Hasta La Creative!

AMV BBDO has a new series of ads for Snickers’ ongoing “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign, resurrecting Rowan Atkinson‘s Mr. Bean character.

In the longest of the three broadcast spots, Atkinson’s character finds himself jumping over rooftops with a group of ninjas, in a parody of kung fu movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Only, while his colleagues glide gracefully from rooftop to rooftop, Mr. Bean has a bit more trouble and eventually finds himself crashing through the roof to an angry group of warriors below. At this point, one of his fellow ninjas tosses him a Snickers, saying “…you can’t concentrate when you’re hungry, eat a Snickers” and he’s back to his old self.

The character is a perfect fit for the popular “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” approach, and the spots are all pretty entertaining. In the remaining pair (featured after the jump), Atkinson’s character practices nunchucks and kata, with less than stellar results. Atkinson’s character is such a good fit — he’s certainly one of the best celebrities featured in the ongoing campaign — that you almost wonder why he hasn’t been featured before. (more…)

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Both women and the word “erection” have been conspicuously absent from Viagra’s advertising — until BBDO’s most recent ad for Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction medication, that is.

A new spot features a woman with a British accent giving men an idea of what erectile dysfunction is like from the partner’s point of view. “It’s just you and your honey, the setting is perfect,” she begins, with beach scenery in the background. “You know what, plenty of guys have this issue, not just getting an erection but keeping it,” she goes on, sounding a bit like a partner reassuring a man having troubled in the bedroom. She goes on to offer Viagra as the solution (and says “erection” again), while touting it as something you only take when you need it. “If ED is stopping what you started, ask your doctor about Viagra,” she concludes, before the list of health risks is accompanied by a barrage of ridiculous phallic imagery, including flag poles, a ship’s mast off in the distance, a long pier extending into the ocean, etc.

It’s definitely a change in approach for Viagra, whose advertising previously avoided discussing erectile dysfunction directly (and explicitly the word “erection”). Perhaps the new approach is a sign that people are ready for more direct discussions about the issue, rather than the insinuations of past ads. Still, despite the new direction, the spot still comes across as somewhat awkward in tone and the phallic imagery at its conclusion seems a bit overkill. Then again, this isn’t a category that has seen any non-awkward advertising, so maybe we should just be thankful that there aren’t his and her bathtubs.

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GE has been doing a lot of poignant ads through BBDO New York lately—the dreamy fantasy world of “Childlike Imagination” (an Emmy nominee this year); the haunting dystopia of “Ideas Are Scary”; the adorably odd science fiction of “The Boy Who Beeps.”

So, obviously it was time to completely change things up—and hire Tim & Eric (aka, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) to direct a barely clothed but great-haired Jeff Goldblum in this totally bonkers fake infomercial for the GE Link lighting solutions.

It’s kind of all over the map, but the two-minute spot has lots of enjoyable over-the-top moments—particularly the peppy transitions from super-suave Goldblum to the “unremarkable nobodies” who deliver the testimonials.

A fake infomercial isn’t the route you’d typically choose for explaining new technology like GE Link. But this seems to be more of an awareness play. We’ll find out later whether it really does make everyone look like a cocky, raven-haired movie actor.

This ad from Major League Baseball honoring Derek Jeter is perhaps the simplest, least epic tribute we’ve seen to the Yankees captain, who, barring an unlikely postseason appearance by the team, will play his final game this Sunday against the Red Sox in Boston.

But for my money, the spot, from BBDO New York, is also the most poignant and moving Jeter tribute of the season, because it eschews grandeur and hype to focus on the future Hall of Famer’s most important legacy: the generations who grew up idolizing No. 2.

They’re embodied here by California Angeles outfielder Mike Trout, the most complete player in baseball today, along with college and high-school stars, right down to Little League phenoms Mo’ne Davis and Marquis Jackson.

In the low-key 30-second ad, we see youngsters copy Jeet’s mannerisms in the batter’s box and at shortstop, intercut with footage of the man himself, followed by the words, “A model of greatness. Thanks, Derek.”

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During his storied 20-year career, Jeter has always given 100 percent on the field—and in an era when so many professional athletes capsize in controversy, agents of their own destruction, the Captain has sailed above the fray, celebrated for his dignified demeanor and respect for the game.

Sure, it’s an image. But that’s the whole point. It’s an image worth emulating, a model for success that transcends Jeter’s many roles—team leader, five-time World Series champ, media celebrity—and gives kids hope that if they follow his example, they can overcome their struggles and achieve something great, whatever that may be.

The Jeter paeans from Gatorade (made with his input) and Nike’s Jordan Brand are each 90 seconds long and stand as suitably heartfelt, dazzling farewells to a player who’s meant so much to so many for so long.

