Hasta La Creative!

April Fools’ Day is one of my favorite advertising holidays. It’s a magical day when brands manage to be smart, relevant and amusing on their smallest budgets of the year. It’s a lesson we could all learn, year round.

With a few exceptions like Google (including YouTube), Virgin and ThinkGeek, which have practically built the day into their business model, most brands are tossing a pittance of their marketing budget toward a daylong prank, just for the fool of it. And there’s something beautifully foolish in that, don’t you think?

See this year’s roundup below. We’ll be updating this story throughout the day. Yee-haw!

(Email me or Tim with pranks that we’ve missed.)

On Friday, Ryan Reynolds tweeted out the first picture of the official Deadpool costume with him posing on a bear skin rug, à la Burt Reynolds, and the image is utterly brilliant and perfect in every way. Let me explain.

In 1972, Reynolds became the first male centerfold (some say ever) in Cosmopolitan. The shock wave that rippled through American culture, as women proudly taped the poster to their walls and admitted to the world that they had sexual desires, would spawn Playgirl magazine and change the conversation around sex in America.

Believe it or not, it was a total surprise to a great number of people to learn that women like to look at naked men, just like men like to look at naked women. Of course, it came with a certain amount of notoriety for Mr. Reynolds, and gave Cosmo its modern-day reputation as a bit of a smut magazine. It was so shocking that the next centerfold didn’t appear until 1977, when Arnold graced the pages.

Beyond the shock, everyone at the time knew the image was somewhat of a joke. The bear rug? Clearly a joke—it was poking fun at masculine stereotypes and was chosen by Burt. The chest rug? Not a joke—people liked things hairy in the ’70s. But the point is, the press at the time talked a lot about it being a tounge-in-cheek, tit-for-tat situation. Men had centerfolds to look at, and women deserved them, too. It was only fair. The significance of the image made the sexuality of it moot for many people. This was about equality. (The image has lived on in everything from DirecTV ads to agency copywriter profile pics.)

Referencing the image says a number of things, but first it’s important to know Deadpool is a character who is self-aware. He actually seems to have knowledge of himself as a character in a comic book and knowledge of other characters in other universes. This is pretty unique in the comic-book world. In other words, Deadpool can act like he’s talking directly to other characters, and those characters, who are not self-aware, can’t really talk back.

With great power, comes great irresponsibility. #deadpool #officialsuit @deadpoolmovie pic.twitter.com/MPM89bYz1B

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 27, 2015

That’s why Ryan Reynolds, who plays the character, could tweet the official costume with the caption, “With great power comes great irresponsibility.” That’s a direct jab at “With great power comes great responsibility”—a Spider-Man quote often attributed to Uncle Ben (though it first appeared in the narration in an old Spider-Man comic).

So, Deadpool is clearly taking a direct jab at Spider-Man. Who else might he be jabbing at? Well, in the image, we see him laid out in place of a sexual revolutionary, though Deadpool is not showing any skin. That says he’s jabbing at the male sex-symbol image of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man—whose lead male actors have all been celebrated for their sexual appeal. It’s like Deadpool is saying, I’m going to blow your minds with a whole new kind of comic-book man—and the ladies will like me better. It also says, I’m not afraid to break some taboos, reference the real world, and hey, don’t forget, I’m always a little cheeky. That’s just me. And the ladies like a man with a sense of humor, a man who reads Cosmo.

Disney Marvel is smart not to underestimate its fans and recognize the power of taking the piss with the superhero genre. It made a lot of money with Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’ll make more with Deadpool. Adult comic fans like to be talked to like adults. See, we all know how ridiculous our love of superheroes is, but we love them anyway. We love them smart. We love them topical. We love them allegorical.

And for those few who don’t, those who need things at a simpler level, this first image is still brilliant because, “LOL, just l@@k at him on that stupid rug! Hilars!”

Need a lift? Take this cool 90-second Pennzoil spot from J. Walter Thompson for a spin.

Stunt driver Rhys Millen hurtles through the streets of Cape Town, South Africa, in a canary yellow 707 horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat for much of the film, called “Airlift Drift,” promoting the client’s synthetic motor oil made from natural gas. Ultimately, his wild ride hits dizzying heights as four helicopters hoist the vehicle on a specially designed asphalt-topped platform. The car continues to drift and burn rubber like mad as it soars through the night sky, past glittering downtown skyscrapers.

That’s one breathtaking aerial exhibition. Suck it, Jaguar!

In fairness, Jag’s high-wire stunt last week above the River Thames, while less riveting, was 100 percent real. Pennzoil’s sky driving—well, obviously, not so much.

