Hasta La Creative!

It’s not just dudes in the Chicago ad scene. But promos for the city’s American Advertising Awards show, happening next Wednesday, certainly seem to think everyone has a penis.

“Who measured up?” says the headline on the ad below, as we see men and women all lined up at urinals. See, they’re all sneaking a peek at each other’s privates—a metaphor for gauging each other’s creative worth as though it were their penis size.

In an industry with a famous lack of female creative directors, you’d have to expect some backlash against something like this. And indeed, a number of women have complained on Twitter that the campaign is disrespectful.

Really @ChicagoAdFed You need a penis to win advertising awards? @3PercentConf @katgordon http://t.co/XY0Ml3aSzd #ChangeTheRatio

— Jean Batthany (@jeanbatthany) February 28, 2015

This female CD isn’t impressed @ChicagoAdFed chose a dick joke to advertise the #Chicago Addys. #doyoumeasureup http://t.co/v7C5VvUE1h

— Alma Klein (@AlmaLKlein) March 4, 2015

Copywriter Susan Morris wrote a scathing blog post about the campaign that’s been circulating in the community. “The Chicago Advertising Federation is one of America’s oldest and largest ad organizations,” she writes. “On its Board of Directors, 12 men and 16 women. Apparently all of them think this ad is funny. I don’t.”

We reached out to the Chicago Ad Federation, whose executive director, Patrick Farrey, strongly defended the campaign.

“Great advertising is almost always risk-taking, if not occasionally irreverent,” he tells us in a statement. “There is no doubt that the promotional campaign for the 2015 CAF American Advertising Awards competition pushed the envelope. Our intent was not to offend anyone, but rather to inspire the Chicago ad community to submit their best work into our long-standing, highly respected competition.”

He adds: “This campaign did exactly what good advertising is supposed to do—get noticed, start a dialogue, raise awareness and generate sales. The Chicago Advertising Federation received a record number of competition entries this year!”

What’s your take on the campaign? Does it actually measure up?

Pornhub is nothing if not savvy with its marketing, as seen in previous stunts like crowdsourcing a safe-for-work ad campaign and going big with a (short-lived) Times Square billboard. Now, the world’s most mainstream porn site is getting into the hotness of the moment—wearable tech—with something called the Wankband. Yep, that’s what it’s called.

Who knows if it will ever be made—they say it’s in beta testing, which they spell “beata testing.” And they are collecting email addresses from people who might want to own it eventually. (I’m sure those addresses will be used for no other reasons.)

Here’s the promo, which has well over 2 million YouTube views already:

And here’s how Pornhub is pitching it.

At Pornhub, we’re concerned about the amount of energy consumed by our users while enjoying the millions of hours of content we provide on our site. That’s why we’ve decided to pitch in to help save the environment by creating a revolutionary wearable tech device. Find out more about the Wankband and how you can create dirty energy at www.thewankband.com and sign up to become a Be(a)ta tester so you can find out how this amazing invention can help you save the planet.

We’ve seen plenty of ad campaigns that have handcrafted elements meant to evoke some handcrafted aspect of the product. (Patron tequila’s ads from 2013 were particularly lovely.) But Deutsch New York takes things up a notch in this beautiful work for Jägermeister.

The agency got artists Olivia Knapp, Yeahhh! Studios and DKNG Studios to create three unique wooden works of art corresponding to the brand’s three pillars—heritage, ingredients and process. Each piece was constructed in 56 separate parts that fit together like a puzzle—representing the 56 different ingredients (roots, fruits, herbs and spices) that go into Jägermeister.

The art works, weighed up to 250 pounds, were then photographed for use as ads—out-of-home, painted wallscapes, rich media, print, mobile and social media. The campaign is called “56 Parts. Best as One.”

Check out a ton of the art below.

