Hasta La Creative!

CP+B launched a spot to promote Amazon’s live streaming of an October 12th Thursday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Carolina Panthers, shot by “The Epic Split” director Andreas Nilsson.

The spot seems cram in as many references to the team names  as well as “Amazon” and “streaming ” as it can, doing so in about the silliest way possible.

A sight-seeing couple take out their binoculars to catch a closer look at a group of eagles, then catch a glimpse of a pack of panthers, noting the two are “about to go head to head, right here in the Amazon.” (While standing in a stream, naturally.)

The spot follows a similarly-themed ad promoting the September 28th matchup between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Amazon Prime Video will stream a total of eleven such NFL games this year and CP+B will roll out another ad to promote a Christmas Day game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans.

Since every single news story or cultural event now rapidly devolves into an “our team vs. their team” exercise in political tribalism (UGH), it’s worth remembering that the National Football League is supposed to be about talented people playing football.

Grey launched the new season about a month ago with an FX-heavy spot that positioned itself as a trailer for the NFL as your favorite legacy TV show, back for another year of bone-crushing excitement complete with a “shock and awe” soundtrack by Miguel.

The new spot elaborates on the “Let the show begin” tagline in a very similar style. This time, the key selling point is the league’s unpredictability.

As you can see, this effort stars Demarco Murray, Jay Ajayi, Michael Thomas, and Myles Garrett making their way through a virtual obstacle course that resembles a mashup between gridiron antics and the new Blade Runner sequel. The music is from THEY, who are just as unfamiliar to us as the players themselves.

From the release: “The NFL season is nothing if not wildly unpredictable. Teams defy the odds and unknown players make names for themselves.”

That’s true in so many more ways than one.

CREDITS

Agency: Grey
Client: NFL
Campaign: “Unpredictable”

Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: John Patroulis
Deputy Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Stamp
Group Creative Director: Joe Mongognia
Creative Director/Art Director: Mike Cicale
Creative Director/Copywriter: Cameron Miller
Project Director: Hank Romero
EVP/Global Account Director: Brian Weston
SVP/Account Director: Courtney Berry
Senior Account Executive: Lucy Hallowell
Assistant Account Executive: Michael Jones
Executive Strategy Director: Tony Lederer
Senior Planner: Nicolas Pilaprat
Senior Planner: Ben Michaels
Content Strategist: Bryce Mathias

Sound Design: Sound Lounge
Co-Mixers: Justin Kooy and Peter Holcomb
Producer: Becca Falborn
Executive Producer: Mike Gullo

Production Company: Elastic
Director:  Paul Mitchell
Director of Photography: Sean Stiegemeier
Live Action Producer: Richard Weager
Production Designer:  Shel Greb

Design Studio:  Elastic
Creative Director: Paul Mitchell & Lisa Bolan
Designer(s): James Levy, Nadia Tzuo
Producer: Lee Buckley
Executive Producer: Luke Colson
Head of Production: Kate Berry
Managing Directors: Linda Carlson & Jennifer Sofio Hall
VFX Supervisor / 2D Lead: Maciek Sokalski
CG Supervisor / 3D Lead:  Andrew Romatz
3D Artists:  Dustin Mellum, Ian Ruhfass, Josh Dyer
2D Artists: Elliot Brennan, Brinton Jaecks
Editor :  Ryan Delk / Chris Hall

Another week, another opportunity for the folks at Barton F. Graf to get a little weird.

The agency’s new tagline for Pop Secret brand popcorn is “Better Than Everything,” as in everything you have experienced or could possibly imagine. The full extent of Pop Secret’s awesomeness is limited only by the boundaries of your own mind.

That and some “hot buttery logic.”

So flowers are a definite no. How about sunsets?

Even the greatest thing ever—a kid’s birthday party—has some downsides.

Of course, if we really get down to it, all popcorn does have those kernels that get stuck between your teeth or up on the roof of your mouth. And it’s one of the best things for spoiling a young appetite. Many brands don’t even use real butter!

We’ve asked this before, but since we’re big fans of repetition: how much does Gerry Graf love David Lynch? And when can we get a beer with his favorite casting directors?

