Hasta La Creative!

Would you let Samsung turn the birth of your child into an ad, if it meant the company would also set up a live-streaming virtual reality rig, so your partner could witness the moment—despite being away for work?

A new six-minute, documentary-style commercial does just that for a couple in Australia. The father, Jace, has a fly-in-fly-out job, meaning he spends four-week stretches some 2,500 miles from his family. The mother, Alison, is expecting their third child. Samsung saves the day, with a 360-degree swivel camera in the delivery room in Perth and a VR headset for the dad in Chinchilla, Queensland. 

The results are at the same time beautiful, highly sympathetic and slightly unsettling. Samsung may be giddy with the tech-happy zeitgeist, but at what point does a marketer become intrusive and exploitative?

On the one hand, there’s the appearance of clear benefit for the couple—the father gets to be more present than he would have. On the other hand, the slow-motion footage of the mother pushing her way through labor pains while the music makes a melodramatic crescendo takes what should be an intimate moment and turns it into a heavy-handed piece of entertainment-as-sales pitch.

The shot of the newborn resting on Alison’s chest for the first time is irrefutably powerful stuff. Samsung has invited the entire world to take part in a scene that, while universal, is also incredibly personal. And we’re seeing it not quite from the eyes of the father—but from the eyes of Samsung, in which Samsung is, of course, the hero. 

Sure, it’s a well-shaped piece of advertising—by definition it’s going to be manipulative. But the marketer’s socially awkward perspective is clearest in the kicker. The ad shows Jace at the airport after his flight home, meeting “his newborn son,” the smug, on-screen copy reading, “for the second time.” Technology isn’t an aid to help bring together a family separated by necessity. Technology is a bonafide substitute for reality, and the dramatic effect of the message—that Samsung was the solution—becomes more important than the fact that this guy is actually, finally getting to hold his kid.

So next time, maybe just have your mother-in-law FaceTime the birth for you. 

This commercial takes the concept of artisanal cheese to a whole new level—and it’s not even trying to sell cheese.

In an amusing 30-second spot for Branston Chutney, Mcgarrybowen channels a classic scene from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But instead of Richard Dreyfuss shaping an alien-inspired, mashed-potato sculpture, it’s some guy who’s not Richard Dreyfuss topping off his own intricately-carved fromage masterpiece, with a cracker and schmear of chutney.

Three new Branston flavors: Mediterranean Tomato, Caramelized Onion and Orchard Fruit, apparently served as muse to the spot’s hero (Extraterrestrials, as far as we know, didn’t enter into the equation).

“Whatever you make, make it special,” the voiceover says. The ad, titled “Chutney Mountain,” certainly embodies that spirit, in a slightly unhinged kind of way. It’s not as sweet as Branston’s “The Apologist” from a few years back, but some viewers might find it less sappy, and possibly more memorable. Of course, there’s also the likelihood everyone who watches it will end up just craving cheese over chutney.

CREDITS

Brand: Branston Chutney
Agency: Mcgarrybowen
Client: Mizkan Europe
Campaign Managers: Lorna Kimberley, Victoria Adams
Executive Creative Directors: Paul Jordan, Angus Macadam
Creative Team: Will Grave, Yury Vorobev
Planning: Kevin Chesters, Nicole Kirkland, Rhonwen Lally
Business Director: Robbie Black
Account Director: Susan Lawlor
Account Manager: Nicole Avery
Producers: Abbi Tarrant, Charlotte Stirrup
Production Co.: Rogue
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Kate Hitchings
Post-production: The Mill
Audio: GCRS
Media Planning: UM London
Food Stylist: Clare Ferguson

Starbucks is encouraging its baristas to write the words “Race Together” on cups to get customers talking about racial issue. The idea started internally when about 2,000 Starbuckians attended a forum to talk about Ferguson, Mo., but surely no one foresaw the shit storm that would erupt when it went public.

This isn’t the coffee company’s first time at the social cause rodeo. It’s taken on guns and gay rights gamely, with applause from its largely liberal audience. But somehow, the clumsy nature of reducing a serious, impossibly complex national conversation to a hashtag on a coffee cup has united Twitter users of all races in roundly denouncing the attempt.

Not sure what @Starbucks was thinking. I don’t have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train. #RaceTogether

— April (@ReignOfApril) March 17, 2015

Being a barista is hard enough. Having to talk #RaceTogether with a woman in Lululemon pants while pouring pumpkin spice is just cruel.

— Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) March 17, 2015

if only Selma had just put in a starbucks

— Jessica Misener (@jessmisener) March 17, 2015

Apparently, in the @Starbucks world, this is what #RaceTogether looks like. http://t.co/ciaEl3yu2l pic.twitter.com/SIox0kmGnz

— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) March 17, 2015

Entrepreneur points out that the campaign puts an unfair burden on the baristas. And let’s be frank, they maybe aren’t being given the resources and information to hold an informed, nuanced discussion of the topic when a customer walks in and asks their feels on the subject of cultural appropriation, and by the way, do they find it awkward that ordering a black coffee or a flat white espresso will now have an extra layer of uncomfortable meaning?

