Hasta La Creative!

GIFs have been around for 25 years, but they’re exploding in popularity in a web that caters to visuals and content curators. As once stated in a New York Times article, “GIFs function as glorified emoticons” with the ability to punctuate a moment.

The ad:tech blog has summarized a special GIF-format report from 360i that explores why GIFs are enjoying a renaissance, how to create successful GIFs and five ways brands can use them to their advantage.

Check out the full details here.

From Chicago’s Energy BBDO comes two new spots for Orbit that illustrate the mantra “Eat, Drink, Chew,” a saying that became popular in North Carolina and surrounding regions in the late 18th century.

With the famed Tobacco Road turning to alternative industries due to America’s feeble attempt to kick its dirty, smelly habit, Wrigley brand Orbit is jumping at the opportunity to turn the saying into something positive for its strain of refreshing after-meal gum. To illustrate that Orbit fights bad breath, they’ve turned to living, breathing food mutant actors. Traditionally maligned by society due to their unsightly presence and caustic personalities, it’s inspiring to see these social outcasts given a role, whether they’re a pile of buttery mashed potatoes or a hunk of unidentifiable fried meat.

A second spot depicts working-class Americans’ number one reason for avoiding polo matches. No, it’s not the overabundance of pastel Ralph Lauren sweaters; it’s the fear of breathing partially digested nacho particles onto a horse that someone probably paid a lot of money and accidentally killing it. Remember, only Orbit can prevent a life of indentured servitude under the employ of an oil baron whose polo horse you mistakenly murdered. Credits after the jump.
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Verizon, of all companies, wants you to put down your electronic devices and jog. The telecom giant created the world’s longest Pinterest post–a lengthy road–and once you click the down arrow to the finish line, there are some motivational words: “You burned 1/2 a calorie. Imagine how many calories you’d burn if you got up, went outside, and exercised.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is “fitspiration.” I doubt that word is going to capture the public’s attention, but at least they want people to be healthier.

It doesn’t actually take that long for you to scroll from top to bottom, so even though Verizon’s intent is admirable, this long road is more like a post of futility that will annoy Pinterest users. If you happened to be wowed by the concept, there’s a short video you can watch after the jump that suggests a list of Verizon products you can purchase to improve your fitness. Or, you know, you could just jog and get fit while burning off steam since you wasted three minutes scrolling through the world’s longest Pinterest post. Your choice.

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Even though The Return of Mike and Ike is a fake movie, the trailer looks more interesting than most of the previews we see in theaters on a regular basis. For those who’ve forgotten, Mike and Ike had a brutal split last year, causing lovers of the fruity candy to sink into a deep depression. As you can see, they’re back together, in a faux crime-thriller movie trailer that may or may not associate Mike and Ikes with drugs. Probably not great for the under-12 demographic, but at least this spot tries to creatively rebrand an old-school candy. Part of me wonders if they should’ve gone with such a serious tone. Maybe a buddy-cop comedy satire could’ve lent itself to some needed humor.

The campaign for the Just Born candy brand, which also includes a new website, was created by Elevator Group (Scituate, Massachusetts) and Nail Communication (Providence, Rhode Island). I’m not sure if this ad will translate to more candy sales, but it certainly shows how easy it is to create a mock thriller trailer. Throw in some angry old white dudes, an undercover blonde co-ed, minor-league Inception orchestra music, and scenes of people running and/or yelling. Two thumbs up? You be the judge when this fake movie doesn’t come to a theater near you.

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We suppose it’s all well and good for a brand such as Nike to hook up with an athlete such as skateboarder Eric Koston but all we get after watching this Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners- created Nike Koston 2 ad is that, well, skateboarders are punks who break the law.

Yea, Koston does a solid by catching a baby at the end but before that he’s all about mayhem and destruction. Is this what Nike really wants kids doing when they strap on a pair of Koston’s? And, yes, we understand the ad is the stuff ove roverblown legend but still.

