Hasta La Creative!

Taco Bell and DigitasLBi San Francisco (their digital AOR) are launching their new breakfast menu (the proper response: “Gross”) with a different kind of social campaign.

DigitasLBi and Taco Bell are sending out 1,000 burner phones across the country as part of a teaser campaign for Taco Bell’s largest menu expansion in their 50 year history this Thursday with the introduction of the new breakfast menu, offering people the opportunity to make a terrible decision on their way to work. The phones serve as “a direct line to Taco Bell Breakfast and a chance to win epic swag by challenging fans to create social content.” Preloaded text messages on the phones offer usersinstructions on how to activate the phones and accept the terms and conditions.

Then, throughout the week, “phones will be called and texted at various times throughout the day, prompting participants to complete missions” using the hashtag #wakeuplivemas, for a chance to win prizes (like a waffle taco hoodie). Tumblr will act as the hub for all the created content, while winners will be notified via their phone and Twitter. Mobile marketing firm Hipcricket was responsible for powering the voice and text messages on the phone. The idea is to create a “retro guerilla social network that generates excitement to create compelling social chatter and content.” We’ll give DigitasLBi and Taco Bell this: the breakfast menu launch is certainly unusual. You can follow along with this campaign on Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter, and if you feel like being sick by lunch, head to Taco Bell for breakfast this Thursday.

Oh god, is he pouring maple syrup on….eeew

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A month or so ago, BBDO joined up with Major League Baseball as its creative partner, and the agency has just released their opening day spot.

In case you’re confused, yes, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks did technically open the season this past weekend in Australia, but the official opening day is slated for Monday, March 31. For BBDO’s opening day commercial, they focused on the important historical moments that have occurred on opening day: Clayton Kershaw‘s home run/shutout, Bryce Harper‘s pair of opening day home runs to launch his career, Hank Aaron‘s 714th home run, and, arguably the most important moment in baseball history, when Jackie Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a baseball nerd, I love this approach, and it’s hard to imagine any fan watching this and not getting at least a little bit excited for baseball season following the long winter.

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Speaking of MRY today, the agency has teamed up with Jägermeister to create the new app, “JägerBonds.”

The new app “transforms images and videos from multiple users’ social media posts into a video highlight reel of a group’s night out with Jägermeister” — kind of a cool idea, and one that should appeal to the young folks who comprise Jägermeister’s target demographic. Since the app is free, and easy to use, it could catch on with the right crowd. It’s a good example of a social campaign that offers people a service tied to the brand rather than just trying to sell them something.

“When the average Jägermeister consumer goes out, they typically have a drink in one hand and a mobile phone in the other,” says Heather Kozera, director of digital marketing for Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc. “The JägerBonds app puts Jägermeister in both hands of the consumer, creating a useful and meaningful connection between a great night out and this iconic brand.”

The JägerBonds app is available to download for free at the iTunes and Google Play stores. Users simply connect the app to their social media accounts and invite friends to join along with coded “Bonds.” Then, when everyone posts to social media during their night out, JägerBonds compiles the posts and pairs them with music to document the event.

MRY, which was named the brand’s digital agency of record last October, managed all promotions, in addition to designing and developing the app. Supporting executions include “online and mobile engagements, as well as Out of Home elements in close to a dozen target markets.” MRY described the campaign’s strategy as being “to evolve the way Millennials think of Jägermeister by making the brand name synonymous with ‘uncommonly great nights.’” Check out the video above to see the app in action.

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With the opening series between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks (finally) kicking off the MLB season this Saturday in Australia, Hub Strategy, AOR for the Oakland Athletics, have just launched the fifth incarnation of their award-winning “Green Collar Baseball” marketing campaign for the A’s.

There’s been reason to celebrate in Oakland the past two years, as the A’s have won back-to-back AL West titles. This year, for their integrated campaign featuring “eight television commercials as well as print, outdoor, digital & social advertisements,” Hub Strategy wanted to up the personality factor. There’s certainly no shortage of personality for the A’s, and Hub had a blast working with the players on the new campaign, with Hub CEO/Creative Director DJ O’Neil calling it “by far my favorite work yet.”

The feeling is mutual, as A’s VP of sales/marketing, Jim Leahey, says, “We feel that this year’s TV commercials may be our best ever and we are confident that our fans will enjoy connecting with the fun personalities of our players.”