The MLB spot goes deeper. It reminds us why heroes are important in an increasingly complex, confounding and cynical world, and gives Trout and his superstar peers a lofty standard—beyond wins, stats and multi-year contracts—to swing for.

Fellow New Yorkers and others around the world know that the 9/11 Memorial Museum finally opened in May after years of debate and ugly political infighting.

While the establishment is not free from controversy today, it has already become something of a city institution. Today sees the debut of the memorial’s first promotional campaign, created pro-bono by BBDO New York in collaboration with animation house Elastic.

The two-minute spot, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg:

Keep in mind that this is a true story: The Survivor Tree does exist, and it was indeed rescued by those on the scene. The poem, though, comes from BBDO creative directors Rick Williams and Marcel Yunes.

The campaign includes a social media fundraising component as well.

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We’ve seen plenty of ads that use KIDS to illustrate the power—and limits—of technology. But rarely does it translate in a way that doesn’t seem hokey or freakishly dystopian.

GE and BBDO are on a roll lately, making some of advertising’s more conceptually profound spots. But their latest collaboration is one of the year’s most poignant. In “The Boy Who Beeps,” we follow the life of a child who has an unusual birth defect—instead of normal human speech, he emits a robot-like language and communicates more effectively with machines than people.

GE argues that this is perhaps more of an advantage than a handicap, as emphasized by the on-screen line at the end.

Perhaps advertising’s sequel to “Her,” the spot subtly creates a reality that could go down a subversive path. Instead it weaves today’s languages, human and machine, into a charming scenario to which many in our industrial society can relate, despite the bizarre premise.

You have to wonder why Mom was fooling around with the modem, though.

CREDITS
Client: GE
Spot: “The Boy Who Beeps”
Agency: BBDO New York
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director: Michael Aimette 
CD/Copywriter: Tim Roan
ACD/Art Director: Lance Vining
Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe
Executive Producer: Diane Hill
Producer: George Sholley
Junior Producer: Sasha White
Head of Music Production: Rani Vaz
Executive Music Producer: John Melillo       

BBDO New York tells the story of “The Boy Who Beeps” in a new online spot for GE.

The two-minute ad begins with the boy’s birth, and the beeping sound he makes in place of the usual baby’s wail. It’s soon apparent that the boy can communicate with machines. This starts off small, with him using his voice to change the channel or hit snooze on his alarm clock, but soon he’s using his power for greater purposes. Maybe it’s the great soundtrack by Beck, but the strange story is oddly touching somehow. Coming on the heels of the recent “Ideas,” it seems that BBDO is going in an emotional direction in their online work for GE. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Since this is pre-football week, here’s a BBDO ad for Snickers that tells us that Johnny Manziel is trying to improve upon his personal “brand” after a rough start.

Rather than simply sweating because he didn’t get picked until the 22nd round of the draft, he’s sweating here because he has yet to meet his daily calorie count.

Manziel also stars in a new Nissan ad launched today, but we have to wonder whether he will become the celebrity he was born to be given the fact that he’ll be watching the season opener from the sidelines.

Maybe he just needs to serve as the butt of the joke in his next ad.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In the latest BBDO-helmed project for client Mountain Dew, the agency has created something even our own sharpest critics must call unique: an animated/live-action mini-series.

Make that a “mini mini-series” — it amounts to two minutes of material in the form of eight different shorts starring the Dew’s as-yet-unnamed “superhero” mascot.

The series focuses less on the client’s product than on the aforementioned cartoon doing cartoonish things:

While the spots debuted on Sunday night’s Video Music Awards, they received a healthy promo push targeting the brand’s Twitter followers and its nearly 9 million Facebook fans (along with their friends).

Most of the spots focus on unconventional methods of transportation…

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BBDO New York taps Houston Rockets star James Harden and retired NBA greats Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen for a funny new spot entitled “Short Memory,” which promises to be the first in a series.

When Harden asks Barkley for advice on starting the new season fresh, Barkley explains that all the greats have short memories. Harden asks if that means Barkley forgot about it if he had a bad game, to which Barkley replies that he never had a bad game. Harden persists with a series of questions, until Barkley cuts him off, seeing that he doesn’t get it, and turns to Scottie Pippen for help. Pippen perfectly encapsulates Barkley’s point, declaring himself the greatest Chicago Bull ever — which would be true with a parenthetical “(available for selection in NBA Jam).”

It’s a clever spot, making good use of Barkley’s comedic potential, even if Harden comes across a bit stiff in comparison. Pippen’s tongue-in-cheek boast alone gives “Shot Memory” viral potential, which the spot already seems to be fulfilling. It has racked up almost 600,000 views since being posted yesterday. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.