Hasta La Creative!

Of all our body parts, we humans objectify breasts as the most inherently feminine, right? They serve a utilitarian purpose, sure, but they’re also soft and sexy and men don’t (typically) have them.

But what happens when you undergo a double mastectomy to beat cancer, and then you opt—as nearly 58 percent of women do—not to have breast reconstruction surgery? Are you somehow less feminine? The answer is obviously a resounding no, and that’s what a new ad campaign from gender-neutral underwear company Play Out is looking to communicate.

The campaign features three proudly breastless women—Emily Jensen, Jodi Jaecks and Melly Testa. Play Out partnered on the campaign with support group FlatTopper Pride, which Jensen founded.

“Our dear friend Emily Jensen, who started FlatTopper Pride, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 31 years old,” Abby Sugar, Play Out co-founder and designer tells AdFreak. “After having a double mastectomy, Emily shared photos of herself on Facebook, on vacation, topless and flat. These were very powerful, strong images, and even though we knew Emily as a dear friend, we didn’t know how much she went through daily as a breast cancer survivor. Not only that, but as a person who stood out against society’s expectations of feminine beauty and the dominant narrative of reconstruction after mastectomy.”

Sugar adds: “We wanted to help her not only show that you can be yourself, no matter your gender presentation, but get the word out about FlatTopper Pride, a space for LGBT people dealing with breast cancer and breast removal to find support. Emily, Jodi and Melly all have unique stories about their treatments and their experiences post-mastectomies. Emily brought Jodi in to tell her story, and introduced us to Melly here on the East Coast. We were extremely inspired by all of them.”

Play Out also points to FlatTopper Pride, where the women featured share their stories.

The latest baby-food ad to make the rounds isn’t what you’d expect. No perfectly tidy nurseries or matching outfits for JCPenney portraits here. Plum Organics’ #ParentingUnfiltered campaign is about real family life—messy, frustrating and somehow wonderful just the same.

We see scenes familiar to any modern parent—pumping milk at work, crying over an iPad, a somber goodbye to a pet goldfish, late nights and tired eyes. It finishes with the copy, “If it feels like parenting isn’t always perfect, you’re doing it right.”

Refreshingly, it’s neither mom- nor dad-focused (dad’s not the caricatural buffoon, for example), and there are same-sex couples and people of color. Along with the spot comes a hashtag, a website and heavy Internet marketing, including partnerships with popular parent bloggers.

It’s Plum Organics’ first-ever national campaign, says Neil Grimmer, CEO and co-founder.

“When we first launched seven years ago, our marketing strategy was super scrappy, focused solely on grassroots, word of mouth and PR. We’re still that brand at heart,” he tells AdFreak. “So as a concept, Parenting Unfiltered came very naturally to us. … The baby industry has done a wonderful job of setting up an expectation that everything is beautiful and rosy and majestic, and then you actually get into your own life and it’s messy and raw and not always pretty. Parenting Unfiltered is about not only acknowledging but celebrating the complicated reality that is parenting.”

This spot comes in the wake of Similac’s wildly popular campaign addressing heated parenting topics, including the ever-volatile breastfeeding vs. formula and SAHM vs. working-mom wars. Both spots have minimal product inclusion, as well. (Blink, and you’ll miss the container of Plum Organics puffs on the kitchen counter.)

“The campaign approach is very Plum in that it’s really speaking to our fans at an emotional level. As a lifestyle brand, we don’t feel it’s necessary to lead with a product-first campaign strategy,” says Grimmer. “The ultimate goal is to be thought of by our consumers as a trusted source and friend, so when they’re in the baby-food aisle and it comes time to make that purchasing decision, Plum is that friendly face on the shelf.”

It’s also reminiscent of Coke Argentina’s beautiful ad highlighting the agony and ecstasy of early parenthood (toddler destruction throughout, yet unbridled joy when the starring couple find out they’re expecting baby No. 2).

It’s a continuation of a slow but lovely trend of brands portraying the beautifully real parts of parenting.

Looking for a browser extension that approaches ad blocking a bit more creatively? D&AD and Paris agency BETC have just the thing.

The British ad organization, which just handed out its 2015 awards last week, has now released The Ad Filter, an extension for Chrome and Firefox that blocks regular preroll ads and automatically replaces them with D&AD winners from past years.

It might seem odd for an ad group and a famous agency to promote ad blocking, but D&AD and BETC say the plug-in is designed to “celebrate creativity by inspiring and stimulating people in the industry and beyond.”

“We wanted to demonstrate that people don’t hate advertising, they just hate bad advertising,” says Olivier Apers, creative director BETC Paris.

Check out the demo below, and download The Ad Filter here. It certainly works. I installed it, and quickly saw Vodafone’s “The Kiss,” Hahn SuperDry’s “Pioneering Beering” and LG Kompressor Elite’s “Somethings Lurking” spots.

