Hasta La Creative!

Despite numerous campaigns and laws passed over the years, the “texting while driving” phenomenon continues to cause far too many wrecks.

So now, a group of NYC-based advertising and production folks whose resumes include stints at BBDO and BBH NY aims to raise awareness of the problem with a 30-second film for the organization TxtResponsibly.org. This time, though, the parties involved decided to tweak the usual texting-while-driving PSA formula by replacing mobile devices with deadly metaphor.

Aimed mainly at teens, the spot — currently running on YouTube pre-roll and local stations — was shot over a weekend in New Jersey and seemingly takes its cues from Russian Roulette.

Still, its blunt messaging is relevant to all age groups.

Last summer, no one at W+K Amsterdam would confirm a tip that the agency had won creative duties for S7 Airlines, beating out three other agencies in a review after initially working with the airline on a project basis. Now, W+K Amsterdam has revealed new work for The Airline Formerly Known as Siberia Airlines with the integrated campaign, “Fly to anywhere you can imagine.”

At the center of the campaign is a spot in which the agency interviewed twenty children, asking them, “If you could fly to any place you can imagine where would it be?” and documenting each imaginative response. Predictably, these responses included magical creatures like mermaids and dragons, along with one girl who wanted to see prehistoric mammoths. When they asked the children the follow-up question, “Do you think all these places exist?” they were grounded enough to reply in the negative. But the team traveled around the world for places that approximated their decisions, some more than others, resulting in a visually compelling and imaginative montage of exotic locations and ending the spot with the “Fly to anywhere you can imagine” tagline. Broadcast versions of the full-length ad, running in both 30 and 60-second versions, will air across Russia and also play in cinemas across the country. Print, OOH, digital and social components will also support the campaign, including an interactive experience online which allows “visitors to embrace their inner child and discover their own
dream destination.”

“With all the pressures of modern life it’s easy to forget how incredible and mind-blowing our world is. There are so many wondrous destinations to discover and places that are hard to believe exist at all,” explained Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Directors Szymon Rose and Daniel Schaefer, in a statement. “The goal of the campaign was to encourage Russian travellers to dream big and remind them that there’s a whole big world out there. By utilizing the limitless imaginations of children we are able to take people on a journey to see our planet in a whole new way.”

Credits:

S7 AIRLINES

Chief Marketing Officer: Tatiana Fileva

Marketing Communications Director: Eleonora Romanova

Brand Manager: Alexandra Komarova

WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM

Executive Creative Directors: Mark Bernath & Eric Quennoy

Creative Directors: Daniel Schaefer & Szymon Rose

Art Director: Vasco Vicente

Copywriter: Evgeny Primachenko

Head of Content: Joe Togneri

Head of Interactive Production: Kelsie van Deman

Broadcast Producer: Lars Fabery de Jonge

Interactive Producer: Arnaud Ronquillo, Alex Grolleman

Planner: Nick Docherty

Group Account Director: Kirk Johnsen

Account Director: Nick Campion

Account Executive: Yulia Prokhorova

Head of Studio: Jackie Barbour

Art Buyer: Maud Klarenbeek, Stacey Prudden

Creative Retoucher: Dario Fusnecher

Studio Artist: Noa Redero

Project Manager: Stacey Prudden

Business Affairs: Kacey Kelley

FILM PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION COMPANY: SMUGGLER LONDON

Co-Managing Director: Fergus Brown & Chris Barrett

Director: Joshua Neale

Director of Photography: Mattias Rudh

Producer: Nick Fewtrell

EDITING COMPANY: TRIM EDITING

Editor Paul Hardcastle, Fouad Gaber (assistant)

AUDIO: POST WAVE LONDON, WAVE AMSTERDAM

Sound Designer/Mixer Aaron Reynolds – London

Alex Nicholls-Lee – Amsterdam

MUSIC

Composer / Title Philip Kay / Across Endless Skies

Music Company: Woodwork Music

POST PRODUCTION: MPC LONDON

Flame: Marcus Dryden

3D: William Lanham

Telecine: Jean-Clement Soret

Producer: Amy Richardson, Lisa Vaughan

FILM PRODUCTION (Russia)

PRODUCTION COMPANY: HYPE PRODUCTION

Executive Producer: Ilya Stewart & Murad Osmann

Producer: Julia Samoylova

DIGITAL PRODUCTION – CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

PRODUCTION COMPANY: WILD

Executive Producer: Thomas Ragger

Creative Technologist: Thomas Strobl

Creative Director: Thomas Lichtblau

Art Director: Matthias Mentasti

DIGITAL: BANNERS PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Bannerboy

Head of Production: Henrik Anestedt

Producer: Alexandra Psalti

JWT Atlanta launched a new integrated recruitment campaign for the US Marine Corps entitled “Home of the Brave.”

