Hasta La Creative!

Confession: we had never heard of OtterBox before writing this post today.

But we had heard of one Peyton Manning, and increased awareness is sort of the whole point of celebrity endorsements, no?

The now-former NFL star/pizza and cheap beer enthusiast signed up to rep the company—which is “the No. 1-most trusted brand in smartphone case protection”—about a year ago and has since appeared in some ads by AOY CP+B Boulder.

In the latest round of ads, Manning has a new friend/bodyguard to make sure no one is trying to tackle him from the front. Or behind. Or anywhere, really.

Manning, who is happily retired but still taking heat for his Trump golf excursions and the sexual assault claims that bubbled up into the headlines last year, just doesn’t seem to know how to operate without some dude protecting him from everybody, including himself.

“When you saw only one set of footprints in the sand, it was then that I carried you.”

Good to know someone’s watching his back, though. And not the Papa John’s guy. So is Manning just gonna star in ads for the rest of his life?

CREDITS

Agency: CP+B Boulder
Client: OtterBox
Campaign: “Unapologetically Overprotective”

Chief Creative Officer: Ralph Watson
ECD: Tony Calcao
CDs: Jason Pierce, Mark St. Amant
ACDs: Ryan Contillo, Donny Brunner
Integrated Producers: Alina Moeller, (Jr) Shelby Hawkinson
Head of Content Production: Sloan Schroeder

Sound Engineer: Mark Meyhaus
Sound Design: Michael Anastasi
Producer: Kayla Phungglan
Music: Massive Music, Los Angeles, CA
Mix: Lime Studios, Santa Monica, CA
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Offline Executive Producer: Lennon Barnica
Editor: Kevin Zimmerman
Editorial Company: PLUS Productions, Boulder, CO
Editorial Assistant: Bryce Harvey, B Stover
Senior Producer: Katie Andrews
Producer: Julia Paskert
Post-Production House: Method Studios
Flame Assistants: Louis Schachte, Emily Irvine, Jason Frank
Flame Artist: Aiden Thomas
Executive Producer: Cara Lehr
Colourist: Stefan Sonnenfeld @ Company 3
Anomation: Norris Houk
Production Manager: Dana Eudaily
Production Company: Bob Industries, LA
Producer: Max Fink
Executive Producer: TK Knowles, John O’Grady
DoP: Pablo Berron
Director: Brigg Bloomquist

What offseason?

Translation launched “The Handoff” for the NFL, a campaign promoting youth football which follows up on the agency’s “Let’s Play Football” effort last year.

The campaign launched with “Handoff Across America,” which will run in a 60-second broadcast version and 90-second extended online version. “Handoff Across America” features NFL stars Landon Collins, Stefon Diggs, Devonta Freeman, Travis Kelce, and Marquette King, as well as Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Nick Young and rapper KYLE. Set to Mac Miller song “Knock Knock”(which samples Linda Scott‘s “I’ve Told Every Little Star”), the spot depicts professional and amateur football players in a variety of settings and situations, all in service of the notion that “there is no offseason.”

If you’re wondering how Young factors into this, he dunks a punted football, which is kind of a neat trick. Other players weight train with young fans, take a dip in the pool, enjoy the video game version of the sport and, of course, a plethora of pickup games.

In addition to the spot, the campaign also includes digital videos and social components, including Instagram stories launching from @NFLPLayFootball.

“Teens today truly are multi-dimensional,” Translation chief creative officer John Norman said in a statement. “They have amazingly diverse talents and interests, and with so many sides to the game of football, we wanted to show them how fun it is, no matter what you’re into.”

“Whether it’s an off-season training camp or a player teaming up with a lucky fan at VidCon, the “Handoff Across America” explores the excitement that is summertime football,” added Sam Howard, NFL Director of Advertising. “We’re highlighting facets of the game that extend well beyond the field of play.”

The campaign follows Translation picking up agency of record duties for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets last month. Translation has served as creative agency of record for the NBA since December of 2014.

