Hasta La Creative!

It seems odd that there’s never been a Halloween ad for Skittles. While the brand may not have the same kind of association with the holiday as, say, Reese’s, it still commands a good deal of exchange value for kids swapping trick or treat hauls. And yet DDB Chicago’s new Halloween spot, extending the brand’s “Experience The Rainbow” campaign, is the brand’s first foray into Halloween advertising.

As you might expect, the ad contains the level of weirdness associated with that campaign, and the brand’s advertising in general. When a boy finds himself stuck in a giant spiderweb, attempting to reach a bag of Skittles, his friend wonders what to do. Then a giant spider shows up, promising to help if he gets stuck, and thus begins a lifelong friendship…or does it?

The spot is rolling out as a 15-second broadcast spot and an extended, 45-second online video (featured above), and will run until Halloween. (more…)

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The biting of the medal has become a tradition at the Olympic games that symbolizes victory. DDB Chicago draws the connection between this iconic symbol and the biting of McNuggets and other McDonald’s products “sometimes used to celebrate life’s smaller victories” for the juggernaut Olympic sponsor.

The spot “takes viewers on a ride through Olympic history [which] cleverly juxtaposes medal-biting images with shots of fans across the world biting into McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets.” The first 45 seconds or so of the 60 second spot are given to a well-produced homage to Olympic history. When athletes start biting their medals, the text “The greatest victories are celebrated with a bite” appears on screen, followed by shots of people digging into their McNuggets. It’s well executed, even if the idea of likening winning a gold medal to biting into a meal made of molded leftover chicken parts is quite the stretch. Credits after the jump. continued…

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A new NFL brings new DDB Chicago State Farm ads featuring Packers QB, Aaron Rodgers, and his bastardized touchdown dance, the “Discount Double-Check.”

Now, even though the Packers are my favorite team and Rodgers is my favorite player, it’s clear that he has gotten no better at acting over the past off-season. I would hope, and assume, that this is due to his hours spent in practice. Supporting Rodgers in this spot (by taking the focus momentarily off of him) are SNL “Superfans” Robert Smigel (part of the original sketch) and George Wendt (who joined later and was also on Cheers so yeah). Apparently, the highest-paid NFL player doesn’t fly first class and is forced to hang out with Bears fans in coach.

Oh, and the “Discount Double-Check” becomes the “Discount Daaa-ble Check” because fuck you, Packers fans. State Farm giveth, and State Farm taketh away. But, they’re trying to make it up to you with a social extension, in which you submit yourself to public Facebook embarrassment based on bets over fantasy football. It’s called Fantasy Football Double Down because we all needed a reminder about KFC’s gross sandwich of the same name. Credits after the jump.

continued…

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