Here’s More on Samsung/Motorola/Razorfish

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Yeesh, this story will not cease, and the tipster onslaught continues. To add a little bit more color if you will to yesterday’s story about Samsung/Razorfish/Motorola, we’ve got this word from a source in the know. We forgot to mention that Brian Wallace‘s relationship with the agency extends back to his Blackberry days at RIM, where he spent well over a decade and last served as VP/global digital marketing and media.

Once again, we will keep the other parties’ involved name redacted but we have received several tips about this. Here’s the first allegation: “I was part of the Denuo team on Samsung. The only firewall was that we worked on different floors. In many cases, Blackberry people would pitch in on the Samsung work. [Redacted] knew, his former employer didn’t. I heard the same thing happened again with Motorola (I still have buddies there).”

Along with being told that this was “common practice” at the agency, we’ve been told that employees have not only been given two business cards in order to promote both the GS4 and the Moto X “within days of each other,” From what we’ve heard from those in the know it was one card for Razorfish and the other at fellow Publicis Groupe-based shop, Digitas/Denuo. These tips are getting too numerous to accumulate. If you recall, Samsung just hired Razorfish over a year ago to work as the brand’s digital AOR.

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VB&P, McAfee Think Your Digital Self is a Complete Idiot

 

San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners continue their ”Protect Yourself from Your Digital Self” campaign for McAfee LiveSafe, produced by its in-house content production facility, Lumberyard, with a new spot entitled ”Beth vs. @simply_the_beth.”

The spot builds on the notion of the careless, naive digital self they’ve explored in the past. In this case, @simply_the_beth’s carelessness leads to identity theft, an opportunity for VB&P to tout McAfee’s identity protection. The way in which this happens is a bit over-the-top, and I have to think the spot would be more successful if  @simply_the_beth got in trouble in a more realistic way. I understand the ad is attempting to be humorous, but it really pushes things way past believability. Aren’t you trying to get people to identify with Beth and her digital self? And by making Beth’s digital self a complete idiot, aren’t you kind of insulting your potential customers? Making @simply_the_beth so unbelievably stupid just seems like a big misstep. On an unrelated note, I really want that owl mug Beth is holding.

In the slightly more successful Gregg vs. @greggs_benedict (featured after the jump), VB&P plays on the animosity between Greg and his digital self without making the digital self quite so cartoonish (he’s more of a dick than a moron). Let us know what you think of the new spot, and the ”Protect Yourself from Your Digital Self” campaign in the comments section.  continued…

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Vice Acquires Carrot Creative

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The New York Times got the exclusive on this one, but what the hell, we have the announce and feel it’s worth mentioning that the now-media conglomerate that is Vice has acquired DUMBO-based digital agency, Carrot Creative. So, why now? According to a statement from Carrot co-founder/chief experience officer Chris Petescia,”The thought of selling to a holding company has always been incomprehensible to us. By contrast, when VICE approached us, it made perfect sense. Not joining VICE would have been an absurd contradiction to the very principles we stand for; they are aligned with Carrot in mission and spirit. Carrot has always been at the forefront of innovation; VICE is a steroid injection into our greatest ambitions. To say that we’re excited would be an understatement.”

The “steroid injection” will mean that Carrot’s creative/dev team will join up with Vice’s in-house web and mobile teams, with the immediate goal being to focus on the latter’s new verticals that include news, food and sports. Along with the vertical work, Carrot will focus on app development, advertising efforts and UX as the relationship endures. According to the parties involved, Carrot Creative, which works with clients including Jaguar, MTV, Disney and Home Depot, and its 65 staffers will remain in their DUMBO quarters (Vice’s hub is in Willamsburg). We’ve been told that as a result of the acquisition, fellow Carrot co-founder/CEO Mike Germano will remain in his role as the agency’s CEO and serve in a dual role of chief digital officer at Vice. Everything else will remain the same.

 

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WestJet, studio m Stage ‘Christmas Miracle’

Well, the holiday items keep pouring in today. This one is a “Christmas miracle” from our neighbors to the north.

Canadian airline WestJet and studio m collaborated to give visitors to Toronto and Hamilton International Airports a Christmas miracle. They discovered what more than 250 Calgary-bound passengers had on their wish lists, with help from a tech-savvy Santa. Then 175 Westjet employees acted as elves, taking notes on passenger’s Christmas wishes, shopping, wrapping the gifts and delivering them to the Calgary airport ahead of the gifts’ recipients. When the passengers arrived at baggage claim in Calgary, they were met with a Christmas miracle — the gifts they had wished for were there waiting for them — addressed from Santa, of course. As the wrapped presents went around the carousel, Santa himself showed up to wish everyone a merry Christmas.

