Hasta La Creative!

Ad agency SuperHeroes teamed up with Mark Rubano and Betsy Kenney of imrpov comedy group Upright Citizen Brigade’s, who in turn cruised the streets of New York to ask people to contribute concepts for a new spot promoting the launch of the Asus ZenFone 3.

The resulting ad, unsurprisingly, is all over the place. It actually mixes Rubano and Kenney’s interviews with how they would appear if the full spot were produced. Think a more fleshed-out version (from a production standpoint) of Droga5’s “If We Made It” for Newcastle, with crowdsourced ideas and you’ve sort of got the idea. Think desert islands, clubs, dinosaurs, aliens and an “international car model” and you’re a step closer.

So, does it work? The approach is in service of presenting the Asus ZenFone 3 as “letting you be anything you want,” so there’s at least some rationale (or excuse, depending on your perspective) for it. But the resulting mess is not easy to watch, nor does it really make a convincing case for the Asus ZenFone 3. On the other hand, the spot isn’t completely without charm, namely in the form of a guy suggesting the final line, “Just buy it, don’t be a douche.”

SuperHeroes executive creative director Rogier Vijverberg told Adweek, “absolutely nothing in the storyline was scripted ahead. “And still, probably seven out of 10 started on the beach.”

“It was amazing how diverse the storylines were,” he added. “We had to choose from stories like fresh-baked cupcakes with cartoon birds flying around them, shark bites healed by drinking margaritas and gothic cats turning into sweaty handsome men.”

Mekanism launched its “It’s On Us” sexual assault PSA campaign for the United States government over two years ago, and the agency has enlisted its fair share of celebrities over the course of the campaign. For its latest effort, the agency looked to Adam Devine (Workaholics, Modern Family, Pitch Perfect) and vice president Joe Biden.

Hosted on Funny Or Die, the effort sees Devine and Biden go undercover as college students to spread an important message. After stumbling to keep their cover (Biden mentions the White House and the president while Devine tries perhaps a little too hard to use internet lingo), the pair reveal their true identities to address the issue.

Devine forgets what he’s supposed to be talking about, but soon catches up to Biden. The message, really, is very simple: 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men will be sexually assaulted before graduating college, and it’s up to students to change the culture and bring those numbers down.

It’s an important message and one that current and future college students need to hear discusssed. Unfortunately, the spot, which clocks in at three and a half minutes, takes a little too long to get to the point. That might be more forgivable if the attempts at humor didn’t almost invariably miss the mark. Still, there is a certain charm in seeing a political figure like Biden in this kind of format, even if it doesn’t live up to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton‘s appearances on Funny Or Die’s Between Two Ferns.

Dollar Shave Club launched an in-house campaign promoting Wanderer, its new body wash line by mocking the over-the-top ads of competitors.

You know the ones. While the approach may have fell out of favor in recent years, certain brands have certainly been guilty of their fair share of ridiculous and/or hyper-sexualized brovertising in the past.

Dollar Shave Club’s main pitch for its latest product is as an alternative to such brands. In “Massive Hero,” for example, a guy is out shopping with his girlfriend, when she suggests he pick up some Massive Hero bodywash. A living example of the product’s target demographic, a muscle-bound, possibly steroid-enhanced meathead, grabs a bottle and squeezes it until it bursts all over the floor. That’s when the voiceover asks, “How about a shower product that’s more you?” and suggests Wanderer as a less-testosterone-fueled alternative.

Other spots take a similar approach, with “Deep Midnite” taking aim at a product promising “24-hour pheromone release” and the club-hopping jerk who sprays it down his pants and a Neon Groove brand offering “relentless scent bursting” purchased by a guy who shotguns a bottle of water.

The approach works for the brand, as the pivot to the promise of  “honest fragrances like mint and cedar” sells the idea that Dollar Shave Club offers a more grown up, down-to-earth product. There’s also the implicit argument that the brand doesn’t rely on gimmicky ads the way certain others do. While there’s a certain irony in that message being delivered in an advertisement, the in-house productions sell the brand’s no-nonsense approach well, making the alternatives look a bit silly in the process.