Credits: 
Chief Executive Officer: Steve Stoute
President: Patrick Lafferty
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Chief Strategy Officer: John Greene
Group Creative Director: Lance Ferguson & Eric Steele
Copywriter: Colin Frawley
Art Director: Dylan Simel
Jr. Art Director: Bo Han
Brand Strategy Director: Geoff McHenry
Jr. Strategist: Rex Nwerem
Sr. Social Strategist: Renee Miller
Context Strategist: Jazo Moises
Director of Broadcast Production: Miriam Franklin
Executive Producer: Carole McCarty
Associate Producer: Maxine Reyer
Business Affairs Manager: Thalia Tsouros & Grant Thompson
Group Account Director: Jimmy Euwer
Account Director: Austin Scherer
Account Supervisor: Brandon Ghio
Account Executive: Jordan Meiselas
Senior Project Manager: Matt DeSimone

So we’re having this conversation again.

Nearly 18 months after McKinney printed North Carolina’s (ultimately repealed) anti-transgender “bathroom bill” on toilet paper, lawmakers have proposed a nearly identical bill, and another ad agency has come up with a pro-bono campaign to oppose it.

In this case, the state is Texas and the agency is GSD&M, which has a new angle on the subject. To sum it all up, if you’re going to insist that transgender people use the restrooms associated with their birth sex, then why not just have everyone carry around personal items complete with birth certificates and easy-to-identify colors making sure there’s no doubt about it all?

There’s the phone case above plus a backpack and lunchbox version.

The agency has launched a paid social media campaign under the “Lifestyle Products for a Bathroom Bill World,” which will run for the next few days on Facebook leading up to the ultimate vote in the Texas senate. It all leads back to a page helping voters contact their representatives.

From agency CEO Duff Stewart:

Taxpayer dollars should be spent solving the real problems that face our state, from infrastructure to education, child protective services and more. We have an imperative to support basic human rights and legislation that limits the freedoms of our transgender community is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem.

I’m not worried about the people who love. I’m worried about the people who hate. GSD&M will always stand up for equality, and protect and support the community we’ve called home for 46 years.

Here’s an earlier video that launched in February, when the bill first came to life. GSD&M also worked on this one.

For necessary context: the Texas bill is essentially the same as the N.C. one in that it would require transgender people to use the public restrooms assigned to their birth gender, thereby nullifying all local anti-discrimination laws and subjecting them to potential charges.

The bill is all but certain to fail, which is probably because it was all about political posturing in the first place as the state’s governor and various representatives used it to pander to certain elements of their base.

The Dallas Stars and the NHL came out against it, as did Republican House Speaker Joe Straus, who compared the issue to “walk[ing] headfirst into a giant cactus.”

But look who else is running paid ads: an advocacy group claiming to represent Texas GOP primary voters.

Everything is politics now.

So, AB InBev and every other major brewer is obviously still feeling pretty threatened by the whole “craft” movement, even though it’s nowhere near as big as headlines might have you believe (the Brewer’s Association recently said 12.3% market share).

It’s really debatable whether the whole “movement” can survive oversaturation, especially when AB InBev keeps buying up potential threats like Wicked Weed, its tenth such acquisition.

Based on the latest campaign from Wieden + Kennedy, Bud Light wants to have it both ways: discouraging people from trying off-center brews while its parent company buys them up strategically.

This ad that launched today is really kind of perplexing.

Yeah, but do craft beers really have such crazy ingredients? Maybe if we’re talking Dogfish Head.

We kind of get what they’re going for here … maybe that’s why Bud Light will never win by marketing its product on taste.

The brand experienced “mid-single digit” declines throughout 2016, but it still sells twice as much as its closest competitor Coors Light. So Bud isn’t going anywhere, head-turning campaigns and activations aside.

But with all due respect to Wieden, it really feels like the client directed these ads.

Now that the guilty pleas have started rolling in on the Volkswagen fake emissions scandal, it’s time to remember what that company does well: make and promote new cars!

The decade-old Tiguan SUV gets an update for 2018 and a corresponding campaign from Deutsch’s L.A. office. Two new spots launched this week as part of a larger effort titled “The New King of the Concrete Jungle,” the basic idea being that the Tiguan can help you, the consumer, master city life.

“The New King” follows a certain inflatable ape who can’t resist the color “blood orange” or the always-hip sounds of ELO.

The best part of that ad for us was figuring out which New York City suburb this woman calls home. Looks a whole lot like Jersey, but she’s driving down the East Side, so … Westchester?

She also appears to be headed north on the BQE for a bit, but nobody outside of the five boroughs will notice that incredibly small continuity issue.

