Hasta La Creative!

“The grilled cheese stuffed crust is a product that is out of this world. It is that good,” said David Timm, Pizza Hut’s U.S. chief marketing officer. “So why wouldn’t you have an alien to be able to say it’s the best in the universe?”

Radio commercials include a romance novelist bragging about the chain’s “seductive pizzas” and a man ready to be rescued from Mt. Everest who longs for the warmth of two Meat Lovers pizzas.

The campaign still includes pricing details, but aims to make the products the focus rather than drilling in on convenience, technology and value, which have all gotten more attention across the broader pizza category, Mr. Timm said. “We feel that we are the brand that has the right to really champion and hero the pizza again,” he said.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Online
Yamato Transport

Advertising Agency:Dentsu, Tokyo, Japan
Production:Dentsu Creative
Creative Director:Kumi Ishizuki, Takahiro Oto
Art Director:Yoshiyuki Imoto

Hillary Clinton submits herself to the world’s most uncomfortable talk show — Funny or Die’s “Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis” — and it all goes very awkwardly (by design). At the start of the episode, Galifianakis is tackled by the Secret Service before asking his first question, “Are you excited to be the first girl president?,” and then offering a follow-up observation: “For a younger, younger generation, you will also become their first white president, and that’s pretty neat too.” His line of questioning continues to devolve — “When you see how well it works for Donald Trump, do you ever think to yourself, ‘Oh, maybe I should be more racist!’,” “Any regrets over losing the Scott Baio vote?” Then he interrupts Clinton for a “word from our sponsor” — and it’s a Trump “Make America Great Again” campaign ad. “He paid me in steaks,” Galifianakis explains.

Simon Dumenco, aka Media Guy, is an Ad Age editor-at-large. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Want a Gatorade? Then you better earn the sugar.

This is the message the sports drink is sending with a new digital video series that tackles sugar concerns head on by suggesting that if you aren’t burning calories, this is not the drink for you. So much for Gatorade as a hangover cure.

The series, called “Burn It To Earn It,” stars pro athletes J.J. Watt, Bryce Harper and Karl-Anthony Towns surprising everyday people and challenging them to work up a sweat. If not, then they are deemed not worthy of Gatorade. In one of the ads Mr. Towns confronts a guy leisurely drinking a Gatorade while strolling down the street. “Gonna make you earn that sugar in that Gatorade,” the NBA star tells the man before engaging him in some basketball dribbling.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Iconoclast has signed the directorial trio Crowns & Owls.

Formerly represented by White Lodge, the creative trio has been exploring narrative fashion film and photography campaigns for brands such as Ted Baker and River Island, as well as music promos. They also recently directed “Mission Impeccable” for Ted Baker, which was launched last week and produced by Guy Ritchie.

The Famous Group has signed Director Rod Blackhurst. The director has worked on Airbnb. His first feature, apocalyptic thriller “Here Alone,” won the audience award for best narrative feature at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. He is also the vision behind “Amanda Knox,” due to be released on Sep. 30 as a Netflix original.

Continue reading at AdAge.com