Fostering a child is never easy, especially through the teenage years, but a new series of public service announcements from The Ad Council highlight the rewards of caring and love as foster parents. The Ad Council, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and AdoptUSKids, have…
An ad for non-alcoholic brand Free Spirits stars a self-identified sex worker and culls its storyline from a problematic social media post. What could possibly go wrong? As any marketer or creative will note, it’s all in the execution. And what Free Spirits has produced to wrap up Sober October is a sweetly chaste campaign…
Sober October may be the lesser-known little sister of Dry January, but both movements share a core sensibility–they’re less a mandate and more a suggestion. In short, “soberish” is totally acceptable. A new campaign from Free AF and agency Special New Zealand picks up that thread in an ad series with athletes, influencers and artists…
For a heaping helping of mind-bending marketing, look no further than art collective Meow Wolf. That’s both a broad and a specific statement, with the growing entertainment company providing the latest example of its trippy advertising style with a campaign to promote its new Texas exhibit. “Change Your Frequency,” from creative agency Buck, aims to…
Fruit by the Foot, a legacy General Mills product, is actually longer than a foot. In fact, it’s closer to three feet, which can take a considerable amount of time to consume, inspiring a wacky campaign where teenage fans age several decades between the start and finish of the snack. The brand, which hasn’t advertised…
Michael Trotter Jr. says he was homeless, despondent and “barely hanging on by a thread” when he came home after fighting in the Iraq war. “As veterans, we think we can solve everything–the truth is we cannot,” he says in a new campaign from the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs launched…
To be a Nascar driver, it takes quick thinking, steely resolve, sharp focus and mad skills. To be a Liquid Death-sponsored pro driver, it takes the ability to chug a can of the brand’s iced tea in 18 seconds or less. No road test required. For its latest fan-centric program, Liquid Death will be giving…
The referee character in a new commercial for The Farmer’s Dog is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. In fact, that’s kind of an understatement. The guy is booed off the football field, pelted with trash and insulted by players. He needs a security escort just to get the locker room, where…
Last September, Mitsubishi named Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners as its new creative agency of record, following a review which did not include longtime incumbent 180LA.
Now BSSP has launched its first campaign for the brand, promoting the 2018 Eclipse Cross with “A Classic Reborn.”
The campaign is centered around a “Duo” spot featuring violinist Damien Escobar and pianist William Joseph performing acover of Twisted Sister‘s “I Wanna Rock” in a parking garage. Their performance is interspersed with footage of the 2018 Eclipse Cross in action, leading into the new “A Classic Reborn” tagline.
The instrumental covers of a classic rock radio staple is nothing new for automotive advertising, as advertisers can’t seem to resist the comparison of the precision necessary for a good musical performance to that required out of a vehicle. “A Classic Reborn” does gain some authenticity from the pedigrees of the musicians involved in the performance, however, and the spot manages to showcase the vehicle’s features more convincingly than most.
“You get a lot of bang for your buck with the Eclipse Cross – distinctive styling, it’s fun-to-drive, and has a ridiculous amount of technology,” BSSP chief creative officer John Butler said in a statement. “The product speaks for itself, we didn’t feel we needed to create a false reality around it.”
“The juxtaposition of classical instruments playing a contemporary song adds emotion and intrigue to the cinematic footage of the Eclipse Cross,” added Mitsubishi Motors North America chief marketing officer Francine Harsini. “Eclipse Cross is not your typical crossover; it is defiant and clever and offers savvy show-and-tellers a vehicle that’s loaded with style and features at a great price that demands to be seen much like this campaign.”
Credits:
Client: Mitsubishi Motors North America
Agency: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
Production Company: Sibling Rivalry
Music: Shindig Music
Editorial Company: Cleaver Editorial
Visual Effects: JAMM
Color: The Mill NY
Mix: One Union
The Martin Agency invites viewers to meet the Vanhills, a new fictitious and seemingly unethical 1-percenter family behind a large chain of supermarkets, as it kicks off its first campaign for the expanding global German discount grocer Lidl, “Don’t Let Them Waste Your Money.”
