TBWA/Chiat Day celebrates Peyton Manning breaking the NFL single-season touchdown record with an inspirational campaign for Gatorade.
At the heart of the new campaign is the thirty second spot, “51 And Counting.” The simple spot shows photos of Peyton unleashing each of his 51 touchdown passes, set to inspirational narration about ignoring those who tell you what you can’t do. It’s a timely response to Manning’s record-breaking season, and the association with Peyton is sure to win Gatorade some points with fans. That TBWA/Chiat Day couldn’t follow up the last photo with footage of the record breaking pass being completed is something of a letdown, but I imagine logistical/legal concerns are to blame. The campaign also includes a celebratory print ad in Sports Illustrated, congratulating Manning on winning the Sportsman of the Year award “by painting a picture of what it means to win from within using only words and Manning’s number, 18.” Stay tuned for the print ad, and credits, after the jump. continued…
Making bad advertising is easy. But, every now and then, somebody produces something so atrociously heinous that it almost makes you want to stand up and applaud.
Congrats, Samsung. “Are You Geared Up?” may be the absolute worst thing we’ve seen this year. You found rock bottom, and you dug even deeper. You combined bad acting with a nonsensical script, added in a dash of uncomfortable pacing and stretched the whole thing out to a cringeworthy two-and-a-half minutes.
Not only did you create The Room of online advertising, but your ad was so shitty that it went viral. Your spot was featured on the front page of Reddit under the headline “Hands down the worst ad I’ve ever seen. Take a bow, Samsung.” On top of that, the online legions have taken to your Samsung Mobile YouTube page, where you’ve received 13,000 thumbs down votes to 2,000 thumbs up votes. And, some genius left the comments on, which just adds to the chaos of terrible. Here are just a smattering of some of our favorite comments:
“There’s no way this is a real ad from Samsung. That would mean someone from Samsung had to actually watch this train wreck of a commercial and approve it. So it has to be fake. Right?”
“I feel like I just watched porn without the porn.”
“I’m almost speechless because of how terrible this is. I’m embarrassed that it’s for an Android product.”
“Thanks Samsung, I forgot for a moment that women are prizes that can be won through the creative use of technology and being creepy as fuck.”
“HAY GURL CHECK OOT THEESE COOL PICS I TOOK OF YOU SEECRETLY WHILE I FOLLOWED YOU. TEE HEE YOUR PICTURES OF ME ARE SO FLATTERING HERE IS MY CONTACT INFORMATION ANONYMOUS STRANGER I WILL BE ALONE IN MY HOTEL ROOM TONIGHT. HAHAHA I AM GOING TO HAEV SEX WITH YOU BECAUSE MY WATCH IS A PHONE!”
In other words, it’s been a pretty fun morning. However, one Reddit-er has an interesting theory for why this terrible, terrible thing exists:
This was shot in Korea (that’s why everyone has a Russian accent). It was probably never meant to be seen in English. The main audience will see this with a Korean dub (that’s also why the actors speak so slowly).
The English script was probably written and edited by non-native speakers, and the company probably doesn’t give a shit what the English version sounds like, because the Korean dub is the one that will be seen. All that matters is that the white people look cool and pretty. It’s like that other commercial with the Samsung hard drive or whatever.
It’s an interesting theory, but as one commenter replied, “I wonder if Samsung has heard of the Internet.” Judging by this, it seems unlikely. If anyone has any info on the agency behind this, or would like to nominate anything else for Worst Ad of the Year, please do so in the comments.
Right about this time every year, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA debuts its TV spots for the Grammys. And, every year, they’re pretty underwhelming. A few years back, we got a swirly, graphics overload with CGI re-tellings of artists like Eminem’s life story. Last year, we got the hashtag-happy #TheWholeWorldIsListening, which aimed to put viewers into the shoes of stars like Rihanna while trying to convince them that the awards show was still in any way relevant.
This year’s first spot, “Anthem,” looked more like a VH1 commercial than anything else, and it seemed we were in for yet another year of mediocrity. But then, dare we say it, the Grammys and Chiat LA ctually surprised us. The latest spot in the Music Unleashes Us campaign, “Drive” (above), does a fantastic job of convincing viewers that they owe it to the artists who get them through times of sorrow and heartbreak to watch their performances on the Grammys.
