Havas Taps Former College Football Stars for DISH Network

Havas Worldwide Chicago tapped former college football stars Matt Leinart, Heath Shuler and Brian Bosworth in their latest spot for DISH Network, promoting the DISH Anywhere app.

Also featuring the kangaroo mascots that just refuse to go away, the spot finds the three athletes deciding to head back to college after misunderstanding a conversation about watching live college football anywhere with DISH’s app. This is about as painful as the rest of DISH’s recent advertising, with the involvement of Leinart, Shuler and Bosworth the only thing really differentiating it. Hardcore college football fans might get a kick out of seeing the trio, but for the rest of us this is just another annoying DISH ad. Credits after the jump. (more…)

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RPA Spreads ‘Summer Cheerance’ for Honda

RPA has launched a new integrated campaign for Honda highlighting the brand’s summer clearance event and attempting to spread summer cheer, under the face-palm worthy title “Summer Cheerance.”

To be fair, “Summer Cheerance” is at least memorable, however irksome the title may be. The campaign includes broadcast spots, print, digital, radio, “an abundance of smile-inducing videos, memes, GIFs and visual jokes via social media” and special events from August 4th until August 8th to promote the Honda Summer Clearance event. As part of the campaign, Honda will donate $100,000 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

“Summer Cheerance” launched today with an introduction video (featured above), as well as a series of short videos designed to be shared on social media to spread summer cheer. For example, one video shows a pig swatting its tail for six seconds, followed by the message “We hope this video added some cheer to your day” and promotes Honda’s event with the #Cheerance hashtag. Other videos include dancing dolphins, an exhausted puppy and an “Epic Gopher.” Additionally, the brand has teamed up with YouTube star Andrew Hales, who will promote the brand with two videos on his YouTube channel. Stick around for a few examples, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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Marcus Thomas Gets Scratching for the Ohio Lottery

A new campaign from the Marcus Thomas agency in Cleveland for the Ohio Lottery focuses on the instant gratification of scratching a ticket rather than promises of future prosperity.

“The people we’ve talked to have said how much fun and joy they get from scratching off a ticket,” Marcus Thomas Account Supervisor Glenda Terrell explained to The New York Times, referring to focus groups. “One gentleman shared that he keeps a few instants in his wallet so when the day is getting a little heavy at work or he’s feeling a little down or frustrated, he can pull out an instant ticket and he can scratch it off, and it erases that down feeling and just resets his day and he’s feeling positive again.”

In one spot, actor Tim Stoltenberg selects a handful of sweaters at a store called Everything Wool. He then takes the sweaters into a fitting room and emerges wearing all of them, and proceeds to scratch his back against a door frame. The similarly themed “Poison Ivy” and “Mosquitos” show Stoltenberg going to even greater extremes to get his scratch on. Each spot ends with him at a convenience store buying a scratch off ticket. The campaign, which launched August 1st, also includes mobile and radio components. Stick around for “Poison Ivy” and “Mosquitos” after the jump. (more…)

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TBWA/MAL ‘Dreams’ for Apple’s iPhone 5S

TBWA/Media Arts Lab has a new spot for Apple’s iPhone 5S entitled “Dreams.”

Set to the made-for-a-television-commercial strum of Jennifer O’Connor’s “When I Grow Up,” the spot celebrates everyday heroes like firemen, doctors, veterinarians, environmental scientists and artists. The choice of music, pacing and editing make the spot feel like a spiritual successor of sorts to the recent “Parenthood” successful spot. Like that ad, “Dreams” shows its subjects using the iPhone 5S in a variety of ways as a tool to do their job better. It’s nothing ground breaking, but it communicates its message well while showing a variety of the smart phone’s capabilities. Coming off the recent spot “Stickers” and the aforementioned “Parenthood,” “Dreams” sees TBWA/Media Arts Lab on something of a creative roll following the announcement in June that Apple would take more ads in-house.

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P&G Plans to Divest or Shed 90-100 of its Brands

Procter & Gamble disclosed in an earnings call this morning that it plans to divest or shed 90-100 of its brands, in an attempt to streamline and focus on its more successful brands.

“Less will be much more,” P&G CEO A.G. Lafley said. “We are going to create a faster growing, more profitable company that’s far simpler to operate.”

The announcement is the latest attempt by P&G to trim back, following the sale of P&G pet food brands Iams, Eukanuba and Natura to Mars Inc. for $2.9 billion in cash in April, and the sale of Pringles to Kellogg Co. for $2.7 billion in 2012. P&G reported a net sales increase of only one percent last quarter, which Lafley saying the company “could have and should have done better.”