Making baggage claim fun is truly a miracle, and WestJet clearly jumped through hoops to pull this stunt off. It made a lot of peoples’ days, and the kids who got presents from Santa that day will probably remember it forever. Not a bad way to engender brand loyalty, but intentions aside, WestJet staged a really heartwarming event. The genuineness of the gesture and its perfect execution more than make up for any excess cheesiness in the video, which plays on the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (better known by its first line, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”). Stick around for “Santa’s Bloopers” after the jump, but beware, the cheesiness increases exponentially.  continued…

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We Hear: Is This Why Samsung Parted Ways with Razorfish?

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You might recall that over the summer, Samsung moved its U.S. digital business from Razorfish to R/GA and now, all of a sudden, we’ve been filled with tips possibly about the reason why. According to sources familiar with the matter, there were conflicts of interest at hand. We hear senior execs on Razorfish’s mobile biz (we won’t name names at this point as we’re still checking on things) had also pursued the relaunch of Motorola–a direct competitor–not too long after head Samsung marketer Brian Wallace , who we’ve been told brought on Publicis Groupe-owned Razorfish to its roster while he was the former company, left for a similar role at Motorola late last year.

The kicker is that our sources say that Razorfish worked as fellow Publicis Groupe digital agency Denuo in order to maintain the Samsung biz and technically handled both Samsung and Motorola at the same time, hence the boot. Oy vey, it sounds like a mess and we’re looking into it, though our sources in the know actually worked on the account but we’ll try to get some more info on the matter. Feel free to chime in below.

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Leo Burnett, Special K Trim ‘Fat Talk’ for Women

One of the opening frames in Leo Burnett’s “Fat Talk” spot for Special K tells the viewer that 93% of women engage in fat talk, a form of passive-aggressive self-shaming. Because of Facebook and Twitter, I’m surprised that number isn’t seven percentage points higher.

But during the two-minute spot, women in a nondescript clothing store are forced to confront their own insecurities. Placards of fat talk tweets are posted around the store, and the women realize the self-degradation is bad and start hugging each other. This ad is not a comedy. Instead, it comes off as an incredibly preachy after-school special for adult women. Tackling fat talk is a compelling psychological start for a commercial, but as with a lot of good ideas, the execution winds up muddled into something so safe and vanilla that it’s hard to remember what brand is advertising in the first place. Credits after the jump.

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Tribal Worldwide, Volkswagen Reinvent Driving Music with ‘Play The Road’

Tribal DDB–sorry, Tribal Worldwide as it’s now known–collaborated with Volkswagen, electronic vets Underworld, production company B-Reel and director Anders Hallberg to create “Play The Road,” a 2:47 video showing the Volkswagen Golf GTI turned into a musical instrument by a new iPhone app.

The video, filmed over two nights in London, shows precision driver Thomas Wulff utilizing the new app to create new music, recorded by Underworld but “controlled by the speed and steering of the car itself.” It’s a cool idea, and while the music created isn’t exactly mind blowing, it really does seem to sync with the driving experience well. Of course, having a precision driver like Wulff showing your car off doesn’t hurt either. At the end of the long spot, Volkswagen plays on their usual “Drivers Wanted” tag, changing it to “Musicians Wanted.” So far, the iPhone app used in the ad has not been made commercially available. Although Volkswagen UK was offering visitors to their Facebook page a chance to win the opportunity to experience the app , the competition now appears to be closed.

If you’d like to learn more about “Play The Road” and how it was developed, Tribal worked with director Ed Sayers to create “”How We Reinvented Driving Music.” It’s an interesting look at the new technology, and those involved with creating it. Be forewarned though, it may just make you want the app more. We’ve included it, along with credits, after the jump.  continued…

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Coke Zero is Under the Assumption that You Still Like, Respect Metallica

Yesterday, metal legends and running joke Metallica performed a concert at Antarctica’s Carlini Scientific Base to 120 people in a transparent dome of some sort. Of the 120 attendees, 20 were scientists from Russia, Korea, China, Poland, Chile, Brazil and Germany. These winners of “Music Zero” “enjoyed the talent of Metallica in a quite exceptional way: through headphones, to respect the harmony of the environment,” which…wait, what?