Two new spots attempt to target young people, emphasizing the Marine Corps as inclusive and diverse (despite the practice of gender segregation during recruit training) and presenting the division as defending the ideals of freedom and democracy. In “Wall,” the narrator rails on about how walls “divide, separate, segregate” while the camera settles on a brick wall in the desert. Then a bunch of Marines blow the wall to shit and storm through. So if you love unity and want to blow the hell out of walls, maybe the Marines are right for you. Another spot, “The Land We Love” is shot first person, with a man on a Subway asking, “So why the Marines?” and the remainder of the ad giving an impassioned answer via a montage. In addition, the campaign is supported by digital and social elements.

“The new work is the culmination of extensive research into today’s youth market, which underscored the importance of reflecting a more contemporary view of the country,” explained Sean McNeeley, group account director, J. Walter Thompson Atlanta, in a statement. “”Young people from all walks of life see America differently, but its enduring values anchor them in their call to serve.”

Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai launched a campaign for KIA Motors Egypt highlighting the dangers of texting and driving, entitled “Crash Text.”

An abstract, 60-second spot, which will run online and in cinemas beginning today, sheds light on the fact that you lose concentration on driving the moment you start typing the first letter of your message. In other words, one letter is enough to cause an accident that could cost you your life. To highlight this message, the spot shows letters in various states of destruction, attempting to cut through the barrage of driver safety ads by standing out from the pack.

“The abstract approach was deliberate in the hope that people who see it are left with the message that it’s not necessarily the act of driving that causes accidents but the habit of texting and driving,” explained Richard Copping, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai. “I hope that when people see the film, they will learn from it.”

While texting and driving is clearly a global issue, it is as pressing in Egypt as anywhere. The country has more road accidents per miles driven than any other in the world.

Credits:

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi MENA

Client: KIA Motors Egypt (EIT)

Executive Creative Director: Richard Copping

Copywriter: Simon Raffaghello

Art Director: Raja Rizkallah, Ion Cojocaru, Anjum Shaikh

Animation: Raja Rizkallah

Tarek Akil: Account Manager

Music: Tim Hecker, Warp Music

With spring just around the corner, BBDO New York has launched a new “Build Your Home Improvement Confidence” for Lowe’s for the brand’s busiest season.

In a series of 30-second broadcast spots, BBDO New York shows how Lowe’s can help build your confidence for home improvement projects with the right advice and guidance, and how that confidence swell doesn’t exactly transfer to other areas. In “Crabgrass” (featured above) for example, a man tells his neighbor how Lowe’s gave him some tips, helped him pick out the right fertilizer to transform his lawn and made him feel like he could do anything. He soon learns, however, that he can’t fold a fitted sheet.

Other spots employ a similarly humorous approach to situations such as a man thinking he can learn sign language so he can talk to a gorilla because Lowe’s showed him how to build a deck and a man pitching a terrible idea to his boss after gaining a swell of confidence from installing a vanity. All of the campaign aspects drive viewers to a content hub hosted on Tumblr, which “curates the best of Lowe’s informational, instructional and inspirational content and is the centerpiece of the new initiative.” While the humor is pretty hit-or-miss, the concept fits with the tagline and content hub well, and is adaptable enough for future expansion or reinterpretation.

Credits:

Agency: BBDO New York

Client: Lowe’s

Title: “Crabgrass”, “Deck”, “Paint”, “Vanity”

Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars

Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn

Executive Creative Director: Lauren Connolly

Executive Creative Director: Tim Bayne

Creative Director: Mike Sweeney

Creative Director: Molly Adler

Copywriter: Jess Coulter

Art Director: Eli Terry

Head of Integrated Production: David Rolfe

Executive Producer: Ashley Henderson

Senior Account Director: Jim Reath

Senior Account Director: Bob Estrada

Account Director: Lisa Roytman

Account Supervisor: Ryan Dillon-Curran

Assistant Account Executive: Zach Allen

Group Planning Director: Emily Viola

PRODUCTION COMPANY: EPOCH

Michael Downing: Director

Director of Photography: Masa Takayanagi

Music House: Barking Owl

Edit House: MackCut

Editor: Ian Mackenzie

Visual Effects House: Spontaneous

Strongbow Hard Apple Ciders, the highest selling brand globally in the rapidly increasing hard cider market, launched a new phase of its “Cider at its Bestest” campaign from creative agency of record featuring Patrick Stewart.