“Everything from the get-go was rooted in the idea of realism,” JWT Atlanta ecd Jeremy Jones assures AdFreak. “The load capacity of the helicopters, the chains, the shape of the platform and support beams. It’s all mathematically and theoretically possible.”

If the concept seems familiar, that’s because “Airlift Drift” director Ozan Biron, working here through production firm The Embassy, also directed last year’s “Ultimate Racetrack,” which showcased a BMW M4’s tread-tearing trip around the deck of an aircraft carrier. “We learned he was the magician behind ‘Ultimate Racetrack,’ and we had to have him,” Jones says. “He’s a complete car guy, and pushes the driving to crazy levels. It’s so raw and uncommercial.”

Pennzoil has worked especially hard to avoid category clichés in recent campaigns. “We believe cars have evolved. So should your oil—and oil commercials, for that matter,” says Jones. “There are no product claims, no V.O. bottle pours. We want people to be moved and have a visceral reaction to the film, hear nothing but the sound of the engine being pushed to the limit.”

He adds, “The problem with our category is most people outside of enthusiasts don’t care enough about cars to care which motor oil to use. With this film, we’re hoping to wake people up … to become that little ripple in pop culture and get people to think differently about our brand.”

CREDITS
Client: Pennzoil

Agency: J. Walter Thompson Atlanta
Perry Fair: Chief Creative Officer
Jeremy Jones: Executive Creative Director
Dustin Tamilio: Group Creative Director
John Huddleston: Copywriter
Erin Fillingam: Art Director
Daryll Merchant: Producer
Erin McGivney: Account Director
James Robbins: Senior Planner

Production Company: The Embassy, Vancouver
Director: Ozan Biron
Executive Producer: Trevor Cawood
Editor: Ozan Biron
Assistant Editor / Conformist: Brendan Woollard  (Cycle Media)
Director of Photography: Manoel Ferreira

Visual Effects: Imagine Engine
Visual FX Supervisor – Bernhard Kimbacher
Onset Supervisor  – Neil Impey

Precision Driver: Rhys Millen

Content Production Company: Lemonade Films
Executive Producer: Ted Herman
Production Supervisor: Philip Fyfe

South African Service Company: Uncle Morris Films
Line Producer – Steven St Arnaud
Production Manager – Herman Warnich
Prod Coordinator – Andrea Scott

Colorist: Dave Hussey, Company 3

Sound Design: Charles Deenen, Source Sound LA

Tax season is hell for accountants. But in Rhode Island this year, it’s been a little less brutal than usual, thanks to this fun promotion by Intuit.

Intuit makes software called QuickBooks Online Accountant, which helps accountants manage and support clients in one place. To promote it, the company partnered with a local brewery to make a special beer for accountants only—CPA IPA. It then bought ads in the Rhode Island press touting happy hours across the state, where accountants enjoyed some free beer to de-stress. (Intuit chose Rhode Island because it’s a smaller market and because craft beer is big in the Northeast.)

Of course, only one ad agency could possibly make a CPA IPA. Yes, it was done by RPA.

More images and a video below.

CREDITS
Client: Intuit
Agency: RPA
EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli
SVP, GCDs: Nathan Crow, Adam Lowrey
ACDs: Joao Medeiros, Alex Goulart
Designer: Lauren Geschke
Sr. Art Director: Jessie Echon
Photographer: Mark Tripp
Art Buyer: Jessica Fedynyshyn
Producer: Annie Boyle

Ava, the artificial intelligence from the movie Ex Machina who famously punked Tinder users during South by Southwest, isn’t interested only in dating. She also has a business side, it turns out—and she wants to help schedule your next meetings.

A24 Films, the company behind Ex Machina, has extended Ava’s off-screen antics through a partnership with A.I.-driven personal assistant startup x.ai. If you’ve seen the Spike Jonze movie Her, you’ll have an inkling of what x.ai does. It offers users a personal assistant named Amy—who’s actually an A.I., but who can schedule meetings like she’s a real human.

When you’re emailing with someone and you want to schedule a meeting with them, you just cc: amy@x.ai, and she takes it from there. (Scroll down to see how x.ai explains the process in more detail.)

Now, Ava is joining Amy as the company’s second A.I. personal assistant. Just copy ava@x.ai, and she’ll schedule the meetings for you. She’s even got her own LinkedIn page. Her gig with x.ai is temporary, though. It only goes through April 30, at which point she’ll probably start randomly friending people on Facebook.

American Greetings goes all-in with ThankList, an immersive multimedia experience from Mullen that encourages people to thank those who’ve made an impact on their lives.

Two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (for the documentaries Harlan County USA and American Dream) created five short films through production house Nonfiction Unlimited for the campaign, each focused on a different individual’s ThankList. The subjects thank friends, family and mentors for helping them through hard times and making them who they are today.

