Hasta La Creative!

Division of Labor created a pair of fun, short videos for Live Nation, which are shown as pre-show entertainment at venues such as Shoreline, The Palladium and Roseland Ballroom to show off the capabilities of their digital screen network.

The above “Rodents on Turntables” is…well, exactly what it sounds like. Professionally trained rodents run on turntables playing several different types of music. The rodents, and their names, are tailored for the different genres: “Chunk” for hip-hop, “Sergio” for mariachi, “Herzog” for metal. “Rodents on Turntables” ends with the warning, “…Animals were trained and handled by professional animal trainers. Please do not try this at home.” So, while it may seem like a good idea, don’t put your hamster on your turntable — it will end badly.

“No critters were harmed in the making of either film, which is more than can be said for musical instruments,” says DOL partner/creative director, Josh Denberg, who co-directed the films with fellow Division of Labor Partner and Creative Director Paul Hirsch.

“Ode to Pete,” as you may have gathered, is a tribute to Pete Townsend and his habit of destroying his guitar at the end of shows. In the video, musicians of all stripes destroy their respective instruments in slow motion while surprisingly soothing music by Tonefarmer plays in the background. It’s a lot of fun, and if you’ve ever wanted to see a mariachi smash his guitarron, or a viola get the Townshend treatment, now’s your chance. Stick around for “Ode to Pete,” along with credits, after the jump. continued…

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3SBA/Innocean Worldwide teamed up with director Alejandro Toledo of Harpoon Pictures for two new spots for Kia.

In the playful 60 second spot “Winter,” a snowball fight breaks out on the street, with children and adults alike ducking behind Kias to avoid being pelted with snowy projectiles. A family returns from a winter trip with a sleeping child in the backseat of their Kia Rio, while another family cheers on the action from the safety of their Kia Ceed. It’s a fun spot, or at least it would have been if it was timed right. But therein lies the problem: “Winter” is being released at the tail end of one of the harshest seasons in recent history, and I doubt many people are in the mood to celebrate “the joyful surprises to be found in the season” or look fondly at anything but the impending arrival of spring. The last thing people want to be reminded of is the fact that there’s still almost a month left until that happens.

The other spot, “Russia,” celebrates that country while extolling the diversity of Kia’s models, which can perform well in both urban and rural environments. In the spot, “Kia Sorrento, Ceed and Rio are each shown seamlessly moving from rough forest and off-road terrains into energetic city environments, delighting drivers and passengers alike with the cars’ comfort, elegance and agility.” Oddly enough, the Russian nationalism stoking spot was actually filmed by Toledo in Spain. You can view “Russia” after the jump and if you care, learn more about Toledo and Harpoon Pictures here.

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With the 2014 Sochi Olympics slowly making their way toward their conclusion, we thought we’d share an Olympic campaign you might not have seen yet. Radley launched “Be A Weekender” for Hilton with four mini-documentaries honoring American Olympic athletes for Hilton’s Honors program.

The four videos were designed to “provide an energizing look at the forever-on-the-move lifestyles of Olympic hopefuls,” exemplified by “Weekend By Ashley,” the 2:16 video starring U.S. skater Ashley Wagner featured above. In the video, Wagner talks about her crazy, always on the move lifestyle in which she sometimes forgets what country’s hotel room she is in, growing up at the ice rink, and all the trips to warm places she’d like to take. Other athletes featured in the series include speed skater Patrick Meek, hockey player Meghan Agosto-Marciano and Paralympic ski racer Alana Nichols.

Creating these documentaries was no easy feat, as finding the extra time to film with athletes whose days typically begin with training at 3 A.M. is a big challenge. As Radley CCO/Director Kurt Spenser explains, “Fitting into the lives of Olympic hopefuls in the middle of an Olympic year is not an easy task. Detailed planning with the Hilton team allowed us to stay on schedule for the athletes and to be spontaneous when opportunities presented themselves. We did not want to interrupt their training or their travel, so we had to tailor our production as much as we could while still staying on budget and on time. It was a great team effort and we are all very proud of the results.”

Check out “Weekend By Ashley” above, and stick around for Alana Nichols‘ video, along with credits, after the jump. And for the full experience, head over to the campaign website. continued…

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Well, the Olson camp did the math for us as the Minneapolis-based agency’s wet n wild Beauty win marks its seventh AOR assignment since Sept. 1, following the likes of Sharp Electronics, Supercuts and Commerce Bank. In case you didn’t know, wet n wild, which signed Fergie from Black Eyed Peas as its spokesperson in 2012, is a 35-year-old, L.A.-based division of Markwins Beauty Products and one that has never maintained an AOR relationship before but tapped Olson after a national search.

Markwins president Bill George says in a statement, “Our brand is in a great position to reach out to a broader audience. Of all the agencies we talked to, Olson’s team best understood our circumstances and laid out the most compelling vision for our future.” From what sources tell us, other agencies in the final round were Mekanism and DDB West. As wet n wild AOR, Olson will now handle broadcast, digital, social media and data analytics for the brand.

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In October, Philly-based Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners welcomed eight new hires with paper doll likenesses of themselves.

