Hasta La Creative!

Parents, Expedia wants to offer you a consolation prize for all the heartbreaking time you have to spend traveling for business rather than being at home with your kids.

Instead of making them settle for toy animals from the airport kiosk, says a new ad, try taking your daughter on a safari, financed by the rewards points you’ve racked up booking flights and hotels as you bounce around for your day job.

The ad, in its broad strokes, can’t help but be a little reminiscent of “Up in the Air,” (though Expedia’s hero certainly doesn’t seem averse to personal commitment).

Mostly, the commercial is a sweet bit of family-driven storytelling and a nice addition to Expedia’s growing collection of ads about much more than just airfare or accommodations. The uplifting piano music and emphasis on computers make it feel a little like a Google commercial—another take on how technology can enrich your life.

If you’re wondering how many Expedia+ Rewards points it takes to afford a safari, the guy in the ad has more than 83,000 points banked. With Expedia typically rewarding one point per dollar spent on booking, that’s obviously a whole lot of trips.

CREDITS

Client: Expedia
Senior Director, Brand Marketing: Vic Walia

Agency: 180LA
Chief Creative Officer: William Gelner
Creative Director: Dave Horton
Creative Director: Matthew Woodhams-Roberts
Copywriter: Ben Bliss
Art Director: Marcus Brown
Head of Production: Natasha Wellesley
Senior Producer: Dave Stephenson
Head of Account Management: Chad Bettor
Associate Account Director: Brooke Stites
Account Manager: Mackenzie Walen

Production
Production Company: Skunk
Director: Brent Harris
Director of Photography: Max Goldman
Managing Partner/EP: Matt Factor
Executive Producer: Shelly Townsend
Production Service Company: Egg Films
Producer: Jon Ronbeck
Shoot Location: South Africa

Editorial
Editorial Company: Melvin
Editor: Dave Groseglose
Producer: Brian Scharwath

Completion/Special Effects
Online/Visual Effects/Transfer Facility: The Mill LA
Colorist: Adam Scott
2D Lead Artist: Robin McGloin
2D Artists: John Price, Nicholas Tayler and Patrick Munoz
Senior Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Executive Producer: Enca Kaul
Producer: Kiana Bicoy
Telecine Producer: Natalie Westerfield
Telecine Production Coordinator: Diane Valera
Production Coordinator: Jillian Lynes

Recording /Mix
Recording Studio: Juice
Mixer: Bob Gremore
Assistant Mixer: Robert Gomez
Producer: Natalie Pranevsky

Music
Original Music by human

You know when you try to find a brand on Twitter, and you just assume the handle will be the brand name? Well, not so fast.

A surprising number of brand-name handles aren’t run by the brands at all. They’re run by real people who got there first. We’ve highlighted a few of them below. Since they’re not otherwise posing as the brand, they are not subject to Twitter’s trademark policy.

Though the brands surely aren’t too happy about it.

 
1) @Chipotle
Name: Chip Clark
Bio: They have the Internet on computers, now? —Homer Simpson
Joined: March 2007

Brand account: @ChipotleTweets
Joined: May 2010

Meet Chip Clark, who judging by his bio, is more into the Simpsons than burrito bowls. But wait, he’s done his share of Mexican cooking!

I made some chicken enchiladas with some homemade refrieds. Holy moly me oh my!

— Chip Clark (@Chipotle) September 12, 2010

2) @Advil
Name: mama advil
Bio: terrible model & actor … NOT advil the medicine, it’s my name
Joined April 2008

Brand account: @advilrelief
Joined: N/A

Here’s “mama advil,” who coincidentally shares his name with the popular headache relief medicine. Advil’s hobbies include fashion and One Direction.

I can never tell anyone that I have a headache bc pic.twitter.com/rJaIMZUAoF

— mama advil (@Advil) July 19, 2014

3) @Absolut
Name: Yvonne
Bio: Master procrastinator.
Joined: March 2007

Brand account: @ABSOLUTvodka
Joined: April 2011

Toronto resident “Yvonne” likes to critique Canadian politics and Apple product announcements. According to her bio, Yvonne has perfected waiting until the last minute.

@Ferbil07 what? It’s not for sale.

— Yvonne (@absolut) January 19, 2012

4) @Trident
Name: Ben T.
Bio: Things. That’s what I do; and I’ll keep doing it. I think you want to yell at @tridentgum next time, I’m just a person.
Joined March 2007

Brand account: @tridentgum
Joined July 2010

Here’s “Ben T,” who is persistent in his pursuit of doing things. In his spare time, Ben enjoys retweeting messages intended for the famous sugar-free gum but instead were sent to him, because he has the handle they probably wanted. He also enjoys tweeting about the weather and the music he listens to.

