Hasta La Creative!

If you’ve ever wondered how NFL’s halftime started, Denver-based agency Motive has the (entirely fictional) answer for you in their new spot for Pepsi, “There Since the First Halftime.”

In the 30-second spot, a group of guys playing football are interrupted when a broken down car full of fetching ladies arrives asking for help. One of the guys tells his team to stay focused, but the girls shout, “We’ve got Pepsi!” Another player says “What if we just take, like, fifteen minutes?” and thus, Motive and Pepsi would have you believe, halftime was born. It may be a bit ridiculous, but, more importantly, it’s fun and memorable.

The spot marks the Hungry Man debut for director Kinka Usher. The former DGA Director of the Year joined the production company, along with EP Nancy Hacohen, last month.

“There Since the First Halftime” started running during the NFL Playoffs this past Saturday as part of a larger campaign supporting the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl Halftime Show. Chances are you’ll catch it if you stick around for commercial breaks during the Conference Championships this Sunday. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Toronto FC has partnered with Sid Lee Toronto for a campaign highlighting their signing of star English striker Jermain Defoe (formerly of English Premier League’s Totenham Hotspur).

Working under the assumption that “soccer isn’t seen as big news in North America until it has become ‘footie news’ across the pond,” Sid Lee crafted a spot documenting the perceived shocked reaction to the news in England. “Our idea for the campaign came pretty early on – let’s elevate the magnitude of Jermain Defoe swapping Tottenham for TFC by having a bit of fun with how people might react to the news in Great Britain,” explains Jeffery DaSilva, creative director at Sid Lee.

Set in the London boroughs where Defoe has been front page news since the beginning of his career, the 30-second spot manages to depict shocked Londoners’ reactions in a clever and funny way (to say anything more would give too much away).  The “It’s a Bloody Big Deal” tagline acts as the perfect ending to the spot, emphasizing the importance of the deal and the connection to how the news is perceived in England.

The integrated campaign launched earlier this week with :10 and :15 second teaser spots appearing in high rotation on major sports networks; the full 30 second spot (featured above) debuts today. In addition to television ads, the campaign includes “a variety of print, online, and OOH executions that will blanket the city for the next five weeks.” Each of the campaign elements feature “a specially commissioned illustration” of Defoe outfitted in his new Toronto FC uniform.

Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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72andSunny launched a new cross-platform campaign for Busch called “Busch Heroes,” which “celebrates hard workers on the job and in their communities.” The campaign, designed to embody the new brand tagline, “Here’s to Earning It,” includes “in-store signage, beer packaging, documentary style web videos and more.”

For the campaign, Busch scoured the country in search of everyday heroes from all walks of life who were both “truly passionate about what they do for a living, as well as going above and beyond to make a difference in their communities.” They selected a group of eight men and women from across the country to represent this ideal. Actually, it’s seven men and one woman (Jacqueline Gabelein), and the above online ad undermines the attempt at inclusion by solely using terms like “working man,” “manly,” and “his” — making the one female selection seem like an afterthought/tokenism. (“His hands may be both rough and hard,” delivers Gabelein, during her footage.) This is still, I suppose, a step in the right direction for a beer advertisement.

“Our goal with Busch Heroes is to shine a spotlight on those who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, on and off the clock,” explains Edison Yu, vice president, value brands, Anheuser-Busch. It’s a refreshing approach, even with the gender issues. Who doesn’t want to see hardworking men and women who give back to their communities get a moment in the spotlight?

In addition to 30 and 60 second digital ads, the campaign features “special edition Busch and Busch Light packaging, print advertisements, retail displays and region-specific billboards.” Four of the Busch Heroes will be profiled in online mini documentaries: Justin Zoscsak, Andy Freeman, Travis Caldwell and Brandon Harris. Busch is looking to its fanbase for the next selection of Busch Heroes. Busch drinkers can head to Busch’s Facebook page to nominate someone they think deserves to be honored as a Busch Hero in 2015.