CREDITS

Chief Creative Officer: Gerry Graf
Chief Strategy Officer: Laura Janness
Creative Directors: Matt Moore, Jonathan Vingiano
Copywriter: Brad Phifer
Art Director: April Lauderdale
Head of Integrated Production: Josh Morse
Producer: Cameron Farrell
Account Director: Kate Callander
Account Supervisor: Marla McCormick Domergue
Strategy Director: Amanda Perring
Head of Business Affairs: Jennifer Pannent
Project Manager: Andra Gould

Production Co: Epoch Films
Director: Matthew Swanson
EP: Megan Murphree
Producer: Patrick Harris
DOP: Bobby Shore
Production Designer: Michael Walker

Edit: MackCut
Editor: Ryan Steele
Assistant Editor: Zachary Antell
Executive Producer: Gina Pagano
Producer: Sabina-Elease Utley

Telecine: CO3
Colorist: Tim Masik

Finishing: Method
Executive Producer: Angela Lupo
VFX Supervisor: Gong Myung Lee
Producer: Anna Kravtsov
Lead Flame Compositing: Kevin Quinlan

Last November, Toyota Motor Europe selected The&Partnership as its lead agency, with the WPP shop forming a dedicated &TOYOTA hub to service the client. In July, the agency hired Andre Moreira to lead the unit as executive creative director.

Now The&Partnership has launched its first campaign for Toyota Motor Europe, with an effort celebrating the company’s hybrid vehicles.

The 60-second anthem ad, “We Choose Hybrid,” opens with an open road in the countryside, before shifting its attention to a group of individuals who are presumably hybrid drivers. “You’ll find us in the country,” begins the voiceover, “in the city.”

“Living for work, for the weekend,” it continues as Toyota’s vehicles make a first appearance, in a variety of locations, “making choices, moving forward.”

The spot continues, championing Toyota’s hybrid cars and celebrating over ten million hybrid drivers before naming the things hybrid drivers “choose,” which leads into the tagline.

Among those: “power,” “beauty,” and “progress.”

As a longtime leader in the hybrid category, it’s perhaps not surprising that The&Partnership’s first work for the client should celebrate Toyota’s hybrid offerings. The anthem ad doesn’t do much to surprise or shake up the category, but it should appeal to those already hybrid-friendly while alluding to benefits of driving a hybrid (both personal and ecological) for those who have yet to make the switch. With over ten million hybrid drivers out there, at least a few of them are presumably looking for their next one, right?

The broadcast spot kicks off a campaign which will also include “150 pieces of brand-led, product-led and educational digital content,” according to a press release, as well as print and OOH initiatives. Launching in France, Italy, Sweden and Norway this month, the campaign will roll out to Germany and the U.K. in October.

“Our data showed that most drivers still have a limited understanding of the benefits offered by hybrid technology, and that there were significant misconceptions about the people who choose hybrid vehicles (no, they’re not all tree-huggers),” Moreira said in a statement. “The ‘We Choose Hybrid’ platform aims to remove those misconceptions by celebrating the 10 million progressive drivers who already made that Hybrid choice.”

“This first project for Toyota is a great example of our integrated model in action. Working as one team, we used audience decision data to inform not just the media strategy but also the creative development, ensuring the right assets got produced in the first place,” added Dan Whitmarsh, global chief strategy officer at The&Partnership media agency m/SIX. “As ‘We Choose Hybrid’ rolls out across Europe, Toyota can be confident not just of having the best possible targeting and optimisation, but also that its platform of more than 150 pieces of content has the answers to all the questions people care about.”

Credits:
Brand: Toyota Motor Europe
Clients: Jan Verhaegen, Brand & Marketing Communications
Manager & Dario Giustini, Senior Manager, Brand & Communications

Agency Network: The&Partnership
Executive Creative Director: Andre Moreira
Creative Directors: Phil Beamount & Dominic Gettins
Creatives: Michael Eichler, Sam Bishop
Planner: Simon Ringshall
Executive Producer: James Miller
Producer: Alex Rofaila
Production Assistant: Dale Chapman
Business Director: Ildut Loarer
Account Director: Stefano Della Schiava

Production Company: Merman Films
Director: The Malloys

Directors of Photography: Luke Jacobs, Tony Brown

Editing: Paul O’Reilly, STITCH Editing
Post-Production and Visual Effects: Barny Wright, Big Buoy

Audio: 750mph

Voiceover: Michael Shelford

We go together like milk and…

Most people would finish the phrase with cookies, naturally. But in its latest “Got Milk” spot for the California Milk Processor Board, Goodby Silverstein & Partners offers up a host of alternatives.

