Hasta La Creative!

Samsung is keeping up with its favorite advertising pastime: beating up on Apple.

A new spot from 72andSunny takes aim at the iPad Air, poking fun at the grandiose Apple commercial, voiced by Bryan Cranston, that played hide the skinny tablet behind a pencil. In Samsung's cheekier version, the pencil isn't starting poems or finishing symphonies. It's cheating at golf, and getting stuck in ceilings. And hiding behind the iPad Air is an "even thinner" Galaxy tablet, with all kinds of extra whiz-bang features.

Given that Apple pretty much invented—and still leads—the category, it's a bit of an odd choice for Samsung to literally position its product in its rival's shadow. (As pretentious as Apple's tone can be, the brand does have some bragging rights as far as shaping culture goes.) Then again, Samsung's strategy seemed to work pretty well in the smartphone space, and the brand is gaining on Apple in tablet share—it's hard to argue with success, even if Samsung is starting to sound more smug itself.

A second new Samsung spot offers a side-by-side comparison of LeBron James on an iPhone and a Galaxy smartphone. That ad does a better job of staying out of its own way and getting to its point (simply put, that the Galaxy is way better). Still, it's hard to see a stylus pen without thinking of a Palm Pilot … and nothing says 2014 like Palm Pilot.

If you need to outrun giant monsters that want to eat you, drive a Subaru Forester.

This Subaru ad from Japan draws its villains from Attack on Titan, the forthcoming live-action adaption of the anime by the same name. The movie's director worked on the commercial, which reportedly included some pretty nifty practical effects, including a puppet that required seven sets of hands to control.

Apparently, dystopian fantasy car battles are in vogue right now. There was that ad where Acuras are actually live horses locked in a bitter race against a gang of evil mechanical horses. And there was that one for the Nissan Rogue, where some guy uses his four-wheel-drive to battle a horde of menacing snowmen.

Sure, Subarus are a little less fight and a little more flight. Then again, the titans don't look like they'd explode into white powder on impact.

Go Ninja Go!

Who says Vanilla Ice never had any street cred? Everyone, I guess. And when it comes to hip-hop, they're right. But … who cares? The rapper (term used loosely) is prop-ah as hell in this self-deprecating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, skewering his goofy persona and, against all odds, stretching his 15 minutes of fame into a fourth decade.

Ice rocks the mic like a vandal, or something, lookin' fly in a green baseball cap and apron as he stocks shelves in a grocery store to help introduce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-shaped Mac & Cheese. He sings "Ninja Rap," the brilliantly asinine tune he performed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991. Naturally, a mom shopping the aisle starts busting furious moves. Check out her son's befuddled/horrified stare around the 10-second mark. That look could wax a chump like a candle! Ultimately, Ice puts it all in perspective, with a knowing grin and his trademark line: "Word to your mother!"

As great as it is, the behind-the-scenes video is even more of a tongue-in-cheek riot. "I've always had a love for the Turtles," Ice explains, "and when I did Secret of the Ooze, it was the highlight of my life—ever!" He lunges forward, like a snapping turtle, for emphasis. "I'll never top it, no matter what I do."

Showing off a Turtles leg tattoo, he adds, "When I first heard Mac & Cheese was creating Ninja Turtles shapes, I was like, genius! This is the frickin' most awesome thing ever!"

Yo, you're awesome, Ice. Word to mothers everywhere!

Last month, Sony rolled out a sweeping celebration of its own contributions to technology and the arts. Now, it's diving deep on the same subject, taking viewers on a tour of Northlandz, a giant model railroad museum in New Jersey, as miniatures photographer Matt Albanese uses a Sony QX100 camera to capture images of the tiny scenery.

Northlandz's creator, Bruce Zaccagnino, co-stars in the documentary-style ad, offering such bits of humble-bragging genius as: "Thousands of people will come out, and they'll say this is a wonder of the world. … I don't think it's a wonder of the world. It's not the Taj Mahal." Fact is, the landscape is quite impressive. The photos that come out of Albanese's work are plenty cool, too, and a nice testament to the potential of the camera.

But the four-minute documentary, created with Wieden + Kennedy, makes the whole thing feel pretty forced and awkward. "For this project I chose a camera that will get me into tight spaces and gives me unique vantage points," says Albanese. That may be the selling point, but the footage and the photographs make the point well well enough without the contrived sales pitch. A little less throat-clearing and philosophizing might serve the spot well, too—but at the end, Zaccagnino's extra talent makes for a perfectly oddball kicker.

The campaign includes a website, www.Separate–Together.com, that goes beyond the film and features an interactive companion piece with three panoramas you can rotate and zoom into.

Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Sony
Project: Be Moved – Separate Together

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Mike Giepert, Dan Hon
Copywriter: Charlie Gschwend
Art Director: Devin Gillespie
Information Architect: Jason Sack
Creative Technologist: Billy McDermott
Head of Interactive Production: Pierre Wendling
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Content Producer: Katie Reardon
Account Team: Trish Adams, Diana Gonzalez, Nick Larkin
Associate Director of Technology: Ryan Bowers
QA: Robb Hand, Rachel Mason
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples, Susan Hoffman

—Web Film Partners
Production Company: m ss ng p eces
Director: Josh Nussbaum
Executive Producers: Ari Kuschnir, Kate Oppenheim
Head of Production: Dave Saltzman
Line Producer: Veronica Balta
Director of Photography: Alex Khudokon

Editorial Company: m ss ng p eces
Editor: Adam McClelland
Post Producer: Amy Crowdis

Colorists: Nat Jencks, Adam Mcclelland

Composer, Original Score: Matt Abeysekera
Sound Design & Mix: Eli Cohn

—Interactive Experience Partners
Development Partner Company: BOSSA
Executive Creative Director: Hans Weiss
Creative Technologist: Jeramy Morrill
Lead Developers: Jeramy Morrill, Josh Gross, Matt Greene
Creative Director: Andrezza Valentin
Art Director: Sarah Skapik
Producer: Nic Santana

McDonald's puts our minds to the test in this British campaign from Razorfish that features prankvertising and an online quiz.

The premise is that people can't concentrate on anything else when the Big Mac is nearby. Unlike some recent hair-raising ad stunts, and the million-calorie sandwich itself, the prank element here is pretty benign.

On a busy street, a young couple with a camera ask presumably unsuspecting passersby to take their picture. As they primp, a large portrait of a Big Mac is carried past by a different couple, who quickly switch places with the original pair just as the photo is about to be snapped. (It's cool how boyfriend No. 1 starts a sentence as the Big Mac obscures him from view, then boyfriend No. 2 appears and completes the sentence once the switch is made.)

The subjects don't seem to notice that anything's amiss. Maybe a devil baby puking up special sauce would've gotten their attention? Just a thought.

Anyway, the original couple from the clip also host a series of interactive "mind games" designed to demonstrate the Big Mac's distracting power. I thought the hypnotic properties of two all beef patties, yada yada, on a sesame seed bun had been irrefutably established long ago. Obviously, when one appears, so plump and juicy … I cannot turn away!

Oddly, when McD's showed in detail how McNuggets were made, I couldn't make the screen go dark fast enough. Still, I'll have fries with that!

You have a weird, ineffable obsession with your cast-iron skillet. You carry it with you everywhere like a safety blanket. You believe like it could make you feel joy, but it does not, because something is missing.

Velveeta appeals to the kitchenware creeper segment with a new pair of spots from Wieden + Kennedy for the brand's Cheesy Skillets dinner kits. It's a new twist on the agency's oddball approach to the product, with some of the dramatic flavor of Old Spice still in the voiceover and epic positioning, "It's liquid gold," but sight gags balancing it out.

In some ways, it's the American cheese of advertising—comfort food that's pleasing at first but ultimately a little too processed to leave you feeling entirely good about having eaten it. If you can get past the slightly overdone copy, though, there's some pretty rich comedy in the dumb facial expressions of the actors.

You might even call it gold.

Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Velveeta
Project: Velveeta Cheesy Skillets

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Karl Lieberman, Eric Baldwin
Digital Director: Pierre Wendling
Copywriters: Heather Ryder, Darcie Burrell
Art Director: Matthew Carroll
Interactive Producer: Ryan Adams
Event Producer: Victoria Semarjian
Account Team: Ken Smith, Rachel Parker, Danica Jones, Sarah Augustine
Media Director: Alex Dobson
Head of Broadcast: Ben Grylewicz
Broadcast: Shelley Eisner, Nicole Kaptur, Yamaris Leon
Art Production: Stacie Balzer, Eugenie Frerichs, Denise Hanggi, Rainier Goubault
Project Manager: Megan Nugent
Studio Manager: Anna Gatewood
Studio Artists: Leslie Warra, Thomas Bradley
Executive Creative Directors: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman
Business Affairs: Amber Lavender, Anna Beth Nagel, Pam Atkinson
Content Services: Zoe Hoetze, Anders Lund

Production Company: Smith & Jones Films
Director: Ulf Johansson
Executive Producer: Philippa Smith
Executive Assistant: Tori King
Line Producer: Justine Madero
Postproduction Company (Editorial): Spot Welders
Editor: Haines Hall
Producers: Carolina Wallace, Lisa English
Visual Effects: A52
Executive Producer: Megan Meloth
Producer: Meredith Cherniack

In Cadillac's latest commercial from ad agency Rogue, airing during the Olympics, we take a tour of the souped-up American dream while our host (played by Neal McDonough) waxes poetic about the virtues of working hard and owning stuff—and manages to throw a few digs at other countries for living more leisurely lifestyles and being less industrious.

"Other countries, they work. They stroll home. They stop by the cafe. They take August off. Off. Why aren't you like that? Why aren't we like that? Because we're crazy-driven, hard-working believers, that's why."

He concludes: "As for all the stuff, that's the upside of only taking two weeks off in August. N'est-ce pas?"

