RTO+P Helps Employees Find Their Match with ‘Ranch Love’

rtopranch

Philly-based Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners created a site called “Ranch Love” which, through a series of highly scientific questions, matches up visitors with one of their employees and lets them send a Valentine’s message.

Created by “1,000 developers” in “10 minutes,” visitors to the site are met with a scary cupid man-child, told to choose to between being set up with a male, female, or a spectrum, and then answer a series of quirky “this or that” style questions to find their perfect RTO+P date with an ad man or woman who “won’t be able to go five minutes without checking their phone.” To answer the question of why they created the site, the agency says, “RTO+P believes in only the most sophisticated, scientific and highly calibrated means of matching people. So Happy Valentine’s Day and good luck finding your love match. Or lust match. Or…you know, whatever.”

So if you have a couple of minutes to kill, a warped sense of humor, and won’t be too frightened by the disturbing cupid man-baby, head on over to “Ranch Love” and find your match. Here are my results:

Ranch Love

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Wongdoody Delivers Sentimental V-Day Work for Papa Murphy’s

L.A./Seattle-based The Pitch alum Wongdoody crafted a new campaign for the nation’s largest take and bake pizza chain, Papa Murphy’s.

The new work from Wongdoody, who have served as Papa Murphy’s AOR since October 2012, promotes the chain’s “HeartBaker” pizza with an ad celebrating family-friendly Valentine’s Day celebrations. “Remember when you were just dating and Valentine’s Day was all about romance and flowers and fancy dinners out?” asks the new spot. Well, then, to paraphrase Louis C.K. “people [came] out of your vagina and [stepped] on your dreams.” Now, according to the “HeartBaker” spot Valentine’s Day is about “the really good stuff.” The online version (featured above) interrupts the sentimentality with a disclaimer that the “good stuff” may include things like “itchy tutus, “getting hand-made Valentines out of the dog’s mouth,” “glitter everywhere,” “mysterious carpet stains” and “nightmares about cupid.”

As Wongdoody chairman and executive creative director Tracy Wong explains, “The original HeartBaker spot is a sweet, poignant take on the family Valentine’s Day dinner…That said, for every 15 seconds of wonderful, ‘I’ll-remember-this-moment-for-the-rest-of my life’ parental bliss, there’s often a lot of funny, messy, chaotic stuff that happens along the way. So we’re poking some fun at ourselves and the perfect angelic child-filled Valentine’s we’ve portrayed in the original spot concept to remind couples that love, romance and humor play a role no matter how they celebrate Valentine’s Day.”

Here’s a free culinary tip: disregard Papa Murphy’s “Love at 425 degrees” tagline. For pizza, you want the oven as hot as possible, so crank that shit up to 500 (or higher). Stick around for the original TV spot after the jump. continued…

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This Agency Offers Up Its Employees For Valentine’s Day Love Connection

meg_red_tettemer.jpg

Meg has a big smile. Meg looks really happy. Meg likes to drink really big Cosmopolitans. Meg has (we think) red hair. Meg dreams of running a factory in Allentown. Wait, what?

Well, at least that’s what her mini bio says on Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners’ Ranch Love, a site on which anyone can answer a few questions and get matched with someone at the agency. We ended up with Meg. We sent her a nice Valentine’s Day wish. Maybe she’ll reply. Maybe she won’t.

Either way, Happy Valentine’s Day, Meg!

So, What’s the Status of Shapiro + Raj?

shapiroraj A month ago, you may recall, Chicago-based marketing vet Zain Raj, fresh off of a stint as CEO of Irving, TX-based CRM/digital agency Epsilon Agency Services, acquired independent marketing research firm, Shapiro, in January, which ultimately led to the formation of Shapiro + Raj. The operation, though, has hit somewhat of a snag, as Raj is entangled in litigation with a former employer according to a memo we obtained that Shapiro + Raj president Owen Shapiro sent to staff earlier this week. The note from Shapiro, who says that his nearly 60-year-old company “continues to be a world leader in conducting behavior and opinion research,” should provide some insight. Seems to us like they’re just trying to do the right thing until this all boils over.

