Hasta La Creative!

Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners launched an extension of its “Defy Labels” campaign for BMW’s Mini ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics, which opens this Friday. 

The Olympic push is centered around a broadcast spot featuring Olympians such as Serena Williams, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, rugby player Carlin Isles, weightlifter Morghan King, boxers Carlos Balderas and Claressa Shields, beach volleyball player Jake Gibb and swimmer Cullen Jones. Each of the athletes announces a label they’ve had applied to them reductively, such as “poor,” “black,” “immigrant” “Muslim,” and “cancer patient” (Gibb is a two-time cancer survivor), before Williams concludes, “The only label that matters is Olympian.” 

It’s a nice extension of the larger “Defy Labels” campaign and the different message helps the brand stand apart from the large pack of Olympics spots, most of which had debuts preceding this effort. The mix of Williams’ star power with relatively lesser-known Olympians is a nice touch as well, as is the decision to let Williams deliver the concluding line. A series of online interviews with individual athletes from the broadcast spot rounds out the effort.

“The campaign targets the Mini mind-set,” Tom Noble, head of marketing for the brand, told Adweek. “It’s about people who think independently. Our fans are people who appreciate design and also appreciate individuality. What we do know is that the Olympics indexes highly with our fans. They appreciate sports, and there are a lot of sports during these Games which are unique and different, only coming around every four years, and so this is a good platform to reach our audience.”

“We have a message that is topical if you look at what’s going on in today’s world, and you get a real, authentic view of what people’s struggles are and what they have overcome,” he added. “We believe having a relevant, inspiring message with a topical theme should cut through.” 

Credits:
Client: Mini
Agency: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
Chief Creative Officer: John Butler
Creative Director: Mark Krajan
Senior Art Director: Sinan Dagli
Senior Copywriter: Luke Zehner
Senior Producer: Lori Pisani
Head of Integrated Production: Adrienne Cummins
Account Director: Danny Peters
Account Supervisor: Michelle Finelli
Business Manager: Nihad Peavler
Director: Matt Baron
Company: All Day Every Day
Editor (TV):Pete Koob
Editor: Christopher Kasper
Editor: Andy Berner
Editorial Company: Cut & Run
Music: Joaby Deal
Music Company: One Union
Color Grading: Shane Reed
Color Grading Company: Apache
Finish: Jogger

U.S. Bank has named Minneapolis-based agency Carmichael Lynch as its creative agency of record following a review,.

Carmichael Lynch will be responsible for traditional and digital creative, social media, and production. BSSP had held agency of record duties for the client since winning the account from Publicis Kaplan Thaler in August of 2013.

It is unclear if BSSP will continue to have any involvement with U.S. Bank.

“U.S. Bank is that rare client who knows exactly what they stand for, and has a clear, compelling vision that sets them apart,” Carmichael Lynch CEO Mike Lescarbeau said in a statement. “Our job is to tell the world how the 67,000 people of U.S. Bank are helping customers of all sizes improve their financial futures by selecting the right banking partner.”

U.S. Bank, which is also based in Minneapolis, cited “the full integration of Carmichael Lynch’s services, the power of the creative idea, and a shared belief that people are a company’s greatest asset – employees and customers” as reasons for the decision.

The account win is an important one for Carmichael Lynch, who lost the GNC business last week following a multiple month review.

Sausalito, CA-based Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners are rolling out a new campaign today for Raise the River, “an organization that has been working to bring water to the Colorado River and restore it to the Gulf of California.” The new campaign revolves around a series of videos pitting Robert Redford against Will Ferrell in a mock debate about the proper way to restore the Colorado River. Redford plays the straight man, representing Raise the River, while Ferrell thinks the solution is to “Move the Ocean.”

The campaign begins today with a series of videos, first exclusively on YouTube and Funny or Die, and then on Participant Media’s Pivot Channel on March 22nd. Funny or Die released the first clip today, with a series of videos to be released gradually through April. BSSP’s campaign aims to raise 10 million dollars for the restoration of the Colorado River. Redford explains the problems facing the Colorado River and how Raise the River can help. Will, excuse me, William Ferrell chides “Old Sundance” and argues that the real solution is to “several hundred miles inland,” which will help both the river and American surfers. To add emphasis to Ferrell’s cause, he is joined in one of the videos by surfer, Kelly Slater.

“We saw this idea of a fictitious debate between Mr. Redford and Mr. Ferrell as a novel way to generate greater awareness of the very serious issues facing the Colorado River,” explains Jill Tidman, executive director of the Redford Center. “Bringing a sense of humor to the effort opens the door for a much greater audience and offers everyone a chance to be part of winning this campaign—and this is one we are going to win.”

In addition to the series of videos, BSSP has created websites for both Raise the River and Move the Ocean, as well as “a series of sharable social media clips featuring Ferrell to seed a robust social media initiative.” You can see Redford debate Ferrell in the clips above and below, and stick around after the jump to see Kelly Slater join Ferrell for Move the Ocean.

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