I always buy @trident gum! pic.twitter.com/9UR6k8vU

— Ben T (@trident) January 5, 2013

I went through some old ones… let me know how you feel about brand name chewing gum and I’ll be sure the right people don’t see it.

— Ben T (@trident) October 10, 2013

5) @Lego
Bio: Art Nerd, City Cyclist, Urban Crawler, Fun Finder
Joined November 2006

Brand account: @LEGO_Group 
Joined May 2011

“Lego” hasn’t tweeted much, but when he does, he mostly tweets about bikes. His first tweet was:

home, morning stuff

— Lego (@Lego) July 30, 2007

He also enjoys dessert and women’s fashion:

Mango sorbet is on the menu in response to the warm weather and Hillary’s pantsuit!

— Lego (@Lego) August 27, 2008

6) @Kraft
Name: Kraft
Bio: Just call me Kraft. Work at @Automattic/@Jetpack, husband of @LaLuped, father, & Catholic, doing the best to be good at all. (FYI- Not @KraftFoods)
Joined October 2007

Brand account: @kraftfoods
Joined September 2009

This guy is one of the more prolific of the pseudo-brand tweeters. He relishes in participating in banter referencing his namesake. In his spare time, he enjoys craft beer. GET IT?!

Apparently, #FoodDeservesDelicious is a big hashtag today. People are telling me all about their usage of ranch dressing.

— Kraft (@Kraft) June 24, 2014

I’m eating cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. Why? I have a fridge full of @kraftcheese and I can.

— Kraft (@Kraft) April 12, 2014

@BetteMidler Don’t worry. I bought some more. I don’t know why everyone cares about my Velveeta supply levels. http://t.co/DFHh8ngkT2

— Kraft (@Kraft) January 23, 2014

7) @Velveeta
Name: Richard Lindsey
Bio: Core Services Senior FEE Architect at The Advisory Board Company.
Joined July 2008

Brand account: @eatliquidgold
Joined April 2011

Richard Lindsey isn’t just any old Core Services Senior FEE Architect. He’s the proud owner of the cheesiest, meltiest Twitter handle. He really loves code, and tweets about it often.

This @EatLiquidGold shortage has turned me into a Twitter villain. I feel like I should be tweaking the corners of my mustache and laughing.

— Richard Lindsey (@Velveeta) January 8, 2014

I love you too, @ro_tel, but I think you’re looking for @EatLiquidGold 😉

— Richard Lindsey (@Velveeta) October 26, 2013

8) @HoneyMaid
Name: Graham
Bio: Just some nerdy rugger queer gym dude with a beard in the desert. Also a #SecretGinger
Joined: August 2008

Brand Account: @honeymaidsnacks
Joined: N/A

Unlike most people with brand-name Twitter accounts, Graham is physically fit. Dude’s feed is mostly about working out or flexing. According to his account, he’s checked in at Gold’s Gym at least 85 times.

Just in case you people aren’t aware, I’m not a profile for graham crackers, leave me alone and quit taggin me.

— Graham (@Honeymaid) March 24, 2014

9) @JohnnieWalker
Bio: N/A
Joined August 2008

Brand accounts: @JohnnieWalker_ , @JohnnieWalkerUS
Joined: N/A

And then there’s “johnniewalker,” a random Scottish man who lives in NYC. He once have a TED talk about Scotland.

thinks japanese whisky has aways to go before it matches scottish whisky….

— johnniewalker (@johnniewalker) October 29, 2008

Great. Scotland is now known for whisky, oil, men in skirts, and… a daft attempt at international compassion. Wonderful.

— johnniewalker (@johnniewalker) August 21, 2009

10) @JackDaniels
Name: Jack Daniels
Bio: Doré comme de l’alcool mais ce n’est pas de l’alcool, et c’est pour ça qu’il désaltère. A consommer sans modération (Google translation: “Gilded like alcohol but not alcohol, and that’s why it quenches. To consume without moderation”)
Joined: April 2007

Brand Account: @JackDaniels_US
Joined: September 2010

“Jack Daniels” tweets mostly in French, annoying Kentuckians everywhere. He enjoys tweeting inspirational quotes and cartoons. (Interestingly, @jackdaniel, which Jack Daniel’s might also have coveted, is also run by a regular guy. He tweets mostly in Italian, though.)