Obviously, the move will effect the agencies working on P&G’s brands, including Publicis Groupe’s Publicis, Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi and WPP’s Grey. As Adweek points out, “Although these agencies work on big brands like Tide and Crest that won’t be affected by the divestiture, they also handle smaller, regional brands that collectively represent significant chunks of revenue from the world’s biggest marketer.” Last year P&G spent over $9.7 billion on advertising worldwide.

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Amy Poehler Returns for Old Navy

Amy Poehler and Chandelier Creative with a new spot that sees the Parks and Rec star hosting a spelling bee.

“Spell Me This” begins with Poehler delivering the throwaway, “I’m sorry Nathan, there are no numbers in the word ‘important,’ ” and, unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there. The spot, like others in the campaign, ends with Poehler (and in this case the entire auditorium) running to Old Navy for a sale. It’s all pretty frustrating, as the scenario and Poehler’s involvement make for a lot of unfulfilled potential. Stick around after the jump for outtakes, which are at least slightly more entertaining than “Spell Me This” itself. (more…)

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Saatchi & Saatchi Europe Turns Prague into ‘The Musical City’ for Toyota

If you like watching bad karaoke, you’re going to love Saatchi & Saatchi Europe’s newest spot for the Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

The agency turned Prague into a playlist by replacing street signs with the names of songs (much to the chagrin of local cabbies) and connecting the car’s stereo to the GPS so that the song changed every time the driver changed streets. In this way, drivers could select the song by altering their route. Supposedly the “best performers” were chosen to appear in the television spot, which airs in Poland, UK, Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Spain, but we think you’ll agree “most entertaining” is a more accurate description.

So what does karaoke have to do with the Toyota Yaris Hybrid? (more…)

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Deutsch LA Brings Back Ronald McDonalds for Taco Bell

Back in March, Deutsch LA used endorsements from real life Ronald McDonalds to help introduce Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu. Now, the agency has brought back the idea (which was actually recycled, intentionally or not, from an old Jack In The Box campaign), with their latest spot, “Ronalds.”

The 30-second spot features guys named Ronald McDonald sitting around a table and talking about Taco Bell’s breakfast burrito. In what amounts to yet another shot at McDonald’s (which seems to form the crux of Taco Bell’s recent strategy), a moderator asks, “Would you get a burrito from a burger place?” To which one of the Ronalds replies, “You don’t go to a sushi bar and order spaghetti.” That you could easily follow up the question with “Would you get breakfast from a taco place?” makes this seem like a bit of a misstep.

The Ronald McDonalds idea, which seemed stretched thin by the end of the last 30-second spot, now seems even more tired. It feels like it’s time for Deutsch LA to go back to the drawing board and put this idea to rest for good. Credits after the jump. (more…)

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Y&R NY Celebrates ’5 Second Filmmaker’ for Dell

For the latest in the brand’s “Learning Meets Doing,” Y&R New York teamed up with Über Content and director Adam Gunser to create a mockumentary celebrating “5 Second Filmmaker” Marty Goldberg.

Goldberg is the (fictional) king of the the 5-second film, taking home the “Cinco” award year after year and employing “The Goldberg Method” while grooming his assistant and protege. Seemingly targeting the growing popularity of the short-format Vine, the mockumentary mostly seems to be trying too hard and its humor never really hits it mark and struggles to find a cohesive tone. Most of the time, the spot seems to be mocking Goldberg, but elsewhere seems to celebrate his working methods showcasing Dell technology. Also worth noting is that the brevity-mocking video feels long at 2:15. Goldberg could have done it in five seconds. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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TBWA/Chiat Day Taps Bret Michaels in ‘Tough Love’ for Nissan

TBWA/Chiat Day tapped reality star/former Poison singer/sole proprietor of bandana manufacturers in 2014 Bret Michaels in their latest campaign for Nissan, entitled “Tough Love.”

The centerpiece of the new campaign, which celebrates the toughness of Nissan’s line of commercial vans, is a music video of Michaels covering “Endless Love,” the schmaltzy 1981 hit written by Lionel Richie. Just what you always wanted. The video alludes to a series of six product demonstrations at Nissan’s Arizona Testing Center while Michaels belts the tune into a golden microphone. Videos of the product demonstrations, featuring Michaels, are also available, and viewers who survive the full length of the music video are prompted to choose one of them to view. As it turns out, they’re a lot easier to stomach than the music video, and not just because they’re shorter. Credits and two product demonstration videos after the jump. (more…)

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Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney Brings Out the ‘Bad in Dad’ for Toyota

Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney has a new campaign for Toyota, entitled “Bad in Dad,” featuring one dad’s “bad” antics, attributed to his new Camry RZ.