From Pink and fun., we move to Macklemore and “Doughnut Shop,” another well-produced and compelling spot filmed outside of Inglewood’s famous Randy’s Donuts. Again, these spots excel at following through with what the campaign promises – portraying the affect that popular music has on the average TV viewer. It both ignites and unleashes, an important sentiment for the Grammys to glom onto as the show still figures out its approach to celebrating an industry that doesn’t know what to do next. One more Katy Perry-tinged spot, and credits, follow after the jump.
If you love bacon and Love Actually, Erwin Penland’s GIF spot “will most definitely put a smile on your face.” If, however, like most sensible people, you love bacon but hate Love Actually, your reaction will probably be more along the lines of “meh.” The piece of bacon, echoing a scene in the movie, holds up cards professing his love for the egg. Because people go to Denny’s and get bacon and eggs. Yawn. I’m not sure why they decided to go for a GIF campaign (I guess because they didn’t need sound?), or who is actually going to see this, but in a way it makes sense: because eating at Denny’s and watching Love Actually on Christmas are both kind of sad. Credits after the jump. continued…
Rethink takes bromancevertising to the next level with their follow up to “The Beer Fridge” for Molson, the second most viewed commercial online in Canada in 2013.
“The Beer Fridge – Project Indonesia” is a 2:45 ode to Canada, hockey, beer, and, above all, bromance. Two friends decide to surprise a third friend who moved to the Gili Islands in Indonesia years ago. That there are no motorized vehicles in the Gili Islands makes the trek a bit of a challenge. The friends come packed with a satellite so their buddy can watch Team Canada in the 2014 Olympic Games and a red fridge full of Molson (which was obviously not easy to transport). When the three friends finally reunite, it’s actually quite a touching moment. This is probably the most bromantic ad you’ll see this year, and a refreshing angle from Rethink.
Molson released the Internet spot today, with a full-length TV version slated for the Canadian World Junior Hockey Tournament, where it will essentially take up entire commercial breaks. Clearly, Molson believes in this spot. Additionally, a 30 second version of the ad is set to debut on December 26th. Credits after the jump. continued…
Earlier this month, Sao Paulo-based F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi launched their “Electrolux Kindness Kitchen” campaign for Electrolux Brasil, which filled some of their appliances with food for those who want to do good this Christmas.
Here’s how it works: During this month, “when a consumer buys any of the ‘full’ products, he or she will receive the household appliance at home and Electrolux will donate all the food to those in need.” It’s a pretty simple way to do some holiday philanthropy, and one that can make a world of difference to a family in need. The campaign was designed to give back to the community and highlight “the company’s social positioning in the country.” It includes the above online film, as well as display ads, a hot site, and social media. This campaign’s focus on digital was nothing new for Electrolux, who invested 10% of the company’s communication budget on digital this year — making it the environment they invested in the most.
The video explains the genesis of the campaign, linking it to all manner of small kindnesses, and offers a brief explanation of how it works. It does a good job of introducing the idea behind the campaign and prompting viewers to further action, such as visiting the campaign site.
“Electrolux Kindness Kitchen” is a refreshingly philanthropic campaign, and it gives people a compelling reason to buy a new appliance during the holiday season. More companies should engage in this kind of community action, during December or otherwise. Credits after the jump. continued…
Since establishing in-house agency Spark 44 a few years back, Jaguar’s ‘Alive’ campaign has strived to inject a little animalistic danger into the luxury car brand. Specifically, Jaguar’s sporty F-Type was taken out of the garage and unleashed on the world in a series of spots that the cars behaving like the wild jungle cats they were named after. The ads were…okay. But, they were still a step forward for a brand that didn’t have a reputation for producing many TV spots (other than EuroRSCG’s break out “Gorgeous” from almost a decade ago).
So it’s surprising to see Jaguar, which has put so much behind the look and messaging of “Alive” (including this weirdLana Del Rey thing), to pivot and produce a comedic takedown of Mercedes-Benz’s “Magic Body Control” TV spot from September with “Jaguar vs. Chicken”. You see, as Jaguar posits, jaguars eat chickens, haha! So take that, Mercedes! Haha! Yeah! Jaguars are better!
This is the second video this month which has marked a strange tonal shift from the brand. On December 10th, the brand released their “take” on viral cat videos, which again seems very out of step with how they’ve been marketing the brand since 2011. As there are no credits, I don’t know if this is still the work of Spark 44 or not, but it will be interesting to see if Jaguar continues on their path away from luxury and toward silliness.