“Love Stories” imagines milk as trying its luck in the dating scene, “playing the field” with such unlikely combinations as the aforementioned foods, in addition to a donut, a taco and a chicken wing.

The message, of course, is that milk pairs well with a variety of foods, in addition to its famously complementary, crumbly confectionary companion. While we’re not sure about some of those combos (Tacos, really?) there’s certain charm to seeing a glass of milk riding on the back of a bicycle with a donut and the approach offers up a nice change of ace for the campaign.

The Drum reports the spot will be supported by print ads featuring the tagline, “Food Loves Milk,” much to the chagrin of the copywriter who proposed the “Everyfoodie Loves Milkmond” concept.

Business travel: uuugggggggggghhhhhh, amirite??

Flying all over the place kinda sucks. It reminds us of that story about two creative directors who went all the way out to South Korea to pitch Samsung, then had to come back to the U.S. because some unnamed executives were too hungover to hear their spiel before heading BACK to Seoul the very next day! Good times.

Now, FCB New York is looking to rebrand Amtrak with its new campaign “Break the Travel Quo,” which is really all about arguing that taking the old-school rail is the best option in that classic planes, trains and automobiles threesome.

How so? Let us count the ways. First, you can make calls on your smartPHONE.

And you don’t have to worry about cramming all your stuff into a single carry-on.

On the driving side, the act of taking a train eliminates all traffic.

And it kind of maybe takes care of your annoying-ass kids, too.

“Break the Travel Quo” looks to be a longtime platform for the brand, and this campaign will also include digital and OOH work.

Here’s what FCB CCO Ari Halper had to say:

“By posing the notion, ‘What if there was an airline,’ the teaser ads grab travelers’ attention and create buzz by suggesting there’s an airline that lets you take four bags or use your phone anytime, shaking travelers out of their inertia. Then, everyone who viewed the teaser was retargeted to receive the ad announcing it’s Amtrak.”

OK so, one thing we have to get off our chests: “was” is a past tense verb. But these ads aren’t using it in that context, so the appropriate subjunctive would be “were,” as in “what if there were a plane.” Because, you know, it’s a theoretical—as the following copy makes quite clear.

Yeah yeah, we are not perfect and we make plenty of typos while editing our own work. The anonymous commenter we miss most might be the trusty grammarian who always corrected our fuckups. But this is still a pet peeve, even though we are pretty sure the copywriters on this campaign understand that they used it incorrectly.

Also, while the Amtrak experience may well be preferable to that of a major airline or the hellish cross-country road trip with your family, it can also be significantly more expensive, not to mention slower than flying.

But that’s all kind of irrelevant because these ads were pretty fun. Our favorite part of the whole effort has to be the alien sleep mask that arrived on our desk earlier in the week.

CREDITS
Account Management:
Marketing Integration Leader: Bill Miller
Group Management Director: Suzanne Santiago
Account Director: Melissa Pitts
Account Supervisor: Quinn Schwellinger
Account Executive: Jordan Abramson
Planning:
Group Planning Director: Raig Adolfo
VP Strategic Planning Director: Mark Hall
Integrated Creative Credits (E.G when the campaign is released at
Creativity Online/Adage)
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Kat Dudkiewicz, Adalberto Santana, Greg Nance
Copywriter: Ken Syme
Art Director: Justin Batten
Production:
Director of Integrated Production: Leelee Groome
Executive Producer: Stacy Flaum
MPC, Visual Effects and Post Production
Big Foote Audio, Sound Design and Original Composition for “Alien”
Sonic Union, Mix (Mike Marinelli, Mixer)
Epoch Films, Production Company
Director: Matthew Swanson
Director of Photography: James Laxton
Spotwelders, Edit Company (Dick Gordon, Editor)
Video (when the specific pieces go to creative outlets):
(Alien)
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Kat Dudkiewicz
Copywriter: Ken Syme
Art Director: Justin Batten
(Thumbs)
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Kat Dudkiewicz
(Bobble Family)
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Kat Dudkiewicz
(Honk)
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Kat Dudkiewicz
Radio
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Greg Nance
Executive Producer, Stacy Flaum
Sonic Union, Mix (Fernando Ascani, Mixer)
OOH
CCO: Ari Halper
ECD: Stu Mair
GCD: Gabriel Schmitt
ACD: Adalberto Santana, Greg Nance, Kat Dudkiewicz
Copywriter: Ken Syme
Art Director: Justin Batten

BBH London went epic for its newest Absolut campaign.