Stewart takes his usual self-deprecating humor to new levels, playing a podium in the 15-second “Award.” He holds up an award Strongbow won at the 2014 World Beer Championships as the voiceover states “All we need to sell Strongbow Hard Cider is ice…and an award for best tasting hard cider” (that award was actually for “Best Tasting Common Cider” at the 2014 World Beer Championships). When Stewart peeks out from behind the award to ask if the director got the shot, he’s asked, “Remember that thing about keeping your face behind the award.”

While the style of humor certainly gels with Stewart’s persona, he’s also a longtime cider drinker and fan of the brand (see the video below). “As a cider fan, the idea of working with Strongbow was very appealing, and the tone of their creative idea paired perfectly with my own,” Stewart said in a statement. “We had a great time filming the spots, and I’m looking forward to my continued support of the campaign in the months ahead.”

The 15-second spot began broadcasting yesterday, with an alternate version of the same length, with a different ending, airing later in the year. In addition to the new ads, Strongbow is also launching two new flavor varieties — Strongbow Red Berries and Strongbow Ginger — which will be featured in a new variety pack launch.

Credits:

Agency: Droga5 NY

Creative Chairman: David Droga

Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer

Creative Directors: Rick Dodds & Steve Howell

Copywriter: Matt McCarron

Art Director: Conor Hagan

Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale

Broadcast Producer: Bill Berg

Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer

Head of Strategy: Chet Gulland

Strategy Director: Dan Neumann

Communications Strategist: Kevin Wang

Group Account Director: Dan Gonda

Account Director: Nadia Malik

Account Manager: Ashton Atlas

Client: Strongbow Hard Ciders (Heineken USA)

Senior Brand Director: Charles Van Es

Brand Director: Alejandra de Obeso

Brand Manager: Eric Markus

Production Company: Caviar Content

Director: Ruben Fleischer

DOP: Dion Beebe

Executive Producer: Jasper Thomlinson

Executive Producer: Luke Ricci

Producer: Luke Thomlinson

Editorial: Work Editorial

Edito: Ben Jordan

Assistant Editor: Adam Witten

Executive Producer: Erica Thompson

Senior Producer: Sari Resnick

Post Production: The Mill

In what we believe to be the latest campaign from BBH Asia Pacific in Singapore, IKEA follows up its much-clicked “bookbook” spot with an even more awkward ad about the many ways in which everyone’s favorite Swedish furniture retailer can make everything a little simpler…and cheaper. And more eminently breakable.

This one takes the awkward Scandanavian design theme a bit further, with the same stock photo-friendly actor playing the role of “shelf help guru.” The could-be serial killer uses his visual and sentimental genius to assist a couple whose problems go a bit deeper than their home decor with a little help from a ridiculously overwrought score:

Will this frustrated wife ever escape the doldrums of a passionless marriage? Will her well-groomed son ever learn not to leave his toys on the bathroom floor? Will her hapless husband ever figure out how to use his “junk?”

We almost certainly won’t find out in the campaign’s next chapter.

Credits when they come in.

adam&eveDDB launched a new campaign for Temptations introducing the brand’s new Snacky Mouse, a toy that rewards cats for playing with it by releasing treats.

The 60-second spot “#CatVs.Mouse” likens the way cats attack the toy for their treat to boxing. Goofy cat humor, mixed in with some retro gaming references, combine for a spot seemingly designed in an attempt to go viral. Time will tell on that one, although cat humor tends to be a pretty dependable source of Internet popularity. The spot is supported by digital, PR and in-store activations, as well as Snacky Mouse Rumble, “a live animation action survival game” featured on Buzzfeed beginning today in which players attack items while avoiding bombs. It’s hard to imagine that one won’t go over well with Internet cat lovers.

