Jan 22

This Heartbreaking Puppy GIF Is the Perfect Teaser for Budweiser's Super Bowl Ad

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Budweiser pretty much won the Super Bowl, advertising-wise, with last year’s “Puppy Love,” a success the brewer hopes to reclaim with this year’s sequel.

“Lost Dog” continues the story of last year’s Clydesdale-obsessed pup, and Anheuser-Busch today released several images and even a few animated GIFs to tease the gameday ad.

“In the spot, the Budweiser Clydesdales will tell an emotional story and help a puppy who has lost his way learn the true meaning of friendship,” Anheuser-Busch says in a news release. 

(We sincerely hope they mean the horses will literally tell the story, with actual neighs and whinnies and flapping horse-lip sounds, but sadly this seems unlikely.)

Our favorite teaser is, of course, the shivering puppy shown above, which perfectly illustrates just how adroitly Budweiser will be playing with America’s emotions on Super Bowl Sunday. I mean, just look at him, the poor guy. Golly I hope it ends well for the trembling little scamp.

Here are a few more GIFs and pics from the spot, which is sure to be a fan favorite:

For more news about the brands and stars preparing buzzworthy spots, be sure to check Adweek’s up-to-the-minute Super Bowl Ad Tracker. 



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Jan 22

Wonderful Pizza Hut Ad Shows People Being Totally Disgusted by Its New Pizza

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There’s a brave niche approach in advertising where you show your audience just how much people despise your product. Laphroaig scotch has been doing this for while, turning its polarizing taste into a selling point. Now, Pizza Hut Australia is doing something similar.

The chain recently introduced a new pizza with Vegemite filling in the crust. Vegemite, of course, is the dark brown, salty yeast extract paste that Australians love and the rest of the world knows about because of a 1980 pop song.

To promote the pizza, ad agency Host Sydney went to a backpackers’ hostel, found a bunch of foreigners and got them to try it. Having clearly never tried Vegemite, their reactions range from curious to, eventually, utterly revolted—making for a hilarious and remarkably patriotic commercial.

Your move, Marmite.



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Jan 22

Terry Crews Screams Again for Old Spice, Particularly When He Sees Mrs. Terry Crews

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Ready for more screaming, twitchy muscles, explosions and horrifying hallucinations? Good, because Terry Crews just made another Old Spice commercial.

The ad, by Wieden + Kennedy and directors Fatal Farm, continues the brand’s “Get Shaved in the Face” campaign for its electric shavers, which Crews helped to introduce early last year in a murderous spot with Little Terry Crews. This time around, we catch Terry right in the middle of a nightmare—and when he wakes up, it only gets worse.

We caught up with Kate DiCarlo, Procter & Gamble’s communications manager for beauty care, to chat about the spot and Terry’s popularity as an Old Spice spokesman. Check out that Q&A below.

AdFreak: How does this spot evolve last year’s “Get Shaved in the Face” campaign?
Kate DiCarlo: “Nightmare Face” brings back Terry Crews to continue the “Get Shaved in the Face” story. This time around, we wake up in Terry’s nightmare, which revolves around unruly face-hair and a familiar face as his wife. Even if it takes a lot of yelling, we’re here to remind guys about the importance of keeping their scraggly hairs in check by using Old Spice Electric Shavers. We want them to know that we have a variety of options that they can choose from, depending on their shaving needs.

Why do you think Terry has such longevity as an Old Spice spokesman?
Terry is a long-time fan favorite, and we’re always thrilled when we find another opportunity to work together. There’s no one else out there like him—with that explosive personality, impressive yelling power and manly chest muscles. Our fans are always asking what’s next for Terry and Old Spice, and so we’re excited to give them more of what they’re wanting, while also helping them shaverize their beards, which results in more handsome face parts.