“As you know, Zain Raj recently joined our company.  Subsequent to Zain joining us, Zain’s former employer filed a lawsuit against Zain claiming that Zain violated the terms of his employment agreement with his former employer.  Our Company has unwillingly been dragged into that lawsuit.  While we believe that our Company has not done anything wrong, an Order has been issued by the court which prohibits Zain from engaging in any business on behalf of our Company, including all work, business meetings, transactions, acquisitions, and client interactions.

Out of an abundance of caution so as not to violate the court’s Order, you are not to have any contact with Zain until otherwise notified by me or Matthew.  To the extent that you receive a communication from Zain, do not respond and you are to notify me or Matthew immediately.  If any third party contacts you about Zain or about the lawsuit, you are to contact me or Matthew.

If asked by a client or other person you feel needs to know about this situation, please refer them to me or Matthew and we will discuss the situation with them.

When information becomes available, we will update you on the progress in resolving this matter.  In the meantime, we are proceeding with development of the Company and work for our clients.

Thank you.

Owen Shapiro”

The Matthew that Shapiro is referring to is Matthew Smith, who was president of Shapiro but has now moved up to vice chairman. As for Raj, prior to his brief stint as CEO of Epsilon (we’re confirming that this is who filed the lawsuit), the exec led the Hyper Marketing group of marketing services companies, which morphed into SolutionSet and eventually SolutionSet/MediaWhiz. Of course, he’s got plenty of agency experience as he’s held senior level/exec roles at what were Euro RSCG and FCB and also worked on the account side at the likes of JWT. Let’s just hope the dust settles and Shapiro + Raj officially gets the ball rolling.

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space150 Presents Double Entendre-Filled V-Day E-Cards

whats-your-penetration-strategy

For the twelve-year-old boy in all of us…

Minneapolis-based agency space150 have created “Industry Terms of Endearment,” a group of Valentine’s Day e-cards with suggestive industry term double entendres, like “I need a digital deep dive,” “Let’s bang it out over the weekend,” “Let’s measure member growth,” and “I want to test your load time.” The phrases are accompanied by images that help increase the suggestibility. It’s a light-hearted, fun little project well worth a quick look, especially if you’re in need of some humor this Valentine’s Day.

In related news, space150 is now Beavis and Butthead’s favorite agency. Check out a couple more of our favorites below.

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wondering-if-my-software-is-compatible

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Apelbaum Joins Up with VML NY

suzanaapelbaumIt’s been some time since we’ve heard the name Suzana Apelbaum but the New York creative vet has now landed a new gig as group director at VML’s New York office. Apelbaum most recently served as CD at Anomaly NY, where she spent two years worked on digital efforts, for Converse, AmEx, P&G and Marriott among other things. During her 15-year ad career, Apelbaum also served as a digital ECD at StrawberryFrog and held CD positions at a variety of other agencies ranging from Hello Interactive to JWT.

Now as GCD at VML, Apelbaum will work across all the WPP-owned agency’s New York clients including Dell, Hillshire Farms, Ball Park and Campbell’s. Additionally, she will partner up with VML sister agency Y&R on several integrated clients.

 

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Noise Wants Help Writing World’s Longest Love Song

Love Songs for Lonely PeopleNew York agency Noise wants to create the world’s longest love song, and they’d like your help.

Creative director Nathan Phillips has created a project called “Love Songs for Lonely People,” which attempts to “write a love song for every single person on the planet.” Visitors to the site are invite to download the track and write a six-second song, post the music video on Vine with the hashtag #LoveSong4U, and to share their favorites on social media. Since the project is still in its infancy, they could really use some help. So head on over to the site and make your contribution if your heart’s into it.

noiseny

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Samsung, Telefonica/Vivo Pay Homage to Brazilian Rocker, Raul Seixas

Samsung and Telefonica/Vivo join forces to show some love for  Raul Seixas, a legend in Brazilian rock circles, by creating the first ever music video for his tune, ““Metamorfose Ambulante.”

The song, which translates as “Walking Metamorphosis,” was composed about 40 years and helped launch Seixas to stardom in his home country. Samsung and Telefonica/Vivo’s music video is a loving homage to Seixas that simultaneously shows “how technology changes people’s lives and how the power of connections can transform human beings.” Seixas’ family “participated in each stage of development” for the project. The large-scale film production was “shot by a team of 75 professionals in Argentina’s Sierra de la Ventana,” an ideal location for the music video’s Stone Age setting.