Credits:

Client  Mars Petcare US

Brand  Temptations cat treats

Launch date  16 March 2015, online only

Project name: Snacky Mouse Launch – Time to play #CatVsMouse

Client:

Craig Neely – Marketing Director, Mars Petcare US

Melodie Bolin – Brand Manager, Mars Petcare US

Creative agency: adam&eveDDB

Chief Creative Officer: Ben Priest

Executive Creative Directors: Ben Tollett, Emer Stamp, Rick Brim

Creative Director/s: Rick Brim & Daniel Fisher

Copywriter:    Frances Leach

Art director: Christopher Bowsher

Producer: Patrick Cahill

Planner: Elaine Miller

Media agency: Digitas & Starcom US

Media planner:

Production company: Passion Pictures

Director: Tim Hope

Editor: Dan Budin

Soundtrack name and composer: “Fighter’s Heart” by IMAGEM Publishing

Post-production: Passion Pictures

Audio post-production: Clearcut Sound

Sound Design: Christopher Wilson

BBDO New York & Atlanta launched a series of “Legends” spots for AT&T’s March Madness campaign featuring retired basketball greats Shaquille O’Neal, Julius “Dr J” Erving, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner.

The spots find room for each of these talents, but lean pretty heavily on O’Neal for humor. In the above “Strong Nickname” for example, O’Neal demonstrates how he got the nickname “The Big Dance” in college. Another broadcast spot focuses on the irony of Laettner saying “You can’t just get to the Sweet 16 and just rest on your laurels” while literally resting on his laurels.

BBDO New York and BBDO Atlanta also created a pair of pre-roll ads featuring the stars giving “Tourney Tips,” such as Drexler demonstrating how to avoid getting noodle arms from watching too many games and Shaq addressing what to do if your team gets upset. The campaign made its broadcast debut yesterday during the NCAA Selection Show, with new spots set to roll out throughout the tournament.

Credits:

Agency:  BBDO New York & Atlanta

Client: AT&T

Campaign: March Madness Legends

Title: “Strong Nickname”, “Strong Team”

Pre-rolls: “Bracket Curls”, “Upset”

Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars

Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn

Executive Creative Director: Matt Macdonald

Senior Creative Director: Rob Munk

Senior Creative Director: Mark Voehringer

ACD/Art Director: Jesse Snyder

ACD/Copywriter: Tim Wassler

Group Executive Producer: Julie Collins

Senior Producer: Angela Narloch

Music Producer: Melissa Chester

Managing Director: Doug Walker

Group Account Director: Lesley Brown

Account Supervisor: Andrew Woodruff

Assistant Account Executive: Katie Bowers

Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker

Director: Stacy Wall

Director of Photography: John Lynch

Line Producer: Jenn Barrons

Editing Company: Arcade NY

Editor: Jeff Ferruzza

Executive Producer: Sila Soyer

Producer: Lauren Cancelosi

Visual Effects: Framestore

VFX Producer: Nicholas Dziekonski

Audio Mixing: Heard City

Audio Mixer: Phil Loeb

Durex has launched a new campaign purporting to show couples a new way to utilize mobile tech to up their game in the bedroom, created by creative agency of record Havas.

A new online ad from Havas Worldwide London begins by showing a diverse group of couples describing their (some might say excessive) smart phone use. The spot then introduces Durex’s solution for utilizing tech in the bedroom to jumpstart their love lives. But there’s a twist; the “simple” solution that the brand comes up with is one that should have already been obvious, although it could still help couples if they follow the advice. The video has made quite an impression online already, racking up over 21 million views on YouTube in under a week. Adweek reports that the campaign also supports the “Earth Hour” initiative later this month. If you’re wondering what to do when the power is out, we’re guessing Durex has a few suggestions.

Credits:

Advertising Agency:  Havas WW London
Agency Creative Director: Mark Fairbanks
Copywriter: Andy Mcananey
Art Director: Christian Sewell
Planning Director: Yelena Gaufman
Planner: Gemma Hamilton
Business Director: Julian Ashley
Account Director: Ainhoa Wadsworth
Agency Producer: Katie Wood
Media Company: Aegis
Production Company: Clearstory
Director: Russell Barnes and Molly Milton
Editor: Richard Trier & Steve Blackwell
Post prod Producer: Colin Oaten
Post-production: The Mill
Audio post-production: Dave Robinson & Tom Lane, Angell Sound Studios