Hasta La Creative!

Following the massive success (over 69 million view in less than 3 months) of Volvo’s “The Epic Split” ad starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, it was inevitable that the action star would make a comedic comeback. That comeback also marks Stun Creative’s first foray into feature filmmaking, with the comedy Welcome to the Jungle.

Agency co-founders Brad Roth and Mark Feldstein serve as executive producers on Van Damme’s comedic debut, which was directed by Stun Creative’s Rob Meltzer and stars, in additon to Van Damme, Adam Brody, Megan Boone, Kristen Schaal, Rob Huebel and Dennis Haysbert. Given Stun Creative’s track record with TV promos, as well as their 2013 Webby Award winning online series Presidential Clippings, the leap to filmmaking isn’t such a huge surprise.

The above trailer is worth a few chuckles, unsurprisingly mostly coming from Van Damme playing on his own action star persona. Jean-Claude in a comedic role seems so obvious that it’s almost hard to believe no one has given it a pass before, and Welcome to the Jungle should gain a lot of momentum from “The Epic Split.” A quick search for the film brought up a Village Voice review entitled “Welcome to the Jungle is Satanically Bad,” so you may want to wait before shelling out to see this one in theaters — although “satanically bad” doesn’t necessarily equal “not funny” and I’m pretty sure the guys behind the movie weren’t exactly trying to make high art. Welcome to the Jungle is currently slated for a February 7th release, both in theaters and on-demand. If you just can’t get enough Van Damme, stick around for behind-the-scenes footage after the jump. continued…

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Guardian News & Media, publisher of The Guardian and The Observer newsbrands, is on track to reveal strong revenue growth for its full year to the end of March, fuelled by its expanding digital operations.

In a loopy but memorable attempt to symbolize the sweetness of its biscuits and tea-cakes, McVitie's new British TV campaign shows cute, cuddly critters emerging from its snack packages.

Ordinary folks open their boxes and out pop puppies, kittens and, most disconcertingly, a wide-eyed, Yoda-like primate called a tarsier. (They're getting pretty lax down at the packaging plant, I guess.)

The snackers, unfazed, snuggle with their new furry friends, which vanish once the biscuit-munching begins. Oh, and classic TV themes—from Murder She Wrote, Fawlty Towers and the U.K. game show Blockbuster—play in the background, naturally.

The presence of twins in one spot and a hospital setting in another intensify the self-consciously weird vibe that agency Grey London was shooting for. Even so, director Owen Trevor does a fine job treading the line between "Sweeet" (the campaign's tagline) and "Creeepy" by making the spots feel more random than unnerving.

"We loved the idea that one word could encompass everything these biscuits might mean, but that each biscuit would have a different kind of Sweeet," Grey ecd Nils Leonard tells AdFreak. "We also wanted a cinematic way to evoke the feeling of McVitie's. A way to create unique experiences that brought to life the different feelings each of the biscuits creates. Nailing the essence of each biscuit was critical, so we ate loads of them to help the creative process."

What's more, "We sweated every element of this work to create conversation and appeal to our audience." (And hopefully sweated off some of those many biscuits they ate)

The offbeat approach is designed to speed social sharing and sweeten the campaign's shelf life, even if some viewers sour on all that saccharine. "I just fainted from sweetness overload," notes one YouTube viewer, while another confused viewer asks,? "McVitie's Digestives taste like live dog?" 

The 2003 runner-up on “American Idol” officially announced on Wednesday that he is running for Congress in North Carolina. Now it is time to ponder some questions he might face on the stump.

Huge brands like Target and General Motors have already opened tech offices in the Bay Area, and now the Republican party is following suit.

The Republican National Committee announced yesterday that it’s formally launching an innovation unit called Para Bellum Labs. Effectively, its mission is to do what Team Obama did in 2008 and 2012, but for GOP candidates across the board: use insights from data to enable more targeted marketing to potential voters.

The RNC’s chief digital officer Chuck DeFeo also said he wants it to function like a corporate “center of excellence” for Republican campaigns to emulate.

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Pereira & O’Dell is out with a new campaign for Guitar Center titled “The Greatest Feeling on Earth”. To kick off the campaign, the agency hooked up with Time Magazine’s 2013 “Coolest Person on Earth”, Questlove, as the campaign’s first artist Ambassador. He will star in the first spot of a series of commercials that will feature other artists.

This is the first pure branding play for Guitar Center. The focus of the campaign urges people to consider the best part of music isn’t listening to it; it’s playing it. The efforts also aims to educate people that Guitar Center doesn’t just sell guitars, drums, keyboards, etc. They sell the “feeling of sheer joy that comes along with playing music.”

Now that the Super Bowl is over, we can turn our attention to the next big ad industry event on the horizon, Aside from the Academy Awards — because, let’s be honest, the broadcast is really just a playground for Super Bowl wannabees — there’s Cannes.

The 61st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the first nine jury presidents, out of a total of 17, selected to chair this year’s juries.

“As the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications, we are delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of people to lead the juries to champion innovation across the industry. As visionary leaders, they will steer the debate that will impact the future of their respective categories,” says Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals.

