It’s officially May which means we can now say this: Arrested Development returns this month! In anticipation of the return of the short-lived cult comedy, Netflix is going all out with an attractive ad campaign featuring images and taglines that evoke some of the most memorable bits from the series’ original run. You can sort through it all below; gallery #1 includes some laugh-out-loud promo posters while gallery #2 contains character portraits. Also, the storage container has sprung open (see above!).

Once you’re done there, you’re going to want to hop after the break to watch a BRAND NEW CLIP starring the dynamic duo Buster and his overbearing mother Lucille.

Arrested Development launches on Netflix with 15 new episodes all at once on May 24.

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That last post detailing the launch of the 2011 Nike Mag Back to the Future sneaker is filling to the brim, so I’ve decided to make a new landing for all the latest on the greatest shoe never made (until now, that is).

The auction kicked off September 8 at 8:30PM PST and it will last for ten days. Every day 150 pairs of the sneaker will be made available at eBay. Here’s a link to the Nike Mag-eBay portal. There you’ll be able to view and bid on the shoes, ranging in size from 7 to 13. After a quick glance, most of the shoes currently hover around the $2,500 price point. But don’t let those early tallies fool you; British rapper Tinie Tempah won the first Mag on-site at the Nike launch event with a winning bid of $37,500, and bids on eBay have reportedly reached the $75,000 mark. So unless you’re willing to drop thousands for the shoe from the future, pass your time by drifting your eyes to the next paragraph.

Last night Michael J. Fox appeared on the David Letterman to detail the shoe and it’s release. After showing it off, he announced that Google founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki have offered to match all donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation up to $50 million through the end of 2012. So even though you sit there in frustration knowing that owning the Mag is a pipe dream, you can rest assured that all of the money exchanged over the course of the 10-day auction is going to a great cause. If you’re itching to donate to Parkinson’s research in other ways, visit www.michaeljfox.org. Watch Fox’s Letterman appearance after the break.

And finally, the last topic that must be discussed is the marketing campaign behind the Mag release. Check it:

When the original Back to the Future creative team learned of Nike’s desire to support Fox’s foundation with the release of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes, Executive Producer Frank Marshall joined the effort. A concept was hatched to develop a ‘Lost Scene’ to honor the original Back to the Future films and characters, capturing Doc Brown’s efforts to make Marty ‘fit in’ during his visit to 2015. [via Nike]

And so Back For The Future was born. BTTF executive producer Frank Marshall directed the short film and Robert Zemeckis (helmer of the trilogy) came back to EP. Also returning is the mad scientist himself–Christopher Lloyd as Doc Emmett Brown and Donald Fullilove as salesman Goldie Wilson III. SNL castmember Bill Hader and basketball star Kevin Durant also star in the video embedded after the break. Below, find even more stills of the glorious Mag.

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About a month ago actor Justin Long (aka Mac) hinted that Apple was done with the “Get a Mac” TV commercial series that started way backin 2006.  The latest “Get a Mac” ad was released in October 2009.  So it comes at no surprise that Apple has officially decided to pull the plug on it.  Watch the compilation video above to reminisce the good ‘ol days of PC (the hilarious John Hodgeman) and Mac.  In addition to removing the commercials from the airwaves, Apple has replaced the “Get a Mac” website (which allowed you to watch the ads on demand) with a “Why You’ll Love a Mac” page.  Head over to AdFreak where you’ll find a listing of every ad made over the years (there’s 66 in total).  Look after the break to watch my two favorite spots.

[Via MacRumors; Gizmodo] (Click here for more…)

Adobe, makers of Flash video, have decided to take the high road in their retaliation against Apple’s harsh words against their platform.  As you know, Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently released an open letter regarding his position on Adobe’s Flash standard for video.  He believes it is not an open platform, it’s proprietary, and it’s a dated standard that does not belong in the mobile space.  In direct response to Jobs’ open letter, Adobe has rolled out a new ad campaign with the slogan “We [Love] Apple”, with a heart in the place of “love”.  In addition to web ads, Adobe coughed up some cash to place a large ad in yesterday’s Washington Post.  Things just got more serious, and Team Adobe wants you to know they are in this for the long haul.  Besides the new ad campaign, Adobe co-founders Chuck Geschke and John Warnock penned their own open letter titled “Our thoughts on open markets.”  These choice words are obviously directed at Apple:

We believe that consumers should be able to freely access their favorite content and applications, regardless of what computer they have, what browser they like, or what device suits their needs. No company — no matter how big or how creative — should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the web.

In the end, we believe the question is really this: Who controls the World Wide Web? And we believe the answer is: nobody — and everybody, but certainly not a single company.

Flash to Apple: Oh, it’s on.  Look after the break for the open letter in its entirety, as well as one of the new advertisements.

[Via Engadget; Adobe] (Click here for more…)

According to the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo is spending between $75 million to $85 million to run a new ”It’s You” ad campaign that’s obviously directed at Google.  The gloves are off, let the games begin.

