Everyone knows the funniest Americans were born in Canada, so why not leverage that to bring a few tourism dollars north of the border?

Now playing in New York City: a series of spots featuring Canadian expat actor Eric McCormack, pitching the great white north to Manhattanites and visitors. The "Canada for Fun" tourism and branding campaign, from a consortium of Canadian tourism boards, aims to boost awareness of "why Canada is such a fun place to visit." It just launched in the New York metro market on NBC-owned TV stations; online at CanadaForFun.com and YouTube, where you can watch more of the spots; in taxis (where this expat Canadian caught the campaign); and on digital signage in commuter rail stations such as Penn Station. 

"Humour is an intrinsic part of our culture and is a great way to give Americans who haven't had a chance to visit Canada an inside look at their northern neighbours. We hope they enjoy Eric's take on our myths and realities," noted Greg Klassen, SVP of the Canadian Tourism Commission. Follow along on Twitter: @canadaforfun and #canadaforfun 

Last year, Jiffy Lube gained more than 5 percentage points of market share in the franchised fast-lube business that it already led. And now the brand has launched its first national advertising campaign in 20 years to attempt to consolidate and build on its gains.

Under Jiffy Lube's new "Leave Worry Behind" tagline, a pair of TV spots (titled "Luge" and "Roller Derby" with tongue-in-cheek timing to the Olympics) debuted on June 11th. They depict predatory mechanics who "are just determined to find something to repair" on your car — even if repair isn't required. Many car owners can identify with that sentiment. Jiffy Lube is depicted as their refuge. "We don't fix vehicles," the voiceover says. "We help keep them running right."Continue reading...

With such brands as Tide, Charmin, and Bounty in its massive brand family of consumer packaged goods, Procter & Gamble has long focused its marketing push toward the mothers of the world. Even now, in a world where the stay-at-home-dad population is growing and U.S. women are heading toward out-earning their husbands, P&G still pays tribute to mom in much of its marketing.

Its current global campaign, called "Thank You Mom," celebrates the mothers of Olympic athletes, and P&G will take some of those women to the Games in London this summer. While we can all agree that moms rock, P&G is smartly taking a break so it can focus on dads, even for a bit. With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, P&G’s Gillette brand launched dad-centric TV ads during the England-France Euro 2012 tie game on Monday.

Gillette's pre-Father's Day U.S. campaign pitch for the spot at top:

Gillette is searching for the greatest fatherly advice ever. Visit us on Facebook, or use #HeresToDad on Twitter between June 7 and 17 to share your dad's words of wisdom. This commercial celebrates Dads everywhere, by recognizing the man behind the athlete...the man behind all of us. "Here's to Dad. The Best a Man Can Get."Continue reading...

McDonald's Canada's latest TV commercial answers the question, "What's the one brand that can make strangers friends?" Hat-tip to McDonald's US social media director Rick Wion for flagging on Twitter.

"Unlimited Love Unlimited EVO" is Sprint’s latest campaign showcasing the evolution of the EVO smartphone on Sprint’s 4G LTE network with the "Evo Live" spot above. 

The national TV commercial is a love song from EVO fans, featuring a 130-person “mobile chorus” recreating American alternative rock band Wilco’s hit song I’m Always in Love, using nine music-making mobile apps and featuring the phone’s camera technology, audio and voice quality enhancements and kickstand on the back of the phone.

“The creative for this campaign evokes an emotional response from the viewer,” said Caralene Robinson, vice president-Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications-Sprint. “The HTC EVO family of phones has a loyal following with millions of fans. They love their EVO devices.”Continue reading...

Burger King today unveiled the post-celebrity kick-off to its summer campaign: "Barbecue Day." The description: "Summer time is all about great food, good company and fun! This is the time of year we all look forward to. It’s BBQ time friends! Let’s have a BBQ today at BURGER KING®!" 

Click here to watch its new commercial, and take a look back at its (somewhat) controversial, just-wrapped celebrity-studded campaign for its new menu below.Continue reading...

Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick asked, "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" While we don't know yet about androids, a new campaign offers a peek at the dreams of Android-powered phones (and iPhones and other smartphones).

The pitch: If your phone could truly "sleep," what would it dream? Sprint's new interactive cinema experience encourages moviegoers to turn off their mobile device in exchange for a custom mobile "dream."Continue reading...

BlackBerry's new promotional video, "Just Our Type," taps actress/singer Christina Milian to test its keyboard in extreme conditions such as underwater — although one puzzled YouTube comment points out why the attempt at comedy falls flat: "they're advertising use in water and have a disclaimer afterwards saying not to use in water and that Blackberry doesn't cover water-damage. Poor concept. Show people what they actually do."