And now, an emotional holiday spot for Apple (which sources say is, yes, another TBWA\Media Arts Lab joint).
Entitled “Misunderstood,” the ad (which features Cat Power’s version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) follows an adolescent boy and his family through a series of holiday events. The boy always seems to be on his iPhone instead of engaging with the rest of the family, and that certainly seems to be the family’s assumption. At the end of the spot, however, it’s revealed that the whole time he was creating a holiday slideshow for his family.
The :90 effort is about as sentimental as you would expect a holiday ad from Apple to be, but benefits from the moment of relative surprise (okay, it’s not exactly a shocking moment) when the boy’s intentions are revealed. There have been plenty of holiday spots that have attempted to be funny or even controversial this year, but not all that many that go for good old-fashioned holiday sentimentality. So, even if it may be a bit overly emotional, this entry from the Cupertino, CA giant is not entirely unwelcome.
SS+K is behind a new campaign for “high-end” boxer brief company Tommy John (which has been called “weird” more than once by those who made us aware of it) that, as mentioned, takes on a double standard in underwear.
The 53-second spot opens with a beautiful model slowly undressing, a sure way to get men’s attention. Eventually she reveals a stained, raggedy pair of underwear. “If I can’t get away with this underwear, why do men think they can get away with theirs?” she asks, attacking the double standard that women have to wear sexy lingerie at all times while men can get away with undergarments that have been through the wash 2,000 times and are falling apart. The message is reinforced by the tagline “Don’t like what you see? Women have felt that way for years.”
Of course, the truly feminist message would be to suggest that women should feel free to wear whatever is comfortable. But SS+K is selling underwear here — high quality men’s underwear — so instead they put pressure on dudes to step up their game and expend the same effort (and spend the same amount of money on) selecting their undies as ladies do. It’s a smart way to get the fellas to reconsider their “underwear is just underwear” attitude and perhaps shill out the extra money for Tommy John so their ladies will be impressed. Unfortunately, this campaign also includes a website inviting guys to Instagram their old, ratty undies. And that’s just gross. Credits after the jump. continued…
DDB Canada has a new campaign for K-Y Brand lubricant called “Warm Up To Love Again.” As the title suggests, this campaign is targeted at couples having intimacy issues, rather than continually fapping, hormonal teenage boys (another key lubricant demographic). More specifically, the campaign speaks to “women, who want to stay connected with their partner through enjoyable physical and emotional intimacy, but who have not been comfortable introducing a personal lubricant into their relationship.”
DDB manages to do this with lighthearted humor, important because of the awkwardness of broaching the issue of personal lubrication. In each spot, a woman witnesses her (conspicuously unsexy) partner performing an everyday task in slow-motion, while an R&B slow jam plays in the background. The idea is that K-Y “makes physical intimacy with your partner so comfortable and easy, women will view sex, and their partners in a whole new light,” explains agency ECD, Denise Rossetto. So, suddenly seeing her partner starting up the lawnmower or do push-ups is enough to turn each of the women in these spots on, culminating into the campaign’s “Warm Up To Love Again” tagline. DDB keeps things short and to the point, with the trio of adverts each clocking in at 15 seconds. The campaign debuted online on December 12th, and will make its television premiere next month. Credits and “Sit-Ups” after the jump. continued…
Pereira & O’Dell nabbed creative duties for Airbnb in September, and three months later, the San Fran shop is launching Birdbnb, their first campaign for the global travel renting company. To supplement Airbnb’s colorful site full of rental options, Pereira & O’Dell created a conceptual platform where artists built 50 birdhouse-sized renderings of actual listings. The finished products will be on display in Audubon Park in New Orleans December 16-22.
The official name of the campaign is “Every Traveler Deserves a Home,” and the 2:10 cut of the above video feels very homey, which is probably the best compliment I can give a travel rental commercial. The 4:30 version drags a bit, kind of like that nice older lady who rents you a room but keeps talking your ear off about topics you don’t care about (2:10 version here, FYI). She’s still kind, but you want to tell her to keep it brief, since, after all, you are the customer. However, selling this type of service does not lend itself to easy choices for advertising, and this effort finds a way to tell a story that makes travel rentals personal.
Credits bookended by some behind-the-scenes videos after the jump.