So far, two of the eight TV spots have been revealed: “Tunnels of Greatness” and “Tarp Therapy.” “Tunnels of Greatness” — featuring Josh Donaldson, Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray, Sean Doolittle and Derek Norris — is a lot of fun, built around the idea of extending the “Home Run Tunnel” celebration to other, more mundane aspects of the game. “Tarp Therapy,” which references Donaldson’s spectacular tarp catch from last season, isn’t quite as effective. It’s the kind of concept that might look funny on paper, but doesn’t play out so well on tape (although they deserve bonus points for featuring Mike Gallego). Hopefully the rest of Hub Strategy’s “Green Collar Baseball” spots can build on the momentum of “Home Run Tunnel” and give fans one more reason to cheer on the A’s. Here’s the info we have on the remaining six spots:

• Secrets of the Game: Young players Parker, Gray and Norris turn to veteran Brandon Moss for his secrets to success in the majors.
• Unicorn 2.0: Doolittle and Parker attempt to take the signature unicorn bullpen ?backpack to another level this year.
• Generations: Moss learns that for some fans, being on the field for a fireworks show can fulfill a lifelong dream.
• #winning: Doolittle coaches Bob Melvin, Curt Young and Mike Gallego on social media best practices.
• Holding Him On: Moss is a talkative guy, and his mouth can be as much of a weapon as his bat.
• Pre-Internet: Coaches Young and Gallego both reflect on how much has changed since their 1989 World Championship with the A’s.

You can watch “Home Run Tunnel” above, and stick around for “Tarp Therapy,” along with credits, after the jump continued…

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Mekanism has just launched a new campaign for San Francisco-based shop, Method, “the premier disruptor of the home care category,” featuring a “romantic comedy-style series of TV and online ads, content and social media programs” which will run from March 24 – June 7.

The ads tell the story of Charles and Francine, two opposites who, over the course of the spots, meet, fall in love, and have a baby. Mekanism and Method buck conventions a bit by making Francine the messy one and Charles clean (even if they feel the need to point out that he’s “pretty neat for a guy”). In the first of the spots, the 30-second “They Meet,” Charles finds Francine asleep on his toilet after a night of partying, and Charles wonders how to break the ice. From there, their domestic tale evolves with a series of relatable messes marking milestones in their lives. While not laugh out loud funny, the spots have a pleasant kind of light humor and are quite watchable. The voice over by a man with a strong French accent definitely helps things along, especially in the 15 second “Super Pregnant” where viewers are treated to hearing the words “super pregnant” in said French accent.

“Our story is about opposites attracted to one another,” said Tommy Means, Mekanism founder and executive creative director. “Francine is charming, stylish, impulsive and a bit of a mess not unlike Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Charles on the other hand is clean and orderly. Telling the Method story through the eyes of this odd couple falling for each other is something everyone can relate to.”

Method is also partnering with digital agency Essence to develop and execute its media plan, which marks Method’s first significant foray into online advertising. Stick around for “Easy” after the jump. continued…

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There are no words to describe just how awful SMOSH’s “Meat Vs. Crust Rap Battle” is. The video is leading voting for Defy Media’s new digital campaign for Hot Pockets (two words innocent enough on their own, that, when combined, provoke an unmistakable feeling of terrible nausea).

Defy Media’s campaign for the lazy college student’s standby, fresh off a recent product recall due to possibly tainted meat, is a March Madness style bracket battle called “Sandwich Showdown.” The musical competition, which began March 18th and is timed to coincide with March Madness, pits #TeamMeat against #TeamCrust; with SMOSH and The Warp Zone facing off to win the chance to represent #TeamMeat, and Brittani Louise Taylor facing Taryn Southern to represent #TeamCrust. Voting for “Sandwich Showdown,” which takes place at Hot Pockets’ Facebook page, is still in its semifinal stage. So if you’d like to cast your vote such gems as “I’m in Crust with You” and “Love at First Bite” you only have eleven days to do so. To be fair, the other entrants aren’t so bad as SMOSH. Brittani Louise Taylor‘s “I’m In Crust With You” is affably ridiculous in a much more watchable way, complete with life size Hot Pockets guy as her long-lost love. She gets my vote, or would if I cared enough to cast a vote at least.

“We’re pumped to put our own musical spin on the Hot Pockets brand for the ultimate Sandwich Showdown,” said SMOSH’s Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. “This is going to be a delicious lyrical competition like you’ve never seen and we can’t wait to face-off and let our viewers decide which one of us reigns supreme.” This statement marks the only recorded instance of “Hot Pockets”and “delicious” being used within two sentences. Stick around for “I’m In Crust With You” after the jump, and if you haven’t seen it you owe it to yourself to check out Jim Gaffigan‘s Hot Pockets bit, which I can’t help thinking of every time I hear anything to do with the culinary missiles of misery. continued…

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Havas Worldwide Chicago has launched a new March Madness campaign for DISH Network featuring a new kangaroo mascot, which also marks Havas’ first campaign for the company since being named lead digital agency last summer.