“This new campaign is designed to raise awareness about the costly inefficiencies of traditional supermarkets and the savings that Lidl’s streamlined approach brings to customers every day,” Elina Elvholm, director of brand marketing at Lidl U.S., said in a statement. “When customers shop at Lidl, they experience less complexity, lower prices and better quality choices.”
“Don’t Let Them Waste Your Money” launched today with its first 30-second video, “Apple Pyramid,” which will be televised in six U.S. states near Lidl locations (the supermarket chain opened its first 20 stores in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the summer, with plans to grow its footprint to 100 stores along the east coast).
The larger campaign encourages consumers to “rethink grocery,” as it persuades them to believe they are “being ripped off” if they shop at any grocer other than Lidl. The Vanhills, for their part, serve as the face of large, “broken and bloated,” supermarket chains that use “tricks to con consumers into paying more for inferior and inefficient products,” according to a statement from The Martin Agency.
As we saw from the first ad, the fake Vanhill’s Inc.’s chairman Lance Vanhill questions why the company wastes money on employing a worker solely responsible for stacking apples in a pyramid to make them appear fresher. His mother, CEO Kitty Vanhill, scoffs at him, saying: “What do you know about anything? It’s either fruit pyramids or we start selling apples that are actually fresh.”
Kitty Vanhill then pauses, as if she’s considering the preposterous notion, before she and the rest of the gang (including the stock hand) burst out in laughter.
The Vanhills will be worked into a series of TV ads for Lidl in the coming weeks.
“When you get a chance to work with a brand as fearless and competitive as Lidl, you have to deliver work the category won’t see coming,” noted David Muhlenfeld, vp and creative director at The Martin Agency. “So we went semi-ballistic and took a cheerful hammer to fruit pyramids and all the other tricks traditional groceries use to make you pay more than you should.”
Here’s a few other clips carrying the #rethinkgrocery message:
CREDITS
Lidl
EVP Chief Commercial Officer: Boudewjn Tiktak
Director of Brand Marketing, Media & Advertising: Elina Elvholm
Senior Marketing Manager: Paula Morris
Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Karen Costello
Creative Director: David Muhlenfeld
Associate Creative Director: Scot Crooker
Associate Creative Director: Mikolas Manulik
Global Account Director: Britta Dougherty
Account Director: Gillian Merrill
Account Supervisor: Cori Kaylor
Group Planning Director: Mike Kelly
Senior Strategic Planner: Cecelia Parrish
Chief Operating Officer: Steve Humble
Executive Content Producer: Brett Alexander
Senior Content Producer: Holly Flaisher
Associate Content Producer: Sara Montgomery
Junior Content Producer: Nicolette Steele
Senior Project Manager: Tatiana Mazzariol
Director of Business Affairs: Kerry Ayers
Business Affairs Manager: Julie Lefton
Senior Financial Affairs Manger: Kelly Clow
Production Company: Tool
Director: Shawn Z
EP: Brad Johns
EP/Managing Partner: Oliver Fuselier
EP/Managing Partner: Dustin Callif
Head of Production: Amy DeLossa
Producer: Andy Coverdale
DP: Robert Yeoman
Production Company: Spang TV
Director: Jordan Rodericks
DP: Phil Dillon
Exec Producer: Melanie Cox
Producer: Amanda Ricks
Editorial: Mondial
Editor: Nick Wurz
Post Producer: Ash Bruce
Asst. Editor: Lane Maloney
Gfx: Liz Lukens
Color: Company3/Billy Gabor
Conform: Will Renton
Music Company: Tiny Lion
Goodby Silverstein & Parnters launched a new campaign for Tostitos about the importance of friendship.
The campaign is centered around a 30-second spot featuring a “Pep Talk” from Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Van Damme’s advice? Stop declining your friends’ invitations to hang out due to being busy. Because he might take your place — at everything from house parties to poker night to your best friend’s wedding. The message is simple: Don’t let Van Damme steal your friends.
