Hasta La Creative!

Well, that was short and sweet. We’ll have more  on this in the morning but here’s the note we obtained verbatim just a short while ago on the matter:

    “DDB’s New York office has reached a decision to part ways with Reebok, due to strategic differences.

The Agency’s work continues to be appreciated by the brand’s headquarters and this will not affect DDB’s  relationship with adidas in Amsterdam and London.

DDB New York’s creative work is still in development and the agency will continue to work with Reebok to execute the marketing efforts in 2014.

Reebok will be conducting a pitch and DDB New York will not defend the account, based on DDB’s decision to part ways.”

If you recall, DDB NY reunited with the shoe/sports apparel brand just over a year ago. Anyways, should have more info tomorrow.

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Chicago-based agency O’Keefe, Reinhard & Paul wasted no time releasing their first campaign for Big Lots, after winning AOR duties for the company in late January.

OKRP worked with former Kmart CMO Andrew Stein(who was the man who of course led the infamous “Ship My Pants” campaign) on the new digital effort promoting the fact that Big Lots “ is now the official Hostess Thrift Shop.” The campaign, “#thriftisback” is centered around two Hostess-themed videos. “Mostess” is a 60 second spot featuring a group of choreographed moms dancing to a song name-checking Hostess treats. Yeah, OKRP definitely went the goofy route with this one. As tough as “Mostess” is to watch, the 90 second “Twinkie Time,” which features a car ride marred with an a capella Twinkie song, is just plain insufferable. (It could just  be me, as I have a strong aversion to a capella, but I don’t think so.)

“Videos are emblematic of the kind of quick-to-market, impact-driven and unexpected work that we are doing for clients who need to turn around campaigns yesterday,” explains O’Keefe, Reinhard & Paul CEO Tom O’Keefe. In addition to the videos, the campaign also features social media and digital marketing. Stick around for “Twinkie Time” after the jump (if you dare), and head on over to Big Lots’ YouTube page for more.  continued…

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Integrated agency Stack has launched a new campaign for Nivea Men Originals sharing “life hacks” to help make life a little easier for Nivea Men customers.

The online campaign launched today with the first “Life Hacks” video, which shows a bloke suiting up for a Sunday football (soccer) game while utilizing a series of lifehacks. These hacks include throwing wrinkly laundry in the tumble dryer with an ice cube instead of ironing (I’ve got to try that one), using rechargeable batteries in your remote, putting smelly shoes in the freezer to eliminate unpleasant odors (may cause cold feet), and others.

The “Life Hacks” campaign, which will appear across social media channels such as YouTube and Facebook, was designed around “the truism that men use the internet as a source of how-to guides, tips and new information,” explained Stack CEO Liz Wilson. “Life Hacks offers an original yet relevant way to engage with the audience who consider men’s skincare regimens as elaborate and cumbersome. It is a fun way of busting that myth.”

Check out the full video above, and keep your eyes peeled for more “Life Hacks” from Stack and Nivea Men in the near future.

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Remember those slow loading Flash websites that made your computer’s fan scream, did nothing for the brand’s SEO and made you wait…and wait and wait and wait for portions of the site to load? Gone like a failed dot com, right?

Or so we thought. DIgitasLBi has brought back the web designer’s wet dream in its full glory for GMC to tout the brand’s 2014 Sierra. Now don’t misunderstand us. The site is beautiful, packed with dazzling CGI wizardry and, technically, isn’t even Flash. It’s HTML5 but it sure behaves like Flash used to.

Maybe we’re biased. Maybe we’re jaded. Maybe we’re just an ass but when we go to a website for a car, we kinda just want to know what it’s all about; how it’s made, how much horsepower, it’s engine displacement, the vehicle’s fuel economy. And we want it all in and easy to read, all-test list, not some Hollywood blockbuster style creation that looks awesome when an agency presents it to the client but is more trouble than it’s worth for the user.

And, another thing, any site that needs a menu to instruct a visitor how to get around the site immediately loses points.

So why did GMC go and get all fancy pants on us? Buick and GMC Director of Advertising and Promotions Sandra Moore explains, saying,”The Sierra demands a digital experience that demonstrates the substantial, innovative, professional-grade essence that the vehicle itself embodies.”

Um, Sandra, it’s a pick up truck.

All of that said, DigitalLBi did do something right. In the lower right hand corner of the site, there is a link which reads “Shop the Sierra 1500.” Clicking that link serves up — you guessed it — an old school website for the vehicle which has all the specs laid out in —you guessed it — easy to read list format. If the new site is so awesome, why does the old site still exist? Hmm.

Samsonite tapped Saatchi and Saatchi Brussels to craft a new campaign putting their products to the test in a series of online videos called “Samsonite Vs. The World.”

In the online series, several products from the world’s largest luggage brand face a series of tests meant to demonstrate the real-life testing Samsonite puts their products through. Each test was designed to highlight the selling point of each particular product. Samsonite’s Paradiver faces a simulated monsoon in “Samsonite Vs. Monsoon,” with the suitcase’s contents, most notably a book of matches, remaining dry throughout the test. The Samsonite Cosmolite endures quite the beating in “Samsonite Vs. Gravity,” dropped from a 15 meter height into a luggage cart to demonstrate its “impact-resistant Curv material.” Least impressive has to be “Samsonite Vs. Chicken,” which emphasizes the lightness of Samsonite Short-Lite by comparing it to a chicken. To keep things lighthearted and pleasant, each of these tests is narrated by a charming British chap.

