Hasta La Creative!

Zambezi collaborated with Autotrader and Disney-Pixar for a spot promoting both the online car shopping site and the June 16 release of Pixar’s Cars 3.

The 30-second cross-promotional effort centers around the concept that, like the characters in the movie, each car has a different personality and Autotrader lets you tailor your search for the right fit. If you’re looking for speed, there’s a search option for an 8-cylinder engine, for “tire-loving” cars there’s performance tires and a “tow package” for “the reliable one.”

While the cross-promotional strategy works on paper, some of the search terms and related vehicles come across as a little forced. We’re not sure what makes a vehicle with cruise control “the motivational one,” for example, and “alternative” seems a pretty broad category for the “green-thinking” VW van. That’s not an unusual criticism for a cross-promotional spot and the concluding, “Every car has a personality, find the one that fits yours,” line does at least tie things back to the brand fairly well.

“Every Car Has a Personality” will make its broadcast debut during TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs. and will also run on channels including Bravo, HGTV and Univison Deportes. The campaign will also include digital and radio initiatives on channels including Hulu and ESPN Deportes Radio, a social media component adn Cars 3 imagery on Autotrader’s homepage and mobile app in the leadup to the movie’s June 16 release.

The effort comes on the heels of another ad personifying cars, Zambezi’s “Save The Cars” mock PSA in February.

“Collaborating with Disney-Pixar’s ‘Cars 3’ was a natural fit for Autotrader for more than the obvious reason of the spotlight our iconic brands share within the automotive space,” Autotrader vice president, marketing Jessica Stafford said in a statement. “Much like the Cars franchise, Autotrader shares a personal connection with people of all ages and at all life stages, and we feel this is reflected in the playful content we developed with the Disney and Pixar teams to further drive excitement for our brand and the upcoming premiere of ‘Cars 3.’”

Back in December, Academy Sports + Outdoors (which spent $45.5 million in measured media in 2015 and $14.8 million in the first half of 2016, according to Kantar Media) named FCB Chicago as the first-ever creative AOR for the Houston-based retail chain. The appointment concluded a review launched last summer.

Now the agency has launched its first campaign for the client. “For All. For Less.” is centered around a trio of 30-second broadcast spots.

“Make It Happen” guarantees “the best brands, the lowest prices,” no matter what your game or experience level is. A wide range of sports and outdoor activities are shown, from baseball, running and basketball to fishing and hunting. You’ll find all kinds of athletes and outdoor enthusiasts from “tall shortstops” and “short shortstops” to “marathon runners” and “twice around the block runners,” without a celebrity appearance in sight.

Another spot, “Legs” continues the themes of accessibility and variety by mismatching the tops and bottoms of enthusiasts of these various outdoor activities, while “Lures” seeks to appeal to fishermen and fisherwomen of all stripes. The campaign also includes digital, OOH, print, radio and in-store executions.

“The conventions of the category tend to chase the image of the elite athlete and focus on the sacrifice and determination required to be one. We wanted to create work that didn’t just speak to the .0001% of those who are actually elite athletes,” FCB executive creative director Jon Flannery explained in a statement released to LBB.

“At Academy Sports + Outdoors, we believe there should be a store with gear for every skillset, body type, and dream — all for an everyday low price that everyone can afford,” added Academy Sports + Outdoors executive vice president, chief marketing officer Tom Lamb. “That’s exactly why we are so excited about the ‘For all. For less.’ campaign.”

With Mother’s Day around two weeks away, McCann New York launched a new “What It Takes To Protect” campaign for Lysol, centered around a 60-second spot entitled “Protect Like A Mother” which takes a look at some of the animal kingdom’s more fierce maternal protectors.

The spot opens on a bear leading a human child across the crosswalk in front of her school, clearly a stand-in for mom. When a car ventures to0 close to the girl, stopping short right in front of her, the bear rears up and roars in anger. As the spot goes on it depicts other animals as symbolic stand-ins for protective mothers, including a condor extending a wing to protect a boy from the rain, an elephant scaring off a bully and a lioness providing a place for a sleepy girl to rest her head.

