Sumo Inflatables

Advertising fails are rampant online in 2011. But they've been around in old media since, well, pretty much forever. For example: The On & True blog brings us this image of page 3 of The New York Times from April 16, 1912—the day after the Titanic sank. Yes, that's an ad in the lower right for sailings from New York to Europe in May and June—opposite coverage of the great ship's demise. Presumably people cut out the ad, printed "LOL" on it with their Edwardian rubber stamps, and snail-mailed it to friends. 

Anheuser-Busch has redesigned the Budweiser can for the 12th time since 1936, when it started using cans—a fairly drastic makeover that features the Budweiser script in white over a big red bow tie. In the press release, Bud refers to its bow tie image as "iconic," though it hasn't appeared on cans before. Rob McCarthy, vice president at Budweiser, said: "Our refreshed packaging design gives Budweiser an updated look, which dramatizes the iconic Budweiser bow tie and incorporates the brand hallmarks that loyal Budweiser drinkers will recognize and appreciate." As some designers have noted, the new design loses much of the blue from the red, white, and blue color scheme—with yellow taking a stronger position. Also, the new design was done by London-based package-design and branding agency JKR. So, really, isn't this whole new design basically, well, un-American? More images after the jump. 

The week was grand, glittery and goofy, as we looked at some larger-than-life billboards, giant pudding faces, and underage models seductively showing off their Prada. Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio led our celebrity coverage. And we were also reminded than in NYC, a cool apartment means hot sex. See the week's top 10 most-read posts below.

1. Jell-O Pudding's NYC Billboard Is Powered by Twitter
2. Teen Models Hypnotically Seductive in Creepy New Prada Video
3. 10 Cool Uses of American Eagle's Stunning LED Sign in Times Square
4. Ashton Kutcher's Curtain Call for 'Two and a Half Men'
5. How 50 Big Companies Got Their Names
6. Ex-CP+B Writer Horrified His Face Was Used for Jell-O Billboard
7. Leonardo DiCaprio Can't Get the Girl in Chinese Cell-Phone Ads
8. A Cool Apartment Leads to Hot Sex, Say Brokerage Ads
9. Do Not Hand Your Children Off to Robots, New Geico Ad Warns
10. Cravendale's Unsettling Question: 'Who First Thought to Milk a Cow?'