Hasta La Creative!

Hill Holliday, Boston tapped Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, This Is 40, Freaks and Geeks) to voice the inner musings of a jaded mom in their latest campaign for LG appliances.

Mann voices the internal monologue of a character Adweek described as “a cross between FX’s Louie and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.” While that may be a slight exaggeration — the character is far more in line with Mann’s roles in Knocked Up and This Is 40 — the spots are certainly far more cynical than anything we’ve come to expect from appliance ads aimed at women, and in fact play off those happy family conventions.

In the most edgy, and, not coincidentally, most successful of these spots, Mann’s character notes that her new LG washing machine is very fast. But what’s a good quality in a washing machine is not necessarily a good quality in a husband, as the character suggestively muses. It’s this kind of honesty and portrayal of a less-than-perfect reality that makes the campaign stand out. Other spots in the campaign trade in the sexual innuendo for goofiness, and while none of them are quite as entertaining as “Too Fast” the approach still feels like a welcome departure from typical daytime TV fare, thanks largely to Mann’s comedic timing. Stick around for credits and “Hot Cookies” after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Hill Holiday, Boston tapped Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, This Is 40, Freaks and Geeks) to voice the inner musings of a jaded mom in their latest campaign for LG appliances.

Mann voices the internal monologue of a character Adweek described as “a cross between FX’s Louie and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.” While that may be a slight exaggeration — the character is far more in line with Mann’s roles in Knocked Up and This Is 40 — the spots are certainly far more cynical than anything we’ve come to expect from appliance ads aimed at women, and in fact play off those happy family conventions.

In the most edgy, and, not coincidentally, most successful of these spots, Mann’s character notes that her new LG washing machine is very fast. But what’s a good quality in a washing machine is not necessarily a good quality in a husband, as the character suggestively muses. It’s this kind of honesty and portrayal of a less-than-perfect reality that makes the campaign stand out. Other spots in the campaign trade in the sexual innuendo for goofiness, and while none of them are quite as entertaining as “Too Fast” the approach still feels like a welcome departure from typical daytime TV fare, thanks largely to Mann’s comedic timing. Stick around for credits and “Hot Cookies” after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Another month, another New York Lottery game and therefore, a DDB NY campaign to support it. This time around, the agency has unveiled a pair of online spots to hype the new Bejeweled Scratch Off game. And what better way to entice folks to hit the bodegas and play the game than, uh, hipsters and dogwalkers, true cornerstones of NYC culture. Along with the beard & animal-heavy online promos, there is a “second chance” sweepstakes to be had, which you can learn more about in a :40 clip after the jump. While this is a rather quick and painless exercise in lottery promotion, we still miss the bumpin’ and grindin’ presidents and zombies that reigned supreme in past DDB NY efforts for the brand.

Credits follow as well.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

For hurricane season, JWT Atlanta teamed up with production studio Elastic and directing collective Headless (who provided colorful 3D animation) to create a PSA campaign for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

JWT Atlanta decided to go for an emotional approach, telling the story of a “nice house that lived with a family” as narrated by a young child, which makes for a more relatable and persuasive viewing experience than alarmist images of flood damage. Focusing on the relationship between the loving home and the family, the spot highlights that flooding can happen anywhere, not just locations that are historically at risk. The 60-second PSA ends with the tagline “Protect what matters,” encouraging viewers to learn their flood risk and protect their homes. Credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Though it’s been a minute since his New Orleans Saints last won the Super Bowl, Drew Brees‘s status as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL hasn’t really diminished. Unfortunately, though, it seems the play-calling and other rigors of the season just aren’t cutting it for the record-setting QB these days as he’d much rather be riding a motorcycle, something that isn’t allowed per his NFL contract (well, at least the one in the ad). So, what’s the best solution? Well, retirement of course. Therein lies the premise of this new spot for the Can-Am Spyder from Chicago-based shop, The Escape Pod.

The Spyder itself is the most interesting character in the ad as it looks like something Lucius Fox would draw up for Bruce Wayne. Complete with a little dubstep and, yes, doves, the 90-second spot is a fairly amusing effort that lets Brees flaunt his off-the-field personality as he fulfills his wish. Plus, after the million Brett Favre retirement/unretirements that plagued the media a few years back, we’ll gladly take this fake one any day. Oh yeah, did we mention that there’s also a contest to win a Spyder? Credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Yesterday we brought you news of Adidas’ World Cup spot from TBWA featuring Lionel Messi, a host of other international stars, and a Kanye West track. Now here’s a look at the latest in W+K New York’s World Cup campaign for ESPN.

