Hasta La Creative!

Saatchi & Saatchi uses suggestive visual humor, and deadpan delivery from actor Alan Cumming, to skewer the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration’s rules around donating blood.

At issue is a recent revision in the FDA’s regulations that allows gay and bisexual men to give blood, but only if they have haven’t had sex for a year. (They were previously barred entirely, based on concerns about exposure to HIV.)

With tongue firmly in cheek, Cumming introduces a series of eight non-sexual activities that that are “guaranted to make your year without sex fly by.”

Among them: Apply your manual dexterity to packing powder into a Civil War musket; thrust your hips into yoga; and polish your trophies. The logo “Celibacy Challenge” logo also is a riot—a pair of red briefs with a white lock over them.

The ad points to celibacychallenge.com, where you can sign a petition.

Saatchi and Bullit director Ari Sandel created the mock PSA for GLAAD and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, which want the FDA rules to be based on risk factors, not sexual orientation, and are petitioning the federal agency to make that change. The pro-bono ad, which is being distributed online via the hashtag #CelibacyChallenge, went up Thursday on YouTube.

CREDITS
Clients: GLAAD, Gay Men’s Health Crisis
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Jay Benjamin
Creative Director, Art: Johnnie Ingram
Creative Director, Copy: Chris Skurat
Design Director: Juan Saucedo
Art Directors: Mete Erdogan, Matilda Kahl
Copywriters: Callum Spencer, Viktor Angwald                                                 
Chief Production Officer: Tanya LeSieur
Director of Content Production: John Doris
Executive Producer: Dani Stoller
Integrated Producer: Matt Micioni
Lead Creative Technologist: Steve Nowicki
Digital Strategist: Shae Carroll
Information Architects: Robert Moon, Kelly Redzack           
Head of Art Buying: Maggie Sumner
Lead Retoucher: Yan Apostolides
Proofreader: Ed Stein
Chief Marketing Officer: Christine Prins 
Talent Director: Akash Sen
Account Director: Rebecca Robertson
Associate Director, Business Development: Jamie Daigle
Account Supervisor: Carly Wallace
Project Manager: Bridget Auerbach
Production Company: Bullitt 
Director: Ari Sandel
Directors of Photography: Warren Kommers (Alan Cumming)
Benjamin Kitchens (vignettes)
Executive Producer, CEO: Todd Makurath
Line Producer: Nathaniel Greene
Editing House: Arcade Edit
Editor: Jeff Ferruzzo
Assistant Editor: Mark Popham
Producer: Fanny Cruz
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Music House: Nylon
Producer: Christina Carlo
Audio: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Glen Landrum
Post House/Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole

The mini-wave of brands casting gay couples in TV ads this year continues to rise, with the likes of Honey Maid, Cheerios, and DirecTV all diving in. More power to them. But Ikea was the first marketer to feature a gay couple in a mainstream commercial. Twenty years ago.

The 1994 spot below, from Deutsch, ran after 10 p.m. in three markets where Ikea then had a significant presence: New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The late-night airing ensured that the ad wouldn’t be seen during “family hour” programming. That concession, however, did little to quell the objections of the American Family Association and its leader, the Rev. Donald Wildmon.

Wildmon called for boycotts of Ikea stores, one of which, on Long Island, was the target of a bomb threat, which turned out to be unfounded. The retailer, however, continued to air the ad, which was part of a lifestyle campaign featuring different types of consumers (a divorced mom, adopting parents, empty nesters, etc.) that began in 1993.

The creative team behind “Dining Room,” including creative director Greg DiNoto, associate cd Kathy Delaney, copywriter Dallas Itzen and art director Patrick O’Neill, are no longer at Deutsch. But O’Neill, who later worked at TBWAChiatDay and now is chief creative officer at blood testing company Theranos, shared his memories of helping to create something that didn’t win awards but was truly groundbreaking.

brightcove.createExperiences();

AdFreak: Where did the idea for “Dining Room” come from?
Patrick O’Neill: We would base a lot of our stories on the real people we would see. We’d go to the New Jersey store—in Elizabeth—and because [the ads] were based on real people, we would watch, observe and see how people use the product, who they were, what kinds of things they were buying. And we’d figure which stores were the best ones. And there were a lot of gay couples there. We thought, Why don’t we do one? Donny [Deutsch] thought it was a great idea and felt like it was a true representation of Ikea’s values, which is they’re always accepting of everyone.

So, that store was like your focus group or idea center?
It was. And we figured out where life intersected with furniture. … You had to understand what was going on in the culture at that time, I thought, versus just doing [ads] in a sort of timeless manner. Divorcees still go there, that kid still gets adopted, and gay couples still go there, you know [laughs]. It just wasn’t a typical depiction in media.

What was the shoot like?
A lot of the grips and all the people that were working on the set—you could feel that there was a lot of tension in the air because it was so unusual to see.

Did you shoot it at the store?
Yes.

Who was the director?
Paul Goldman. He had just started directing. [At Deutsch] he worked on the original “It’s a big country. Someone’s got to furnish it” campaign that was the year before.

How nervous was Ikea going into this?
They believed in it from the beginning. They were never nervous about it.

Did you have to test it?
No.

Did you think at the time that more people would follow in the footsteps of that ad?
I did.

