Hasta La Creative!

About a month ago, DDB Chicago released a re-make of State Farm’s 2011 ad “State of Unrest” (more commonly known as “Jake From State Farm”) reimagined with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprising their Conehead roles as Beldar and Prymaat. Now, the agency has released the Coneheads followup, entitled “France.”

Behind-the-scenes footage from the last spot hinted at the direction of “France,” which opens on the Coneheads, whose microwave has just broke. Using the magic jingle, they summon a State Farm representative, not realizing that they’re revealing that they are alines, and not, in fact, from France. In an effort to reverse his mistake, they use the jingle once more to transport everyone to France, with the ad ending with tagline, “Save Mass Quantities.” It’s not the most imaginative of scenarios, but Coneheads fans should enjoy seeing Aykroyd and Curtin reprising their roles once again nevertheless. The ad debuted online and during the CBS broadcast of NCIS: Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see if DDB Chicago sticks with the Coneheads for more ads or switches to other retired SNL characters (which State Farm can do thanks to a deal between the company and Lorne Michaels‘ Broadway Video Entertainment).

Target launched a new in-house campaign in celebration of Pride Month, entitled “Take Pride.”

The 80-second spot communicates the message, “We’re not born with pride. We take pride. Pride in celebrating who we were born to be.” That sentiment is shown to apply both to individuals and society, as the ad highlights steps taken toward equality over the years, from the 1978 Gay Freedom Day parade in San Francisco to modern footage of gay marriage and gay couples with children. While McGann Zhang took a personal approach to highlight the importance of Pride Month, Target does the opposite, offering a broad view celebrating progress made over the years. Target’s effort comes across as genuine and inspiring, avoiding any explicit branding until the logo appears at the end of the spot. As Adweek points out, the campaign follows Target coming out publicly in favor of gay marriage last August.

“Target proudly stands with the LGBT community, both as a team member and team player through all that we do—from our volunteer efforts to our long-standing partnerships with groups like Family Equality Council and Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, to the very products we carry in our stores and online,” Laysha Ward, Target’s social responsibility officer said in a blog post yesterday.

Inspiring though it may be, the message is not entirely altruistic, as Target will be selling various Pride Month items. Still, “Take Pride” avoids seeming opportunistic or shallow-minded and further cements the brand’s dedication to equality.

In the wake of keynote presentations and exaltation from the likes of Drake, Interscope/Beats man Jimmy Iovine and Trent Reznor (who provides VO on this product demo video) at its Worldwide Developers Conference this week, Apple unveiled this spot to further hype its newest product: a streaming music service.

Created by longtime agency partner TBWA/Media Arts Lab, the :60 film aptly titled “History of Sound” takes us on a 127-year journey beginning with the days of the gramophone and veering into the era of turntables, 8-track tapes and ultimately digital downloading. Thankfully, the Apple Music branding is merely an afterthought in this spot, which is buoyed by hypnotic percussion as it leads viewers through various moments in pop music history including everyone from hippies to punk-rockers to beatheads.

The “History of Sound” sound spot seems to echo earlier WWDC proclamations that Apple Music is something revolutionary, though critics were quick to bring up Spotify and even Tidal comparisons after the announcement. Regardless, Apple Music is launching on June 30 and it will run $9.99/month (or $14.99 for the family pack). You can get the full rundown of the service here or pretty much anywhere else on the internet.

Portland, Maine based The VIA Agency launched “Golden Bill of Rights” for grill buffet/hall of shame eating Golden Corral, starring “America’s beloved comedian” Jeff (“Paul Blart isn’t available? Okay fine, get Jeff Foxworthy”) Foxworthy, marking the agency’s first work since winning lead creative duties for the brand in December.

Jeff Foxworthy delivers the message behind the brand’s “Golden Bill of Rights,” promoting all-day breakfast with a message that boils down to “You want to throw a scoop of ice cream, on top of a steak, on top of a stack of pancakes? You can do that! This is Golden Corral. There’s no judgement here, only expanding waistlines.” He manages to sneak in some good old-fashioned gender stereotyping with the line, “Mom, you get the night off. Dad, this is not going to break the bank,” while illustrating “The right to family happiness,” and sneaks in the truly awful “mush more room on my plate” mushroom pun while promoting “The right to food made fresh.” The campaign targets the brand’s core audience in the south while also claiming to be “on brand with millenials,” which is not a phrase you’d expect in the same paragraph as the name “Jeff Foxworthy,” due to its latching on to the breakfast foods whenever trend (a Mintel report predicts a 4.3 percent increase in the sale of breakfast food items for 2015).