Set to George Thorogood‘s ubiquitous “Bad to the Bone,” the dad is pictured using his leaf blower to blow leaves onto the neighbors yard (kind of funny), spraying his wife with a hose (cute) and embarrassing his son with the locked door trick as he picks him up from soccer practice (just plain cruel). The narrator at the end of the 45-second spot asserts that the new Camry will “bring out the bad in dad,” making the positioning of the vehicle as the motivator behind dad’s behavior explicit. While he may occasionally step over the line, the dad’s antics are mostly presented as the kind of things most of us think about doing, don’t, and then wish we had, which fits with the vehicle’s presentation as a sort of liberator. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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GSD&M Talks Protection for Radio Shack

GSD&M has a new back-to-school campaign for Radio Shack that makes good use of awkward humor to promote the brand’s protection plans.

In “The Talk” for example, a dad tells his son it’s time they had “the talk.” His son, horrified, listens as his father emphasizes the need to use protection. “I know you just want to get out and show it off, but you can’t just go swinging it around all willy-nilly trying to impress the girls.” He continues, “This glass is fragile. We’re covered though…” as the son looks greatly relieved. The spot’s use of innuendo in an awkward, easy to relate to situation makes it funny and memorable.

In the similarly suggestive “Laundry,” the tables are turned, and it’s the father who is made to feel awkward. We’ve included that spot, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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Droga5 Inspires for Under Armour

Droga5 takes Under Armour in a different direction with a new campaign called “I Will What I Want” aimed at women, starring Misty Copeland, a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre.

The spot opens with a young girl reading a rejection letter from a ballet academy over a sparse piano track as we see Copeland, poised on her taut ankles in a practice room. “…You lack the right feet, Achilles tendons, turnout, torso length and bust,” reads the girl. “You have the wrong body for ballet. And at 13, you are too old to be considered.” At this point, the soundtrack is set in motion and Copeland springs to life, twirling and gliding across the stage decked out in Under Armour. It is not until the conclusion of the 60-second spot that Copeland’s identity is revealed, her ultimate triumph over adversity implied.

Copeland, who is only the third African American soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theatre, told The New York Times “she never received a rejection letter that so starkly enumerated the reasons she was ill suited to be a ballet dancer,” but that “it accurately encapsulated the resistance she had faced throughout her career,” told from the time she was an adolescent that she had “the wrong body type” for ballet.

We see a lot of ads aim to be inspirational, but seldom do they succeed like “I Will What I Want,” which, unlike most spots with similar ambitions, doesn’t come across as forced or hokey. Coming from Under Armour, it’s an unexpected and refreshing new direction. Along with the broadcast spot, the campaign also includes digital and outdoor components, featuring Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, tennis player Sloane Stephens and soccer player Kelley O’Hara in addition to Copeland. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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DeVito/Verdi Gets Goofy for Coco’s Bakery

DeVito/Verdi went the goofy route with their new campaign for Coco’s Bakery, featuring two 30-second spots created in conjunction with production company Backyard.

In one of these spots, “Cowboys,” two tough-looking cowboys marvel at an Angus steak, which they agree is “the real deal right there.” The two drop the stereotypical manliness, however, when the waitress arrives with Coco’s signature pie (they’re big fans). Another spot, “Big Baby,” misses its mark and crosses the line to creepy as two guys attempt to take advantage of Coco’s “kids eat free” deal. Stick around for “Big Baby” and credits after the jump. (more…)

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What You Can Bring To the Content Party: Digital Endurance

Change is the only constant. In digital media terms though, change is more than a constant, it’s a constant storm.

Grace Bonney, founder of Design Sponge, waxes nostalgic about blogging days gone by. Let’s listen and learn.

Six to eight years ago, most bloggers were living in our own version of the ‘Conde Nast heydays’ without knowing it. We were getting great rates for advertising, having to do (relatively) little to get those ads and could keep our advertising and content wells completely separate.

I must admit, AdPulp was in a better position six to eight years ago. We had more readers and more income.

For those interested in digital media survival, Bonney suggests a way forward:

The concept of a homepage is becoming somewhat obsolete. Readers will consume content where it is most convenient to them. So it is up to bloggers to now track down their audience and find them wherever they are (on Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

Correct. This, in part, explains why I’ve been allocating more time to AdPulp’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

 
AdPulp’s Facebook page is the default gallery for the work coming in from press agents and from agencies directly. If you don’t already, please follow AdPulp on Facebook and Twitter.

As a writer and editor, it’s interesting to engage an audience that is quantified, not by number, but by name. In other words, I can look through our followers on social media platforms and see who is interested in our content. This is gratifying and informative.

