Update: The agency who created the site and Garnier appear to have been unaware of any activity executed by PayPerPost. The campaign itself is a cute spoof site, but didn't have the intention of marketing without transparency. Adrants is currently investigating who was behind the PayPerPost marketing.

We're begrudgingly posting this to out Garnier's lame attempts at viral marketing and potentially another blogging blunder from PayPerPost (though, we're sure they're smiling at the idea of getting any buzz):

Shake Well Before Use received an email from deanaburke@gmail.com:
"Hey- So I saw this video on youtube- I guess Garnier pulled sponsorship of this show, the harry situation, b/c it was too sexed up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQGOZaG0kOg -deana"
Of course, any attempts to Google this email address fail.

The YouTube video shows a supposed Garnier employee telling viewers not to go to http://theharrysituation.com in a very *wink wink* manner.

The Harry Situation site is a horrid attempt at a spoof site, not naming what networks, lawyers, etc. they were working with, but somehow managing to spill out the fill name of "Ganier Frucits" at any chance. A quick WhoIS lookup gives a vague address and another un-Google-able Gmail address.

Googling the name of "Todd Gruyere" only pulls up a handful of sites where you can post for free on (mostly free blog ranking sites). The sites that do contain blurbs about the situation, are all written in a similar style with the same facts on each blurb. Interestingly, these blog posts only link to "The Harry Situation", almost always twice in one blog post, and usually one of the links is a TinyURL (not surprisingly, various blogs are linking to the same TinyURLs, but somehow not to each other, nor to where they obtained this information from), something that isn't used often for blog links.

On this particular blog post, the site is again, linked to twice (with 2 TinyURLs). One of which is supposed to go to Todd's "blog", but when you click on the link, it (surprise!) takes you to an image of the "show" hosted on PayPerPost. Also, "interestingly", the same name of the image is used on the Harry Situation blog, only this time appropriately hosted on the site. Other blogs that host the post load PayPerPost data when you visit them.

Our investigative conclusion? Not only has PayPerPost Garnier (and potentially associated ad agencies) attempted to "game" bloggers, by somehow believing that they will link to anything without credentials, but it seems that they are incredibly insatiable in making themselves and any blogger associated with them become an evil empire of ridiculousness.

Dear PayPerPost, PayPerPost bloggers, and PayPerPost clients (possibly, but not yet confirmed, Garnier), please stop lying your way to links. It's pathetic and disrespectful.

Update: Adpuppet researches Deana Burke further.

Update 2: The content creator (Kirt) left a few comments below. It appears that Kirt and Garnier were unaware of the PayPerPost efforts.

Crabs, the intimately-natured itch that's not commonly sought out by those engaging in sexual activity, are in demand at a Dutch natural history museum. Although the news appears as a hoax at first hearing about it, the not-so-pleasant search for the parasite seems to be true.

"The Rotterdam Natural History Museum has appealed for somebody — anybody — to give it a single crab louse for its collection, amid fears they may be dying out."

What's more interesting about the article is the explanation for why the lingerie lice might be near extinction.

"The article, titled "Did the Brazilian Kill the Pubic Louse?" found that crabs rates had fallen first in women, and several years later in men in Leeds even as rates of other sexual ailments were flat or rising. The authors hypothesized that the bikini wax known as "The Brazilian" that removes all or most pubic hair, might be to blame. "Although initially predominantly seen in females, extensive hair depilation, including pubic hair, has become popular in males in the past few years," wrote study author Nicola Armstrong. "This, along with reduced transmission rates from female partners, may account for the recent similar reduction in male patients." Moeliker said that in essence, the lice's habitat is being threatened."

Yes, Brazilian waxes are threatening to put a species on the endangered list! The wonderful writer from the Associated Press of this article ended the story on an amusing note of how pubic lice are akin to house sparrows. Just remember, every time you wax, god kills a crab.

[Thx, Jeremy!]

Trying to tempt the viral nature of interweb videos, a few new ads from Elle Macpherson Intimates feature bored ladies in lingerie. The ads may also be an attempt at commercializing the increasing number of Justin.tv webcam girls that seemingly only sit bored in front of their computers as men boys unwilling to pay for PG-rated pr0n dare them to do silly things around the house. Attention-loving aside, the lingerie certainly doesn't go without notice. Adverbox points to other ads in the series.