Outside of this guy being painfully annoying, here's a question: Does taking two fewer weeks of vacation guarantee upper-middle-class wealth? I bristle when I think about how many people toil all over the world—here and abroad—and don't enjoy the same opportunities as, you know, this guy.

It's also a curious choice for the Olympics, which is supposed to be a celebration of different countries and cultures—not a repudiation of them. I certainly take no issue with owning things, and I think we should be lauding hard work, big dreams and supporting one's family, but even if this ad is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, it's still obnoxious and poorly timed.

Unless it's completely awesome—which is the other view espoused by some YouTube commenters. In fact, the debate over there is pretty black and white. Point: "How insensitive, egocentric, and repulsive.?" Counterpoint: "Hey butthurt foreigners in the comments: instead of crying, take notes. This is why our country is the greatest in the world and yours isn't.?"

I personally think the spot is visually lovely but could be seriously improved if they cut out the speaking parts and had the Space Jam theme song playing instead.

Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Cadillac
Agency: Rogue
Chief Creative Officer: Lance Jensen
Executive Creative Director: David Banta
Group Creative Director: Kevin Daley
Copywriters: Lance Jensen, David Banta
Art Director: Kevin Daley
Agency Producer: Paul Shannon (Executive Producer)
Account Team: Clifford Stevens, Megan Wiggin, Emily Shahady, Kalyn Barnum
Director of Project Management: Paul Pantzer
Project Manager: Christy Costello
Assistant Agency Producer: Tim Mollen
Production Company: Interrogate
Executive Producer: Jeff Miller
Producer: George Meeker
Director: Brennan Stasiewicz
Cinematographer: Max Malkin
Line Producer: Dave Bernstein
Editing House: Bug Editorial
Editor: Andre Betz
Licensed Music: "You're Gonna Miss Your Candyman"
Music Performed by: Terry Callier
Sound Engineer: Mike Secher
Visual Effects Company: Brickyard VFX

It's flashback week for fans of 1990s hip-hop, with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Snoop Dogg making advertising cameos that would have seemed inconceivable 15 years ago.

Combs, known these days as Diddy, headlines a new 60-second spot from Fiat and ad agency Doner. In the ad, we see two men wandering the desert in a delirious haze, unsure if they're really being saved by a celebrity or just imagining a mirage.

Meanwhile, Snoop, who has gone by Snoop Lion lately, has popped up in, of all places, a British auto insurance ad from agency Mother. He narrates the story of a dorky white guy named Phil who saved money by getting insurance from MoneySuperMarket and now feels "epic." Feeling epic, in this case, means driving an invisible car and hanging out at inner-city street parties.

It's not exactly jarring to see these two iconic rappers in ads, since both have been frequent marketing mouthpieces in recent years. But it's still entertaining to imagine how they would have reacted to the words "Fiat" and "MoneySuperMarket" in 1997.

Thanks to the country's anti-gay laws, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia have turned into a de facto platform for LGBT marketing. Earlier, we had the Canadian ad that said the two-man luge is "a little gay." Now, we have this crazy spot from Norwegian sports apparel retailer XXL.

It's an over-the-top, absurd blockbuster of an ad, with overly slick visuals, overly cheesy music and a "twist" ending you could spot from Moscow. And yet … somehow you have to love it. Its heart is generally in the right place, even if it plays out like a male fantasy. (And no, they probably wouldn't do the same ad with two men at the end.)

The ad premiered during Norway's broadcast of the Opening Ceremony last week.

CREDITS
Client: XXL

Agency: Schjærven Reklamebyrå
Account Director: Ole Marius Simonsen
Creatives: Jon Erik Skiælder, John Draleke
Agency Producer: Gard Andreassen

Production Company: Camp David, Stockholm
Producer: Kalle Wessblad
Directors: Bjørn Stein, Måns Mårlind

Location: Lleida Airport, Spain
Filming: Dec. 15-18, 2013
Line Producer: Dominic Bolus, Widescope Productions
Postproduction: The Chimney Pot, Stockholm

Music: Tommy Tysper

Here's a fun neighbor-shaming McDonald's billboard from DDB Stockholm.

Sitting right at the border between Sweden and Norway, the billboard displays comparative pricing for Big Macs in the two nations—egging on Norwegians to take advantage of Sweden's cheaper burgers. In other words, it's the rare fast-food ad that doubles as fodder for exchange-rate geeks.

The Economist's Big Mac Index has for decades used McD's staple burger as an international benchmark for measuring relative prices around the world. Norway's Big Mac was, in fact, recently declared the most expensive anywhere (and not for the first time). That's due to the country's oil-rich, inclusive economy, where generally high wages (even for burger flippers) help drive up prices. (Some observers, meanwhile, are claiming all the extra money is making the country's workforce too lazy.)

DDB points out that Norwegians are already crossing the border for bargains in droves. So really, the agency is just reminding them to stop for a more affordable heart-stopper.

How much will they save? In Norway, a Big Mac costs the equivalent of about $14.41, says the billboard. In Sweden, it's only about $9.08. Of course, that's still way too much for a Big Mac—especially if they're made in any way like the brand's Chicken McNuggets.