Hasta La Creative!

Media-buying executives who steer brands’ ad budgets say they’re frustrated that Rolling Stone’s ad team has not reached out in the wake of a blistering Columbia University School of Journalism report detailing the magazine’s “journalistic failure” in its now-retracted story about rape on college campuses.

“They should have emailed a copy of the Columbia Journalism report with a mea culpa assuring advertisers what steps they are taking to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” a media-buying executive told Ad Age.

“I’m shocked the magazine’s business side isn’t calling agencies and setting up meetings,” another marketing executive said.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Rudolph “Rudy” Perz, creator of the Pillsbury Doughboy, died April 1 at the age of 89.

Mr. Perz created the lovable doughy character for General Mills while working for Leo Burnett in Chicago. The pudgy icon was introduced as Poppin’ Fresh in 1965, appearing in countless commercials and delighting audiences with talk of fluffy pastries and buttery rolls.

A 1995 Ad Age article called “Bringing Brands to Life” quoted Mr. Perz regarding the effectiveness of advertising the Doughboy on TV. He said TV gave the audience “the picture, voice, character and warmth in one package” in place of the traditional radio and print package.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a review of its creative and media accounts, Adweek reports. Incumbent The Martin Agency, who have handled the account since 2011, declined to participate in the review, which spans traditional and digital media. The brand spent around $33 million on measured media last year, according to Kantar Media, a drop in spending of $12 million from 2013’s total.

The news follows competing cruise line Royal Caribbean’s review announcement in February. It also follows Andy Stuart being named president and chief operating officer last month, following Drew Madsen‘s resignation.

According to Adweek’s sources, Norwegian Cruise Line’s request for proposals is due back this week. The review, which is being conducted without a consultant, is expected to conclude by the end of May. A representative of the cruise line said in a statement, “While The Martin Agency has chosen not to participate in the review process, Norwegian thanks the company for their many contributions and looks ahead to beginning the search for a new agency partner.”

Underwear brand Dear Kate is hoping to make “my first period” stories something to celebrate—or at the very least, something that isn’t shameful.

In its newest video, women tell stories about their first time (getting their period, not having sex, but that’s the Oh Henry! reveal behind the first 30 seconds). The three-minute spot includes stories of horror (“Oh shit, this is where I’m going to die”) and confusion (“For two days, I just kept throwing out my underwear”), and the copy invites viewers to upload their own “my first period” stories.

“Our goal with the film is to reframe the moment of getting your period so it’s just as talked about and has just as much cachet as the time you first had sex, if not more,” says Julie Sygiel, Dear Kate’s founder. “We want to make sure it’s not embarrassing or shameful to experience or to talk about. That’s the main goal with this film.”

The goal to destigmatize periods is a good one, I think, and is reminiscent of HelloFlo’s “Camp Gyno” spot from 2013. People reminiscing about their first times (having sex or getting their periods) might not necessarily take off at happy hour, but it’s nice to think we’re not stuck in the rut of commercials featuring women wearing white on the beach and mysterious blue liquid.

The spot lines up nicely with the products Dear Kate features—underwear with built-in lining and stain-releasing fabric. Which would have been nice to have when I was 13 and sitting in history class.

Every weekday, we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new and trending TV commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV ads in real time. The New Releases here ran on TV for the first time yesterday. The Most Engaging ads are showing sustained social heat, ranked by SpotShare scores reflecting the percent of digital activity associated with each one over the past week. See the methodology here.

Among the new releases, Adidas salutes top athletes for being “takers,” and professional skateboarder Sean Malto performs a risky trick only a Mountain Dew sugar rush could inspire.

In a bold effort to position itself directly opposite from Victoria’s Secret, Lane Bryant Cacique’s commerical features models saying things like, “Don’t get it twisted” and “How boring would it be if we were all the same?”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Spotify, Rdio, Deezer, Beats Music, Grooveshark, TIDAL, etc. Quem vai vencer?