As annoying as the classic AOL "You've Got Mail!" voice of obviousness, GMail has decided to kick off an attempt at everyone's loathed beloved acronym CGM. Asking for submissions in spirit of the one above, GMail wants you to print out and pass the "M-velope" on video. Thankfully the pain doesn't last long, as videos are asked to be 10 seconds or less. Entries are due by August 13, in case you want to try out for being not internet famous.

Nintendo aims to teach teens about STDs, puberty, pregnancy and more. With Oscar-winning lines like "Huh? What?" this sex education video stars an adolescent teen who gets teleported down the NES rabbit hole to a TRON-esque experience. Luigi guides the dazed and confused teen through what testes are, while Mario offers delightful commentary like "totally tubular!". Between the nostalgic blips and bleeps and a clip of "condom boots" saving the day against AIDS, the video ends with a Captain Planet feel-good moment of "Nintendo Power! Safe Sex Is Teh The Best!". Also, what's with Luigi having no accent? Needless to say, this is WTF-approved.

[via]

Oh, who can't forget the interweb's beloved Nintendo Sixty-FOOOOOOOOOOUR!!1!!1! kid? That kind of geek love can only be recaptured by balding old men splooging over the iPhone launch (yes, we're looking at you, Mossberg). So, that's exactly what this guy in a pair of onesie pajamas did. Oh-Em-Gee! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Similar to Strongbad, a commercial for Powerthirst, a (hopefully) fictional product, pokes fun at cheesy energy drink commercials. The commercial comes from Picnicface, who invites you to harness the power of 400 babies. With words like "rawberry", Powerthirst states that these aren't your Dad's puns, these are energy puns - TURBOPUNS. Turbopuns aside, what man wouldn't love to grip a hard can and down a throat-full of menergy?

[via]

In wake of the recent Olympic logo chaos, a friend of a coworker of mine made this lovely logo. While less creative than imagining Lisa Simpson giving head, it's still to be one of the many user-generated-content to come.

Similar to the recent Elave "we have nothing to hide" campaign, a new campaign of the political nature takes a bold turn to getting your attention. Supposedly, a Belgian NEE party senate candidate, Tania Derveaux, wanted to make job opportunity promises she could keep, unlike her opponents. Posing nude with bold copywriting that we can only hope wasn't posted near any major traffic intersections, Tania promised to "give you 40,000 blowjobs". Tania proved her smarts in time management as well, calculating that it would take 500 days at 80 BJs a day to complete the task. Adrants reports, "the goal is to detract enough votes from legitimate candidates, assigning them to empty parliament seats which takes money and power away from parties and turns the power to the people who can sanction other politicians."

Taking note of a commenter's tip, it appears this might in fact be a promotion for a movie directed by Tania, called IP (more info at movieLOL.org). The commenter also signed up to be one of the lucky 40,000 and received a video note back, not from Tania, but from her innocent-looking, cute Asian girl "assistant". The slightly NSFW video involves the assistant giving "air head" for six minutes in tongue-slurping detail, with an occasional political reference here or there. By the end of it, I completely forgot what I was working on... oh right, a blog post about... advertising?

Probably best that they launched this after Easter. A not-so-adorable Flash game challenges you to save a cute bunny from going to hop-hop heaven. By shocking, shaving, and slicing him open, you have 60 seconds to save his life. That's only the length of the last disappointing Super Bowl commercial you saw! Then again, 60 seconds can drag on. The play-doctor game was created by 10mg interactive, that has a client roster including: Agency.com, JWT, Tribal DDB, BMW, Canon, Coca-Cola, Intel, and Sony Ericsson.

[via]

Good Magazine's video infographic about porn undresses the facts. (slightly nsfw, but totally suitable for your week's end).

[via]

While trends flickr and fade, Lolcats seem to never get old. Laughing Squid points out the phenomenon while joining in on the cat meme revolution. The misspelled cat captioned photos have expanded to social networks as well, perhaps to slow down "your shit is broken!" emails from flooding the inbox. Sites like Twitter and Iminlikewithyou have caught on and created their own Lolcats. Perhaps Second Life and MySpace could take some learnings from these Lolcat earlier adopters. So, even though interweb stars may pop up on VH1 (if we're lucky, we'll see their 'vh1's behind the interweb' drugged out downfall in years to come), Lolcats seem to have star staying power.

[Sidenote: Giving a keynote speech on virtual communities and Second Life today at a mini conference. Perhaps a Lolcat is in order to soften the audience up beforehand. Jealous? You can build your own here.]

