DDB California Names Todd Grantham President, CEO

DDB California has named Todd Grantham as the agency’s new president and CEO, based out of the agency’s San Francisco office, Adweek reports. Grantham fills the role vacated by Mike Harris in June.

Grantham arrives at DDB California from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, where he served as director of new business and associate partner. He originally arrived at Goodby back in 1996 and has held roles at the agency including  associate director of account management and managing director. He’s worked with clients such as Chevrolet, Saturn Adobe, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo and Quaker Oats.

DDB North America President Mark O’Brien “cited Grantham’s brand experience, people skills and ‘respect for creativity’” in making the hire, according to Adweek. Grantham’s experience in developing new business was undoubtedly another factor, as the agency looks to rebound from losing Well Fargo to BBDO in March. Top accounts at the agency currently include ConAgra Foods and Clorox.

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Arnold Worldwide Celebrates ‘The Few and Far Between’ for Jack Daniel’s

Arnold Worldwide is launching a new multimedia campaign for Jack Daniel’s entitled “The Few and Far Between,” which celebrates, “the quirky stories told by the proprietors, bouncers, barflys and patrons who frequent…fine establishments and questionable joints.” Or, in other words, drinking stories. The brand avoids accusations of promoting excess with the disclaimer, “You can’t tell a story you don’t remember. Please drink responsibly.”

In addition to short videos, the website hosting the campaign also features “tales of whiskey, revelry and mischief” in the form of written stories, audio and mixed media. You can take a look at a teaser video above, and head to the campaign site for the full experience. The launch features thirty bar stories gathered from around the country, but the brand plans to release even more later this year as part of this massive digital campaign and has also partnered with Vice Media for a user-generated photo contest. (more…)

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mOcean Helped Promote FXX’s Marathon of The Simpsons

mOcean helped FXX keep the fun rolling during the network’s record-breaking twelve-day marathon of every episode of The Simpsons with a series of Springfield-inspired promos.

Instead of just recycling footage from the show (which might get a bit redundant during a marathon, after all), mOcean took creative license with the Springfield universe, such as in the above promo superimposing Homer’s head and voice on footage of stunts gone wrong. Another spot takes Ned Flanders’ characteristic “Deedley” and gives it a musical makeover. Clearly, the agency had a lot of fun with these.

“This was by far the biggest, most exciting project with the FX family yet,” said mOcean SVP, Creative Director Greg Harrison. “The inherent challenge was doing justice to one of the funniest, most beloved TV franchises in history, not to mention the legacy of its creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.” (more…)

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Sprint Seeks New Lead Creative Agency

Sources told Adweek that Sprint is seeking a new lead creative agency.

According to the publication’s sources, the review will be focused on above-the-line marketing, most of which is spent on television. Sprint spends approximately $800 million on measured media annually. According to Adweek, it’s still unclear if the review also includes digital work, which is currently handled by DigitasLBi.

Sprint has a somewhat unusual history of agency relationships. In 2011, the company unexpectedly shifted its advertising duties from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to a team consisting of various Publicis Groupe agencies, led by DigitasLBi, who worked in conjunction with Leo Burnett on broadcast advertising. However, last year Sprint assigned those duties to Figliulo & Partners, who created the recent “Framily” campaign. (With Sprint abandoning that plan, and now searching for a new agency, it seems the Frobinsons may have seen their moment pass.)

The move doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, given these comments made by Masayoshi Son, CEO of Sprint parent company Softbank:

“Sprint spends a large amount of money on advertising every year, but its effects have been almost negligible. I directed the Sprint executives to terminate all existing contracts with the company’s advertising agencies. We will shortly start from scratch on advertising, with new agents also making proposals.”

Dream client?

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The Optimists At 72andsunny Are Rockin’ In The Paid World

The Hundreds paid a recent visit to 72andsunny in Playa Vista. The result is a look inside one of today’s top agencies and their remodeled mid-century modern offices. If we were an architectural lifestyle ‘zine, we’d jump all over the intricacies of the building design, and how Howard Hughes once worked here. But what AdPulp […]

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M&C Saatchi Launches ‘This Is UGG’ Featuring Tom Brady

M&C Saatchi is launching UGG’s first-ever global marketing campaign, entitled “This Is UGG,” which enlists the help of veteran brand ambassador Tom Brady in the brand’s latest effort to change its perception as the official fuzzy boot of Starbucks-toting girls everywhere.

Launching today, the campaign focuses on life’s smaller moments, centered around the 60-second spot “Time Out.” In the spot, Brady shares the message that in life you only get so many time outs and you need to make them count, because you can’t back pocket them or carry them over to another day. Tom’s voiceover plays out over a scene of him driving to play golf with his father, a pastime the two have shared since Tom was old enough to play. Another spot, featuring Brady and his mother, is set to follow in October, with a third entitled “Down Time” arriving in December.

