The Russians did it?

Feb 28, 2008 18:06 GMT  ·  By

More often than not, an ad pops out from the rest and just gets you watching it over and over again, until you finally get all of the details and manage to wrap your head around it. Naturally, being one of the biggest companies in the world and having more fans than you can count might bring you good advertising, with even better concepts coming in from all around.

I doubt the Russian ad for Gmail will be topped pretty soon. It's too good and simple to be left behind by something, no matter how many special effects might be involved. And let's be honest, how can you advertise an email service and use special effects? Have Robocop come out of the inbox and blast spam with the gun in his thigh? Have Oprah tell you just how much fan mail she receives every day and why she chose Gmail? Let's face it, you have to be damned innovative to pull this through.

The Russian team was just that. I won't describe it even in the slightest, but here's what they used for the ad:

- 162 meters of gray tape - 45 lego pieces - 32 sticks of plasticine - 18 brushes - 18 square meters of batten - 12 cans of spray paint - 10 liters of white paint - 4 reams of paper - 2 kilograms of millet porridge - 1 printer - 1 hair dryer - 1 mop - 1 saw

Oh, and the thing in the end? It was made out of "3 sweaters, 3 balls, 3 pillows, 2 dumbbells, 2 pair of gloves, a set of child's plates, a hockey stick, a scarf, a paper folder, hats and slippers. All in red of course," as the Official Gmail Blog writes. Enjoy watching it!