Johannes Leonardo Celebrates ‘#OriginalSuperstar’ for Adidas

Johannes Leonardo explores the meaning of the term “superstar” and celebrates Adidas’ original Superstar shoe from 1969, while trotting out a slew of celebrities, in a new 90-second spot entitled “#OriginalSuperstar.”

Those celebrities aren’t just current and former athletes; NBA player Damian Lillard makes an appearance, along with David Beckham, but so do Pharrell Williams and Rita Ora. It’s a sign of the brand moving away from an athletic-wear image and hyping up its fashion cache. “If you think a superstar is standing on stage, filling up stadiums, and selling out concert halls,” Ora begins at the opening of the spot, and the rest of the 90 seconds follows the same basic formula. Each celebrity begins their own “If you think a superstar…” statement before passing it on to the next, until Pharrell finally concludes, “…then I am not a superstar.”

Over the course of the 90 seconds the repetitive, onanistic approach becomes a little grating. The self-congratulatory statements hint at the question “What is a superstar?” but, ultimately, the ad doesn’t say anything of substance on the (rather facile) subject. This would be a bit more excusable in a quick 30-second spot, but ninety seconds of celebrities musing about nothing in particular begs the question, “Where have we seen that before?”

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W+K NY Serves Up ‘Chicken Curry’ for ESPN

In anticipation of tonight’s matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, ESPN is airing a new “This is SportsCenter” spot from W+K New York featuring Warriors star Steph Curry.

Curry joins SportsCenter anchors Stan Verrett and Neil Everett in the ESPN cafeteria, where he thanks two cooks for (accidentally) celebrating his recent performance on the court by serving chicken curry. The anchors try to convince Curry it’s a coincidence, but he’s not buying it, even after the cooks’ confused glances. It’s one of the more fun SportsCenter spots in a while, as, even if the premise is a little obvious, Curry plays his part well enough to make it work.

There’s also a “Kitchen Warriors” installment in which Steph squares off against his wife, Ayesha Curry, to see who can make the better chicken curry. With their daughter Riley as the judge, it soon becomes clear Steph’s skills are on the court, not in the kitchen.

Note: credits only apply to the first spot; “Kitchen Warriors” was created by the client.

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Cats Wreck Bags of Temptations in New Spot from adam&eveDDB

adam&eveDDB London has a fun new campaign for Temptations, in which they unleashed hungry cats on packs of the treats.

The results were, of course, completely predictable: the cats destroyed the bags in an attempt to get at the goodies inside. adam&eveDDB London not only captured their shenanigans for an online video (above), but used the wrecked bags for print and OOH ads. The video, which was just uploaded today, is all but guaranteed to go viral, since cats+destruction is a pretty winning formula. At the beginning of the spot, the hashtag “#PackAttack” appears onscreen, and the brand is calling on cat-loving viewers to submit their own photos of Temptations bags destroyed by hungry felines. It’s a nice way to bring in social engagement and get everyone excited about the “#PackAttack” effort — especially the cats.

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DDB Canada Cooks up Some E for Toronto Crime Stoppers

DDB Canada launched a pro-bono PSA campaign for Toronto Crime Stoppers examining the dangers of ecstasy use, entitled “Cookin’ with Molly.”

The spot, whose full-length version online runs 90 seconds, is presented as a cooking show with a drug dealer. Molly is a name for pure MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), but, as the video shows, pills presented as “Molly” are often adulterated with substances ranging from methamphetamine and cocaine to heroin and even bath salts. “Welcome to ‘Cookin’ with Molly,’” says the host of the show at the beginning of the ad, “today’s secret ingredient is meth.” He adds just a pinch of bath salts to some ground up MDMA, a bunch of meth and finishes up with his “signature” blue color and some binder before pressing the pills. The online version of the spot ends by directing to viewers to the campaign landing site for more information. There are also 15 and 6 second broadcast versions of the spot. DDB Canada hopes the tongue-in-cheek approach of the campaign, which launched today and will run through the end of February, will resonate with the target audience of people between the ages of 15 and 25.

“These party-type drugs have been a growing concern, and Toronto Crime Stoppers wanted to tackle this head on without being heavy-handed, so the cooking show format is intended to be tongue-in-cheek,” explains Craig Ferguson, senior art director, DDB Canada Toronto. “At the same time, this creative still allows us to educate people on the harmful, hidden ingredients found in MDMA which was our key objective.” (more…)

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BBDO NY Utilizes Time-Lapse for Lowe’s

BBDO New York is launching two new platform-based campaigns for Lowe’s utilizing time-lapse video on Vine and Instagram. In the Vine campaign, “Tap Thru How-To” viewers can watch a time-lapse, step-by-step video of a home improvement project, such as in the above “Fire Pit.”