“For the new UGG for Men campaign, we started with this premise: small moments can carry as much weight as the big moments,” explained Nancy Mamann, vice president of marketing for UGG Australia. “We conceptualized the spots to capture authentic moments that relate to men across the world. For Tom Brady in particular, we explored his life off the field, along with more personal settings, to show some of the moments that he considers meaningful.”

Whether that will convince men to rush out and buy UGG remains to be seen. Stick around for behind-the-scenes footage after the jump. (more…)

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RPA Debuts New Work for ARCO

RPA recently debuted a new campaign for recently-won client ARCO, following Tesoro’s purchase of ARCO from BP.

The campaign celebrates ARCO’s “top tier” designation, as its gasoline “exceeds EPA minimum detergent requirements to help clean engines and maintain optimal vehicle performance.” To highlight the benefits of treating your car right with ARCO gasoline, RPA chose to show some of the ways mistreat their vehicles in a series of four 30-second broadcast spots.

The light-hearted approach works best in “Treat” (featured above), when a woman decides “If top-tier gas at ARCO helps clean my engine, maybe I should clean the rest of my car.” She then imagines all the hard work inherent in undoing the neglect, including some pretty gross tasks, before tossing an empty coffee cup in the backseat and deciding “I’ll do that another time.”

Other spots in the campaign take a similar approach, with “Embarassing” focusing on some of the moments your car shouldn’t have to witness and “Mishap” taking on minor vehicular abuse. “Try It” changes things up, focusing instead on a couple’s misguided decision to go somewhere other than ARCO for gas. Each spot ends with the tagline, ““Your car puts up with a lot. Help protect it from harmful engine deposits. ARCO has quality TOP TIER® gas for less.” emphasizing ARCO’s quality and top tier designation. The campaign began last month with one broadcast spot and an outdoor component, and currently supports the four broadcast spots with online and radio elements, as well as a revamped website.

“We have a long history working on the ARCO brand, and appreciate the challenges of the competitive motor-fuel category,” said RPA EVP, Management Account Director Tom Kirk. “The agency’s goal is to further support ARCO’s brand positioning, and this new work focuses on ARCO’s holistic value proposition around product quality and affordability.” (more…)

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Olson Engage Gets Marshawn Lynch to Kick Off Skittles’ NFL Sponsorship

Olson Engage has kicked off this season’s Skittles’ NFL sponsorship with a new spot starring Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.

As you may remember, Lynch’s involvement with the brand dates back to a DDB campaign celebrating the Seahawks in January, which also included a Skittles charitable auction to benefit Lunch’s Fam 1st Family Foundation. This time around, Lynch works Skittles into his training routine in a humorous 30-second spot. It’s nice to see Lynch and Skittles not taking things too seriously, and instead focusing in on the goofiness factor inherent in an athlete promoting a candy brand. Skittles promises it is just the “first in a series” of NFL promotions designed to make game day “awesomer.”

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Michael Goldberg Named CEO of Zimmerman

Fort Lauderdale-based Zimmerman has announced the hiring of Michael Goldberg as its new CEO, filling a position left vacant with the departure of Pat Patregnani several months ago., AdAge reports.

Goldberg arrives at Zimmerman from Deutsch, where he was a partner and chief marketing officer. The move marks a homecoming for Goldberg, who served as Zimmerman’s chief marketing officer for over eight years following Zimmerman absorbing fellow For Lauderdale agency Harris Drury Cohen in 2003. Goldberg was serving as Harris Drury Cohen’s CEO at the time of the acquisition. He eventually left to join Omnicom PR agency Porter Novelli as a senior partner and global chief marketing officer in 2012, before jumping to Deutsch later that year. (more…)

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CHI&Partners Launch ‘The Mission’ for TalkTalk

CHI&Parnters is launching its latest animated campaign for TalkTalk, the fourth in a series of animated campaigns from the agency, entitled “The Mission.”

The 60-second spot tells the story of six household objects who come to life and embark on a journey in search of great TV. “The Mission” follows a doll, a garden gnome, a toy robot, a dog-lamp, and two slippers through a grand journey as they battle the elements, traversing the varying terrains of a neighborhood, before finally arriving through a doggy door to a house with TalkTalk TV. The well-animated spot pulls off the approach with style, making for a fun spot that feels like a mini-odyssey. It is the first of four new spots which will roll out between September and January.

