Hasta La Creative!

W+K Portland debuted a new ad for Coca-Cola during the Oscars on Sunday, entitled “A Generous World.”

The 60-second ad, the latest in Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign, follows a series of unfortunate events. It opens on a man buying a Coke when he sees a woman break a guitar string and decides she needs it more than he does. She’s about to sip the bottle when she sees an elderly nun whose car is being towed and gives the Coke to her. From here, the Coke keeps making the rounds from one person to the next. As each is about to sip the drink, they see someone who has suffered a worse misfortune than they have and decide to give it to them instead. It’s very much in line with the “Open Happiness” mood of promoting happiness and positivity, although the premise wears a bit thin by the end of 60 seconds after so much repetition. The broadcast spot ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and Coca-Cola invited fans to submit their own ideas for endings before finally revealing their own (see below).

Thanks to all the screen-writers and guessers out there. Ready to see who gets the Coke next? #AndTheCokeGoesTo… https://t.co/TQa3pKOodQ

— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) February 23, 2015

Credits:

Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Spot: “Generous World”

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Hal Curtis / Jeff Gillette / Antony Goldstein
Copywriter: Neil Ramanan
Art Director: Gianmaria Schonlieb
Producer: Jennifer Hundis
Account Team: Brian Mead
Business Affaires: Teresa Lutz
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples / Mark Fizloff
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz

Production Company: MJZ
Director: Dante Ariola
Head of Production: Scott Howard
Line Producer: Natalie Hill
Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sound

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
Assistant Editor: Marjorie Sacks
Post Producer: Shada Shariatzadeh
Post Executive Producer: Angela Dorian

Final Online & Effects: The Mill, Chris Harlow
Color Correction : Company 3, Stefan Sonnenfield

Music Company: We Are Walker
Executive Producer : Sara Matarazzo

Audio Post and Sound Design Company: Eleven Sound, Jeff Payne

Leo Burnett took quite the minimalist route with its Oscar campaign for McDonald’s, using nothing but text to evoke classic movies.

The 60-second spot likens movies such as Jaws, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs and King Kong to McDonald’s iconic Big Mac, an audacious claim to be sure, ending with the line “Lovin’ takes the right ingredients.” Aside from any qualms about the comparison, the ad does mostly succeed at conveying movies with just a few lines of text, at its best (fava beans + chianti + people…for dinner) mixing in some humor. There’s also something oddly satisfying about how well the text synced up with Debussy’s “Claire de Lune.” Still, how you feel about the approach will largely come down to whether or not you think a fast-food chain should be comparing itself to the classics, and we’re guessing McDonald’s won itself plenty of haters with this one.

Last week, Cadillac released the online version of Publicis’ “Arena,” the first ad for the brand’s new “Dare Greatly” campaign as well as the first spot from Publicis since winning the account in December, while promising several more ads in the campaign would debut during the Oscars.

Well, now those spots are in, giving a more clear picture of the “Dare Greatly” campaign and Publicis’ strategy to attempt to revitalize the struggling brand. The newly-released ads follow the same kind of philosophy as the first, but tie it more directly to the brand. While “Arena” notably didn’t feature a Cadillac, the Cadillac CT6 is (eventually) featured in the new ads.

In “The Daring: No Regrets” Publicis and Cadillac bring in a host of innovators, such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, fashion designer Jason Wu and Boyhood director Richard Linklater (a nice move for an ad making its debut during the Oscars, given his nomination). The spot makes statements beginning with “How dare…” to show how “Only those who dare drive the world forward,” tying them to the brand with the line, “How dare a 112-year-old carmaker reinvent itself as the CT6 is finally revealed. Also notable is that, like “Arena,” the ad makes extensive use of shots of New York, Cadillac’s new home. Other spots examine the individuals highlighted in “The Daring: No Regrets” more closely, such as the 30-second efforts for Wu and Wozniak below.

It’s clear that Publicis is taking a more image-driven approach, attempting to manufacture a certain philosophy for the brand that will appeal to a younger crowd, rather than emphasizing the selling points of the vehicle itself. “Luxury brands don’t sell products, they sell dreams,”  Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer Uwe Ellinghaus told The Wall Street Journal. “People need to find Cadillac inspiring and having a spirit and attitude, a clear point of view.”

After spending heavily on ads at the Academy Awards, Hyundai and Audi are sure to be happy about the result from their investment. Being among the notable list of advertisers in the spectacle viewed all over the world, Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, has noted a significant boost in site traffic for Hyundai and Audi since the automakers’ advertising ran during the broadcast of the Academy Awards.

Since the broadcast, Hyundai pages have received 27 percent more visitors compared with the comparable period during the previous week, while Audi pages have received 26 percent more visitors.

Hyundai chose to advertise its Assurance Plus program on the Oscars, reportedly in order to reach a more upscale audience. Visitor behavior on Edmunds.com suggests that this decision was a success, since it earned Hyundai a greater share of traffic on the automotive Web site known for attracting a particularly affluent and well-educated audience.

Featured in the ads was the Hyundai Genesis; Edmunds.com site traffic to Genesis pages has since risen a remarkable 86 percent.

(Source) Press