This allows viewers to watch the entire project to get an idea of what they’re doing then click to pause step-by-step to follow along for what BBDO New York is calling “a new kind of home improvement how-to video.” It’s a clever idea, even if in practice it’s sometimes tricky to pause at the right moment. Aside from “Fire Pit” there are also instructional videos for a backsplash and pipe shelf. There’s also “Hypermade,” which takes a similar approach using Instagram’s Hyperlapse feature. So far there are two such Hyperlapse videos: “Lattice” and “Under Bed Drawers.”

Both campaigns were timed to coincide with the holiday season, with a third “Hypermade” video, entitled “Pipe Bench Square” going live tomorrow at 9 AM. Stick around after the jump for a preview of that video, along with “Backsplash,” after the jump. (more…)

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FCB Inferno Stokes ‘Curiosity’ for BMW UK

FCB Inferno has just launched its first campaign for BMW UK with a 60-second spot promoting the hybrid i8, entitled “Curiosity.”

The spot is based off an idea “first presented in June 2013, when FCB Inferno pitched to win the BMW UK creative account,” according to The Drum. “Curiosity” shows an early human in the year 4000 BC as he becomes curious about a herd of horses. “Interesting thing curiosity: we can learn from it, we can die from it,” intones the voiceover. Although the man is frightened, he manages to mount one of the horses, taking an important step forward for civilization as the voiceover sums up the situation: “…sometimes it can lead us to places we never imagined we would reach.” The ad then pans to the BMW i8, introducing the vehicle as an important innovation for the company. A bit hyperbolic perhaps, but this isn’t a brand known for its modesty.

“In essence, driving a BMW is about exhilaration. The emotion behind the ultimate driving machine is very primal in some respects. The first man ever to have the breakthrough idea of riding a wild horse seemed a fitting parallel for the breakthrough idea that is the i8,” Al Young, FCB chief creative officer, explained to The Drum.

The ad is slated to premiere during the final ad break of the X Factor, and will then be broken up into smaller segments to air on broadcast and online.

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Tic Tac Hands Over Creative Duties to The Martin Agency

In news that somehow managed to slip through the cracks, Ferrero U.S.A handed over creative duties on Tic Tac to The Martin Agency following a six month review.

Back in July we reported that the review was down to three finalists, with incumbent agency Merkley + Partners defending against two unidentified agencies. Merkley + Partners had handled creative duties for Tic Tac since 2004. Martin Stoewahse, vice president of marketing for Ferrero, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the company chose to hand the account over to The Martin Agency “because they showed us an exciting brand platform that will help reinvigorate our brand … a fully integrated campaign that will make consumers take a fresh look at our iconic brand.”

According to The Martin Agency CEO Matt Williams, the agency aims to ““take a brand that everyone knows and loves and inject it with new energy.”

The agency expects to debut its first work for the brand in the first quarter of 2015, at which time we’ll find out if it will bear any resemblance to that of UK’s Aesop Agency (featured above).

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Pereira & O’Dell Tells Story of the ‘World’s First Climate Change Refugees’ for Skype

Pereira & O’Dell continues to produce intriguing work for Skype, with their latest, “Turning the tide” marking a shift in approach.

Last year, the agency focused on the emotion of the personal connections it helped foster, through its “Stay Together” campaign and its highlight, “The Born Friends Family Portrait.” With “Turning the tide,” Pereira & O’Dell focuses instead on how the service helps a pair of journalists tell the story of Kiribati, the island nation that is in danger of being wiped off the map by 2040, thanks to rising oceans caused by climate change. Indeed, the people of Kiribati are already becoming the “world’s first climate change refugees” as the rising ocean levels have contaminated their food and water.

The “modern mobile news team” of Anna Therese Day and Gianluca Panella are telling the island’s story, and utilize Skype as an important. “…Skype is second nature to us,” Anna says, “Being able to instantly share information, images, files…it means you can get to the heart of the story quickly.”While this inserts Skype into the conversation, it doesn’t do a whole lot to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Still, Pereira & O’Dell crafted an affecting spot, allowing Skype to tell an important story that many viewers might be unfamiliar with (although the story has been covered by a few major news outlets, including CNN). The agency seems to have made a choice to value storytelling and allying Skype with an important cause over overt branding. How effective you view the spot as will largely depend on which of these factors you place the most value on. (more…)

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BBDO Unveils ‘Struck By A Rainbow’ Mockumentary for Skittles

BBDO Toronto continues the absurdist tendencies of Skittle’s advertising with one of the brand’s strangest ads in recent memory.