“Golden Corral was founded on the same values as America itself, freedom and happiness, all at a reasonable price,” said Leeann Leahy, president of The VIA Agency, in a statement. “We are thrilled that Jeff Foxworthy is a part of the campaign that highlights this essence.  He is the perfect spokesperson to remind Americans of their dining rights. Targeted towards families, the new campaign shows that quality, fresh food doesn’t have to break the bank and can be found right in a time tested favorite ­ no matter what your craving.”

Credits:

THE VIA AGENCY
Teddy Stoecklein – Executive Creative Director
Ian Dunn – Creative Director
Ken Matsubara – Creative Director
Stephen Davis – Senior Copywriter
Matt Scheumann – Art Director
Mary Hanifin – Executive Producer
Dustin Levine – Senior Producer
Jason Wright – Group Strategy Director
Moya Fry – Client Strategist
Chris Michaud – Account Executive
Jill Hurd – Senior Project Manager
Meghan Gildart-Nappi – Creative and Business Affairs Manager

PARTNERS
Mortar Inc., – Production
Dave Merhar – Director
My Active Driveway – Graphics
North Creative, LLC – Color/Mix
Vacationland – Offline/Edit
Parma Recordings – Music
Horizon Media – Media
Stroh Creative – In–store POP
Twin Bear – Social Media Manager

Publicis Indonesia launched a new spot promoting L’Oreal Garnier Men featuring actor Joe Taslim (Fast & Furious 6, The Raid Redemption) squaring off in a parkour battle against a motor cyclist played by Pasha of the band Ungu.

For the 60-second spot, entitled “Urban Hero,” Publicis Indonesia teamed up with Seven Sunday Films and director iClaudius. The ad promotes L’Oreal Garnier Men’s face wash as an antidote to damaged skin caused by exposure to sun and pollution with an action-packed parkour sequence. It connects Taslim’s performance with the product, with each championed as an “Urban Hero” for overcoming difficult obstacles. The connection is tenuous at best, provided by voiceover touting the product’s benefits and the winner of the parkour contest receiving the product as a reward, and plays more as a rationale for a spot with Taslim’s star power. The video is hosted on a campaign site, which includes a behind the scenes look at the making of the ad, maps of the race and product info.

“We loved working with Seven SundayFilms — they were professional, organized and nothing was left undone,” said Publicis Indonesia CEO Ben Lightfoot, in a statement. They were a great source for outside experiences and talent, bringing a new and unique understanding of Indonesian advertising while maintaining international quality production.”

Credits:

Client: L’Oreal, Garnier Indonesia
Agency:Publicis Indonesia
Director: iClaudius
DOP: Sven Lippold
Production Company: Seven Sunday Films
Executive Producers: Rodney & Ajeng Vincent

Honda’s new HR-V came about thanks to an extended trial-and-error process, and RPA emphasizes that fact in its new campaign.

The work, which so far consists of two TV spots, plays on the idea that the new models are a mishmash of ideas that come as close as possible to “[getting] everything just right.”

Here’s “Give and Take,” which illustrates its titular concept via a Photoshop-esque remodeling of actors’ faces:

We do like the leading lady’s Madonna-worthy gap there at the end to remind us that nothing’s perfect…not even an economy SUV.

The next ad, “Great Thinking Inside,” dispenses with the faces metaphor and gives us an illustration of the many models that eventually merged to form the HR-V:

The release tells us that the campaign was created to appeal to Honda fans’ sense of nostalgia by demonstrating the process via the power of CG illustrated in “Russian-nested-doll fashion” to create the newest, shiniest version of the car you’ve known and loved, etc. It’s like Transformers without the fun.

The campaign’s print ads also play off the change theme, using a classic Mad magazine-style fold-in to demonstrate the new models’ “versatility.”

In addition to the work posted here, Honda will also “[sponsor] the brand new Amazon 3D printing store,” “[collaborate] with Thrillist on a Culinary Road Trip event,” work on “the National Geographic Wanderlust Instagram contest” and, most importantly, run “a personalized interactive post on Buzzfeed.”