Credits:
Client: Dollar Shave Club
CEO: Michael Dubin
Assistant to CEO: Kristina Kovacs
CMO: Adam Weber
Assistant to CMO: Alex Danzer
VP of Brand Marketing: Nick Fairbairn
Director, Brand Marketing: Chrissy Cartwright
Sr. Manager, Brand Marketing: Oscar Weis
Agency: Dollar Shave Club In House
Creative Director, VP of Creative: Alec Brownstein
Creative Director: Matt Knapp
Creative Director: Matt Orser
Senior Producer: Matt Sausmer
Producer: Candice Vernon
Agency Director: Raechelle Hoki
Project Manager: Christine Melloy
Project Coordinator: Kristen Moran
VFX: Peter Quinn
Business Affairs: Ingenium
Legal Affairs: Allison Buchner & Vahid Redjal
Production Company: AMD Films
Directors: Spielbergs
DP: Zachary Galler
Producer: Clint Caluory
Editorial: Arcade Edit
Managing Partner, Executive Producer: Damian Stevens
Producer: Rebecca Jameson
Editor: Sean Lagrange
Animation: The Craft Shop
Score by: John Vella Music
Color Grade & Finishing: Moving Picture Company
Colorist: Ricky Gausis
Flame Artist: Mark Holden
Executive Producer: Mike Wigart
Executive Producer: Meghan Lang
Producer: Colin Clarry
Sound Mixing: Beacon Street Studios
Producer: Kate Vadnais
Associate Producer: Christa Jayne Sustello
Mixer/Sound Designer: Rommel Molina
Assistant Mixer: Aaron Cornacchio

For Grey New York’s new campaign promoting Downy’s Unstoppables In-Wash Scent Boosters, the agency turned to comic actor Tituss Burgess, who is best known for portraying roommate Titus Andromedon on Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

In a 15-second spot, Burgess scoots into the scene to tell a woman doing laundry to “Unstop right there.” He explains that he’s about to “pop a cap of mmm-fresh in that washer” which will provide a fresh scent which lasts up to 12 weeks. That feels almost as long as unskippable online spots, he adds, with a knowing look at the camera.

While the brief spot is unable to live up to the actor’s comedic potential, it still provides more entertainment value than you’d expect from the category. There’s also a full-length version which stretches on for over a minute. If there’s a looseness to the extended version, that’s because Grey New York and Downy let Burgess improvise some of his lines, including an unexpected Shakespeare reference. Just don’t ask him to fold clothes.

“Tituss was free to add a lot of his own improvisations to the work, Grey associate creative director Katie Jensen explained to Adweek. “He added the entire section of what we’ll call ‘Downy Hamlet.’”

Credits:
Advertiser: P&G/Unstopables
Agency: Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer, Grey New York: Andreas Dahlqvist
Executive Creative Director, Grey New York: Lisa Topol
Executive Creative Director, Grey New York: Derek Barnes
ACD/Art Director, Grey New York: Katie Jensen
ACD/Copywriter, Grey New York: Ani Munoz
Strategy Director, Grey New York: Justine Feron
Strategist, Grey New York: Toni Dawkins
EVP/Global Account Director, Grey New York: Caroline Winterton
SVP/Global Account Director, Grey New York: Stephanie O’Donnell
VP/Account Director, Grey New York: Kelly Norris
Account Executive, Grey New York: David Slifer
Assistant Account Executive, Grey New York, Alana Goldstein
Production Company: Townhouse
Townhouse President: Bennett McCarroll
Townhouse Head of Integrated Production: James McPherson
Townhouse Exec. Integrated Producer: Stacy Towle
Townhouse VP Integrated Producer: Angela Ong
Townhouse Music Producer: David Lapinsky
Production Company: Gravy Films
Executive Producer: Brent Stroller
Director: Cameron Harris
Director of Photography: German Lammers
Foreign Production Company: StoryWeProduce
Editor : Lindsey Houston, Townhouse Studios
Music/Sound Design: Audio Network & Extreme Reach
Principal Talent: Tituss Burgess, Carolina Bolina

AKQA teamed up with HBO, Rock the Vote and Civic Nation to launch a star-studded plea for viewers to “Use Your Voice. Use Your Vote.”