“You just got Van Dammed. Don’t get Van Dammed,” Jean-Claude says at the conclusion of the spot, followed by the “Get Together Already” tagline.
Two 15-second spots see Van Damme sharing some advice from a “Wise Man” (himself) and comparing friends to salsa. Three 6-second ads further extend the effort.
The campaign clearly positions Tostitos as a go-to option for friendly get-togethers. That makes sense for the party staple and builds off the direction GS&P took for the brand in its “Super Bowl Invite” campaign for the band. That effort similarly focused on friendship, giving viewers the chance to invite friends to their Super Bowl party with their very own Super Bowl ads.
We haven’t heard from Van Damme in awhile, but he was, of course, something of an advertising staple for a few years. He famously starred Forsman & Bodenfors’ classic “Epic Split” spot for Volvo Trucks in 2013, following an appearance in Deutsch’s GoDaddy campaign a few months prior. He then went on to sculpt an ice bar in VCCP’s spot for Coors Light in the U.K.
Badger & Winters won agency of record duties for JCPenney at the beginning of the year, following a review.
Now, the agency has launched its first campaign for the brand, introducing both the retail outlet’s seasonal wardrobe and a fresh tagline. A 30-second spot features a woman trying on a series of spring outfits, while the voiceover, her sister provide moral support.
“Get your pep talk from your sister and your new spring wardrobe from JCPenney,” the spot concludes, leading into the new tagline, “Style and value for all.”
JCPenney had been using mcgarrybowen’s “Get Your Penney’s Worth” tagline for around two years. Mcgarrybowen’s work for the brand included the June 2016 body positivity spot “Here I Am.” If the debut campaign is any indication, Badger & Winters work for the brand appears to be moving its advertising to more of a focus on fashion, as well as value.
Retail chain At Home debuted a new spring campaign from Kansas City-based agency Barkley, which it named as its agency of record, following a review.
“We are excited to be launching our spring ad campaign to continue educating customers about At Home’s endless possibilities for every room, style and budget,” At Home chief marketing officer Ashley Sheetz said in a statement. “After an in-depth review process, it was clear that Barkley is a great fit for us. They understand our brand and our customer, making them best suited to tell our story.”
The campaign is centered around a 30-second spot entitled “Refresh, On Repeat.” It opens on a family arriving at a new house and shows them experimenting with a variety of decorative options, as At Home prices for the items pop up. “This is not a showroom,” the voiceover begins, “this is a place to experiment, play and refresh.”
The brand says “yes,” it continues, “to decorating the walls,” “rearranging the furniture” and “the seasonal make over…and over.”
The spot concludes by positioning At Home as “the home décor superstore,” cementing its focus as a budget-friendly outlet for all home decorating needs.
“We are thrilled to be working with At Home to increase the company’s brand awareness and put customers into the At Home mindset,” Barkley CEO Jeff King said in a statement. “The Spring campaign focuses on At Home’s core customer: home décor devotees who love to continuously refresh and redecorate their homes.”
Last summer Barkley absorbed fellow Kansas City agency Meers. In December, the agency welcomed Jessica Walden-Morden as its newest creative director.
Droga5 launched the latest extension of its “The Truth is Hard” campaign for The New York Times with a spot released for International Women’s Day.
“Shining a Light on Women’s Rights” focuses on the publication’s coverage of various women’s rights issues around the globe. Continuing the minimalist approach of previous ads, it does this via lines from The New York Times stories reporting on events in places such as Tehran, Mexico City and Lansing, Michigan.
At its conclusion, the spot zooms out to reveal the full series of articles, followed by a single story being read on mobile. The line “The truth will not be overlooked” then appears onscreen, followed by “The truth connects us” and “The truth has a voice.”
The spot follows The New York Times confirming that it will continue working with Droga5 after the agency fired former chief creative officer Ted Royer, citing a commitment to “maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for all our employees,” shortly after placing him on leave and launching an investigation.
