VB+P Explores the Darker Side of the Holidays for Audi with ‘Parking Lot’

Venables Bell & Partners found a way to stand out for Audi amidst a barrage of feel-good holiday ads. 

“Parking Lot” eschews the typical approach and instead takes a look at the darker side of the season, via a relatable seasonal dilemma: the war for a parking space. The spot opens with two Audi drivers entering a parking lot, where they proceed to enter a prolonged battle for the last parking spot, set to the strains of “Carol of the Bells.” With seemingly no parking spots left, they resort to drastic measures.

Just when things seem resolved, albeit via an ambiguous scene jump, the two find more to fight over. The spot ends with the tongue-in-cheek line, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

The approach will inevitably be a divisive one. Some will fault the ad for being too dark or Audi for not having holiday spirit. Others will welcome it as a much needed break from a barrage of overly saccharine odes to the holidays. Either way, the narrative does find a way to showcase the Audi RS3 and RS7 in action.

Credits:
Advertising Agency: Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco, USA
Founder, Chairman: Paul Venables
Partner, Executive Creative Director: Will McGinness
Creative Directors: Justin Moore , Erich Pfeifer
Copywriter: Tedd Wood
Art Director: Cody Pate
Director of Integrated Production: Craig Allen
Producer: Hilary Coate
Business Affairs Manager: Sametta Gbilia
Head of Brand Management: David Corns
Brand Director: Jon Phillips
Brand Supervisors: Jessica Lo, Justin Wang
Brand Manager: Hope Stadulis
Brand Coordinator: Alexandra Kaye
Senior Strategist: Mike Riley
Senior Traffic Manager: Jermelia Holling

Production Company: Biscuit FIlmworks
Director: Steve Rogers
Executive Producers: Shawn Lacy, Holly Vega
Line Producer: Karen O’Brien
DoP: Alwin Kuchler

Editing Company: Exile
Editor: Kirk Baxter
Assistant Editor: Paul Jarolimekproner
Executive Producer: CL Weaver
Producer: Remy Foxx

VFX / Finish: ETC
VFX Lead Supervisor: Adam Watson
VFX Executive Producer: Kate Hitchings
VFX Producer: Scott Boyajan
2D Artists: Matt Lee, Matt Lee
CG Supervisor: Corinne DeOrsay

Color: Co3
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Color Producer: Katie Andrews

Music Company / Music Arrangement / Sound Design / Mix: Barking Owl
Creative Director / Partner: Kelly Bayett
Producer: KC Dossett
Sound Designers: Wylie Statemen, Harry Cohen
Mixer: Mike Franklin

FCB Bolsters San Francisco Office With 4 New Hires Including Creative Director Bruno Nakano

FCB is continuing to build up its San Francisco office with four key new hires including former R/GA New York executive Bruno Nakano, who joins the team as creative director, a title he shares with Rodrigo Linhares.

The other three new appointments include Jordan Wells to vp and director of new business, Laura Feder to account supervisor and Frankie Donlon to integrated project manager. A FCB West spokeswoman said all of these positions are new to the agency.

“2017 has been a phenomenal year for FCB West,” FCB West CEO Joe Oh said in a statement. “And yet we aspire to be so much more. The addition of these four amazingly talented and lovely people is an investment we are making as a business and a culture to turn those aspirations into reality.”

Specifically, the shop attributed the bolstering of the San Francisco office to FCB Global’s big win of the Clorox global creative account last year. The work for Clorox is split between FCB’s San Francisco and Chicago offices.

Nakano joins FCB West from R/GA New York, where he served as senior art director and worked on the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8. It appears he will work alongside creative director Linhares, who joined FCB West in July and remains at the San Francisco shop.

“Bruno brings with him an infectious and insatiable thirst for doing great work,” said Karin Onsager-Birch, FCB West evp and chief creative officer. “We were lucky to land him as the go-to mentor for all our art directors and designers, and the visual guide across all clients as we continue to raise the bar for our work.”

Nakano has won several awards including one of the Top 10 Art Directors Worldwide by the Cannes Lions Report in 2011 and one of the 15 Ones to Watch at the One Show Young Guns in 2015.

Meanwhile, Wells hails from San Francisco digital strategy and design agency Extractable, Feder from Grey New York and Donlon from communications and marketing agency Hill Holliday.