Fatal Farm handled the direction, editing and visual effects. What do they bring to the table?
We love Fatal Farm and have worked with them in the past on various projects. We love them because they take absurdly ridiculous and ultimately profoundly stupid humor as seriously as we do. Stupid humor is serious business, and they are seriously smart about stupid things.



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Jan 21

Craig Robinson Tries to Crash the Super Bowl Halftime Show in Pepsi's New Online Ads

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Katy Perry will be Pepsi’s top act for the Super Bowl halftime show. But how much better would it be if Craig Robinson and the Nasty Delicious were the headliners?

Pepsi might not want you to ponder that specific question. But the soft-drink brand has gotten the former Office star and his real-life band involved in its “Hyped for Halftime” campaign. Robinson, 43, stars in a new three-part online comedy series (the first part, below, was released Wednesday) in which a male friend turns into a fairy godmother and tries to get Craig to Arizona.

Ad agency The Brooklyn Brothers created the series with Pepsi, in partnership with Comedy Central. The Brooklyn Brothers have worked with Robinson before, having created an amusing episodic 2012 campaign for New Era caps starring Robinson and Nick Offerman as Chicago White Sox and Cubs fans.

Robinson and the Nasty Delicious will deliver a live “halftime” performance on Key & Peele’s Super Bowl Comedy Special on the night of Saturday, Jan. 31. And you have to figure they’ll be in Glendale, Ariz., the following night in some capacity—maybe as an opening act.

Meanwhile, here’s more from the “Hyped for Halftime” campaign:



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Jan 21

Kickstarter for Exploding Kittens Asked for $10K Over a Month. It Got $2 Million in 24 Hours

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In another crazy viral Kickstarter phenomenon, Mathew Inman, creator of the popular webcomic The Oatmeal, fully funded his Kickstarter for a game called Exploding Kittens in just 20 minutes on Tuesday.

In less than an hour, it was 1,000 percent funded. And within just seven hours, it was 10,000 percent funded with over $1 million raised. The Kickstarter is now more than $2 million past its $10,000 goal with 29 days to go. Holy cow. That’s even faster than Reading Rainbow reached $1 million.

It’s yet another example of cat-loving Internet denizens making something go viral. But it’s also a lesson in how The Oatmeal’s online marketing chops and powerhouse social media presence translated into serious Kickstarter gold—a phenomenon we’ve seen for a number of niche marketers.

Because it’s not the video of still-frame drawings and Inman talking over some cheap needle drop that made this campaign explode. It’s not the rewards, which are little more than various versions of the card game.

Nope, it was the day Inman spent updating his social networks with cute image macros of exploding kittens to reward and thank his “Precious Oatlets” for their loyalty in funding the game—while making those of us who hadn’t clicked feel left out. Eventually he even sucked me in when an atomic blast of a kitten exploded across my Facebook page bragging about reaching the million mark.

Let’s face it—it’s hard to resist atomic bomb kittens.



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Jan 21

Pizza Joint Responds to McDonald's Ad With Great Tribute to Its Own Stupid-Funny Signs

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When McDonald’s debuted its well-intentioned “Signs” ad a few weeks ago, it was met with some praise but mostly mockery and derision.

Joining in the fun is Dallas pizza place Zoli’s NY Pizza, which threw together the clever video below, featuring its own unique spin on inspired signs. It posted the parody on Facebook with the jab, “Sorry, McDonald’s…we did signs before signs were cool. Nice try, tho.”

A slideshow of snappy signs like “Y U No Eat Gluten” and “Please Just Call it Soccer” is set to the children’s choir rendition of Fun’s “Carry On,” just like the infamous “Signs” ad. 

Zoli’s doesn’t stop at McDonald’s, either. It doesn’t hesitate to stick it to other fast-food establishments, like Papa Johns with “Much Better Ingredients Much Better Pizza” and Burger King with the throwback Humpty Dance lyric, “Once Got Busy in a Burger King Bathroom.”

Your move, Taco Bell.