“Our award-winning animations for TalkTalk have set a precedent over the years – and this year we’ve aimed to raise the bar again,” said CHI&Partners Creative Director Micky Tudor. “Everything about this little film is epic. Shot in cinemascope, voiced by Derek Jacobi and with a sweeping score from ‘Last of the Mohicans’, this spot is packed with the kind of extraordinary craft that is normally reserved for the world of feature films.” (more…)

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GSD&M Named Hampton Inn’s Creative Agency

Hampton Inn has named Austin-based agency GSD&M as its new creative agency, following a review, AdAge reports.

The three finalists in the review were revealed to be GSD&M, Chicago-based Cramer-Krasselt and Los Angeles-based David & Goliath. Incumbent agency Y&R Chicago participated in the initial stages of the review, which included six agencies but was not selected as a finalist, Hilton Garden Inn & Hampton Hotels Vice President, Global Brand Marketing Judy Christa-Cathey told AdAge. Y&R Chicago remains on the Hilton roster, however, via its recently-won DoubleTree duties.

Christa-Cathey explained that the brand chose GSD&M because it “wanted an agency that had a clear understanding of the Hampton Inn brand and what makes it special,” also citing the agency’s “strong consumer insights and strategy, fresh creative and problem-solving skills.”

A new campaign is expected in early 2015, which will be aimed at millenials and “celebrating Hampton’s culture and hospitality.” Hampton Inn spent approximately $23 million on national measured media last year, according to Kantar Media.

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Deutsch NY, Ad Council Team Up for FEMA PSA

Deutsch, New Yorkteamed up with The Ad Council to create a PSA campaign for FEMA, in time for National Preparedness Month, reminding families to have a plan in the event of a disaster.

Since, according to FEMA, 50 percent of families have not discussed an emergency plan in the event of a disaster, the organization wanted to stress what a difference having a plan can make when such an event occurs. So the broadcast and digital PSA at the center of the campaign (released in both 30-second and 60-second formats) attempts to illustrate this through a harsh depiction of two families dealing with a disaster. One of the families, who presumably designated the shelter as a meeting place, huddle together, visibly shaken up but glad to have each other. They overhear another couple, who stress out over their missing child, powerless to do anything to locate him. It’s tough to watch, but that’s intentional, as it drives home the point that you don’t want to be the second family should anything go wrong. The spot ends by directing viewers to Ready.gov and www.Listo.gov where they can find resources for developing their own emergency plan. The campaign also includes radio and print components. (more…)

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BBDO NY Has Some ‘Ideas’ for GE

BBDO New York’s latest offering for GE continues to celebrate innovation, but marks a stylistic departure from the agency’s recent work for the brand.

While “What Would Happen” and “Childlike Imagination” looked at innovation from a sense of childlike wonder, “Ideas” takes a sharp sidestep, personifying those ideas and focusing on how they often emerge as rough around the edges but grow into something beautiful. In the 60-second online spot, ideas are presented as an odd-looking creature that looks like something that could have crawled out of the reject pile at Jim Henson’s workshop.

Starting from birth, we follow an idea as it has a pretty rough time of things. Continually facing rejection, it resorts to sleeping on the streets until it is finally taken in by GE. “Ideas are scary, and messy, and fragile,” says a voiceover, “But under the proper care, they become something beautiful,” and then we see the fully-transformed idea, followed by the “Imagination at work” tagline.

Following the success of BBDO’s recent work for the brand, the shift in approach comes as a little off-putting, and the idea seems a bit dragged out at 60 seconds. But then maybe the spot being a little rough around the edges actually fits the concept. (more…)

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Arnold Celebrates the Opening of Its New Office

Arnold Worldwide has been hinting at a big move for some time, dropping easter eggs like a craigslist ad offering its Emmy award to the most worthy bidder and creating an “arnold.is (moving)” site that features an interactive, factoid-packed infographic.

This week the move became official as the agency began operations in its new Boston home at what was once Filene’s along with five other shops in the new Havas Village at 10 Summer Street.

The agency shared some pics of the space on its Twitter feed, but this video (which we somehow missed on Monday) offers a nice view inside the new digs.

We won’t admit to being jealous, but it is much larger than our office. And as much as we love our Bagel Mondays, they never include champagne chasers.

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Leo Burnett Celebrates 40 Years in the UK for McDonald’s

Today Leo Burnett’s London office launched a new campaign celebrating the 40th anniversary of McDonald’s arrival in the UK.

The campaign aims to portray the important moments in people’s lives…that just happened to occur at McDonald’s. In “Just Moved In,” (featured above) the most realistic of these scenarios, a family moves in to a new house. After a hard day of moving, they realize there’s nothing in the fridge to make for dinner and head to McDonald’s for a quick meal (which is just fine with the kids).

Other spots in the campaign feature an awkward first date, a rescue meal for a rainy camping trip, and a teen celebrating passing his driver’s test. Leo Burnett doesn’t overreach with the scenarios, instead choosing small moments that compliment larger ones — although the idea of taking a date to McDonald’s does seem a bit of stretch, no matter how young you are.

