The truth can finally be told: McDonald's is inserting single-frame subliminal ads into Food Network's programming. If you don't believe me, just watch the video below. Soon we'll all be kneeling at the foot of a bronze Grimace statue while confusedly scratching at the horseshoe-shaped sutures on our shaved heads. Take heed!

Then again, maybe it was just a glitch, and maybe, just maybe, it was proved half a century ago that subliminal advertising doesn't work. However, the obvious answer is rarely as entertaining, so I like to imagine that somewhere in an underground bunker Ronald McDonald is ranting and raving like Dr. Strangelove and demanding more images of McDonald's be planted on television so he can build an army of mind slaves and take over the world. I shall lay down my life for my new bichrome overlord.

I think this commercial clip actually comes from an episode of The Tonight Show when Jack Black was a guest. That would explain the audience laughter heard when a young Jack Black pops up on the screen. The commercial is for Pitfall, one of the best Atari games ever. Pitfall helped me improve my running, jumping, swinging and falling-into-things skills. Also, it taught me that if you stand on a crocodile's head, it can't eat you. Also the best way to avoid a rattlesnake is to run straight at it and jump over it. If I ever become lost in the jungle, I should be able to survive with no trouble at all.

[via CC Insider]

If you wake up and find yourself in Atlanta between February 1 and May 19, mosey on over to the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and check out "Design at Play: The High Design and Low-Brow Humor of Cartoon Network," an exhibit dedicated to advertising and promotional work created by the men and women of Cartoon Network, which is also based in Atlanta. The exhibit will cover three galleries at the MODA and will include formal demonstrations of how the company creates ads for television, billboards and the Web. Some of the shows featured in the exhibit will include My Gym Partner's a Monkey; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends; Camp Lazlo; Ed, Edd and Eddy and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. The exhibit will also feature a look at the work of Craig McCracken, creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

Michael Pinto over at Fanboy.com has posted a bunch of old animated commercials from Italy. Most of them are animated, and unless you speak Italian, probably won't make much sense. The first one appears to be about two eggs building a home, getting married and buying a washing machine. See, this is why you have to keep your fridge door shut, otherwise your eggs will start eloping and you'll starve to death, but only if you're on a strict "eggs only" diet. The only Italian phrases I could make out were "thank you" and "love." Also, there was "The Witchdoctor" song by Dave Seville, but I'm pretty sure "ting tang walla walla bing bang" isn't Italian.

Anyway, the ads come from Mondo Carosello, and as Amid from Cartoon Brew points out, the animation isn't anything spectacular, but it's still fun to see how other cultures used animation in advertisements back in the day.

The other night I woke up in a cold sweat. Confused and panicked, I began to fumble through the dark, pounding on the walls of my apartment and exclaiming, "won't somebody tell me Keith Partridges favorite cereal?"

That's when an angel flew into my apartment and directed me to YouTube, where I learned that not only does Keith Partridge favor Rice Krispies, but I should also eat the noisy cereal if I want to be like him. Then the angel put on a Batman costume, explaining he was only a part-time angel, and flew out my window.

I was glad to have my mystery solved, but seriously, Keith, what kind of lazy kid has his mother pour milk on the cereal for him? Why don't you just have her feed you in bed, too? My advice to all of you: eat Rice Krispies, but don't be like Keith. Pour your own damn milk.

Thank you.

The other night I caught a commercial for UPS and the Whiteboard section of its Web site. The site's purpose is to show how UPS can help with all your needs no matter who you are or how often you deliver packages. It's not a bad way to raise interest, but listen to the music playing in the background on the site, and in the TV spots. That song is "Such Great Heights" by the band The Postal Service.

Here's my theory: a secret agent from the United States Postal Service infiltrated the ad agency and insisted they use a song by the Postal Service in the ad, thus subliminally telling viewers to go out and use the United States Postal Service instead of UPS.

A cover version of the song has also been used in commercials for M&Ms. It's my belief that the USPS wants to lure everyone to the post office so its army of mail carriers can steal everyone's M&Ms.

Make the truth visible. Power to the people.

There's not a lot in this world that's funnier than one language loosely translated into another language. If you've ever purchased a toy produced in Japan, you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes you can guess what the instructions are saying, and other times something just gets lost in the translation.

Here's a great example of what I'm talking about. Zompist hilariously dissects the packaging on what appears to be a plastic train set for preschool-age kids. It has the same bad translation from Japanese to English, which is understandable, but what's a little harder to explain is why the cover includes a laughing demon and dripping blood. I can only guess, but I think the package is telling children to appreciate their precious youth, for the twisted face of death peers over their shoulders at all times. Heavy, yes, but kids should know the edge of the Great Abyss is always just a heartbeat away, and no plastic train set is going to change that.