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Jan 21

James Patterson Tells Us Why He's Selling a Self-Destructing Book for $294,038

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Adman turned best-selling author James Patterson often creates TV ads to promote his books. But for the launch of his latest novel, Private Vegas, he turned to ad agency Mother for something decidedly different.

In what Mother New York creative chief Paul Malmstrom calls a “pretty absurd stunt,” the author is inviting one fan to experience “The Self-Destructing Book,” aka “The most thrilling experience money can buy.” This fan will have to pay $294,038 for experience, which includes getting a self-destructing version of the 416-page book, having a private dinner with Patterson, and witnessing—through gold-plated binoculars!—the epic demise of the book.

At the same time, via a web application, 1,000 more readers will gain access a free digital version of Private Vegas that will disappear after 24 hours in a cinematic and spectacular way. That aspect of the promotion plays on Patterson’s reputation for writing page-turners with short chapters and cliffhangers that keep you reading. What’s more, the digital version will include flourishes such as a splattering of blood when a character is killed.

The bigger stunt is supported by several videos that Mother created as well.

Asked why he hired an agency for a promotion that the former JWT creative director could have created himself, Patterson told AdFreak, “Well, I’d been writing some of the scripts, and I just thought we could get better talent on this thing, you know?”

The author added that he wanted to shake up the marketing aspect of publishing, which of course now competes with everything from TV shows to feature films to Internet content—some of which he creates himself.

“I wanted to do something big and exciting and different. Went to Mother and Mother came up with a few ideas, as mothers will. And we all decided that this was the coolest one,” Patterson said.

The destruction has nothing specifically to do with the plot of the ninth installment of Patterson’s crime series, which comes out on Monday. The $294,038 figure, however, does have special significance. When asked about it, Patterson deferred to Malmstrom, who laughed before explaining, “That’s the actual cost [of the campaign]. We added it all up, and that’s the exact sum. And we didn’t mark it up.”



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Jan 21

Carl's Jr.'s Super Bowl Ad Is Here, and What a Surprise, It Stars an Almost-Naked Woman

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Hold on to your patties, because Carl’s Jr. just released an extended version of its regional Super Bowl ad, in which it shows even more skin than usual.

The spot, by 72andSunny, stars Charlotte McKinney—who according to a Google search might be the next Kate Upton (a claim supported by a subsequent Google Images search). The ad will air on the West Coast in the fast-food chain’s markets.

It’s called “Au Naturel,” and indeed, it appears to show McKinney walking around in the buff—with suggestively shaped everyday objects strategically covering her up, à la Austin Powers. There is a twist at the end, of course.

“Charlotte McKinney loves going All-Natural, especially when it comes to her burger,” says the brand. “Introducing fast food’s first All-Natural Burger with grass-fed, free-range beef that has no added hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.”

The ad was directed by RSA’s Jake Scott, whose work includes last year’s “Puppy Love” Super Bowl spot for Budwesier. So yeah, the guy has range.

CREDITS
Client: Carl’s Jr.

Agency: 72andSunny
Chief Creative Officer/Founder: Glenn Cole
Group Creative Director:  Justin Hooper
Group Creative Director: Mick DiMaria
Creative Director: Mark Maziarz
Jr. Writer: Reilly Baker
Designer: Esther Kim
Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Executive Film Producer: Molly McFarland
Film Producer: Brooke Horne
Film Production Coordinator: Taylor Stockwell
Group Brand Director: Judson Whigham
Brand Director: Alexis Coller
Brand Manager: Scott Vogelsong
Brand Coordinator: Anthony Fernandez
Group Business Affairs Director: Amy Jacobsen
Business Affairs Manager: Audra Brown
Business Affairs Manager: Maggie Pijanowski
Business Affairs Coordinator: Calli Howard
Group Strategy Director: Matt Johnson
Strategist: Eddie Moraga

Production Co.: RSA Films
Director: Jake Scott
Executive Producer: Tracie Norfleet
Producer: David Mitchell
Head of Production: Elicia Laport
Sales Rep: Shortlist

