Hasta La Creative!

Carl's Jr.'s notorious Memphis BBQ Burger commercial, which features two half-dressed women fighting over pulled pork on a cheeseburger—aka, "barbecue's best pair"—recently arrived in New Zealand. It was promptly banned there, however, for running afoul of two of the country's advertising rules—prohibiting the use of sex appeal in an exploitative and degrading manner, and the use of sex to sell an unrelated product. (Are there any Carl's Jr. ads that New Zealand doesn't ban?) In response to this particular censure, Carl's Jr. decided to describe the TV spot in a radio ad—which, left to the listener's imagination, is perhaps as suggestive as the TV spot. (Special Group did the radio work; 72andSunny did the TV.) It's not a bad use of radio, which is sometimes said to be the most visual medium. Of course, the radio spots will probably be banned soon, too. Via The Ethical Adman.

Michael Bolton follows up his Optimum campaign with a cameo in the Starburst ad below, part of a new campaign from DDB Chicago that offers theories on why the candy is so "Unexplainably juicy." In "Orchard," it's because Bolton serenades trees whose fruit then becomes extra luscious, obviously. Another spot says it has something to do with Keyboard Cat and dragon tears. The spots were directed by Andy McLeod of Rattling Stick. More executions and credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Starburst
Agency: DDB Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson
Creative Director: Chuck Rachford
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Alex Zamiar
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Jonathan Richman
Executive Producer: Will St. Clair
Producer: Matt Green
Senior Account Director: Kate Christiansen
Production Company: Rattling Stick
Director: Andy McLeod

Ever wondered what God is doing right at this moment? Thanks to social media and the lovely infographics over at god-was-here.com, you can spy on His Omniscience and see exactly where he's helping out. The website aggregates tweets of people thanking God for various things in real-time analysis of where in the country God is, how many people God has surprised, and whether God is doing more than Jesus. A group of Chicago creatives created the site. Enjoy the beautiful design while you keep tabs on His Holiness. If you're a believer, take solace in the fact that the U.S. is clearly still full of God-fearing people! And if you're not, laugh at the fact that so many people attribute minute acts for which they are responsible to a fictional deity!

Facebook just posted the new ad below, from Wieden + Kennedy, on its own site—it will also air Saturday evening during the Final Four on CBS. The social network has had trouble connecting with consumers through its ads before—the "Chairs" spot was roundly and notoriously mocked. This new spot, for the Facebook Home software, which essentially turns Android phones into Facebook phones, has its own issues. It shows an airplane traveler using Home to flip through photographs, each of which comes to life in front of him—sunbathing friends appear in the overhead compartment; his nephew shows up in the aisle with a face full of cake; the drag queen Shangela Laquifa Wadley pops out of the flight attendant's service cart. There's a lot going on. (Oddly, the traveler also ignores a request to turn off his phone; apparently he can't miss a single status update.) Directed by MJZ's Fredrik Bond, the spot is big and cartoony—and surreal, too, which seems to have completely flummoxed the commenters on the Facebook page where it's posted. (The level of negative reaction there is quite remarkable.) It's sometimes hard to know why Facebook, whose image problems usually stem from it seeming too big and too invasive, doesn't try to capture small, human moments rather than cosmic or circus-like ones. Maybe next time. Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Facebook
Project: Facebook Home
Spot: "Airplane"

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Stuart Harkness, Chris Groom, Dan Hon
Copywriter: Dan Kroeger
Art Director: Johan Arlig
Producer: Endy Hedman
Account Team: John Rowe, Leah Bone, Anya Esmaili
Executive Creative Directors: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman, Joe Staples
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz

PRODUCTION
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Fredrik Bond
Executive Producer: Kate Leahy
Line Producer: Line Postmyr
Director of Photography: Roman Vas’yanov

EDITORIAL
Editorial Company: Joint
Editor: Tommy Harden
Post Producer: Yamaris Leon
Post Executive Producer: Patty Brebner