The next punk rock Mary Tyler Moore spot concerns one former office drone’s career trajectory and her cherished parking spot, another rarity in the Big Apple.

That one was also fun, with the nameless coffee drinker reflecting on her rise and her new place in the parking lot, several yards closer to the door.

She’s very fortunate to have made it after all, given that we now know those of the female gender are biologically predisposed to “neuroticism [which] may contribute to the higher levels of anxiety women report … and to the lower number of women in high stress jobs.”

You know, jobs like vice president. What a world.

CREDITS

Client: Volkswagen
Agency: Deutsch
Campaign: “The New King of the Concrete Jungle”

President, CEO: Hinrich Woebcken
SVP, Marketing: Vinay Shahani
Senior Director, Marketing Transformation, Strategy & Communications: Greg Tebbutt Director, Marketing Communications and Media: Jennifer Clayton
Advertising Manager, VW Marketing: Chanel Barresi
Advertising Specialist: Annabel Lyon

Deutsch
Chief Creative Officer, North America: Pete Favat
Executive Creative Director: Todd Riddle
Group Creative Director: Heath Pochucha
Creative Director: Paul Oberlin
Creative Director: Matt Sherman

Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Integrated Producer: Margaret Nickerson
Senior Integrated Producer: Samantha Bonom
Associate Producer: Kayla Laufer
Music Supervisor: Eryk Rich
Music Supervisor: Chase Butters

Group Account Director: Tom Else
Account Director: Danielle Gordon
Account Supervisor: Ashley Broughman
Account Executive: Kiki Staszak
Director of Product Information: Jason Clark
Product Information Specialist: Ryan Callahan

Group Strategy Director: Donn Rohn
Associate Strategy Director : Ben Perreira
Associate Strategy Director : Armando Potter
Strategist: Leigh Citarella

Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Group Director Integrated Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias
Associate Business Affairs Manager: Kristian Evanculla
Director or Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Courtney Tylka

Production Company: Biscuit
Director: Noam Murro
Managing Director/Partner: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Rick Jarjoura
Head of Production: Mercedes Allen Sarria and Rachel Glaub
Line Producer: Charlotte Woodhead

Editorial Company: Cut + Run
Editor: Steve Gandolfi (New King)
Editor: Jay Nelson (Food Chain)
Executive Producer: Amburr Farls
Producer: Annabelle Dunbar Whitaker
Assistant Editor: Russell Anderson

Post Facility + Color Correction: The Mill

Creative Directors: Chris ‘Badger’ Knight, Robert Sethi
Senior Producer: Anastasia Von Rahl
Associate Producer: Chris Lewis
Production Coordinator: Vanessa Yee
Colorist: Adam Scott (New King & Food Chain)
Senior Color Producer: Liza Kerlin
Executive Producer, Color: Thatcher Peterson
2D Lead Artist: Chris ‘Badger’ Knight
3D Lead Artist: Shaun Comly
2D Artists: Jeannie Huynh (Remedy), Sam Evenson, Yukiko Ishiwata

3D Artists: Felix Urquiza, Corey Landvogt, Jason Jansky, Blake Guest, Peter Claes, Jae Jun Yi, Michael Comly, Daniel Soo, Michael Lori, Danny Garcia, Freddy Parra, Kelly Perez, Katie Yoon, Cory Cosper, Elizabeth Hammer, Justin Tirado
Matte Painter: Itai Muller

NEW YORK
Producers: Mike Pullan, Natalie Ksiazek
3D Lead Artists: Olivier Varteressian, Emily Meger
3D Artists: Aton Lerin, Paul Liaw

CHICAGO
Senior Producers: Abi Klimaszewska, Kennedy Davey
3D Lead Artist: Kathyrn Dougan
3D Artists: Riyad Hasan, Andrez Aguayo, Naotaka Minami, James Mulholland

Music (Licensed and Original/Arranged)
Licensed Music for New King
Track: “Livin’ Thing”
Artist: Electric Light Orchestra
Composer: Jeff Lynne
Publisher: Sony ATV
Label: Jeff Lynne

Licensed Music for Food Chain
Track: “Love is All Around”
Artist: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Publisher: Sony ATV
Label: Black Heart Record Group

Audio Post Company

Lime Studios
Audio Mixer: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Assistant Mixer: Lisa Mermelstein

Shoot Location:
New York City, Los Angeles

Lung cancer kills an estimated 421 people every single day. It is also notoriously difficult to recover from the disease, with its 18.1 five-year survival rate among the lowest of all types of cancers.

