Hasta La Creative!

Oil brand Shell really needs no help embarrassing itself. Their 2012 Arctic drilling program was so inept (including a rig grounding and a ship fire) that even the U.S. government said they screwed up. But Greenpeace decided to go ahead and give them a hand anyway.

Following their disastrous Alaskan campaign, Shell packed up and moved their Arctic drilling program to Russia, in a joint venture with state owned energy company, Gazprom. Greenpeace wanted to get the word out that Shell’s assault on the Arctic was far from over. What better place to do that than at Sunday’s F1 Shell Belgium Grand Prix, Shell’s biggest PR blitz of the year? Greenpeace International set up remote-controlled banners. The banners, which read “SaveTheArctic.org,” then popped up during the winner’s ceremony, as the German national anthem played. The second banner popped up just after an angry official removed the first one. Much angry crumpling of the second banner followed.

Video of the incident, entitled “Shell’s priceless F1 moment” went viral on YouTube, before F1 management demanded it be removed for “copyright complaints” just before it hit 240,000 views. The reaction to the video should only fuel Shell’s embarrassment. As Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Ben Ayliffe put it, “Bernie Ecclestone and Shell might know how to fill a racetrack, but they clearly have no idea how social media works. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the moment Shell’s Arctic plans were uncovered at the Grand Prix, and removing the video will only encourage thousands more to laugh at the company too.”

Indeed, the video has been reposted by myriad other users, and is available at Vimeo and on countless blogs. Shell’s miscalculated reaction to the YouTube post will only add fuel to the fire of public ridicule. You’d think that a company that spends million on branding and PR would know better, but I guess there’s no underestimating Shell’s incompetence.

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English fashion consultant, author and television presenter Gok Wan recently signed 12 month a deal to appear in Target advertising in Australia. Wan happens to be gay and likes to refer to women’s breasts as “bangers,” a term he uses frequently on his UK show How to Look Good Naked. Additionally, he is being taken to task for referring to breasts as “assets.”

Predictably, the Australian public…OK, a very vocal minority…hasn’t taken kindly to Target’s selection of Wan as spokesperson for the retailer and are particularly miffed over his use of the term “bangers” in a recent Target commercial. The Advertising Standards Bureau has received several complaints about the ad.

One complaint sent to the Authority reads,”I find it distasteful that he uses the term ‘bangers’ to describe women’s breasts. If a straight man were to use similar language during prime-time TV, there would be a huge outcry by women claiming sexist behavior. There should be no different standards of acceptable language simply because a man appears to be gay.”

Another commenter was a bit more “vocal” writing, “A female body is a beautiful thing, not to be cheapened by a poofter calling breasts “BANGERS”!!!,” a third wrote. “I WAS BREAST FED, NOT BANGER FED! It’s an insult to sooooo many Aussie men and woman to see poofs on tv but you let it happen. I haven’t even started stirring up the national [Country Women’s Association] clubs yet so look out!”

For its part, Target is standing by their man and has issued a statement.”Target strongly believes that a person’s sexuality is irrelevant to their worth as a person. Target makes no apology for using a gay man in its advertising and we do not believe that this should be grounds for upholding a complaint.”

Regarding the use of the term “bangers,” Target insists they did not intend to be derogatory, rather the use of the term is meant as an “irreverent term of affection.”

Despite complaints, the Advertising Standards Bureau cleared the ad, in which Wan says “your bangers will never feel more loved,” for distribution indicating the overall tone of the ad was positive and lighthearted.

Of the term “bangers,” the Bureau stated, “The board considered that the word is not commonly used in Australia in this manner but that in this instance, it is not used in a derogatory way and that the use of the term bangers is one that is used by Gok as part of his programs and persona. The board considered that the term ‘bangers’ is not inappropriate and not strong or obscene language in this context.”

That said, the retailer did change the wording from “bangers” to “boobs” in later airings of the commercial.