Title: “Great Thinking Inside” :60 and “Give and Take” :50
First air: June 8, 2015
Client: American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Agency: RPA
EVP, CCO: Joe Baratelli
SVP, ECD: Jason Sperling
VP, CD Copywriter: Ken Pappandurous
VP, CD Art Director: Chuck Blackwell
Sr. Copywriter: Paul Fung
Sr. Art Director: Marcella Coad
Copywriter (for “Great Thinking Inside”): Audrey Attal
Copywriter (for “Great Thinking Inside”): Forrest Boleyn
Copywriter (for “Give and Take”): Adam Gothelf
Art Director (for “Give and Take”): Michael Enriquez
SVP, Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff
VP, Executive Producer: Isadora Chesler
Producer: Matthew Magsaysay

VP, Director of Business Affairs: Maria Del Homme
SVP, Management Account Director: Brett Bender
VP, Account Director, National/Corporate Advertising: Jeff Moohr
VP, Management Supervisor: Cathy O’Gorman
Management Supervisor: Rose McRitchie
Account Supervisor: Patty Mira

Production Company: Nexus Productions
Director: Smith + Foulkes
EP: Tracey Cooper
EP (for “Give and Take”): Jeremy Smith
Line Producer (for “Give and Take”): Max Fink
Production Manager (for “Great Thinking Inside”): Fernanda Garcia Lopez

Post Production (for “Great Thinking Inside”): Time Based Arts
Animators: Chris Wood and Sam Osbourne
Flame Artists: Mike Skrgatic, James Allen and Sheldon Gardner
3D Artists: Ben Cantor, Mike Battcock, Kristoffer Andersson, Poul Resen Steenstrup, Eva Kuehlmann and Simon Goodchild
Additional Grade: Simone Grattarola

Post Production (for “Give and Take”): MPC
VFX Supervisor/Lead Flame: Benoit Mannequin
Flame: Vincent Blin
CG Lead/Lighting: Dameon O’Boyle
CG Lighter: Tim Kafta
CG artist: Clement Renaudin
Offline Editor: Billy Sacdalan
EP: Jo Arghiris
Senior Producer: Juliet Tierney
Producer: Jake Fenkse

Vehicle Scanning & Modeling: ACME Digital Content
Kevin Malling, Brandon Acree, Tyson Hill and John Wang

Music Supervision (for “Great Thinking Inside”): Squeak E Clean Productions, Inc.
Music Composer (for “Give and Take”): Squeak E Clean Productions, Inc.

Licensed Music Track (for “Great Thinking Inside”): “Gonna Build A Mountain”
Composers: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Performed by: Sammy Davis Jr.
Label: Rhino Entertainment Company, A Warner Music Group Company

Sound Design: Factory
Sound Designer: Anthony Moore

Music For “Great Thinking Inside” :15’s: ANTFOOD
Mix & Sound Design: Lime Studios
Engineer: Mark Meyuhas
Assistant: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

Grey Berlin launched a new campaign for Lunative, introducing the brand’s electroluminescent clothing to Tromsø, Norway, Europe’s darkest town.

Among those profiled by Grey Berlin and director Peter Dietrich are a death metal band, a Russian fisherman, two beat cops, a retired couple and a parish priest. The citizens appreciate Lunative’s clothing as a means of dealing with town’s three months of “polar night.” One member of the death metal band even jokes that it makes him feel like playing something lighter, like a ballad. Exploring the locale makes sense for the brand, as it illustrates the benefits of electroluminescent clothing , and Dietrich is able to coax some charming little portraits out of the footage.

“If you need to survive a long dark winter, it makes sense to wear this kind of clothing,” said the director. “We took that very sensible idea and gave it an ironic twist. Our intent was to prove that long, dark, Scandinavian winter nights feel shorter when you’re you are wearing glowing gear. Our approach was to blend suspense, mystery and humor. Visually, it is a mix of strong, cinematic images and a documentary style of shooting.”

Credits:

CLIENT: Lunative
TITLE: Tromsø Enlightened
AGENCY: Grey, Berlin.
Executive Creative Director: Oliver Handlos
PRODUCTION: Wanda.
Director: Peter Dietrich,
Director of Photography: Michael Multhoff
Executive Producer: Mandy Kothe
POST: Harvest Digital Agriculture
Editor: Marko Strihic
Colorist: Swen Linde
2D Artist: Axel Schmidt
MUSIC: MOKOH Music / Nine O’clock Music
Composer/Sound Designer: Stephan Moritz
Sound Designer:Torben Brüggemann

With Cannes Lions 2015 looming, Grey Latin America has submitted a series of campaigns for judges’ consideration including this clever one from its Buenos Aires office.

