Hasta La Creative!

LA-based agency David&Goliath has crafted a new campaign promoting VIZIO’s M-Series Smart TV and VIZIO Sound Bar, complete with the new tagline, “Beautifully Simple.”

The TV campaign contains three new spots: “So Easy,” “My Station” and “Tiny Dancer.” Each of these was directed by Michael Downing, with cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi (who has worked on Silver Linings Playbook and Babel). Together, the spots form a kind of narrative, beginning with “So Easy” (featured above). This spot, and the campaign as a whole, play on the fact that children often understand new technology better than their parents. In “So Easy” a young girl helps her dad through problems with his laptop and smartphone. The father then jumps at the opportunity to help his daughter pick a program on VIZIO’s M-Series Smart TV. A cute idea, that is unfortunately followed by the theme-line ”So easy, even an adult can figure it out.” This wouldn’t be a problem, if it wasn’t for the fact that Geico ruined the lines “So easy, even a…” for everyone, forever.

The next spot, “My Station,” is probably my favorite of the bunch, featuring the dad discovering his daughter’s Pandora station. “Tiny Dancer” concludes the series by upping the cute factor, as well as the father’s competence with the M-Series Smart TV. David&Goliath’s approach of creating a series of ads meant to be viewed in a certain order is interesting, and they pull it off by making each of them able to stand alone as well. I just wish they’d get rid of that theme-line.

Clearly targeted at dads, the campaign will run through the college football season on ESPN’s networks and Hulu into early 2014. Stay tuned for the final two spots, as well as credits, after the jump.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

How do you take attention away from the fact that you were recently declared the worst cellular network in a consumer report? If you’re Sprint, apparently you get agency DigitasLBi to work with you to create a gesture-based, interactive retail experience. Because that’s the future: being able to shop online without having to use a pesky mouse and keyboard. But where to unveil such a creation? What is an event where people would see the Sprint name and not know any better?

Sprint will unveil the new “Shop. Hands Free. In 3D.” experience during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week in Las Vegas, tomorrow, Dec. 6. This follows on the success of the pilot unveiling, during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekends at the Chicagoland in Septmber, and Kansas Speedways in October. NASCAR fans seemed pleased with the Sprint’s new magical technology, as evidenced in the above video.

So how does it work? Well, according to the announce, “…users move their hands through the air above a Leap Motion controller, which displays their actions onto a large screen ahead.” But wait, that’s not all. There’s a podium. A branded podium. To appeal to Nascar fans, DigitasLBi created “an eye-catching branded podium to house the technology.” Those who tried out the shopping experience then “supply their email addresses to receive their picture from the virtual photo booth as well as a link to the items they browsed.” Combining technology used in next-gen gaming with a theme park-esque photo service, that’s their strategy, because Sprint is “more than just a wireless company,” according to Sprint Program Manager Lane Allison.

Perhaps I’m being a bit hard on Sprint. After all “Shop. Hands Free. In 3D.” is sort of an intriguing prospect, if only for the novelty value. It’s just that this does absolutely nothing to repair Sprint’s damaged reputation. Since most people now view Sprint as something of  a joke, maybe that’s what they should be working on. Or maybe Sprint is just for NASCAR fans now.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I’m not sure we’ve ever featured a Namibian ad here on Agency Spy, so here’s one. This spot by Advantage Y&R for MTC is just brimming with friendliness. The agency imagines the interaction fueled by the cell network as spreading hugs across the country. It’s a cute idea, and the production — by Fly On The Wall — rises to the occasion. The music they chose fits perfectly, too. The 90 second ad begins with a young man at a bus stop getting a text, then turning and hugging the old woman next to him. Soon everyone is hugging, from a guy in a chicken suit hugging a security officer to two boxers hugging in the ring. The spot ends with the young man from the opening scene sharing a hug with his girlfriend, who has just arrived on a bus, adding some nice closure to the scenario.

With the dwindling energy that comes with the shortening days, and the leftovers in the fridge starting to run out, this just might be the kind of happiness spreading video you need to get you through the middle of the week. It’s pretty hard not to smile watching this one, and on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving that is much appreciated. Credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We received a few tips about this today, so let’s just clarify things for a sec. Sources familiar with the matter tell us that Hill Holliday has had to cut a few staffers, specifically in the creative department. From what we’ve been told, the cuts affect less than two percent of staff at the Boston-based, IPG-owned agency. Sources say that the reductions were made as part of a strategic restructuring reshuffling of talent at Hill Holliday, which of course has taken the lead on Cadillac creative but is also in the midst of the Liberty Mutual review. Regarding the latter, word from sources is that a decision is expected to be made by month’s end/early January. Hill Holliday, which also works with clients including Dunkin Donuts, has handled the Liberty Mutual account since 2005.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Two things Google has historically absolutely excelled at are creating groundbreaking products and figuring out how to monetize them. One such product is Google Maps, which allows your business to pay Google-licensed photographers to come inside your office and photograph it for Maps’ Street View feature.