Now, in an attempt to up the ante in the creative welcoming of new employees department, the agency has crafted a totem pole featuring eleven new hires that were just announced today. The totem pole was sculpted by Steve Thompson, RTO+P’s “Maker,” out of basswood and stands proud at 26 inches tall.

“We’re stoked to have all this new talent aboard and we’ve heard the totem of their likenesses can actually produce rain when held at a specific angle,” says Steve Red, president/CCO of RTO+P. You can view a short documentary on the sculpting process above. New hires include (from top to bottom of the totem pole): Jacqui Abel, Senior Account Manager; Jonathan Bayless, Social Driver; Megan Auld-Wright, Copywriter; Travis Hyatt, Developer; Gillian Darr, Account Coordinator; Chris Arasin, Interactive Designer; Allison Berger, Community Manager; Will Nathanson, Account Director; Alex Moreno, Junior Social Creative; Joe Schoppy, Junior Social Creative; and Meg Dibley, Junior Content Producer.

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Russian creative agency Hungry Boys has launched a new animated digital campaign to promote the release of the upcoming film “Startup,” about “the burgeoning startup scene in Russia from the early 90s until now,” slated for an April 3rd release. (Here’s a link to the trailer, in case you speak Russian.)

The site allows users to answer a series of questions (after taking all your Facebook info) designed “ to determine whether or not people have what it takes to become an entrepreneur and what sort of startup they might consider becoming involved in.” But don’t take the questions, or the results, too seriously. It’s really just a fun way to promote the movie. Many of the questions have more to do with pop culture preferences than anything pertaining to business, and the startup suggestions are pretty goofy and ridiculous. Here are my results:

Other possible outcomes include deciphering animal noises, personal Instagram cameraman, and home ghost rentals. Head on over to the site to give it a shot for yourself, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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After spending nearly the last five years at W+K, where he most recently served as strategic planning director on P&G corporate, Dave Burg has left the agency’s HQ to join up with fellow Portland operation, Roundhouse. Burg has now assumed the role of head of planning at Roundhouse, a creative agency that works with clients including Microsoft (on Xbox, primarily), Red Bull and Adidas.

During his time at W+K, meanwhile, Burg not only led strategy on P&G projects (“Proud Sponsor of Moms” campaign, for example) but worked on Dodge and Target and served as planning director on Coca-Cola including past Super Bowl efforts like the polar bear work during the last Giants-Patriots battle. Prior to W+K, Burg spent four years at Leo Burnett Chicago as a senior brand strategist, leading day-to-day duties on the McDonald’s national account. No word yet on if there are plans to replace him at W+K, but we’re checking. Update: W+K is “reallocating resources internally” following Burg’s departure.

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TBWA\Chiat\Day LA is behind this new, heartwarming long-form clip for Gatorade.

On Feb. 15, the Riverdale High School basketball team in New Orleans was on the verge of playoff contention for the first time in 20 years. To celebrate the team’s dedication TBWA/Chiat/Day LA and Gatorade decided to surprise the team with a renovated locker room. Since the renovations were completed while the team was on the court, the new locker room came as a complete surprise. Just as the team is celebrating their victory and the new locker room, Gatorade has one more surprise in store for them…a visit from Miami Heat star, Dwyane Wade. Check out the video above for a pleasant antidote to this dreary Tuesday.

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Brooklyn-based design agency HUSH (who you may remember from their unique way of ringing in 2014) were tasked with launching Lyve, a startup offering a new solution to the problem of information overload, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. To do this, they transformed two suites in the Venetian Hotel in the heart of Vegas into a completely branded space, complete with “lights, displays, and visuals to showcase Lyve’s unique offering.”

HUSH’s installation was “anchored by a large central screen flanked by a custom designed product display. The screens [showed] a collection of personal images and videos breaking into fragments and transforming into colored lighting illuminating the assortment of tablets, phones, and other devices arrayed on glowing physical pedestals below.” The visuals were designed as a kind of metaphor for Lyve’s collecting, sorting and protecting service.

As HUSH creative partner David Schwarz explains, “Lyve is an elegant solution to a persistent technological problem, and we were happy to help them define this product while introducing it to the wider world. In words, the offering sounds complex, but showing it visually feels simple – so we created a metaphor to discuss how the different technology platforms capture and share content all to one central product.”

While I’m sure you’d have to have been there in person to get the full experience, you can watch HUSH’s CES installation for Lyve in the video above, and be sure to stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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After less than a year, the relationship between San Francisco-based agency Eleven and TaylorMade Golf has come to an end. According to a spokesperson for the brand, a subsidiary of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, the world’s largest golf equipment/apparel company, the contract period between TaylorMade and Eleven was a nine-month engagement, and “that term came to a natural close mid-February.” Spies, though, say it was Eleven that chose to part ways with TaylorMade once the contract was up on Feb. 14. Whatever the case, we’ve been told that Carlsbad, CA-based TaylorMade Golf will not be launching a review at this time.

Eleven picked up global creative duties for the brand last summer, beating out nearly a dozen other agencies in the process. TaylorMade aside, Eleven also works with clients including Apple, Virgin America, Union Bank and Facebook.

Update: The Eleven camp confirms that they resigned the TaylorMade business due to “creative differences,” and the agency “wishes them well.”

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