See below for a full list of Busch Heroes:

• Andy Freeman: Tugboat deckhand from Eagle Harbor, Wash.
• Brandon Harris: Cattle rancher and EMT from Manvel, Texas.
• Damian Sharbowski: Owns auto shop in Troy, Mich.
• Dennis Nelson: Owns construction business in Maryville, Mo.
• Eric Castañeda: Temper mill operator from Houston, Texas.
• Jacqueline Gabelein: Lead oiler on construction crew in Langley, Wash.
• Justin Zoscsak: Runs family logging business in Manistee, Mich.
• Travis Caldwell: Welding specialist from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

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Last October/November, CP+B helped launch Xbox One with a series of TV spots designed to show off how with the next-gen system “games and entertainment are no longer separated.” Well, following a series of Playstation 4 ads that positioned that system as the one “For the Players,” CP+B and Xbox One return serve with a new television spot reminding viewers that, oh yeah, “first and foremost, Xbox One is a gaming console.”

The new effort, entitled “Lost,” focuses on the realism of Xbox One’s graphics, imagining them as so realistic that a young man playing Ryse: Son of Rome actually believes he’s sustaining injuries. That, or the dude is just tripping balls, in which case he should probably play something a little less intense. The spot concludes with the somehow familiar sounding tagline, “If it was any more real, it would be real.”

As mentioned, “Lost” does feel like a direct response to the PS4 ads that position it as the system for gamers, which makes a lot of sense for Microsoft. The Redmond, WA giant may have overestimated the appeal of the whole “gaming and entertainment in one” selling point, and now it seems they can’t let Sony claim the “For the Players” crown without a fight. It will be interesting to see how the advertising battles for the two systems play out as both fight to win the next-gen console war. With the systems selling at a pretty close rate, it doesn’t look like things will let up any time soon. and perhaps that’s a good thing. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Okay, so we’ll start this one by admitting we have no idea what cricket is all about, but Saatchi and Saatchi New Zealand are behind a new campaign for Tui beer, called “Catch A Million,” giving fans the opportunity to win their share of one million dollars.

Fans can win $100,000 by making a one-handed grab in the stands while wearing a special orange Tui t-shirt. So far the campaign has been a big success, says William Papesch, Tui marketing manager, with “a sea of Tui orange at grounds and the first one-handed winner, Michael Morton in Hamilton on Jan 8th.” The promotion is  a pretty clever way to get a bunch of people to advertise your product for free, even if it comes with a potentially hefty price tag. Now if only someone could explain the rules of cricket to us… Credits and footage of the first winning catch after the jump. continued…

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Goodby Silverstein and Partners‘ latest work for Frito-Lay is a new campaign promoting Tostitos fajita flavored scoops! tortilla chips and Tostitos queso blanco dip — two products launched around last week’s 2014 Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl — as well as Tostitos cantina thin and crispy toritlla chips and Tostitos cantina chipotle salsa. Entitled “Bring The Party,” the campaign is centered around two new television spots: “Grandma” and “Speaker Dancer” (featured above).

Both spots focus on the over-the-top “O’Hare’s Party Repair” company, who bust in on boring parties to save them with their party expertise. It’s a goofy  jab at classic, local home-repair ads that finds the company taking obvious measures like replacing lame snacks with the aforementioned Tostitos products, as well as more drastic ones, like removing grandma from the house for a day or installing a speaker dancer. I think someone forgot that grandmas buy Tostitos, too.

What sets the ads apart is the engagement they offer after the commercials are over. Both the phone number provided and the website are fully operational. At the Bring The Party website, you can find “Pocket Party Repair Tools” such as Conversation Escape Call, Pocket Dancer, and Party Foul Cards, as well as a list of other services. I think we’ve all been to a party that could have benefited from a few Party Foul Cards being handed out. The “Bring The Pary” campaign “also includes digital, social media, in-store activations and public relations.” Stick around for “Grandma” after the jump. continued…

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To promote The Power of Movement, Canada’s largest yoga fundraiser, Lowe Roche wanted to show that not only would the event raise money for arthritis, but that yoga can bring increased mobility to arthritis sufferers as well.

To link these ideas, Lowe Roche crafted a 30 second spot featuring yogis lined up to resemble “shapes of the human bone system.” The spot uses this as a striking visual representation of the ties between yoga, arthritis and mobility, accompanied by text explaining how you can help those with arthritis simply by doing yoga. All of this is accompanied by the obligatory new age music you’d hear at a typical yoga studio.