Post Production CO: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Rick Lawley
Assistant Editor: Devon Bradbury
Executive Producer: Joni Williamson
Producer: Evan Cunningham

Transfer: CO3
Colorist: Mike Pethel
Sr. Producer: Matt Moran

Visual EFX CO: JAMM Visual
VFX Supervisor: Jake Montgomery
VFX Supervisor: Andy Boyd
CG Supervisor: Jonathan Vaughn
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards

Sound Design + MIX: On Music & Sound
Composer: Chris Winston



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Jan 21

Aubrey Plaza Milks a Cow and Is a Terrible Endorser in Newcastle's Super Bowl Teaser

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So, this is why Newcastle Brown Ale hired Aubrey Plaza as its 2015 Super Bowl endorser: Her perma-sarcasm and lack of energy make her the world’s worst spokeswoman—or if you like, the world’s best anti-spokeswoman.

The brewer and ad agency Droga5—who specialize in deflating marketing’s overblown self-importance—continue their march toward the industy’s most overblown, self-important night by having the Parks and Recreation actress sullenly and amusingly milk a cow. This part of the brand’s email to us sums up the approach pretty well:

You can’t make an overblown Big Game ad campaign without releasing a semi-controversial clickbait video ahead of time to prime the pump and get people “excited” about the coming advertisement. (As excited as Aubrey, even.)

Newcastle is actually buying a regional Super Bowl spot this year. In an earlier video with Plaza, it announced a plan to crowdfund that spot with a bunch of other brands.

“In exchange for a small contribution, any brand can join Newcastle’s team and have its logo and messaging featured in an actual Big Game spot,” the brand says. Today is the last day for interested companies to submit their “Band of Brands” proposal for consideration at NewcastleBandOfBrands.com.

“At first we tried to sneak our way into the Big Game by entering a popular commercial contest put on by a certain snack chip brand, but that didn’t work out for us. Now we’re trying to leverage ‘strength in numbers’ to see what that does for us,” said Priscilla Flores Dohnert, brand director for Newcastle Brown Ale.

“Everyone loves a great underdog story. What’s more ‘underdog’ than being short on cash and not having the right to advertise during the game?”



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Jan 21

Man With Large Butt Struts and Twerks in 7-Inch Heels in Barmy British Ad

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Some ads tug at the heartstrings and move viewers to tears. The newest spot for the British price comparison website MoneySuperMarket is not one of those.

Dave steps out of his car in a jacket and tie. “Don’tcha” by the Pussycat Dolls starts playing. And we see that Dave is wearing super tight shorts and impossibly high stilettos, as he struts down the street in celebration of his newly found savings thanks to MoneySuperMarket.

He twerks. He swerves. He drops it down low and brings it up slow. Most impressive, I think, is his ability to work that sidewalk in 7-inch heels, a task many women can’t do without looking like a newborn foal learning to walk.

It’s narrated by Sharon Osbourne, who also makes a cameo at the end, but Dave and his butt are obviously the stars of the show.

Following its ad last year where an elephant sashayed down a busy street, MoneySuperMarket nails silly and ridiculous and entertaining in one fell swoop (or depending on how you feel about the term, slutdrop).



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Jan 21

Danny Trejo Is Marcia From the Brady Bunch in Snickers' Super Bowl Teaser

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Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Jan Brady would be shocked to see how grumpy her sister has become in Snickers’ teaser for its Brady Bunch-themed Super Bowl ad. Indeed, she’s so grumpy that she’s turned into Danny Trejo, angrily brushing her hair (and counting the brushes, as the character used to do) in front of a mirror as her mother calls from downstairs.

The full 30-second spot, by BBDO New York, is expected to continue the brand’s “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign—so apparently Marsha is so hungry, she’s acting like Robert Rodriguez’s favorite anti-hero.