While most viral videos entertain in 30 seconds or less, there are a few that only get better with each minute that passes. This meaty-multi-minute clip features a show on Atlanta Public Access TV, aptly titled Vagina Power (though Pussy Power may have a bit more of a ring to it). For fair warning, the audio on this is NSFW. Watch it before we jump up all in your clitor-whatnot like a jack rabbit.

[via Kent via Kevin]

Stains aren't the only marks made in the production of porn. While you can try blaming it on a hardcore face to crotch scene, explaining the bump on your head to your friends may prove to be far less provocative. Dare we admit that there's something about the sound of skull cracking and a proceeding moan upon collapse that arouses our attention among other things. Though the video [no nudity - work safe] was posted last summer, it has an addictive quality that makes you want to press "play again" while you wear out the L's and the O's on your keyboard.

Thanks, Mike!

Challenged with the launch of a new book and a necessity to peak interests, the publishers at HarperCollins decided to market the book solely online. To no surprise, there was a limited budget. Originally the publisher had set out to market the book in newspapers and magazines, but the content proved to be a bit too precariously positioned for publishing. The novel, Average American Male by Chad Kultgen is about what men really think. This isn't the bubblegum version of "He's Just Not That Into You", as such, it required above-average American advertising. More than a million views and a third printing later, some may call the sexed up spots a success. View videos #1, #2, and #3.

Perverts appear to go to great lengths to explain their 'caught in the act' behavior. Making its rounds among the awkward-infatuated blogosphere, panda porn has finally penetrated beyond the passive (yet entertaining) media of the Discovery Channel. Reportedly, a Thai zoo, distraught over the lack of moaning and clearly intimidated by the dreaded "sperm headache", starting showing a panda porn video to the captive pandas with the intent to "encourage the male to show some interest in his partner". The story may seem a little fickle to those subscribing to the furry fanclub way of life, where what would be better than working at a zoo and getting paid to watch how the "male mounts the female in a reproductive ritual"? Furries aside, the poor attempt of a "porn for pandas" excuse smells fishier than bear's breath.

New words are buzzing around the blogosphere lately. Blogging tends to build bemes (a blog meme, for the unhip and unaware) as well as fat over time. As such, Jason Calcanis intertwined the concepts to create fatblogging. What is fatblogging? While ideally it would be the liveblogging of oral indulgence, it's actually the opposite. Perhaps experiencing some jealously over Wii-Weight-Loss Experiment, bloggers join up and document their weight-loss and exercise each day as well as share thoughts and tips. The lovely Joseph Jaffe and Hugh Macleod have already signed up, so if Hugh's sketches become a little more angry and Jaffe's blog slows down even more, don't be alarmed. If you care to burn off that blogger backfat of yours, Jason invites you to work up a sweat and be part of the movement.

While fetishes among people are sometimes derived from childhood fears, fetishes among pets may be following in step. This YouTube video recently surfaced involving a cat that receives (and asks for) a spanking. You'd have to wonder if he/she gets into the trash on purpose. Though the video is cute, who is taking more pleasure from the spanking? Here's hoping the owner isn't letting out frustrations of having a timid girlfriend.

Sneaux shoes, known for the few tv spots featuring Jackass's Steve-O, has created a new spot for their reel. Cutting through all the film-of-me-skateboarding crap that has existed for decades, the stop-motion spectacle is called "Human Skateboard" for obvious reasons. The video was directed by PES, a self-proclaimed "twisted film" site. This might not be what Microsoft was intending when they launched their "people ready" campaign last year, but it certainly makes for a better ad than they've yet to make.

Sorry, this is still making me laugh.

In case you missed it on Make:, Agenda Inc., Engadget, Boing Boing, Pop Candy, Consumerist, or AdPulp, Aqua Teen Hunger Force (a highly recommended acquired taste of a cartoon) started a viral/guerilla campaign that truly climaxed yesterday. With 10 different locations over the past few weeks, the LED art of one of the characters flipping the bird required a bit of wiring around bridges and other structures. Bostonians, apparently having no sense of humor nor pop culture context, took it as a bomb threat however, and closed down major lines of traffic while they attempted to "detonate" the cartoon.

AdPulp claims that the agency behind the guerilla project, Interference Inc., are idiots - also pointing that their website has been pulled offline. Maybe so in their case, especially given the yellow-bellied-website-hiding, but overall I disagree. This has to be up there in one of the most successful viral campaigns around - perhaps on accident. Just think, if there was no bomb scare, would this be viral? If someone on the news didn't mention the Make: blog as a potential lead, would it have as much spread? During my time at VML, I've been involved in numerous pitches that specifically required a "budget for bail" due to what we were proposing. Even without budget, we've been given the go ahead for taking time off work in case of getting arrested. Hopefully Interference Inc. will grow some balls and realize that no matter how much negative publicity they get, they achieved viral success, which is a lot more than most others can claim.

