Sometimes, however, companies design truly creative outdoor ads. They’re original enough to penetrate consumer ad fatigue, and innovative enough to convince you their product might actually be worth checking out. We’ve compiled 35 brilliant ads that make you do a double-take:

1. Bite: Ogilvy & Mather

Image: Comunicamos

This Indonesian billboard makes it clear that Formula Toothcare gives you really strong teeth.

2. Engagement Ring: Robbins Diamonds

Robbins Diamonds reminds drivers that no engagement ring means angry girlfriend. The sign is on the way to the Philadelphia airport.

3. Barbell: Fitness Company

This German metro advertisement adds levity to weight-lifting.

4. Nail Biter Bag: Jung von Matt Berlin

Image: How Advertising Spoiled Me

The woman on this bag is supposed to be biting nails, not eating a hand. Either way, she catches attention for the nail-biting balm Stop n’ Grow.

5. Beau Rivage Resort & Casino

Source: Frederik Samuel

A Mississippi resort and casino brings much-needed tranquility to the baggage claim.

6. Smoking Bus: Nicotinell

Image: Billboardom

As long as this bus is moving, this man is smoking. And suffering. The solution? Nicotinell gum.

7. Cracking the Sidewalk

Image: Highly Optical Illusions

Placed around Singapore, these martial arts school ads make good use of sidewalk cracks.

8. Lettuce Billboard: McDonald’s

Image: GroovyGreen

Yep, that’s really lettuce growing on a McDonald’s billboard. Fresh.

9. Mini With Boobs: FHM

Image: AdFreak

British men’s rag FHM Magazine painted boobs on this Mini. Eye-catching and genre-appropriate.

10. Shaving the Lawn: BIC

Image: Brian Sibley

A giant BIC razor shaves grass in England. The razor mows well, but unfortunately, the brand name is hard to see.

11. Clean Sidewalk Stripe: Mr. Clean

Image: Branding & Marketing

Mr. Clean keeps one stripe on this Italian crosswalk clean. And he’s proud of it.

12. Miele Vacuum Cleaner: Miami Ad School

Image: AdArena

Two art students from the Miami Ad School created this vac-tastic Miele billboard.

13. Lego Crane: IDB-FCB

In Chile, building companies don’t work on weekends. So one ad agency hung a giant Lego from a crane in a visible Santiago location. The result: A sweet ad. (Source)

14. Weighed Down: Silberman’s Fitness Center

Obviously overweight? Silberman’s offers a solution.

15. Goalkeeper: Adidas

Image: Say No to Crack

Drivers literally can’t miss this massive Adidas ad, which the company posted at the Munich airport during the 2006 World Cup.

16. Big Idea: The Economist

Image: Funny Billboards

The Economist posted an award-winning London ad whose motion sensor light illuminates when someone passes by.

17. Dropped Call: Cingular

Image: AdFreak

Located outside the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, this Cingular ad makes the dropped call issue very visible. (Source)

18. Popped Gum

Image: Billboardom

This kid in Mumbai had a nasty pop.

19. Strong Tape

The tape “holding up” this billboard is really strong. Simple, yet effective.

20. Kill Bill

Image: Toxel

Ad designers did a bloody good job with this Kill Bill-board.

21. We’ll Match It: Benjamin Moore Paints

Image: Billboardom

Benjamin Moore paints gets the hue right.

22. Leaky Mascara: Max Factor

Image: Say No to Crack

The eyes in this Max Factor ad cry mascara when it rains. Catchy–and, to women, scary.

23. Checkmate: Santa Monica BMW

The real message here: Do not mess with Santa Monica BMW.

24. McDonald’s Time

Source: Chicago Business

It’s always McDonald’s time, according to this sundial-like billboard in Chicago.

25. Paint Spill: Coop Paint

Image: Hojimoto/Flickr

Columbus, Ohio’s Atlas Building just didn’t look the same after a Coop’s Paint spill.

26. Not American: Smart Car

This Smart Car ad pokes fun at American auto engineering.

27. Hidden Danger: Mexico Unido

Image: Coloribus

Mexico Unido reminds innocent passerby that danger lurks around every corner.

28. Coca Cola Ladder

This Coca Cola ad embodies desperate thirst using only a bottle, a ladder, and a giant straw. Kind of makes you want one, doesn’t it?