Anomaly has launched a new MINI Roller Coaster spot as part of their NOT NORMAL campaign for the automaker’s Canadian division.

The ad features people riding atop a customized version of the BMW-owned brand, strapped in to a roller coaster car attached to the MINI’s roof, screaming, holding cotton candy, and generally acting as if they’re on a looping coaster and not a British vehicle obeying the speed limit. Onlookers, meanwhile, wonder what the hell is wrong with these people. The genesis for this idea, ostensibly, is to show that the MINI is “not normal,” and the people treating a ride on the MINI as if they were at Six Flags certainly could be described as such (although they may have crossed over into “crazy”). I realize there are safety concerns involved, but I have to wonder if maybe they could have done a little more to make the ride on the MINI seem exciting (you know, like a roller coaster) and less like some kind of experimental therapy. But maybe that’s just me.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn your car’s roof into a roller coaster car, you should definitely check out the “making of” video after the jump (along with credits). We’re pretty sure you’ll get pulled over for that one, though.

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Although you have to wonder how necessary advertising the next Madden game really is, considering how football/gaming bros pretty much spend all summer salivating in anticipation of the pigskin franchise’s next release, Heat has put together a pretty brolarious spot for EA Sports’ 25th anniversary of the franchise.

In the second spot of the “Born to Madden” campaign (following the Arian Foster/Marshawn Lynch opus), directed by Wayne McClammy, it is revealed that the real inspiration for the NFL careers of Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson was a summer camp pact made in their youth to one day beat each other in Madden, as each other. The spot highlights some of the hardcore training Kaepernick and Wilson underwent, all so they could make the NFL, rise to star status, and play Madden NFL 25 against each other. So far Kaepernick and Wilson’s Madden sessions have led to only minor injuries, including a mild concussion suffered by Wilson from a stray thrown controller.

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Ah, fuck it, you know what, let’s tell you that even though the agency now known as H&L Partners (formerly Hoffman Lewis) was not allowed to comment on the matter after 24 hours of inquiries, here you go regarding. We’ll be constructive on the matter but seriously, here’s what we were told regarding word that the agency picked up a little regional biz for the fast-food giant: “As soon as I can share publicly, I’ll let you know.” Yeah, that didn’t happen until  the local Biz Journals reported about the McDonald’s win in the B0ston-based area. You know, we don’t want to sound bitter, so we”ll leave it be, but the agency formerly known as Hoffman Lewis has taken over on the Mickey D’s biz from Arnold. Thank you, H&L, for your lack of feedback and complete incompetence.

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If you’ve already seen “Elysium,” “Kick-Ass 2,” or “2 Guns” and need to get a quick action fix, then you can always check out Verizon’s new thriller, “Catch Me If You Can.”  The plotting and scriptwriting is probably on par with regular films that fizz out in theaters, and this spot, which was created by mcgarrybowen, even has The Bourne Identity/Swingers/Mr. And Ms. Smith director Doug Liman behind the camera.

In the one-minute spot, an unnamed protagonist races to find his Droid phone after leaving it in a New York City cab. Making the stakes even higher, the cabbie drives like a typical cabbie, so the phone is sliding all over the place and smacking into windows. Luckily, Droid phones now have scratch-resistant glass. I don’t want to say anymore and spoil the ending, but as with most action movies, the hero gets the girl, or phone, or whatever object is the focus of the chase.

Credits after the jump.

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At this point, Nike and AOR W+K are just showing off. Their latest spot, “Possibilities,” is a fat, splashy kick-off to the 25th anniversary of its ubiquitous slogan, “Just Do It.” These type of Nike ads have always had a mythical quality, compared to other sports brands – like certain BBDO Foot Locker commercials – that are solid and funny. Nike is serious. W+K Portland is serious. Nike, Inc. is set to earn $25 billion in revenue this year, meaning we must be serious, too, when it comes to our purchases.