CREDITS
Client – D&AD
Brand Management – Laura Kelly
Agency – BETC X BETC Digital
Agency Management – Niamh O’Connor, Anaïs Pirajean
Chief Creative Officer – Stéphane Xiberras
Executive Creative Director – Olivier Apers
Art Directors – Alphons Conzen, Jonathan Baudet-Botella
Copywriter – Adrian Skenderovic
Development – Cogit
Motion Design – Raphaël Benhamou

Happy brands are everywhere. But what if there were some sad brands, too?

Illustrator and author Adam J. Kurtz wouldn’t mind seeing that. Kurtz, who’s part of BuzzFeed’s YrBff team, tweeted out the following right before the holiday weekend:

hi friday twitter! do you like brands? tweet me your fave brand w/ #sadvertising and i will make them sad https://t.co/by1gPuXDtW

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

For the next hour or so, he took requests from followers and churned out shrewd, snarky images, from Nike to Coke to (almost) Starbucks. We spoke with him about the project.

Where did this idea come from?
Brands are constantly masquerading as friends on our personal feeds, on Twitter and Instagram, with bright and shiny photos and copy. But let’s be honest, our feeds aren’t all happy. People are always complaining, putting negative energy out (especially in a humorous way, like @sosadtoday, one of my Twitter favorites). I thought it would be funny to throw some sad brands into the mix. After all, honesty is about a full range of emotion.

It started with a teen angst take on the Nike logo, and then I opened it up to requests.

?? pic.twitter.com/RWZfFx755L

— BFF (@YrBFF) May 22, 2015

Why #sadvertising? Does advertising in general sadden you?
It was just a very, very easy joke. I think advertising can be really great! I worked at Barton F. Graf until just a few months ago, and I think there are awesome and hilarious things that advertising can do for people. It’s incredible when you can take a brand’s money and reach and turn it into an overwhelmingly positive experience while still accomplishing marketing goals. Really innovative brand activations and clever social interaction is my favorite. Keep things honest and remind people that behind even the largest brands are some genuine, human people. Again, some self-aware sadness is part of that humanity.

Personally, I would buy the shit out of a Nike “Just Do Not” T-shirt. If anyone from Wieden + Kennedy is reading this, you know where to find me.

I imagine it was a joke, but did Starbucks actually send you a cease and desist?
Haha, no! I cranked all of these out in 20 minutes before heading to a meeting, and I just didn’t feel like drawing that mermaid. In general, they seem very in control of their brand and they’re all over social. A whole bunch of my friends have recently been hired to do content for Frappucino. I thought I’d just lay off. Same with Penguin, who are my publisher. I thought I’d spare my editor, who follows me.

What is your favorite logo of all time?
Probably the old UPS logo designed by Paul Rand. That little bow-wrapped package up top is fucking adorable and just so literal. Also I’m a graphic designer, so I am required by law to mention Paul Rand.

Check out more of Kurtz’s sad logos below.

—Bacardi

#sadvertising @bbyjswag pic.twitter.com/lb9ULP0gMC

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Lush

feel like their logo is screaming #sadvertising @MagpieLibrarian pic.twitter.com/ucBXBnoGQB

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Penguin

no bias on this one obviously none at all #sadvertising @AdamRGarcia pic.twitter.com/5zN6lef7W6

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Coke

enjoy a drink before you die #sadvertising @zachreini pic.twitter.com/FU4XNmBK9H

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—PBR

cheers! let’s drink this because this is what we have presently #sadvertising @saranev pic.twitter.com/5juuFCUpNj

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Chipotle

delicious death! guac is extra #sadvertising @timothyisalive pic.twitter.com/pw8GWDYcrE

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Starbucks

received a pre-emptive cease and desist sorry mr. starbuck #sadvertising @Samantha_Fong pic.twitter.com/TJBK4U7yZJ

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

—Ikea

cheap furniture but not easy its ok you need us more than we need you #sadvertising @kdigilio pic.twitter.com/vFp4Y6GjEJ

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

OKAY THIS WAS FUN GOTTA GO THANKS FOR PLAYING #sadvertising

— Adam J. Kurtz (@ADAMJK) May 22, 2015

Are you a greedy person who doesn’t like to share your nachos with your friends? If so, Taco Bell wants you to buy its giant nacho for one.

In a new ad from Deutsch LA, a young man with exactly the kind of dour demeanor you’d expect from a nacho hoarder rants about the injustices of sharing, the social institution. In all honesty, it’s a sentiment we’ve all probably felt in one moment of weakness or another, which gives it some resonance. And the spot scores extra points for working in some dings against Facebook—namely, the culture of excessive baby photos and cat pics (though let’s be real, people who don’t like babies and animals are, in all likelihood, soulless). The look on the actor’s face when he’s swiping through his tablet is pretty much perfect.