29. Run: Nike

Image: Billboardom

For a transparent billboard, this Nike ad is mighty eye-catching.

30. Mars Chilled

Image source

Mars Chilled will transform your tongue into a frog-like appendage. Or it will capture and freeze your tongue. It’s that good.

31. Giant Cork: Heye & Partner

Image: Bored.com

This advertising pillar turned into a giant cork for a German wine trade fair. It works–as long as nobody pins flyers on it.

32. Accessories: Saatchi & Saatchi

Image: Bored.com

This guerilla marketing campaign took place in Geneva, for an accessory store. Saatchi & Saatchi replaced chains with giant jewelry in several locations. (Source: Adverbox)

33. Irresistible Scent: Gain

Image: Say No to Crack

You can just see the fresh smell on this 3-D billboard.

34. Rubber Duckies: Adidas

Image: Thomas Rockstar

Adidas filled a Copenhagen fountain with blue rubber duckies for Copenhagen Fashion Week. The bottoms of the ducks said “Reward for my return at Adidas original store.” People would keep the cute ducks…and wander into the local Adidas store. (Source: Thomas Rockstar)

35. Butt Billboard

Image: Creative Juice

This billboard is eye-catching…in a bad way.

Rumor has it that Cookie Monster is turning into a health-crazed Veggie Monster in an effort to combat childhood obesity. This isn’t the case, but Cookie Monster isn’t quite what he used to be, either. The Big Change in cookie monster actually occurred in 2005, but the rumor has found its way back to the Web. CBS reported the scoop three years ago:

My beloved blue, furry monster — who sang “C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me” — is now advocating eating healthy. There’s even a new song — “A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food,” where Cookie Monster learns there are “anytime” foods and “sometimes” foods.

“Even Cookie Monster is learning to control his cookie cravings,” Frist told me by e-mail. “His sage advice opened our eyes to the simple joys of a tasty cookie and now reminds us that moderation is the key to healthy living.”

“Cookiegate” was just another chapter in a long tradition of social forces intervening in kids’ shows. More recently, Disney recalled Baby Einstein DVDs after consumer groups claimed that exposing kids to TV at an early age hampered play in favor of corporate brainwashing. Sid the Science Kid is now pushing H1N1 flu shots, thanks to a multimillion dollar government PR campaign.

The big question is: Does this stuff work? It has to, to some extent. Companies like McDonald’s fatten kids by luring them in with attractive Happy Meals. Surely Cookie Monster and talking vegetables can make healthy food look less nasty to young ‘uns, too. But parents remain the bottom line. Social propoganda campaigns remain peripheral to the lifestyle parents encourage their kids to live.

Personally, I’d rather see reams of money being pushed into organizations that promote better parenting. If parents are responsible, TV won’t ever have the final say.

Viral videos are one of the Internet’s best entertainment mediums. They teach, impress, and–perhaps most importantly–help you pass the time.

Companies know this. When they commission top international advertising firms to produce Internet videos, they use “going viral” as a measure of success. Marketing videos can help bolster a company’s reputation, increase sales, and foster positive associations in consumers’ minds. Or, as the Microsoft and Nokia videos below prove, they can lack product association, but still be viral.

Here are the best viral marketing videos of 2009–so far. It’s only late October. Companies still have time to release new viral hits. Only time will tell what kind of random and fascinating content will hit the Web next.

The BaaStuds

Samsung chose to promote its LED TVs using LED lights mounted on…sheep. This sensational video employs skilled shepherds and cameramen to create un-baa-lievable results. Views on YouTube (at time of writing): 9.5 million

MegaWoosh Waterslide

Microsoft sponsored this video of Swiss stuntman Bruno Kammerl executing a mind-blowing waterslide jump. Clad only in neoprene, Kammerl flies more than 100 feet into a tiny pool of water. How a waterslide jump relates to Microsoft’s Office Project 2007 is something of a mystery, but that’s just who fronted this flabbergasting fake. Views: 3.6 million

The Acrobutt

MSI laptops are so lightweight and durable that you can catch them in your buttcrack. At least, that’s what the company proved in its bizarre viral video, featuring young men in spandex hucking laptops into…you guessed it. Views: 2.3 million

