Hasta La Creative!

When an ad starts with Gary Busey saying “If you’re like me, you like talking to things,” you know you’re in for a weird ride, and the 60 second Amazon Fire spot from Wongdoody certainly lives up to that expectation.

Busey initiates conversations with a lamp, his pants, and a bell, as well as thanking the fish in the ocean for being there. He also yells angrily at Roku to “Find Gary Busey!” — obviously the spot is designed to highlight Amazon Fire TV’s voice recognition feature, which Roku lacks. If you’re easily made uncomfortable, you may want to skip this one. But then you probably already knew that. This is Gary Busey we’re talking about here.

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At least that’s what Samsung’s lawyer Jon Quinn said during opening statements in the brands’ ongoing patent trial. According to a quote in The Verge, Apple considered dropping TBWA\Chiat\Day after its rival’s campaign inspired headlines like this one, from The Wall Street Journal, pondering whether or not the company had lost its seat at the head of the popular table. Quinn told the jury:

“This new, edgy marketing strategy … it drove Apple crazy.”

The campaign in question was, of course, “Next Big Thing” by 72 and Sunny.

The series and subsequent headline supposedly unnerved Apple marketing VP Phil Schiller so much that he emailed Tim Cook and suggested an agency review, writing:

“We have a lot of work to do to turn this around.”

While rumored board meetings on the topic did not inspire a change, Quinn’s claim hardly serves as a vote of confidence — and Samsung shows no signs of reconsidering its strategy.

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RPA teamed up with production company tool for a new campaign celebrating Newport Beach Film Festival’s 15th anniversary entitled “15 Years Under the Influence.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is a short film called “Bedtime Story.” In the two and a half minute video, directed by Tom Routson, a daughter asks her father to read her a story before bed. The father begins a story about “a beautiful princess who lived in a magical castle far, far away,” but soon finds himself bored with the story and strays from the narrative, deciding that the princess is not actually a princess but a “beautiful operating system” (referencing Spike Jonze’s Her). From there his story bounces all over the place, referencing memorable moments in independent film from the last 20 years or so, with a rather gory ending. Somehow, through all this his daughter manages to fall asleep, making the display of truly awful parenting seem almost sweet. In addition to its home online, the film will screen during this year’s festival in Newport Beach, which will take place from April 24th-May 1st. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Here’s Razorfish’s response to rumors that 20-30 employees were laid off last week:

“In order to ensure our clients continue to access best-in-breed services that operate at the intersection of technology, media and creative, we sometimes need to modify our staffing structure. Less than 2% of our North American staff was affected by the change. We continue to remain committed to recruiting new talent and skill sets in support of our clients’ ever-evolving needs.”

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Universal McCann teamed up with Sony Picures, and DNA directors Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days of Summer) and Rich Lee to create “Amazing Delivery,” a new Spider-Man themed spot for USPS designed as a tie-in promoting the May 2nd release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The 30-second spot features Spider-Man slinging himself through New York City to deliver a package for a distressed Hollywood director. “Amazing Delivery” follows Spider-Man’s path through the city leading to the package’s delivery to Stan Lee at the premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The cinematic spot’s charming ending really ties everything together, and it’s evident that everyone involved was excited to work with Spider-Man’s creator, a fact corroborated by director Rich Lee, who said, “Everyone wanted Stan Lee to sign their prepro books and get a photo with Spider-Man…it was actually really sweet and fun to see everyone get so excited around those two. You could see the childlike glints in everyone’s eyes. It was awesome.”

Webb and Lee, who have collaborated in the past, based the spot on the idea that, like Spider-Man, USPS is “speedy, efficient, and there when you need it the most,” drawing on this link to expand upon the creative brief and bring the spot to life. “One of the interesting things about both Spidey and the USPS is that they are both iconic, public servants,” said Rich Lee. “They’re for the people, helping them in their own way. So there is a nice synergy there.”

Stay tuned for credits after the jump. continued…

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Philadelphia-based agency Tierney just launched the follow-up to their “Bank Human” campaign for TD Bank,  with “Human Truths.”

“Human Truths” follows much the same vein as “Bank Human,” with four new, 30-second spots each pointing out a flaw with the inhumanity of most banks, and then positioning TD as the alternative. If you caught any of the “Bank Human” spots you know what to expect: someone enters a bland, generic looking bank with a problem and instead of helping to solve it the bank just gives the customer a logistical headache. It’s a straightforward, no-frills approach that speaks directly to TD Bank’s image as a customer-centric bank. The new spots tackle issues such as hold music, getting a new debit card (“Almost Magic,” featured above), running late, and maintenance fees.

“TD Bank’s focus is to create a very human and convenient banking experience,” explained Vinoo Vijay, chief marketing officer, TD Bank. “These new commercial spots speak to the pain points consumers too often face with their banks. They also highlight how TD’s approach to banking is different. This includes our unparalleled service and convenience, as well as our customer-first culture.”