An app is available in addition to the film, which allows users to upload their photos and transform them into a characterization of Seixas, likely inspired by the hundreds of Seixas impersonators who transform themselves for an annual parade in downtown São Paulo celebrating Seixas’ birthday. The app and music video are both part of a new branded content campaign for Telefonica/Vivo from the agency Africa. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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BBDO NY Crafts Flights of Fancy for GE’s ‘Childlike Imagination’

If you’ve been watching the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at all, chances are you’ve seen the above spot for GE by BBDO New York.

The 60 second spot, “Childlike Imagination,” portrays GE’s range of individual businesses (turbines, aviation, 3-D printing, and others) through the imagination of the daughter of a GE employee. Its artful approach marks a departure from previous GE campaigns, which tended to focus on just one of these businesses. This change of approach works well for GE. The girl imagines “underwater fans that are powered by the moon,” “airplane engines that can talk,” “hospitals you can hold in your hand,” and “trains that are friends with trees.” The imaginative concept makes for a fun, visually interesting effort designed to capture your attention. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Lally Leaving, Stover Out at Havas Worldwide

meganlallyAnd now, let’s kill two birds and mention some goings-on at the Havas Worldwide camp on this snow-filled day. First, to address tips that we’ve received since the end of January, yes, Megan Lally is leaving the agency as of tomorrow to pursue other interests. From what we’re hearing, Lally, who’s spent the last three years at Havas WW, working out of the Chicago office as SVP/group account director on the Citibank biz, is heading into the film industry. Prior to Havas, Lally worked as a VP on the account side at Saatchi & Saatchi X.

Second, in unrelated staffing news, sources confirm that 15-year Havas WW vet Annette Stover is no longer with the agency. Stover spent the last four years during her time at Havas Worldwide serving as global chief of staff. From what we’re hearing, her departure may have something to do with changes being made by Andrew Benett, who took over for David Jones as Havas Worldwide CEO last month. Prior to her lengthy stint at Havas WW, Stover spent several years at JWT.

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Hmm, So Did Olson and Target’s Relationship Expand?

cartwheeltargetOlson isn’t responding to the inquiries but we’re getting word from our spies that the Minneapolis-based agency has indeed expanded its longtime relationship with Target. From what we’re hearing, following a pitch, Olson has been tapped to serve as agency partner for Target’s healthcare division, with the focus being on B2B/digital work. We checked in with America’s #2 retailer and spokesperson replied that Target “does not have information to contribute for this opportunity.” Those on the Spy line, however, say that the Olson tip is legit, but we’ve also heard about the veil of secrecy spread over Target. Anyhow, if and when we get more info, we’ll let you know.

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Louisville Agency Creates Poem Generator for Valentine’s Day

GIT-LUV

Yes, lovebirds, Louisville-based agency OOHology has created a poem generator called the GIT-LUV 2000, designed to give you “a little help initiating intimacy this Valentine’s Day.”

Visitors to the GIT-LUV site are asked to pick from a list of descriptions that best fits their love life, such as “Single, full of regret,” “I just bet my fiancee 50 percent of everything I own that love is forever,” and “Promised my new spouse that the third time’s a charm.” Then, GIT-LUV 2000 randomly generates a unique poem, although they are often slight variations of what you’ve already seen, and despite claims that it “actually creates unique poems every time” it wasn’t all that long until a repeat came up. Our tipster described the site as “Slightly creepy, slightly hilarious,” although I’d say it hits on the former with far more frequency. We’ve selected a few of our favorite poems below. GIT-LUV 1

GIT-LUV 2

GIT-LUV 3

 

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Red Urban, Volkswagen Tell the Story of a Still-Running 1955 Beetle

When they stumbled upon archival pictures of a man and his 1955 Beetle, Volkswagen Canada and Toronto-based agency Red Urban realized they had a story to tell. As it turns out, that story is pretty amazing. They tracked down the man in the photo, Paul Loofs, who has driven the car around the world three times. Amazingly enough, that car is still running.

