Hasta La Creative!

Behold! Various Chick-fil-A's around the nation are hosting medieval-themed Mother-Son Date Knights. Oh the perils of marketing that occur when franchises create their own LOL-worthy events. According to the press release, "During this special medieval-themed evening, moms and their sons are encouraged to spend some time together while they enjoy dinner, great conversation and several special activities." The special activities are unnamed, and probably vary by region. But last year in DC, the event included getting to meet a knight from the Maryland Renaissance Festival (because medieval and Renaissance are the same thing) and … a car show. So, yes, Chick-fil-A, which has absolutely no brand connection to feudalism, has decided to promote mother-son relationships by providing placemats with "fun questions" and a "take-home booklet" in Ohio, North Caroline, Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas and Missouri. Placemats are free, food is not. So, ladies, gather up your young lords and proceed forthwith to MotherSonDate.com to make reservations at ye olde local Chik-fil-A. I'm sure it will be a knight to remember.

Last year, granola-bar brand Nature Valley and ad agency McCann Erickson, New York, unveiled one of the most ambitious digital campaigns of the year, Nature Valley Trail View, which created a first-of-its-kind interactive hiking experience thanks to teams who used Google Street View technology to map trails in three National Parks—the Grand Canyon, the Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone. The effort won two gold Lions at Cannes and legions of fans across the nation.

Today, agency and client unveiled the next evolution of the site, with three main improvements: more trail view footage (partly through the addition of 50 miles of footage from a fourth park, Sequoia); a comprehensive hub for the brand's past, present and future preservation activity; and fully interactive social functionality.

As mentioned in the video below, the preservation message is key. That part of the site now includes an interactive map with expert conservation content. Now, as users discover the trails, they can also get a sense of the preservation needs in each area and how Nature Valley is working to help.

In the past three years, Nature Valley has donated more than $1.3 million to support America's national parks. The brand will give $500,000 more this year to the National Parks Conservation Association.

"Nature Valley is about inspiring consumers to get outside and enjoy what nature has to offer," says Maria Carolina Comings, associate marketing manager for Nature Valley. "Our national parks are America's treasures that must be preserved and protected, and we hope to help raise awareness of the parks through Nature Valley Trail View and our ongoing restoration efforts. Through technology, we can help make the parks accessible to all, and encourage outdoor exploration for years to come."

More photos and credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Nature Valley
Project: Nature Valley Trail View 2.0
Agency: McCann Erickson, New York
Chairman: Linus Karlsson
Chief Creative Officers: Tom Murphy, Sean Bryan
Executive Creative Director: Leslie Sims
Group Creative Director: Mat Bisher
Creative Director: Jason Schmall
Copywriter: Sarah Lloyd
Chief Production Officer: Brian DiLorenzo
Executive Integrated Producer: Catherine Eve Patterson
Senior Integrated Producer: Geoffrey Guinta
Editor: Nathan Thompson
Executive Music Producer: Peter Gannon
Production: Traction
Creative Principal, Field Producer: Bryan Roberts
Producer: Adam Baskin
Digitech Cameraman: James deMuth
Lead Cameraman: Brandon McClain
Preservation Lead, Writer: Greg Jackson
Design and Development: Your Majesty
Executive Creative Director, Photographer: Jens Karlsson
Design Director: Riley Milhem
Tech Lead: Micah Acinapura
Developer: Raed Atoui
Executive Producer: Heather Reddig

This week, Pitch is hiring a group account director, while Night Agency needs a social media manager. Heartbeat Ideas is seeking a senior medical editor, and Mullen is on the hunt for a director of digital strategy. Get the scoop on these openings and more below, and find additional just-posted gigs on Mediabistro.

• Group Account Director Pitch (Culver City, CA)
• Social Media Manager Night Agency (New York, NY)
• Senior Medical Editor Heartbeat Ideas (New York, NY)
• Director of Digital Strategy Mullen (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Copywriter Davis & Company (Virginia Beach, VA)

Find more great advertising jobs on the AgencySpy job board. Looking to hire? Tap into our network of talented AgencySpy pros and post a risk-free job listing. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

So Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce lost the Heinz ketchup pitch, and the beans account will likely go by the wayside as well.

But what exactly did these fictional Mad Men lose? In real-life 1968, H.J. Heinz poured $21 million into U.S. advertising, according to Ad Age’s ranking of top spenders that year. That was a lot of money then, but the marketer was only ranked No. 83 in spending, putting it behind companies like Pan American airlines (80), Schlitz (49) and five tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds (10). Some things don’t change: Procter & Gamble was No. 1, just as it is today.

Of course, Mad Men’s storylines don’t always square with history. While JWT walked away with the Heinz account on the show, the marketer at the time was entrenched with Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), which took the ketchup account in 1964 from Maxon. Beginning in 1964 the shop unleashed a series of ads positioning slow-pouring Heinz as better than competing “catsups,” with their “runny water.” In the DDB spot above, Heinz is prevails in an Old West saloon duel, emerging as “the slowest ketchup in the West. East. North. And South.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Felix Baumgartner today (25 April) reflected on his momentous Red Bull jump from the edge of space, claiming he could never “top” it and that he is leaving it to the next generation to eclipse it.

“More football than you can take”

Advertising Agency: Tapsa Young&Rubicam, Madrid, Spain
General Creative Director: Tute Ostiglia
Creative Director: Adrián Ríos
Copywriter: Juan Cenóz
Photographer: Eduardo Díaz Bourgeot

Voici le dernier clip de Vitalic pour illustrer le morceau Fade Away. Produite par Solab et Excuse my French, cette vidéo à la réalisation soignée est signée Romain Chassaing. Elle propose de suivre une chasse à l’homme entre tueurs professionnels, chaque tueur pouvant être victime d’un de ses compères.

The buyer, SpinMedia, recently bought Spin magazine and turned it into an online-only publication.