Hasta La Creative!

Back in September, Mekanism rolled out its “It’s On Us” sexual assault awareness PSA for the United States government, enlisting the help of celebrities (including actor Jon Hamm), along with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, to deliver its message.

Now, the agency is rolling out phase two of the campaign, again calling on bystanders to help prevent sexual assault. While the initial effort relied on its star power, this time around Mekanism instead attempts to put the viewer in a realistic situation. At a drunken house party, a female guest attempts to leave, only to have her exit blocked by an aggressive guy asking, “Oh no, you’re not leaving are you? Why do you want to go home?” as another guy sits on the couch with a drink. “This isn’t a PSA about sexual assault,” says the voiceover, “it’s about being the guy who stops it.” The spot ends with the guy getting up from the couch to come to the girl’s aide, followed by the message “It’s on us to stop sexual assault” and directing viewers to ItsOnUs.org.

While lacking the visibility of its predecessor, the spot communicates its message well. By focusing on the guy on his couch just having a drink at a party as an uncomfortable situation unfolds, it puts the viewer in his position, the idea being that viewers in a similar situation will know that it’s time to act rather than simply doing nothing — to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. Its released is timed in anticipation of next week’s “National Week of Action” at colleges and universities across the country, a push to get students involved with “It’s On Us.” (more…)

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Team One runs through a list sins encouraged by the Lexus F performance line in their new spot, “Temptation.”

According to the 60-second spot, the Lexus F, “Provokes lust, unleashes wrath, incites envy, and elicits pride.” Absent are two of my personal favorites, sloth and gluttony, which Team One decided (understandably) don’t really do much to sell luxury performance vehicles. Greed is skipped over because they’re trying to get people to shell out a lot of money for a car here.

The spot, slickly produced by RSA, does a better job of tying the vehicle to certain sins than others. Lust is embodied by a couple making out in the rain, after which the Lexus F happens to exit a garage, not doing much to show how it “provokes lust.” Oh wait, it’s because the guy stops making out for a second to check out the Lexus F. Ugh. The rest of the sins are dealt with a bit better, with “unleashes wrath” tied not to actual anger but the car’s power, and envy and pride dealt with in more obvious ways. Perhaps most importantly, “Temptation” makes the Lexus F look good, even if its concluding line, “Temptation comes in many heart-pounding forms, but only one letter” is a bit weak. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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