Entitled “Struck By A Rainbow,” the ad is a mockumentary about a man named David who is hit by a rainbow, changing his skin to Skittles. Directed by Conor Byrne, the video, while never laugh out loud funny, convincingly mirrors and parodies the tropes of documentaries about people combating adversity, getting the feel just right. The long running time (“Struck By A Rainbow” clock in at well over three minutes) is used to show most of the implications of David’s condition and show David’s journey from struggle to acceptance. In case you’re wondering, a doctor points out that “From a medical perspective, there’s nothing wrong with David. His skin is just now Skittles.” The spot saves one of its more obvious jokes for the end, as David’s wife leans in to kiss him on the cheek and bites off a Skittle. While over three minutes is a very long time to spend watching an ad, and the premise is stretched a bit thin by the long running time, this should still appeal to fans of the brand’s distinctly oddball humor, and anyone creeped out too much by the idea would stop watching immediately anyway.

“Struck By A Rainbow” debuted on YouTube and the brand’s Facebook page on December 8th, but the campaign also includes a digital buy featuring 30-second teasers to drive additional views. Media support for the spot will continue around four weeks.

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Droga5 Debuts ‘Home is in the Air’ for Air Wick

Droga5 is debuting a new campaign for Air Wick entitled “Home is in the Air,” the agency’s first work for the brand since adding it to its client roster back in May.

In a long-form spot, Droga5 and Air Wick recreate the smells of home — a baseball glove, apple pie and a fireplace  — for an American soldier stationed in Qatar. The video begins with the soldier, Kearen, and his wife, Cortney, explaining the hardships of spending so much time apart (at the time of filming, Kearen has been deployed for 11 months) and introducing the project. Air Wick experts then use an instrument called a solid phase microextraction device to capture, and later recreate, the scents that remind Kearen of being at home with his wife and six children. They then send a package of Air Wick candles imbued with the scents to Kearen, who says, “This, this smells like home.” He adds, emotionally, “It’s something so simple, but it means so much to me.”

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Damian Lillard, ‘Rookie’ Tracy McGrady Star in New Foot Locker Spot from BBDO

Here’s another one from BBDO, which seems to be the only agency releasing major campaigns today. The agency continues its humorous approach for Foot Locker with the new spot “Rookie” featuring Damian Lillard and Tracy McGrady.

“Rookie” opens on the pair chatting about their Adidas kicks at a party, when McGrady drops the line, “Young guys like us, we can’t get caught looking old.” McGrady then informs a perplexed Lillard, “I play in China now, I’m a rookie” before having to deal with some unfortunate rookie responsibilities. BBDO has built a consistent and distinct humorous voice for Foot Locker, and while it’s not on par with the agency’s most memorable work for the brand, fans of the style should find plenty to like here.

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W+K New Delhi Celebrates ‘Warrior Princess’ for Forest Essentials

In international campaign news, W+K New Delhi collaborated with production company Gang Films Paris for this lavish “Warrior Princess” ad promoting Forest Essentials.

Directed by Carole Denis, the spot has a cinematic feel and scope that makes it truly ambitious. “Warrior Princess” tells the story of “the transformation of a warrior maiden sent to battle,” according to a press release. While not all viewers will pick up on that, the spot is beautifully shot and produced while also incorporating the product well. It depicts a woman bathing and having a Forest Essentials cream rubbed on her forehead before suiting up, sheathing a small sword and riding off with a small group. While it’s hard to say a lot more without knowing much about the product in question, this is certainly one of the most visually stunning ads we’ve seen in awhile. (more…)

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Dick’s Asks Strangers to Play with its Balls

Anomaly continues to “Spread Love” for Dick’s Sporting Goods, launching its “Holiday Hoops” extension of its “Gifts That Matter” campaign today on “Giving Tuesday.”

The ad follows on the heels of this heart-tugging spot and similarly explores how a basketball hoop can bring people together. This time around, though, Anomaly employs a “social experiment film” documenting people’s reactions when they leave basketball hoops, and a tray of balls with a “Play with me” sign, at various locations around Cleveland, Los Angeles and New York City. Naturally, the hoops caused strangers to bond over pick up games and Anomaly captured their genuine enthusiasm for the spot.