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects Company: The Mill
Shoot Supervisors, Project Leads: Chris Knight (2-D), Dave Lawson (3-D)
Producer: Christina Thompson
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
3D Artists
Lead: David Lawson
Matte Painting: Tom Price
Modelling: Milton Ramirez, Blake Sullivan, Timothy Hanson
Texturer: Edwin Fong
Tracking: Martin Rivera
Rigging, Animation: Jacob Bergman
Animation: Blake Guest
2-D Artists: Nick Tayler, Narbeh Mardirossian, Peter Cvijanovic, Trent Shumway
Titles, Graphics: Albert Yih, W+ K Motion

MUSIC, SOUND DESIGN
Music+Sound Company: Walker
Composer: Jumbo
Sound Designer: Michael Anastasi, Barking Owl
Producer: Sara Matarazzo

MIX
Mix Company: Eleven
Mixer: Jeff Payne
Producer: Caroline O’Sullivan

Be it never so humble. Facebook is ratcheting up its ubiquitous presence in people's daily lives with its "Home" software for Android devices that more or less turns handsets into Facebook Phones. With Home engaged, the social network becomes the dominant presence on your device, with Facebook messages, updates and big, bright, smiley friend images right upfront, along with the ability to chat while using other apps. A 60-second video from the company's in-house creative department predictably plays the connection card with footage of smiley folks interacting via Facebook Home and lovin' it. The approach is similar to Wieden + Kennedy's mostly maligned commercials for the brand, portraying Facebook as a benign, beneficent presence, minus W+K's metaphorical malarky about chairs and swimming pools. The clip reminds me, somewhat, of the feel-good phone-company ads of yore—Reach out and touch someone, etc.—though Facebook's vanilla flavoring is thicker, and the spot manages to be both grandiose and bland at the same time. Still, the work accomplishes its mission of explaining in simple terms what Home is and why consumers might want to use it. Of course, there's more than UX evolution going on here. Home's economic endgame, as Ovum chief telecoms analyst Jan Dawson points out, is almost certainly "to track more of a user's behavior on devices and present more opportunities to serve up advertising." And the phone "takeover" aspect is Orwellian; even the spot oozes conformity. Still, millions of consumers won't care. They'll be pleased they can go Home again—and if Facebook has its way, they may never leave.

Oh, how I've longed to get away from it all and live in the woods, wild and free, with some guy in a bear suit as my only companion. The scruffy protagonist of Deutsch LA's new "Mountain Man" spot for Dr Pepper Ten is living that dream in a parody of macho '70s beer commercials that's as goofy as all outdoors. Our hero grows out his beard (itchy, most likely); eats bark off trees (not so tasty, one assumes); calls out for a hawk to fetch him an icy-cold can of the "manliest low-calorie soda in the history of mankind" (no eye-pecking—maybe next time); and gets taxied around by Mr. Bear paddling a canoe (all that fur must be hot as hell). Note to self: Order a bear suit. It commands respect, and I could stand to sweat off a few pounds. A few shorter executions plus credits after the jump.

CREDITS
Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Brand: Dr Pepper Ten

Client:
Chief Marketing Officer: Jim Trebilcock
Director of Marketing: Leslie Vesper
Brand Manager: Angela Snellings
Associate Brand Manager: Erica Hollington
Director of Creative: Shaun Nichols
Advertising Manager: Sharon Leath

Deutsch Creative Credits:
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Hunter
Group Creative Director: Brett Craig
Integrated Creative Director: Xavier Teo
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Erick Mangali
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Ryan Lehr
Copywriter: Trey Tyler
Art Director: Jacob Abernathy
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Director of Content Production: Victoria Guenier
Executive Producer: Lisa K. Johnson
Producer (Post): Matthew Magsaysay

Production Company:
Imperial Woodpecker
Director: Stacy Wall
Executive Producer, Managing Partner: Doug Halbert
Producer: Jeff Shupe
Director of Photography: Corey Walter
First Assistant Director: Miles Johnstone

Editorial:
Cut and Run
Editor: Frank Efron
Assistant Editor: Jeff Carter
Managing Director: Michelle Burke
Executive Producer:  Carr Schilling
Senior Producer: Christie Price

