Hasta La Creative!

Beam Suntory has launched a creative review for its global Jim Beam account, formerly handled by a consortium collectively known as StoryWorks, comprised of Mekanism in the U.S., The Works in Australia and Jung von Matt in Germany. (Wait, people drink Jim Beam in Germany!?)

“I can confirm that we are in official review for Jim Beam’s global creative agency, which is being managed by our global marketing team out of our Deerfield, Ill., headquarters, however, we have no other news to share at the moment,” a brand spokesperson told AdAge.

We’ve been unable to reach Beam Suntory PR regarding the business today, so we can’t confirm whether StoryWorks will be replaced by a single agency or which shops received the RFP.

Mekanism deferred to the client, but sources claim the agency will not be participating in the review. The brand launched its “Make History” campaign starring Mila Kunis back in 2014. According to Kantar Media, Beam Suntory spent approximately $27 million on measured media domestically for Jim Beam last year.

The launch of the review follows Beam Suntory naming Austin agency Preacher as creative agency of record for its Knob Creek and Basil Hayden’s whiskey brands last month, as well as the arrival of Coca-Cola veteran Rebecca Messina as Beam Suntory’s new global CMO this spring.

To get people to delete their (probably long-forgotten) inactive Twitter accounts, some students from Rotterdam-based Willem de Kooning Academy created a ridiculously catchy @twittersong, with lyrics created by combining—and calling out!—handles that have been dead since March 2016. 

“Hey you, the one who’s still in their eggshell,” a folksy voice sings, “Yeah you, the one who didn’t say farewell. You didn’t have anything to say, no tweets were coming your way. So you decided not to stay … but why did you never fly away?”

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It’s true: A tiger can change its stripes.

Since he began representing Frosted Flakes in 1951, Tony the Tiger has been animated. Now, he’s animatronic. With a little help (well, a lot — see video above) from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the veteran spokestiger made an appearance in New York today with “America’s Funniest Home Videos” host Alfonso Ribeiro to promote a new survey on tweens. It’s part of a marketing and social media push to make the brand more relevant with that demographic and revive the nostalgia of dads.

After the requisite jokes about Tony having “some tricks up his paw,” the Kellogg mascot came out and did a little dance turn with Mr. Ribeiro, who won the 2014 season of “Dancing With the Stars” and is still best known for his roles as Alfonso Spears on “Silver Spoons” in the 1980s and Carlton Banks on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in the 1990s.

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Grey New York launched a new campaign promoting Marriott’s rewards program, entitled “You Are Here,” with a 30-second launch spot.

The campaign focuses on real Marriots Rewards members, such as the marine archeologist who takes center stage in the launch spot. As she scuba dives with family near the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, she says “Every time I travel, it’s the moments that are most rewarding. Because if you let yourself embrace them, you’ll never forget them.” The shots of the scuba diving trip combine cinemagraphs and other variable speed footage.

The spot ends by promising to “help find your moments” if you join the reward program. It’s an example of a spot making its strategic goals perhaps a bit too obvious. Clearly the campaign was inspired by millenials’ value of memorable experiences, but hitting viewers over the head with the message diminishes its impact. The ultimately meaningless “You Are Here” tagline doesn’t help things either.

The 30-second spot is the first of four spots that will air this year as part of the campaign. Additionally, Marriott added a membership stories section to its Marriott Traveler digital magazine and released a behind-the-scenes video for the cmaping. 

“To stand out in an industry that is flush with expected, staged visuals, you have to do something dramatically different,” Grey New York CCO Andreas Dahlqvist told AdAge.

AKQA has hired Josh Combs as a creative director at its Portland office. He will work on the Nike account and report directly to group creative director Ginny Golden. 

“AKQA’s Portland office has seen some significant business growth in the last five years. Josh is a proven creative leader that will help us continue this momentum, delivering more worldclass work for our growing client list,” Golden said in a statement. “His passion for telling big brand stories in modern innovative ways is what makes him a perfect fit for AKQA.”

Combs joins AKQA from Fallon, where he has served as a creative director since March of 2014. Prior to that he spent two years in the same role at JWT, working out of the agency’s New York and Paris offices. Before joining JWT he spent four years as an associate creative director with kbs+, following art director roles with DiMassimo Goldstein, Berlin Cameron and Wexley School for Girls. Over the course of his career, his work has been recognized at Cannes Lions and The One Show, among others. 

“I’m excited to join the growing creative team here in Portland,” Combs said. “AKQA isn’t just looking to make another ad for the world to gloss over, it’s about much more than that. They’re creating a place where ideas, powered by innovation, can move brands forward. And I am looking forward to diving right in.”