The kangaroo mascot, voiced by Rebel Wilson, makes her debut in the TV spot “Mobile Basketball.” In the 30-second spot, the kangaroo shows off the DISH Network’s capabilities by watching college basketball at work, only pretending to be engaged in actual work when the boss walks by. While the spot never quite hits the humorous mark it’s aiming for, it’s still world’s ahead of the campaign’s painful digital spot, “Fight Song.” As you might have guessed, the 30 second spot is built around a “fight song” for DISH Network (in the style of college team’s fight songs) extolling the Network’s ability to let you watch March Madness games anywhere. “Fight Song” will run on sites like ESPN.com, where it will most likely be muted after approximately 1.2 seconds. Havas’s campaign also includes social media activations on Facebook and Twitter featuring the new mascot. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Creative content agency Bonfire Labs is taking its online video “Beauty Is All Around” from the Internet to broadcast, at the request of client Ricoh.

Ricoh tasked Bonfire Labs with creating engineering a tagline, website, concept/inspirational video, and a how-to video for the worldwide launch of their new camera Theta, which shoots a 360 degree spherical image. For the concept video, Bonfire secured a large studio to serve as a blank canvas for muralist Sirron Norris. For two days, Norris prepped and painted the space, while the Theta captured the process with in time-lapse fashion, with the assistance of a tiny robot (called the roboTap3000).

“The creative behind our concept video revolved around capturing time-lapse images with the Ricoh product, but the product didn’t have the capability to do that,” explains Bonfire Labs creative technologist Phil Spitler. “I needed to find a way to automatically capture moments in time as the mural developed. So I designed and built the ‘roboTap 3000’ to allow us to achieve our creative vision.”

The resulting video (featured above) which debuted on September 5, 2013, was such a success that Ricoh has asked Bonfire to cut 30 and 60-second versions for television audiences both domestically and in Japan.” Our team will assure the broadcast creative makes as much of an impression on audiences as the longer online version did,” promises Jim Bartel, managing director at Bonfire Labs. The broadcast campaign will launch on ESPN in the U.S. and domestic channels within Japan this Spring.

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Wunderman Brazil has a new campaign for the São Paulo Soccer Federation, entitled, “Linesman for Peace,” which calls for peace amongst fans during the São Paulo State Championship.

The Campeonato Paulista, or Paulistão, is one of Brazil’s largest soccer tournaments, with fierce rivals like Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos and São Paulo vying for the championship. This can cause soccer loving Brazilians fans’ extreme passion for the sport to escalate into violence in the stands (as it does in many soccer-loving countries around the world). So Wunderman Brazil had the São Paulo Soccer Federation (FPF) linesman’s yellow and red flags replaced with white flags to deliver a very simple but important message: “There is no offside for peace,” or “Please don’t try to kill each other.”

“Whenever the linesmen get involved in the game, either because someone is offside, a throw in, or a corner kick, etc., in any of the 158 games of the championship, the fans will remember that for peace there is no offside,” says Marco Polo Del Nero, FPF president.

Wunderman Brazil created a website complete with web film (featured above), as well as handling social media for FPF “to stimulate the fans’ engagement in the cause by posting messages on the signs and banners at the games.”

“There is no greater universal peace symbol than a white flag. And it will draw the fans’ attention because it’s the first time  that linesmen have given up their customary yellow and red flags,” adds Paulo Sanna, creative VP at Wunderman.

Wunderman Brazil has found a clever way to reach fans who otherwise may be too riled up to listen to reason, and a novel way to deliver a very important message. It may be kind of sad that it needs to be said in the first place, but hopefully it will reach the right people and keep things peaceful during Campeonato Paulista. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Saatchi & Saatchi NY are helping Walmart in their bid to get you to please not hate them, delivering a an emotionally effective (some may say emotionally manipulative, given how Walmart treats their own employees) online spot for their “Work is a Beautiful Thing” campaign telling the story of Patrick.

Patrick introduces himself by saying, “When I was born the doctor said I had a condition that affected every part of me, from my body to my brain.” His whole life, Patrick is treated differently: sent to a different school, put on a different team, talked to “a different way.” But Patrick doesn’t let his disability stand in his way, as his fierce determination to be independent leads him to learn how to drive, to learn to walk again when his condition causes him to lose feeling in his legs, and to get a job at a local factory where he’s part of a team.

“My whole life, people have been telling me I have a learning disability,” Patrick says in a line turning that phrase on its head, “I guess they’re right, because I’ve never learned how to give up.” This great line is followed by the “Work is a beautiful thing” tagline and Walmart’s message: “It’s why we’re committed to the American factory, and all the people who work there.”

As you’ve probably gathered, it’s impossible not to like Patrick, so Saatchi & Saatchi hopes that by aligning Walmart with him, it’s a little harder for people to hate Walmart, too. Patrick’s poignant story is already making waves on YouTube, where it’s garnered over 600,000 views in five days. If it wasn’t for people’s reluctance to have anything to do with WalMart (let’s say this was an ad for Target, for example) that figure would probably be even higher. As is, Saatchi & Saatchi NY did a fine job here, with a conversation changer that just may get a few people to rethink their views on the retail giant, and which stands as great work regardless. Credits after the jump. continued…

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