Fortunately, there’s a low-dose CT scan (LDCT) which can detect the cancer in its early stages, before any symptoms are evident and when there’s a much greater chance of treating the disease.

To bring awareness to the issue, the Ad Council and agency Hill Holliday teamed up to launch a “Saved by the Scan” campaign for the American Lung Association targeting those at highest risk of developing lung cancer, timed to coincide with World Lung Cancer Day today. The American Lung Association has identified high risk individuals as those aged 55-80 who are current smokers or who have smoked for the equivalent of 30 “pack years” (a pack per day for 30 years, 2 packs per day for 15 year). The American Lung Association estimates that just half of the around 9 million at highest risk for lung cancer getting early detection screenings could help save some 15,000 lives.

Hill Holliday turned to a visual representation of those at highest risk of developing lung cancer. A woman climbs a mountain of cigarettes, as the voiceover informs viewers that she “smoked 12,000 packs of cigarettes over 15 years.” The spot concludes by telling viewers, “You stopped smoking now start screening” and directing them to SavedByTheScan.org.

“Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths, and lung cancer screening for individuals at high risk is truly the breakthrough we need to save more lives and turn the tide against lung cancer,”American Lung Association national president and CEO Harold P. Wimmer said in a statement. “Lung cancer screening is a powerful opportunity to save lives by diagnosing the disease in early stages when more treatment options are available. Screening can potentially save thousands of lives, and through this campaign we hope to empower and motivate former and current smokers to learn more about their screening options.”

“How often do we get the chance to make advertising that saves lives? With this campaign, brought to life by the unique perspective of Rodrigo Prieto, we get to do just that,” added Hill Holliday chief creative officer Lance Jensen. “It’s an honor and a privilege for Hill Holliday to create ‘Saved By The Scan’ for the Ad Council on behalf of the American Lung Association. We hope this work helps raise awareness of this amazing screening technology and prevents lung cancer from taking more lives.”

Pitch launched its first campaign for hot sauce brand Tabañero, entitled “Tabasutra,” which also involves a brand partnership with food and drink blog Foodbeast.

As the name implies, the campaign plays with food porn conventions, riffing on a set of “positions” for the hot sauce in a variety of enticing recipes. A recipe for cheesy breakfast ramen, courtesy of Josh Elkin, for example, employs position number one, “The Dutch Hammer,” in a video complete with extreme food closeups and an adult film-inspired soundtrack.

Other spots in the campaign involve recipes for a bloody mary steak, mussel toast and jalapeño popper burritos. Each of the recipes was developed by a chef or influencer for the brand and, of course, incorporates Tabañero as a key ingredient. The campaign, and the brand’s partnership with Foodbeast, will run through August and also includes a billboard and Tabasutra cookbook being released on August 18.

Credits:
Agency: Pitch
Creative Director: Josh Paialii
Chief Creative Officer: Michael Kadin
Executive Creative Director: Scott Clark
Senior Art Director: Amy Matheu
Producer: Megan Mondavi

How often do agencies get to tag along on deep sea adventures?

OK, probably more than most. A new campaign from Amsterdam Worldwide for Taiwanese tech company Asus is a solid entry in the “actually, it’s a short film” category.

The first of two spots showcasing the client’s hardware stars freediver Sofía Gómez Uribe, whose life is “always on the go, a constant adventure.” In the artsiest product demo we’ve seen this week, she wears a custom suit powered by the Asus Transformer 3 Pro and synced with her heart rate to go 83 meters deep.

That was pretty impressive. But we will stay on the surface looking down, thank you very much.

The next, very different ad in this campaign features David Fischer, founder of the fashion/culture magazine and website Highsnobsociety, explaining how he turned said snobbery into a legitimate business with the help of the trusty Asus ZenBook.

That one was a little less interesting, and Fischer’s “Just do what you enjoy most” doesn’t always lead to success.

Maybe we’re a little jealous of a dude who created a media company all by himself. And his office looks a bit like that of a chief creative officer, too.