This will be Snickers’ first Super Bowl spot since 2011, taking the place of M&M’s, which has enjoyed Mars’ slot in the Big Game spotlight in each of the past three years. Snickers’ 2011 spot starred Roseanne Barr and Richard Lewis. Its 2010 spot famously had Betty White playing football—it was one of the most-liked ads of that game, and is generally credited with reviving the actress’s career.

Not everyone loves Super Bowl teasers and full ads being released early—many think it spoils the surprise. But Mars is assuming enough people will want to see the full Trejo spot early that it’s made a little contest out of it.

“Fans can ask to have the spot released early through a number of social media activities, and if consumers generate 2.5 million social media engagements before kick-off on Feb. 1, Snickers will release the entire 30-second spot early,” the brand tells us.



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Jan 20

No Joke: Overstock.com Is Getting Into Streaming, as The Onion Predicted It Would

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Today, in a move that pits the company against Amazon, online retailer Overstock.com said it would launch its own streaming and video-on-demand services, slated to be available by the middle of the year.

And funnily enough, in 2013 the satirical news site The Onion predicted just that.

It gets better, too: The Onion joked about Overstock’s “millions of customers,” and it seems that is exactly what the e-tailer is looking to capitalize on: “We already have the traffic,” CEO Patrick Byrne told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re looking for a bigger and bigger share of their wallet.”

Here are some tweets from today:

And here are some tweets from November 2013:



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Jan 20

This Hilarious Ad Imagines How Awesome Facebook Would Have Been in 1995

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In its early days, the Internet was sort of the Wild West. Message boards, chatrooms and newsgroups were huge. Browsers, apps and social media were just a twinkle in its eye. 

Well, what if Facebook—which launched in 2004—were around a decade earlier, in the primordial ooze of the Internet? The pretty hilarious fake commercial below imagines just that—and is actually a parody of the cult favorite America Online spot from 1995 (that’s “AOL” to you teens).

The Facebook parody, from comedian Brent Weinbach, features some pretty amazing dialogue which comes off as absurd but gives us some profound perspective on how far we’ve come—and how good we have it 20 years later.

“How about just clicking on your Mom’s profile and saying ‘Happy Birthday’—it’s the same thing as sending her a package,” our hero informs his buddy. He then sounds off on some of its other features: “Simply ship a few photographs to The Facebook, they’ll cover the postage, and an operator will set up your profile.” (It’s referred to as “The Facebook” throughout, which indeed was Mark Zuckerberg’s original name for it.)

Replete with VHS warping, crappy lettering and a terribly cheesy soundtrack, this is a pretty perfect, almost shot-for-shot parody of the AOL original (which you can see below). For an extra treat (and if you’re super bored), sync them up and watch them at the same time.



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Jan 20

Acura Catches Lightning in a Bottle, Quite Literally, in Mullen's New ILX Spot

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An engineer ventures out during a thunderstorm and literally catches lightning in a bottle to power the Acura ILX in this cinematic spot from Mullen.

Johnny Green of Reset Productions—much lauded for his Under Armour ad last year with ballerina Misty Copeland—directed the automaker’s 60-second clip, which also features an orchestral reworking of the Pixies’ 1988 track “Where Is My Mind” (which pops up quite a bit in ads). In fact, Joey Santiago of the Pixies recorded this version with Acura.

“Innovative performance is a core quality of the Acura brand, and the spot captures that essence in a visually compelling and emotional way,” says Acura general manager Mike Accavitti.

Indeed, the music and images are well matched, and Green’s storytelling is top notch. Even so, the effect is somewhat less than the sum of its parts. We’ve got lightning blots, a zippy car, a stirring soundtrack … yet the spot feels restrained—bottled up, if you will—when it could have been dazzling.

Ah well, this is just the first strike in a broader Acura campaign themed “Catch It If You Can.” Perhaps subsequent ads will pack more of a charge.

