Hasta La Creative!

Today the New York offices of BBH enhanced production capabilities by promoting Kate Morrison, former Executive Producer, to Head of Content Production.

Over the past decade, Morrison has held production roles at various agencies including 180, BSSP and twofifteenmccann; her promotion arrives after spending seven months spent in the EP position and working on the PlayStation “Perfect Day” spot that won a Gold Lion at Cannes. In the newly created role, she will help lead and manage the production of all of the agency’s content.

CCO John Patroulis writes:

“Kate Morrison has made a massive mark on the work at BBH New York…like every producer here, [she] puts the quality of the work first and foremost.”

The promotion is the latest move in BBH New York’s recent expansion: earlier in the year the office hired Carey Head of Barton F. Graf 9000 as Head of Integrated Production and Technology and Art Director Marcos Kotlhar of Brazil’s AlmapBBDO to strengthen its content production offering.

Morrison will report directly to Head.

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After spending the last seven years at BBH London, where he last served as executive producer/partner, Ruben Mercadal has headed to the States to join up with Ogilvy New York in the newly created position of senior film content producer. During his long stay at BBH’s London hub, Mercadal racked up One Show, Clios, D&AD and Cannes Lions for his work on Johnnie Walker’s 2009 campaign, “The Man Who Walked Around the World.” In addition to the whiskey brand, Mercadal served as agency producer for a host of other clients including Axe (remember this from last year?), Audi, Dunlop, Mentos and Barclays.

Prior to BBH, Mercadal worked as a broadcast producer at the London offices of both Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi. He officially assumed his new role at Ogilvy on Tuesday.

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I don’t own a PS4, but I catch myself periodically humming the cover of Lou Reed‘s “Perfect Day” in BBH NY’s video game spot with the same title. For a brief refresher: the 60-second spot shows two gamers as iterations of the characters they’re competing with, such as medieval gladiators and race car drivers. If you watch enough TV, you’re bound to watch it. And it sticks with you, mainly because of the song, but compared to typical ad humor and action, this spot just marches to the beat of a different drummer.

One of those drummers – Ari Weiss, executive creative director of BBH NY – recently sat down with ADC for their Behind the Cube series to talk about the creative decisions that helped shape “Perfect Day.” Weiss talks about how the song actually guided the visuals, how the gamers were established as characters, and how editing set the spot’s unique pacing.

And on a somewhat-related note: ADC just announced they are launching an iPad app to show off their annual work developed in conjunction with Brazilian shop the goodfellas, ADC member/Google Creative Lab motion designer Monica Eunji Kim and U.K.-based creative director, Pete Rossi. It is the first time in the company’s 92-year history that the annual book will not be in print. ADC is also giving away free limited-edition iPad cases to the first 500 people who download the app.

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Sometimes, choosing the perfect song to set the mood can elevate a spot from good to great. That’s the case with BBH NY’s choice of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” in the latest ad that’s part of the ongoing “Greatness Awaits’ campaign for Playstation 4 (Sony also launched a new site to accompany the campaign here).

The song works as the perfect backdrop to the spot, conveying the feeling of a perfect day battling friends in a variety of games. Lou Reed’s classic song’s somber undertones fit perfectly with the onscreen mayhem, while the lyrics suggest that a day of slaughtering each other onscreen can in fact be a perfect day. I would have appreciated hearing the original version of the song, rather than having the actors in the spot sing it, but I guess BBH NY has decided it better underscores the theme of the effort to have the actors speaking the words directly. At any rate, the song choice is admirable and really makes the spot, which also does a pretty good job conveying the possibilities of the system without including any actual gameplay footage. It feels like a big step up from the earlier PS4 work, a more fully-realized conceptualization of the idea behind the campaign. Hopefully, the next time we see an ad for the system though, it will include some gameplay.

If you didn’t already really want a PS4 (you did) you do now. Or at least when it  hits shelves Nov. 15. Credits after the jump.

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During the NBA Finals last month, PlayStation debuted a new mini-film from BBH NY titled “Greatness Awaits” which featured a wide array of game characters and a whimsical narrator talking sternly to the camera (much like in this 2009 spot BBH NY did for Johnnie Walker). With over 5 million YouTube plays, the big budget ad was hailed as a mild success, falling somewhere between “Hedgehog Reacts to Fart” and “One Direction Crash Barbie’s Party! 1D Dolls Party All Night! OMG !.::Original Video::.”

To the untrained eye, it would appear that the spot’s success was owed to its subtle nods to some of PlayStation’s biggest titles paired with the sort of over-the-top visual effects that gamers subsist upon. However, any true gamer knows that the ad’s success is owed predominantly to the elaborate costuming employed, causing PlayStation to make a second ad in order to offer the costumes as prizes of some sort. Yes, it’s an ad for an ad, or “Adception” if you will.

Anyway, gamers can bid of the costumes from the spot using trophy points or something that they earn by being good at video games. Then everyone will play dress-up and have a great time. Learn more at bidforgreatness.com and view credits after the jump.

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It took six months and change, but BBH has finally selected a new CEO for North America in Patrick Lafferty, who joins said agency after spending two-and-a-half years at McCann and the last 18 months as its North American COO. Lafferty replaces Greg Andersen, who was one of those affected by BBH’s major “restructuring” last fall. Lafferty, who will officially assume his CEO title at BBH this summer and based out of its New York office, rounds out a leadership team that includes CCO John Patroulis, CSO Sarah Watson and chairman, Emma Cookson.

Lafferty’s soon-to-be boss, BBH Group CEO Gwyn Jones, says in a statement, “Patrick has a really calm authority and such a rich body of experience. He has seen and done a lot both within and beyond our industry – embracing client side, media ownership and the military. We have great strategic and creative strength in the business, and I think Pat will bring outstanding leadership to that offering. On top of all that – I think he is just a great person.”

As you’d expect, Lafferty, who was, yes, a former platoon leader/company commander in the U.S. Army, will be tasked with running both BBH New York, which of course handles Axe and now Playstation, and L.A., which services clients including Red Bull. During his career, the exec has also worked on the account side at Leo Burnett and as CMO at Travel Channel.

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Dude's got the right stuff! Talk about a payload specialist! No "Houston, we've got a problem" for this rocket jockey! Etc.! BBH London and Blink director Tom Tagholm score with its latest, interestingly shot "Nothing beats an astronaut" spot for Axe's Apollo and Deep Space body washes, thanks to playful morning-after imagery. A woman's clothing and underwear are strewn around an apartment, along with astronaut gear like boots, a helmet and a spacesuit. She wakes up looking supremely satisfied, while her lusty inner-space traveler showers with Axe, all systems presumably "go" for re-entry. Remember to practice safe sex, people, and keep your helmet on! Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Axe
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London
Creative Director: David Kolbusz
Creative: Gary McCreadie, Wesley Hawes
TV Producer: Ruben Mercadal
Production Company: Blink
Director: Tom Tagholm
Producer: Bruce Williamson
Executive Producer: James Bland
Photography: Vincent Warin
Production Designer: Andy Kelly
Production Manager: Ellie Britton
Postproduction: Framestore
Editing House: Stitch
Editor: Tim Hardy
Audio: Wave
Sound Designer: Aaron Reynolds
Music Production: Beacon Street Studios

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