Who would have thought winning the award for "Worst Hotel in the World" would be inspiration for an ad campaign? Talk about a PR spin, Kessel Kramer has managed to use this along with slogans like "Now a bed in every room" and "Now more rooms without a window" for a campaign to promote one of Amsterdam's most notorious budget hotels.

This series of shocking yet captivating poster ads are just one of many that went on display at CarraigeWorks Gallery last Thursday. The collection, proudly supported by Adshel, is from the internationally recognised communications agency KesselKramer whose most common strategies include irony, shock tactics and humour.

On entering the gallery you are faced with a sea of over 100 posters, with colours, words and images sending your eyes in a complete frenzy! The trick is to start at the beginning and take in every unique and clever message.

The range of emotions these posters evoke is endless. From cringing at a rugby players gouged open head to the humorous series of before & after shots promoting the honest and human experience of a trip to Amstrerdam and the delights of the aforementioned Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, where lets just say your 'after' shot is definitely not one to include in the family slide show!

You will definitely be shocked, baffled, intrigued and if you haven't already, develop an appreciation for the clever minds of these creative advertising folk. 

Seeing an adorable puppy walk by in the street will make any heart melt, seeing an unwanted, abandoned puppy in a cage with sad eyes will make any heart break and make you want to rescue it immediately!

That is exactly the emotion TBWA/Frederick played on to promote the Pedigree dog food's global adoption campaign at several Chilean bus stops.

A plasma screen was installed on the wall of the bus shelter and then covered to make it look like a battered shed. They then filmed a dog from an actual shelter over 24 hours and played the video on the plasma to show what a day in the life of a shelter dog is like.

People stopped in their tracks, took photos and stayed to watch the video. Even people driving by pulled over to take a look at the poor puppy. Some were even fooled by the clever disguise and had to look at the other side of the shelter to see if it was in fact a real cage.

The campaign has proven to be very successful, with major press coverage and even coverage on major news networks.

This is a great example of how adding movement to your outdoor gets that added level of engagement. A picture may say a thousand words, but in this case video tells a whole story.

To promote Fallsview Casino, OMD Canada together with GJP Advertising installed a life size helicopter (35 feet across, 10 feet high) promoting the message 'Break out of the City'.

The helicopter included a ladder dropping into the city, featuring life sized mannequins making a break for the copter. The mannequins, dressed to imitate the young, urban professionals living in the area actually fooled a few people, judging from the emergency calls which flooded the state department.

Bond would be proud!

A leisurely swim, anyone?

Seems bus shelters are getting pretty fancy these days! We recently came across some pretty wacky examples of bus shelters from around the world.

Yosemite Falls

Estonia

The ultra flashy version complete with climate control from Dubai (where else!)

...and the strawberry version from Japan!

More can be found here.