Hasta La Creative!

Dove Men Care launched a Father’s Day spot entitled “First Fatherhood Moments,” presumably from The Marketing Arm (who handled its previous “#RealStrength” effort) celebrating the moment when men first learn they’ll be fathers.

A new 60-second spot released in time for the holiday shows the reactions from a series of men as they learn that they will be dads for the first time. It’s a simple but emotional approach, with footage sourced from real reactions posted around the web (and used with permission). The real reactions, ranging from stunned (but happy) look to laughs to tears of joy lend the spot an air of authenticity absent from many brands’ Father’s Day efforts. It also helps that the brand has built recent campaigns around celebrating dads, making the effort seem like a natural extension. According to Mashable, the campaign was built around research which found that 82 percent of men saw fatherhood as an emotionally transformative experience, although that numbers seems a little lower than you’d expect, if anything.

McCann Worldgroup launched a campaign for insurance company Zurich in anticipation of the upcoming U.S. Open on June 15th, entitled “Golf Love Tests.”

A 40-second spot sees golfers Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Lexi Thompson, Ben Crane, Jamie Donaldson, Billy Horschel and Keegan Bradley facing a polygraph test to determine if they really love golf. The test administrator asks such tongue-in-cheek questions as whether they’ve insured their swing, whether they’ve insured their caddy and “Do you keep your caddy in a safe?” Golf fans should get a kick out of seeing the stars in a less serious light, and there are longer videos of each individual golfer for those who wish to see the idea carried further. In addition to the online spots, written by Gabriel Miller and art directed by Ronaldo Tavares, the campaign also includes broadcast and print components.

Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners teamed up with Taye Diggs for a Father’s Day campaign built around Diggs’ “Dad Jam.”

The spot sees Diggs singing lyrics like “Get down with your dad self” and “all good in the fatherhood” while dancing and generally celebrating dad style. In other words, this is one of the more paninful to watch Father’s Day ads you’ll see this year. Near the end of the spot, Diggs alludes to last year’s “Stop Dad Pants” spot with the Smokey Bear-esque line, “Only you can stop dad pants.” The digital campaign features media buys on sites including Esquire, Hulu, Bleacher Report and Flipboard, as well as promotion on Dockers’ social media sites with the #DadJam hashtag.

“The strategy is to celebrate that fatherhood and style are not mutually exclusive,” Steve Red, chief creative officer of Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners, explained to Adweek. “This Father’s Day, Dockers is tipping their hat to dads everywhere who wear fatherhood well—even while catching a bit of spit-up on the shoulder or throwing an appropriately stern glance toward their daughter’s new boyfriend.”

With the Hallmark holiday around the corner, Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles launched a Father’s Day campaign for Toyota.

Based around the insight that people spend around $7 billion less for Father’s Day than Mother’s Day, the agency offers people a “Father’s Day Redo” to show their fathers that they care. The agency interviewed people in the street and discovered some pretty lackluster Father’s Day gifts, including a painted rock and socks, while many others don’t do anything at all for the holiday. So, Saatchi & Saatchi and Toyota offer them a chance to make things right by calling up their dads to tell them how much they love them. Getting people to explain what it is they love about their dads puts a little substance behind the stunt and the ad ends with a closer look at one father-son relationship that gets explored further in “Father’s Day Reunion” which sees a son celebrating Father’s Day with his dad for the first time since he was 12 or 13. Their unique relationship makes for a more interesting view than most such efforts, avoiding feeling like a cheap tearjerker. Toyota stays in the background for most spots, letting dads have their turn in the spotlight. There’s also an OOH component to the campaign, as Toyota hired DJ Neff to create a large “I Heart Dad” monument, which will be unveiled at the Santa Monica Pier next Tuesday and remain until the 22nd.

Credits:

Client: Toyota
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles
CCO: Jason Schragger
CD: Erich Funke
Copywriter: Nick Cade
ACD/Art Director: John Kritch
Executive Director of Integrated Production: Lalita Koehler
Director of Content Production: Sara Seibert
Senior Content Producer: Pamela Parsons
Production Coordinator: Anthony Circo
Group Account Director: Erica Baker
Account Director: Carla Tanchum
Management Supervisor: Chris Crockett
Account Executive: Tracey Horwitz
Director of Public Relations  Nick Ammazzalorso
Product Information Specialist: Paul Watson
Strategic Planning Director: Evan Ferrari
Management Supervisor Social Media: Hansoul Kim
Engagement Manager, Social Media: Allie Burrow
Executive Communications Director: Gwen Conley
Media Director: Janet Waters
Associate Communications Director:  Breanne Carpenter
Senior Project Manager: Jill Savage
Account Director, Social Media: Bryan DeSena
Business Affairs Director:  Keli Christy
Senior Business Affairs Manager:  Kate Bestic