> LEIA MAIS: Braincast 143 – A Batalha do Streaming de Música

Post originalmente publicado no B9
Twitter | Facebook | Contato | Anuncie

Rather than go for blunt messaging to discuss the environment for the World Wildlife Fund, Grey Group Shanghai (with the help of a group of local 10th grade high school students) opted for a mix of subtlety and visual trickery to blur the line between illusion and reality.

With a campaign dubbed “Save the Vanishing Tree,” which was unveiled on March 21, the agency utilized “ambient media” — in this case, its team painted a strip around the trunk of a tree to give the illusion of transparency, ultimately giving the impression to passersby that part of the trunk had vanished.

Here’s the team at work:

Here’s a view of the work:

…and here are audience reaction shots:

According to a statement from Grey:

“The idea uses ambient media in a really clever way to disrupt and draw people’s attention, give them a dose of reality to a serious environmental problem. This is because as the country continues to prosper, we live under the illusion that everything is just fine.”

Along with the painting portion, QR codes were placed nearby the tree to drive people to the WWF website, which sheds light on the deforestation currently plaguing nations around the world. In China specifically, 12-15 million hectares of forest are lost each year — which is the equivalent of decimating one Forbidden City every three minutes.

The ultimate objective of the WWF initiative, which also includes print and OOH components, is to emphasize China’s increasing participation in the green movement in a rather clever way.

Expect the campaign to expand to other nations.

Agency: Grey Shanghai

Client: WWF China

Chief Creative Officer: Canon Wu

Creative Director: Jonathan Lim

Art Director: Yuki Xu, Sasa Yu

Copywriter: Top Yu

Planner: Rachel Woolley

Public Relations: Benjamin Li

Illustrator: Shanghai High School, International Division Grade 10 –

Ann Tang, Saku, Sarie, Anya

Production: Meethepeople

It seems that Honda’s diesel CR-V brings out the best of mcgarrybowen London’s visual instincts.

The agency follows up its 2013 Cannes Gold Lion-winning, M.C. Escher-esque spot for the model (dubbed “Illusions”) by taking us on an infinite loop to promote the automaker’s 2015 edition with an ad called “Endless Road.” In a literal manifestation of the title, the new model traverses an infinite road like a runner on a track, with Bernard Hermann’s “Twisted Nerve” (remember Kill Bill Vol. 1?) providing the soundtrack.

Along with mcgarrybowen, digital production company MediaMonks and director Chris Palmer of Gorgeous played key roles in the campaign, which emphasizes the CR-V’s performance capabilities in illustrating how “the road to better never ends.”

While it’s not as visually stimulating as Honda efforts from the past couple of years, the tone, style and narrative serve the “Endless Road” quite well. You can check out a behind-the-scenes clip below and watch a literally infinite version on the CR-V’s dedicated YouTube site.

It beats your average screensaver.

Agency: mcgarrybowen, London
Executive Creative Directors: Angus Macadam, Paul Jordan
Creative Team: Charlotte Watmough, Holly Fallows
Planner: Michael McCourt
Agency Producer: Sian Parker
Business Director: Alice Tendler
Film Production: Gorgeous
Director: Chris Palmer
Executive Producer: Rupert Smythe
Editor: Scot Crane
Postproduction: Glassworks; FaTiBoo
Flame: Lewis Saunders
Creative Director (3-D): Jordi Bares @ Glassworks
Colorist: Seamus O’Kane @ The Mill
Digital Production: MediaMonks
Executive Producer: Wouter Smit
Producer: Rodrigo Alberini
Creative Directors: Jon Biggs, Alex Danklof
Project Manager: Sylvia van der Leen
Audio Production: Munzie Thind @ Grand Central
Music: Twisted Nerve Main Theme
Composer, Arranger: Bernard Herrmann

Giant Grass a conçu « The Froute Pod » : une petite cabane qu’on peut monter soi-même et utiliser comme une tente pour camper. Elle a été imaginée avec de la toile, un sol et une armature en bois. En dehors du camping, elle peut servir d’espace de médiation, de contemplation ou de studio pour des workshops.