The video, however, is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Dick’s “Spread Love” charitable initiative. Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love teamed up with The Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation today to surprise over 200 students at Scranton Elementary School in Cleveland with two new basketball hoops. The brand defines “Holiday Hoops” as a “‘pay it forward’ movement” which will ultimately donate over 100 hoops to organizations (all either schools or non-profits) across the country. Dick’s will select two such organizations every day, and then give them the chance to “pay if forward” to two of their own choosing, announcing the participants on social media with the #HolidayHoops hashtag.

“This holiday season, we wanted to enhance our “Gift That Matters” campaign by exploring the unique power a basketball hoop has to unite people and communities,” said Lauren Hobart, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Dick’s Sporting Goods and president of The Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation. “We believe that sports really do matter and Dick’s Foundation is thrilled to be able to provide 100 hoops to schools and communities across America.”

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FitzCo//McCann Earns it for Coca-Cola, Walmart

FitzCo//McCann created a holiday spot for Coca-Cola and Walmart entitled “Earn It” which features a sentimental twist designed to tug at heartstrings for the holidays.

The spot shows a teenager working odd jobs around the holidays to earn some extra money. After finally earning enough money he heads to Walmart to make his purchase, which is revealed in the next scene. Without giving too much away we can say that the spot is built around this reveal, which positions Coca-Cola and Walmart alongside some cute holiday sentimentality. Splitting an ad between two brands is no easy feet, but FitzCo//McCann manages to avoid shortchanging either party. In the opening shot, the protagonist is seen thumbing through a Walmart catalog while drinking a Coke. One of his money making schemes involves selling bottles of the soft drink for $1.25 each and he drinks a bottle again at the conclusion of “Earn It.” It also works surprisingly well with Coca-Cola’s larger “Open Happiness” campaign, albeit with the kind of sentimentality that might seem too much at any other time of year. (more…)

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DDB Promotes State Farm’s Other Services

DDB Chicago is taking a break from reviving old Saturday Night Live characters to remind viewers that State Farm offers financial services, life and home insurance.

Two weeks ago, DDB Chicago launched the campaign with the sentimental spot “Never” (featured after the jump), depicting a man who says he’ll never get married getting married, having kids, moving to the suburbs and buying a minivan. Now, the agency has unleashed the next ad in the campaign, the similarly-minded “At Last.” The spot continues aiming for the heart, depicting a second marriage between a man and a woman who each have children. “Sometimes at last doesn’t happen at first,” says a voiceover as the couple tie the know. “Your dad just kissed my mom,” says the daughter and hugs her new brother as the voiceover ties the scene to State Farm: “Turning two worlds into one takes love, helping protect that world takes State Farm.” The spot debuted yesterday on ABC.

“It’s important for us to shift the way people think about us instead of just reinforcing what they already think,” Patty Morris, director-marketing and brand content at State Farm, explained to AdAge. “It’s all about the balance.”

The campaign will continue to roll out over the next 6-8 weeks, with at least two additional ads planned. According to AdAge these include a spot about a young man leaving home and a woman retiring early thanks to savvy financial planning. “They show things working out, but not how you planned,” said John Maxham, chief creative officer at DDB. “Theres a great human truth to that. And State Farm is there with you to handle these twists and turns.” (more…)

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Gwen Stefani Stars in McCann XBC’s ‘Priceless Surprises’ for MasterCard

McCann XBC teamed up with Gwen Stefani in a new 30-second broadcast spot for MasterCard directed by Wondros’ Sophie Muller.

The spot focuses on MasterCard’s integration with Apple Pay and the “priceless surprises” the company is giving away to customers using the new feature. Stefani works a rocket launcher, sending these surprises — including a hand bag, concert tickets (to see Stefani, naturally) and a “golf experience” represented by a golf kart — flying through the air toward unsuspecting MasterCard users. At the end of the spot, an unsuspecting fan rocking Stefani’s old haircut wins a chance to meet the woman herself.

It’s pretty basic stuff, with McCann XBC and MasterCard counting on Stefani’s star power to win over viewers and the potential prizes to get them excited for MasterCard’s Apple Pay integration. The choice of Stefani isn’t simply a nostalgic one for the brand, as the singer’s recent single “Spark The Fire” is used as the spot’s soundtrack and she has both a solo album and an album with No Doubt in the works.

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Apple Launches ‘Change’ for iPad Air 2

Apple has launched a new campaign promoting the iPad Air 2, entitled “Change.”