CREDITS
Brand: Acura
Client: Mike Accavitti, Senior Vice President, General Manager
Client: Ed Beadle, Senior Marketing Manager
Client: Leila Cesario, National Advertising Manager
Car Model:  2016 ILX
Spot Title: Bottle

Agency:  Mullen LA
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Wenneker
Executive Creative Director: Margaret Keene
Creative Director/Art: Paul Foulkes
Creative Director/Writer: Adam Calvert
Sr. Art Director: Sean Stell
Writer: Natasha Hugeback
SVP, Director of Integrated Production: Jon Drawbaugh
Senior Broadcast Producer: Meagen Moore
Content Producer: Elaine Russell
Business Affairs/Music Supervisor: Danica Bates
Managing Director: Cameron McNaughton
VP, Account Director: Nicole Neopolitan
Account Supervisor: Courtney Calvert
Account Executive: Kylie Mugg
Product Specialist: Curtis Milward

Production Company: Reset
Director: Johnny Green
Managing Director: Dave Morrison
Executive Producer: Jeff McDougall
Producer: Betsy Oliver
DP: Paul Cameron

Editorial: RPS
Editor: Damion Clayton
Assistant Editor: Benjamin Cline
Producer: Rebecca Baker

Color Correct: A52
Colorist: Paul Yacono

Animation/Graphics:
VFX Supervisor/Lead Flame Artist: Andy McKenna

VFX: A52
Head of Production: Kim Christensen
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall

Audio Post: Lime Studio
Mixer: Joel Waters

Audio Post: 740 Sound Design
Original Music: The Pixies, Joey Santiago
Name of Track: Where is My Mind

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Jan 20

Robot Mom Breastfeeds Baby in the Weirdest NSFW Milk Ad Ever

Posted in: Uncategorized

Milk ads have a storied history. From the iconic “Got Milk?” franchise to the recent super-gross Fairlife ads, there are many ways to milk a cow—and sell it. 

Here’s yet another way—and frankly, it’s the oddest video you’ll see today. It features a mother calmly breastfeeding her baby, when all of a sudden, well … mom kind of powers down, and the baby freaks out. At this point, nothing I can write could explain what happens next, so just press play below and find out. (It’s fair to say, though, that this ad makes the 2012 Time Magazine cover look like child’s play.)

It appears to be the work of a German company called Plain, which is selling what it’s touting as “Eine neue art, milch zu trinken”—or, “A new way to drink milk.” The headline on the website’s splash page reads “Mama’s milch war gestern” or “Mama’s milk was yesterday,” giving us a little clue to the narrative of the ad, or at least its intentions.

What’s so special about this milk? Well, according to the website, it contains the “purest milk from happy cows from cold Finland.” So, there’s that.

Take a look below. And yeah, it’s NSFW.

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Jan 20

Oreo Launches 'Play With Oreo' Campaign, Rolls Out Red Velvet Oreos for Valentine's Day

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Lots of big brands are all about distilling their essence down to a single basic universal theme. For Coca-Cola, it’s happiness. McDonald’s is trying to go with loving. And now Oreo is zeroing in on the concept of play—in new ads and in consumer’s lives.

The Mondelez brand on Tuesday launches a new campaign (still under the “Wonderfilled” platform) called “Play with Oreo.” “Fans have always played with Oreo in a number of unique ways by twisting, licking, dunking, rolling, stacking and dipping the cookie. Now, the brand is on a mission to inspire imagination and play around the globe, not only with the cookie itself, but in consumer’s everyday lives,” Oreo tells us.

We’ll see how that plays out. The campaign begins with a new animated “Wonderfilled” commercial from The Martin Agency featuring music by the French electro-pop duo Yelle. The ad, which breaks next Monday in the U.S. in 15- and 30-second formats, will run in more than 40 countries, including China, the U.K., Indonesia, France and Argentina.

