Hasta La Creative!

Deutsch LA announces Verizon’s latest price offering in the new 30-second broadcast spot, “Cut Your Plan in Half.”

In the spot, Sprint promises customers who bring in an old Verizon or AT&T bill and turn in their phone that Sprint will cut their rate in half. It’s an ambitious (and/or desperate) offering from the struggling company, and Deutsch LA keeps the message simple and focused, while also following through on President/CEO Maurcelo Claure‘s promise that the company would be “more aggressive” in its advertising by directly calling out its competitors. Customers talk about their troublesome bills with AT&T and Verizon before announcing they’re switching to Sprint and (literally) cutting their old bills in half. The spot debuted this past Friday on national networks and cable during primetime, and will be supported by a Spanish-language spot and print ads.

Despite the launch of this spot by Deutsch LA, the agency’s preceding ad for the brand, and heavy rumors that Deutsch has already won the account, Sprint maintains that the creative review is still in progress, according to AdAge. Sprint spokesman Dave Mellin told that publication, “Deutsch L.A. did the creative work on this campaign.They are doing some work for us on a project basis.”

Sprint’s review was initially announced back in September, with the field narrowing to five agencies a month later. According to some sources, it then came down to a race between Deutsch LA and Arnold. Despite claims that Deutsch has been awarded the account, including a linked internal memo from Arnold  (which we reported on last month), Sprint continues to avoid making an official decision.

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Union Made Creative recently launched an inspirational ad for Lego targeted at young girls and for many the reaction will be: “It’s about time.”

Despite its roots of mostly gender-neutral marketing (which makes sense, given that there’s no real reason to attach a gender to building blocks), Lego has come under fire from many, including feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian, who devoted two segments of her “Feminist Frequency” series to the subject, for its overt marketing towards boys in recent decades. The “together” in the brand’s “Let’s Build Together” campaign, for example, was limited to fathers and sons. In 2012, the brand reacted by releasing its Lego Friends line, marketed towards girls, but the extension was viewed by many as an after-thought at best and by its more vocal critics, as Sarkeesian put it, a “a pastel-colored gender-stereotyped suburban wasteland.” That Lego Friends is “for girls” only reinforces the problematic notion that the rest of Lego’s products are intended for boys. The majority of sets in the line feature stereotypically feminine constructions like beauty salons and bakeries, and are dominated by soft pastel colored blocks.

A kind of tipping point came early this year when a letter from a 7-year-old girl went viral and put renewed pressure on Lego to better serve its female fans. The company showed that they might finally be getting the message this summer when they released the Lego Research Institute, developed by Swedish geochemist Ellen Kooijman through the fan-sourced Ideas platform, which features three female scientists. The limited-edition set sold out within days, delivering a clear message to the company that there’s a demand for such products.

All of which brings us to “Inspire Imagination and Keep Building” from Union Made Creative, which (finally) addresses many of the sexist tendencies in Lego’s advertising. “I don’t always want you to help me,” says a girl narrator at the beginning of the ad, “Do you know why? I want to figure it out on my own.” While the ad shows the girl playing with figures from Lego’s Friends set, it shows her using those pieces in creative ways, and she doesn’t play with them exclusively. She also makes a hospital bed and plays doctor, creates a helicopter and a maze for a hamster. In short, it explores the wonder and imagination at the core of the brand. “Because you taught me how to think and how to dream,” the narrator says at the conclusion of the spot, “I’m about to make something that I know will make you proud.”

The ad is very well crafted and would be emotionally powerful even without the background of the brand’s gender-biased marketing, but is all the more so because of it. At the very least it is a big step in the right direction for Lego, as they hopefully continue to move toward making all of their fans feel equally welcome, regardless of gender. (more…)

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BBDO Toronto examines the idea of “progress” and what it really means in a new spot promoting Prince Edward County, entitled “Progress Redefined.”

“It was progress that put a hole in our ozone” begins the voiceover in the spot, going on to question what the word really means in what appears to be audio captured at some kind of speech. The audio is juxtaposed with footage of the scenic county, captured by director by Chris Muir of Someplace Nice. This footage seems to present an alternative to the hustle and bustle of modern life hinted at in the description of progress, which converges when the speaker finally decides that progress “has given us a chance to redefine it.”