This one goes way beyond kissing or gay pride or a night out with Deadmau5 or any of the other themes driving recent Absolut promos. The only way to sum it up, really, is to say that it represents everything.

So…the whole of human (and pre-human) history was leading up to throwback disco and mid-shelf vodka?

JKLOL, they also threw Elvis and Nina Simone and the end of the Cold War in there. And the “big idea” in question seems to be creativity itself, which may or may have had anything to do with the almost-certainly-accidental discovery of the fermentation process.

One reason this ad is so epic—beyond the budget, of course—is that cinematographer and frequent Alejandro González Iñárritu collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki worked on it, as did … Juliette Lewis??

The press release compares this collaboration to past efforts by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

From BBH London ECD Ian Heartfield: “Great ideas happen when people get together, more often than not the best of these ideas occur at night. This film is a celebration of the greatest idea that came from a night—the creation of life itself. It is the perfect launch for Create A Better Tomorrow, Tonight, Absolut’s celebratory call to arms.”

As our colleague put it, the work is kind of like this classic Guinness ad, but in reverse.

Now here’s your Jimmy Castor link.

CREDITS

BBH Executive Creative Director: Ian Heartfield
BBH Creative Team: Simon Cenamor & Raymond Chan
BBH Producer: Victoria Keenan
BBH Assistant Producer: Zaf Choudhury
BBH Business Lead: Kate Roberts
BBH Account Manager: David White
BBH Account Executive: Janki Shah
BBH Strategy Director: Melanie Arrow
BBH Strategist: Raphael Bittner
Production Credits:
Production Company: Park Pictures
Director: Emmanuel ‘Chivo’ Lubezki
MD: Stephen Brierley
Executive Producer (LA): Caroline Kousidonis
Executive Producer (London): Sophie Hubble
Producer: Nick Goldsmith
Post Production: Framestore
Creative Director: Andy Rowan Robinson
VFX Producer: Charles Howell
2D: Raul Ortego, Sebastien Boulange, Gigi NG, Karch Coon, Nick Tanner
3D: Phil Robinson, Charlotte Bae, Nate Diehl, Georgios Cherouvim, Mohamed
Echkouna
Design: Callum McKeveny
Editing House: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Russell Icke
Assistant Editor: Greg Hayes & Joe D’Ovidio
Producer: Antonia Porter
Colour: Company 3 NYC
Colourist: Tom Poole
Producer: Alex Lubrano
Music and Sound: Soundtree
Creative Director: Peter Raeburn
Music Supervisor: Jay James
Sound Designer: Henning Knoepfel
Music Editor: Luke Fabia

BMB teamed up with ClientEarth to highlight air pollution concerns with “Poisoned Playground.”

The haunting spot shows a group of children casually enjoying a school’s playground — while wearing World War II era gas masks. Set to spare piano, the simple yet evocative spot implies the horror of such a scene becoming a part of everyday reality.

According to Campaign, BMB creatives Harry Boothman and Jenny Piggott “created the campaign after Boothman noticed high levels of pollution during his runs home from work down Brixton Road.”

Unfortunately, the reality depicted in the spot may not be as far-fetched as you’d think. The ad informs viewers that some 950 schools in the U.K. are “near illegally polluted roads.” It concludes with a call to action, telling viewers to “Find out if your school is affected” and “join the legal fight for clean air” before directing them to the campaign landing page.

Credits:
Creatives: Harry Boothman Jenny Piggott
Business Director: Jen Knox
Agency Producer: Jade Evans
Photographer: This is Dodd
Director/Production Company: Good Boy Wolf
Editor: Good Boy Wolf
Sound Design: Tony Rapaccioli, Wave
Composer: Ross Gregory, Aardvark Sound
Design: François Blanchard, Sam Kallen, Louise Sloper

Venables Bell & Partners launched an “Audi Orchestra” campaign for Audi centered around the brand’s sponsorship of the 69th Emmy Awards.