Why didn’t that happen?
It’s interesting. I think the reason why people remember the ad was because it was done in a way where it was, “Wow, they really did it.” We weren’t mucking around. It was clear what was going on. And there were bomb threats. There was backlash. There were New York op-eds written about it. I mean, there were all kinds of things happening. In the years that followed—not too long after—Ellen [DeGeneres], she came out. Melissa Etheridge came out. A lot of women came out at the time. So, I think the culture started doing it without it being commercials. But as far as brands, I think they were nervous about it.

Does the groundswell we’re seeing now reflect what’s going on with state marriage laws?
Yeah. I think it’s also that the millennials and younger are very accepting of [gay] marriage. When that is legitimized by a large core of consumers, you can have that in communications because the approval rating for that is much, much higher once you get to a certain age group.

Would a different creative team have done the same thing?
No. … Look, the way we cast, and had them speak about their relationship, and the premise—it was all based on real stuff. I think the reason it turned out the way it did was all those people working together on it. We knew gay people, and I felt like the lone representative [laughs]. I felt a lot of responsibility making sure I didn’t let my people down.

How proud are you of this, ultimately, and is it still up there in your top three ads?
Well, I’m proud of it because it was the first one. It was scary in some ways. Everyone was true to the period, but there was no precedent. And it wasn’t a welcoming environment. So, that part of it makes me proud and happy to be part of.

Après la ville de Paris, l’artiste français Etienne Lavie s’attaque aux panneaux publicitaires de la ville de Milan, en les remplaçant par des peintures classiques et célèbres. L’artiste utilise l’art comme un substitut de la publicité, le tout dans un décor urbain. Une belle série à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

Pour la campagne de Fish Love, un association qui critique les pratiques massives et illégales de la pêche, le photographe Denis Rouvre a photographié des célébrités telles que le couturier Kenzo, l’actrice Gillian Anderson ou encore Aure Atika totalement nues, accompagnées de poisseaux. A découvrir dans la suite.

Avec cette vidéo appelée « The Sounds of Snowboarding », Nike nous propose de découvrir de magnifiques images de montagnes en suivant plusieurs snowboarders sur un montage son réussi. Le tout permettant de mettre en avant les différents tricks effectués, cette création est à découvrir dans la suite en vidéo.

A agência Mother London entrega mais um filme incrível para a Ikea. Depois de “Cats“, “Playin’ with my Friends“, “Make Room for your Life” e “Make More of your Garden“, eles acabaram de lançar “Make Small Spaces Big“, um filme quase bizarro – quase engraçado – quase dramático, mas adorável.

A campanha é inspirada no fato de que os britânicos vivem em espaços 15% menores que o resto da Europa.

No enredo eles entram na imaginação de uma menina brincando com sua “casinha de bonecas”, um verdadeiro conjunto habitacional que está longe da casa dos sonhos da Barbie. A história mostra a vida de uma mãe solteira, que acorda com o cabelo desarrumado, joga ping pong na mesa de jantar, lava roupas, deixa o filho com a avó e sai para se divertir, e por que não curtir uma ressaca? Uma realidade muito mais próxima dos dias de hoje, especialmente dos consumidores da Ikea, que não andam por aí de Corvette Pink.

Durante o vídeo, é possível ver como os móveis da Ikea podem transformar um apartamento pequeno em uma casa maior e mais bonita.

A excelente produção transforma atores reais em bonecos plásticos e a trilha sonora de Aretha Franklin com “One Room Paradise” sugere criar um paraíso em um quarto com o homem que ama. No contexto da mãe solteira que vive apenas com o filho, a mensagem é matadora!

Palmas pra Mother, que mais uma vez vai contando histórias interessantíssimas para a Ikea, num mundo onde não vivemos mais o sonho da vida perfeita da Barbie. Só senti falta de um take com a mãe se trocando e mostrando aqueles seios da Barbie, sem os polêmicos mamilos 😛

Assista acima, em HD e tela cheia, por favor.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
Twitter | Facebook | Contato | Anuncie

C’est avec la baseline forte « Un enfant qui apprend est un professeur qui enseigne » que l’Unicef a imaginé cette campagne afin de promouvoir l’accès à l’éducation, imaginant des photos de classe où les professeurs ne sont pas des modèles de vertu. Une campagne signée par Prolam Y&R et des clichés de David Calderon.

L’association espagnole ANAR luttant contre les violences faites aux enfants et l’agence Grey, ont imaginé un panneau publicitaire diffusant un message différent aux adultes et aux enfants en même temps. Sur cette photo d’un enfant, les traces de violences ne sont visibles qu’à des personnes d’une taille d’1m35 et moins.

Le réalisateur français Romain Gavras a dirigé le dernier spot intitulé « Charge » pour la marque coréenne Samsung. Produite par Somesuch & Co, cette vidéo illustre une charge géante de multiples personnages d’univers différents courant vers un spectateur. Une création à découvrir en images dans la suite.

Make Productions a réalisé ce spot absolument incroyable pour la WWF. En utilisant des stills présents dans les archives de l’ONG, ces derniers ont combiné les clichés à deux films auparavant produits par AD Hoc Films pour donner cette impression magnifique de parallaxe. A découvrir sur une musique de Snow Patrol.