Hasta La Creative!

The hatred and vitriol aimed at cable companies is the stuff of legend. Wouldn’t it be nice in once, just once, a cable company would tell it like it is? Act like it knows just how bad its service is? Acknowledges it doesn’t give a shit what you think about its pricing?

This ExtremelyDecentFilm video begins as your typical cable company commercial promising the world but soon turns completely honest in a way that, well, a cable company would never actually act.

StubHub is back with its full on wackiness courtesy of Ticket Oak, that crazy tree filled with ticket stubs. In the new ad, created by D/C and shot by Biscuit Filmworks, Ticket Oak has a few too many Lattes and can’t help buy spew out event ideas for the weekend.

Really nothing else to say other than watch it. Good stuff.

At Procter & Gamble Co. nearly a decade ago, Kyle Schlegel was trying to refresh Old Spice, a brand popular among dads and grandfathers but losing relevance to young men. Now, as VP-marketing at Hillerich & Bradsby, he’s got nearly the same challenge with Louisville Slugger.

So Mr. Schlegel has spent the past year reapplying some lessons from his old gig to his new one, culminating with the official debut of Louisville Slugger’s new logo and marketing effort during opening night for Major League Baseball on ESPN on March 31, along with a social-media effort including the #LeaveYourMark hashtag.

Compared with Old Spice, Louisville Slugger is a stronger brand in a smaller business. It commands a 60% to 70% share of the U.S. wood-bat market, which has more than $25 million in annual sales. And its bats are used by 55% of MLB players, Mr. Schlegel said — certainly a good position, but south of its share in the general market.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

(TrendHunter.com) Thousands of April Fool’s prank ideas are flooding the Internet today, and quite a few hilarious ones have made it into today’s top trends on the site. If you’re looking for a mess-…

So today is April Fool’s Day and we are destined for a bunch of silliness. Courtesy of HubSpot comes SprocketVision, a “revolutionary new product that will change marketing forever.”

What could possibly change marketing forever? SprocketVision, of course! SprocketVision is a pair of high tech glasses that help you find qualified leads for your business just by wearing them and walking around.

With “real-time inbound marketing” SprocketVision guides the user through the process of qualifying a lead in the real world.

HubSpot’s Director of Product Management Christopher O’Donnell sums up the offering best saying, “Our technology for detecting the most qualified prospects in your field of vision is nearly perfect…minus a few kinks we’re still trying to work out.”

If you think SprocketVision will help you generate leads, head over to HubSpot’s HubShop and buy a pair…or at least try to…the glasses are on backorder until 2020. Or you can tweet using hashtag SprocketVision what you would do with the glasses if HubSpot gave them to you.

Can salad dressing be sexy? Well, Kraft will settle for zesty. A new campaign for Kraft Zesty Italian dressing from the Playa del Rey, Calif., office of Being features a shirtless male chef whose catchphrase is "Let's get zesty." Slyly suggestive and playful, the character feels like a cross between Old Spice's Isaiah Mustafa and the skillet guy from ads for another Kraft brand, Velveeta. In one new spot, the chef keeps adding Kraft Zesty Italian to a hot skillet, with flames shooting higher and higher each time. "How zesty do you want it?" he asks. "A little? A little more? How about a lot more?" The flames then consume his white V-neck T-shirt to expose smoldering abs and pecs. The sassy cook also will appear on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live as a guest chef and bartender. Other elements in the campaign, which breaks today, include a website, getmezesty.com, and electronic cards or "Zestygrams" that can be sent via social media platforms. A Kraft rep says the campaign is "targeted toward our salad dressings consumer, who we define as a mainstream foodie. They enjoy cooking and creative expression, and this campaign speaks to them in a way that recognizes she is an individual in addition to being a mom."

Gorn … but not forgotten! To promote a Star Trek video game launching this month, William Shatner and a guy in a lumpy lizard suit winningly reprise Captain Kirk's hand-to-claw struggle with the alien Gorn commander from the classic Trek episode "Arena." The updated battle takes place in Shats' comfy living room, where he flips his wig over the gameplay tactics of his reptilian rival. The joke here is that 46 years after their initial encounter, the combatants are, as Shatner pants at one point, "both too old for this kind of thing." Indeed, time has taken its toll. In 1967, only the Gorn was wrinkled and leathery. Today, octogenarian Shatner fits the same description. Well, OK, Bill actually looks great, his schtick is ageless, and the clip scores by deftly employing elements of the original fight's campy choreography. As dramatic Trek-like music swells, the creature hurls a couch cushion that looks about as dangerous as the polystyrene "boulder" it heaved at Kirk the first time around. Once again, Mon Cap-i-tain discombobulates the alien by smacking his palms against its earholes. When the Gorn bellows in pain, Shatner, Hollywood's quintessential ham, accuses his foe of overacting. I haven't seen "Arena" in maybe 30 years, but damn if I didn't remember the boulder-toss and ear-slap like I'd watched it yesterday! This ability to tap into our collective memory should not be underestimated. I didn't just enjoy this spot, I relished every second, as many Shatner and Trek fans will. I couldn't hit replay fast enough. There's palpable feel-good power at play here, transporting viewers to pop-culture nirvana at warp speed.