Overcoming major life obstacles is a common theme. A young woman named Lexi thanks her mom for helping her beat a serious eating disorder, while Ron, a middle-aged cancer survivor, tells viewers how his family’s love and support sustained him when, at age 13, doctors told him he’d soon die from his illness.

The tales are a varied lot, all compelling and well-told, but the story of Air Force pilot Cholene stands out as an emotional powerhouse. She thanks her foster son Keer—who was cruelly blinded as a young boy when sold into slavery in south Sudan, but has since regained some sight after surgery—for making her a “better person … much more sensitive and committed and grateful for my own life.” A gifted musician, Keer is shown playing drums and piano and says, “Music is a vibration of happiness.”

This story is so intense, you may have to take a few minutes to comport yourself before continuing your day and, perhaps, jumping on the ThankList site to create a video or text list of your own. These submissions, according to American Greetings, will be aggregated into “a collective, never-ending ThankList.”

For a purveyor of greeting cards and party favors, American Greetings is certainly thinking large and interactive with ThankList—way beyond the scope of its lauded, mega-viral “World’s Toughest Job” campaign for Mother’s Day last year. That video has amassed more than 23 million YouTube views and became something of a cultural phenomenon. ThankList probably won’t scale those heights, but the trailer’s topped 600,000 views in its first week, and Ron’s story has more than 500,000.

“Creating more meaningful connections between people isn’t simply something we believe in,” explains client president and COO John Beeder. “It’s something we are actively doing, and ThankList is the perfect way to demonstrate that practicing gratitude is easy and impactful.”

Gratitude has, in fact, become an advertising sub-genre of late. ThankList treads a trail blazed by European funeral insurer Dela—though its extremely moving, award-winning “thank-you” films can feel a tad stagey—and MetLife, which recently asked people to say who they “live for.” (American Greetings’ own “World’s Toughest Job” apparently inspired a recent mom-focused initiative from Teleflora.)

Of course, like all advertising, these initiatives are ultimately self-serving. Still, their hearts are in the right place, and I’ll gladly march to the beat. After all, the human condition can sometimes feel so thankless. Perhaps ThankList and similar campaigns will, to some degree, help make the world a kinder, more thoughtful place. I think we’d all be thankful for that.

The Internet didn’t tolerate Starbucks’ #RaceTogether promotion about racial awereness, and the coffee giant swiftly ditched the effort. But Saturday Night Live took notice, and brilliantly skewered the overly simplistic campaign this weekend.

SNL took it to a comically exaggerated level, imagining a group of Pep Boys employees trying to begin a dialogue about gender and sexual identity with folks just trying to get their oil changed. “If you got both parts down there, then be proud. If I had both, I’d be doin’ myself all day long,” says Aidy Bryant’s charmingly ignorant character, fully embracing the fake #genderflect crusade. 

SNL has been hitting edgy topics with its fake ads lately, and this one really nails it.

Can we be even more like Mike?

Gatorade’s 50th anniversary celebration continues with three spots from TBWAChiatDay, each reimagining the iconic Michael Jordan-inspired “Be Like Mike” jingle we’ve been humming for nearly a quarter century.

An impressively remastered version of the original Bayer Bess Vanderwarker ad from 1992 was unveiled last month during the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Visuals from that spot appear in these three new commercials, but each has its own unique vibe.

“Groove Like Mike,” my favorite, feels like the ’70s, with retro-cool animations and a righteously funky take on the song. “Move Like Mike” finds gym rats, inspired by footage of No. 23 playing on monitors around the place, working out and scrimmaging to subtly insistent beats. (Maybe the NBA will adopt that backboard video screen to blast ads during games.) “Dream Like Mike” shows a kid playing driveway hoops against MJ, a bold mix of “Be Like Mike” driving him to new heights.

The clips are fun, multilayered and reward multiple plays. Animal Music did a fine job with the remixes, giving all three versions a fresh sound while staying true to the spirit of the original. There’s just one problem. Now, that damn song will be stuck in my head for at least another 23 years!

CREDITS
Client: Gatorade
Agency: TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles
Creative Director: Renato Fernandez
Art Director: Pierce Thiot
Copywriter: Scott Cleveland
Producer: Garrison Askew
Music Production Company: Animal Music

Safety is a huge part of the Volvo brand. And now, the automaker, with help from Grey London, is extending the concept beyond its own drivers—to cyclists with whom they share the road—and beyond advertising, into product development.

Client and agency have collaborated with Swedish startup Albedo100 to produce LifePaint, a reflective safety spray designed to increase the visibility and safety of cyclists and others on the road at night. Invisible in the daytime, the spray glows brightly in the glare of headlights at night.

