Hasta La Creative!

Imagine if Fortnite awarded points for saving lives, rather than taking lives? Over the past week, the International Red Cross (ICRC) has flipped the Fortnite script with the ‘Liferun’ initiative – making it possible to game for good. ‘Liferun’ is a brand-new custom creative game mode for Fortnite allowing players to act as ICRC workers and dominate the leader boards with points for good. It was launched at PAX South 2020 (Jan 17 – 19) – one of the world’s foremost gaming congresses, where FPS streaming sensation DrLupo joined ONE_shot_GURL and Lachlan on-stage to introduce Liferun’s action to tens of thousands of attendees on Sunday, January 19. Lachlan won the Fortnite Peace Prize – the very first of its kind – and so far, the activation has gained a reach of approximately 14 million users.

In this pivotal year of Brexit, the US elections, and the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, The Economist has re-visited its iconic red-and-white campaign to remind its loyal and dedicated audiences that the publication’s fair-minded, independent and trusted journalism is needed more than ever.

This month, Ford is debuting new advertising to support the launch of its completely reimagined 2020 Ford Escape. The vehicle offers advanced driver assist technology, more leg room and a new hybrid that achieves best-in-class range and MPG. The advertising is based on the platform “Built Street Smart,” and is derived from proprietary data insights that identified behaviors and attitudes most relevant to the vehicle’s target audience, defined as “confident escapists.” These are people who try to balance today’s always-on, chaotic world.

The new work positions the destination as a place to become perfectly Whelmed- a vacation experience so satisfying that one is neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. The campaign was inspired by trend analysis, as well as a research survey conducted by Experience Kissimmee where they asked 500 parents about their recent travels. The research found that respondents, especially moms, felt exhausted after a family vacation. Overscheduling activities and cramped lodgings typically added undue stress to a setting that was meant to be fun and refreshing. Research showed that 76 percent of those surveyed by Experience Kissimmee who stated their vacation was “just right” also felt that afterward they needed a vacation from their vacation. With scheduling noted as one of the major drains, having both “no downtime” and “not enough time,” the hectic pace of a vacation is often working to keep children entertained, and feels more exhausting than relaxing. As a result, Experience Kissimmee has vowed to help parents solve the vacation balance challenge. “Seventy-nine percent of our respondents said they feel like they need a vacation more when they get home from a trip than when the trip started,” said DT Minich, Experience Kissimmee President and CEO. “We see a huge opportunity to help parents realize that they, too, can enjoy their vacation. Parents can find balance by bringing joy to their children and themselves. They can be perfectly Whelmed.

Snickers will fix it Super Bowl Sunday.

It all starts with a Spark. This is how players become champions. These players are the game-changers. They are the Spark for their team igniting creativity on the pitch. Be the Spark.

Final Frontier and Taiko Studios produced Airbnb China’s Chinese New Year film, a touching animation demonstrating how the brand’s properties can become homes away from home at a time of year where young Chinese are finding it increasingly difficult to return to their family hometowns.

Spring Festival is the most important date on the calendar in China, when families separated by work and life necessities reunite, traditionally in the town where the children grew up.

Titled “Fu”, the three-and-a-half minute 3D animation tells the story of Jia Jia, a young nurse whose pursuit of her career dreams in the big city prevent her from returning to her hometown for Chinese New year, much to the disappointment of herself and her parents. Fortunately, Airbnb’s platform is on-hand to enable a unique solution.

At the core of the film is the age old Chinese New year tradition of hanging a ‘Fú’ (meaning ‘blessing’) banner upside down, symbolizing “good luck comes”, tying in to the overall campaign idea of turning traditional concepts on their head; in this case, ‘home’ coming to Jia Jia rather than the other way around.