The spot opens up with Issa Rae, creator, star and co-writer of new HBO series Insecure, asking, “Can we talk about real power?”

“Real power is made sitting here talking to you,” adds Bryan Cranston, who stars as LBJ in HBO’s All The Way biopic and, of course, is best known for his portrayal of Walter White—a character who knew a thing or two about power.

Other HBO stars, including Martin Starr (perhaps best know as Bill Haverchuck on Freaks and Geeks, one of the best characters in television history) and Jimmy O. Yang of Silicon Valley, a handful of Ballers cast members and Gary Cole of Veep all add to the message, which is mostly a familiar one: just get out there and participate in democracy, already.

There does seem to be a specific focus on targeting young voters with the implication that armchair activism is ultimately meaningless if you don’t actually cast a ballot. Causes including environmental concerns and equality also get a shout out. Poorna Jagannathan, who starred in HBO’s The Night Of, summarizes the approach with her line, “We are the generation that will use our dialogue and our voices to make sure our conversations never stop.”

Now, can we discuss the Night Of finale, or is it too soon? (We liked it. People need to stop expecting perfect resolutions for everything.)

Back in May, Droga5 introduced its “Made the Johnsonville Way” campaign for the sausage brand with ads purportedly based on ideas from Johnsonville employees. The approach showcased the brand’s down-to-earth midwestern roots, and there’s plenty of that on display in the agency’s latest effort, “The Sausage Support Center.”

“The Sausage Support Center,” according to the 30-second spot, is manned by Johnsonville employees, who can help you figure out what to make for dinner. A call center housed in a folksy room with wood-paneled walls features employees answering calls to provide customers with help coming up with ideas for sausage-centric recipes.

“Next time you don’t know what to make for dinner, give us a call,” says one such employee.

Further online spots explore individual call center representatives and their go-to Johnsonville dinners. Like Bob, who pitches his “grown up macaroni and cheese” and Sheri, whose favorite is spicy baked beans. The spots are a bit cheesy but present the brand and its employees as likable and down-to-earth in a way similar to past efforts.

“We’ve all been there—standing in a grocery store or kitchen, wishing someone would just tell us what to make for dinner,” Droga5 associate creative director Kevin Weir told Adweek. “So we thought, ‘Who better to be that person than some certified sausage experts in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin?’ Now, they’re just a phone call away.”

Oh, and that number: (844) 9-SAUSAGE.

Adam&EveDDB launched a new spot promoting H&M’s Modern Essentials collection via David Beckham and Kevin Hart, or the latest incarnation of the classic “odd couple” trope.

In “The Road Trip,” the identically-dressed duo are making their way to Las Vegas to pitch Hart’s idea for an “I, Beckham” musical, despite his own apparent lack of any musical talent. Beckham, predictably, plays the straight man as the two get pulled over by a cop who really just wants a selfie.

Hart then proceeds to get the two into all kinds of trouble over the course of the long-form spot, which runs over five minutes.

The concept could have sustained a 60-second spot for the brand, as Beckham and Hart showcase the Modern Essentials line, but many of the attempted jokes don’t really land.

For better or worse, the drawn out, celebrity focused ad has become something of its own genre, particularly in the wake of Anomaly’s “The Gentleman’s Wager” series for Johnnie Walker starring Jude Law. “The Road Trip” will attract some attention for H&M based on the celebrity names alone, though it’s unclear whether that will translate to sales.

On that celebrity front, a recent headline in Vanity Fair read: “Brand It Like Beckham: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper Beckham Are Already Developing Their Personal Brands.”