Being serious does not preclude Nike from a certain playfulness if you look hard enough. For “Possibilities,” the lightness comes from some Bradley Cooper voiceover that makes the viewer want to just do it, even though said viewer knows he/she can’t do it as well as professional athletes. That’s where stars like footballer Gerard Piqué and basketballer LeBron James come in, cameos that are almost taking the money out of your wallet before you know it.

For LeBron, the unofficial king of the summer, Nike has been creatively pumping out his spots for a few years now. This one may be a joint venture, but he subtly dominates the end with some clever winking done in the form of a fake dunk content. LeBron has never entered the NBA dunk contest. Maybe this is a hint for 2014? Or maybe it’s just smart marketing? Plenty of possibilities to choose from.

Credits after the jump.

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Madden is turning 25 this year. That means decades of video game football obsessions have now been around long enough to be passed from parents to children and then some. To kick off the game’s promotional campaign, EA Sports debuted “Running Back Sons” yesterday, a minute-long spot about the origins of star running backs Arian Foster and Marshawn Lynch. While you might expect their motivation to come from supportive families, inspirational coaches, and the love of the game, it turns out that their success can be traced back to a friendly battle of brinksmanship between their fictitious fathers, Darian Foster and Marshawn Lynch Sr.

Fathers Foster and Lynch (played by the actual Foster and Lynch, respectively) spend all of their time playing Madden in unusual places as their sons train for football. At one point, young Marshawn even spins around a bear, establishing the beginning of “Beast Mode.” Finally, now that Arian and Marshawn are millionaires, their fathers can play Madden in the pool, which sounds about as dangerous as training with a bear.

This spot is sure to get plenty of airtime in the next few months, especially considering Foster and Lynch have decent acting chops when it comes to commercials. As Marshawn Sr. says, that’s that beast mode right there (raspy old-man laugh) Credits after the jump.

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Hot Sauce. Skip to My Lou. Main Event. Kevin. The park league nickname has always been a valued tradition in the realm of streetball, meaningful monikers passed down from the basketball gods that can become legend, a la Dr. J or Pee Wee Kirkland. Kevin Durant, for all of his NBA greatness, has yet to merge his skills with an equally skillful nickname. Yes, there’s KD and the Durantula (and perhaps the best one via Jalen Rose, who resurrected the name Iceberg Slim), but it just doesn’t feel right yet.

For the latest Nike effort from W+K Portland, which was created in partnership with Foot Locker, the agency decided to take Durant’s lack of nicknameness and build an ad around it. The sixty-second spot, which features comedian Hannibal Buress as MC, is the coming-out party for Kevin “Kevin” Durant. Buress runs through pre-game introductions and calls out intricate nicknames for random guys like Don Juan Have a Picnic by the Pond, but when he gets to Durant, the crowd goes silent. Kevin Kevin: It’s funny because it’s true. Credits after the jump.

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While Walmart has yet to respond to our inquiries, we have received confirmation from other parties involved that Andy Murray, founder and former chairman/CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi X who parted ways with the agency at the end of 2011, has accepted the position of SVP/creative with the Bentonville, AR behemoth.

Since his departure from Saatchi X, Murray has spent the last two years building his own Fayetteville, AR-based social media/marketing technology agency, Mercury 11, which is now on the verge of being bought up by Project:Worldwide. In fact, the global agency network has officially announced its intent to acquire Mercury 11 and merge it with its own Dallas-based shopper engagement unit dubbed Shoptology, which is led by Murray’s old Saatchi X cohort (and former North American CEO), Charlie Anderson.

Terms of the deal are undisclosed, but in a statement, Murray says, “I’m excited for Mercury 11 to join the Shoptology team. Charlie is an experienced builder and has a keen appreciation for how to scale a top team to bring world-class digital shopper marketing solutions to blue-chip client partners. I have no doubt Mercury 11’s capabilities and people will add value to Shoptology’s offering and will be in good hands.”

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