It’s impossible to blame anyone at the concert for rocking out at this concert. After all, once you get bored of watching penguins slide around on their stomachs, there’s not a lot entertaining that happens on the most-desolate of continents. But, I have to wonder, why is a brand that seems to target college-aged youth trying to make a statement with a band like Metallica, who the average millennial may remember first from their douche-y drummer getting pissy about Napster and again from the 2004 couples therapy session, Some Kind of Monster?

Now, this could be a sign of things changing at Coke Zero, and a decision from on high to start marketing to a consumer who remembers that Metallica was actually a pretty solid band pre-Load. It’s also very possible that Coke Zero had some money to burn and no other band was willing to travel to Antarctica to throw a concert. But, in a world where metal is getting an awesome resurgence via bands like METZ, Deafheaven, and Liturgy, there’s gotta be a better alternative to Metallica. Set list after the jump.

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ESPN Taps ‘Santa Snoop’ to Narrate New NBA Christmas Spot

ESPN has a new in-house effort promoting their NBA Christmas lineup, and Calvin Broadus has yet another name. Santa Snoop narrates the effort, which riffs off the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (better known by its first line, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”).

The NBA Christmas spot is about as straightforward as it gets, supplementing Snoop’s narration with highlights of the teams featured in the Christmas day matchups. It all works, thanks mostly to Santa Snoop’s immediately recognizable voice. Who doesn’t love to hear this this guy? He could narrate a shopping list and make it sound intriguing. Beyond that, I really like the idea of Santa Snoop. He’s probably skinny enough to actually fit down a chimney, and I imagine he brings the kind of treats Santa normally wouldn’t feel comfortable trafficking in. So keep an eye out for Santa Snoop this Christmas morning and if you’re a hoops fan, tune in to the NBA on ESPN and ABC. The opening game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls tips off at noon, followed by a doubleheader on ABC (Knicks/Thunder, then Heat/Lakers), and capped off with a prime-time doubleheader on ESPN, with the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Houston Rockets at 8 p.m., followed by the Golden State Warriors hosting the Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 p.m. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Ed Norton Sings Karaoke, Almost Dies Several Times in New Droid Spot

This one’s been making the rounds for awhile now, but we thought we’d give some love anyway. McgarryBowen New York’s new spot for Verizion, “A Lot Can Happen in 48 Hours” features the talents of Ed Norton. It originally aired on December 5th, although it was posted to YouTube about a week before that.

In the spot, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Norton is thrown into a variety of dicey situations, with his Droid helping him get through most of them relatively unscathed. “A Lot Can Happen in 48 Hours” opens with Norton waking up to find himself in a strange room, with his Droid still at 3% power. “It’s been an interesting 48 hours,” Norton says, followed by a flashback. We then follow Norton through his series of misadventures, which begins with him finding a lost wallet and using Droid to find the location. This leads Norton to a karaoke bar, where he ogles a taken woman while singing “If I Could Turn Back Time” (the funniest part of the spot).

From here, Norton’s misadventures include attempting to land a plane, being held captive, having a key found in his stomach, playing a high-stakes game of Connect Four, and being held captive once again. Its everything-goes-wrong brand of humor borrows a little bit from The Hangover series, and although the spot seems to employ the kind of random connections Grey NY used in their 2012 DirectTV campaign, the superior execution helps keep it from feeling too easy or derivative. The spot uses a clever setup to promote the Droid’s impressive battery life, and then finds ways to showcase the phone’s other features in the process. This is certainly a far cry better than McgarryBowen Chicago’s disastrous “Denskies” campaign for Sears. Bonus points for the excellent use of a Lykke Li song. Credits after the jump. continued…

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O&M Japan Illustrates Kids’ Dreams for Konica Minolta

Here’s a cheery Monday item: Ogilvy&Mather Japan’s created a “Dream Printer” project for Konica Minolta, asking children what they dreamed of being when they grew up and then showing them what it would look like if their dreams came true.

Playing off the brand’s core concept of “Giving Shape to Ideas,” Ogilvy&Mather set up shop in Gantry Plaza State Park in New York, placing their “Dream Printer” in the middle of the park. The printer asked curious children what to write down their dream. Within minutes, the “Dream Printer” dispensed an illustration of the child fulfilling his or her dream, much to their delight. Ogilvy&Mather and Konica Minolta spread a lot of smiles during the process, and you can check out the project in the video above. At the end of the video, as night falls, the printer’s true identity is revealed.