More than a few people are suggesting Starbucks needs to first have a serious conversation with itself about race—more diversity in leadership, a serious look at where they are and aren’t putting their stores (interestingly, there are no Starbucks actually in the town of Ferguson), and of course, fair trade for all their coffee growers.

It’s worth a little discomfort. Here’s the what and the why of #RaceTogether. http://t.co/jO56LvKeO8

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) March 17, 2015

Starbucks, for its part, claimed that broaching the topic is worth a little discomfort. But that was right before vp of communications Corey duBrowa deleted his Twitter account because attacks were distracting from a “respectful conversation.”

The important thing is that Starbucks has finally united Americans in a conversation about how much they don’t want to have a conversation about race—at least, not before they have their coffee.

Matthew McConaughey and Jimmy Kimmel have taken it upon themselves to get some attention for an old-school video store in Austin, Texas, and they’ve created three hilarious local TV ads to accomplish this mission.

Vulcan Video is the kind of store that still rents VHS tapes, yet it has somehow managed to hang on in the digital age, and since Kimmel was in Austin for SXSW anyway, he decided to give back to the local economy by showing them what’s special about Vulcan Video—”other than the fact that it still exists.” (Vulcan was one of many submissions Kimmel received aftering putting out a call for a local business to stump for.) 

So Kimmel called up locally based actor McConaughey to help by playing a role that’s, in part, an amalgamation of meta references to his past characters. It’s also clear that Kimmel’s writers wanted to parody McConaughey inexplicable, rambling Lincoln ads. Particularly in the third spot when McConaughey says, “No. 1, I like to drive; No. 2, I like to talk to myself when I drive.”

Vulcan Video is one lucky store to get three unforgettable, amusing spots that are doing their part to keep Austin weird.

Via Mashable.

Up, up and away?

FCB Paris plans to send one of its creatives into space. The agency will use almost 37,000 balloons to hoist intrepid advernaut Baptiste Szuwarski toward heaven. The 25-year-old copywriter is the lightest member of the creative staff at 114 pounds, probably 113 if he shaves—and his weight, we’re told, makes him the perfect choice for this publicity stunt.

Since March 10, for each like on its Facebook page, the agency has inflated a balloon at its offices on the Champs-Elysées to support the mission, calculating somehow that it will take exactly 36,895 to get the job done. (The page has 2,200 likes overall, so there’s a stratospheric way to go.) FCB says the precise launch date is … sigh … up in the air. #GoodLuckBaptiste is the hashtag.

Balloons? Sounds like hot air to me. And the fact that the agency emailed a PDF

press release makes me doubt its technical prowess. Besides, if we’re going to banish an ad exec from the planet, I think everyone agrees Donny Deutsch should be the one to go. (Kidding, of course. He’s got a new TV show, and who isn’t psyched about that?)

Bon chance, Baptiste! Though you will be risking your very existence on this fateful voyage, it still beats filling out timesheets and meeting with clients.

“Dying is not an option,” Szuwarski tells AdFreak. “At least, for me it isn’t!”

Liam Neeson is a big softy when it comes St. Patrick’s Day.

The tough-guy actor provides a heartfelt voiceover for this 60-second Discover Ireland tourism spot, waxing poetic about his homeland.

“Every year, on St. Patrick’s Day, the world goes green,” he begins, as landmarks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Sydney Opera House and Paris’ Moulin Rouge, all lit in emerald hues, flash by. “But here in Ireland,” he continues, “every day is bathed in green.”

We’re treated to shots of rugged coasts, crescent hills and verdant forests, along with city scenes of bustling nightlife, shopping and parades. #GoGreen4PatricksDay is the hashtag.

What would be an attractive if predictable spot really shines thanks to Neeson’s earnest, nuanced narration. The Oscar nominee provides a level of emotional resonance and authenticity often lacking from tourism work. Being Liam Neeson, his delivery is still intense and penetrating, though he sounds legitimately pleased to be talking up the green.

Though I kind of miss the smoldering murderousness he conveys when seeing red.

Here’s a promotion at SXSW that’s equal parts brilliant and, for some, heartbreaking.

Tinder users on Saturday were encountering an attractive 25-year-old woman named Ava on the dating app. A friend of ours made a match with her, and soon they were have a conversation over text message.

But when he opened up Ava’s Instagram, it became clear something was amiss. There was one photo and one video, both promoting Ex Machina, a sci-fi film that just happened to be premiering Saturday night here in Austin. The link in her bio went to the film’s website. And it turns out the woman in the photos is Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who plays an artificial intelligence in the movie.