Overall, though, the commercial doesn’t do a great job of making the gloppy, cheesy mess of a ground-meat pocket that can’t rightfully be called a nacho (the “Grilled Stuft Nacho,” which the brand just brought back from the dead) actually appetizing. But at least the brand’s marketing team knows to embrace the sociopathic demographic—when it’s not busy railing against the evils of a certain totalitarian clown.

CREDITS
Client: Taco Bell
Chief Marketing Officer: Chris Brandt
VP, Brand Creative Director: Tracee Larocca
Director of Advertising: Aron North
Manager, Brand Experience: Ashley Prollamante
Associate Manager, Brand Experience: Alexandra Bunn
Food Consultant: Lois Carson Hunter

Agency: Deutsch LA
Chief Creative Officer: Pete Favat
Executive Creative Director: Brett Craig
Group Creative Directors: Guto Araki, Tom Pettus
Creative Directors: Erick Mangali, Ryan Lehr
Senior Art Director: Chris Adams
Senior Copywriter: Ross Cavin
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Producer:  Paul Roy
Senior Producer: Alison McMahon
Music Director: Dave Rocco
Group Account Director: Walter Smith
Account Director: Sandy Song
Account Supervisor: Kim Suarez
Account Executive: Karah duMaire
Chief Strategy Officer: Colin Drummond
Group Planning Director: Lindsey Allison
Senior Account Planner: Kelly Mertesdorf
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Director of Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo
Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Sarah Freeark

Executives:
CEO, North America: Mike Sheldon
President, Los Angeles: Kim Getty

Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Dave Laden
Director of Photography: Stoeps Langersteiner
Managing Partner: Kevin Byrne
Executive Producer: Dan Duffy, Mino Jarjoura
Line Producer: Jason Gilbert

Editorial Company:  Cut & Run LA
Editor: Lucas Eskin
Senior Producer: Remy Foxx
Executive Producer: Carr Schilling

Post Facility: Jogger LA
VFX Supervisor/Flame Artist:  Tim Rudgard
Graphics: Jorge Tanaka
Executive Producer: Lynne Manino

Color Facility: Company 3
Colorist: Dave Hussey

Audio Post: Lime Studios
Mixer: Mark Meyuhas
Assistant: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

Composed Music: Massive Music
Creative Director/Composer: Tim Adams
Head of Production: Jessica Entner

Whether or not KFC’s resurrection of Colonel Sanders achieves its goal of putting a sales dent in potent rivals like Chick-fil-A, the campaign is at least reminding America what a peculiar and fascinating life Harland Sanders actually led. 

As part of the campaign led by Wieden + Kennedy, KFC has launched a digital version of an animatronic museum called The Hall of Colonels, where robotic simulacra of Sanders will regale you with songs and stories about his life.

It’s surprisingly entertaining and educational, actually. Here are a few of our favorite gleanings:

1. He shot someone who vandalized his ad.

During his time as a Shell gas station owner in the late 1920s, Sanders got into an increasingly tense rivalry with a competitor, and the whole thing escalated into a shootout. 

When Sanders posted an ad next to a highway near his Corbin, Kentucky, business, rival service station owner Matt Stewart painted over the sign. Sanders threatened retaliation, but Stewart vandalized the sign again, just as Sanders was meeting with two Shell representatives.

The three grabbed firearms and went down to confront Stewart, who promptly shot and killed one of the Shell reps. Sanders shot Stewart in the shoulder, ending the firefight. Stewart went to prison, and Sanders avoided jail time after his rival was determined to have instigated the fight.

2. He learned to cook after his father’s early death.

At age 6, Sanders lost his father and had to learn to cook to help feed his rural Indiana family. The boy dropped out of school in the sixth grade (“because I didn’t like math”). He worked odd jobs in his youth, such as being a farmhand for $2 a month, and then, as a 16-year-old in 1906, lied about his age to join the Army. Despite his enjoyment of cooking, it would be another 24 years before he would start serving food for money.

3. He worked some truly odd and occasionally terrible jobs.

Here’s a sample (though admittedly we had to pull some details from other Google-able sources):

• Mule minder for the U.S. Army at age 16
• Lawyer, briefly, until he got in a courtroom brawl
• Ash pan cleaner for the Northern Alabama Railroad
• Michelin tire salesman (from which he was fired for his temper)
• “Helpful but technically unlicensed” obstetrician, delivering babies with rudimentary supplies like lard and Vaseline
• Owner of a ferry boat called the Froman M. Coots, which replaced an even more awesomely named ferry, The Old Asthma
• Founder of an acetylene lamp business, launched with his ferry boat profits. It failed due to the development of an affordable electric lamp.