“We wanted to encourage children by showing them that the more you imagine, the more your dreams take shape,” explained Yuki Kobayashi, general manager of Konica Minolta’s CSR, Corporate Communications & Branding Division. “Dream Printer” is a cute little project, part of a larger campaign employing the ”Giving Shape to Ideas” concept in different ways. Whether or not it helped spread brand awareness, “Dream Printer” made a bunch of kids happy, which we think is a great accomplishment in itself. If you can spare the 3:26 to watch “Dream Printer,” it just might be the positive start to the week that you need. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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Nike, W+K Portland Unveil Star-Studded ‘Winning in a Winter Wonderland’ Spot


W+K Portland tapped some of the world’s greatest athletes for their new holiday spot touting the advantages of Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer, directed by Rupert Sanders. ”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” features the talents of Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, skier Julia Mancuso, snowboarder Scotty Lago, soccer stars Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, and former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who now appears to be headed to Seattle. Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer also makes a brief cameo appearance.

While undeniably cheesy (hey, it’s the holidays) the spot does an admirable job at promoting the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer. People are prone to listen to endorsements from star athletes, and W+K got a wide, varied group together for the spot. They emphasize that the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer makes playing in cold, harsh conditions seem almost enjoyable by keeping you warm without restricting movement, perfectly matching the song selection. “Winning in a Winter Wonderland,” of course, changes the words of the holiday classic, which gets a bit cringe-worthy in spots but mostly comes across as cheesy holiday fun. The words are sung by the star athletes in the spot, mostly while in action, and they seem to have a lot of fun with it — which makes it hard to hate.

The campaign features both a one minute and thirty second version of the spot, as well as a digital takeover and social media elements.”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” premiered during college football’s Big Ten NCAA Championship game and will run throughout the holiday season. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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kbs+, SiblingRivalry Drench Model in Gold Paint to Sell Jay Z’s New Cologne


What happens when the self-importance of a major celebrity combines with the inherent ridiculousness of a cologne ad? For the answer, just watch agency KSB+P and production company Sibling Rivalry’s spot for Jay Z‘s new cologne — excuse me, fragrance for men — Gold Jay Z.

“This is Jay Z‘s signature fragrance, so we wanted to capture the power and style of the man but also the sensuality of the fragrance at the same time,” explains kbs+ co-CCO Izzy DeBellis, presumably with a straight face. “We needed to find the right balance of personality and product to make it all work, since it’s easy for anything associated with him to be dominated by the mere mention of Jay Z‘s name.”

Apparently it’s impossible to talk about a “fragrance” without sounding completely pompous. Entirely too self-serious SiblingRivalry creative director Joe Wright says, “The agency and client were as excited as we to produce something that is part art film, part brand launch. It gave us plenty of room to experiment.”

So what is this “art film” promoting Jay Z‘s new fragrance? Well, it’s basically gold paint being dumped on model Heidy De La Rosa, while she holds long poses, interspersed with shots of the blinged-out cologne bottle designed by Jacob The Jeweler. Not exactly experimental. Of course they didn’t just dump gold paint on the model: ”a specialty rig altered the lighting, which responded to the glittery liquid, and appears to morph in density and luminosity as it covers De La Rosa.” So there’s that. The 30-second spot was supposedly edited to “reflect the art of the music video,” but, to me at least, it just looks like another perfume ad. Credits after the jump. continued…

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David&Goliath Crafts New ‘Beautifully Simple’ Campaign for VIZIO

LA-based agency David&Goliath has crafted a new campaign promoting VIZIO’s M-Series Smart TV and VIZIO Sound Bar, complete with the new tagline, “Beautifully Simple.”

The TV campaign contains three new spots: “So Easy,” “My Station” and “Tiny Dancer.” Each of these was directed by Michael Downing, with cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi (who has worked on Silver Linings Playbook and Babel). Together, the spots form a kind of narrative, beginning with “So Easy” (featured above). This spot, and the campaign as a whole, play on the fact that children often understand new technology better than their parents. In “So Easy” a young girl helps her dad through problems with his laptop and smartphone. The father then jumps at the opportunity to help his daughter pick a program on VIZIO’s M-Series Smart TV. A cute idea, that is unfortunately followed by the theme-line ”So easy, even an adult can figure it out.” This wouldn’t be a problem, if it wasn’t for the fact that Geico ruined the lines “So easy, even a…” for everyone, forever.

