Hasta La Creative!

From production company The Famous Group comes the above pre-kickoff 3D opener meant to pump up the Houston Texans crowd and help them momentarily forget that they’re currently on a five-game losing streak. Bear in mind that they’re only seven games in right now. Yep.

Despite what the Transformers-esque Megabull would have you think, the Seattle Seahawks actually defeated the Texans during this Sept. 29th game by a score of 23-20. In case you missed it, Texans QB Matt Schaub called an audible late in the 4th quarter that demanded his offense lift him onto their shoulders to create a massive stack of football players somewhat resembling Megabull. The Seahawks defense countered by turning into a large bird of prey with the help of billionaire owner Paul Allen‘s record-breaking 50-yard wide hang glider.

As the Megabull tried in vain to jump-punch the Megahawk, the Megahawk swooped in circles around the Reliant Stadium rafters. After Megabull succumbed to fatigue, Megahawk snatched the football from the right horn of Megabull (also Schaub’s right arm), took it to the end zone, and ate it. As football fans know, this is the robot equivalent of a game-winning field goal, securing victory of the Seahawks. As Megahawk flew home to regurgitate pieces of the football for its young to feed on, the Houston crowed turned their ire  Matt Schaub, and the “Fuck Megabull” chant was heard far and wide throughout Texas that day. ‘Twas truly a harrowing moment for the game of football.

On top of this elaborate tale from the gridiron, The Famous Group would like to note that this video was created in cooperation with New Zealand animation shop, Flux Animation, and that this video was specially made for the debut of Reliant Stadium’s new 14,549 sq. foot Mitsubishi Diamond Vision screen, the world’s largest in-stadium HD video screen.

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Joe Sayaman and Peter Cortez have spent the last year churning out clever tech projects. In September, they gave the world the Citypricks biking PSA. Last spring, there was Citydoping NYC, and unofficial travel guide for tourists who don’t want to seem too touristy. And, of course, after Sayaman left SS+K in 2011, he produced a mobile game called Pee & Poo Save the World. Seriously. So, their latest venture, a venting website called Workwankers, seems pretty benign.

Workwankers, also developed by Sam Mylarczyk, is Tumblrish in that it’s really just a dozen or so creative slides that use illustrations and text to call out archetype ad wankers who happen to embody annoying stereotypes. Shoulderbeast is the person who hovers. Idea Killer is the office Bitter Bob. Pervoceros is the guy who mistakes creepy behavior for flirting with women. Etc. People are encouraged to call out wankers and email their suggestions to Sayaman and Cortez. It’s a simple concept, and the illustrations are great, but the site may be too generic to really make an impact. Every office has these unaware employees. Plus, after you look at the site for a minute, there’s no incentive to come back. I’d rather see the slides turned into a calendar available for purchase. That way, ad folk can post the calendar by their desks and laugh a little after an oblivious Shoulderbeast hovers. A few screen grabs after the jump.

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The latest from Onion Labs sees them working with DSW to rile the folks at PETA in a new campaign called “Bad Pet Owner.”

This new campaign for the discounted shoe outlet where I once picked out and purchased a pair of shoes in under four minutes while en route to a wedding opens with the spot “Goat.” “Goat” features about as many pet deaths as you’re ever likely to see in an advertisement. Each time the bad pet owner (inadvertently) kills a pet, he goes to DSW for a new pair of shoes so he can use the shoebox to bury his deceased animal pal. By the end of the spot, he has a quite the shoe collection — and a backyard pet cemetery. Watch it before PETA files a complaint to have it taken down.

In addition to the “Goat” spot (and one forthcoming) Onion Labs has also rolled out a Men’s Fashion section on TheOnion.com sponsored by DSW. The section includes older content that fits the category, as well as new, sponsored content like “Dead Hamster Feels Its Life Has Been Properly Honored With Shoebox Coffin,” which dovetails nicely with the “Goat” spot. Incorporating material on its parent site in addition to the humorous video really plays to the budding agency’s strengths and shows what kind of potential they have in the future.

Good luck with the (inevitable) ensuing PETA lawsuit, Onion Labs. We’re pulling for you. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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The Salvation Army of Canada (unlike some politicians here in the states) believes that “No one should have to call the streets home.” That’s the phrase Toronto agency Cossette inscribed on home address signs and left in a variety of public locations (like bus stops and park benches) people frequent throughout the day that are also used as places to sleep by the homeless.

“The problem with homelessness is that it’s often easy to ignore. We wanted to jolt the public by putting messages in places – and in a manner – that would surprise them,” explains Cossette co-chief creative officer Matt Litzinger, adding “we continue to turn that communications experience on its head by telling our audience that these same locations are also places that street people call home.”

Cossette and Salvation Army of Canada also gave people the opportunity to make a five dollar donation via text, with a number included on the home address signs. Using unusual locations and the sense of the out of place to help call attention to homelessness is a smart tactic. Immediately giving them an opportunity to do something about it (before they forget) is the icing on the cake.

The video for the campaign keeps it simple, choosing to let the outdoor campaign tell its own story, with only a textual explanation and background music accompanying the shots of the home address signs at different locations. Since the outdoor campaign is the real message, this is all that’s necessary, adding anything else would just detract from the message.

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If you’re a fan of the Call of Duty franchise, then you’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts while witnessing an all-out advertising assault for the game that began all the way back in May. The conclusion to that campaign is the new gameplay launch trailer from Ant Farm, the best look yet at what the game will actually look like.