The charming 60-second spot, entitled “Time Zone,” examines how the World Cup creates “one time zone,” as the whole world rearranges their schedule to watch the World Cup premiere. “Time Zone” opens and ends in Brazil, stopping over in destinations around the world as everyone prepares for the match. Some have an easier time adjusting to “Brazil time” than others. A businessman in Seattle is seen rushing out of the office while updating his voicemail to reflect that he will be “out of the office for the rest of the afternoon” — an accurate portrayal of kickoff times in the states — while an old woman falls asleep watching the game in Russia and in Japan a group congregates before the sun rises. The spot ends with the tagline, “Every 4 years the world has one time zone,” which is reminiscent of the earlier “Every 4 years the conversation starts again.” This newer spot reflects the heightened anticipation for the World Cup kickoff, which is just over two weeks away. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Well, we were somewhat intrigued by the pitch on this one, which read, “Cancer hospital hard at work putting itself out of business. One step at a time.” Come again? Well, not to worry folks, the message is not quite as self-destructive as it sounds, but rather a more eye-catching way of letting us know that the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is turning its focus from treatment to prevention in its latest campaign (though we’re assuming treatment still remains top priority).

Dubbed “Do One Thing,” the new marketing effort for SCCA created by hometown agency Frank Unlimited veers away from the often preachy, overbearing overtones of many a health-related campaign and suggests instead to change just one habit then go from there. Hence the message:  “You don’t have to change everything. You don’t have to do everything. Just do one thing. Every day, pick one healthy thing, and do it.” We think we can vibe with the no-pressure mantra of this effort, which is  primarily aimed at adult women, 45+. After the jump, peep the animated clip from fellow Seattle shop, Kalakala, and New York Times op-ed illustrator, Drew Christie, that supports “Do One Thing.”

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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Yes, folks, you read that correctly. In one of the more peculiar, yet intriguing campaigns we’ve received as of late, BBDO Dusseldorf has been sending out an invite  over a 24-hour span (with the help of one of Europe’s biggest radio telescopes) to, yep, extra-terrestrials, asking them to come visit Entlebuch, which is Switerzland’s first official UNESCO biosphere reserve. UNESCO, in case you didn’t know, is an agency of the UN that stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and is intent on building of peace, the eradication of poverty and sustainable development (current focuses include Africa and gender equality).

Anyhow, the Entlebuch valley itself aims to maintain a sustainable way of living for anywhere from 50 to 500,000 years, so they’re giving our friends from outer space a fairly wide  time span to work with  should they choose to make the trek to Swiss country. And what better way to reach any and all ETs that may be lurking out there than with a little yodeling, alphorn music as well as regional smells and sounds. If that doesn’t win the beings from outer space over, we don’t know what will. Good luck, gang, and make sure to let Mulder know if  and when you succeed. Credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DARE Vancouver has launched an emotionally affecting campaign for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) entitled “A Sick Child Affects Everyone.”

The camapaign utilizes voiceover narrative and simple scenes to focus on the emotional impact of a sick child on loved ones. It’s hard to imagine someone not being impacted by these spots, which are very relatable and seriously depressing. The campaign is intended to “raise general awareness of the hospital and its great needs” and it certainly doesn’t pull any punches in doing so, putting viewers in the uncomfortable position of a teen who is about to hear that her sister was just in a serious accident, a man whose child has been sick for the past six months, or a man who is in the waiting room while his four-year-old niece undergoes cardiac surgery. These are seriously painful moments that DARE Vancouver utilizes to stress the importance of the cause, and they don’t make for easy viewing.

“For a family with a sick child, the struggle can be overwhelming and all consuming, said DARE Vancouver creative director Addie Gillespie. “We wanted to shed light on those moments when everything changes and a family most needs the support of those around them. We also wanted to make the spots relatable – we can all imagine the intense pain these families are feeling and how helpless we might feel in the same situation.”

Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

BBDO New York and its Diversity Council teamed up with Marvel Comics to create Heroes Welcome, a new Avengers comic timed to coincide with Marvel’s 75th anniversary, and available in its entirety online. The comic book was written by Eisner Award-winner Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by artist Mark Brooks, and “tells the story of what can happen when people of different backgrounds, talents and abilities come together and champion one another.”

BBDO New York and Marvel partnered with the Police Athletic League of New York to help share the comic book with children each of New York’s five boroguhs via interactive educational sessions. The first of these sessions took place today at the Police Athletic League’s Harlem center, and featured a surprise visit from Iron Man. You can view a photo from the event, along with credits, after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.