Hasta La Creative!

Arnold Worldwide has a new campaign launching the new Brushing Chews for Milk-Bone, which feature “a patented shape that has been developed over the past three years, earning them the trusted Veterinary Oral Health Council’s (VOHC) seal of approval.”

To introduce the new product, Arnold keeps it simple, telling the story of a man and his dog (Ted and Rudy), and explaining how their new Milk-Bone Brushing Biscuit is designed to work as well as a toothbrush to keep dogs’ teeth clean. Because no one wants to brush their dog’s teeth, this is a pretty effective selling point. Ted and Rudy’s story extends beyond the broadcast spot above to a series of online videos, all set against the red backdrop matching Milk-Bone’s packaging, and following roughly the same formula. The campaign strategy is based on the insight that “The more you care for your dog, the happier and healthier he’ll be.” Ted and Rudy’s relationship is intended to to be “funny and adorable” but arrives at something closer to “hokey, but kind of cute.”

“They’re very much a classic comedy duo, with Rudy being the straight man and Ted as the accidental comedian,” explains Arnold creative director Tristan Kincaid. “We put them on a bright red background to give them a simple but visually striking stage for them to tell their stories.”

The campaign also includes social elements, with each of the six online videos (which act as pre-roll video assets on sites including Hulu, AOL, Discovery, TubeMogul and Yahoo) featuring an end card driving traffic to Milk-Bone’s Facebook page. Future social posts will also include Instagram and Twitter. Stick around for credits and a pair of online spots after the jump. continued…

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In a world with Starbucks at every corner and small, fancy artisinal coffee shops sprouting up everywhere, it would be counterproductive for an instant coffee brand to try to compete. So W+K starts a different conversation for Maxwell House, asking, “Whatever happened to good?”

The new “Say Good Morning to a Good Day” campaign features a series of broadcast and web spots centering around an affable, middle-aged everyman (everydad?) who laments that with all the attention on phrases like “Awesome,” “Amazing,” and “That’s epic, bro!” people have forgotten about “good.” In the 30-second spot, he goes on to explain that good is “Swinging to get on base” or “choosing not to overshoot the moon, but instead to land right on it.” This all makes “good” seem pretty appealing, with the spot ending with the resurrected “Good to the Last Drop” tagline.

While some may question the choice of admitting your product isn’t “amazing,” the strategy makes sense for Maxwell House, whose coffee is, at best, “good enough,” and whose best bet is to convince the older generation that all the fuss over fancy coffee just isn’t worth it. W+K pull off the execution really well, making the “good” approach about as persuasive as it can be. Credits after the jump. continued…

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W+K Amsterdam have a launched a new, global World Cup 2014 campaign for Powerade, “the official sports drink of FIFA.”In addition to television, the campaign also includes print/out of home, digital, and online documentary films (more on that later).

“There’s Power in Every Game” centers around Andrés Iniesta, the Spanish star who scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup. He takes center stage in the 60-second spot (featured above), which also features five amateur athletes from around the world. Each of these athletes has “overcome challenges in their lives and in the process have lifted their teammates, rallied supporters and inspired communities through their dedication and achievements in the sport” — which exemplifies the campaign’s #PowerThrough message.

Each of these amateur athletes will be featured in their own documentary, starting with the inspirational story of Nicolai “Nico” Calabria. Debuted at the Kicking + Screaming Football Festival in New York last week and being released as a television spot in addition to its online release, the two minute film tells Nico’s story growing up with one leg and defying expectations to succeed as an athlete. Incorporating an impressively-edited mix of home video footage and live action film, it’s a powerful telling of Nico’s story, and well worth a watch.

“Nico’s story is one of unwavering determination,” said Brynn Bardacke, global group creative director for Powerade. “He truly embodies what we mean when we say there’s power in every player and power in every game.”

Stick around for “Nico & Powerade,” along with credits, after the jump. continued…

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Toronto-based Grip Limited have a new campaign for Testicular Cancer Canada that’s, well, ballsy.

The agency employed risque humor to raise testicular cancer awareness and get more guys to self-examine regularly. Built around the tagline, “No one’s going to check them for you,” Grip’s two TV spots, directed by Matt Swanson, show men receiving testicular exams from unexpected sources, resulting in some pretty ridiculous (and funny) situations. In the first, and more successful spot, “Cop,” a guy is pulled over for a broken taillight. “Let me see your driver’s license,” says the cop, “….aaaand your testicles.” The humor in the spot comes from the resultant avoidance (and non-avoidance) of eye contact and awkward looks during the exam. “Mechanic” is basically the same idea, but with a mechanic in an auto body shop instead of a cop. It could just be that I viewed “Cop” first, but something about it just wasn’t as funny. Nevertheless, both spots make admirable use of humor to make a message that’s all too often forgotten memorable, an admirable accomplishment, especially when you consider the prevalence of testicular cancer.

“Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men ages 15-29”, explained Testicular Cancer Canada founder Cheryl Perry explained . “If you try to sit these guys down and teach them something, they might tune you out. But if you make them laugh, they’ll remember what you’re saying”.

In addition to the TV spots, the integrated campaign, which is timed to coincide with Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, also features radio advertising from Pirate Toronto and an online testicular cancer “remote scanner.” As you might have guessed, the remote scanner asks dudes to place their balls on their phone screen only to display an error message telling them to check their balls themselves. Stick around for credits and “Mechanic” after the jump. continued…

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Team One runs through a list sins encouraged by the Lexus F performance line in their new spot, “Temptation.”