The “Human Truths” campaign kicked off yesterday and will run through mid-August, with a strong presence on the four major networks in all scheduled markets. In addition to broadcast, the campaign will contain additional elements across digital, social media and PR. Stick around for “Maintenance Guy” and credits after the jump. continued…

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The Clio Awards announced today that WMcCann Brazil Chairman & McCann Worldgroup, Latin America & Caribbean CCO Washington Olivetto will receive the 2014 Clio Lifetime Achievement Award at the 55th annual awards show on October 1 at Cipriani in New York.

Olivetto is known around the world as an influential figure in the advertising industry, and in Brazil as an important cultural figure. His best known work includes iconic campaigns for Salvation Army, Nestle and Brazilian household staple BomBril, “which boasts the longest-running campaign with the same lead character,” with poster boy Carlos Moreno serving continuously from 1978 to 2004. Olivetto’s W/Brasil merged with McCann Erickson Worldwide’s Brazilian operations to form WMcCann in 2010, with operations based in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. WMcCann currently owns the two most popular campaigns airing in Brazil, for Bradesco, the biggest bank in Brazil, and Brazilian food company Seara. In 20o1, Olivetto won the Clio Awards’ Grand-Prix film award with a TV spot for Época Magazine. In addition to advertising, Olivetto is known in Brazil as a soccer mega-fan and expert, the creator of an ideological movement in the history of Brazilian soccer called “Democracia Corintiana.”

“Washington Olivetto is a name synonymous with innovation in the advertising industry,” explained Nicole Purcell, executive vice president, Clio Awards. “For decades, Washington’s work has been bringing Brazilian creative to the world and the most sophisticated thinking in global advertising to the Brazilian market. Defying contradiction, he’s at once a classic adman and a radical pioneer.”

“I’m exceptionally honored to receive the Clio Lifetime Achievement Award, in no small part on account of distinguished names of those who received the award before me,” said Olivetto. “I hope this award shines a light on the exemplary work being done around Latin America, and particularly in Brazil, which has been a source of inspiration and the greatest, most rewarding challenge I could have asked for.”

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SapientNitro announced on Friday that award-winning marketing agency Campfire would be joining their ranks.

Campfire was founded in 2007 by the producers of The Blair Witch Project and won OMMA Magazine’s “Small Agency of the Year” in 2011, and just last year they were awarded Advertising Age’s “Small Agency Campaign of the Year” for their digital and outdoor campaign launching the Cinemax show, Hunted. More recently, Campfire crafted Infiniti’s interactive “Deja View” spot.

“We’re thrilled to be joining SapientNitro, an agency that we see really breaking boundaries as storytelling advances through the application of technology,” said Jeremiah Rosen, president of Campfire. “In an environment where film is evolving from a passive medium to an active and increasingly interactive one, their passion for blurring the lines of media and driving the future of how consumers connect is in deep alignment with everything we have created at Campfire.”

Gaston Legorburu, worldwide chief creative officer of SapientNitro, echoed Rosen’s enthusiasm, saying, “The world around us continues to change, but fundamentally what connects people to each other is the power of a good story. What Campfire brings to our team is a mix of seasoned filmmakers and storytellers who leverage the latest technology to craft experiences that come straight out of the future.”

The moves marks the second creative addition to SapientNitro this year, following the acquisition of La Comunidad back in January.

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Berlin Cameron United’s new campaign for Gilt features a chase scene and some unusual disrobing.

Upon sighting a model in a sleek yellow dress, a woman decides she can’t live without the outfit and chases after her. The model frantically runs away, because that’s what you do when you’re pursued by a woman with a crazy look in her eye. Appropriately set to the song “Suit” by Boom! Bap! Pow!, which features lyrics like “You’re so cute, I want to wear you like a suit. I think you’d look pretty good on me,” the chase concludes with the woman accessing Gilt’s site on her smartphone. This causes the dress to seamlessly slide off the model and on to the chaser, leaving the model in her underwear. While a tad on the ridiculous side, the spot shows off the instant gratification of shopping on the designer fashion site in a fun way. The 30-second ad, which went up on YouTube today, will spread to television on Monday, reports Adweek. Credits after the jump. continued…

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DigitasLBi San Francisco has hired Ben Pfutzenreuter, who previously served as an intern and was co-creator of the popular “Concepting with Convicts” program, which utilized the Federal Bureau of Prison’s pen pal program to allow collaboration with inmates to create speculative ads. Ben created the program with fellow intern Pat Davis, with the goal of proving that “Great ideas can come from anywhere.” Inmates provided either copywriting or art direction for each ad; art directors Marcus Löf and Luis Gonzalez also collaborated on the project.

Pfutzenreuter began work this week as an associate copywriter. The Miami Ad School grad interned with Digitas LBi this past winter.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work that Ben and Pat have done independently with Concepting with Convicts, and we’re thrilled to have Ben join our San Francisco team,” said Dave Marsey, EVP/Managing Director, DigitasLBi San Francisco. “The spirit that good ideas can be born anywhere, is our philosophy here in San Francisco.”

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