The “Samsonite Vs. The World” campaign will be launched to online travel and lifestyle media throughout Europe starting today. Check out “Samsonite Vs. Monsoon” above, and stick around for “Samsonite Vs. Gravity” and credits after the jump. continued…

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Providence-based Nail has unveiled a new spot for Lifespan entitled “15,000.”

That number refers to the approximate count of employees at Lifespan, who, according to the 60 second spot, “have the best job in the world…delivering health with care.” The spot begins by attempting to make viewers consider everyday life in a different light, as a narrator intones things like “Every day, joy and heartbreak wash across us with equally unpredictable force” while a violin plays a melancholy melody in the background. About the time when you’re wondering what exactly this is an ad for, the “best job in the world” line comes in, followed by shots of Lifespan workers with name tags and ending with the “delivering health with care” tagline.  “15,000″ will begin airing tonight during the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and marks the beginning of Nail’s first branding campaign.

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Carnival announced today that it is “the national cruise line advertiser of NBC’s telecast of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games,” with their new Olympic campaign from Arnold Worldwide.

Arnold’s campaign for Carnival launches today with the 30 second television spot, “Bobslide Champs,” which “will air on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network and USA Network throughout the duration of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games,” and also in select cinemas across the country. The spot features a sports announcer narrating while a group of four children race down a Carnival waterslide as if they are a bobsled team. “That was a run for the ages!” he exclaims as the crew crosses the finish line. “Bobslide Champs” is expected to increase the need for Carnival employees to shout “One at a time on the slide, please!” by at least 500 percent.

The campaign is timed to coincide with “what is known as ‘wave season’ – a key window for generating cruise reservations,” which, luckily for Carnival, also comes during the Olympics this year. In addition to the television campaign, the campaign also includes “a series of contests, videos and posts on the line’s highly trafficked social channels.” Stick around for credits and the extended, 60 second version of “Bobslide Champs” after the jump. continued…

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After spending a few years going forth with W+K, universally-known jeans brand Levi’s has moved its ad duties to Draftfcb and year-old agency The House Worldwide, which will share duties on global marketing, creative and strategic support. Levi’s CMO Jen Sey says in a statement, “We are very excited about this new model. We’re getting handpicked creative talent from Draftfcb and The House networks at both the global and local market level. This model will provide us with the efficiency and consistency we need as a global brand as well as the means to  drive relevance around the world by accessing top-notch local talent when we need it. In doing so, we’ll strive to reach passionate new fans in every market in which we operate.”

The 160-year-old brand previously worked with W+K since 2008 in the U.S. as well as BBH abroad. Among those participating in Levi’s new “customized” agency model are Draftfcb San Francisco, Draftfcb Los Angeles and The House Worldwide’s ChinaMadrid in Spain and CumminsRoss from Australia.

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For the follow-up to the popular “Look Inside. Jack Andraka” video which garnered over 2 million views on YouTube, VB&P decided to tell the inspiring story of Erik Weihenmayer.

Erik is a mountain climber who has climbed the seven tallest summits on earth, one of only 118 people in history to accomplish this feat. That would be impressive enough, but Weihenmayer is the only person to do so while blind. Weihenmayer was born with retinoschisis and was fully blind by the age of 13. Three years later, at a recreational program for the visually impaired, he was introduced to rock climbing, and it changed his life forever. “I wanted my life to be an adventure, I didn’t want to be shoved to the sidelines and forgotten and just sit in a dark room listening to life go by,” Weihenmayer said. “Rock climbing for me was sort of a symbol that I could get to the summit of whatever I wanted to do, but I had to do it differently.”

In 2001, Weihenmayer became the first blind man to reach the top of Mount Everest, and by 2008 he’d accomplished the amazing feat of scaling the seven tallest peaks in the world. “In an ironic way, that thing like blindness or that barrier you face, if you attack it the right way, it can become a catalyst to moving yourself to a new place that you may not have gone to in any other way,” Erik said.

Erik’s story can be viewed online, in the above film directed by Christopher Hewitt of Knucklehead. Intel has also launched a social media program, where if Erik’s video is shared 2,900 times they will donate $30,000 to No Barriers USA, an organization offering “transformative experiences that allow people to embrace a ‘no barriers mindset’ and discover the potential that lies within themselves and the world.” After viewing Erik’s “Look Inside” video above, you can head here for the full story. Stick around for credits and “Look Inside. Jack Andraka” after the jump.

continued…

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Code and Theory New York have redesigned the website for Finnish vodka brand Finlandia, giving it a sleek new look.

The new site features a unique and unusual visual design that lends itself well to the brand’s “To the life less ordinary” tagline. On the site “a singular access point icon has replaced the fixed navigation, the logo surfaces only when necessary, and product-specific sections like “Drinks” are more about cocktail inspiration than a recipe archive.” The site invites viewers to scroll down the page for a cinematic experience, ending with a 1:06 video (featured above) that correlates with the rest of the site. That all of it is rather strange (in a very Nordic kind of way) and doesn’t make a ton of sense, again, completely fits the “life less ordinary” attitude the brand is promoting. Intended reaction (I’m guessing): “I have no idea what’s going on, but it kind of makes me want some vodka.” Check out the site for yourself, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.