Client:
Group Vice President – Marketing Jack Hollis
Vehicle Marketing & Communications National Manager -Sedan Ann Masse
Vehicle Marketing & Communications Manager – Camry Angie White
Vehicle Marketing & Communications Planner – Camry Jessica Geremia
Social Media Strategy & Operations Director Monica Peterson
Social Media Strategy & Operations Manager Florence Drakton
Social Media Marketing Planner Brian Carroll

Production Company: Cash Studios
Executive Producer: Melissa Abe
President Of Production Company: Ivan Cash
Line Producer: Asori Soto
Director: Ivan Cash
DP: Daniel Addelson
Editing Company: Cosmo Street
Executive Producer: Yvette Sears
Producer: Marie Mangahas
Editor: Bill Chessman
Assistant Editor: Zoe Mougin
Telecine: CO3, Stefan Sonnenfeld

Finishing: Brickyard
Finishing Artist: Patrick Poulatian
Finishing Producer: Diana Young

Music: Asche & Spencer

Sound Design
Mix: Lime Studios
Mixer: Loren Silber

Monument Credits
CCO: Jason Schragger
CD: Erich Funke
Copywriter: Nick Cade
ACD/Art Director: John Kritch
Executive Director of Integrated Production: Lalita Koehler
Director of Content Production: Sara Seibert
Senior Content Producer: Pamela Parsons
Senior Art Producer: Dogan Dattilo
Production Coordinator: Anthony Circo

Droga5 New York launched a new summer campaign for Dixie entitled “#DarkForDinner” which calls on viewers to put away all devices to more fully engage with friends and family.

Inspiration for the campaign came from a survey commissioned by Dixie which found that the average consumer eats dinner without distractions only twice a month, with 20 percent of participants not doing so at all. The brand sees its ability to offer a cleanup-free dinner as eliminating one of these distractions, a point which tellingly shifts attention away from the brand’s environmental impact.

The spot at the center of the campaign shows groups of friends and family engaging in (seemingly) candid conversations, laughing and generally having a good time. An opening shot of cell phones sitting on a table establishes that their absence is to thank for the festive mood. In many of the scenarios friends and family learn new things about each other, and the spot ends by asking viewers, “What will you learn when you go dark for dinner?” adding “On Sunday, turn off your phones and find out.” An accompanying digital component instructs consumers to use the #DarkForDinner hashtag to let people know they’ll be offline, although we imagine there may be one or two oblivious individuals who miss the point and use the hashtag to accompany a picture of their participation. Droga5 does a good job of presenting the initiative without seeming like a curmudgeonly, technophobic grandparent, but less convincingly ties the initiative to the brand. The broadcast spot (a 30-second version of the extended version above) will debut June 14, followed by six videos released over the next six weeks.

“We used real families and groups of friends” for the campaign, Droga5 creative director Karen Land Short told Adweek. “We recorded what happened when they went dark. That was a bit of an unknown at the time—we didn’t know if our thesis [that people connect more without the distraction of technology] was going to be right. But it was kind of everything we hoped for. There were jokes and real tears and secrets came out.”

Credits:

Dixie: #DarkForDinner

Client: Dixie

Campaign
Launch Date: 6/10/15
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Creative Director: Karen Land Short
Creative Director: Casey Rand
Copywriter: Dan Brill
Art Director: Spencer Hansen
Design Director: Rich Greco
Designer: Kathryn Brylinsky
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Head of Broadcast Production: Ben Davies
Broadcast Producer: Bill Berg
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Colm Murphy
Senior Strategist: Nick Maschmeyer
Head of Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy
Communications Strategist: Stuart Augustine
Head of Data Strategy: Melissa Zimyeski
Senior Data Strategist: Lily Ng
Data Strategist: Annie Corbett
General Manager/Head of Account: Susie Nam
Management
Group Account Director: Brett Edgar
Account Director: Michael Arani
Account Manager: Alexa Beck
Project Manager: Francess Jaen

Client: Dixie
CMO: Douwe Bergsma
VP / General Manager of Tableware: Erik Sjogren
Senior Brand Director: Andrew Noble
Senior Marketing Director, Brand Center: Shari Neumann
Senior Associate Brand Manager: Nelie Zanca

Production Company: Chelsea Pictures
Director: Henry Mason
DOP: Benn Martenson
Partner / Executive Producer: Allison Amon
Producer: Howard Woffinden

