Stay the night, steal a Banksy.

In keeping with AdVerveBlog reader Zed's incendiary appropriation of Banksy's anti-advertising manifesto, Melbourne's Art Series Hotels attracted guests and plenty of earned media by inviting them to stay the night and try to steal Banksy art hanging on the wall. If you could get it out of the hotel without getting caught, it was yours.

The hotel tracked the thieves via GPS so it could contact them afterward to send authentication documents and campaign follow-up. This looks like it was lots of fun and the hotel's stories about the burglary attempts are great. Even celebrities got in on the theftery. More importantly, it apparently also resulted in a 300% ROI and nearly 7 million impressions on Twitter alone.

So what are you guys waiting for? Go disrupt, go make culture. In the world of subversive anti-art, all's fair.

Aussie TV Welcomes Refurbished Virgin Blue

In 2009, Virgin Atlantic fêted its 25th anniversary with a sexy retro-style ad that followed red-clad flight attendants and a grinning movie star pilot through the airport, practically red carpet style, on opening day in London.

It was epic, like a fantasy you have when you're preadolescent and square.

The above is a spin on that for the freshly-rebranded Virgin Blue in Australia. Created by Clemenger BBDO Sydney, it includes a cameo from Hans Hulsbosch, who created the airline's new look, and was filmed in Sydney, Melbourne and Shanghai. The tone pops less, the electric downplayed; but you still feel the energy of that something building, laced with a very faint Australian-ness.

Hulsbosch explains: “The television commercial communicates that, for the first time, Australia’s airline industry has a genuine alternative. It has listened to what customers want today – and created the right kind of experience [...] a modern, dynamic service offering" expressed in a cinematic style.

Much ado, much ado. When's Virgin Galactic gonna start doing TVCs? And do you get stewardess uniforms on a space ship?

Sometimes You Just Want to Build Something.

I like to play with things, to forget what they're meant for and give them other purposes. It's a zen activity; you get lost in the process of transformation, destruction and creation. That's one reason why I dig this Staples Australia execution.

The other reason is that instead of wasting office supplies doing some stop-motion cutesy paper doll crap, they actually put something together that was impressive and absorbing, something that people will want to keep around for awhile.

Via @LaPetiteGrosse.

There's Too Much Vitriole in Here.

With that in mind, I give you a Bondi Beach flashmob, enthusiastically led by drag queen extraordinaire Joyce Maynge.

You got Spice Girls! You got Single Ladies! You got Whitney!

Humor me ››