This should really be labeled as sponsored content. How did Beckham’s PR firm not pay for that placement?

Credits:
Head of Marketing Creative, H&M: Erik Zetterberg
Head of Marketing, H&M: Daniel Herrmann
Project Manager, H&M: Fia Ingman

Agency: Adam & Eve/DDB
Chief creative officer: Ben Priest
Executive Creative Directors: Ben Tollett, Richard Brim
Copywriter: Patrick McClelland
Art Director: Feargal Ballance
Agency Producer: Jack Bayley
Account Director: James Rowe

Production Company: Sonny/MJZ
Director: Fredrik Bond, Sonny London
Producer: Alicia Richards, Sonny London
Editor: Tim Thornton-Allan
Assistant Editor: Matthew Pochettino
Sound Designer: Anthony Moore, Factory Studios
Soundtrack Composers: Bill Martin, Phil Coulter

Post production: Glassworks
Post production Producer: Abi Klimaszewska
Project Lead 2D: Duncan Malcolm
Project Lead 3D: Jordi Bares
Colourist: Daniel De Vue

W+K Amsterdam launched a new campaign for Mondel?z chocolate brand Milka, introducing the brand to China with the “Tenderness Is Inside” campaign and the two-minute launch spot “Lost and Found.”

“Lost and Found” tells the story of how a little girl helps her father, who has a job manning the lost and found station at a train station, keep his job. At the opening of the spot he learns his job is in jeopardy when it appears that there’s no use for the lost and found. The girl has a plan, however, and enlists the aid of townspeople to help, as the spot ends with her sharing a Milka bar with dad.

While the spot centers around a strange sort of childlike logic, its reliance on small-town Alpine charm as a brand characteristic is more telling.

“In developed European markets we have a well established Milka world, which allows us to bring the tenderness of the brand to people through our Alpine fables,” explained W+K Amsterdam creative directors Daniel Schaefer and Szymon Rose. “Now we have the opportunity to bring this world to Chinese consumers in a new and refreshing way, which is unlike any other communications in China.

“Launching a fully integrated campaign across all channels in such a vast and digitally developed market is a great creative challenge. It was important for us to stay true and authentic to the brand world and the brand promise throughout in order to bring this compelling tender insight and platform to a huge number of potential new Milka fan,” they added.

In addition to the two minute online version, the spot will air nationally in cinemas, in 60, 30 and 15-second iterations. Online and in-store executions will support the effort and W+K Shanghai will roll out a social media campaign next month, complete with VR execution. That effort will also feature social influencers, leveraging China’s “unboxing” phenomenon for the brand.

“The launch of Milka in China is a significant step in our journey to build a truly Global brand outside of Europe,” said César Melo, president, global chocolate at Mondel?z International. “With 30 years’ experience selling other Mondel?z confectionary and snacks into China and our understanding of the market in general, we’re confident that our first major introduction into China’s chocolate market will be a success and that customers will resonate with the aspirational positioning and tender values of Milka’s Alpine brand world as much as the chocolate itself.”

Credits:
Agency: W+K Amsterdam
Executive Creative Directors: Mark Bernath, Eric Quennoy
Creative Directors: Szymon Rose, Daniel Schaefer
Art Director: Henrik Edelbring
Copywriter: Toby Moore
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Broadcast Producer: Heidi Baltzer, Helen Hendry
Planner: Martin Weigel, Nusara Chinnaphasaen
Group Account Director: Clare Pickens
Account Director: Will Oakes, Eleanor Thodey
Account Manager: Elianne Vermeulen
Account Executive: Kristina Jorgensen
Art Buyer: Maud Klarenbeek
Studio Artist: Steele Bonus
Project Manager: Katie Finn
Business Affairs: Michael Graves

Production Company: Stink
Director: Nacho Gayan
Director of Photography: Andre Chemetoff
Producer: Toni Moreno
Executive Producer: Jon Chads

Editing Company: Whitehouse London
Editor: Russell Icke
Assistant Editor: Gregory Hayes

