Hasta La Creative!

Yesterday was Victoria Day in Canada, a May bank holiday up north, and Toronto-based agency Entrinsic has released a timely spot for Victoria gin, celebrating its namesake Queen Victoria.

The 30-second broadcast spot, “That’s The Spirit” was created by Entrinsic in collaboration with production company Revolver Films and director Christopher Wahl. It relates a series of unexpected but true facts about Queen Victoria: She ruled the British Empire at 18 while still living with her mom; she married her first cousin and had nine children; she was almost assassinated seven times. “If you were Queen Victoria,” the spot concludes, “you’d be ready for a drink, too.” The visual approach is straightforward, showing Queen Victoria gradually walking toward the camera and then sitting at a bar enjoying some gin. Entrinisic and Wahl also teamed up for the accompanying print campaign, which will roll out later in the year. Credits after the jump. continued…

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It’s almost becoming standard practice to trash the crap out of a brand for making even the slightest change to its brand. In some cases the changes are big and in some cases they are small but it seems as though every change is followed by an onslaught of social media outcry from people with nothing better to do than craft a witty Tweet that is then featured in the news which then causes the whole thing to spiral out of control.

Sometimes the reaction is warranted. Most times, it’s just bitching. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there used to be a time in which brands could do whatever the hell they wanted to when it came to their brand and there’d be little to no outcry, at least publicly.

Today, a brand’s CEO can’t take a shit in private without someone tweeting about it. The Gap was publicly chastised into changing back to its old logo when it attempted to create a new one in 2010. Olive Garden changed its logo earlier this year and no one liked that move either. And now, McDonald’s is out with a new character named Happy and no one is happy about it.

While Happy has been around since 2009 overseas, he’s making his debut in America this week. And he’s brought with him the usual collection of “epic fail” headlines and angry tweets.

While the new character is supposed to be about “bringing more fun and excitement to kids’ meals, including eating wholesome food choices like low-fat yogurt,” according to a statement, many are saying Happy’s teeth are too big or he scares children or “this makes me crave Burger King.”

We’re not going to join the parade of embedded tweets simply to give those tweeters an ego boost but we are going to say this; It’s a fucking brand mascot. Who gives a shit? Is it really worth getting your panties and jockstraps in a bunch? Do you really care what the hell McDonald’s does to lie through its teeth telling you its food is healthy?

Go take a walk. Leave your computer and phone behind. Enjoy nature. Kiss your girlfriend/boyfriend/mother/father/mistress and tell them you love them. And don’t hold it against us when we get on our high horse in the near future and rail against something as equally inane as McDonald’s introducing a brand mascot.

Team One and Lexus have launched a new series on Lexus’ broadband channel L/Studio, entitled “It Got Better.”

“It Got Better” is a six-episode docuseries telling “the inspiring personal stories of a diverse group of LGBT actors, athletes and musicians including Jason Collins, Jane Lynch, Tim Gunn, Tegan & Sara, George Takei and Laverne Cox.” A collaboration between Team One, executive producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky, and the It Gets Better Project (executive producers Dan Savage and Brian Pines), the docuseries just launched with its first episode, featuring Jane Lynch, star of Glee and, more importantly, Party Down. Lynch tells her story of growing up identifying more with boys, discovering her sexuality and treating it as something she was afraid her peers would discover, to finally embracing and accepting it and finding a supporting community. It makes for compelling viewing, well worth the time if you have six minutes or so to spare (yes, this runs a bit long), and a promising start to the “It Got Better” series, which has the potential to do a lot of good for struggling teens. We look forward to upcoming installments (especially from George Takei).

Credits and video after the jump. continued…

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Following on the heels of last year’s “Don’t Hurry” campaign, Walton Isaacson has created a series of follow-up ads for Cruzan Rum. Keeping that campaign’s tagline and focus on slowing down to live in the moment, this year’s iteration takes things off the metaphorical “Don’t Hurry” island to everyday life.

In the new series of ads, people are shown in common situations where hurrying really isn’t getting them anywhere, including speed dating (above) and speed chess. The digital campaign includes these two 30-second spots, as well as three 15-second pre-roll videos, and will be supported by social media, public relations and retail extensions.

“If you hurry through life, you could miss something big, and that’s what we really want people to take away from the campaign,” explained Brendan Lynch, senior director of rum & cordials at Beam Suntory. “We’re often so focused on what’s in front of us that we miss what’s going on around us. It’s important to slow down, take the time to enjoy the best things in life, like Cruzan Rum, one sip at a time – and our fans agree.”

Stick around for “Speed Chess,” a recipe for “Cruzan Life’s A Peach” and credits following the jump. Don’t forget to lightly slap your mint sprig. continued…

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When AdFreak’s Roo Ciambriello, who is our favorite new ad writer, said the new Cornetto Cupidity ad entitled 40 Love “is totally worth the watch” and is “a bit like a softer and sweeter Judd Apatow movie” and that there might be “Pabst Blue Ribbon in there somewhere,” we were hooked.

We grabbed a cup of coffee and tuned in for the ride. And a beautiful ride it was. We’ve discussed the Cornetto Cupidity series before, most recently here and in out Marketingland Creative of the Day column here, and this one did a fine job extending the notion love is, well, like eating a soothing bowl of ice cream.

Or something like that. After all, Cornetto isn’t doing this just for fun. They would, of course, like to sell some ice cream along the way otherwise they should just close up shop, move to Hollywood and start making movies.