It’s sneaky and undeniably brilliant. Only in retrospect do you realize that Ava’s questions come from wanting to know what it’s like to be human.

Our friend, though—whose texts above, we can attest, were totally heartfelt—was left feeling perhaps a little too human afterward. It “toyed with my emotions so hard,” he says.

Perhaps Jude Senese will find love in Austin this week, as he roams forlornly around SXSW. Because, frankly, things just aren’t going that well in Boston—though not for lack of trying.

Senese, 31, an associate creative director at Hill Holliday, has one of the more colorful Tinder profiles out there, featuring himself in heroic poses in all sorts of ridiculous photo illustrations. AdFreak caught up with Senese to determine what, exactly, he was thinking.

“I came up with the idea when I was chatting with some friends about the app. Everyone seemed to be taking it way too serious, and I thought I’d have a little fun with it,” he says.

And how did he pick these specific ludicrous scenarios? “I tried to think of my audience for a few, so I figured Beyoncé and puppies would do well,” he says. “The Game of Thrones one was a no-brainer once I saw that image. As for the space pizza and ribbon dance—those just felt right and probably laughed the hardest making them.”

The space pizza one is “just special,” he adds. “Funnily enough, I feel like each [image] offers a subtle glimpse into who I really am.”

So, how is it doing? Surely he’s having a hard time holding the ladies back.

“Oh, it’s doing terribly,” he says. “I’ve had some matches, to which I’d like to thank for swiping right, but I think most girls just think I’m crazy. Zero dates. I did get one marriage proposal on Reddit though, so I have that going for me.”

Senese—who says he’s actually in Austin looking for “a little inspiration,” and not for love—has ambitious goals for the Tinder project, though.

“I’m just trying to have some fun and land a date with Kristen Wiig,” he says. “Figured this was my best bet to get her attention.”

The Radio Mercury Awards recently made a two-part video about “Things We Don’t Want to Hear in a Radio Ad.” In my writeup, I wanted to know what they do want to hear in radio ad. And dear God, they actually listened to me. (This may be the most influence I’ve ever had over anything. I am hyperventilating and should probably lie down.)

While I go mad with power, you should watch unshaven Mercury chief judge Jim Elliott explain what makes a good radio ad. His answer? “Undeniable human truth.” Kind of a tall order, but that just means good writing and sharp ideas that take advantage of the medium.

Thanks for the clarification, Jim! (That wasn’t sarcastic, I really do appreciate it.) The video also lists the reasons people should try for an award this year. “Skrilla” and “hooch,” presumably free, are among them.

And if you missed the “Things We Don’t Want to Hear in a Radio Ad” videos, check them out below.

CREDITS
Client: Radio Advertising Bureau
On Camera: Jim Elliott
Director Kevin R. Frech
Production Company: Logical Chaos
Editor: Nick Fehver

Kevin Bacon has traded off the whole “six degrees” things in ads for years. Now it’s time to put the Bacon to work.

And that he does in an amusing if obvious campaign from Grey New York promoting eggs on behalf of the American Egg Board. Because after all, nobody knows eggs better than bacon. Or Bacon.

The online video gets surprisingly suggestive, as Kevin puts up with some heavy flirting from a married woman who discovers him just lying on her counter one day. And the spot doesn’t tire of puns, even though Kevin claims not to enjoy them.

He does enjoy his eggs, however.

“With a last name like Bacon, I’m the obvious choice, and I’m excited to be a part of the new Incredible Edible Egg campaign,” Bacon says in a statement. “I like the creativity behind the idea, and I’ve always been a big fan of eggs. They’re a nutritional powerhouse and I never get tired of them because there are so many ways you can eat them.”

Per-capita egg consumption grew to 260 in 2014, an increase of more than a dozen over the last five years, according to the USDA. The celebrity ad campaign is designed to keep that momentum going.

“Kevin Bacon brings real star power to the world of eggs and we think consumers are going to love this clever new version of bacon and eggs,” says Kevin Burkum, the American Egg Board’s svp of marketing. “And there’s no better time to talk about eggs with consumption at its highest level in three decades and Easter right around the corner.”

See the print ad below.

CREDITS
Client: American Egg Board
Spot: “Side of Kevin”
Agency: Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren (Global) / Andreas Dahlqvist (New York)
Creative Directors: Ari Halper (Executive Creative Director), Steve Krauss (Executive Creative Director), Brad Mancuso, Susan LaScala Wood
Art Directors: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin, Matt DeCoste
Copywriters: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin
Agency Producer: Perry Kornblum
Production Company (location): Moxie Pictures (LA)
Director: Martin Granger
Director of Photography: Alar Kivilo
Editor (person & company): Alex Cohan / Vision Post
Music/Sound Design (person & company): Matt Baker / Vision Post
Principal Talent: Kevin Bacon, Geneva Carr, Jeff Wiens