Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – Citigroup is closing down its mortgage operation Future Mortgages and its CitiFinancial unsecured loan business, affecting 400 people at a call centre near Sunderland.

(TrendHunter.com) If you’re into gaming, then clearly, this is the “Place to Pee.”

In this interactive, sensor-filled toilet, the better your aim, and the stronger your stream, the higher your chances of winning the game.

Two Belgian entrepreneurs came up with the innovative idea to combine their addiction t…

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson Madrid, Spain
Creative Director: Hugo Olivera
Art Directors: Fran Pérez, Miguel Ángel Salcedo, Teresa Martinez
Copywriter: Manasés Perales
Additional Credits: Diego García Mayoral, Front-end Developer

Bluetooth headsets have long perplexed me. I can’t really fathom who would want to walk around wearing a blinking headset, even when they’re not talking on the phone. Sure, I imagine they’re useful for the car. But in New York, there’s a growing contingent of people who just wear them at all times. Thankfully, there’s Jawbone, which is making sleeker versions of the earpieces, “blurring the lines between jewelry and headset” to theoretically make people look less like tools while staying über-connected. In that regard, though, I’m not so sure about the model they chose for this new ad. He looks like a full-on tool. It might be a hopeless cause.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

LONDON – Data giant Acxiom has appointed Shawn Donovan to the newly created role of global sales leader.

LONDON – Publicis has created two ads for Cadbury’s new Twisted bar, which will launch during tomorrow’s Champions League final.

LONDON – Facebook remains the UK’s most popular social networking site after experiencing a 7.2% rise in unique users from March to April, according to the latest Comscore figures.

This DeVito/Verdi spot for the American Asthma Foundation, lensed by Janusz Kaminski, the two-time Oscar-winning film cinematographer (for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List), may be the best PSA ever made. It’s better than “This is your brain on drugs,” because that effort actually makes drug use appear subversive and desirable on some level. The frying pan was an apt metaphor, but few of us (hopefully) could relate to being cooked up in one. Conversely, this asthma spot, “Park,” conveys the experience of an asthma attack on a shockingly visceral and instantly empathetic level. After viewing it, I’d gladly donate just to get the images out of my mind. See if you agree. But first, take a deep breath.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

MMB, best known for its Subway spots with and without Jared Fogle, has crafted a push for the Environmental Defense Fund designed “to show that fighting climate change will not only save our planet, it will jump-start our economy as well.” More than George Bush’s $600 checks? Sounds like fuzzy math to me. The group wants to limit carbon emissions from big corporations, so we can assume they won’t be endorsing John McCain. In one spot, a guy talks about the great things the Climate Security Act could achieve as he is pounded into the ground by oil barrels attempting to stop him from talking. That’s like a recurring nightmare I have, but in my case it’s Hillary Clinton wielding the barrels. Another ad shows a man-shaped candle (in a business suit) melting because it wants to stall progress on climate change. Ultimately, only the mouth, still moving, remains. An apt metaphor for the entire political season. Maybe it’s Jared, not Hillary. I get them confused. UPDATE: The ad is back online. Here’s the link.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

LONDON – Profits at independent producer RDF have fallen dramatically following a turbulent year, in which it was hit by the damaging controversy over the documentary ‘A Year with the Queen’.