Je sais, c’est mal… mais j’ai pas pu resister pic.twitter.com/ZrGeDFiU

— Jack Daniels (@jackdaniels) June 1, 2012

11) @Triscuit
Name: triscuit
Bio: Despite the handle, not a cracker now available in a multitude of flavours. #Nabisco, please ask if you want to negotiate
Joined: March 2008

Brand Account: @TheRealTriscuit
Joined: March 2011

This isn’t just your ordinary cracker, it’s “triscuit.” This little bird is trying to convince Nabisco to purchase the handle, but it seems to still be in the possession of the original owner. Note to owner: I am interested in this handle.

My only followers are people who think I’m the cracker (available in many new flaviurs!) and about 5 friends

— triscuit (@triscuit) September 30, 2013

I get a lot of these tweets from people who think I am a cracker. Who tweets nonsense @nabisco or any company anyway? pic.twitter.com/5WvHc7Uo9j

— triscuit (@triscuit) April 10, 2014

#marthastewart loves me and all her fans now do too! They think I am @therealtriscuit. pic.twitter.com/2HxSaOqwZn

— triscuit (@triscuit) August 14, 2014

12) @HaagenDazs
Name: Daniel Hanold
Bio: Geeky New Yorker. Drupal Enthusiast. Mobile Titanium Developer. Electronic Music Fan. Framework Lover.
Joined: July 2007

Brand account: @HaagenDasz_US
Joined: June 2012

Finally, here is “Daniel Hanold,” New York resident and proud owner of @HaagenDazs. He has more of a taste for Apple products than ice cream, though. His handle choice seems rather arbitrary.

Deleting my OTHER twitter account. Haagendazs it is.

— Daniel Hanold (@haagendazs) October 25, 2008

Jennifer Garner is back on TV and very upset with chairs in two new ads for Capital One’s Venture Card.

The visuals in the two spots, titled “Seats” and “Musical Chairs,” are bright and whimsical, which contrasts with Garner’s concerned vocal delivery. Did one of those chairs kick a puppy or something? /p>

She hasn’t gone full Clint Eastwood, but she’s still pretty intense about the first-world problem of airline mile blackout dates.

Garner joins a growing roster of big-name celebrities who’ve starred in Capital One ads, including Alec Baldwin and Samuel L. Jackson.

GoDaddy has tried various things to break out of its reputation for sleaze. First, it kept the attractive women but added some geeky guys. Then it had an attractive woman make out with a geeky guy. Then it did a quirky ad with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Now, though, the brand is really just going for it with new agency Barton F. Graf 9000—the New York shop known for its offbeat ads for Kayak, Ragú and Dish Network.

The ads start off like treacly testimonials, but quickly take a left turn. And before you know it, one woman is screaming at her dead father’s ashes—while another is doing mildly obscene hip thrusts that go on uncomfortably long. (The focus remains on how the company supports small business owners with online tools to help create websites, get found online and keep businesses organized.)

To its credit, GoDaddy isn’t afraid to go full-on crazy here, as opposed to the Van Damme spot, which felt a bit self-conscious and manufactured. And Gerry Graf and friends have that knack for making ads that seem truly, memorably peculiar.

“GoDaddy is an iconic brand, which makes this an exciting challenge and really, our team is much like a GoDaddy customer because we are a small agency with big ideas,” Graf said in a statement. “GoDaddy has some innovative tools to help people who own their own business. I know this because I own my own business and I use GoDaddy’s tools. We’re going to let everybody else in the world in on this.”

GoDaddy CMO Barb Rechterman added: “We want to maintain our sense of humor while focusing on how GoDaddy’s services empower customers … and do it in a creative ways that speak to the ‘go getter’ inside of so many entrepreneurs and small business owners out there looking for an edge. The Barton F. Graf team took a very strategic view of our brand and pitched innovative campaign ideas that were right on message … and had us all laughing.”

So, are you laughing, too?

How do you get people to stop for the “Don’t walk” guy in the crosswalk? Make the “Don’t walk” guy a little more interesting to look at.

That’s what Smart car did in Portugal, giving the icon more entertainment value by getting him to dance for his impatient audience. (This is achieved by seemingly unnecessary though I suppose charming high-tech means—the “Don’t walk” guy imitates the moves of actual dancing humans in a booth nearby.)

The “Walk” guy is really going to have to raise his game.

Via The Denver Egotist.

CREDITS
Client: Smart
Agency: BBDO Germany
Creative Directors: Lukas Liske, Daniel Schweinzer
Director: Marten Persiel

Filed under: The most WTF thing we’ve seen in months.