Now, if you’re in a super-hip business like an advertising agency (where art students-turned-art directors bring the skinny-jeans heat), your office is probably designed to look simultaneously forward-thinking and client-friendly. (This goes double if you’re in close proximity to Silicon Valley.) How better to impress stodgy CPG brands looking to get millennials addicted to their brand of high-calorie salted snacks? How better to convince tech startups backed by high-rolling investors that you’re as cool as they are? Well, SF-based agency Muh-Tay-Zik/Hof-Fer did the pay-for-Street View thing, and they decided to play with Google Maps’ strict “no faces” policy.

Should you visit Google Maps, visit these coordinates to take a tour of Muh-Tay-Zik/Hof-Fer, and visit their delightful ski-masked staff. There’s even a dog with a ski mask, but it doesn’t have any ideas cut out, so it’s kind of sad. He’s probably pretty scared, huh?

And now some tips for one-upping these guys should your agency go the same route and be bored:

1. Scary clown masks

2. Replace all human heads with dogs heads via putting dogs on your shoulders

3. Kanye-style sequined masks

4. All bears and sunglasses

5. Embrace the blurred out faces, but all pose as though you’ve been caught in the midst of a lewd act

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lorraine Bracco (she of The Sopranos and Goodfellas fame, of course) lends her familiar voice to Deutsch LA’s new holiday spot for Netflix, and predictably, makes the ad work.

In the spot, “Tree Topper,” Bracco voices the part of the smiling porcelain tree topper that has been part of the McDermott family for 34 years. Through the tree topper we see the wild antics of the McDermott boys, as well as Christmas cooking failures and Uncle Luther’s fake snow. Despite the occasional difficulties living with the McDermott family, Bracco’s tree topper enjoys when the family curls up to enjoy watching something on Netflix.

It’s not the most original of concepts, but Bracco makes it work. Her voice is not only recognizable, but dramatic and expressive. This helps make the idea of a sentient tree topper seem less ridiculous, and even imbues the character with emotion and personality. It helps make the spot not seem overly sentimental, and her delivery of the spots’ final line really brings out just the right amount of curmudgeon from Bracco’s character. While celebrity voice acting is so often an afterthought used as an easy cash-in, Deutsch LA hits the mark by casting Bracco for “Tree Topper.” Hopefully other agencies are taking notes. Credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

You can’t really go through a day in the advertising business without reading something about the Publicis Omnicom merger. The industry is obsessed with every last little juicy detail. And no one’s more vocal than WPP’s Martin Sorrell and Havas’ David Jones. Ever since the merger announcement, both men have had nothing but negative commentary to offer, with most of their statements centering on the notion the Publicis Omnicom Group will be so large and unwieldy that it will continuously trip over it bloated, inefficient self.

When you think about the fact that WPP and Havas are gigantic holding companies themselves, anything Sorrell and Jones have to say regarding size and efficiency is laughable.

For an article I wrote for Central Desktop, I decided to speak to several advertising agencies that are, in fact, small and 100 percent qualified to comment on why bigger may not always be better, as well as why small can often times be the better solution.

More…

Editor’s note: Please welcome Nathan Archambault of AKQA in NYC to AdPulp. An earlier version of this article appeared on Maybe I’m Gravy.

The old advertising agency model, the one where Madison Avenue agencies took their sweet and expensive time, isn’t working anymore.

It’s time for a forced retirement.

Sorry, old model. The nature of the business has changed. Client relationships have splintered and the traditional methods by which agencies profited are shrinking or disappearing. Clients want more effective work and they want it faster and cheaper.

Agencies are left with a clear choice: become more nimble, flexible and cost-effective or fade away. As Jeff Goodby recently admitted, we’re past the time for quick fixes.

It’s time to build a more agile agency. Here are a few things agency leaders can do.

Reduce logistics.

Today’s agency doesn’t need the same departments that were once a centerpiece to the creative offering. Goodby folded project management into account management and scaled back in-house production, opting to work with more outside vendors. Other agencies have eliminated the studio department, instead leaving final design responsibilities to creative instead of to a separate department.

Ask your agency: What departments are redundant, outdated or inefficient?

Operate like a newsroom.

