Often, there are companies that have grown so large that advertising is not used to increase sales or raise awareness–rather, their ads are used as PR damage control or to ensure that they don’t sink under the public radar. At some point, you made a choice to drink either Pepsi or Coke–is a great ad going to change your opinion on the matter one way or another? Similarly, you already have an opinion about McDonald’s, and no ad is going to convince you that the company is anything other than what it is.

Which is why their latest ad is so interesting, from both an industry and social standpoint. McDonald’s is very much promoting a message of both tolerance and acceptance for sexual orientations that veer from the hetero-normative standard. And while the ad itself is only running in France, we should note that it was originally released with English subtitles–perhaps so that the commercial could reach out without incurring the firestorm it would produce in the States. But what do they gain from this? Will this increase sales? Help them enter new markets? Help assuage their popular conception as obesity-mongers?

The answer, of course, is no on all accounts. All things considered, this is a rather risky move, where the potential downsides far outweigh any positive outcomes. But the fact that one of the largest companies in the world feels comfortable promoting this message is a useful social barometer. The times, they are a changin’.

As for the ad itself? It’s a beautiful bit of short-form fiction, all show and no tell. It requires the viewer to place the pieces together, with a payoff that somehow manages to not take sides. It tells a simple and rather sweet familial story in under a minute, and is one of my favorite ads of the year thus far. But what do you think? Ballsy, brilliant or stupid? Or is it only what it is, with no overarching implication? Do tell.

According to AdFreak and Movieline, lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley will make an appearance in the next Transformers flick, in a blatant bit of product placement for Victoria’s Secret. Apparently, giant city-crushing robots can only be defeated by a woman who is mostly known for A). being naked, B). being silent, and C). walking.

Trivial, you say? We don’t necessarily disagree. However, this does give us an excellent excuse to post Michael Bay’s absolutely epic Victoria’s Secret ad, which features everything that makes advertising SO AWESOME and SO, SO TERRIBLE. It is at once the pinnacle and absolute nadir of American artistic achievement, pushing self-parody so far over the edge that it has actually entered the strange, rarefied realm of self-aware Duchamp-esque cultural criticism.

Cleavage! Explosions! Epic camera angles for no discernible reason! Excess has never looked so good.

RazorFish’s Feed 2009 report has recently hit the net to some muted fanfare, raised eyebrows and the occasional cheer. In brief: consumers with broadband access are more likely to engage in online activities. In other news, the sky is blue, fish can swim, and there is apparently a war going on in Iraq.

Okay okay okay–snark aside, there are some really interesting takeaways. Some brief notes, to be consumed and chewed on for a later date:

A. Folks who engage with a brand online are more likely to purchase and recommend that brand to their friends and peers. Moreover, they’re much more likely to be swayed by that brand’s online presence and the digital experiences they might provide. However…

B. The vast majority of people apparently engage with a brand online either because they’re current customers or because they’re looking for a good deal.

C. People don’t download branded applications. Probably because most branded applications inevitably suck, often too busy trying to sell a product to be entertaining or useful.

D. People who participate in a brand-sponsored sweepstakes, event, or produce content for a contest are more likely to either purchase a product or service from that brand or to consider the brand when they’re in the market for that product or service. HOWEVER…

E. See Point B. Those that are most swayed most likely belong to the choir already.

F. The vast majority of respondents either SOMETIMES or NEVER engage with brand activities online. Most consumers only rarely watch commercials or video advertisements on YouTube (74%), read brand blogs (73%), play browser-based brand games (75%), post brand reviews (64%), provide feedback (72%), interact with mobile ads (86%), or blog about a brand (78%). However, most people will still hunt down information about a brand online. See question 16 for the full breakdown.  The takeaway? While the number of people who NEVER engage with a brand online is statistically significant (hovering between 20 and 30 percent on average), the more intriguing concern is just what the term SOMETIMES actually means.

G. A thought about questions 17 and 18–just what the heck’s a “digital experience,” anyway? That’s a little vague, innit guv?

H. Based on the data, RazorFish’s conclusions about the fundamental nature of the internet can be considered questionable at best, and massive extrapolations at worst.

Now don’t get me wrong: a strong digital brand presence that actively engages with its consumers is a very, very important aspect of any successful marketing strategy. But it’s not the end-all be-all, and it’s not a silver bullet that will magically solve all your problems in a puff of faerie-dust and unicorn farts. Basic brand-building fundamentals should not be ignored in favor of dumping the entirety of your budget into YouTwitFace.

[CUE DRAMATIC MUSICAL STING]

We truly do live IN THE FUTURE!

In all seriousness, the boys down at Mountain View made a pretty sharp move. The future of mobile computing favors the rise of the smart phone, and Google just bought the biggest player in the nascent mobile advertising sandbox.

In other news, the Goog is also planning on acquiring Gizmo5, a VOIP company.  If we take their Google Voice service, their ambitious Android OS platform, and the Chrome browser into consideration as well, we can only surmise that Brin and the boys are planning something big. Huge, even. Keep an eye out, folks. The mobile space is about to get infinitely more interesting in the coming months and years.

UPDATE: And this little story grows ever more interesting, as Silicon Alley Insider’s Harry Blodget states that Apple was seriously bidding on AdMob as well. In fact, SIA’s source hints that AdMob’s nearly absurd price was reached in order to outbid Jobs and company. Were the sunny lads from Cupertino strapping on their howitzers and preparing for war? Curiouser and curiouser…

(via the big money)

Seriously: could it get any more off-base and out-of-touch than the DIY Windows 7 launch party? Do you really have to ask?

LOOK! Adorable kids! Everyone loves kids!

Bah. This is what we in the industry like to call THE SUCKER PUNCH. This campaign’s several months old now, but I was really hoping they’d come up with something new and fresh for what’s turning out to be their best software release in the past decade. But no! They keep on rolling out those doe-eyed munchkins, trying to appeal to that strange part of our ids that still gets a kick out of watching frolicking kittens. (This, by and by, is perhaps the Cute Overload equivalent of the neutron bomb.)

Besides, is anyone really surprised that little pre-K Suzie Q knows her way around a laptop? We thought that’s been a given (if somewhat flawed) stereotype for years now–the younger you are, the more technically-savvy you are, to the point where we all just assume that most kids nowadays were already hacking into NORAD while they were in the womb.

Lookie here, folks: “so easy, even a kid can do it” was never a very effective message to begin with, and the way the spot paints the PC as a toy isn’t doing anyone favors. Your audience is smarter than that, MS. Show ‘em that your new booty-kicking OS will let them get stuff done, clearly and directly, without mucking about in twee cuteness.

Then again, maybe it’s all Steve Ballmer’s fault.

Look folks–the numbers themselves aren’t surprising. But what the other media outlets don’t seem to realize is that the vast majority of content online is created by a very small number of users. I’m willing to bet good money that the 10/90 ratio is true across the board on every major online media portal, including our resident 800-lb gorilla. In fact, that ratio probably holds true in meat space as well; while we all pay lip service to social media and the rise of democratic content, only a handful of people are actually producing work for public consumption. From Facebook to YouTube to your local music scene, the vast majority of content will always come from a small number of people.

It seems like the geniuses over at Harvard spent unknown amounts of time and money to come to a blindingly obvious conclusion. And while I’m not the biggest fan of Twitter, these ostensibly foreboding numbers hardly spell doom for the nascent service.

YOU FAIL AT LIFE, HARVARD. INSERT QUARTER TO CONTINUE.