[Via WSJ; Gizmodo]

Shot by fashion photographer Nathaniel Goldberg, the ads features ‘real people’ rather than models, and contain the new Evian strapline: Live Young.

I’m really diggin’ Evian’s latest ad campaign.  Nice addition to this masterpiece.  More photos in the gallery below.

[Via IBelieveInAdvertising]

Rhys Darby of Flight of the Conchords fame (he played Bret & Jemaine’s boss Murray) stars in HP’s latest ad campaign.  The $40 million “Let’s Do Amazing” ad campaign includes a series of commercials that appear to reintroduce the HP brand to consumers in a new, different, and quite humorous way.  Dr. Dre lends a helping hand, making sure to promote his Dre Beats line of headphones and HP laptops.  Look after the break for a second commercial.

UPDATED: You’ll find all the current HP “Let’s Do Amazing” commercials featuring Rhys Darby, plus an interview with the FOTC alum and the “Internal Launch” video, after the break!

[Via Engadget]

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In a strange attempt to advertise its new 2010 REGZA SV LCD TV series, Toshiba sent “an ordinary living room chair” into outerspace.  Check it out!

Facts about the shoot:

• The shots were taken at a staggering 98,268 feet above the earth using Toshiba’s own cameras
• To reach the altitude required and to conform with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the weight of the rig had to be carefully managed to a weight of no more than four pounds
• Tied to the rig was a specially created full-sized model chair made of biodegradable balsa wood – the chair was made by a company called Artem and cost about £2,500
• Launch coordinates of the rig were – 119 degrees, 14 minutes by 40 degrees, 48 minute (12 miles North-East of the town of Gerlach, Nevada)
• The quality of the footage from the Toshiba IK-HR1S cameras was: 1920×1080 pixel count; 1080i @ 50hz; 100 Mbps
• The temperature dropped to minus 90 degrees when the chair reached 52,037 feet
• The chair took 83 minutes to reach an altitude of 98,268 feet where it broke and took just 24 minutes to fall back down to earth with the rig.

[Via Engadget; Gizmodo; Toshiba.uk]

Goodbye creepy really strange non-sensical really pale you scare me zombie girl.  Hello normalcy.  Palm has decided to take a more traditional route to advertising with its new Palm Pixi WebOS-enabled smartphone.  And I like it.  Because it doesn’t disturb me like the Palm Pre ad campaign did many a-time.

The Palm Pixi will be made available on Sprint for $99 on November 15.

[Via Engadget]

And it rocks.

HP has used the techniques of tilt-shifting photography and minuature faking for the latest ad campaign called “Create Amazing.”  Tilt-shift photography ”refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene.”  Miniature faking is “a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is made to look like a photograph of a miniature scale model.  Blurring parts of the photo simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered in close-up photography, making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is.”  “A miniature can also be simulated digitally, using an image editor to blur the top and bottom of the photograph, so that only the subject is sharp.”

UPDATE:  Apparently the video was taken off YouTube because the filmmaker still needs to clear it with HP.  I will repost as soon as it reappears on the Internet.

[Via Engadget; Wiki, here & here]

What happens when you have a great 3G phone (ie. the iPhone) but a poor cell phone carrier that lacks proper 3G coverage (read: AT&T)?  You get plopped onto the Island of Misfit Toys, that’s what.  Look after the break for two more anti-AT&T ads from Verizon Wireless.  Oh, it’s on.

[Via Engadget]

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We’ve already seen the viral iDont and pods falling from space promos.  Now Verizon has decided to take a turn in marketing strategy moving towards more traditional “this is what the product can actually do” commercials.  I mean, what does DroidDoes do does did?  Peek after the break for two more spots that will take over the airwaves “soon.”

[Via Engadget]

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“What in the world is that?”

Silly man, it’s the Droid by Motorola, Verizon’s first Android phone.  It does everything iDon’t, remember?  The Droid “drops” November 6.  (That’s tomorrow, people!)

I’m really enjoying this super sci-fi viral marketing campaign.  Never has Verizon created such a bold and exciting ad campaign.  And it’s working; there’s much hype for tomorrow’s highly anticipated launch.

Now that HTC is becoming more of a household brand with its slew of sleek cell phones coming out for AT&T (Pure, Tilt2), T-Mobile (G1, myTouch 3G), and Verizon (Touch Diamond, Imagio, O-Zone, Droid Eris?), it deserves an ad campaign to further integrate its brand image and make a name for itself in the consumer world.  And you know what, it works for me.  The “HTC You” campaign commercials and print ads are clean, sleek, and catchy (“You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you”).  And most important of all they get the HTC name out there and get people talking.  And talk people should do–HTC, their partnerships with companies like Google, and their self-concocted Sense UI really do pay off their great, user-friendly handsets.  Check out one of the commercials below, and look after the break for another one.

[Via Engadget]

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For an ad campaign, Sony Australia launched a PS3 into a Sony Bravia LCD television at 50 mph.  And it was all caught on tape in glorious slow-mo.

[Via Gizmodo]