So Volkswagen Canada and Red Urban teamed up with Academy-nominated director Hubert Davis to tell his story in an (approximately) 30-minute documentary film. That documentary, Once More, The Story of VIN 903847, premiered on Discovery Channel and Bravo in January and is featured above (not a bad way to spend a lunch break). It tells the story of Loof’s unlikely, low-budget solo treks around the globe, which included many obstacles and unexpected, fortuitous events. Loofs eventually sold the car back to Volkswagen for use in an advertising campaign. A man named Emmanuel Thuillier bought the car and tracked down Loofs on the Internet, then surprised him by reuniting him with the vehicle for the first time since 1967.

“We feel that it really speaks to our fans, not only reinforcing the emotional connection so many people have to the brand, but celebrating the truly remarkable stories that so many of our owners have. It is not so much about a single car, although this Beetle is remarkable, it is more about how one car connects so many different people and their experiences, proving itself as The People’s Car,” said Volkswagen Brand Marketing manager, Lynne Piette. The documentary will continue to air on Discovery Channel and Bravo until February, with the following showtimes:

Bravo
Saturday February 22nd at 1PM
Discovery
Sunday February 16th at 8:30AM
Sunday February 23rd at 6:30AM
Friday February 27th at 6:30PM

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Hyper Island Creatives Launch ‘One Hour Agency’

One Hour Agency

Last year, Floyd Hayes launched the self-proclaimed “Fastest Agency in the World,” which sends out a creative pitch within 24 hours of briefing.  Well, now it seems someone has one-upped that idea, with the One Hour Agency.

That’s right, One Hour Agency, created by a couple of Hyper Island creatives, actually claims to “generate quality ideas” within the hour. More specifically, they “kick-off every briefing with one hour ideation sessions with [their] clients. This keeps energy high and injects some moxie into the process before going straight into a less energetic research phase.”

So what goes into that hour? After ten minutes of greetings and receiving the brief, One Hour Agency spends 10 minutes on evaluation, a half hour on ideation, and then 10 minutes on presentation. That’s pretty damn fast.

When asked if he thought his “Fastest Agency in the World” was the inspiration behind One Hour Agency, Floyd Hayes responded, “Ha. Perhaps.That makes me feel like a doddering old man.” He may need to think up a new name for the “Fastest Agency in the World” now, as it seems we have a new champion. Whether or not trying to deliver a creative pitch in an hour is a good idea, however, is an entirely different discussion, and one I’ll turn over to our readers.

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Here’s Air New Zealand, Sports Illustrated’s ‘Safety in Paradise’

Last week, we brought you the behind-the-scenes video for Air New Zealand’s collaboration with Sports Illustrated, the flight safety video, “Safety in Paradise.”

Now, without further ado, is that full clip (above). “Safety in Paradise” celebrates 40 years of Air New Zealand flying to the Cook Islands, and 50 years of Sports Illustrated helping adolescent boys explore their budding sexuality with their Swimsuit Issue. The new safety video features swimsuit models Ariel Meredith, Chrissy Teigen, Hannah Davis, and Jessica Gomes hanging with Cook Island natives — as well as a cameo from three-time cover model Christie Brinkley (who just turned 60!) from her Hollywood home.

“The behind the scenes video has generated much conversation around the world about our brand and the Cook Islands as a destination since it was released last week. It’s exciting for us to release the full video today and we hope it will encourage many viewers to consider a trip to the Cook Islands,” says Jodi Williams, Air New Zealand global head of brand development.

To celebrate the launch of “Safety in Paradise,” Air New Zealand is giving online viewers the chance to win one of five trips for two to the Cook Islands. The video goes live today and “will be progressively rolled out on board across Air New Zealand’s fleet from the end of February.”

“Safety in Paradise” marks the latest in a long line of innovative safety videos from the airline, including videos starring Richard Simmons, Bear Grylls, and Betty White, and a Hobbit-themed safety video timed to coincide with the release of Peter Jackson‘s first Hobbit film. It also marks just one aspect of a “major worldwide marketing campaign planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary” of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

 

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‘What The Fu** Is My Brief?’ Generator Parodies Absurd Briefs

WTF Is My Brief 1George Ernst III, creative director at Tenthwave Digital, and Ricky Bacon, VP of engineering at Noise Marketing, are behind a new site called “What The Fuck Is My Brief?”