The next spot, “My Station,” is probably my favorite of the bunch, featuring the dad discovering his daughter’s Pandora station. “Tiny Dancer” concludes the series by upping the cute factor, as well as the father’s competence with the M-Series Smart TV. David&Goliath’s approach of creating a series of ads meant to be viewed in a certain order is interesting, and they pull it off by making each of them able to stand alone as well. I just wish they’d get rid of that theme-line.

Clearly targeted at dads, the campaign will run through the college football season on ESPN’s networks and Hulu into early 2014. Stay tuned for the final two spots, as well as credits, after the jump.  continued…

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Y&R NY Makes Some Cuts

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JCPenney, the retail chain that can’t seem to make up its mind about which agency it wants to work with, has, as you probably know, assembled a cavalcade of shops including Doner, Victors & Spoils and EVB, who succeed Y&R following a rather brief stint. Anyhow, layoffs have ensued at Y&R, which sent us this statement:

“Due to our recent parting of ways with J.C. Penney, and in order to best structure ourselves for growth in the new year, we are reducing staff in our New York office by 15 people. Although we are sad to see some of our people go, we are confident about the overall growth of our North American network, and plan to add jobs in our Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto offices in the coming months.”

Y&R took over on JCPenney creative duties this past April.

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BBDO NY, Champs Sports Help Kids Hack Their Wish Lists into Their Parents’ Browsers

BBDO NY’s new holiday campaign for Champs Sports helps kids hack their wish lists into their parents’ browsers, through fake viral videos and a browser extension that turns all banner ads into ads for their wish list. The campaign is a mix of sneaky and clever, and kids whose wish lists are full of Champs merchandise should be happy about this one.

The 56 second video promoting the campaign (see above) features Jon Gruden, who introduces himself as a “football coach, TV personality, and overall tough guy.” Gruden always gets what he wants for Christmas, because all he really wants are pork rinds. He appeals to kids to make sure their parents see their wish list via “Hard Hinting,” so they don’t end up getting a clarinet, instead of the Jordan Retro 1 they asked for. (Hey, what’s wrong with the clarinet?) Gruden then goes on to describe Champs Sports’ two methods of Hard Hinting: viral video hacks and banner ad takeovers.

Although Champs Sports does have products for girls, this ad is clearly aimed squarely at the young male, sports fan market (the only audience that doesn’t find Jon Gruden overwhelmingly obnoxious). You have to wonder a little bit about targeting such a specific demographic, but then I suppose that audience accounts for a lot of Champs’ business this time of year. It just might have made sense to do so in a way that wasn’t so alienating to everybody else. While the hacking your wishlist to get your parents attention schtick is pretty clever (and I’m sure kids will appreciate it), I imagine a few parents will feel it crosses the line. And they’re the ones ultimately doing the shopping, right?

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INSA Creates ‘Make Your Own Way’ Gif-fiti for Dwyane Wade, Li-Ning

Dwyane Wade and shoe brand Li-Ning, who partnered up last year, commissioned renowned British street artist INSA to create a “Make Your Own Way” mural bringing the Miami Heat star’s philosophy to life. But INSA didn’t just stop at creating the 30 x 20 foot mural, utilizing red, white, and black — the predominant colors used for Wade’s Overtown shoe. He created an animated gif of the mural, which he calls “gif-fiti.”

The unveiling of the mural, located in the Art District of Miami, was timed to coincide with the launch of Wade’s Li-Ning sneaker Way of Wade 2.0: Overtown, as well as Art Basel. Both Wade and INSA were happy to work together on the project. Wade said INSA “was a natural fit for Li-Ning Way of Wade as his style is bold and unique.”

INSA, meanwhile, claims that Wade’s “Make Your Own Way” message really resonates with him. “Wade is carving his own path and that resonates with me. I feel like I have lived my life the same way,” said the artist.

Creative agency Zambezi, put together a 2:34 video documenting the creation of the mural and subsequent gif, (featured above). It’s a really interesting look at INSA and his process, offering insights not only into this particular piece but into INSA’s outlook and philosophy. He begins by explaining how making .gifs really brought back vitality to his work at a time when he was growing tired of standard graffiti murals. If you’re at all interested in INSA or street art, it’s well worth the time. While “gif-fiti” is a new one to me — and I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about it — INSA is doing intriguing things with it, bringing his art to life in ways otherwise impossible, while exposing his work to an entirely new audience.