Editorial: Final Cut NY
Editor: Patrick Colman
Assistant Editor: Spencer Campbell
Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss
Head of Production: Viet-An Nguyen

Post Production: Significant Others
Producer: Alek Rost
Flame Artist: Dirk Greene

Sound: Significant Others
Mixer: T. Terressa Tate

#DarkforDinner: Interactive Credits List
Client: Dixie
Campaign: #DarkForDinner
Title: #DarkForDinner
URL: darkfordinner.com
Launch Date: 6/4/15
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Copywriter: Dan Brill
Art Director: Spencer Hansen
Design Director: Rich Greco
Designer: Kathryn Brylinsky
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Senior Interactive Producer: Tasha Cronin
Developer: Jason Bevans
UX Director: Daniel Perlin
UX Designer: Hiye Shin
Associate Director of Technology: Keath Chan
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Senior Print Producer: Alyssa Dolman
Group Account Director: Brett Edgar
Account Director: Mike Arani
Account Manager: Alexa Beck
Project Manager: Francess Jaen

Team Ignition teamed up with production company Slim Pictures and director Thomas Garber to show two sides of the 2016 Nissan Maxima in “Day and Night.”

The spot opens on a man exiting the office after a long day of work in the city and getting into his Maxima. After looking at his watch, he presses the button switching from “Normal” to “Sport” mode and the car changes from red to black. As he speeds through the city to the tune of Wiz Khalifa’s “Work Hard, Play Hard” he smirks, clearly enjoying the ride, and then arrives home to his family sitting down to dinner.

The spot illustrates the vehicle’s multifaceted personality, not just in the “Normal” and “Sport” modes of the car, but also in the Maxima’s functionality as both a sports car and family sedan. Despite showcasing these new features, the approach is a bit traditionalist, focusing on shots of the car speeding through the city in an attempt to let the vehicle speak for itself. “Day and Night” will run in 60 and 30-second versions in primetime slots during the NBA Finals and during MLB games.

Credits:

Creative Agency: Team Ignition
Account Director: Alex Fino
Art Director: Hector Arellano
Associate Creative Director: Derrick Rivers
Creative Agency: Team Ignition
Executive Creative Director: Dilam Mattia
Executive Producer: Allen Perez

Production Company: Slim Pictures
Producer: Kate Thuman
Executive Producer: Tom Weissferdt
DOP: Ottar Gudnason
Director: Thomas Garber

Visual Effects: Vincent Wauters
Post Production House: Fellow LA
Flame Artists: Miles Essmiller

Here’s an odd one from &Rosàs, an indie agency based in Barcelona that’s known for “its capacity to differentiate its clients’ brands through the use of extraordinary communication concepts” (according to itself).

The ad promotes Bitter Kas, a PepsiCo product that’s popular in Europe and almost shares a typeface with Star Wars.

The agency (and, apparently, PepsiCo) understand that not all people will like Bitter Kas. And they’re OK with that:

The release tells us that the drink is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, at which time it will “adorn Spain’s sunny bar terraces once again with its emblematic red” and “lead the leisure, day-time beverage market as the country’s preferred aperitif.”

The helpful copy also advises us to enjoy this bubbly beverage “with ice, an olive and a twist of orange, or mixed with drinks like gin, vodka, rum or vermouth with delicious and surprising results.”

Just like the ad’s characters, we’re not quite sure whether we would enjoy that–but we do know there’s no way Pepsi would run a stateside campaign daring consumers to hate its marquee product. If you just so happen to prefer the stuff, “don’t ask why. Fortunately, it’s not something you can choose.”

Europeans: they really don’t give a shit.

Brave launched tequilla brand El Jimador’s “Your Shot at $1 Million” program with a pair of spots starring Tim Howard, best known for his impeccable goalkeeping on behalf of the United States national team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he earned the nicknames “The Great Wall of American” and “The Secretary of Defense.”

The sweepstakes, open to participants of legal drinking age until August 20, gives winners a shot at $20,000 if they can score a goal on Howard, and one million big ones if they can score two, not exactly an easy task (just ask Portugal or Belgium). Even if they can’t get the ball past Howard, participants who win the sweepstakes will get a free trip to Vegas for two and Howard will get money donated to a charity of his choosing for every shot he stops. Both spots introduce the program with a look at Howard in goal and a booming voiceover talking up the goalkeeper, with one ad mixing in some humor by suggesting Howard saved a group of ducklings on his way to shoot the ad. The spots are supported by social media activation, consumer facing programs and retail activations.

Tom Genower, a senior art director at Brave, said, “We wanted Tim to be the main focus of this campaign, and so shot him in a simple but dramatic way. Tim’s heroics skills means that he has a myth around him that we wanted to have fun with.”

