Hasta La Creative!

After battling several “international adversaries” as we’ve been told, Dutch digital shops Momkai was tapped to create a new visual identity and website for Red Bull Studios, which spans a network of ten recording studios from L.A. to New York to London to Auckland. The end results of Momkai’s efforts can be found in the case study clips above and below. The goal of this project for Red Bull, which is based in Austria (news to us), is to give the brand’s studios some digital uplift while helping support creative talent and introducing visitors to both known and unknown artists. Well, it sure beats the hell out the spots we’ve been jamming and practicing at over the years.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We’re almost at that time of year when mothers get to relax and collect motherly gifts in return for their maternal love and care. These moms get their 24 hours and go back to the daily routine, but mothers of athletes, the ones who give up free time to constantly drive to practices and games all over the place and pour cash into training and coaches and uniforms, those moms might deserve two days.

In collaboration with Sport Chek, Sid Lee has created a new campaign featuring Canadian Olympic hockey player Meaghan Mikkelson in honor of the past sacrifices her parents made along the way that contributed to her athletic success. The thirty-second spot directed by Tom Tagholm could just be another Nike ad if not for some inspirational voiceover from Mama Mikkelson. During the London Olympics, we saw a similar campaign from Tide, where moms were thanked for their dedication to the athletic success of their offspring. This commercial isn’t all that different, but it’s still appropriate considering the timing. Some moms deserve to be thanked at least twice, so we’ll overlook the conceptual similarities as May 12 approaches.

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Yeah, we got this news just before noon EST, but thanks to meetings and what not, we were kinda hampered. But, whatever the case, let us tell you if you haven’t heard already that CP+B and longtime client Domino’s continue their efforts to promote ultimate transparency for the brand to the masses with “Domino’s Live.” Salt Lake City is the pizza chain’s venue of choice for this pilot program, and with the aid of five installed cameras, we get quite the glimpse into the what happens when pizza chains stop being nice and start getting real. Ok, maybe it’s not that dramatic, nor as high-tension or unintentionally hilarious as something like Food Network’s Restaurant Stakeout and its host with horrible grammar, but you can check out the goings on here. Consider this effort one that brings your Domino’s web-based “Pizza Tracker” to life, if you will, though we’re not sure which viewing experience is more exciting at this point.

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The outpouring of support for Jason Collins, the NBA player, who recently earned the title of the first openly gay male athlete on a major American sports team, has been impressive.

JetBlue has raised its flag of support for Collins in the form of a Mullen-created social media ad which transformed the brand’s i-people logo into a multi-colored show of support. The ad carries the headline, Thanks Jason, TOday We’re All on the Same Team.”

The ad was posted to the brand’s Twitter and Facebook pages and, predictably, the comments have been mixed.

Instead of skimming social media posts and hashtags for news updates, The Economist wants you to go deeper. Putting aside the sexual innuendo for a minute, “Dare 2 Go Deep,” created by Atmosphere Proximity, confronts an important topic in our short-attention-span world that continues to value speed more than depth. Investigating into the news instead of repeating tweets is one way to do this, according to the campaign. The attached video features the inspirational verve of comedian/actor J.B. Smoove, who must’ve taken some time off from his video game endorsement duties to help us all go deeper.

While the campaign was probably built with good intentions, it’s hard to ignore the blatant innuendo, which comes across as a dad trying to be funny in front of his kid’s friends with some stiff entendres. The Economist, after all, boasts a large chunk of readers who earn six-figures–maybe going deep is an awkward way to reach out to younger demographics? Smoove thrusting on a Segway and yelling, “I go deep,” as the spittle from the corners of his mouth land on students in the eighth row is a great stroke, but maybe not for current and future readers of the magazine. J.B. Smoove is still awesome enough to make the video enjoyable, just want to reiterate that point.

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It looks like P&G made its announce ahead of the 1pm EST time that we were hearing about today, as Grey indeed has won the Gillette business, thus ending a review that lasted seven months (judging by the tips box, P&G made the announce as early as 11am today). We were told by those in the know that staffers were on “pins and needles” for the last few days–for obvious reasons–though as far as we know, Grey was tipped to win Gillette as of last week.

Of course, the agency folks can now breathe a sigh of relief and pop open the champagne as their agency’s officially picked up global ad duties for the men’s shaving/grooming brand (hell, we still swear by our Mach 3), which were previously handled by BBDO (the agency’s relationship with Gillette dates back half-a-century). The latter agency along with Saatchi & Saatchi were reported to have been the other finalists in the review.

Update: And as expected, our sources have sent us an internal memo from Grey regarding the Gillette win. After the jump, you can read the agency chairman/CEO Jim Heekin‘s note to staff, who from what we’re hearing will be partying it up tonight:

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I must admit that I’m not the avid videogamer I once was. I hung up my gaming cleats in my late teens (about five years ago) and have watched the new releases from afar, flexing my knuckles, trying to avoid a destiny of Carpal tunnel syndrome. Usually, videogame ads all look the same and sport some generic 9/10 rating. But occasionally, a commercial will stand out and make wonder whether I should play again. For those of us who are worried about falling off the wagon, a compelling game ad can be both exciting and scary.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified trailer – created by Team One, which also handles Lexus of course – may be vague, but it is certainly not generic. The three-minute spot sells tone in a cinematic style, and according to Team One, contains 20 Easter eggs for future customers. The game is set in the Cold War and re-imagines a doomsday Cold War where aliens invade instead of Russians. You then have the fearless protagonist who will stop at no costs to complete his mission. The game will be out August 20, and the creators have promised more mysterious pieces of ad content leading up to the release date.

