Walton Isaacson Makes Some Noise for Lexus

Agency Walton Isaacson (rather than the brand’s usual agency, Team One) crafted a 30-second Super Bowl spot promoting the Lexus NX, entitled “Make Some Noise.”

The spot employs a Stomp-like approach, building a soundtrack from sounds made by the vehicle, such as a beep from the car unlocking, the sunroof opening and the sound of the engine revving. Highly stylized shots of the vehicle, interspersed with dancers, accompany the sounds until a voiceover announces, “Go beyond utility: introducing the Lexus first-ever NX Turbo and Hybrid from Lexus. Be seen. Be heard. Make some noise.”

“Make Some Noise” will run during the first half of the Super Bowl, making Lexus one of only a few automakers advertising during this year’s game, along with Toyota, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz. General Motors, Volkswagen and Lincoln will be conspicuously absent. Lexus last ran a Super Bowl ad in 2012, promoting the 2013 Lexus GS.

Credits:

Agency: Walton Isaacson
VP, Group Account Director: Ayiko Broyard
Creative Director: Cenon Advincula
Copywriter: Colin Costello
Art Director: Cenon Advincula
Music Supervisor: Andrew Logan
Producer: Shauna Williams
Production Company: Radical Media
Director: Dave Meyers
Executive Producer: Jim Bouvet
Producer: Scott Cunningham
Director of Photography: Christopher Probst
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Executive Producer: Angela Dorian and Dave Sellars
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
Producer: Shada Shariatzadeh
Assistant Editor: Majorie Sacks
Post Production: Method Studios
Lead Flame Artist: Claus Hansen
Executive Producer: Robert Owens
Producer: Stephanie Allis
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Dave Hussey
Voiceover: Blair Underwood
Music/Sound Design: Kismet Inc.
Composers: Andrew Logan and Pamela Reswick
Recording Studio: 48 Windows
Engineer: Eric Garcia

CP+B Taps Kevin Hart for Vitamin Water

CP+B tapped Kevin Hart for a new Vitamin Water spot entitled “Make It Big” that, unfortunately, isn’t very funny.

The 60 second spot features Hart examining the alternatives he could have taken in his career path: keeping his day job as a shoe salesman, making friends in all the right places, being someone he isn’t. His message is that success takes hard work and hustle, which requires hydration, so that’s how Vitamin Water factors into all this. Perhaps because this line of reasoning is a bit of a stretch, Hart can be seen taking a sip of Vitamin Water at various points in the spot, such as at a bad performance in front of a tough crowd, or servicing a particularly unreceptive customer as a shoe salesman, and the spot ends with the “Hydrate the Hustle” tagline. All of these scenarios fail to live up to their comedic potential, though, making this one seem like a pretty big missed opportunity. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Ed Norton Sings Karaoke, Almost Dies Several Times in New Droid Spot

This one’s been making the rounds for awhile now, but we thought we’d give some love anyway. McgarryBowen New York’s new spot for Verizion, “A Lot Can Happen in 48 Hours” features the talents of Ed Norton. It originally aired on December 5th, although it was posted to YouTube about a week before that.

In the spot, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Norton is thrown into a variety of dicey situations, with his Droid helping him get through most of them relatively unscathed. “A Lot Can Happen in 48 Hours” opens with Norton waking up to find himself in a strange room, with his Droid still at 3% power. “It’s been an interesting 48 hours,” Norton says, followed by a flashback. We then follow Norton through his series of misadventures, which begins with him finding a lost wallet and using Droid to find the location. This leads Norton to a karaoke bar, where he ogles a taken woman while singing “If I Could Turn Back Time” (the funniest part of the spot).

From here, Norton’s misadventures include attempting to land a plane, being held captive, having a key found in his stomach, playing a high-stakes game of Connect Four, and being held captive once again. Its everything-goes-wrong brand of humor borrows a little bit from The Hangover series, and although the spot seems to employ the kind of random connections Grey NY used in their 2012 DirectTV campaign, the superior execution helps keep it from feeling too easy or derivative. The spot uses a clever setup to promote the Droid’s impressive battery life, and then finds ways to showcase the phone’s other features in the process. This is certainly a far cry better than McgarryBowen Chicago’s disastrous “Denskies” campaign for Sears. Bonus points for the excellent use of a Lykke Li song. Credits after the jump. continued…

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NFL Season: Another Reason for Old Spice to Do Old Spice Things

There’s a very fine line between stupid funny and annoying, a line that Old Spice is willing to tightrope for miles and miles. Their “Unnecessary Freshness” campaign, created by W+K Portland, will hit screens starting Thursday night for the season opener. As you might expect, there will be plenty of shenanigans that don’t make sense. But, at least that’s the point.

Three new spots starring Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker might make you shake your head, laugh, or both (there’s also a fourth spot featuring New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, possibly a pity commercial since Welker darted for Denver). However, since each ad is less than 20 seconds, it’s easy to stomach the goofy jokes and images of lizards eating Welker’s legs. If commenters take to the site to rip W+K, Welker, football, me, AgencySpy itself, or a number of other things that exist, and therefore, should be ridiculed incessantly, they can hopefully agree that the running time is a plus. And, if you believe that a majority of people in America are stupid and these spots are stupid funny, then maybe W+K is onto something brilliant. Maybe.

Credits and some more unnecessary freshness after the jump.

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Arnold Worldwide Brands Volvos for ‘Real People’

Shots fired! According to this new car spot from Arnold Worldwide, Volvos are for real people, but Mercedes-Benzes are for snooty women of the 1% who preen at themselves in rearview mirrors. This is some good, clean class warfare, automobile-style, and luxury brands better watch out.

A few years ago, a Volvo was a boring car for people who needed affordable transportation. Now, the price hasn’t changed much, but the image has shifted slowly. It’s not that crazy to think that someone with enough money would pick a Volvo over a Benz. And the new spot tugs at the right cords of today’s economic realities to make the comparison seem not only feasible, but preferable. There are also a few campaign teasers on Facebook that flesh out the appeal of Volvo as “luxury for real people,” including: If your dog has a wardrobe, the Volvo s60 probably isn’t for you. Now they’re going after snobby women and people who dress up their dogs! More shots fired, Volvo. I’m in. Credits after the jump.

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