According to the 60-second spot, the Lexus F, “Provokes lust, unleashes wrath, incites envy, and elicits pride.” Absent are two of my personal favorites, sloth and gluttony, which Team One decided (understandably) don’t really do much to sell luxury performance vehicles. Greed is skipped over because they’re trying to get people to shell out a lot of money for a car here.

The spot, slickly produced by RSA, does a better job of tying the vehicle to certain sins than others. Lust is embodied by a couple making out in the rain, after which the Lexus F happens to exit a garage, not doing much to show how it “provokes lust.” Oh wait, it’s because the guy stops making out for a second to check out the Lexus F. Ugh. The rest of the sins are dealt with a bit better, with “unleashes wrath” tied not to actual anger but the car’s power, and envy and pride dealt with in more obvious ways. Perhaps most importantly, “Temptation” makes the Lexus F look good, even if its concluding line, “Temptation comes in many heart-pounding forms, but only one letter” is a bit weak. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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If you’ve watched Car Fax’s spots featuring their Car Fox mascot and wondered where exactly he lives and how he gets his information (who are you?), Y&R’s new Car Fax spot will leave you one very satisfied, strange individual by answering both of these questions.

Y&R’s new 30 second spot, “Mole” introduces the Car Fox den, which acts as the center of the Car Fox’s elaborate operation (and presumably also his home). It also introduces another animal working in conjunction with the Car Fox and his team to “dig up” accident reports (I think you can guess this one). The spot builds on a character people immediately associate with brand (thanks, puns) to promote its selling points, which makes it easier to overlook its cheesiness. Also, I’m pretty sure fox dens aren’t 100 feet underground, but whatever. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Universal McCann teamed up with Sony Picures, and DNA directors Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days of Summer) and Rich Lee to create “Amazing Delivery,” a new Spider-Man themed spot for USPS designed as a tie-in promoting the May 2nd release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The 30-second spot features Spider-Man slinging himself through New York City to deliver a package for a distressed Hollywood director. “Amazing Delivery” follows Spider-Man’s path through the city leading to the package’s delivery to Stan Lee at the premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The cinematic spot’s charming ending really ties everything together, and it’s evident that everyone involved was excited to work with Spider-Man’s creator, a fact corroborated by director Rich Lee, who said, “Everyone wanted Stan Lee to sign their prepro books and get a photo with Spider-Man…it was actually really sweet and fun to see everyone get so excited around those two. You could see the childlike glints in everyone’s eyes. It was awesome.”

Webb and Lee, who have collaborated in the past, based the spot on the idea that, like Spider-Man, USPS is “speedy, efficient, and there when you need it the most,” drawing on this link to expand upon the creative brief and bring the spot to life. “One of the interesting things about both Spidey and the USPS is that they are both iconic, public servants,” said Rich Lee. “They’re for the people, helping them in their own way. So there is a nice synergy there.”

Stay tuned for credits after the jump. continued…

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Berlin Cameron United’s new campaign for Gilt features a chase scene and some unusual disrobing.

Upon sighting a model in a sleek yellow dress, a woman decides she can’t live without the outfit and chases after her. The model frantically runs away, because that’s what you do when you’re pursued by a woman with a crazy look in her eye. Appropriately set to the song “Suit” by Boom! Bap! Pow!, which features lyrics like “You’re so cute, I want to wear you like a suit. I think you’d look pretty good on me,” the chase concludes with the woman accessing Gilt’s site on her smartphone. This causes the dress to seamlessly slide off the model and on to the chaser, leaving the model in her underwear. While a tad on the ridiculous side, the spot shows off the instant gratification of shopping on the designer fashion site in a fun way. The 30-second ad, which went up on YouTube today, will spread to television on Monday, reports Adweek. Credits after the jump. continued…

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This weekend, Wing (once again: not that Wing) created a new campaign for the Havana Film Festival, taking place April 3-11 in New York.

Wing’s goal for the campaign was to “show that the films developed at the Havana Film Festival showcase authentic stories and characters — so much so that its storylines stick and resonate with audiences beyond the time spent in the theatre.” To accomplish, they created a pair of television spots in both 30 and 15 second formats, in addition to full-length versions on Havana Film Festival’s website. These spots attempt to show the staying power of the Havana Film Festival’s movies, showing a couple of individuals projecting stories from the films they saw onto people in their day to day life. For example, a hairdresser doles out sympathy (and extra highlights) for her customer, because, she says, “I know the nightmare you are living.”

The second spot, “Office,” gives a similar treatment to the work environment. The results are a bit over the top, as the premise spills perhaps a bit too far into the absurd. It appears the spots reference real films in the festival, though, leaving viewers to wonder how the story ends, which is a nice touch. Both versions of each TV spot will air in the tri-state area in both English and Spanish until the end of the festival on April 11th. You can watch the full-length version of “Beauty Parlor” above, and stick around for “Office,” along with credits, after the jump. continued…

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72andSunny have launched a new campaign for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s’ X-Tra Bacon promotional tie-in for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, which premieres May 23rd.

The X-Men themed campaign from 72andSunny features appearances from iconic characters using their mutant powers to take down the extra bacon on the  Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger and X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. 72andSunny’s campaign kicks off with “Mystique” in which Mystique takes on the Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger, morphing into just some dude who loves Carl’s Jr. and back over the course of the spot. Additional spots starring two more characters yet to be revealed will be unveiled this April.

In addition to the broadcast campaign, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are inviting fans to engage in “X-Men Digital Makeover.” By submitting a photo of themselves eating or drinking at a Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s, on Instagram using the hashtag #EatLikeYouMeanIt (#That’sWhatSheSaid, replies @MichaelScott) fans get a chance of receiving a mutant makeover transforming them into an X-Men character. Stick around for campaign credits and the actual trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past after the jump. continued…

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