[via Boing Boing]

If you're a music lover and/or a fan of animation like I am, you probably heard the news that Pete Kleinow, guitarist for the Flying Burrito Brothers passed away a little over a week ago. Besides his work as a sought after steel guitarist, Kleinow also worked as an animator for both films and television, including Gumby (he also wrote and performed the theme), Davey and Goliath, Land of the Lost, Gremlins, Army of Darkness and Terminator.

Kleinow did commercial work in the '80s, including spots for Pillsbury, Hamburger Helper, Keebler, Mrs. Butterworth and many others. I've placed some commercials below. There's no way to know if Kleinow worked on these specifically since commercials don't air with credits, but it gives you an idea of some of the icons Kleinow helped bring to life.

I thought this Yellow Pages spot was really funny. That may be why I found it on TBS' Very Funny Ads site. The commercial comes from the Netherlands, and I must say, that country either makes really fragile aquarium glass, or really strong mop handles. It seems a mere tap from the mop handle was enough to compromise the integrity of the glass on this aquarium. What I love about this commercial isn't so much the man panicking and trying to hold back the glass, it's how nonchalant his co-worker is about calling for a new pane of glass to replace it. Also, the final image of the shark coming at the poor janitor is classic.

First there was Cocaine the energy drink. Now there's Meth coffee. The new coffee shop in San Francisco offers high-caffeine coffee that includes yerba mate, a natural stimulant used by shamans in the Amazon for increased energy and more of a philosophical buzz.. I'm not sure I buy all that, but I don't drink coffee, either.

"Meth Coffee" was created by an anarchist and conspiracy theorist who goes by the name "The Roaster." Seems somewhat silly to me, but I guess we'll see where the concept takes him.

I grew up in the '80s, and like anyone who was a child during that decade, it is my god-given right to cram every bit of pop culture from that era down your throat. For example, do you remember the Honey Comb Hideout from the Honey Comb Cereal commercials? If not, that's okay, I'll be sending people to your house to tie you to your chair and force you to watch this until that damn Honey Comb song is stuck in your brain just like it's been stuck in mine since I was seven years old.

One of these ads features Andre the Giant, which is pretty cool. The other teaches kids how to deal with the problem of grown ups who know kung fu and want to steal your cereal. That may not seem like a real problem, but trust me, Steven Segal has tried to steal my cereal on nine consecutive occasions. It gets really annoying after awhile.

I'll give them credit for trying something different with this ad for the Chilled Mars Bar, but I just don't think it works. As you can see, the man's "package" in the ad has shriveled up to nothing. In fact, it's pretty much gone camel toe. That's the first strike against this ad, the idea that "shrinkage" means "turns into a vagina." Second, I don't know if the gag is especially obvious. I didn't catch it right away because to me it was just a guy in a swimsuit, and I didn't feel compelled to examine his crotch to see how well it filled out his suit.

I'm not saying the idea itself isn't funny, because it is, but perhaps it would have worked better if the ad showed a man standing naked before a woman with a mortified look on his face while she laughs at him; something that suggests his minimized manhood rather than showing it. Of course, even then there's the question as to whether or not you want men to associate your product with wang shrinkage. I think I would have sent this one back to the drawing board a few times.

These ads for Szexplaza.com are a spoof of a WonderBra ad that ran not too long ago. In the WonderBra ad, men are shown with enlarged hands to accommodate their bust-enhanced girlfriends. In these new ads, it's the women who now have the large hands to accommodate their endowed boyfriends. Of course, I couldn't help but think that if we're talking a bout "accommodation," it wouldn't necessarily be the women's hands that would need enlarging. I could extrapolate that thought even further, but I'm not going to because I figure you can fill that in with your own imagination. Really, though, maybe the men and women in both of these ads should stop concerning themselves with body image and join up to form really kickass handball team. Or an Olympic Patty Cake team.

Sweet crunchy Jesus, I think Kellogg's and Hasbro have found the perfect way to attarct this here jaded consumer. I love Trivial Pursuit, and I love Pop Tarts, so why not combine the two? That's exactly what these two companies did. This year, special boxes of strawberry Pop Tarts will have trivia questions printed right on the pastries. Also, the questions will be taken from Trivial Pursuit for Kids, so you'll feel even smarter. Now I can expand my knowledge of useless topics while enjoying a Pop Tart for breakfast. And lunch. And supper. And brunch. And as a snack in the middle of the day. And as something to eat in the car.

[via Brand Flakes for Breakfast]

Nickland, a new section of Movie Park Germany opening April of this year, will be the first Nickelodeon-themed attraction in Europe. The new "adventure zone" will feature rides, attractions and costumed characters from such shows as Jimmy Neutron, My Life As a Teenage Robot, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans and Danny Phantom.

Nickland will also allow Nickelodeon and Movie Park Germany to create co-branded campaigns within the park, and to increase advertising on Nickelodeon's German network, Nick in Germany as the popularity of the Nickelodeon brand continues to grow in Germany.