In the 60-second broadcast spot, billed (in DesignTAXI, at least) as a follow-up to the brand’s “Your Verse” campaign (and thus, presumably, like that campaign, created in-house), Apple shows all the different ways various types of people use the iPad Air 2. That strategy is very much a continuation of previous efforts, and while there’s not really anything new here, the spot is well-produced and stylish (no surprises there). Some of the more clever/unusual ways the tablet is used include a motorcyclist inserting it into his center console, a carpenter who blows stray wood chips off the tablet while utilizing it in his studio, a woman making a stop-motion animation video. One interesting stylistic choice in the spot is that it starts full-screen and becomes thinner and thinner to show off the iPad Air 2?s thinness, eventually culled down to representative width and rotating across the screen over a white background. The spot ends with the footage turning into the iPad Air 2 itself, followed by the tagline, “Change is in the Air” a clever attempt to talk up the tablet’s capabilities.

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BBH London Champions Sharing for KFC

BBH London tells the story of “The Boy Who Learnt To Share” for KFC in a 60-second holiday spot for the brand.

The ad shows the selfish nature of a young boy who refuses to share. He hogs up all the snow when making snowmen with his sister, won’t share an umbrella with his mother, writes his name on all the Christmas presents and, when cast as one of the wise men in a Christmas pageant, he won’t even give a gift to the baby Jesus. When the family gets KFC he initially holds his arms around an entire bucket, declaring it for himself. But when he sees the rest of the family happily sharing the rest of the meal, he finally decides to share, offering his sister a drumstick.

The whole “learning to share” angle is not a bad approach for a heartwarming holiday spot, and the spot is mostly put together well, but there’s one problem I can’t seem to get over with this one. At no point in the ad do we see the parents actually try to teach their son to share, something he should presumably have learned at least a little about from them. Instead, the parents seem to just ignore his bad behavior as if there’s nothing they can do and let him continue to act like a little snot. Wouldn’t the boy finally learning to share mean more if they had made attempts to teach him before? Understandably the spot is attempting to show KFC as the catalyst for the revelation, but this comes across as a bit random and forced since viewers aren’t really presented a window into his motivations or given the impression that the parents have done anything to try to change the son’s behavior.

“The Boy Who Learnt To Share” is supported by a social campaign in which KFC is calling on fans to tweet using the hashtag #KFCSharesies for the chance to participate in a campaign challenge and win a prize. (more…)

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EVB, Victors & Spoils Give ‘The Gift of Giving’ for JCPenney

EVB and Victors & Spoils give “The Gift of Giving” in a holiday campaign for JCPenney which asks shoppers to give a gift to a complete stranger.

Filmed last month in JCPenney stores in Illinois and Indiana the video follows as customers are told to find someone in the store to give a gift to. That person then travels with them around the store and together they pick out a gift, with JC Penney picking up the tab. The gifts range from jeans and a jacket to a sofa and even an engagement ring as participants engage in tearful signs of appreciation and hugs. It’s designed to be a heartwarming affirmation that giving is better than receiving; in other words, the polar opposite of Harvey Nichols’ cynical “Could I Be Any Clearer?” spot from adam&eveDDB.

“The idea of having to give something to a complete stranger can be very scary,” JCPenney CMO Debra Berman told Adweek. “And it’s that vulnerability that made this experiment so real and interesting. It brought out emotions in both the giver and the receiver.”

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Sainsbury’s Does Complete 180 with New Holiday Spot from Gravity Road

Last month, Sainsbury’s unveiled a high-budget holiday ad created by agency AMV BBDO commemorating the famous “Christmas Truce” of World War I. Unfortunately for the brand, it didn’t find the reception it was looking for, with many in the British public finding the ad distasteful or even hypocritical (Sainsbury’s is planning to knock down a Bristol rugby stadium built in honor of World War I veterans to make way for one of its stores).

So now the brand has completely reversed course with an online holiday ad from Gravity Road entitled “Dads Pull Out Surprise Dubstep Dance for Christmas.” Whereas the “Christmas Truce” spot was clearly labored over with a large production budget, this effort was shot with a handheld camera in an attempt to seem like a homemade video. And while the previous ad was serious and somber, this effort couldn’t be more goofy and lighthearted. As the title implies, the spot sees some dads pull out a surprise dance routine. That the dads do so while wearing jumpers (sweaters as they’re known here in the states) seems an attempt to cash in on this year’s craze for the “ugly sweater.” Their dance is performed to a re-mixed version of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker.

“The piece was always designed as a piece of content that would live on Facebook primarily,” Pete Conolly, creative director at Gravity Road, told Digiday.

Since being uploaded around a week ago, the video has racked up over a million views on Facebook and YouTube, with at least one fan calling for it to be shown on television. The ad is unlikely to generate the same kind of backlash as Sainsbury’s previous effort, as its hard to get too offended over Christmas sweaters.

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