Hasta La Creative!

Samsung and Telefonica/Vivo join forces to show some love for  Raul Seixas, a legend in Brazilian rock circles, by creating the first ever music video for his tune, ““Metamorfose Ambulante.”

The song, which translates as “Walking Metamorphosis,” was composed about 40 years and helped launch Seixas to stardom in his home country. Samsung and Telefonica/Vivo’s music video is a loving homage to Seixas that simultaneously shows “how technology changes people’s lives and how the power of connections can transform human beings.” Seixas’ family “participated in each stage of development” for the project. The large-scale film production was “shot by a team of 75 professionals in Argentina’s Sierra de la Ventana,” an ideal location for the music video’s Stone Age setting.

An app is available in addition to the film, which allows users to upload their photos and transform them into a characterization of Seixas, likely inspired by the hundreds of Seixas impersonators who transform themselves for an annual parade in downtown São Paulo celebrating Seixas’ birthday. The app and music video are both part of a new branded content campaign for Telefonica/Vivo from the agency Africa. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Last month, W+K Portland launched the “Be Moved” brand campaign for Sony with the broadcast spot “Join Together.” Yesterday, W+K revealed the follow-up, the four minute (and change) documentary, “Separate Together.”

“Separate Together” brings together Bruce Zaccagnino, the creator of Northlandz, the world’s largest model railroad located in Flemington, New Jersey, and Matt Albanese, a photographer who specializes in miniatures. The documentary takes place within Northlandz’s “52,000 square foot exhibit space featuring dozens of tiny towns, three-story papier-mâché mountains and hundreds of toy trains snaking through a warren of tunnels, past tiny windmills and over bridges made from thousands of toothpicks.” Albanese captures Northlandz in a unique way, utilizing the Sony QX100′s ability to fit into tight spaces to capture unique shots that wouldn’t have been possible with other cameras. It’s a great way to show off the QX100′s unique capabilities in fun, charming way.

The documentary is accompanied by an experience site which lets you explore Northlands from the unique vantage points available with the QX100, letting viewers zoom in on different areas and take their own shots, which they can then share on social media. It’s a great extension, and a fun way to explore the charm of Norhtlandz without having to make the schlep to Jersey. Stick around for credits and “Join Together” after the jump. continued…

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My my, where does the time go? Well, Facebook as you may know has officially turned 10, and with that, the social network has teamed up with L.A.-based production company Strike Anywhere to say thanks in a matter of  60 seconds. Seeing as Facebook’s 10, the parties involved probably figured why not show how other kids from across cultures celebrate this auspicious birthday? The clip above is quick, cute and brings back those ol’ childhood memories. We’re gonna go shed some tears now. Credits after the jump.

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Following a review, the New York office of Lowe Campbell Ewald, which officially opened its doors on Jan. 1, has won its first client, namely De’Longhi North America, which specializes in espresso and comfort products. From what sources tell us, this marks first consumer initiative in the US for the brand, which is headquartered in Treviso, Italy. Regarding the LCE NY appointment,  De’Longhi North America VP of marketing Linda Passaro says in a statement, ““Our team was extremely impressed with Lowe Campbell Ewald’s experience in building business, as well as the unique, disciplined process of gathering consumer insights to lead creative development. We are eager to begin building our partnership and to launching our marketing efforts in North America, bringing the De’Longhi Italian experience to consumers at home.”

As a result of the win, De’Longhi now joins a client roster at Lowe Campbell Ewald New York that includes Unilever, Snuggle and the Milk Processor Education Program, as well as other premium brands in the LCE U.S. portfolio such as Cadillac, the US Navy and OnStar.

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When they stumbled upon archival pictures of a man and his 1955 Beetle, Volkswagen Canada and Toronto-based agency Red Urban realized they had a story to tell. As it turns out, that story is pretty amazing. They tracked down the man in the photo, Paul Loofs, who has driven the car around the world three times. Amazingly enough, that car is still running.

So Volkswagen Canada and Red Urban teamed up with Academy-nominated director Hubert Davis to tell his story in an (approximately) 30-minute documentary film. That documentary, Once More, The Story of VIN 903847, premiered on Discovery Channel and Bravo in January and is featured above (not a bad way to spend a lunch break). It tells the story of Loof’s unlikely, low-budget solo treks around the globe, which included many obstacles and unexpected, fortuitous events. Loofs eventually sold the car back to Volkswagen for use in an advertising campaign. A man named Emmanuel Thuillier bought the car and tracked down Loofs on the Internet, then surprised him by reuniting him with the vehicle for the first time since 1967.

“We feel that it really speaks to our fans, not only reinforcing the emotional connection so many people have to the brand, but celebrating the truly remarkable stories that so many of our owners have. It is not so much about a single car, although this Beetle is remarkable, it is more about how one car connects so many different people and their experiences, proving itself as The People’s Car,” said Volkswagen Brand Marketing manager, Lynne Piette. The documentary will continue to air on Discovery Channel and Bravo until February, with the following showtimes:

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It looks like Puma is rounding out its agency roster as the German sports shoe/apparel brand has appointed DigitasLBi as its global digital agency. The news comes just two months after Puma selected JWT as its lead creative agency. As for the DigitasLBi appointment, we’ve been told that there was “a competitive review” (no names as of yet) for the business, which marks a new type of agency relationship for Puma.