It all leads to the message, “Protect like a mother. It’s what you do. It’s what we do,” followed by the brand logo and tagline, “What it takes to protect.” While the lead-in to the tagline is perhaps a bit too reminiscent of a certain Geico effort, the message is a nice way to connect the brand to Mother’s Day and parents more broadly, as Lysol helps protect their children from bacteria.

It’s certainly a welcome reprieve from the usual saccharine Mother’s Day fare, while still making an emotional connection. In addition to the spot, which launched yesterday, the campaign also includes digital and social components. There’s also an interactive exhibit which will run over Mother’s Day weekend in Brooklyn Bridge Park, featuring a look at how mothers (both human and animal) protect their children. According to a release in LBB, it will “include large scale animal installations that kids can interact with” and “moms and kids will be invited to have their images captured and become a part of the exhibit.”

Credits:
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Tom Murphy & Sean Bryan
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erin Wendel, Lauren McCrindle
COPYWRITER: Susan Young, Daniel Colburn
ART DIRECTOR: Jesse Yowell
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Priti Kapoor
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Chioma Aduba
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Christine Lane (Innovation), Winslow Dennis
PRODUCER: (Innovation) Phoebe Chao
STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Amanda Shapiro
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Nicole Pressman
PROJECT MANAGER: (Senior) Renata Bankowski
SENIOR PRODUCER: (Innovation) Matthew Arrow
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: Amber Trimble
CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER: Nathy Aviram
ASSISTANT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Leia Brown
GLOBAL EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: John Mescall
EXECUTIVE ART PRODUCER: Andrea Kaye
EXECUTIVE MUSIC DIRECTOR: Eric Johnson
MUSIC PRODUCER: Dan Gross
EXECUTIVE STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Erica Yahr
GLOBAL STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Sarah Watson
GLOBAL BUSINESS LEAD: Volker Ast
GLOBAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Arielle Kroloff

OFFLINE EDITOR: Jon Grover
EDIT COMPANY: Cut and Run

POST PRODUCTION / VFX: Framestore

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Framestore, (Exhibit) Tool
DIRECTOR: Tom Routson

BETC Paris launched a campaign against bullfighting, or corrida, as it is known in Spain and southern France, calling for an end to the practice on behalf of Federation of Leagues Against Corridas.

At the center of the effort is a spot, asking viewers, “Do you think this practice belongs to another age?” and driving home the message with a bit of exaggeration. You see, instead of a bull the matador squares off against a Velociraptor. The suggestion behind the swap is clearly that the tradition is prehistoric and has no role in the modern age. After asking the question at the conclusion of its first half the spot answers, “Well it doesn’t. It still exists.” as the footage shows the CGI raptor swapped out for a real-life bull, which is killed by a matador. Obviously, the footage contains graphic content, so feel free to skip over the video if you may find it upsetting.

The spot concludes by asking viewers to sign a petition addressed to the future president of France, asking to ban the practice of bullfighting. Timed to coincide with the French presidential election, the effort aims “to get the attention of the candidates” at a time when “most politicians have avoided taking a position on the matter,” according to a press release. The release adds that while animal cruelty is illegal in France, exceptions are made for the practice, yet “7 out of 10 French people are in favor of banning bullfighting.”

Whether or not the petition ultimately proves successful, the spot seems to be making a splash online, racking up 6.2 million views on Facebook and over 350,000 on YouTube. At the very least, the campaign seems to have started a conversation.

Credits:
Film: Do you think this practice belongs to another age ?
Advertiser: FLAC Anticorrida
Ad Agency: BETC Paris
Executive Creative Director: Stephane Xiberras
Creative Directors: Benjamin Le Breton, Arnaud Assouline
Director: Jean Michel Drechsler
Production Company: UNIT Image

Oh no, Mr. Tickles!

