Ask the Ad Team: Who sings in the Victoria's Secret ad?
— -- Q: Who sings in the Victoria's Secret ad for the latest Angels product? —Judy Bondi, Sugar Grove, N.C.
A: Scandinavian singer Lisa Ekdahl performs Deep Inside Your Dreams from her 2002 album, Heaven Earth & Beyond, in the pretty and pink ad in which Miranda Kerr promotes the Angels Demi bra.
Click here to view the Victoria's Secret ad
Ad Track: New and Notable
Fashion revolution.
After an online advertising brouhaha that had some folks linking perky Dunkin' Donuts spokeswoman Rachael Ray to terrorism, the doughnut company has replaced Ray's image in the offending ad with bland ol' images of its iced beverages.
The black-and-white scarf Ray wore around her neck in an ad for Dunkin's Lite beverage line got major online and offline buzz last week. Some conservative bloggers wrote that the scarf she wore was similar to a type they claimed is worn by Islamic extremists. So, that image, originally posted on May 7, was pulled on May 24.
The scarf was selected by a stylist for the shoot, says Dunkin' spokeswoman Michelle King. It was fringed and actually had a paisley pattern. "Absolutely no symbolism was intended," she says.
Yet, the dust-up bumped Ray's ever-smiling face. The new images the company put up to cool off the controversy: Dunkin's Iced Latte Lite, Iced Coffee and Iced Tea.
Not a scarf in sight.
On Nationwide's side.
Former American Idol Season 6 contestant Sanjaya Malakar has joined Nationwide Mutual Insurance's growing roster of B- and C-list celebrity endorsers. Last week, the singer was in India to shoot a series of TV ads that follow Nationwide's Life Comes at You Fast theme.
In one spot, a wise man tells the 18-year-old that retirement planning is one of the secrets to a successful life.
Sanjaya — who says he's "honored to follow in the footsteps" of past Nationwide ad stars Fabio, MC Hammer and ex-Mr. Britney Spears, Kevin Federline — already is trying to beef up his financial future. He told the Ad Team that he's working on an album and looking into modeling jobs.
Based on his coif choices from his American Idol days, we're relieved he's not chasing a career as a hair stylist.
Mad about retro fashion.
Cable TV channel AMC has teamed with Bloomingdale's to promote the July 27 new season of the 1960s ad-industry drama series Mad Men. Tuesday, Bloomies' flagship New York City store will fill 10 of its famed windows with a showcase of fashions that recall styles from the show's period. For pedestrians who can hear anything above the Third Avenue traffic din, speakers will play series excerpts.
Inside the store — as well as at 13 other Bloomingdale's stores across the country — the Mad Men theme will be on display at the boutique area for the Theory clothing line. Images of the series' logo and a video of show scenes are among the in-boutique promotions planned.
It's too bad many real-life Madison Avenue employees will likely miss the inside display. As in the 1960s depicted in the show, most rank-and-file salaries today are at a level that the workers have to get their clothing fix at, say, a Target in Queens rather than Manhattan's Bloomingdale's.
Burger Nation.
Perhaps the national custom on July 4th shouldn't be to barbecue — but instead to make a pilgrimage to a fast-food joint.
Slightly over half of Americans eat fast food at least once a week, according to a national online survey of 1,000 people in March by Research International USA. One in five eat the on-the-go grub every other day.
McDonald's mcd is far and away the most popular. Nearly six in 10 Americans have been to a McDonald's in the past month, the survey says. By comparison, just more than three in 10 have been to a Wendy's.
Most regulars say they're eating fast food more often due to "economic pressures," says Research International. Hmmm. So the economy is prompting the "average" American to spend $500 per year on fast food.
Meanwhile, market researcher The NPD Group reports that the red, white and blue entree of choice is burgers.
Some 7% of restaurants of all types — from quick service to fine dining — are selling more burgers than two years ago, it reports. That's 15% of all restaurant orders last year, or about 8.5 million burgers.
Poorly said.
Forget bad karma, how about bad taste? Actress Sharon Stone's comments about "karma" possibly being a factor behind the recent earthquake in China led Christian Dior to pull her ads in that country. During an interview in May, the actress suggested that the quake could have been "karma" for China's treatment of Tibetans.
Time starved.
Even kids are feeling pressed for time these days. How else can you explain an hourglass marshmallow as the newest charm in Lucky Charms gis cereal? It's the first new one added in a decade and joins the cereal's already overflowing list of sugary charms, including hearts, shooting stars, horseshoes, clovers, moons, rainbows and balloons.
The Ad Team recalls eating Lucky Charms when there were just four: hearts, clovers, moons and stars. Back then, neither cereals nor life seemed as complicated.
By Laura Petrecca, Theresa Howard, Bruce Horovitz and wire reports