“As we have seen repeatedly, the issue of appropriate workplace conduct has impacted most industries and we were very concerned when Droga let us know this news. Based on what we know now, we’re comfortable continuing to work with our team there,” New York Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy said in a statement at the time.
Droga5 London then abruptly parted ways with executive creative director Rick Dodds nearly a month ago. Later last month, Droga5 went through a round of layoffs at its New York headquarters that impacted around five percent of its staff.
JWT New York launched a new “Live Grand” campaign for Grand Marnier, the first since Campari’s acquisition of the brand, centered around a spot directed by Joseph Kahn, best known for directing music videos for the likes of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Katy Perry.
The spot, which will run on broadcast and digital, opens on a formal party with guests politely mulling about. “With Grand Marnier, you dare to put a twist on the traditional,” the voiceover begins, as the guest pulls a crank opening the ceiling and letting the rain in. As he leads guests into the cognac basement, color runs down from paintings to stylize their drab outfits and the real party gets started.
It’s a certainly an odd setup but the spot attempts to make up for its lack of logic with style (including designs from Sonia Rykiel by Bjork and Lady Gaga stylist Edda Gudmundsdottir.) We really can’t condone the destruction of fine art, though.
“‘Live Grand’ is about the journey of taking a good experience and transforming it into a grand one,” Kahn said in a statement. “I was inspired by the deep, rich heritage of Grand Marnier, the brand aesthetic, and the creative license to submerge viewers in a fantastical world that plays into the rich Cognac and bitter orange cues found in this iconic French spirit.”
“Joseph Kahn has built a brilliant career defined by originality and a disdain for convention,” added Campari America vice president, marketing Melanie Batchelor. “We knew immediately that he was the perfect fit for Grand Marnier. With ‘Live Grand,’ we’re inviting the world to join us in celebration – while reintroducing this beautiful blend of Cognac and exotic bitter orange to a new generation of stylish and sophisticated spirits drinkers.”
You know who’s lazy? The “Dreamers,” according to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.
Also, the people who aren’t making the most of the many opportunities earned by traveling with Delta!
The latest spot in the brand’s “Keep Climbing” campaign from Wieden + Kennedy New York urges viewers to consider the fact that they’ll never get anything if they wait around for it to just land in their laps.
As in previous ads, Oscar winner Viola Davis delivers a voiceover so compelling that we don’t even really care what’s she’s paid to promote. Spontaneous trips to Thailand? Sure!
“Runways” argues that there opportunities for adventure everywhere as long as you choose to use them. Call it an improvisational approach to travel.
This may well be true if you’re in your ’20s or your ’60s. But if you’re 38 with a newborn? That’s a totally different story.
CREDITS
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy New York
Client: Delta
Title: “Runways”
Executive Creative Director? – ?Karl Lieberman
Creative Directors? – ?Jaclyn Crowley, Sean McLaughlin, John Parker
Copywriter? – ?Garrick Sheldon
Art Director? – ?Toliver Roebuck
Executive Producer? – ???Cheryl Warbrook
Edit producer agenc?y – ?Dom Tunon
Account Team? – ?Liz Taylor, Jacque Parrish, Lauren Smith
Brand Strategy Director? – ?Sean Staley
Director of Social Strategy? – ?Jessica Breslin
Social Strategist? – ?James Williams
Head of ?Integrated ?Production? – ?Nick Setounski
Business Affairs? – ?Carla Curry, Lindsey Timko, Brit Fryer
Project Manager? – ?Jason Pelton, Ashlea Ramirez
Traffic Manager? – ?Sonia Bisono
Production Company? – ?Iconoclast
Director? – ?Megaforce
DP? – ?Arnaud Pottier
Executive Producer? – ?Valerie Romer
General Manager? – ?Charles-Marie Anthonioz
Producer? – ?Cathy Hood
Production Supervisor
Editorial Company? – ?Rock Paper Scissors
Editor? – ?Mikkel Nielsen
Post Producer? – ?Lisa Barnable
Post Executive Producer? – ?Eve Kornblum
Editorial Assistant? – ?Alex Liu
VFX Company? – ?The Mill
VFX Lead Flame? – ?Keith Sullivan
Colorist? – ?Sofie Borop
Senior Producer? – ?Collin Moneymaker / Luis Martin
Sound Studio? – ?Sound Lounge
Sound mixer? – ?Tom Jucarone
Sound Designer? – ?Adrian Aurelius (Ballad)
If you happened to be hanging out in Times Square this week, doing whatever it is people do when they’re ready to give up on life, you may have come across a brilliantly garish celebration of that one thing that truly makes us Americans: reality TV.*
The show is Bridezillas. It debuted way back in 2004, ran for 10 seasons and became the highest-rated original show on WE Tv (wow, really?), though we have to admit we’ve never watched it aside from some choice clips on The Soup.