What Kids Don’t See

German porn company Beate Uhse advertises its built-in child lock with a video reminiscent of an adult Rorschach test. If you’re curious as to how boobs can morph into a tweety bird, here’s your chance. Views: More than 800,000

Bruce Lee Plays Table Tennis

Ad agency JWT Beijing released this video for the Chinese release of the Nokia N96. The video features Bruce Lee playing ping pong using only a kung fu weapon–and beating his (very capable) opponents. The video is a jaw-dropper, though it’s unclear how it relates to the phone. Views: 600,000+

Mattress Dominoes

British company Bensons for Beds filmed mattress factory employees clutching mattresses, then falling like dominoes. The slapstick-style video ends with one employee and his mattress landing on a conveyor belt. A woman jumps into bed with him, and the couple gets loaded onto a Bensons truck. Views: 700,000

How’d He Make That Phone Disappear?

A man filmed this entire video on a new Samsung I8910 HD video phone. Towards the end of the video, he makes the phone he is holding disappear, though it can still make videos. He claims to have used no special effects. It was up to viewers to guess how he’d done it. Views: 1 million

Vanilla Ice Says Sorry

Virgin Mobile Australia released this video of Robert Van Winkle (formerly Vanilla Ice) apologizing for his first album. His apology, which is sincere, covers both his sound and his look. The shock value of this video lies in its uniqueness. Views: 885,000

Starbucks is releasing its new VIA instant coffee today. Starbucks has executed one of its biggest advertising campaigns ever to promote VIA. The Seattle Times describes the campaign:

Starbucks has already put lots of time and money into its promotion of VIA here in Seattle, with a pep rally that included the Husky Marching Band, a cocktail mix-off and a nationwide road trip promoting the instant brew on Twitter and YouTube.

Though it will be released in varying stores, ranging from its current availability in Target and Costco to REI, Barnes & Nobles and Office Depot.

Entering the instant coffee market is a good idea for Starbucks, especially if VIA tastes better than Nescafe–err, other products. Going international with VIA could be a gold mine.

Consumerist, however, points out that VIA might not meet American taste or price standards:

…in tests conducted this summer, Consumer Reports found that Via didn’t quite live up to (its taste) promise:

We’ll reserve judgment until we try it ourselves. But at $1 a serving, vs. about 20 cents for instant Nescafe — or $1 for fresh-brewed coffee from the corner deli — we will have to love it if we’re going to give it more than just a try.

If VIA tastes better than Nescafe, and is sourced from better ingredients, I think it will have a market niche, even at a higher price. That niche just might not be in the States. I vote in favor of Starbucks on this particular product gamble. What do you think?

Well, it’s here. Call it Black Friday for publishing. Some say that the Kennedy memoir, Dan Brown’s new book, and Oprah’s pick could make this week a record breaker for book sales. But one book in particular won’t be getting an extra special boost – a Presidential boost.

ShelfLife reports that a quote from President Barack Obama has been removed from the book jacket of Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court. The memoir, penned by University of North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams is scheduled to be published in November.

According to ShelfLife, the quote was to be:

“What makes Coach Williams one of the great coaches isn’t just his extraordinary record, but his dedication to his players. He’s just as serious about making these guys into men and into leaders as he is into making them champions.”

The quote was apparently never meant to appear as a blurb for the book and publisher Algonquin’s legal team advised them to remove the statement from the book jacket because sitting presidents cannot make commercial endorsements. And how exactly does that work when one has their own products (books) to sell?

Apparently, too, new printings of Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland have been stickered with a quote pulled from an Obama interview:

 “Fascinating…A wonderful book.’ President Barack Obama, Newsweek.”

What do you think? I mean, he said it. It’s a matter of record. And what’s the difference between a publisher quoting a Newsweek article and the nightly news covering Obama’s vacation reading list? Gee, I wonder which sold more books.

I’m not sure where I stand on this, but if Obama shows up on any of those romance novel covers, I’ll be stocking up!

Image Credit: Chris Owens, Flickr

The first 99 people who are turning either 9 or 99 on Sept. 9, 2009 — that’s 09/09/09 — and who prove it by e-mailing a copy of their birth certificate or driver’s license along with their address and phone number to pr@dominos.com, will receive a $25 gift card.

The contest runs from Aug. 31 at 8 a.m. through Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m., or until all 99 prizes are gone.

Sure beats worrying about the end of the world.