This 8 minute video features English singer/songwriter/actress Lily Allen who falls (literally) for for a beautiful professional tennis payer who, at first, isn’t so keen on Allen. But after drinking in some of Allen’s coyly sweet playfulness, she’s hooked. And so are we.

It’s an endearing love story that has as much fun exploring young love as it does toying in internet memes. Watch. You’ll see what we mean. Whether or not any of this is selling ice remains to be seen. But the series, out for a year or two, certainly has captured the attention of the press and viewers.

By the way, Roo, we were drinking PBR in college long before the hipsters discovered it. Yet it was just as hip back then and tasted just as shitty as it does today. Nothing really ever changes.

W+K New York called on the services of Stephen Strasburg for the latest in their “This is SportsCenter” series and the Washington Nationals ace doesn’t disappoint.

In the 30-second spot, “Frozen Lunch,” SportsCenter host Bram Weinstein angrily searches the break room for his Lean Cuisine while Strasburg ices his arm. Weinstein decides that the best way to find the culprit is to send out an angry email and storms out, while the true whereabouts of his “glazed turkey tenderloins” are revealed. Strasburg and Weinstein’s interactions make for some pretty entertaining moments, including a funny throwaway line from Weinstein near the spot’s conclusion, and it’s nice to see Strasburg getting the spotlight from W+K and ESPN. When successful,”This is SportsCenter” spots can be a lot of fun, and this latest entry from W+K New York definitely qualifies as a success. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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The Richards Group teamed up with production house MPC Creative for a new FIAT campaign featuring the King of Monsters, Godzilla.

The 45-second spot utilizes footage from the Warner Bros. Godzilla reboot (which couldn’t possibly be worse than the last attempt at rebooting the franchise) hitting theaters today, with CG of Godzilla crafted by MPC Film. In the spot, Godzilla eyes a FIAT, shoves it in his mouth and then spits it out, which prompts the “It’s a lot bigger than you think” tagline. The spot has proven a huge success, racking up over 5 million views since its debut less than 2 weeks ago. That’s not too surprising, as it’s a pretty fun tie-in that manages to balance promoting Godzilla and FIAT pretty well. Stay tuned for credits after the jump. continued…

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San Francisco/Brooklyn-based production company Story Developing has teamed up with host, Machinima, to unveil a new film for gaming publisher, 2K, that’s essentially a 60-minute advertisement disguised as a documentary. In what should appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers, emerging artists and the like, the film follows the story of a handful of college students who are vying for internships at 2K, the Novato, CA-based brand that’s known for titles like the NBA 2K series and Borderlands. 

Anyhow, this ideal-for-lunchtime doc not only follows our 2K hopefuls, but also features a host of interviews with industry folks, 2K execs and the students themselves who offer their thoughts on the evolution of gaming and the impact it’s had among other tidbits. The folks at Story Developing claim this film just might be a prime example of “a brand blurring the lines between creativity and advertising.” Well, perhaps, but at the least it might just inspire some budding artists looking to make some inroads into the gaming world. By the way, kudos on kicking things off with a little old-school Super Mario action. The trailer’s above, but if you have the time, you can check out the full-length doc dubbed The Art of the Game after the jump.

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This one has been around for  a while, but we just couldn’t resist.

Agencies GMR (who handled talent selection, negotiation and management) and Integer (execution across retail) teamed up to bring together human keg stand Guy Fieri and watery swill Miller Lite to form an unholy alliance of annoying proportions. God have mercy on us all.

Fieri — who Anthony Bourdain once described as the product that would result “if Ed Hardy f*cked a juggalo” — is hosting a series of Miller Lite branded content on his site, Grill With Guy. One would assume that the toxic levels of hair gel Fieri applies would render himself extremely flammable, but Fieri just shares some summer grilling recipes, such as the beef and beer cheese nachos featured in the video, which we’ve left til after the jump.

Surprisingly, not all of the recipes call for Miller Lite, like the “Asian Style Grilled Salmon” (surprise: Fieri knows what mirin is), which instead ends with the instruction “Enjoy with a cold Miller Lite.” (Obviously you should never trust a recipe that ends this way.)

While it’s alarming to think that anyone who takes cooking advice from a man with a racing stripe on his refrigerator would be allowed near an open flame, it’s at least somewhat of a relief that they will have a watered-down lite beer on hand to extinguish the blaze should things get out of hand. Miller Lite and Fieri plan to keep their relationship going after the summer, with “flavorful ideas for football season” (whatever those might be).

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A couple of weeks ago we brought you news of “Baseball is Better,” Mutt Industries’ campaign for MLB 14: The Show, the latest iteration of Sony’s long-running baseball simulation series. Now, Sony and Mutt Industries seem to have a reason to celebrate, as MLB 14: The Show’s first week sales were the highest in franchise history. As you may remember, Mutt Industries recruited Danny McBride (best known for playing Kenny Powers on Eastbound and Down) for the anthem ad launching the game.

In the weeks following the launch of the campaign, Mutt Industries has continued to roll out content at campaign site www.baseballisbetter.com, including the recent, slightly misogynist “Miguel Cabrera Gets Faster with Quick Counts.” As the season progresses, Mutt Industries and Sony will release over 100 unique videos via YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, featuring various MLB stars. So far, in addition to Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Phillips, Jason Heyward, CC Sabathia, David Ortiz, and Brett Lawrie have all joined in on the action to show how “Baseball Is Better.” You can check out Cabrera’s recent spot above, and stick around for a refresher of the Danny McBride anthem ad after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.