It’s time for agencies to get out of the meeting business and get into the making business. The old model has too much overhead, too much process and too many barriers getting in the way of the work. An agency should feel like a living organism with the sole goal of producing great work, and nothing else should matter or get in the way. Oreo operated like a newsroom during last year’s Super Bowl and we all know how that turned out.

Ask your agency: What can we do to get out of the way of the work?

Replace perfection with experimentation.

In the past, clients demanded perfection and the agencies that delivered it thrived. These days, experimentation returns more on investment. Google launches everything in beta and future updates are expected and (mostly) welcome. The important thing today is getting your product, service or campaign idea to market. Once people have access to it, you can gather feedback, revise and repeat. This is what successful startups like Instagram, Foursquare and Path do and it works pretty well for them.

Ask your agency: What can we make today and worry about making better tomorrow?

Hire doers, not thinkers.

Agencies used to be able to hire creative teams to sit around and think up big ideas. But teams that lack the craft to build the ideas they come up with aren’t pulling their weight today. They’re requiring the agency to hire someone else to execute and bring the vision to life. The jig is up, big thinkers: Being clever and having good taste is no longer a job. That’s why side projects are the new main course – they’re the work of a doer.

Ask your agency: Who actually makes things around here?

Cast for talent.

Interpersonal relationships and unique skills matter more than staffing plans. The need may be for an ACD-level copywriter, but it’s important to be open to creative solutions when filling this or any position. An agile agency wants to find people with the right mindset, regardless of whether or how they fit into a particular department or job title. With the right people in place, an agency can cast for projects, not staff for them.

Ask your agency: Are we hiring the best people first and determining their role later?

Deconstruct the process.

It doesn’t make sense to implement the same process for every project. These days, unlike when advertising was mostly made of TV and print, each project is different from the last. Michael Lebowitz, Founder and CEO of Big Spaceship, gives his teams a framework instead of a process. This allows each team, each operating as mini-agenices, to bubble up a unique process that leads to more unique work.

Ask your agency: Are we finding new paths to the end goal of creativity?

Integrate every department.

The different stages of any given project shouldn’t feel like a baton pass. The brief can’t spend weeks with strategy before being handed off to the creative department, and later to production. AKQA CCO Rei Inamoto believes that agencies need to combine strategy, storytelling and software in order to build emotional and useful connections with people. This means that creative, strategy and technology work together from the start, making each team more invested at every stage of the process.

Ask your agency: Is each team member a stakeholder from the beginning?

Maybe you’re not in a position to change the way your agency operates. But there is something you can do: you can join an agency that believes in the game-changing power of agility.

In this agile age, one thing is for certain: the inflexible will be left behind.

Previously on AdPulp: The Google To Adlandia: Be Lean And Agile Like Us, And You’ll Be Rich Like Us

The post Seven Steps To A More Agile Agency appeared first on AdPulp.

Gavin McInnes, Vice co-founder and current Rooster NY creative director, is back with more helpful tips for the modern man.

As you may remember, McInnes also starred in Vans’ OffTheWall.TV’s beloved “How to Piss in Public” and another video, “How To Work Out From Home,” which featured him using his children to lift weights. Since being uploaded yesterday, “How to Fight a Baby” has already racked up more than half a million plays. While it’s not McInnes’ funniest video, it’s perhaps his cutest. And, because it’s the Internet, “cuteness” it worth more that BitCoin. (Timeliness rimshot!)

It’s honestly hard not to be a fan of McInnes. The guy is super endearing, a trait that many CDs attempt to exude but fail to deliver on. Any way you see it, McInnes’ (wince) personal brand building strategies continue to make Rooster look like a really fun place to work. And, when was the last time an agency did that this well?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We hope you’re ready for Thanksgiving, because the Turkey Day items are starting to pour in. If you’ve noticed that the word “turkey” rhymes with the word “twerky” and find this funny, then you’re in for a treat. For whatever reason (blame Miley), twerking turkeys seem to be a thing this year, and the folks over at independent full-service Dallas agency Firehouse couldn’t resist getting in on the action. Maybe they were just in a celebratory mood after being named creative AOR for San Antonio-based Mexican restaurant chain Taco Cabana last month.

They’ve created a video full of twerking turkeys (actually people dressed in turkey costumes), entitled “Happy Twerky Day.” That pretty much sums things up: dudes holding speakers blasting dance music while people twerk, dressed up as turkeys. If you find that premise funny, you’ll get a good chuckle out of the above video. If you don’t, you’d probably be better off spending that 58 seconds elsewhere. And if all that turkey twerking still isn’t disturbing enough for you, try this GIF of a Miley Cyrus twerking turkey. Or don’t, if you’d still like to sleep at night.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.