Hasta La Creative!

Details are a bit vague at the moment on this, but yesterday, we received a tip that McCann was awarded integrated ad duties for Lockheed Martin. We inquired throughout the day and were left in the dark until last night when we finally received this reply from a Lockheed spokesperson that confirms the integrated win: “We recently conducted a review of our advertising and media agencies and selected McCann to be our agency of record beginning in early 2014.” No word from Lockheed on who the incumbent was (if there was one, though we’re digging) but we’re hearing that the Bethesda, MD-based defense contractor, which is also furloughing approximately 20 percent less workers than planned due to the government shutdown, actually made its decision last week.

By our count, this marks the third notable account win for McCann in the last six months following the USPS and Cuervo. We’ll keep you posted if and when we find out more about its latest.

Update: Well, to fill in the blanks a bit, folks on the Spy tell us CT-based Keiler & Company was the incumbent on Lockheed. As for the review, we’re being told other agency finalists included Arnold and Doremus.

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Could a  nearly 20-year relationship between DDB and Wells Fargo be coming to an end? Not sure yet, but late last Friday, we first heard that the San Francisco-based financial institution was putting its lead agency account into review. After some follow-up this morning, we received this brief comment from a spokesperson for the brand that basically confirms it: “We are very proud of our advertising. As we continue to evolve our brand to align with our growing business and broader marketing and brand strategies, it is the right time to explore agency options.”

DDB California, appropriately enough, handed ad duties over the years for Wells Fargo, which of course also acquired Wachovia back in 2008. DDB still currently serves as lead ad agency for the brand but we’re checking to see if they’ll defend the account. We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more.

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M&C Saatchi gained the attention of passing pedestrians in Milan by creating an installation that looks like a submarine emerging in Milan’s Piazza Mercanti, crashing into a nearby motorist.

The surreal stunt was created for insurance companies Genertel IT and Europ Assistance IT as part of their “Protect Your Life” campaign. It featured a rescue team, a group of stunned sailors, and one irate Smart Car driver. To make sure the point (Which is what exactly? It’s really hard to extract from this confusing scene) was not lost on pedestrian witnesses, “a man in scuba diving gear was on hand to speak to people about the importance of safeguarding their possessions.” Because anytime people need something explained to them: bam, a man in scuba gear.

I’m a fan of good old-fashioned Italian surrealism, so I can appreciate this from that point of view. But I can’t really make much sense of it from a marketing standpoint. Protect your possessions because you never know when a submarine will emerge out of nowhere? If you can make some sense of this, let us know in the comments section.

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In a follow-up to the earlier NBA 2K14 spot which heralded Lebron James‘s first game cover, Zambezi returns with the official launch ad for the game featuring who most believe is the best in b-ball today. Yours truly hasn’t been much of a gamer since Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 were in existence, but hell, we’re down to revisit the days when we were on fire in NBA Jam. Along with the spot, Zambezi curated an interview with the one and only Michael Jordan dubbed “Uncensored” in what perhaps the greatest basketball player ever actually goes against the grain and dubs Kobe Bryant the only one he probably couldn’t beat in the NBA today. Well, he did emulate his style to perfection after all, so maybe MJ’s on to something. Credits and the Jordan interview after the jump.

continued…

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In case you haven’t read, Newell Rubbermaid, which has previously worked with Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch and Definition 6, has shifted its business to BBH and PHD as lead creative and media agency, respectively. BBH, which also works with leading brands including Johnnie Walker, British Airways, KFC, Audi, Barclays Bank, Westin Hotels & Resorts, and Axe, will support work by the global agency network including offices in London, Sao Paulo and Shanghai.

In a statement,  Richard Davies, chief marketing/insights officer of Newell Rubbermaid, says, “For the first time, we are aligning all our brands and categories behind one set of agency partners to drive big ideas that create a strong point of difference for consumers. BBH and PHD are the best in the business at what they do.  With their partnership, we now have the power to achieve much greater scale, reach and impact as we invest behind growing our brands worldwide.”

The new agency relationship has started two days ago and will go into full effect in early 2014.

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Ogilvy Chicago’s latest spot in their “People Who Get It” campaign for CDW features Charles Barkley, Doug Flutie, and a technologically advanced stadium without a team.

In the spot, Jim Gordon takes you on a tour of Gordon and Taylor stadium, a domed football stadium he touts as “the most technologically advanced stadium in the world,” thanks to CDW. Features include “3,000 screens, stadium-wide wi-fi, seamless POS systems and a cloud infrastructure solution.” The funniest moment of the spot comes right after this list of features. “Do I know what those are? Not exactly,” Gordon admits. “But they sound impressive.” This should hit home with a lot of people who fall a good deal short of IT expert, myself included.

Over the course of the spot it’s revealed that Gordon has the perfect stadium, a half-time show, cheerleaders, a mascot, Charles Barkley and Doug Flutie on board — basically everything he needs, except a team. He seems to get more and more panicked about this as the spot goes on. Looks like Flutie may have to QB himself. The spot is fun and lighthearted, although I wish Barkley had more lines as he has a good comic presence. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a follow-up spot

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Last year, Geox took their line of  Amphibiox waterproof shoes to the rainiest place on earth: Cherrapunjee, India — which has an annual rainfall of around 12,000 mm. This year, Norwegian agency SMFB found an even more extreme way to test Geox’s Amphibiox technology.