The site generates a random, ridiculous brief when you visit, followed by responses like “Get Spike Lee to direct that shit” and “I swear to God if you say ‘earned media’ I’m going to fucking cut you,” which, when you click on them, generate another brief. We’ve seen plenty of sites in a similar style before, but as these go this is one of the funnier ones. There’s also enough variety to keep you clicking for awhile. Check out some of our favorite briefs below, and head on over to the site for the full experience.WTF Is My Brief 2WTF Is My Brief 3WTF Is My Brief 4

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Peralta Out at ATTIK

ricperaltaWell, with this item, we are certain that Ric Peralta and ATTIK have indeed parted ways. According to the parties involved, ATTIK-co founder/executive creative director Simon Needham and managing director Margie Kane are now leading the Dentsu-owned, San Francisco/Hermosa Beach, CA-based agency’s day-to-day operations. Peralta joined ATTIK, perhaps best known for the Scion work over the years, a decade  ago as global CEO of the agency. A year later, he was promoted to partner and eventually remained on as CEO following Dentsu’s acquisition of ATTIK in 2007. During his career, Peralta’s also worked as VP of brand at frog design and managing director of fuseproject.

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Happiness Brussels Spies on the NSA

Spy on the NSA

Coming off the latest (not so surprising) revelations of the misuse of NSA data, Happiness Brussels has launched “Spy on the NSA,” a site which gives the the NSA a taste of its own medicine in support of www.thedaywefightback.org, “a massive digital protest against mass surveillance taking place across the internet today.” Among those participating today as well are Reddit, Amnesty International, Tumblr, Upworthy and Greenpeace.

The “Spy on the NSA” site turns the camera on the National Security Agency’s Maryland headquarters. Happiness Brussels describes it as its “own statement against the mass surveillance and privacy issues that are occurring right now.” They also wonder “how long they can keep the site online, before it gets shut down.” The site gives visitors the opportunity to record a selection of Happiness Brussels’ surveillance to share on social media. Check out the site here (while you still can), and, if you haven’t already, head on over to www.thedaywefightback.org to take a stand against the NSA’s abhorrent abuse of your constitutional rights.

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Latest ‘Behind The Cubes’ Highlights Land Rover Work from Marc Sobier

The latest from the “Behind The Cubes” series showcases Y&R New York executive creative director Marc Sobier and his work for Land Rover.

Sobier discusses working with a group of parkour experts in the “Roam Free” campaign, which takes the practice out of its urban environment and into a natural setting. “Roam Free” was designed to promote Land Rover’s “Terrain Response 2″ which “seamlessly adapts to nature.” So Sobier and crew brought on some of the world’s best parkour experts to do their own stunts and exemplify Land Rover’s new feature in as exciting a way as possible. Sobier marvels at the possibilities of advertising, asking, “In what other business do you get to randomly work with a bunch of cool, free running stunt men?”

Behind The Cubes also showcases Sobier’s “Race The Sun” campaign — also for Land Rover. “Race The Sun,” an “interactive suspense film” that mixed in gaming elements. When filming “Race The Sun” Sobier and crew ran into a rather large problem, the sun, thanks to smoke from nearby forest fires, was nowhere to be seen. Instead of giving up, though, the crew kept filming, and they were rewarded with an especially awe-inspiring sunset perfectly suited for the spot.

You can check out “Behind The Cubes: Roam Free” above and stick around for “Behind The Cubes: Race The Sun” after the jump. continued…

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Nesle, Blast Radius Parting Ways (Updated, Sorta)

stevenesleWe’ve received confirmation that Steve Nesle‘s time at Blast Radius has come to an end. No word yet on what lies ahead for the creative or if anyone’s replacing him, but Nesle has served as ECD/East for the WPP/Wunderman agency since late 2012. Prior to Blast, Nesle, you may recall, served in a similar role for two years at Deutsch New York and also held senior creative roles at what was then Tribal DDB as well as MRM Worldwide during his career.

Update: Wait, what? After getting direct confirmation from those in the know that “yes he is departing” a half hour later we get word from the same party involved that whoops, Nesle “continues to support Blast Radius accounts out of New York and Toronto.” Perhaps his  position has just changed within the network but this is quite the quick and confusing about-face. We’ll try to sort out this little mess as soon as we can and will update when we hear.

Update 2: Finally, we’ve received confirmation that Nesle’s tenure with Blast Radius is indeed up towards the end of this month.

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