Quick update on ESPN’s Fan Hall of Fame inductions – the three inductees were just announced for the second annual class. Sacramento Kings fan Barbara Rust, who is currently battling breast cancer, has attended every Kings home game since moving to Sacramento in 1985. Arkansas Razorbacks fan Canaan Sandy actually roots for more than one sport, since he is a devoted follower of multiple Arkansas teams. And Pierce Wallace, pictured above, is known as “The Georgia Joker,” and is a lifelong George Bulldogs fan. Judging by the picture, he’s also legally insane and wears a great green wig. People were able to vote for 15 finalists over a recent 10-day period for the project, which was again produced by RED Interactive and 77 Ventures. Rust, Sandy, and Wallace – which sounds like a Nascar law firm – will be formally inducted in 2014 and will receive permanent stadium chairs as honors on ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut campus.
Airbnb, courtesy of San Francisco-based Pereira & O’Dell, has launched its first national campaign which will include online, TV, print and cinema. The agency worked with artists to interpret Airbnb listings and represent them as birdhouses. Why birdhouses? Because they are home to birds which travel the world like no other creature and see things from a completely different perspective.
The birdhouses were constructed and then placed in New Orleans Audubon Park’s Tree of Life December 16-22.
Of the campaign, Airbnb CMO Amy Curtis-McIntyre said, “We created these birdhouses inspired by real Airbnb homes and the accompanying film as a metaphor for the hospitality about which our company is built: our hospitality is completely individual and designed by our hosts who know that making people — or birds — feel at home anywhere in the world comes from warmth, intuition and an attention to detail. We love the world’s real travelers and this is an invitation to travel in a new way.”
It would be cool if we could all travel the world like birds do. For now, we have Airbnb. Or, at least, and Airbnb ad campaign.
This one is tough to take, but that’s kind of the point.
JWT Brazil created another attention-grabbing event raising cancer awareness for A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. After crafting a graffiti intervention for breast cancer last month, the agency set it sights on raising awareness for larynx cancer. As you may know, the main risk factor for larynx cancer is smoking, so this came complete with an anti-tobacco message.
Even more so than with the graffiti intervention, JWT Brazil uses the element of surprise to their advantage. A packed audience at MASP’s auditorium was waiting diligently to see the famed São Paulo University Choir. Instead, they were met by a very different kind of vocal ensemble: the Sua Voz Choir, made up of larynx cancer patients. The choir used “esophageal voice, prosthesis, electronic larynx (vibrator), oral speech and sound’s articulations” to make their way through Beatles classics “All You Need Is Love” and “She Loves You.” Their performance serves as a harrowing reminder of the dangers of larynx cancer, and the choir concluded it by unrolling an anti-smoking banner. Say what you will of the campaign (although you have to admit that JWT Brazil did a good job delivering their message in a unique way while catching their audience off guard), but you have to admire the bravery of the Sua Voz Choir.
Texas stalwart The Richards Group teamed up with Sugar Film Production and director Chris Smith to create a new, four spot campaign for H-E-B.
The 30-second spots – “One For Each,” “Laundry Sorting,” “Splendid” (featured above)– all feature those fundamental playoff perennials/San Antonio Spurs stars Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, and Kawhi Leonard in humorous scenarios. Each of the spots employs a type of self-depreciating humor too often absent from self-serious athlete endorsements. Even more refreshing is that the majority of the spots actually succeed at being funny. This is all thanks in large part to solid writing. The Richards Group delivers “scripts tailor-made…for the personalities and idiosyncrasies of the players…” and it really shows.
The funniest of the spots, “Splendid,” features Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili taking a steak dinner at home a little too seriously. “Laundry Sorting” is almost as amusing, highlighting Kawhi Leonard’s impressive laundry skills. “One For Each” and “Tough Talk” see the Spurs stars talking up H-E-B sauces and Mootopia (a type of post-workout drink) respectively. Stick around for “Laundry Sorting” after the jump.