 
—”Cheers” by Yeaaah Studio

 
—”Fount” by Olivia Knapp

 
—”The Process” by DKNG

CREDITS
Client: Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc./Jägermeister
Deutsch New York:
Chief Creative Officer: Kerry Keenan
Executive Creative Director: Menno Kluin
Associate Creative Directors: Sean Lee, Luke Hughett
Copywriter: Brian Alexander
Art Director: Katrina Mustakas
Design & Typography: Juan Carlos Pagan, Brian Gartside
Interactive Design Director: Aliza Adam
Interactive Designer: Alex Miller
Experience Design: Anna Farrell
Art Buyer: Ali Asplund
Director of Creative Operations: John Bongiovanni
Senior Studio Artist: Tom Eberhart
Print Producer: Melissa Betancur
Retouching: James Cullinane
Director of Integrated Production: Joe Calabrese
Director of Digital Production: Suzanne Molinaro
Digital Producers: Josh Deitel, Katie Miller
Digital Developer: Patrick Batey
Senior Motion Designer: Matthew Severin
Motion Designers: John McLaughlin, Aaron Epstein
Director of Photography: Owen Levelle
Producer: Joe Pernice
Editors: Bryan Reisberg, Chris Pensiero
Asst. Editor: Drew Bolton
Senior Project Manager: Marea Grossman
Production Company: Remote Control Productions, NY
Photographer: Andrew Myers, Adam Coleman (BTS)
Photo Assistant: Scott Burry, Landon Speers
Digital Tech: Adrien Potier
Fabrication Company: Bednark Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Artists: Olivia Knapp, DKNG Studios, Yeaaah! Studio
Additional Deutsch Credits:
EVP, Group Account Director: Talia Handler
Account Director: Kristen Rincavage, Michelle Ziff

By now, you’ve probably seen Fox and Getty’s wonderful promotion for the movie Unfinished Business, with Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson posing for boringly clever stock photos.

Well, it turns out the images were Photoshopped from real stock photos. We’ve done you a solid by pairing the originals with the spoofs and turning them into GIFs. 

Sorry in advance if we’ve shattered the illusion of Vince Vaughn ever sitting in an office. 

Credit for all the original photos: Global Stock/iStock by Getty Images

Agencies like to trumpet their account wins in breathless emails, but here’s a press release that plays things closer to the vest. It seems Catch New York has been hired by Vans for an “extra super top secret project.” Reportedly. Allegedly. Possibly.

See the release below.

Pictured above are agency co-founder and managing partner Joe Perello, partner and CCO Doug Spitzer and co-founder and managing partner Arie Kovant.

At least, that’s supposedly them.

Traveling constantly for work can suck, and Delta wants you to know it understands.

A new ad from Wieden + Kennedy New York tackles that familiar trope, as a drone of a man trudges through relatable little first-world indignities—the electronic keycard to his hotel room not working, getting lost going for a run in foreign streets, ironing a tie he’s still wearing (but wait … isn’t that how everybody does it at home, too?).

The whole spot hangs on the pensive singsong 1970 recording “Love You” by pop group The Free Design (also, how Suzanne Vega’s 1987 classic “Tom’s Diner” might sound if it were a nursery rhyme). The track is hypnotizing, if maybe a little preachy or misleading, implying the sad sack should be better enjoying his surroundings, some of which are stunning.

He does make the most of his suffering … maybe? To some degree? Looking at the views? Talking to people? Eating different foods? But mostly his face says it’s a lonely, alienating and exhausting trek.

The creatives also might peek through the curtain a little (sick of leaving loved ones behind to go on shoots?), but it doesn’t really matter. The images are generic enough examples of business travel that the guy could just as easily be in plastics.

Eventually, he makes it to a safe haven … the plane.

“It’s not home, but with every well-considered detail, it becomes one step closer,” says the voiceover. True as that may be, it certainly puts a positive spin on the situation, given that yet another intercontinental flight might actually end up being the least comfortable part of the whole ordeal.

CREDITS
Client: Delta Air Lines
Project: “On the Road”

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Executive Creative Directors: Susan Hoffman and David Kolbusz
Creative Directors: Sean McLaughlin and John Parker
Copywriter: Eric Helin + Jean Sharkey
Art Director: Mathieu Zarbatany + Devin Sharkey
Head of Content Production: Nick Setounski
Broadcast Producer: Cheryl Warbrook + Helen Park
Brand Strategist: Meranne Behrends + Sam Matthews
Account Team: Liz Taylor, Meghan Mullen, Jasmina Almeda
Business Affairs: Sara Jagielski, Keri Rommel, Sonia Bisono, Rylee Millerd

Production Company: Epoch
Director: Martin de Thurah
Managing Director: Mindy Goldberg
Executive Producer: Melissa Culligan
Head of Production: Megan Murphreee
Producer: Michaela Johnson
Production Supervisor: Terry Gallagher

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Mikkel Nielsen
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum
Post Producer: Jen Milano
Post Executive Producer:
Editorial Assistant: Misha Kozlov

VFX Company: The Mill
VFX Lead Flame: Nathan Kane
Colorist: Fergus McCall
VFX Flame Artists: Krissy Nordella, Ben Kwok, and Jamin Clutcher
VFX CG Artists:
Producer: Colin Moneymaker

Sound Studio: Sonic Union
Sound mixer: Steve Rosen / Fernando Ascani
Producer: Melissa Tanzer + Justine Cortale

The downtown business commission in Halifax, Nova Scotia, created this video to get you to buy one of its date-night packages. But it might force you to give up dating altogether.