INSA’s “Make Your Own Way” gif will go live on Brand Wade’s Instagram page today at noon. And if you’re in Miami you can find the mural at 286 NW 29th St and 3rd Avenue, Wynwood Miami, Fl 33137.  continued…

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Advantage Y&R Namibia Get Touchyfeely for MTC

I’m not sure we’ve ever featured a Namibian ad here on Agency Spy, so here’s one. This spot by Advantage Y&R for MTC is just brimming with friendliness. The agency imagines the interaction fueled by the cell network as spreading hugs across the country. It’s a cute idea, and the production — by Fly On The Wall — rises to the occasion. The music they chose fits perfectly, too. The 90 second ad begins with a young man at a bus stop getting a text, then turning and hugging the old woman next to him. Soon everyone is hugging, from a guy in a chicken suit hugging a security officer to two boxers hugging in the ring. The spot ends with the young man from the opening scene sharing a hug with his girlfriend, who has just arrived on a bus, adding some nice closure to the scenario.

With the dwindling energy that comes with the shortening days, and the leftovers in the fridge starting to run out, this just might be the kind of happiness spreading video you need to get you through the middle of the week. It’s pretty hard not to smile watching this one, and on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving that is much appreciated. Credits after the jump. continued…

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JCPenney Jingles with the Public For USO Charity

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Since Black Friday fever is subsiding for a bit until the Christmas rush kicks back up, we can stop paying attention to Kmart’s Jingle Balls commercial and focus instead on brand philanthropy. Now that JCPenney signed a few free agents – Doner, EVB, Victors & Spoils – to take over their creative duties, the department store is headlining “Jingle Mingle” a collaborative musical project tied to USO holiday donations. It appears that EVB and Victors & Spoils took the reins on this one, and the Boulder-based team was led by Noah Clark and Steve Babcock.

There’s some vanilla exposition on the campaign’s site from country singer Blake Shelton, which is almost worth watching just to hear him say “Santa Pipes.” That’s not a phrase. But users can record their own versions of Silent Night” before a big televised rendition on December 19 meant to raise the spirits of US troops. There’s also a monetary donation for each submission that’s ultimately capped at $100,000. It’s for a good cause. It lets people sing without bothering strangers with bah humbug looks on their faces. And nobody has to stand in a line at 3 AM for a new Xbox. Happy holidays and Santa Pipes to all.

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Derrick Rose Wears Headphones, Doesn’t Play Basketball for Skullcandy

How excited Skullcandy must have been.

In the battle of headphone brands, competing with the insanely popular Beats By Dre product line must have seemed like an impossible task. Marketshare was decreasing rapidly. What they needed was a miracle, the kind of great idea that can rocket their brand back into the competition. What they needed was a celebrity endorser big enough to compete with Dr. Dre but cheap enough that it didn’t totally break the bank. But who could that be? How can you get someone who’s universally respect and beloved at a reasonable price tag?

And then, it became clear. Derrick Rose, Bulls star point guard and Chicago’s most cherished native son, was on his way back from an entire year spent cheering from courtside after sustaining a devastating knee injury. The narrative was already being written by Adidas: Rose was back, and better than ever. The story was one of redemption; an opportunity to tell off the critics who felt he was sitting on the bench when he was well enough to be back on the court. “The Return” is what Adidas called it. Rose had the charisma, the talent, the credibility and, much to Skullcandy’s delight, a relatively reasonable price tag due to his year spent in street clothes. It must have sounded almost too perfect to Skullcandy’s marketing team. As preseason rumors spread this fall about Rose adding four inches to his vertical jump, fives must have been highed, glasses must have been clinked, and the familiar feeling of optimism must have crept its way back inside the Skullcandy offices.

I wonder who was watching the game, a late November Friday night as the Bulls faced the Portland Trailblazers. Who saw Rose pivot awkwardly on his knee while fighting for the ball, and limp gingerly toward the sidelines? Who had to make the mournful phone call when it was reported the star needed emergency knee surgery? Who first gasped when news broke on Twitter that, oh God, not again. Who remembers the studio, Gentleman Scholar, who wanted to use the above spot as their showpiece? Who can see a billboard on the Kennedy Expressway and thinks “Skullcandy!” instead of feeling a toxic mixture or sadness and frustration brought the reminder that another cold winter in Chicago would go bye without seeing #1 on the court?

Man, sucks to be them, huh? By the way, the song that plays in the background is “Back to Ballin’” by Wale. HA!  Credits after the jump.

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