Here’s the launch video for it:

It’s not really paint. The transparent spray washes off and will not affect the color or surface of materials. It can be applied to almost any fabric—clothes, shoes, strollers, children’s backpacks, even dog leads and collars—and last about a week after application.

Beginning today, 2000 cans of LifePaint will be given away at six London and Kent-based bike shops. If successful, the project will expand nationally and perhaps internationally.

“Our job isn’t just to advertise our clients,” said Nils Leonard, chairman and CCO of Grey London. “It’s to help them make a positive impact on culture. With the creation of LifePaint, we’ve turned Volvo safety inside out, giving it away to the most vulnerable road users. What more positive action can a brand take than to try to save lives?”

Grey also used LifePaint to create “invisible” black posters that only reveal their message in the flash of a smartphone.

“This is the sort of work we want to be making,” says Grey London creative director Hollie Newton. “Properly integrated innovation. Design a valuable, remarkable product for a brand, and then launch it with the same level of craft.”

CREDITS
Client: Volvo
Creative Agency: Grey London
Chief Creative Officer: Nils Leonard
Creative Director: Hollie Newton
Creative Team: Jonas Roth, Rasmus Smith Bech
Account Team: Cristyn Bevan, Sophie Critchley, Alex Nixon
Planning: Wiktor Skoog
Head of Film: Glenn Paton
Integrated Producer: Francesca Mair
Assistant Producer: Talia Shear
Designer/ Typographer: Chris Chapman
Creative Producers: Helen Llewelyn, Glen McLeod
LifePaint Collaborators: Albedo100
Production Company: Caviar
Director: Andrew Telling
DOP: Jeremy Valender
Executive Producer: Louise Gagen
Producer: Adam Smith
Editor: Matt Newman at GreyWorks
Colourist: Julien Biard at Finish
Post Production: Gramercy Park Studios
Sound Design: Munzie Thind at Grand Central Studios
Music Composition: Adam Halogen through Wake The Tow
Microsite: Paul Cackett, Piers Cleveland-Copeman and Johan Runge-Goransson @ clear.as

Here’s an easy way to make sure the product is the hero. Make everything else around it really, really tiny—and leave the product at regular size.

It works great in this campaign for Frooti, one of India’s oldest and most beloved mango juice brands.New York agency Sagmeister & Walsh designed a whole new visual language for the brand around this idea of a miniature world—which it then brought to life in a stop-motion commercial with help from Aaron Duffy’s agency SpecialGuest, 1stAveMachine director Marc Reisbig and animation house Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.

See the spot here:

As Duffy says, the colorful spot really is an “absurdly ear- and eye-catching little film.” The spot features a miniature version of Bollywood superstar and longtime Frooti spokesman Shah Rukh Khan, who then appears in person at the end to deliver the pitch.

“The goal was to introduce the new packaging in a fresh, bold, and playful way,” Sagmeister & Walsh says of the rebranding. “We introduced four bold colors to the brand which complement the yellow of Indian mango and add a sense of playfulness across the imagery.”

See a bunch more imagery below.

CREDITS
Client: Frooti

Creative Agency: Sagmeister & Walsh
ECD/Partner: Jessica Walsh
ECD/Partner: Stefan Sagmeister

Creative Agency: SpecialGuest
Co-Founder/ECD: Aaron Duffy
Business Director: Ashley McGee
Creative Director/Copywriter: Jonathan Emmerling
Creative Development: Edward Choi and Chloe Corner

Production Company: 1stAveMachine
Director: Marc Reisbig
EP/Partner: Sam Penfield
EP: Melinda Nugent
EP: Garrett Braren
Producer: Leanne Amos
Head of Production: Lisanne McDonald
Associate Producer: Christina Jang
VFX Director: John Loughlin
Editor: Jonathan Vitagliano
Compositor: Chris Russo
Colorist: Seth Ricart/Ricart and Co.

Music/SFX
Music Composer and Supervisor: Amit Trivedi

Animation/Post-Production/Online: Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Executive Producer: John Harvatine IV
Executive Producer: Eric Towner
Executive Producer: Matt Senreich
Executive Producer: Seth Green
Supervising Producer: Janet Dimon
Producer: David Brooks
Line Producer: Barb Cimity
Production Manager: Mario De Jesus
Director of Photography: Helder Sun
Animation Director: Harry Chaskin
Animator: Matt Manning
Animator: Alfonso Estrada
Director of Character Fabrication: Tennessee Norton
Character Fabricator: Tommy Keiser
Editor: Jenny McKibben
VFX Lead: Jack Hamilton