Figures state that Argentina’s average daily salt intake–12 grams a day–is more than double that of the World Health Organization’s recommendations and that 30% of its residents suffer from high blood pressure. So Grey Argentina teamed up with hometown scientific institution Fundación Favaloro to create “The Salt You Can See” (#LaSalQueSeVe).

As the case study above notes, the two parties collaborated in creating and distributing bottled colored salt during World Salt Awareness Week in March to make Argentinians aware of how much they’re actually consuming and, in turn, promote better cardiovascular health. Regarding the campaign, which eventually drew attention and support from the likes of soccer superstar Lionel Messi and the largest Argentine salt company, Fundación Favaloro institutional communications manager Alejandra Marino says:

“…We work on different initiatives aimed at contributing to a better quality of life in the community, as were the wishes of Dr. René G. Favaloro. As a health institution, working on the adoption of healthy habits is a challenge. Creative proposals like THE SALT YOU CAN SEE from Grey advertising, which is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility program, enables us to get our message across more effectively.”

Since its launch, the campaign has garnered over 16 million impressions and over 100 celebrities posing with the saltshakers on Instagram using the hashtag #salfie.

Agency: Grey Argentina
Executive Creative Director: Diego Medvedocky
Creative Director: Sebastian “El Chino” Graccioli, Diego Gueler Montero
Art Director: Florencia Loda
Copywriter: Facundo Martinelli
VP, Client Service: Florencia Pereyra
Account Director: Cecilia de la Fuente
Account Executive: Estefania Prieto
Digital Manager: Ayelen Privato
Agency Producer: Patricio Browne, Guido Urrutia, Sergio Bonavia
Production Company: Oruga Cine
Director: Martin Levi
Executive Producer: Ioni Borisonik
Advertiser’s Supervisor: Alejandra Marino

Back in April, Coors Light chose to nix an entire campaign created by its AOR Cavalry.

At the time, AdAge reported that the company had no choice but to abandon the work “because [the] ads did not go over well with distributors,” that wholesalers were concerned over the company’s lack of a full marketing campaign, and that the client/agency were rushing to get a new one ready for June.

The purpose of the work was to endear the brand to younger drinkers, who increasingly turn to companies other than MillerCoors to meet their alcoholic needs.

The public at large never saw the work in question, but today a tipster alerted us to the fact that Cavalry Creative Director Devon Harris recently posted it all on his Vimeo page.

Here, then, is the “Cold One” campaign. In the first spot, the Lebowski-era-Sam-Elliott-esque star tells a group of travelers thirsty for knowledge why Coors Light tastes so refreshing: because it was born in the Rockies, stupid.

Then Cold One and his pet owl Jonathan then explain why Coors Light is indeed the world’s most refreshing beer:

The next question: “why is Coors Light always bottled cold?”

Here’s a quick promo for the company’s new “Citrus Radler”:

…and another in whichCold One attempts to answer “Life’s Questions”:

Now compare the work above to the new work, which debuted last night during the NBA Finals:

The new work sticks to the “Born in the Rockies” theme, though it’s a bit flatter than the Cold One campaign. We don’t quite understand why the former got dropped, but something tells us the old ads won’t be live much longer.

In other recent Cavalry news, last month a source confirmed that Chief Creative Officer Jim Larmon would soon be leaving the agency; expect an announcement regarding his replacement soon.

W+K London launched a new spot for mobile company Three, delivering the message “When stuff sucks #makeitright.”

Like 2013’s viral hit “The Pony,” the spot features its share of anthropomorphic dancing, this time with a Muppet-like creature rather than a small pony. The ad follows the purple creature as he experiences a series of small misfortunes and then remembers advice from his parents to “make it right.” He decides to spread the message, “helping” people stuck in difficult situations, like a girl who dropped her ice cream cone, a cheerleader who falls from a human pyramid, a couple whose car is hanging over the edge of a cliff and a man trapped in quicksand by singing and dancing. Like “The Pony,” the approach is patently ridiculous, but the new effort doesn’t do as well a job of tying the shenanigans to the brand’s message. The spot ends by directing viewers to a campaign microsite, which claims “The Furry Revolution Starts Friday 5 June,” which is perhaps not the best choice of words.