Creative Effectiveness Lions Jury President
David Sable, Global Chief Executive Officer, Y&R

“In an age of data obsession, there is a misconception that somehow advertising hasn’t been accountable. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best advertising, the most memorable and creative advertising has always delivered. The beauty of data is that it makes it more apparent. I’m honoured to be chosen as this year’s Jury President for the Cannes Effectiveness Lions and to serve with such an esteemed team of judges. I hope that we will be accountable to deliver the best to the Cannes community.”

Cyber Lions Jury President
Susan Bonds, co-founder and CEO, 42 Entertainment, USA

“As Cyber Lions move into 2014, it’s exciting to see new categories emerge that embrace the reality of digital’s role in everyday life, creative craft and innovation.
Novelty has been replaced with excellence in execution, authenticity, reach and impact, and creating a user experience that connects.”

Film Lions Jury President
Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Worldwide

“It’s a great honour and a big responsibility to be the president of one of the most important categories in Cannes. I look forward to seeing a lot of great work, to have great discussions, and to set a signal on what we believe should the bar for Film will be in the next years.”

Innovation Lions Jury President
Tom Bedecarré, Chairman, AKQA and President, WPP Ventures

“To inspire creative excellence in communications we increasingly need to develop new technologies, and the Innovation Lions celebrate creativity in technology. I’m super excited to see the apps, tools, hardware, software and platforms entered in this second year of the Innovation Lions awards.”

Media Lions Jury President
Matt Seiler, Global CEO, IPG Mediabrands

“It has become increasingly challenging to find time amidst all the exciting goings on during the festival to focus on the real reason we are there…as Jury President I can’t wait to get in deep with some of the world’s best work.”

Outdoor Lions Jury President
José Miguel Sokoloff, President, Lowe Global Creative Council & Co Chairman and CCO Lowe SSP3 Colombia

“Outdoor is possibly where most of the best ideas in contemporary advertising come to life. To be honoured by Cannes Lions, having been given the responsibility to preside over this jury makes me very excited and proud. I am already looking forward to the sessions.”

Promo & Activation Lions Jury President
Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, USA

“When I look back at 2013’s winners in Promo and Activation, I see work that also was honored in Film, Outdoor, Titanium. This is absolute evidence that the best work being done today drives participation. Channel agnostic ideas are the most modern ideas in our industry. And they tend to show up in Promo and Activation. I look forward to getting the week off to a great creative start.”

Radio Lions Jury President
Tony Hertz, Proprietor and Creative Director, Tony Hertz: Radio & Brand Sound, The Philippines

“For a guy who’s been in love with making radio ads for as long as I have, this is obviously a massive thrill and privilege. I’m really looking forward to working with my fellow jury members to choose – perhaps even unearth – radio work which is not only great and fresh advertising, but is also impeccably conceived and crafted for this unique medium.”

Titanium & Integrated Lions Jury President
Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, India & South Asia, McCann Worldgroup

“I’ve enjoyed a long association with Cannes Lions Festival and I very much look forward to June 2014. Titanium brings the world’s most respected and eclectic set of people to the jury, and there is immense learning. The bar is raised and new benchmarks set for the world in advertising and communications. It will be an honour to work with the jury, and I hope I can humbly contribute to our quest for the best, the most breakthrough, transformational ideas the industry has to offer. And celebrate those ideas that challenge and inspire us all.”

Cannes Lions will take place 15-21 June 2014. Entries can now be submitted into all categories including the new Product Design Lions introduced to reward the applied use of physical products in aiding the communication of a “brand ethos” as well as its use to have a positive impact on improving people’s lives.

Channel 4 reports its viewer database has reached more than 10 million registered viewers, including half of all 16- to 24 year-olds in the UK.

The latest from KWP! sees the agency promoting the Adelaide region of Southern Australia, although it sure looks a lot like the agency and director Jeffrey Darling just created a music video of singer Emma Louise performing the INXS song “Never Tear Us Apart.”

The nearly two minute video, “Breathe” is described as “an ad with the energy of a music video, featuring singer Emma Louise and her astronaut alter ego discovering the city and its nearby regions.” But “Breathe” has more than just “the energy of a music video.” With at least as much camera time devoted to Louise singing and people dancing around as to the city and its landmarks, it really feels like a music video. While the spot is certainly visually impressive, not a surprise from the award-winning Darling, it isn’t until the very end, when “South Australia” flashes on the screen, that there’s any indication of what this is supposed to be selling, or that this is an ad at all and not a music video. That’s pretty bold for a 1:45 spot, and it’s certainly something different from the usual world of tourism advertising. “Breathe” marks the third immersive campaign KWP! has created for the South Australian Tourism commission, following successful campaigns for Kangaroo Island and Barossa. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Time Warner, the media company that owns HBO and the Warner Bros. film studio as well as Time Inc. for a few more months, surpassed analysts’ estimates for both fourth-quarter revenue and profit in results reported on Wednesday.

Excluding some items, earnings were $1.17 a share, the New York-based company said in a statement. Analysts had predicted $1.15 on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fourth-quarter revenue jumped 5% to $8.6 billion, also topping analysts’ estimates.

Pay-TV providers such as Verizon Communications and Comcast are paying more to carry Time Warner’s programming, whether it’s “Girls” on HBO or professional basketball games on TNT. That kind of revenue at Turner, which includes TNT and CNN, climbed 6% in the fourth quarter.

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