Hasta La Creative!

Though net income soared 36% in the first quarter, Yahoo reported that sales of display ads decreased 11% and search revenue, excluding sales passed to partner sites, dropped 10% to $425 million.

Yahoo, the biggest U.S. Web portal, also forecast sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates as it continued to lose advertisers to Google and Facebook.

Second-quarter sales, excluding revenue passed to partner sites, will be as much as $1.09 billion, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo said today on its website. Analysts on average had projected revenue of $1.11 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

A pitcher, personified.

The iconic Kool-Aid Man –while contemporary to famous icons like Smokey the Bear, Tony the Tiger and Lucky the Leprachaun — has always been one of the most literal ad icons. He didn’t just represent the product, he was the product. And that prompted some dark questions about what it meant when he was pouring kids pitchers of the cold red liquid on a hot day. His signature move became crashing through walls or ceilings, exclaiming “Oh Yeah!”

The Kool-Aid Man first appeared in an ad in 1954. Nearly 60 years later, he’s gotten a makeover. Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi and Chicago-based VSA Partners this week introduced a new campaign for the Kraft-owned brand that gives him a newer modern look. The new CGI-generated Kool-Aid Man is appearing in TV, print and digital ads with an expanded vocabulary and more-developed personality. The ads show him trying to decide which of 22 flavor “outfits” to wear, working out at the gym, buying flowers and interacting with neighbors. He still knows how to break through a wall like a pro, though.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Advertising Agency: 9mm Propaganda, Florianópolis, Brazil
Creative Director: Alexandre Guedes
Art Director: Ramiro Pimentel
Copywriter: Anderson Nascimento
Illustrator: Mano Pimentel

Advertising Agency: G2, Kiev, Ukraine
Creative Directors: Andrew Ushakov, Virgiliu Andone
Art Directors: Vlad Moshenskiy, Virgiliu Andone, Andrew Ushakov
Copywriter: Yuri Kabasin
Illustrator: Annabella Orosz

A a sit-down restaurant chain asked us to increase store traffic by promoting a $5 off coupon. Using their FATZ Grilled Shrimp & Veggie Harpoons as inspiration, we created a very unique guerrilla-marketing piece. People returning to their vehicles from local stores and markets discovered a mouthwatering and money-saving kabob waiting for them.

Advertising Agency: The Zimmerman Agency, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Creative Director: Rob Kerr
Art Director: John Towler
Copywriter: T.J. Aseltyne

The world's most famous spokespitcher, the Kool-Aid Man, just got a glassy makeover to help promote the brand's new sugar-free liquid drink mix. The Kool-Aid Man, who's been around since 1954, was made over by Saatchi & Saatchi in New York and VSA Partners of Chicago. At 59 years old, he's now completely CGI, appears a bit slimmer, has a new voice—including an "expanded vocabulary and developed personality" (!)—and of course his own brand-new Facebook page.

Thankfully, he will still say, "Oh, yeah!" and burst through walls. But in the new commercials, he's also seen working out at the gym, buying flowers and wondering which of his 22 fabulous flavor "outfits" to wear. (Hey, is the Kool-Aid Man gay now, too? If so, that's kool with me—give him a big equals sign over his midsection and make it his new profile pic.) In June, Kool-Aid will also launch a Kool-Aid Man PhotoBomb mobile app, which will allow fans to superimpose images of Kool-Aid Man into their own photos.

"This is one of those fun projects we love to work on: Bring Kool-Aid Man back, better than ever," says Saatchi New York chief creative officer Con Williamson. "When we set out to do that, when we really dug in, we discovered that there's a lot to love in the evolution of this iconic character. We wanted people to get to know him a bit more. Kool-Aid and Kool-Aid Man are undeniably fun and positively bold. We wanted that happiness to shine through in his personality and attitude."