But now we don’t need to watch it at all, because our friends at Doner L.A. summed up the whole experience via The Museum of Natural Hysteria, a pop-up exhibit celebrating the show’s history and its upcoming reboot.
The whole thing started last Friday, but you’ll have to hurry to see it because it will be all gone on Monday morning like the broken dreams of a million brides-to-be whose weddings turned out to be somehow less than perfect.
Everybody walked the dinosaur, and lots of proudly D-list celebrities showed up, but we’re not going to include their pictures here because we don’t feel like taking the time to download them from Getty Images.
Highlights of the exhibit include “Bridezillas Throughout History,” “Zilla Did What?,” “Channel your Inner Bridezilla” and, of course, “Do it for the ‘Gram.”
#BridezillasMuseum did prove popular on the Instagrams via those looping posts like this one and this one, which we can’t properly embed because Facebook really, really hates WordPress.
Here’s your statement from WE Tv president Marc Juris:
“In its initial 10-year run, ‘Bridezillas’ was a phenomenon, cementing in popular culture, and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, a lexicon for that life milestone that sometimes transforms mild-mannered women into unnaturally obsessive and intolerably demanding brides-to-be. WE tv viewers have been calling for us to bring back the series since we wrapped it up in 2013, and we’re answering their call, not only with new fresh and frantic episodes of their beloved show, but a full scale museum in the crossroads of the world—Times Square.”
In summary, we all get the reality we deserve.
*We know the British came up with it. But do they have a reality star running their country right now?
CREDITS
Client: WE tv
Show: Bridezillas
Agency: DonerLA
EVP, Chief Creative Officer: Jason Gaboriau
Design Director, Creative Director: Drew Brooks
Associate Creative Director: Brynn Malek
Associate Creative Director: Sammy Glicker
Associate Design Director: Steev Szafranski
Senior Art Director: Lauren Culbertson
Copywriter: Ryan Sims
Senior Designer: Mallory Hern
Jr Art Director, Designer: Alex Gunderson
SVP, Director of Client Service: Perry Cottrell
VP, Brand Leader: Sara Schwartz
Brand Leader: Erin Karsh
Executive Producer: Autumn Hines
Art Production Supervisor: Kathryn Lyons-Urbanek
Production Company: BeCore
WHAT’S THE DEAL with airline peanuts? And while we’re at it, why aren’t termites funny?
The latest campaign for Orkin (you know the man) by The Richards Group looks to get to the heart of that eternal probing question.
Now get ready for some serious PUNishment.
What, you thought these bugs were done? The hits keep coming.
They do high culture, though.
Can’t stop, won’t stop.
ABH: Always be hustlin’
The outdoor assets give us a clearer idea of what all these intentionally bad jokes set out to do.
The campaign kind of made us think of the days when we first arrived in New York, fresh-faced and naive, ready to fall prey to those folks who stand on the corner with a bunch of flyers asking, “Do you like live comedy?”
NEVER AGAIN.