Perhaps our sources were right back in January when telling us that iShares was fairly press-shy, as it took nearly two months for the exchange-traded funds company, owned by investment management firm BlackRock, to at least officially divulge that it’s reunited with Ogilvy–specifically OgilvyOne–on its relationship marketing business. We reported in January, though, that OgilvyOne had already been working on this portion of the business, which was handled since 2009 by MRM, for some time, but had taken over the U.S. account in full.

No clarification on this yet, but the parties involved tell us that the RM portion of the iShares account (McCann previously handled the actual brand advertising) was actually not up for pitch. Anyhow, BlackRock’s global CMO Raj Seshadri has finally spoken out about the Ogilvy appointment (to be led by the San Francisco office) and here’s her statement: ” “At iShares, we believe that every investor is unique. Therefore each investor deserves a tailored suite of products and a personal experience that meets their individual needs. That’s why we are so excited to work with OgilvyOne – the team impressed us with their ideas, passion and the quality of the creative. They’ve developed not just great direct marketing ideas, but simply great business ideas.”

Update: Quick clarification on the matter. We’ve been told by those in the know that Ogilvy proper has actually been working on the brand advertising for iShares, previously handled by McCann, since January 2012. On the relationship marketing front, OgilvyOne won the business in December of last year but didn’t officially start work on it until March 1.

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Both fast-food eateries are running “Mrs. Robinson,” a 30-second homage to The Graduate with Heidi Klum doing her best Anne Bancroft. The spot, created once again by 72andSunny (last work for the CKE chain here), promotes the Jim Beam Bourbon Burger. Odds are that Klum doesn’t regularly eat the fine cuisine she endorses, but we won’t hold it against you if you replay the part where she sucks up barbecue sauce from her finger.

Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have actually turned down the overt sexuality in their ads–remember last year’s Kate Upton commercial? I’ve eaten their burgers once or twice in my life, and I can assure you, they are not aphrodisiacs unless you’re a local gastroenterologist who needs more business. Credits after the jump.

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We’ve put in the inquiries with the United States Postal Service on this, but until we receive comment, we’re hearing from sources in the know that some of the agencies pitching for the USPS creative business include WPP siblings JWT and Grey. We’ve been told that both are finalists while other names that have been thrown in the hat include Mullen and Droga5, though the latter two have yet to confirm involvement (Update: We’ve been told by sources that Mullen is NOT in the mix, though the first two we’ve mentioned are).

It’s been six months since the government agency began cutting ties with Campbell-Ewald, which had been working with USPS for 10 years. The Postal Service shifted its media duties, meanwhile, to UM. Sources add that a decision is expected to be made by the USPS in April.

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Diego, our hapless protagonist, suffers from what I’d like to call the Herbal Essence Effect. Every time the camera shows his face, his long locks blow gently in a make-believe wind. Presumably, Diego is a man’s man, but he’s unaware of the feminine yet magical impact his shampoo is having. In a nice creative touch, Diego even keeps his shampoo handy at the office. It’s pink. Then the lightbulb goes off.

Shampoo commercials targeted at men often go with the models-will-love-you approach, but Ogilvy Sao Paulo has taken the road less traveled. It appears to have paid off–more than 700k views in 4 days–this is the kind of spot that could go viral for the right reasons: It’s short, funny, subversive compared to what we’re used to seeing, and best of all, tells a story.

Watch as Diego reclaims his manhood and stops distracting all of his coworkers. Credits after the jump.

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We could use a little color–ok, a LOTof color–at this point in the day, considering what kind of day it’s been, and adidas and Champs Sports dutifully help the cause with this Originals effort from Portland-based shop, Kamp Grizzly that hypes the adiColor collection. While there’s no A-Trak to start the party this time around, we have the sounds of hip-production duo TNGHT and pro athletes like Knicks guard Iman “still kicking the House Party look” Shumpert and Broncos LB Von Miller to provide the freneticism.

Additionally, if you’re one of those folks who spend way more time than you should huddled at the end of the bar playing one of those photo hunt games, there’s an adiColor version tied into this campaign that can you try out here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.