Digital agency space150 launched a campaign for 3M’s ACE brand (you’re probably familiar with the bandages), centered around a spot featuring a stuffed pink bear floating downstream, soggy and cold instead of enjoying a trip with his family. You see, dad was too distracted by pain to notice when Mr. Tickles fell out of his daughter’s backpack. The spot delivers the story from the perspective of the stuffed bear, who apparently refers to himself in the first person.

The spot concludes with Mr. Tickles opining his lack of verbal communication skills, which would have allowed him to tell dad about ACE’s wrist brace. It’s perhaps a bit of a long walk (or float down the river, as it were) to get to the “Don’t Be Distracted by Wrist Pain” tagline at the end of the ad, but there is a connection to the product’s purported benefits. According to a release, it’s based on the insight that “chronic pain keeps you from being in the moment – and that can have some consequences.”

In addition to the full-length spot above, running on digital and social channels, a 30-second version of the ad will run on broadcast. And this won’t be the last we see of Mr. Tickles, who will reportedly appear in future creative, as well as in further digital and social content for the campaign and in-store marketing. The campaign aims to reintroduce the ACE brand to consumers as it approaches its 100th anniversary, showcasing products beyond the brand’s well-known bandages.

3M has made some changes to its advertising recently, selecting Veneables, Bell & Partners as its lead creative agency (and ending a 21-year relationship with Grey) in March, following a review launched in November. Digital strategy and creative duties for the ACE brand, however, reside with space150.

The agency has undergone some recent changes itself, with the promotion of Dutch Thalhuber to the role of president the most recent.  Thalhuber’s promotion followed the arrivals of Ulli Appelbaum as executive vice president, strategy and Stan Fiorito as executive vice president, client and brand development last summer and Char Roseblade as senior vice president, account services in October. 

Credits:
Client: 3M ACE Brand
Agency: space150
Brock Davis, Chief Creative Officer
Brian Ritchie, Executive Creative Director
Alex Dubrovsky, Group Creative Director
Shealah Cocherell, Art Director
Tanner Uselmann, Copywriter
Henni Iwarsson, Producer
Jenna Martin, Account Director

With Mother’s Day not far away, it’s the season for schmaltzy odes to mom, and boy does The Wonderful Company’s Teleflora brand have that one covered.

The company’s in-house Wonderful Agency, launched a “Just Like Her” Mother’s Day campaign centered around a two-minute spot of the same title. It opens with the declaration that “You are not your mother,” before going on to list all the ways you are “just like her.” These include hating losing, being determined and sharing her courage and compassion. This all leads to how you should get her a nice Teleflora bouquet for Mother’s Day, naturally.

But it’s a different ad making a splash online. A lengthy spot entitled “Ryan’s unforgettable Mother’s Day delivery to Mom” follows the story of Ryan, a Marine who can’t spend much time with his mom, and his Teleflora delivery, which is accompanied by a personal video. In the video, Ryan explains how his mom gave up being an athlete to raise him as a single parent and inspired him to be the man he has become. The spot ends with a twist that is not so surprising if you’re at all familiar with these affairs.The spot was uploaded on April 26 and racked up around 12 million views within a day, as moms everywhere undoubtedly shared it on Facebook.

Credits:
Brand | Teleflora
Teleflora:
David Dancer: Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing
Kelly McKeone: Vice President, Consumer and Florist Marketing
Danielle Mason: Senior Director, Consumer Marketing
Eric Santana: Director, Project Management

Agency: Wonderful Agency
Mike Perdigao: President
Andrés Conde: Group Director of Digital
Meghann Bass: Associate Creative Director, Digital
Heather Sison: Art Director, Digital
Janna Carney: Senior Copywriter, Digital
Kevin Laronda: Copywriter, Digital
Nicole Klein: Senior Digital Producer
Anne Kurtzman: Head of Production
Matthew Conrad: Broadcast Producer