A series of three spots from VB&P promote the sponsorship with renditions of the theme songs from past Emmy nominees: Cheers, Star Trek and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The catch? Each theme song is recreated via the engine sounds of the  Audi R8 V10 plus, Audi TT RS, and Audi SQ5, with some accompaniment.

It’s a simple approach that really hinges on and underscores the sponsorship relationship. Each spot identifies the show, year and award it was nominated for before concluding with the tagline, “Progress is celebrating performance.” A bit limiting of a premise, the results also vary from spot to spot, with the melodies harder to discern in some more than others.

“Over the last several years, the wide array of captivating television programming has re-engaged America, so we wanted to celebrate the progressive role television plays in our culture as the automotive sponsor of the 69th Emmy Awards,” Audi of America vice president, marketing Loren Angelo said in a statement. “The annual Emmy Awards are a recognition of the power of television. ‘Audi Orchestra’ pays tribute to three of television’s most memorable shows with an interpretation of each theme song uniquely performed by the engines of our Audi products.”

Credits:
AGENCY: Venables Bell & Partners
FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN: Paul Venables
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Will McGinness
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Justin Moore
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: Avery Oldfield
SENIOR COPYWRITER: Adam Wolinsky
DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION: Craig Allen
SENIOR PRODUCER: Matt Flaker
HEAD OF BRAND MANAGEMENT: David Corns
BRAND DIRECTOR: Jon Phillips
BRAND SUPERVISOR: Justin Wang
BRAND MANAGER: Casey Warendorf
BRAND MANAGER: Hope Stadulis
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Tonia Lowe
SENIOR STRATEGIST: Mike Riley
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Sametta Gbillia
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Yelena Kompaneyets
CREATIVE RESOURCE MANAGER: Jennifer Zhu
PRODUCTION COMPANY: RadicalMedia LLC
DIRECTOR: Daniel Askill
PRODUCER: Kathy Rhodes
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jim Bouvet
PRESIDENT: Frank Scherma
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Cathy Dunn

EDITING COMPANY: Rock Paper Scissors NY
EDITOR: Lorin Askill
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Andrew Berner
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Eve Kornblum
PRODUCER: Lisa Barnable

MUSIC COMPANY: Human
PRODUCER: Kamela Anderson
COMPOSER: Daryl Pinsdorf
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Gareth Williams

FINAL MIX: LIME Studios
AUDIO MIXER: Rohan Young
AUDIO ASSISTANT: Ben Tomastik
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Susie Boyajan
PRODUCER: Kayla Phungglan

VFX/FINISHING: MPC
VFX SUPERVISOR: Gizmo Rivera
VFX PRODUCER: Jamie Loudon
VFX ARTIST: Mercedes Paulino
VFX ARTIST: Vivian Wei
VFX ARTIST: David Ince
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Karen Anderson

TELECINE: Company 3
COLORIST: Stefan Sonnenfeld
SENIOR PRODUCER: Katie Andrews

Remember Ray Liotta? We know the dude is working, but to us and millions of others he will always be Henry Hill. He hasn’t really had a second act a la Lorraine Bracco as Doctor Melfi.

KFC, on the other hand, has used so many C-list and below actors in its ongoing W+K campaign that they are really starting to blur together. If we had to use one word to describe the effect it might be schizophrenic.

That’s certainly true of the new ad, in which the Colonel compares two new styles of chicken, one hot and one sweet.

Here’s the two-sided art to further emphasize the point.

We do love hearing more actors try to fake a Southern accent. Kevin Spacey is terrible at it, and somehow no one gives him any shit. Now which sort-of-working stiff will be the next Colonel? We vote for Rob Schneider, complete with his anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories and pity roles in straight-to-Netflix Adam Sandler movies.

However one may feel about these ads, they appear to be working. Sales at each store increased 3% in the recent quarter, thank you Business Insider.

On a side note, we love how all the comments on paid “trending” videos are always some variation on “why is this trending?” It’s not that hard to figure out!

Also, even Ray Liotta still thinks of himself as “that guy from Goodfellas.”

Just heard what happened last night. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/0MzsBc1eem

— Ray Liotta (@rayliotta) February 27, 2017