CP+B to Close Its Miami Office in March

Crispin Porter + Bogusky announced plans to close its Miami office in March as part of an effort to consolidate its U.S. operations, Adweek reports.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while,” CP+B founder and chairman Chuck Porter said, adding that while “agonizing,” it was “the best thing for the agency and the work. We’re done restructuring now.”

“Obviously, it was partly a financial decision. A lot of clients we had here came from our connections in Brazil,” he added.

CP+B launched with Miami as its headquarters back in 1988, subsequently opening offices in Los Angeles and Boulder in 2001 and 2006. The agency’s accounts run out of Miami will now move to its Boulder, Los Angeles and São Paulo offices.

The announcement follows CP+B’s decision to shrink the size of its Los Angeles office earlier this month, after laying off five percent of its staff this summer in the wake of Infiniti moving global creative duties to 72andSunny without a review. CP+B L.A. retains the U.S. agency of record duties for the car brand.

Around 75 staff members will be affected by this news. Porter told us that most employees in Miami are “support people” handling bookkeeping and business affairs work but said that a majority of client-facing staff, “particularly creatives” like ECD Tom Adams, will be moving to L.A. CP+B is working with the larger MDC Partners network to find opportunities for other employees, though Porter acknowledges that many will not be able to leave Miami.

One user of the Fishbowl app described the move as a “trail of tears.”

Any employees unable to find work at MDC might be able to score a gig at the new agency that David veterans Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio plan to launch in March.

Those guys didn’t want to tell us which clients will help fund their new operation. Who wants to guess??

Barker Wins AOR Duties for Bausch + Lomb Brand Launch

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. appointed Barker as agency of record for global eye health organization Bausch + Lomb’s new brand launch, following a review.

“We were impressed with Barker’s approach to how we will create breakthrough and provocative work together,” vice president, marketing, Bausch + Lomb Chris Marschall said in a statement. “Barker proved to be the agency best-equipped to create new consumer behavior that will ultimately make this product launch successful.”

“Barker couldn’t be prouder to announce our partnership with Bausch + Lomb,” added Barker founder and chief idea officer John Barker. “This new relationship can push creative boundaries while incorporating best practice in learning in CPG and OTC consumer healthcare.”

Barker will be tasked with developing an integrated campaign across broadcast, print, digital and social media outlets. Its first work for the client is expected in the spring of 2018.

NOS: The Secret of Christmas

Havas Lisbon created for NOS, a Portuguese Telecom, a touching Christmas story between a dad and his son. Dad tells a secret to his son, who ends up sharing it with all his little friends, who also share it with other people and so forward. The entire world ends up discovering the secret of Christmas: Santa’s number. ‘Believe’ is the brand’s message. And until Christmas each time someone actually calls this number (+351 93 500 70 70), a different Christmassy and magic message from Dad will be shared everyday. Directed by Marco Martins, the ad has been watched and shared by more than 2 million people in just a couple of days. And it will be continued. Because each time someone believes, the Christmas magic happens.

The Secret of Christmas – NOS Christmas Ad 2017

Video of The Secret of Christmas – NOS Christmas Ad 2017

Burger King: Delivery Service

BURGER KING® – LIEFERSERVICE

Video of BURGER KING® – LIEFERSERVICE

Uber / MADD: MADD Canada PSA: Motherhood

Canada leads all nations with more than a third of road fatalities involving alcohol impairment. Crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs are the leading criminal cause of death in Canada, with an average of four Canadians killed in crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs every day.

With this in mind, Uber Canada in partnership with MADD Canada are launching a joint fundraising and awareness campaign to remind Canadians of the dangers and consequences of impaired driving.

The partnership campaign kicks off with the unveiling of a public service announcement, created by Zulu Alpha Kilo. With its overarching message—No mom should have motherhood taken away—this new PSA encourages viewers to consider how their decisions have a lasting impact on those closest to them. The spot follows a mother who’s lost her son to impaired driving. We travel through some of her most precious memories as she says goodbye to each special moment with her son. MADD Canada reminds viewers to make a responsible choice.