Update:
AdRants commenters are going Chicken Little on this.

Update 2: You can now bid on a piece of advertising history

Update 3: The chumps (yes, to the disappointment of many, they're total chumps) hold a press conference - video on YouTube here

Spoofing is much sweeter when there's no brand. Just pure, unadulterated filth between you and your YouTube. This recently uploaded, yet outdatedly created spot for Fight Club (read: Fuck Club (read: F%@! Club for virgin eyes and/or affinities toward l33t speak) explores the queer underpinnings of Tyler Durton. While this provides a nice refresher between Wii and Apple and PC spoofing overloads, it still puts us as the office chumps if we try and ask if anyone caught that new old Fight Club spoof. Crying over YouTube not existing when your little movie came out doesn't make us pity you.

Perhaps developed over the numerous power outages caused by ice storms this winter, someone got a little creative with the leftover tea lights. Bringing back the classics, this stop-motion video uses a grid of candles to shed light on Pong, Pacman, Tetris and others. A romantic candlelit console for two.

Moreso, just like celebrities. Forbes published their list of Web Celeb 25 - the top 25 interwebbies that encapsulate the "biggest, brightest and most influential people on the Internet". The list starts out with LonelyGirl15 and trails down through bloggers, bloggers, and more bloggers. Considering LonelyGirl15 was just a one-off viral effort of sorts, you have to wonder if they notched her as #1 to avoid the wrath of the bitchy bloggers and anonymous commenters.

Using their blogs as their acceptance award stage, the blogebrities seem to stay right on cue with Hollywood. While some are thanking the academy and you can already begin to hear the music play before you reach the end of their post, others go the way of Fiona Apple and others, taking the stage time to criticize the world, leaving the audience with that awkward, "should we clap for this...?" moment.

The recipe for YouTube success seems to be a comfort food everyone grew up with. Destruction of products, the more brand-heavy, the sweeter, and a lack or complete disregard of editing skills creates a delightful snack for everyone to enjoy. The Sony PSP appears to be the latest YouTube star, in a katana-stabbing match. What kind of dork owns a katana, you ask? The same kind that attempts a PSP seppuku with bare feet. Somewhat cringing and yet still hopeful that the little chump would stab and miss, one must realize that not all can reach the YouTube greatness of those past.

Blackmail, a hostage, a little extorsion (apparently hackers don't have time to spell check extortion), some stealing of Diesel's website, and the latest campaign called Heidies is underway. With a bit of pleasurable trickery and handcuffs, the culprits are on a mission to become 'so f**king famous!'. Delving deeper into the covert operation, a live webcam shows the girls' latest victim alongside a poll of how to torture him. A live chat also reveals the desperate begging for more among viewers around the world. The Heidies are definitely delicious, but not so promiscuous, as they make sure you get what they're after, "No, we will not show our tits, been there, done that, didn't work". Here's to trying.

From business suit to birthday suit, the PETA girls take center stage at a State of the Union 'Undress'. Prefering to bare skin instead of wearing skin, PETA wants you to know that the only legal hot chicks shouldn't come from KFC. While most viral videos are nothing but teases, this NSFW one makes sure to finish you off. By the end, you'll be begging her to throw red paint on you like the dirty, fried-chicken-eating boy you are.

As annoyingly frequent as AdRants hourly updates over the Julie Roehm (who? exactly.) debacle last month, apparently mentioning anything about the violently hip Wii console sends in a flood more. Since The Wii Sex Movie was the most popular link last week, it's only considerate to post the sequel. Wanting to milk the viral fame for all its worth, the douchey chump of a boyfriend continues his story, post-dropping-the-soap-in-a-gamer-convention. Don't flatter yourself, anal-Wii-rape boy, Katie Couric shoved things up her ass on national television and look where that got her.

Taking the ruler to inexperienced guys' backsides across the nation, Old Spice unleashes its latest public service announcement. The campaign grabs attention by telling guys everywhere that it's just not okay to be "inexperienced" under anyone's watch. Old Spice needs all the attention they can get since Axe and others in the men's department have taken center stage with their so-horny-for-you ad chicks.

[via]