SMFB enlisted one brave volunteer, named Tom, who they proceeded to torture with a barrage of seven days of nonstop precipitation on the streets of Barceleona. To accomplish this, SMFB had to make it rain, developing “three highly advanced artificial clouds” for the experiment. “We reproduced the conditions required for the test, creating relentless rain and constant humidity in the middle of a sunny city. The poor man had to live under his own, private rain cloud for seven days straight,” said Kristian Kristiansen at SMFB, who proceeded to laugh maniacally.

Each of these rainy days was laid out to simulate everyday urban activities, like walking the streets as a tourist, working a day job, or going out on a date. The rain cloud even followed the poor torture victim into a cab.

MediaMonks, who handled the campaign’s film and digital production, made clever use of technology as well. They developed a “shoe cam” that “captured the shoes with super slow-motion macro Phantom shots,” says Rogier Schalken of MediaMonks films. MediaMonks documented video footage of all seven of Tom’s rainy days, in addition to the highlights video featured above.

Throughout the seven day precipitation onslaught, the Geox Amphibiox shoes remained dry. Tom wasn’t so lucky. He died of pneumonia (Okay, not really, but the psychological scars may never heal). Credits and additional video after the jump.  continued…

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Today CP+B is launching “Noodle Reunion,” the latest in its “You know you love it” campaign for Kraft. If you happen to have the right last name, it could mean free preservative-drenched mac and cheese for you.

“Noodle Reunion” operates under the premise that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese “has always been the kind of meal that brings families together.” Each day for the next two weeks, Kraft will choose a last name at random. If you happen to hold that last name, you’re entitled to a free box of gooey noodles and cheese-like-product. Today’s name, for example, is Berry. So if you happen to be a Berry, simply verify with Kraft, wait 4-6 weeks, and then redeem your coupon for a free Kraft Macaroni and Cheese product valued at $1.65 or less! Have fun splitting that amongst your family!

Since they’re already using Facebook to verify, you have to wonder why they’d need to mail the coupon. Can’t they just make a printable version and send that to recipients of the prize? Wouldn’t they avoid postage costs that way, while also making the prize seem more exciting due to its immediacy? Isn’t it a little anti-climactic to find you “won” something, to know your (less than two-dollar value) prize will come in the mail sometime next month?

Maybe I’m being a little cynical here, but since there’s also a limit of one coupon request  per household how is this supposed to “bring families together?” I have a hard time not picturing siblings reaching over the table to fight over the last remaining serving of mac and cheese while their parents yell at them to sit down or cry into their bowls, cursing Kraft for their paltry giveaway. Credits after the jump.

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Coca-Cola takes greenwashing to a literal level with “Roll Out The Happiness,” the latest global installment by W+K for the brand’s “Where Will Happiness Strike Next” campaign.

In the spot, Coca-Cola and W+K roll out a lush green carpet of grass sod onto a city square and invite people to remove their shoes, grab a soda and “experience a little unexpected happiness.” Not stopping at the grass, they also transplant trees, loaded with fun stuff for people to enjoy. People are pictured reclining on the grass sipping a Coke, kicking a ball around, and just relaxing and having a good time. They all seem to be having so much fun, it’s as if whatever job, class, or event they were rushing to doesn’t exist anymore. Or they’re paid actors.

At the end of the spot, the camera pans out and Coca-Cola’s makeshift urban green area is revealed to be in the shape of — you guessed it — a Coke bottle. So relax, smile, and take a sip from a soft drink that can also be used to clean clogged drains (Try it, it works!). Credits after the jump.  continued…

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It’s probably more of an blow to corporate egos than a real metric worth pondering, but as Adweek reports, this year’s Best Global Brands 2013 report by Interbrand places Apple on top, dropping the previous chart leader Coca-Cola to #3.

The conventional not-so-much wisdom in the advertising and marketing industries for the past couple of years has held that Coca-Cola’s content efforts are paying off big time while Apple, which does little to no content or social media marketing, has been flailing around since Steve Jobs’ death. So what’s really the story here?

I drink a lot of Diet Coke and have been a loyal Apple user since 1983, so I’ll likely remain loyal to both brands. But it’s easy to see how Coke seems to be throwing lots of content around and seeing what sticks, while Apple focuses on product improvement. And while Apple hasn’t been able to top its iPod/iPhone/iPad trifecta of the past decade, the brand still has prestige in spades, as the Interbrand survey notes.

There’s no doubt many run-of-the-mill marketers and brand managers sit in conference rooms and say, “We want to be like Coke” or “We want to be like Apple.” And try as they might, they can’t be either. But there are clearly two different paths at work here with Coca-Cola and Apple. Brands looking to the Interbrand survey as any indication of where they should focus would be wise to stick to product innovation, not empty marketing.

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