Credits after the jump.

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Not the best way to end the day, but Holly Brockwell, a London-based digital copywriter’s note to Hyundai and its agency, Innocean, regarding their new ad campaign, had us figuratively chopping onions for a few minutes. If you haven’t seen the campaign, which promotes the automaker’s ix35 in the most awkward of ways, look above (Update: It looks like the videos keep getting taken down, so don’t be surprised if it happens again; We’ll just provide screen grabs if need be. Update 2: And, yes, it’s now been officially pulled by the brand) . Anyhow, the man in the ad survives his attempted suicide thanks to Hyundai’s apparent 100 percent water emissions. Unfortunately, Brockwell’s dad died in the same manner, and after watching the spot, she penned this letter to the brand and agency via her blog. It’s, as mentioned, a heartbreaker and we truly feel for her. Here’s just an excerpt:

“When your ad started to play, and I saw the beautifully-shot scenes of taped-up car windows with exhaust feeding in, I began to shake. I shook so hard that I had to put down my drink before I spilt it. And then I started to cry. I remembered looking out of the window to see the police and ambulance, wondering what was happening. I remember mum sitting me down to explain that daddy had gone to sleep and would not be waking up, and no, he wouldn’t be able to take me to my friend’s birthday party next week. No, he couldn’t come back from heaven just for that day, but he would like to if he could. I remember finding out that he had died holding my sister’s soft toy rabbit in his lap.

Surprisingly, when I reached the conclusion of your video, where we see that the man has in fact not died thanks to Hyundai’s clean emissions, I did not stop crying. I did not suddenly feel that my tears were justified by your amusing message. I just felt empty. And sick. And I wanted my dad.”

Her final note to the parties involved says it all: “My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I.” We obviously can’t blame her. Let’s just see if and when or how agency and/or brand responds.

Updated: Well, that didn’t take long. Barely 90 minutes after this post, Hyundai has offered this to us verbatim:

Hyundai Motor America Statement:

“We at Hyundai Motor America are shocked and saddened by the depiction of a suicide attempt in an inappropriate European video featuring a Hyundai. Suicide merits thoughtful discussion, not this type of treatment.”

Hyundai Motor Company Statement:

“Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologizes for the offensive viral ad.

The ad was created by an affiliate advertising agency, Innocean Europe, without Hyundai’s request or approval. It runs counter to our values as a company and as members of the community. We are very sorry for any offense or distress the video caused. More to the point, Hyundai apologizes to those who have been personally impacted by tragedy.”

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Last week, I posted some contrarian views on Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” idea. Writing in Forbes CMO Network, Will Burns leaps to the defense of Dove and smacks down the criticism of the video, calling the criticism “ugly” and “absurd.”

Burns is off the mark here with his characterizations. There’s nothing ugly or absurd about the reaction to Dove’s advertising idea. When people feel a personal, visceral reaction to an advertising idea and express that opinion, it’s terrific. Even if someone misinterprets an idea or projects their own feelings onto it, it’s still valid, as advertising is a subjective art. It means we as advertising people have touched a nerve, and hopefully it leads to productive discussion. There aren’t any mass boycotts, protests in the street, or violence related to this Dove campaign. That would be “ugly” and “absurd.”

Encouraging discussion, positive and negative, is something more brands should aspire to.

It’s no surprise that brands which have emphasized a belief system or aspirational messages — Dove, Nike, Apple, Tom’s Shoes, Chick-fil-A, Whole Foods, and many others — have found themselves the object of criticism. Any business practice or customer experience that seems to be contradictory to the ideals professed in the advertising or marketing gets a closer look.

As consumers, and as marketing people, we criticize because we love. We criticize because we care. We want brands and companies to live up to the values they preach.

It’s the subject of my new column on Talent Zoo.

The post Authentic Brands Attract, And Deserve, Authentic Scrutiny appeared first on AdPulp.

On Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul hit a 15-foot bank shot as time expired to put his team up 2-0 over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs. You should have seen it—it was really cool.

You know what’s even cooler? The fact that Chris Paul finally met his long-lost brother who we learned existed during the holiday season. Finally, State Farm and agency Translation’s sick little experiment, which included separating twins at a young age and documenting their lives for over two decades in the name of insurance, is coming to an end. Finally, Chris Paul can be at peace. And, finally, Cliff Paul has enough money to quit his job at State Farm once an for all, pursuing a new career of professional moocher.

However, having established a reputation for inhumane cruelty, don’t count out the possibility that Translation isn’t done toiling in the lives of the brothers Paul. Sure, they may have reunited the twins, but that doesn’t mean that before the NBA Finals, Cliff is “accidentally” run over by an uninsured driver. I’m just saying, if Blake Griffin shows up to Cliff’s funeral wearing an argyle sweater in a few months, don’t be surprised. Credits after the jump.

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