Audio Post: Wave London
Sound Designer/Mixer: Aaron Reynolds

MUSIC
Artist/Title: Valentin Hadjadj
Music Company: 22D Music – Studiocanal – Je suis bien content (p) JSBC
Producer: Emmanuel Deletang
Score Producer: Jean Pierre Arquié

Post Production: MPC London
Flame: Dan Lorenzini (lead), Nuke Andreas Feix, Andrew Roberts, Rod Norman
3D: Mike Diprose, Ross McCabe
Matte Painting: Neil Miller, Gerard Dunleavy
Telecine: Jean–Clement Soret
Producer: Sophie Hogg/Lydia Evitt

Back in April, MillerCoors surprised a few in the agency world by moving lead creative duties for Miller Lite from TBWAChiatDay to 180LA without a review and effectively trusting a different shop with its top brand.

180’s first work for the client is quite similar to TBWA’s, sticking with the “spelled different because it’s brewed different” line from recent ads celebrating the brand’s 40th anniversary. Those spots marked a bit of a departure from TBWA’s debut “Wonderful World” ads, which focused on keeping things positive.

“We Ask” debuts on teevee in October but ran in AdAge today, and it is the most direct challenge to Bud in recent memory. Great taste or less filling? Miller claims to be both.

We’re not quite sure exactly when the account changed hands, but this spot is in keeping with others that followed TBWA’s most recently publicized work, which ran about 6 months ago.

It’s all about listing the beer’s features in a sort of auto ad style. Here, for example, is “Tattoo,” which comes at you from deep within Flavor Country.

Speaking as consumers, we find it a little odd that Miller Lite is pushing taste as its big selling point, especially since the brand and Bud are competing for a shrinking (but still quite significant) share of drinkers who haven’t departed for more artisanal pastures.

According to AdAge and CMO David Kroll, MillerCoors will reveal its larger strategy to distributors in Chicago today. SPOILER: that strategy is attack. And the attack will come on two fronts: Bud Light as a party brand for everybody (the Seth Rogen/Amy Schumer ads) and the recent NFL tie-in team cans thing. Someone “leaked” Kroll’s comments, in which he accuses Bud Light — and, by extension, Wieden + Kennedy — of sticking with “its old approach of hiding behind sophomoric humor.”

We could note that this sentence would apply to a vast majority of brands that advertising on TV, but we’ll let it go.

So the message is: Our beer tastes better and has half the carbs. Here’s AB InBev’s response:

“We are proud that Bud Light continues to be the most popular beer in America. However, we are never complacent and we continue to work hard to give our consumers the crisp, refreshing taste they prefer, and maintain our No. 1 spot. We just launched our new NFL team cans and are excited for the NFL season.”

Looks like we have a cat fight on our hands, people.

Here are a couple of other spots that aired over the summer as a sort of precursor to this new direction.

It’s a tough job, but some agency has to do it.

Back in July, IHOP appointed Campbell Ewald L.A. as its lead creative agency following a creative review restricted to IPG agencies. Now, nearly two months later, the agency has launched its first work for the client, introducing the new tagline “Eat Up Every Moment” in the process. 

The new campaign presents the staple American diner chain as a place for families to share moments and milestones. In “Rainy Afternoon,” for example, a father realizes over a rainy afternoon trip to IHOP  (and via voiceover from Jason Lee) that his little girl, “The one that always ordered hot chocolate with extra whipped cream,” has moved on to coffee.

Other spots in the campaign, which makes its debut today, highlight the chain’s recently-revived Kids Eat Free offering, with a look at two brothers locked in heated battle and an eight year old who has already surpassed her father at math. Each spot focuses on a family and a relatable situation, ending with the new tagline to emphasize the restaurant’s family-friendly positioning, with the implicit suggestion that the chain offers a respite from the usual routine and a wholesome substitute for a home cooked meal when the family schedule gets too demanding. The chain’s always-available breakfast offerings get a shout-out as well, along with the return of fall seasonal variations.