“We wanted to capture the essence of The County,’ explained Carlos Moreno, SVP, executive creative director, BBDO Toronto. “The County is holding progress at bay, embracing artisanal crafts and an authentic way of doing things.”

The approach makes sense, given that many of Prince Edward County’s offerings — local wineries, its farm-to-table dining establishments and “rustic-chic aesthetics,” to name a few — are reflective of the kind of values hinted at in “Progress Redefined.” Prince Edward County was pleased with the results. Neil Carbone, director of community development said, “We are thrilled with the result and eager to promote the idea of ‘real progress’ in marketing The County.” (more…)

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Constellation Brands Beer Division announced a new partnership with Ogilvy Chicago on its Corona Light and Modelo Especial brands today, with Ogilvy being tasked with assisting “in the development and execution of marketing strategies to increase brand awareness, stimulate product trials, and accelerate sales for these two brands,” effective January 1st. Coronoa Extra was not part of the review, and will remain with Cramer-Krasselt.

Just last month we reported that Constellation had put portions of its Corona and Modelo brands up for review after Constellation and GS&P “mutually agreed to end their relationship” — although it was unclear at the time exactly which portions of the brands were up for grabs. Corona Light is the number one imported light beer in America, and fifth imported beer overall. Modelo Especial, meanwhile, has seen tremendous growth in recent years — with Constellation reporting “sales growth in the high double-digits over the past several years” — leading some to question if the brand is the “next Corona.” Modelo Especial’s growth has come without traditional ad support (the brand has yet to see a national broadcast campaign, for example) so it could be that Ogilvy Chicago will be tasked with bringing the brand to a larger stage. (more…)

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W+K Amsterdam looked to Blake Griffin to celebrate the arrival of the new Nike Jordan collection to Foot Locker with a new ad entitled “Above Expectations.”

The 30-second spot, filmed in black and white by director Paul Hunter, addresses Griffin’s naysayers, who pigeonhole the Clippers star as “just a dunker.” Addressing those expectations right away, the voiceover advises viewers, “If you expect another Blake Griffin dunk compilation, change the channel,” before going on to commend the star on his rebound, passing and ball-handling skills. Thankfully, it doesn’t highlight Griffin’s slam poetry skills. “That’s the thing about expectations,” the spot concludes, “you can live up to them, or rise above them.” Playfully, the online version of the ad then advertises a link to “See the jump man dunk, man” which links to a video where Griffin concedes “Alright, you’ve come this far, I’ll give you just one.”

The spot is airing on broadcast in France and Italy, as well as online across Europe, where it is supported by digital and social initiatives.

“The Jordan brand has a long tradition of showing athletes in a unique light, so it was nice to show the world a whole other side to Blake Griffin,” said David Smith, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam creative director, in a press release. (more…)

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Grey London created one of the more off-the-wall Christmas spots you’ll see this year with “Christmas Choir,” promoting McVitie’s Victoria cookies.

In the spot, a family sits around on a sleepy holiday evening when the father decides to open up a box of McVitie’s biscuits. Upon opening the container, a chorus of tiny, adorable animals begins barking, meowing, quacking and otherwise vocalizing to the tune of 80s hit “Only You” by Yaz. The chorus of cuddly critters is, clearly, meant to evoke the happiness evoked by digging in to a box of McVitie’s (in this case punctuating a case of holiday doldrums), but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that around the 44 second mark a tiny narwhal whale emerges from the depths of a punch bowl. For that, Grey London, we thank you. (more…)

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M&C Saatchi LA has launched a global holiday campaign for UGG Australia, centered around the 60-second broadcast spot “Twinkling Lights” promoting the brand’s holiday collection.

The spot features what appears to be a large group of women dressed in identical white outfits performing a choreographed dance routine, with the dancers dropping twinkling lights to create a snowflake pattern. In reality, only eight dancers were used in the making of the video, with those dancers digitally duplicated to give the impression that there’s a larger group. The ad, which channels a kind of throwback vibe with its choreographed spectacle and unfettered holiday cheeriness, ends with the tagline, “This is magic. This is UGG.”

