tiger and the voice of his deceased father, a seeming response to the scandal that's surrounded the golfer. And, of course, the Internet has come through with a series of remixes. Check out the original ad here; our favorite remix is below and you can check more out here. Even our pal, WGN's Pat Tomasulo, got in on the act. more ›

A new deal that consolidates the CTA's advertising duties could help the agency garner at least $80 million in new revenue, according to Crain's. Titan Outdoor LLC will handle ad placement on buses, trains, and at train stations. Only bus shelters remain under the domain of another company (JC Decaux). Crain's reports: more ›

This past winter, the Chicago Cubs battled a rooftop owner who claimed his view of the field for the NHL's Winter Classic was blocked by a jumbotron installed for the game. Now, the team is battling another rooftop, but this time an advertiser. For years, a large rooftop beyond the left field stands was emblazoned with a Budweiser logo. This season, though, it became a large ad for Horseshoe Casino after a new owner bought the building halfway through the 2008 season. The Cubs aren't happy about the Casino ad being so prominently displayed, especially for a television audience multiple times a game, and have now installed new boards that block the rooftop from view. more ›

This morning, the folks at Copyranter posted some ads for the Chicago Tribune created by Canadian-based ad agency Juniper Park. We clicked around and found a complete set over at Ads of the World. The ads are pretty eye-catching, even if the copy on a few of the ads is a bit clunky, and stress the Trib's investigative reporting. [While the Trib always does good investigative reporting work - being at the center of last winter's Blago affair helped - we can't help but think that the city's best investigative reporting this year has actually been done by Mick Dumke and Ben Joravsky over at The Reader.] We spoke with a rep at Juniper Park who confirmed the ads had run (we're still awaiting PR info pertaining to the markets where the ads are running and we place an email to the Tribune). more ›

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) filed a lawsuit against the CTA yesterday alleging the transit agency was infringing upon their first amendment rights by refusing to display ads for "mature audience" video games. Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, said in a statement: more ›

Want 'em or hate 'em, the push for the Chicago 2016 Olympics is going to be a big story around here over the next eight months, and especially the next several days as the IOC tours the city. Now comes this three-minute spot promoting Chicago as the host city and the crew at Chicago 2016 finally pulled out the big gun: Michael Jordan. The video is, dare we say, pretty stellar and well put together and only makes us wonder how things would be different if Mayor Daley wasn't leading this charge. [via The Windy Citizen] more ›

These days, the hype surround banned Super Bowl commercials is a big as the commercials that make it to air during the big games. This year is no different as PETA puts the "hump" in our Humpday Diversion courtesy of this racy ad that NBC has rejected because of, among other things, a woman "screwing herself with broccoli" and "asparagus on her lap appearing as if it is ready to be inserted into vagina." Read the NBC letter [PDF] and check out the video below. more ›

These ads for Americans for the Arts were created by Chicago's own Leo Burnett agency. It's goooood! more ›

Back in the VHS era we taped a fair amount of movies off TV. Most of the time we were sitting there and editing out the commercials, but now and then we'd use the timer to record something. Those captured commercials, once minor annoyances to fast-forward through, are now fascinating artifacts. Bit by bit we've been digitizing them and posting them on YouTube. A simple search proves that we're not alone: there are scads of vintage Madison Avenue spots for perusal. "Mikey likes it." "The best part of waking up..." Watching them now is hard proof that a silly bit of commercial propaganda, when seen repeatedly at a tender young age, can lodge itself in your brain forever. more ›