CREDITS

“Ocean Heart”

Director: Moritz Grub
DOP: Moritz Grub
Creative Director: Moritz Grub
Underwater Director: Julie Gautier
Underwater DOP: Julie Gautier
1st Assistant Director: Stefan Dotter
Camera Assistant: Stefan Dotter
Underwater Camera Assistant: Arthur Lauters
Production: Amsterdam Worldwide
Producer: Christy Colon
Art Director: Martí Panes
Account Director: Agathe Wiedemair
Post Production: Paul Schwabe Digital Production
Music: YouGuys Music Berlin
On-screen Talent and Freediver: Sofía Gómez Uribe
Dive Center and Dive Equipment: Blue Life Dive
Safety Divers: Walid Boudhiaf / Jonathan FaneStock
Footage: Vitali Gelwich

“Dream Machine”

Director: Philipp Ramhofer
DOP: Jakob Preischl
Camera Assistant: Dominik Bodammer
Creative Director: Moritz Grub
Creative: Maximilian Braun
Account Director: Agathe Wiedemair
Production: BWGTBLD
Producer: Sebastian Cordes
Line Producer: Anna Bauer
Editor: Christian Zimmermann / Thomas Wedekind
Post Production: Paul Schwabe Digital Production
Music: Moritz Staub / staub-audio
On-screen Talent: David Fischer

In the United States, 1 in 15 children are exposed to violence between intimate partners each year.

A new ad far from the usual humor and product pitches dives a bit deeper into that tragic statistic by illustrating the tale of a young boy caught between real life and fantasy.

“Hero,” a PSA for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, dramatically intersperses this child’s day-to-day struggles with his desire to escape into outer space.
The work was created by production company Chirp Films and directed by Noah Conopask, who said, “The film is autobiographical. The boy is me. I had to make it. Children look up to their parents. Even if they don’t want to. I hope that I can inspire action in those who may be broken or hurt and are acting in this way. I hope I can stir them to look at themselves and recognize what it is doing to their child, their family and themselves.”

Unfortunately, a child doesn’t even have to be directly abused to be affected by domestic violence. Here are some related statistics from the NCADV.

CREDITS

Title: ‘Hero’

Client: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Production Company: Chirp Films
Director: Noah Conopask
Executive Producer: Laura Thoel
Producer: John Malina
PM: Mario D’Amici
DP: Garrett Hardy Davis
Sound Designer: Gavin Little
Editor: James Dierx (Whitehouse Post)
Production Designer: Alex Choate
Wardrobe Stylist: Marissa Adele

Office Depot was likely the first of the back to school flock this year, launching a 15-second spot from new AOR Zimmerman last month. But Great Clips is also getting out ahead of the pack, extending seasonal creep and ruining summer fun for children everywhere with a new campaign from Minneapolis agency Periscope targeting parents.

A pair of national broadcast spots, directed by Periscope chief creative officer Peter Nicholson, employ the “school described like it’s a nature documentary trope.” If you’ve ever taught at an elementary school, you understand why this is such a commonly employed tactic.

“The back-to-school season is a very important time for both kids and parents. The kids are returning to the proverbial kingdom of school,” Nicholson said in a statement. “It has a lot of great parallels to the classic animal kingdom shows, creating a great metaphor that stresses to parents the importance of starting the year off feeling great.”

“The Fall Migration” is set in the anxiety-provoking setting of the school bus on the first day of school.

“So begins the fall migration,” the retro-styled voiceover opens the spot. “In this roving habitat, youngsters are eager to show off their freshly shorn plumage,” he adds as the kids, who appear a bit too happy to return to class, show off their new haircuts.

The spot ends with a “survival tip” for parents, advising them to use online checking at Great Clips to save time during the busy back to school season.

Another spot, “The Watering Hole” employs much the same approach in a different location: the water fountain. Both spots will run in 30 and 15-second versions on national broadcast, and the campaign also includes digital, social, print and in-salon components.

Unfortunately, the effort fails to live up to the agency’s 2015 “#MoreMinutes” effort, which found a more fun and creative way to showcase how Great Clips can help save time during the busy lead-up to the school year.

“Our focus with this campaign is helping parents set their kids up for success. The first day is a time when everyone wants to feel their best; a haircut can really help boost confidence,” Great Clips director of brand marketing Ann Latendresse said in a statement. “It’s one less thing for parents to worry about during a really hectic time. The work with Periscope plays that up in a fun way.”