“We really wanted to tap into the spirit of the season, the emotional connections that people have around the holidays and how UGG figures into that equation,” explained Nancy Mamann, vice president, global marketing, UGG Australia. “We really think that this multi-channel campaign epitomizes our brand positioning and highlights the beautiful holiday product we have this season in a campaign that is both premium and engaging.”

The global campaign featuring “Twinkling Lights” is rolling out in markets including the US, Canada, France, UK, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and Italy, with a second spot entitled “Passing Out Presents” set to break later in the season. Aside from the digital ads, the campaign includes a social element encompassing a shoppable gift guide on Instagram and “additional content stories that speak to the season and themes of the broader campaign across Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,” as well as OOH and in-store components.

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JWT London produced this thoroughly minimalist ad for Canon Europe which foregoes any music or voiceover, instead relying completely on ambient sound as it depicts the nocturnal foraging of local deer.

The 90-second ad, entitled “Urban Deer” was shot by director Jonathan Glazer in “a London/Essex suburb near Epping Forest,” (according to Adweek) in the early hours of the morning as deer emerge from a wooded area to graze on suburban lawns. “Urban Deer” follows the deer as they graze, at one point joined by a fox and cat, before the neighborhood’s human inhabitants wake up. At the end of the spot, the tagline “Come and see” appears onscreen, before finally revealing the Canon logo and letting viewers know what is being advertised. While visually stunning and powerful in its starkness, it may be a little too minimalist for its own good. How many viewers will actually sit through the entire ad, and how many of those will realize the connection between the striking images in “Urban Deer” and Canon, the brand it is promoting? We’re guessing not that many. (Although JWT London does address this somewhat with a campaign site documenting photography techniques used to capture some of the shots in the ad.) (more…)

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Ever wonder who it is and is not okay to give underwear to as a holiday present? Well, CP+B has got you covered in its new holiday spot for Fruit of the Loom, entitled “The Rules of Underwear Giving.”

“There are some people you should give underwear to this holiday,” the spot begins, showing a couple appreciatively exchanging pairs of Fruit of the Loom, both far happier than anyone has ever been to receive underwear. “And there are some people you shouldn’t,” the ad goes on, showing a disgruntled mailman shaking his head. The tongue-in-cheek formula continues for the remainder of the 30-second broadcast spot, reminding you that maybe it’s not the best idea to buy underwear for your boss, teacher, doorman or a police officer, ending with the tagline, “You shouldn’t give underwear to everybody, but for those you do, give them Fruit of the Loom.”

CP+B’s humorous approach is a welcome change in underwear advertising, and manages to be jokey about the holidays while also promoting the product as a holiday gift. In fact, while no one is going to be overjoyed about unwrapping a present and finding Fruit of the Loom, they glamorize the idea a bit by pointing out that it’s a gift you would only give to someone with whom you have a close relationship. Not a bad way to make gifting unmentionables seem appealing.

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Back in September, McKinney created an ad for Samsung starring the almost-too-cute Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard preparing for a night out only to stay in wasting time on their Galaxy Tab S. Now the couple has returned in a holiday effort for Samsung, presumably also from McKinney that sees Dax decorating the house with a little help from a very pregnant Kristen.

In the spot, entitled “Home for the Holidays,” the couple communicates via video as Dax scours the attic for decorations and goes to the store for holiday treats and Dax shows off Samsung’s smart watch when he takes a call from Kristen while setting up lights on the roof. When they finally complete decorating and switch the lights on Kristen says suggestively, “You know what this gets me in the mood for?” — but it’s not what you think. Viewers who enjoyed the cutesy appeal of the couple’s previous Samsung ad will find plenty to like here. Those who found that spot a little cute for its own good will probably want to skip this one.

If you’re wondering how close to real life the couple’s antics in the spot are, the answer is pretty close. According to Todd Pendleton, chief marketing officer at Samsung Telecommunications America, “Kristen and Dax go big for the holidays and their traditions from wearing matching pajamas and sweaters to decorating the house Griswold style are all true to what they do in real life.”

(more…)

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