In a statement, Remi Carlioz, Puma global head of digital marketing says, “DigitasLBi will have a crucial role in translating our new Forever Faster brand messaging into the digital world and building momentum in the lead-up to the consumer launch of our global Forever Faster brand campaign in the second half of 2014. An agile agency with a global reach, DigitasLBi brings a unique savvy thinking and creative, real-time marketing to the table and is a perfect fit to PUMA to help us re-establish our brand in the minds of our customers.”

DigitasLBi Boston will handle the Puma digital work, which includes development, leading/implementing global digital strategy, creative, analytics, social and community management, real-time marketing, as well as production and design for key digital campaigns and related marketing initiatives with global scale.

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Last week, we brought you the behind-the-scenes video for Air New Zealand’s collaboration with Sports Illustrated, the flight safety video, “Safety in Paradise.”

Now, without further ado, is that full clip (above). “Safety in Paradise” celebrates 40 years of Air New Zealand flying to the Cook Islands, and 50 years of Sports Illustrated helping adolescent boys explore their budding sexuality with their Swimsuit Issue. The new safety video features swimsuit models Ariel Meredith, Chrissy Teigen, Hannah Davis, and Jessica Gomes hanging with Cook Island natives — as well as a cameo from three-time cover model Christie Brinkley (who just turned 60!) from her Hollywood home.

“The behind the scenes video has generated much conversation around the world about our brand and the Cook Islands as a destination since it was released last week. It’s exciting for us to release the full video today and we hope it will encourage many viewers to consider a trip to the Cook Islands,” says Jodi Williams, Air New Zealand global head of brand development.

To celebrate the launch of “Safety in Paradise,” Air New Zealand is giving online viewers the chance to win one of five trips for two to the Cook Islands. The video goes live today and “will be progressively rolled out on board across Air New Zealand’s fleet from the end of February.”

“Safety in Paradise” marks the latest in a long line of innovative safety videos from the airline, including videos starring Richard Simmons, Bear Grylls, and Betty White, and a Hobbit-themed safety video timed to coincide with the release of Peter Jackson‘s first Hobbit film. It also marks just one aspect of a “major worldwide marketing campaign planned to celebrate the 50^th anniversary” of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

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Chicago-based Energy BBDO are behind this new cannibalistic spot for Lay’s, featuring the classic Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters.

The 30 second spot, which was created in collaboration with production company Psyop and directed by Lauren Indovina and Borja Pena, shows Mr. Potato Head arrive home from work unable to find his wife. When he finally locates Mrs. Potato Head, he discovers her hiding in the pantry eating Lay’s. Mr. Potato Head overcomes his initial trepidation at delving into cannibalism immediately after trying a potato chip, accompanied by the tagline, “One taste and you’re in love.” Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s abhorrent crime against nature becomes their “little secret” in what, in a bizarre way, is something of a Valentine’s Day themed ad. The choice of Mr. and Mrs. Potato is something of a curious one, since Energy BBDO and Psyop had little chance of competing with Pixar’s likeness of the characters in the Toy Story series, and viewers will undoubtedly make that unfavorable comparison. Chalk this one up as a head spud scratcher. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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Just as the movie industry hits the boredom wall after New Year’s, the ad industry has really seemed to stall out since the Super Bowl. Makes sense: big budgets used up on Rob Riggle psuedo-celebrity endorsements and Stephen Colbert pistachio suits. What we have now is the calm after the storm, best exemplified by Carmichael Lynch’s new “Best Dad” spot for Subaru.

“Best Dad” is a simple 30-second clip that positions Subaru as the sweater-wearing dad of car brands, which is a fairly accurate representation, but maybe not the most tantalizing choice for an ad campaign. Take this recent video, for example, of a small Subaru sedan towing a Dodge Charger police cruiser out of the snow as one way to uniquely position the brand, especially in the winter. What Carmichael Lynch chose to produce instead is so typical that’s it’s hard to remember what happened 30 seconds ago. All car brands mention awards in their commercials. Motor Trend and J.D. Power and Associates give out awards the way Little Leagues give out trophies. Even if the message stays the same, at least try to present it in a fresh way. Just try, that’s all I ask.

Credits after the jump.

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Last Friday in LA’s Los Feliz neighborhood, a coffee shop named Dumb Starbucks Coffee opened. Over thew weekend, the store has become a sensation with long lines. On the menu are items like Dumb Vanilla Blond Roast, Dumb Caramel Machiatto and Dumb Chai Tea Latte. The store even has its own line of music with titles such as Dumb Norah Jones Duets and Dumb Taste of Cuba.

A Starbucks spokesman told the Wall Street Journal the store is unaffiliated with the brand.

But is it? It’s quite clear that some brand with deep pockets is behind this stunt. Over the weekend, everything in the store was free. How long can some random coffee shop survive like that?

A detailed FAQ, available in the store, explains Dumb Starbucks Coffee is a real business and has categorized itself as a work of parody rather than a coffee shop so as to avoid legal issues. Whether or not that distinction can withstand legal scrutiny is a question for the lawyers.

But it’s clear, at least in out mind, this is a marketing stunt with some money behind it.