4. He “didn’t want to be the richest man in the cemetery.”

Before his death in 1980, Sanders created the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization to donate much of his wealth to charities, schools and hospitals.

Learn more for yourself from the Hall of Colonels microsite. Or if you’re feeling abundantly curious, you could always check out his 1974 autobiography, “Life As I Have Known It Has Been Finger Lickin’ Good.”

With Memorial Day on Monday, here’s a look at a sad and remarkable ad campaign from Crispin Porter + Bogusky for Mission 22, an initiative the agency started to raise awareness of veteran suicide.

Mission 22 is named after a horrible statistic—that 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S., often in their own homes. This is a real war being waged far from the field of battle, and so CP+B enlisted war photographer David Guttenfelder for the new campaign—to take photos of the homes where veterans died.

The images are haunting and heartbreaking, and powerfully communicate the grief that comes from war. The photos are running on print ads in Fortune, Money and Esquire, and on outdoor boards in four of the cities that these veterans called home.

Also check out the website and the video above, which explains the project.

Mission 22’s goal is to both raise awareness of the issue and to give veterans an idea of where to get help—with a list of vetted organizations on the website.

ZocDoc knows how much it sucks trying to deal with doctors over the phone. Now, the online medical-care scheduling service positions itself as the cure for such headaches in a pair of humorous spots from Goodby Silverstein & Partners in New York.

In one ad, an office worker whispers her embarrassing symptoms  into a handset at her desk, hoping not to be overheard by her colleagues. The other commercial presents a different woman, seeking an appointment ASAP, who might be overstating her condition ever so slightly.

“Get better better” is the tagline. The campaign also includes radio, print, out-of-home and digital elements. It’s the first major ad push for the 7-year-old service, and it follows Richard Fine’s arrival as marketing chief as the year began.

“We’re all at the mercy of a broken healthcare system in which many of us can relate to an experience that is absurd and Kafka-esque,” he tells Fast Company.

“Our campaign finds humor in that shared experience. It makes light of these unnecessarily painful parts of the healthcare system. Technology has changed every part of our lives. How about—finally—healthcare?”

The campaign reunites Fine with Goodby’s Nathan Frank, who serves as creative director. In 2008, the pair co-founded OTC drug company Help Remedies, which is known for its own crazy ads. David Shane directed the ZocDoc commercials.

Shane’s expert comic touch—he directed HBO Go’s “Awkward Family Viewing” ads, and won an Emmy a few years back for Bud Light’s “Swear Jar”—is just what the doctor ordered. Here, his approach is appealingly offbeat, but also upbeat and empowering. That’s probably the perfect prescription for a healthcare platform reaching out in ads for the first time.

A children’s helpline in Sweden just released an upsetting set of emojis showing kids being physically and verbal abused—in the hope that young victims of violence might use them to communicate their situation when words fail.

“A complex reality demands a complex set of symbols,” says the nonprofit group, BRIS, which helps at-risk children and teenagers. “The Abused Emojis make it possible for kids and young people to talk about situations where they felt bad or wrongly treated without having to put words on the situation. If you or somebody you know have been hurt, mistreated or feel sad, Abused Emojis makes it easier to talk about.”

Among the images are kids with bruises and cuts; a baby being struck; a child thinking about a skull (suicide); images of parents drinking; and a literal shithead (a boy who’s presumably having thoughts of being ugly or worthless).

It’s pretty fascinating and bleak. Would kids really use something like this?

Full set of images below.
 

Have you taken a selfie lately? If the answer is yes, then you’re the target audience for this new over-the-top parody PSA from Pizza Hut.

The brand wants to warn you about the dangers of the selfie stick—a device that creates the unfortunate illusion for the user that (gasp!) other people, places and objects exist.

The spot is delightfully cheeky, and the spokeswoman brings the right mixture of faux-fear and faux-anger—she almost seems to be doing a homage to the former host of Unsolved Mysteries. It isn’t until the end that you realize it is, in fact, an ad.

There’s very little branding, except for the pizza delivery guy. Pizza Hut spokesman Doug Terfehr said that’s because it’s meant to be entertaining first and branded second. 

The product being advertised, the two-foot-long Big Flavor Dipper pizza, “is so big that a regular out-stretched hand just won’t do it. If you want to snap a photo of it, with you in it, you’re going to need a bigger stick,” Terfehr says. “It was a fun, lighthearted way to communicate that message.”

The spot was created by Shareability, whose cofounder, Tim Staples, adds: “A lot of brands say they want to create shareable content but really what they want to do is make a traditional commercial go viral. That type of mind-set is a recipe for almost certain failure.

“Smart brands understand that you need to give the audience a valuable piece of content and then attach their brand in a clever and subtle way. Pizza Hut is a smart brand. The goal of this video is to start a conversation, not beat people over the head with a product message.”