Writers are used to addressing the black hole, otherwise known as the audience. Knowing who is out there, as one does in the theater and now in social, brings the enterprise to life in a way that page views alone do not.

The post What You Can Bring To the Content Party: Digital Endurance appeared first on AdPulp.

TBWA Explores ‘Gas Station’ Fears for Nissan Sentra

TBWA Toronto has a new spot for Nissan Sentra that explores fears of filling up, horror movie style.

The 60-second “Gas Station” opens on a man arriving at a creepy, dimly-lit gas station. Soon the station comes to life, as the man is relentlessly attacked by the gas pumps, which also do a number on his car. Eventually, another man, driving a Nissan Sentra, comes to the rescue, beckoning him to hop in. This is followed by the message, “Don’t Fear Filling Up,” and boast of the Sentra’s “Better combined fuel economy than Civic.” In a spot that spends so much time on a ridiculous fuel-fearing message, you’d think they’d focus a little more than a quick flash of text on the Sentra’s fuel economy, but instead most of the 60 seconds are spent on building up unconvincing horror atmosphere. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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Leo Burnett Tugs on Heartstrings for Ronald McDonald House

Leo Burnett gets emotional for Ronald McDonald House Charities with their new spot, “Dad’s Voice.”

The 60-second ad highlights the emotional impact of the charity providing home-to-home accommodation for families with a child in the hospital. “It’s only a voice, everyone has one,” a narrator intones at the opening of the spot. “But this, this is dad’s voice. Dad’s voice is, well, dad’s.” Going on to list some of the voice’s idiosyncrasies, the spot concludes, “Dad’s voice is the sound of home, even when they’re not at home.”

It’s a pretty straightforward approach, but it makes a real emotional impact, delivering on a relevant insight for the charity. It helps that the approach is tender without being cloying, choosing not to oversell the drama of the situation but rather sticking to what viewers can relate to. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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W+K Portland Declares Kevin Durant ‘The Baddest’ for Nike

“I don’t want to talk about who’s the best. I want to talk about who’s the baddest,” says Dick Gregory, while chilling at a basketball court at the beginning of W+K Portland’s new spot for Nike, “The Baddest.”

After listing some historical candidates for “the baddest,” such as Connie Hawkins, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, Spencer Haywood, and David Thompson, the spot goes on to make a case for Kevin Durant as “the baddest” right now, through video footage and a variety of testimonials. The well-edited 60-second spot also spends some time explaining what the title of “the baddest” means, with comparisons including “bad like a good Thanksgiving meal,” “bad like money” and “bad like black coffee.” It all makes for a fun, very watchable spot, regardless of whether or not you agree with Nike and W+K’s  choice for the title of “the baddest.” Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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GoDaddy Grows Up

Internet domain clearinghouse and noted soft-core Super Bowl commercial creator GoDaddy recently announced that that it has “matured.” In fact, in a recent Adweek interview, the company announced it would stop making those questionable advertisements.

“We’ve evolved,” CMO Barb Rechterman said in a statement. “Our new brand of Super Bowl commercials will make it crystal clear what we do and who we stand for. We may be changing our approach, but as we’ve always said, we don’t care what the critics think. We are all about our customers.”

GoDaddy recently appointed Barton F. Graf 9000 (BFG9000) as its AOR after a stint with Deutsch, and now the brand is growing up. Sort of.

They have not outgrown Danica Patrick, who stars in this ad called “Air Wrench.” The goal of the company’s semi-rebranding is to target small businesses. From CMO Barb Rechterman:

“This commercial marks another milestone in our brand evolution. The ad definitely uses humor, as our past campaigns have, but this new campaign is not solely about driving brand awareness — it promotes more than domain names by plugging Website Builder.”

The “Air Wrench” commercial will run during broadcasts of NASCAR races and other sporting events on ESPN this summer. GoDaddy will also use social media to promote the spot. The budget was undisclosed.

Note: BGF9000 was not involved in this campaign.

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Jude Law Stars in Anomaly’s Lengthy ‘The Gentleman’s Wager’ for Johnnie Walker

In the latest sign that the digital ad lengths are getting out of control, Anomaly tapped Jude Law for a six minute “short film” long ad promoting Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

When Law admires a wealthy friend’s boat, with the friend going on about the ship’s unique aspects and building circumstances, he makes a gentleman’s wager to win the seafaring vessel with a dance. Unsure why he would do this, when he can’t really dance, Law nevertheless prepares a choreographed effort to impress the friend and win the boat. It’s an entertaining enough set up, but the dance scene itself leaves a lot to be desired and drags on far too long. While not without its charm, “The Gentleman’s Wager” really could have been told in half its running time. Stay with us for credits after the jump. (more…)

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