For Lowe Roche creative director Jane Murray, this was a very personal project. Murray suffers from a rare form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which causes the spine to fuse. When client Sabrina Young approached her asking if she knew any agencies who would take on pro-bono work for the Arthritis Research Foundation, she volunteered and made it her pet project.

Print elements of the campaign launched last month, while the television component of the campaign was only recently unveiled. The Power of Movement event is scheduled for March 2. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Okay, so my Spanish may be a little rusty but I’m pretty sure the chorus to “Canción de Futbol” — the new song written by the band Kinky for Orci’s new Hispanic campaign for the 2014 Honda Civic Coupe — is “This song, song of soccer.” That being said, the song, which acts as the centerpiece for Orci’s “Gol!Gol!” campaign, is actually kind of catchy.

With the 2014 World Cup less than six months away, Orci decided to capitalize on people’s rabid obsession with the sport of soccer (I apologize to all international readers for using the term “soccer” but I’m American and am required to by law), as well as the popularity of Mexican electronic band Kinky. Orci wanted to tie fans’ youthful excitement for their favorite sport with the more fun, youthful features of the 2014 Honda Civic Coupe, using the song as a link between the two. “The same young, fun, excitement also applies to the 2014 Civic Coupe, so the song and futbol theme were a natural fit,” explains executive creative director Ricardo Cardenas.

“Gol!Gol!” — filmed by well-known Mexican director Diego Luna — features a couple of young soccer fans driving to a match in their new 2014 Honda Civic Coupe, singing along to “Canción de Futbol.” They soon realize that people they pass are also singing along to the song’s chorus, and dancing goofily — including star player Rafa Marquez. That’s pretty much the gist of “Gol!Gol!” — people jamming out to “Canción de Futbol.” Kinky’s song really is the heart of this campaign, and everything else seems built around it. You can check out the full, two minute version above, and keep an eye out for the 30 and 15 second versions which will air on national Spanish network and cable TV. The campaign was just launched today, and also includes online and mobile executions. Orci will also be taking over Honda’s Hispanic Twitter feed @HondaLatino for the “Gol!Gol!” campaign. “Canción de Futbol,” meanwhile, will receive an iTunes release later in the year. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Gerry Graf’s Barton F. Graf 9000 NY has worked with production company Psyop, fresh off their game-developing debut with the Susan Sarandon-narrated Nightmare: Malaria, to develop this charming spot for the Supercell-developed strategy game Clash of Clans.

The one-minute anthem ad places the viewer in the middle of the action, on the same level as the melee taking place. To bring the game to life in the spot, Psyop “embraced the bright, stylized and saturated look of the game,” explained Psyop Director Fletcher Moules. “We wanted to fully conceptualize what the world would look like if we were running alongside the horde of barbarians, what would it feel like to be covered in their saliva.”

The impressively animated ad really does a good job transporting the viewer into the world of Clash of the Clans, thankfully without any saliva. One noteworthy moment occurs when two giants chuckle as they are hit with cannonballs. It was one of Psyop’s favorite segments to animate, as well. “It added the heart and the warmth that was only achieved when we removed ourselves a little from the ruckus to enjoy it from their perspective,” said Moules.

It would appear that Supercell’s audience is enthusiastic about Clash of Clans as well. The video was released on December 23rd, and garnered 14 million views in its first week. Credits after the jump. continued…

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This 60-second PSA created by Clemenger BBDO for the New Zealand Transport Agency puts a very powerful spin on the familiar topic of driving safety. Two drivers who are about to crash get a momentary reprieve as their cars freeze. The men get out of the cars and talk about the inevitable collision. “I’m going too fast,” one man says regretfully, “I’m sorry.” The other begins to tear up as he realizes his young son, sitting in the back seat, will be seriously injured. The tension of this spot is teased through better than some movie action sequences.

What is it with Clemenger BBDO and incredibly impactful New Zealand PSAs? Pay attention to how these videos tell stories instead of trying to guilt the viewer into feeling dejected. The acting is very, very good for a commercial, which helps the point of the campaign get through to the viewer. It almost makes you want to keep watching.

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