Visual Effects:
The Mill
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Jess Ambrose
Color Producer: LaRue Anderson
Shoot Supervisor: Tara Demarco
Colorist: Shane Reed
2-D Lead Artist: Tara Demarco
3-D Lead Artist: John Leonti
2-D Artist: Dag Ivarsoy
3-D Artists: Ryan Reeb, Brian Yu
Matte Painting: Lyndall Spagnoletti

Music:
Massive Music
Creative Director: Tim Adams
Executive Producer: Scott Cymbala
Composer: Tim Adams
Producer: Jessica Entner

Sound Design:
Massive Music
Sound Designer: Dean Hovey

Audio Post:
Lime Studios
Mixer: Mark Meyuhas
Assistant Mixer: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke

Additional Deutsch Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Michael Sheldon
Group Account Director: David Dreyer
Account Director: Helen Murray
Account Supervisor: Andrew Dubois
Account Executive: Kate DeMallie
Chief Strategic Officer: Jeffrey Blish
Group Planning Director: Aileen Russell
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Gus Meija

Weird, but also pretty neat: On Tuesday, Pizza Hut Canada streamed live YouTube video of an illustrator sketching commenter-suggested images on pizza boxes. It's a bit reminiscent of that artist who promised to hand draw every new Twitter follower (before bailing when he realized how many people would click a button in exchange for a free picture of themselves). Pizza Hut is calling its marketing gimmick art. It's hard to imagine anyone rushing to frame the sketches and hang them on the wall. But they do include random bits of genius, like a pizza eating a man, a porcupine in a balloon factory and "Lady 'Za 'Za" wearing a dress made of pizza (instead of, say, one made of meat). There are also less appetizing sketches, like a "big slice of pizza pushing a baby slice of pizza in a stroller made of cheese." Because it wouldn't really be a pizza box—or advertising—if it weren't covered in melted goop. Now, sit back and enjoy seven and a half hours of footage from the event at the videos below. Agency: Grip Limited in Toronto.

At first glance, it looks like it has to be a prank. But despite being released suspiciously close to April Fools' Day, Bubba Watson and Oakley insist that the new hovercraft golf cart in the video below is real. Designed by Neoteric Hovercraft, the vehicle—if it's real—is the coolest thing to happen to golf since, well, Bubba Watson. The 2012 Masters champ, as always, has some amusing, self-deprecating one-liners in the demo video, which rolled out Tuesday, a day after April Fools'. "I see a lot of stares, a lot of laughs," Watson says. "And then they actually see how efficient it is. I think it's really going to get more people involved. They're just going to want to drive the hovercraft and not play golf. But I mean, that's how I got started, driving a golf cart, and then golf got in the way."

New York Presbyterian Hospital and ad agency Munn Rabôt recently made this video celebrating the life of Danion Jones, who was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. NYPH treated him until his death at age 7, and the video isn't an ad so much as a promise to find new and better ways to help kids like Danion. It's hard to use kids in videos like this without looking schmaltzy and insincere. But you're made of stone if you don't get a little misty watching Danion, who got to perform at the Apollo Theater before his death, sing "When You're Smiling."

Bonkers candy. Betamax. McRib sandwiches. Madonna. Michael Jackson. Reaganomics. Mountains of cocaine. … Man, the '80s rocked. Or sucked, depending on your point of view. Thanks to Mullen's ExploreThe80s.com, folks of a certain age can relive that glittery, gluttonous era in all its gaudy glory. (And Generations Y and Z can experience those years for the first time. Damn their youthful swagger and '90s nostalgia!) The highly interactive HTML5 site promotes National Geographic Channel's upcoming series The '80s: The Decade That Made Us by serving up all sorts of mini factoids about those years. There's little depth, yet the experience is addictive and kind of overwhelming … just like the '80s! The retro-futuristic, arcade-style audio and visuals are especially evocative, recalling a simpler, yet amazingly complex and malleable time when the entire world looked and sounded like Tron.