MADD Canada PSA: Motherhood

Video of MADD Canada PSA: Motherhood

Blue Cross: Reverse Poems, 1

About 20.5 Million Germans suffer from or are close to an addiction. Blue Cross helps these people. Yet, too few know about Blue Cross. Our solution: We employed an extraordinary copy-mechanics – Reverse Poems. Read top-down they speak from the addict’s perspective. Yet, read bottom-up the same copy speaks from the cured addict’s perspective. The message: with Blue Cross you can turn your life from negative to positive. Result: website traffic increased by over 200%. And 80% more addicts sought help at Blue Cross.

Blue Cross: Reverse Poems, 2

About 20.5 Million Germans suffer from or are close to an addiction. Blue Cross helps these people. Yet, too few know about Blue Cross. Our solution: We employed an extraordinary copy-mechanics – Reverse Poems. Read top-down they speak from the addict’s perspective. Yet, read bottom-up the same copy speaks from the cured addict’s perspective. The message: with Blue Cross you can turn your life from negative to positive. Result: website traffic increased by over 200%. And 80% more addicts sought help at Blue Cross.

Blue Cross: Reverse Poems, 3

About 20.5 Million Germans suffer from or are close to an addiction. Blue Cross helps these people. Yet, too few know about Blue Cross. Our solution: We employed an extraordinary copy-mechanics – Reverse Poems. Read top-down they speak from the addict’s perspective. Yet, read bottom-up the same copy speaks from the cured addict’s perspective. The message: with Blue Cross you can turn your life from negative to positive. Result: website traffic increased by over 200%. And 80% more addicts sought help at Blue Cross.

Macy's: The Perfect Scent

Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Perfect Scent

Video of Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Perfect Scent

Macy's: The Wrong Size Gift

Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Wrong Size

Video of Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Wrong Size

Macy's: The Holiday Lights

Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Holiday Lights

Video of Macy’s Perfect Gift | The Holiday Lights

Dogkart: Rock Heavy – Bull Terrier

Incorrect diet and lack of exercise makes domestic dogs obese and inactive. This often leads to depression in dogs and becomes a source of other health problems.

The brief was to make pet owners aware that it takes a special diet for a heavier dog to get back into shape as compared to lighter dogs. So Lifelike dog illustrations were hand painted on rocks. The painted dogs looked quirky and humorous, exemplifying the idea that when dogs don’t eat right, they become stationary, just like a rock.

Dogkart: Rock Heavy – Basset Hound

Incorrect diet and lack of exercise makes domestic dogs obese and inactive. This often leads to depression in dogs and becomes a source of other health problems.

The brief was to make pet owners aware that it takes a special diet for a heavier dog to get back into shape as compared to lighter dogs. So Lifelike dog illustrations were hand painted on rocks. The painted dogs looked quirky and humorous, exemplifying the idea that when dogs don’t eat right, they become stationary, just like a rock.

Dogkart: Rock Heavy – Heavy Bulldog

Incorrect diet and lack of exercise makes domestic dogs obese and inactive. This often leads to depression in dogs and becomes a source of other health problems.

The brief was to make pet owners aware that it takes a special diet for a heavier dog to get back into shape as compared to lighter dogs. So Lifelike dog illustrations were hand painted on rocks. The painted dogs looked quirky and humorous, exemplifying the idea that when dogs don’t eat right, they become stationary, just like a rock.

Dogkart: Rock Heavy – Cocker Spaniel

Incorrect diet and lack of exercise makes domestic dogs obese and inactive. This often leads to depression in dogs and becomes a source of other health problems.

The brief was to make pet owners aware that it takes a special diet for a heavier dog to get back into shape as compared to lighter dogs. So Lifelike dog illustrations were hand painted on rocks. The painted dogs looked quirky and humorous, exemplifying the idea that when dogs don’t eat right, they become stationary, just like a rock.

Hennessy: The Quest

Hennessy Paradis Impérial – The Quest : an Art Installation

Video of Hennessy Paradis Impérial – The Quest : an Art Installation

Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria: LAIF Awards 2017, 1

The Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) is a yearly event that celebrates creativity in Nigerian advertising. We were tasked with creating communication materials for this important event. We depicted the many people slaving it out in agencies as robots, while replacing the word, life, with the acronym, LAIF.

Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria: LAIF Awards 2017, 3

The Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) is a yearly event that celebrates creativity in Nigerian advertising. We were tasked with creating communication materials for this important event. We depicted the many people slaving it out in agencies as robots, while replacing the word, life, with the acronym, LAIF.