The concept is actually based on this viral video from 2009, featuring a montage of 1980’s VideoMate dating profiles that was truly full of nerfherders. Halifax’s collection of clueless Romeos and one singular Juliet is likewise sure to bring the Internet to the schadenfreude party as quickly as the original did.

The point is that the hardest part of dating in Halifax is finding someone to date. (And that is probably true, given that OkCupid has an outdated interface, eHarmony will reject you, Craigslist will probably get you killed, and you’re now going to have to pay twice as much for Tinder if you’re over 30.)

But if you’ve got the dating part covered, Halifax will handle the rest.

And after watching the video, couples probably will book date nights right now—if only to make sure they never have to get back in the dating pool again.

Everyone loves a good how-to. We were mesmerized by Aaron Draplin’s sick design skills a few months ago. And now video tutorial site Lynda presents another killer demo. 

To celebrate Photoshop’s 25th anniversary, the site has been rolling out some interesting vignettes of artists and designers using their platform to make cool stuff. In the video below, we watch James White create a rad ’80s-inspired neon laser horse from scratch, and it’s pretty cool. It’s part of his “Overdrive” series and an impressive larger body of design and illustration work.

White explains his inspiration: “The reason I chose this—for Photoshop’s 25th anniversary—is because I think this is the image that I wanted to create almost 20 years ago, in 1995, when I first started using Photoshop.”

Check it out:

The original Always “Like a Girl” commercial—which broke last summer and got 56 million views on YouTube before getting a plum Super Bowl ad slot last month—was primarily a challenge. It urged girls to redefine the phrase from one of weakness to one of strength.

Now, with International Women’s Day on Sunday, the Procter & Gamble brand has released a follow-up video showing how the meaning of the phrase is already changing.

P&G also released some new stats around the campaign from its Always Puberty & Confidence Wave II Study, conducted pre-Super Bowl. According to that study, 76 percent of women and 59 percent of men ages 16-24 said the video changed their perception of the phrase “like a girl.” Also, 81 percent of women said the video can change the way people think about the stereotypes surrounding women’s physical abilities.

This spot—created by Leo Burnett, as the original was—won’t go megaviral like the first one, simply because the first one had that magical insight. But it’s a good way to keep the campaign going.

“The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Make It Happen,’ and that’s exactly what girls are doing by rewriting the meaning of #LikeAGirl,” said Always global vp Fama Francisco. The new video celebrates amazing young girls around the globe and encourages everyone to continue the movement every day and everywhere, because together, we’re making #LikeAGirl mean amazing things.”

This ad from BBH London for Mentos NOWMints is amazingly funny—perfectly paced, surprising, silly, and close enough to making sense that it actually serves the brand, especially because it’s so memorable.

It also sends up fresh-breath kissing clichés. Right from the start, the subtly awkward acting hints that a twist is coming, but it’s not clear exactly what until the payload hits … and it really doesn’t disappoint.

And while cute animals, as a rule—and in ads—may not be particularly fresh, this one definitely gets pretty rude with the driver. Loverboy can be happy he wasn’t the one to catch it, though hopefully the product doesn’t actually taste like rabbit, too.

The spot positions NOWMints as “little moments of pleasure.” The spot will air only in Italy, though of course it’s online for the rest of the world to enjoy, too.

CREDITS
Client: Mentos NOWMints
Agency: BBH London
BBH Creative Team: Shelley Smoler & Raphael Basckin
BBH Creative Director: Gary McCreadie & Wesley hawes, Shelley Smoler & Raphael Basckin
BBH Strategist: Jamie Watson
BBH Strategy Director: Ben Shaw
BBH Business Lead: Carly Herman
BBH Team Director: Tom Woodhead
BBH Team Manager: Francois d’Espagnac
BBH Producer: Natalie Parish
BBH Assistant Producer: Sarah Cooper
Production Company: Blink
Director: Benji Weinstein
Executive Producer: James Bland
Producer: Patrick Craig
DoP: Simon Richards
Post Production: The Mill
Editor/Editing House: Max / Stitch
Sound: Sam Ashwell / 750mph