Urban Outfitters, purveyor of clothing and home goods, big-ass floppy hats and occasionally offensive T-shirts, has outdone itself with this product on its website—a “vintage” Kent State University sweatshirt featuring fake blood splatters.

In 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired on a group of unarmed anti-war student protesters at Kent State, killing four and wounding nine others.

The sweatshirt sold out quickly, because there was only one. (“We only have one, so get it or regret it!” said the description.) Now it’s listed on eBay by someone who says he/she will “give 50% of the profit to the Southern Poverty Law Center, who protect those who cannot protect themselves, often those who are victims of police brutality.”

If this is an elaborate PR play from a desperate brand, as it would seem, it’s a pathetic one. With Twitter and Facebook teeming with Rage Against the Urban Outfitters, I’m guessing throngs of people are going to buy their big-ass floppy hats elsewhere.

Via BuzzFeed.

Because fried chicken is the greatest thing in the history of the world, and considering Japan is from the future, it’s surprising they got their first KFC only 30 years ago.

To celebrate that anniversary, the franchise is currently holding a contest on Facebook and Twitter with probably the most amazing prizes ever. OK, none of them are useful—but if you forget to lick your fingers, you’ll be fine when using these wackadoodle chicken-themed accoutrements.

KFC is known for doing odd stuff like this in the U.S., too, so we can’t say we’re surprised. 

Via the International Business Times. 

 
First prize is this insane-o keyboard with chicken pieces for keys and a little baby statue of the Colonel perched on the Escape key. 

 
You could also win this chicken-leg mouse that looks more like a sex toy than a useable piece of computer hardware. 

 
Speaking of weird crap that no one would ever plug into their USB port.

 
Probably the best prize of all, chicken earrings. Gorgeous.

Cats are very sensitive. And when you apply sticky tape to them, they tend to walk funny. Just like when your pad won’t stay in place and decides to adhere to your crotch.

Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai created a viral hit for Kotex around the truth that no cat of any persuasion likes sticky tape. An entire spot starring super fluffy cats filmed in slow motion looking uncomfortable and walking sideways? It’s no wonder it’s already attracted over 1 million views in China (not on the subtitles version below, though, of course).

The brand has another spot that suggests it’s easier to find a good pad than a good man. (Well, yeah—you can buy pads at the store.)

Kudos to Ogilvy for coming up with an adorable cat spot that also has an actual product benefit included amid the cute. And don’t worry, no cats were harmed in the making. They were just made very uncomfortable.

CREDITS
Client: Kimberly-Clark
Project Title: Kotex Brand Promise Viral Campaign
Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Shanghai
Chief Creative Officer: Graham Fink
Head of Copy: Thomas Zhu
Creative Director: Bamboo Zhuang
Group Head: Yaya Wu
Senior copywriter: Kiddy Wang
Agency Producer: Xiaolong Wu
Media Agency: Mindshare
Production House: Shine Works

This video spot for Freia chocolate shows a young, impressively bearded Norwegian man living by the “full life, empty fridge” principle in New York City. His hectic lifestyle as a fashion stylist doesn’t leave him with much time to buy groceries, relax in his apartment or, you know, live.

When he eats a piece of Freia chocolate, nostalgia for his homeland prompts him to jump the next flight back in Norway, where he hugs a man who I assume is his father (also no slouch in the beard department).

It’s like Proust and his madeleines, but without the inconvenience of slogging through Proust.

Created by agency SMFB, Oslo, and directed by Anders Hallberg, the cinematic spot’s tagline sums everything up by saying, “Find joy in the simple things.” This ad, for example, is simple, but there’s plenty of joy in it.

Via The Inspiration Room.

The award for best trolling billboard this week goes to this impressive display in Topeka, Kansas, which just so happens to be the hometown of the not exceedingly gay-friendly Westboro Baptist Church.

The owners of the God page on Facebook (which has 1.7 million likes and enjoys needling the right) raised money for the board on Indiegogo. The group had a goal of $50,000 but has raised more than $90,000, which means it will be running bus ads in Topeka as well. (If it reaches $100,000 by Oct. 8, it will put up a second billboard in Salt Lake City.)

“BEHOLD!” says the writeup on the Indiegogo page. “God is tired of having hate-speech put into his mouth by bigots. Therefore, the LORD shall put up a billboard in Topeka, Kansas that declares to all that ‘God Loves Gays’!”

The billboard points to godlovesgaypeople.com.