Also great news for Oreo fans: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the brand is rolling out Red Velvet Oreos with cream cheese-flavored centers—the first new Oreo cookie flavor since the debut of the Golden OREO. They hit store shelves on Feb. 2 for a limited time, or you can visit OREORedVelvetRope.com for a chance to get an early taste.

Credits for the TV spot below.

CREDITS
Client: OREO (Mondelez International, Inc.)
VP, Global Biscuit Category: Jason Levine
VP, Brand Strategy and Communications: Jill Baskin
Senior Director, OREO & Chips Ahoy!: Janda Lukin
OREO Global Brand Manager: Flavio Ackel
OREO Sr Associate Brand Manager: Kerri McCarthy

Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
SVP/Executive Creative Director: Jorge Calleja
VP/Creative Director: David Muhlenfeld
VP/Creative Director: Magnus Hierta
VP/Group Planning Director: John Gibson
Strategic Planner: Gigi Jordan
EVP/Worldwide Acct Director: John Campbell
SVP/Group Acct Director: Darren Foot
VP/Account Director: Leslie Hodgin
VP/Account Director: Britta Dougherty
Account Supervisor: Molly Holmes
EVP/Managing Director Production & Development: Steve Humble
Producer: Heather Tanton
Junior Producer: Maggie Shifflett
Group Project Management Supervisor: Giao Roever
Business Affairs Supervisor: Juanita McInteer

Production Company: Brand New School
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Notaro
Managing Director: Devin Brook
Head of Production: Julie Shevach
Producer: Johnna MacArthur
Designer: Andrés Rivera
Designer: Jeffrey Welk
Designer: Jungeun Kim
Designer: Lindsey Mayer-Beug
Designer: Serge Kirsanov
CG Director: Russ Wootton
2D Lead: Mark French
Technical Director: Dan Bradham
3D Animator: Carmine Laietta
3D Animator: Jon Burke
3D Animator: Spyridon Serbos
3D Animator: Sam Crees
3D Artist & Cell Animator: Jeff Bryson
3D Artist & Cell Animator: Morten Christensen
3D Lighting: Michael Lampe
3D Lighting: Sylvia Apostol
3D Modeler: Atsuki Hirose
3D Modeler: Scott Denton
3D Modeler: Young Lee
3D Rigger: Jason Bikofsky
3D Rigger: Jonah Austin
2D Compositor: Jeen Lee
2D Compositor: Jeff (Dragon) Billon
Storyboard Artist: Fred Fassberger
Storyboard Artist: Tung Chow
Assistant Editor: Tyler Byrnes

Music Composition & Lyrics: David Muhlenfeld, English Major

Music Production & Mix: Duotone
Engineer: Aaron Mirman
Producer: Lissa Farquhar
Executive Producer: David Leinheardt

Final Master: The Lodge
Voiceover talent: Yelle
Music Supervision: Aaron Mercer, Wool&Tusk

Public Relations: Weber Shandwick
Media: Media Vest
Social: 360i



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Jan 20

Could Kool-Aid Man Really Bust Through a Brick Wall? Science Finally Has an Answer

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The Kool-Aid man’s explosive antics have been unquestionably cool since he busted through his first wall in the 1970s. But could he possibly survive such a dramatic entrance?

Wouldn’t he shatter when hitting a brick wall? What about the Kool-Aid inside—wouldn’t it slosh out? And let’s not forget that, best-case scenario, he’d be left with brick and mortar floating about in his innards.

These important questions have been fueling comedians and baffling stoners for years. But now YouTube superstar Jake Roper of the science-minded vlog VSauce decided to leave conjecture behind. Vsauce did the science to figure out if a 6-foot-tall anthropomorphic pitcher could actually break through a brick wall, and if so, what would be left of him.

Check out the results in the clip below, or, if you’re not up for a 4-minute clip on physics in the fictional world of advertising, skip down to our summary.

So in short, the answer is: Yes, Kool-Aid man could, though he probably wouldn’t feel too great afterwards.