The broadcast spots are supported by an outdoor campaign “comprised of eight executions which also reminds people that McDonald’s has been there in the background of a myriad of moments all through their lives.” (more…)

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Toth+Co Enlists Drew Brees for Wrangler

With football season around the corner, Toth+CO enlists Drew Brees in their latest spot for Wrangler’s new Advanced Comfort Jeans. And the results are…exactly what you’d expect from a Drew Brees Wrangler ad.

Brees sits on a cooler on the back of a truck, plays some football with his buddies and his son, and takes his lady out to dinner. Pretty generic stuff. Interspersed with this footage are graphics of Wrangler’s “4-way flex technology” which offers “20% stronger” reinforced fibers. And the spot ends, of course, with Brees delivering the longtime tagline of “Real. Comfortable. Jeans.” There’s nothing fresh here, but fans of Brees, and football fans who can’t wait for the new season, should still find it a welcome sight. (more…)

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DDB’s Rodgers Townsend Agency Livens Up the Office for The Hartford

DDB’s Rodgers Townsend agency, St. Louis, pumps some life into the office (via jams) for The Hartford, in the latest iteration of its “Play On” campaign.

The agency collaborated with The Hartford, which provides insurance to small companies, for the interactive YouTube video. Viewers choose a genre of music, and then the office breaks into a spontaneous dance party, before promptly returning back to work. It’s well worth a view for a quick chuckle. We recommend “Retro Tech” and “Renaissance,” although you can’t really go wrong.

“We wanted to connect people to the message, when the unforeseen happens, The Hartford helps businesses prevail,” Steve Jones, assistant VP-marketing, small commercial at The Hartford, explained to AdAge. “This time, we wanted to do something fun and engaging that’s right for social channels and online.”

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Deb Boyda Appointed as Razorfish’s Central Region President

Razorfish has appointed Deb Boyda as president of its central region, based in Chicago, MediaPost reports.

Boyda will report directly to Razorfish North America CEO Shannon Denton in her new role, effective September 2nd. She will be responsible for overseeing profitablity and growth in the Chicago and Austin offices, as well as directing the region’s client base, which includes Kraft, Citi Retail Services and Car2Go.

Boyda arrives at Razorfish from Beam Global Spirits & Wine, where she served as vice president and general manager. During her three year stint at the company, she was responsible for marketing top Beam brands, including Skinnygirl, Courvoisier and Pinnacle. Prior to Beam, she served as president of brand group Interplay Ideas for almost four years and vice president, content for Miller Brewing Company for two. She last worked on the agency side as a managing partner of Ogivly & Mather from 2004-2006, where she led the team on Dove’s award-winning “Real Beauty” campaign. The Harvard graduate began her career at Euro RSCG, where she stayed for 13 years and worked her way up to managing partner before leaving to become senior vice president at Leo Burnett. (more…)

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Doner’s Latest Effort for Fiat Turns from Cute to Threatening

Doner’s latest spot promoting the Fiat starts out cute and sweet before taking a menacing turn.

The 54-second animated effort, entitled “Helpful Critters,” opens on a group of woodland critters talking up the Fiat 500?s gas mileage in a casual, conversational tone. “Do you get such crappy gas mileage, they know your name at the gas station? a bunny rabbit asks in a squeaky voice. “Why you hatin’ on the earth? With the Fiat 500, just think of the money you’d save,” adds a squirrel.

Things take a sinister turn around the midway point with the rabbit saying, “We think you should get a Fiat, if you know what’s good for you,” as her face suddenly changes from a smile to an evil glare. The critters then suggest that they know several members of the bear community and you could go missing (presumably murdered) if you don’t buy a Fiat.

It’s both reminiscent of Italian mafia stereotypes and the classic South Park episode “Woodland Critter Christmas” for its cuteness-turned-evil tone. Needless to say, threatening to murder potential customers is an odd approach for a car commercial.

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Intel Begins Creative Review

Intel has just launched a creative review, which is being held internally, AdAge reports.

Sources close to the matter told the publication that Intel, “reached out to a small number of agencies.” While incumbent agency Venables Bell & Partners is believed to be participating in the review, the agency declined to comment. VB+P was named Intel’s lead global agency back in 2009, although Intel has worked with a number of agencies since then. Last summer, VB+P was once again named Intel’s lead agency, and launched the “Look Inside” campaign for the brand earlier this year.

The review follows the appointment of a new chief marketing officer, Steven Fund, in May. While it’s unclear whether Intel’s other agency relationships will be changed, one executive suggested to AdAge that other reviews could be forthcoming. Intel spent $85 million on measured media last year, according to Kantar Media, and has already spent $44 million in the first half of 2014.

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