If you were a fan of Draftcb’s almost-expletive filled “Ship My Pants” spot for Kmart, (which we covered back in April) you might be glad to learn that the agency has just released a holiday follow-up, “Ship My Trousers,” which hopes to recapture the viral success (over 20 million views) of that spot. Draftcb’s sequel follows the formula of the original very, very closely. In fact, “Ship My Trousers” uses the same actors, and most of the same lines, as the original “Ship My Pants” spot. It’s pretty much the same ad, just adapted for characters from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. If you enjoyed the original “Ship My Pants,” chances are you’ll find the sequel amusing as well. If you didn’t, you probably won’t want to bother watching “Ship My Trousers” above. Personally, while I don’t understand what characters from A Christmas Carol are doing shopping at Kmart, the “I just shipped my bed” guy’s delivery just about makes up for it. Idea for next time: hire the actor who played Clay Davis on The Wire to say “sheeeip.” Credits after the jump. continued…
Back in October, we brought you news of David&Goliath’s new campaign for Kia Optima starring L.A. Clippers power forward Blake Griffin and Jack McBrayer (an actor best known for his work on 30 Rock) as a superhero team saving people from non-Kia purchases. We were a bit disappointed with the initial spot, but hoped that the spot’s title “Trailer” indicated it was just a teaser for things to come. Now, David&Goliath have released two new spots for the campaign, “Zipline” (featured above) and “Apologize to You.” Unfortunately, both fail to live up to the potential of the premise.
“Zipline” features Blake Griffin and sidekick Jack McBrayer crashing in on a lame Internet shopping session. They present the Optima as a better option, to a man who is understandably freaked out by this series of events. Griffin and McBrayer have good chemistry together, but the spot fails to capitalize on it and ultimately falls flat. It might help if the two interacted more, instead of seemingly splitting screen time in separate shots.
That “Zipline” is actually the better of the two spots should tell you something about “Apologize to You.” The spot features Griffin and a fire extinguisher-wielding McBrayer demanding a passerby apologize for not selecting the Optima. It’s repetitive to say the least, lacking any real substance in exchange for a failed attempt at cheap laughs. Hopefully, the folks over at David&Goliath can rebound from these efforts, as we still think this campaign has the potential to be funny. Credits and “Apologize to You” after the jump. continued…
The 2014 World Cup may not start for 183 days, but Visa is jumping on the publicity wagon extra early with “One Worldwide,” a singing welcome for all 32 teams playing in Brazil. Sources tell us Atmosphere Proximity is on the creative of the campaign. All of the singing comes courtesy of the Children’s Choir of Petropolis.
The three-and-a-half-minute video drags a little long since it fits in lyrics for every nation. Kids are cute, it’s hard to argue against that, and kids in face paint puffing out their chests in support of their respective teams can be fun, but the music choice gives off a haunting, strange tone at times. Let’s just say this is a far cry from Lionel Messi‘s Samsung spot that used little kids singing the Lorde single “Royals.” That felt flashy and happy with some high-production value. Made the viewer feel excited about soccer. The Visa spot doesn’t do any of those things. At least there’s still time to rethink things for the next 182 days.
San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners continue their ”Protect Yourself from Your Digital Self” campaign for McAfee LiveSafe, produced by its in-house content production facility, Lumberyard, with a new spot entitled ”Beth vs. @simply_the_beth.”
The spot builds on the notion of the careless, naive digital self they’ve explored in the past. In this case, @simply_the_beth’s carelessness leads to identity theft, an opportunity for VB&P to tout McAfee’s identity protection. The way in which this happens is a bit over-the-top, and I have to think the spot would be more successful if @simply_the_beth got in trouble in a more realistic way. I understand the ad is attempting to be humorous, but it really pushes things way past believability. Aren’t you trying to get people to identify with Beth and her digital self? And by making Beth’s digital self a complete idiot, aren’t you kind of insulting your potential customers? Making @simply_the_beth so unbelievably stupid just seems like a big misstep. On an unrelated note, I really want that owl mug Beth is holding.
In the slightly more successful Gregg vs. @greggs_benedict (featured after the jump), VB&P plays on the animosity between Greg and his digital self without making the digital self quite so cartoonish (he’s more of a dick than a moron). Let us know what you think of the new spot, and the ”Protect Yourself from Your Digital Self” campaign in the comments section. continued…
One of the opening frames in Leo Burnett’s “Fat Talk” spot for Special K tells the viewer that 93% of women engage in fat talk, a form of passive-aggressive self-shaming. Because of Facebook and Twitter, I’m surprised that number isn’t seven percentage points higher.
But during the two-minute spot, women in a nondescript clothing store are forced to confront their own insecurities. Placards of fat talk tweets are posted around the store, and the women realize the self-degradation is bad and start hugging each other. This ad is not a comedy. Instead, it comes off as an incredibly preachy after-school special for adult women. Tackling fat talk is a compelling psychological start for a commercial, but as with a lot of good ideas, the execution winds up muddled into something so safe and vanilla that it’s hard to remember what brand is advertising in the first place. Credits after the jump.
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.