It turns out that scaling an ordinary pitcher up to six feet, then filling it with the correct amount of Kool-Aid would make Kool-Aid Man an 11,000-pound elephant-sized beast with glass at least 3.6 inches thick. Even a creature made of ordinary glass would be able to break through a brick wall at that size by getting up to a run, but we don’t actually know what kind of glass Kool-Aid Man is made from. Heck, he could be made from Pyrex.

Nonetheless, the video explores how laminated glass (the bullet-proof stuff) would help him survive the inevitable surface cracks from his wall-breaking feats, but it doesn’t cover fully tempered glass, heat-strengthened material or any of the many other glass varieties. Certainly, there’s a materials scientist out there who could, with enough zeal, create the proper thickness, tempering and coating combination that would let Kool-Aid man break through more than just one wall.

However, there’s still the matter of vital fluid loss and contamination from brick debris. All of which suggests that the safest route for our beloved behemoth would be to respect other people’s property and use the damn door. Of course, given that he’s the size of an elephant and weighs as much as two Dodge Durangos, he can probably do whatever he wants.



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Jan 20

Adman Photobombs Stock Photos, Turning Awkwardness Into Comedy

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The last time we checked in with Matt Vescovo, it was 2003 and he was doing Instructoart—hilarious award-winning graphic-design pieces (some of which ran as animated promos on MTV) detailing how to perform simple activities like doing the hokey pokey, separating groceries on a conveyer belt and removing pubic hair from a bar of soap.

Here’s his latest project: The Stock Photobomber.

Vescovo, 45—who worked at BBDO, Cliff Freeman & Partners and Fallon in the ’90s before going freelance full time in 2002—uses Photoshop to insert himself into the most silly and awkward of stock photos, making them even more irresistibly absurd.

“I dedicate every stock photobomb to the actors who posed for the original stock photos. You didn’t mean to do what you did when you did it, but boy you really did it didn’t you,” he writes on the Stock Photobomber’s Facebook page.

BuzzFeed caught up with Vescovo, who had this to say about the project:

I was in a gift shop and I happened to walk by the aisle where they sell picture frames. I remember looking at the stock photo of the smiley family in a loving embrace they had in the frame and thinking to myself: “They’re not a family, they’re actors who met 10 minutes before they took this.”

It felt a little fake to me and so I thought, “I know what will make it more real, if I’m in there.”

The reaction has been pretty amazing, people really seem to like the photobombs. I think photobombing is such a big thing these days and I just happened to take it and add a little twist. I do it all on Photoshop. God bless Photoshop.

Check out more of the photos below.



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Jan 19

Seahawks Follow Up Their Big Win With a Bigger Fail: a 'We Shall Overcome' MLK Tweet

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One day after their unbelievable, inspiring win over the Green Bay Packers, which sent them to the Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks hit rock bottom on Twitter with a tweet that read, “We shall overcome #MLKDay”—using Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate the team and its football prowess.

The tweet, which appears to have been deleted, also included a photo of quarterback Russell Wilson, with a tear in his eye, captioned with this MLK quote: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

As you can see below, the response was not kind. As we did our MLK tweet roundup earlier today, we had thought brands had learned a thing or two about sensitivity in this regard. Clearly not. The New England Patriots, meanwhile, didn’t post any MLK tweets, preferring to keep it simple.



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Jan 19

Brands Salute MLK, but When Does Inspiring Become Exploiting?

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Here we are celebrating the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And right on cue, brands are tweeting out messages of rememberance stamped with the company’s logo, or even the product itself.

To be fair, no one has tweeted anything terribly egregious today. And many simply tweeted quotes from MLK, which seems fine. The problem, as we’ve seen before, is when they try to tie in their brand or product. That’s when the salute becomes more of a sales pitch. (And sorry, but how heartfelt of a tribute can Steak-Umm really offer?)

Take a look below at some brands that felt the need to weigh in:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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