CREDITS
Client: Orkin
Agency: The Richards Group, Dallas
Creative Directors: David Morring, Tim Tone
Copywriters: David Morring, Katie Bernet
Art Director: Tim Tone, Amanda Jackson
Producer: David Rucker
Director/Writers: Ben Hurst/ Dave Thomas
Production: Community Films
Post Production: Charlie Uniform Tango
Editor: Alex Campos
Visual Effects: Allen Robbins/Joey Waldrip/Artie Peña
Colorist: Joey Waldrip
Audio Mix/Sound Design: Russell Smith
Puppeteers: Legacy Effects
Clients: Kevin Smith, Cam Glover, Marissa Williams
Brand Management: Pete Lempert, Jessica Walker, Kristin Trumble
Earlier this month, TDA_Boulder launched a campaign for Colorado sushi chain Hapa Sushi playing on Trump-fueled fears of a nuclear apocalypse, entitled “Eat Well Before It All Ends.”
The ads featured actual (frightening) tweets from Trump, followed by the “Eat Well Before It All Ends” tagline.” It appears they did not sit well with everyone.
The Denver Post reported that the Downtown Denver Partnership raised concerns regarding the “political nature” of the ads, which appeared in seven kiosks along the 16th Street Mall and offered the opportunity to change the content.
“When the city respectfully asked us to edit the copy on the ads, we decided to pull them instead,” TDA_Boulder partner, executive creative director Jonathan Schoenberg explained in a statement. “The Hapa ads are engaging because they are unedited tweets from the President, and if we edited our tagline, the work wouldn’t make sense, or have the same effect.”
TDA_Boulder has made a habit of launching attention-grabbing and potentially controversial campaigns for the sushi chain. In 2014, the agency developed a pairing menu for cannabis strains and types of sushi, following Colorado’s legalization of recreational cannabis.
Are you concerned about the possibility that an incompetent Commander in Chief could lead us to the brink of nuclear disaster? Does the fact that the Doomsday Clock is now the closest it has been to midnight since 1953 give you anxiety? Do you like sushi? What do these questions have in common?
TDA_Boulder launched a campaign for Colorado sushi chain Hapa Sushi playing on apocalyptic fears, entitled “Eat Well Before It All Ends.” The campaign looks no further than the president’s twitter feed for inspiration. In fact, it more or less provides the creative for the agency, as there’s perhaps no better source to stoke existential fears of humanity’s demise. The tweets in question include a 2015 pre-presidential run rant about the “only global warming we should fear” being caused by “nuclear weapons” in the hands of “incompetent pols” and Trump’s recent baiting of North Korean leader Kin Jong-Un, naturally leading into the “Eat Well Before It All Ends” tagline. Might as well try the fugu!
The campaign is running across social media outlets, in OOH and in Colorado-focused print publications such as Yellowscene, Out Front, 5280 Magazine, The Rooster, Boulder Weekly and Denver Hotel Magazine, ColoradoBiz Magazine.
“Unfortunately, our president is Trump. Fortunately, he makes a joke out of himself so we don’t have to,” RDA_Boulder executive creative director Jonathan Schoenberg said in a statement. “We decided to use his tweets as a scary indication that the world as we know it might end under his power. But, let’s eat some really good sushi before it does.”
Suggesting you should go ahead and go for it since we all might die is certainly a bold strategy for a sushi restaurant about 1,000 miles away from the nearest ocean, but it is certainly attention-grabbing. Taking a stand against Trump will likely not scare away too many local patrons for Hapa Sushi. According to a November poll, 64 percent of Coloradans held an unfavorable view of the president.
It’s not the first time TDA_Boulder has played on recent events for the Denver-based sushi outlet. Following Colorado’s legalization of cannabis in 2014, the agency developed a pairing menu for cannabis strains and types of sushi.
And since we may not find a better excuse to include it in a post, here’s the most beautiful song ever written about the nuclear apocalypse, “Final Day” by Young Marble Giants.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