Production Company: Studio M
Executive Producer: Mike Mills
Director: Bryan Reid
Senior Producer: Cullen Fairfield
Director of Photography: Ray Dumas
Line Producer: Alastair Waithe
Assistant Director: Jeff Cowan
Production Designer: Jay Pooley
Props: Tony Massy
Wardrobe: Skye Kelton, Plutino Group
Hair, Makeup: Buffy Shields, Judy Inc.
Editor: Peter Miller, Studio M
Assistant Editor: Rebecca Burtnik, Studio M
Colorist: Jason Zukowski, REDLAB
Mixer: Zac Fisher, Lime Studios
Music, Sound Design: VAPOR RMW

Translation, which has been handling creative for the NBA since winning AOR status in December of 2014, launched a campaign hyping the NBA Playoffs with a little help from Shaquille O’Neal, who would know a thing or two about the subject as a three-time NBA Finals MVP.

“So you want to know about the playoffs?” O’Neal asks the camera at the beginning of the spot, while standing in an elevator. He sums it up as “larger than life,” citing the noise and the intensity as footage of NBA Playoffs games are interspersed with his speech. Shaq is then briefly, and awkwardly, interrupted before tying things back to the “This Is Why We Play” tagline Translation introduced for the start of the 2015 NBA season.

The spot launched online and on social media yesterday during, targeting those second screen views from basketball fans. Later today, an outtake featuring some trademark Shaq being Shaq goofiness will follow it online, which could prove an antidote for viewers who think the 30-second “Larger Than Life” could have used some less scripted Shaq moments.

Credits:
Brand/Client: NBA
Campaign Title: This Is Why We Play
Spot Title: “Larger Than Life” (Shaquille O’Neal)
First Air Date: April 27, 2017
Agency: Translation
Chief Executive Officer: Steve Stoute
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Chief Strategy Officer: John Greene
Group Creative Director: Matthew McFerrin
Group Creative Director: Achilles Li
Creative, Copywriter: Lyla Abi-Saab
Creative, Art Director: Dylan Simel
Director of Content Production: Miriam Franklin
Executive Content Producer: Colleen Miller
Director of Business Affairs: Thalia Tsouros
Senior Content Producer: Kristen Cooler
Associate Content Producer: Ruganzu Howard
Group Account Director: Stanley Lumax
Account Director: Agustina Marcos
Project Manager: Matt DeSimone
Production Company: Humble
Director: Tom Carty
Director of Photography: Eric Treml
Executive Producer: Mark Kovacs
Line Producer: Jorge Khuly
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Spencer Campbell
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Head of Production: Jen Sienkwicz
Producer: Brad Wood
Assistant Editor: Brandon Iben
Postproduction Company: Significant Others
Creative Director/Lead VFX Artist: Dirk Greene
VFX Producer: Alek Rost
Production Coordinator: Kyra Hendricks
VFX Assistant: Taylor Gonzalez
GFX Artist: Phillip Brooks
Audio Company: Significant Others
Sound Mixer: T. Terressa Tate
Audio Producer: Alek Rost
Color Grade: Color Collective
Colorist: Alex Bickel
Executive Producer: Claudia Guevara
Music House: Future Perfect Music
EP: Maxwell Gosling
Producer: Nargis Sheerazie

Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York launched a campaign they hope will become irrelevant.

While advertising is no stranger to PSA campaigns tackling the issue of gun violence, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness takes a different approach here. Rather than targeting the issue of gun control or the causes of gun violence, the agency wanted to do something to make an impact immediately. Inspire by public safety posters on what to do in the event that someone is choking, they created a poster instructing viewers on how to act in the case of a shooting, with information ranging from how to react when you first hear gunshots to what to do if you’ve been shot.

A video extends the effort to the broader issue of preventing gun violence. Introducing the effort as “The campaign we didn’t want to make,” it ends by calling on viewers to,  “Help us take down this poster.”

Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the root causes of gun violence or gun control issues, how to go about doing that is ultimately left up to the viewer. At the conclusion of the PSA, viewers are instructed to visit the campaign landing site, where visitors can share mental health resources, report suspicious behavior, become a trained first responder, learn about local gun policy, explore resources for gun violence survivors and more.

Credits:
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, New York, USA
Chief Creative Officer: Kathy Delaney
Creative Directors: Carolyn Gargano, Scott Carlton
Art Director: Carolyn Gargano
Copywriter: Scott Carlton
Illustrator: Lauren Chan

O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul launched a new campaign targeting millenial men with the message, “Don’t Wear Your Dad’s Underwear.”

The spot opens by celebrating the things you’ve learned from dad: the meaning of hard work and taking pride in a job well done. A voiceover celebrates dad’s teachings over footage of older guys rocking some dated underwear while standing in front of an open fridge door, skimming the pool and drinking a cup of coffee while staring out the window. It then adds, “But don’t wear your dad’s underwear,” followed by footage of a young man stepping into a pair of Gildan as the voiceover promises “Your dad will be proud,” (Is underwear selection sort of a strange reason for parental pride or is it just us?) followed by the tagline, “The next generation of underwear.”

Supporting the 30-second anthem ad are a series of 15-second spots playing off the same theme (and utilizing some of the same footage) and a social media component, as well as branded digital ads on Tinder. OKRP and Gildan partnered with Chicago media agency Kelly Scott Madison on media buying and planning. The approach introduces a broad brand positioning for Gildan that distances it from “dad’s” brands while introducing some product benefits in the process.

“‘Not your Dad’s Underwear’” is a bold statement that gets to the point fast. Perfect for today’s attention challenged audience,’ OKRP chief creative officer Matt Reinhard explained in a statement. “And when you are the challenger brand in the category, you can push off the competition and raise your awareness as the new alternative.”

“Our male consumer has the millennial mindset and we know that this audience is looking for quality products at a better value,” added Gildan vice president, marketing Rob Packard. “We also know they are looking for new brands that they can make their own, not their parent’s brands. This campaign takes on legacy brands while raising awareness of Gildan’s promise of delivering the next generation of underwear.”

We learned back in October that Droga5 had added The New York Times to its client roster and the agency launched its “The Truth is Hard to Find” campaign for the client in February with a minimalist spot which made its broadcast debut during the Academy Awards and related print, digital and OOH efforts.

For the next phase of the campaign, Droga5 and The New York Times worked with director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream) on a series of more visually-focused ads continuing the themes of the importance of journalism in finding truth and difficulties that go into such reporting.

The new ads focus more on the work individual journalists put in to bringing stories to light. In one 60-second spot, photojournalist Bryan Denton describes covering military action in Iraq when the car in front of him suddenly exploded.

Another spot shows how fellow photojournalist Tyler Hicks arrived at an iconic image of refugees arriving in Lesbos, Greece. Two future ads will showcase Daniel Berehula‘s work documenting ebola in West Africa and Andes bureau chief Nicholas Casey and contributing photographer Meridith Kohut‘s coverage of the economic collapse in Venezuela.

The approach calls to mind The&Partnership’s “The Face of Real News” campaign for The Wall Street Journal last month. Aronofsky’s visual style help set the ads apart, however, and the new spots make for a much more dramatic communication of the campaign’s message that “The truth is hard to find” than the launch effort.

“Photojournalists risk their safety, their minds and often their lives in order to capture what is really happening in the most tumultuous parts of the world,” Aronofsky said in a statement. “They rush face first into war, disease and human plight to capture the horrors that are unfolding on and to our planet. Many of their images end up changing us and how we treat each other. Instead of being maligned and mistrusted, journalists should be respected and thanked.”

“For me, it was an honor to speak with them about their methods and some of their toughest assignments,” he added. “I hope the commercials pay tribute to the important work these men and women have done and continue to do.”