Credits:

Business Director: Peter Booker
Account Director: Amy Forster
Art Director: Thomas Genower and Rob Butcher
Designer: Lee Robins
Retoucher: Chris Paine
Client: Mark Grindstaff, Jennifer Simmomds and Laurel Altman
Production Company: Making Pictures
Photographer/Director: Mitch Jenkins
DOP: Andrei Austin

Here’s a strange one from Y&R Mexico for Gandhi Bookstores.

The agency worked with director Rodrigo Garcia Saiz to create a spot for the bookstore chain, entitled “Weapons,” illustrating the “Knowledge is power” maxim with a protest scene. As protesters square off against a militarized police force, they begin hurling books at the officers. The books burst into flames, which spread through the ranks of the officers as the ranks of protesters advance and overtake them. The ad finally ends with the familiar knowledge-touting maxim. While the explosive nature of the books is obviously meant to be metaphorical, it all plays out more like a Rage Against The Machine music video than an ad for a bookstore, and the tactic is especially odd considering that the chain is named after a leader famous for nonviolent civil disobedience.

Credits:
Client: Gandhi Bookstores
Title: “Weapons” :90
Agency: Young & Rubicam Mexico
Chief Creative Officer: Jose Montalvo
General Creative Director: Agustin Velez
Creative Director: Sergio Diaz Infante
Copywriter: Rodrigo Ramirez
Art Director: Francisco Hernandez
Head of Production: Bernardo Salum
Agency Producer: Noel Abreu
Production Company: Central films
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz
DP: Beto Casillas
Executive Producer: Mauricio Francini
Editorial: Central Films
Editor: Jorge Hernandez
Post Production: Central Films/MPC
Colorist: Ricky Gaussis
Post Production Coordinator: Patricia Guerra
Post Producer: Leonel Perez
VFX Company: Central Films/MPC
Music Company: Sonideros
Music Producers: Ramiro del Real, Renato del Real
Composters: Ramiro del Real, Renato del Real
Audio Post: Bravo Audio
Mixer: Bernardo Bravo
Audio Post Producer: Bernardo Bravo

With the summer officially less than two weeks away, Havas Worldwide New York has launched “Luna Rising,” the latest campaign in its ongoing “The Most Interesting Man in the World” series for Dos Equis.

Three new spots tread familiar territory for the character, with Havas delivering what viewers have come to expect. There’s the comically exaggerated claims such as “If he were to mispronounce your name, you’d feel compelled to change it” and “Therapists open up to him,” as well as the nonsensical “When the odds are 50-50, they’re 80-20 in his favor.” For some reason, two of the three spots end with the character performing the ding-dong-ditch maneuver (which is not something anyone over the age of 14 generally does, let alone someone “interesting). And then there’s the casual sexual objectification of the brief “The Most Interesting Man in the World on Making the Most of Summer Night” which stoops lower with “The Most Interesting Man” telling viewers it’s their job to find the dark side of “even the brightest moon” while implying an impending threesome with two much younger women (basically the same formula as “The Most Interesting Man in the World on Cinco de Mayo”).

Credits:

Chief Creative Officer: Jason Peterson
Group ECD/Managing Director: Jason Musante
Executive Creative Director: Jim Hord
Creative Director: Paul Fix
Creative Director: Jamie Overkamp
Associate Creative Director: Matthew Hock
Associate Creative Director: David Fredette
Writer: Marty Bonacorso
Art Director:  Melissa Ploysophon
Junior Writer: Andrew Niemira
Junior Art Director: Melissa Stammer
Global Chief Content Officer: Vin Farrell
Co-Head of Production: Dave Evans
Co-Head of Production: Sylvain Tron
Executive Producer: Jill Meschino
Director of Broadcast Business Affairs: Cathy Pitegoff
Senior Broadcast Business Manager: Deborah Steeg
Senior Talent Specialist: Yvette Aponte
Group Account Director: Chris Budden
Account Director: Jamie Sundheim
Account Supervisor: Sara Heller
Account Executive: Jenny Maughan
Production Company: @radical.media
Director: Steve Miller
Director of Photography: Bryan Newman
Executive Producer: Gregg Carlesimo
Producer: Barbara Benson
Editorial Company: Arcade Edit
Editor: Jeff Ferruzzo
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Post Production:  Studio 6
VFX Supervisor / Flame Artist: Johnny Starace
Executive Producer:  Melati Phohan
Audio Engineer: Eric Thompson
Music Composer: Brett Fuchs
Colorist: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Audio: Sound Lounge
Partner/Mixer:  Peter Holcomb