Coming about a week after the UK spot “Faboom,” and two weeks after the Eminem music video “Survival” (also the song featured in this trailer), Ant Farm has unveiled a no-nonsense look at Call of Duty: Ghosts in all its gameplay glory. It packs as much action as possible into its 1:13 length, and really is quite well put together. For a gameplay trailer, it feels downright cinematic. It has about as many explosions as a trailer for a Michael Bay movie, but also shows enough of the unique scenarios in the game to give viewers an idea of what makes this Call of Duty installment unique. I’m not a big fan of first-person shooters, but I’ve got to say Ant Farm did a great job at making this game look badass. Not only will long-time fans of the series be salivating in anticipation of Call of Duty: Ghost‘s Nov. 5 release, they may win a few converts as well. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Nothing loses an agency client faster than inefficient process and the frustration it causes. Not even Cannes-winning work can keep a client if the agency can’t manage the relationship properly. Earlier, we wrote about the impact of industry consolidation and how it has affected the ability of the acquired agency and its holding company siblings to work smoothly and efficiently.

Here are seven tips you can put to use right now to ensure your agency is serving your clients swiftly, effectively and efficiently – like the proverbial well-oiled machine.

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Well, we sent inquiries to a few folks last week about this last week after receiving tips like this on Oct. 17: “Lowe NY Again??  Lowe is opening a ny office and the Milk account guy Sal Taibi is being tapped to run it as CEO.  Maybe old lowe clients going w him.   Ronald wohlman is the head creative guy.  Lowe/Campbell Ewald & hill holiday won Cadillac work awhile ago – Lowe NY to take up residence in ny hill holiday office.”

Now, reports are out confirming this and Sal Taibi is indeed leading the charge, not as CEO but as president of Lowe Campbell Ewald’s New York operation. Taibi most recently served as partner/GM at Deutsch NY but spent 16 years prior to that at Lowe, last serving in a similar role as president. No confirmation yet on Ronald Wohlman, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched considering that he’s already spent the last nine years at Lowe, most recently serving as CCO on the Unilever, North America business.

We’ve just received the official release announcing the new LCE New York office, and in a statement, Lowe & Partners CEO Michael Wall says, “Lowe Campbell Ewald is an agency with a strong heritage and an integrated full service offering that drives great business results for its clients. This combination has already begun to show results as the agency complements Lowe’s
international network. Being able to front those capabilities out of New York alongside the existing U.S. locations should prove an attractive proposition for both national and international clients. Sal Taibi is a natural choice to lead New York given his experience in the market, the strength of his client relationships and his intimate knowledge of Lowe.”

Lowe Campbell Ewald New York is expected to officially open its doors in January 2014 and will include clients Taibi and crew have previously worked with. Regarding the new office, Jim Palmer, LCE CEO who essentially took over for Bill Ludwig this summer, adds, “Our new presence in New York speaks to the commitment we have to Lowe and the momentum our agencies are building together. Our New York office will bolster our national footprint from coast to coast. With offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio and now New York, plus Lowe’s international talent and distribution channels, Lowe Campbell Ewald is poised to better help clients navigate the ever-evolving global media and marketing environment.”

Update: So, as of now, the Wohlman tip isn’t true as we’ve been told that no staffing decisions beyond Sal Taibi heading the office have been finalized yet. We’ll keep you posted. On the note about “Lowe NY Again?,” our sources clarify that Lowe has always had a NYC presence since Sir Frank Lowe led the ship and continued through the partnership with sister agency Deutsch, whose name was ‘Deutsch a Lowe and Partners Company’ since 2009. Now, it’s on to the next chapter.

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We’ve received confirmation that Catherine Heath, who’s spent the last year in her native Australia serving as executive strategy director at M&C Saatchi Sydney (where she started her career over a decade ago on the planning side), is heading back to the States to head up strategy at Huge LA. It’s familiar turf for Heath, who spent over two years as a worldwide group planning director at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA. During her career, the planning vet also had a brief stint as chief strategy officer at now-defunct Boston operation Modernista! and served as VP/planning director at McCann and what was T.A.G. (now twofifteenmccann) for over two years.

While it’s been confirmed that Heath is joining Huge LA, no timetable has been set for her exact start date. We’ll keep you posted. As for the LA office itself, FYI, staff count is approximately 80 and clients include Vans, FX, National Geographic, and Tempur-Pedic.

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Well, it looks like folks on the Spy line were on to something with this one as a little digging shows that Tina Braun and Danielle Penn are both no longer with MRM New York. We hear it was the agency that parted ways last week with Braun and Penn, who served as VP/account director and senior integrated project manager, respectively. No word yet on Braun’s next endeavor, but she spent over a decade at McCann Erickson and MRM, moving up the charts from account exec to her most current role, working with brands including USPS and Nestle. Penn, who worked at McGarryBowen as senior digital project manager prior to MRM, has already moved on to the client side, taking on a similar project management role at Prudential. No word yet from MRM on if there are plans to replace, but folks on the Spy line are telling us there may be “more cuts to come.”

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It took a while to confirm, but New York-based MRY, which of course merged with LBi this year, has now officially been named digital AOR in the U.S. for college booze fave (for some, at least), Jagermeister. The spirits brand, which has also worked with  L.A.-based indie shop Mistress over the past couple of years, has tasked MRY with the usual digital AOR responsibilities including strategy and creative across channels. Regarding the deciscion, Heather Kozera, director of digital marketing for New Rochelle, NY-based Sidney Frank Importing Co., which houses the Jager brand among several others, says in a statement, “Looking for an agency partner was a big decision for us. MRY showed us they can deliver new and innovative digital ways to connect with our target – they had the right team and the right thinking to complement our brand and our initiatives.”

The partnership has already taken effect, with the first MRY work for Jagermeister set to debut later this year. No word if there was a review as of yet, but we’ll update if need be (Update: Well, there was no incumbent on the Jager digital biz at least). Mistress, meanwhile remains above the line agency for the brand.

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