Hasta La Creative!

San Francisco-based shop Mekanism continues its ongoing “It’s On Us” campaign for The White House, created to address the very serious issue of sexual assault on college campuses. After kicking off the campaign last fall with two spots including a celeb-driven one featuring the likes of Jon Hamm, Common and President Obama himself, the parties involved have launched the next phase in the form of print/outdoor.

Here’s the first, which plays on New York’s “if you see something, say something” ads:

Most of this chapter of the campaign, however, will be targeted at Spring Breakers in the Texas and South Florida areas. The first spot below targets alcohol abuse while the second addresses the matter of finding safety in numbers at related events:

Meanwhile, last year’s PSAs will continue to air through the month of March at select nationwide theaters, various sporting events including NASCAR races, and arenas including the Verizon Center, Target Center, United Center, and several more.

Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R is launching a new campaign for Bank of Scotland entitled “Decisions Well Made” with a broadcast spot of the same title starring actor James Cosmo (Braveheart, Highlander, Game of Thrones), which will broadcast in both 30 and 40-second versions in Scotland beginning tomorrow.

The vaguely surreal ad follows a young man receiving conflicting homebuying advice from his parents. He imagines Cosmo, dressed in Game of Thrones garb, telling him to “fly the nest” and “find a wise owl” for better counsel. “We help hundreds of people make the right move each month,” assures the voiceover at the spot’s conclusion, positioning the bank as the “wise owl” Cosmo refers to.

“The new campaign allows us to place the bank exactly where our customers want it – using expertise and experience to help customers make better financial decisions,” said Jean Reddan, head of marketing communications for brands and marketing, in a statement. “It’s a campaign that is both distinct for the banking sector and incredibly relevant for our customers.”

Credits:

Creative Director: Mark Roalfe

Art Director: Alex Bamford

Copywriter: Marc Hatfield

Account Director: Ben Van der Gucht

Agency Producer: Sonny Botero

Director/Production Co.:  Nick Gordon/Somesuch

Producer: Nick Goldsmith

Post Production: MPC

DoP: Rob Hardy

POSSIBLE worked with Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. for a video in which he delivers a bionic arm (designed to look like it’s out of Iron Man) designed by Collective Project student Albert Manero.

Manero (the real hero here) started Limbitless (part of Microsoft’s The Collective Project) a company who designs prosthetics, and provided the arm free of charge to the family of seven-year-old Alex. Alex is initially star-struck to see Downey Jr., but the commendable actor has a way of calming him down and soon the two are bonding. One of the most touching moments comes when Alex puts his child-size Iron Man hand in Downey Jr.’s.

The spot ends with a brief nod to Microsoft’s project management software OneNote. It’s easy to miss, especially after the emotional scene preceding it, but that actually helps keep it from detracting from the good will generated by The Collective Project and makes the ad seem less manipulative. The video was uploaded yesterday and already has over three million views on YouTube. Somewhat lost in the shuffle is another fine ad from POSSIBLE (featured below), minus the star power, which takes a closer look at The Collective Project.

Grey New York launched a new campaign for the American Egg Board with the spot “Side of Kevin,” starring Kevin Bacon. (His appearance follows brother Michael Bacon‘s appearance last year in 360i’s “Unsung Bacon” campaign for Oscar Mayer.)

The online ad, entitled “Side of Kevin,” opens with a woman making eggs for breakfast. “There is no better start to the day than eggs for breakfast,” she says to herself, “except maybe eggs with a side of…” and then Kevin Bacon adds “bacon” while laying on her kitchen counter, predictably scaring the crap out of the woman. From here, the spot trades in puns (although Bacon himself is not a fan), awkwardness and innuendo. Although she’s initially startled to find Kevin Bacon laying on her kitchen counter, she’s soon more than a little flirtatious. With the nearly guaranteed viral formula of celebrity awkwardness, it would be a surprise if this one doesn’t take off. Grey New York manages to work in a little self-awareness as well: when the woman tells Bacon he sounds like a commercial, he says, “Actually, it’s a web film.”

“With a last name like Bacon, I’m the obvious choice, and I’m excited to be a part of the new Incredible Edible Egg campaign,” the actor said in a statement. “I like the creativity behind the idea, and I’ve always been a big fan of eggs. They’re a nutritional powerhouse and I never get tired of them because there are so many ways you can eat them.”

Credits:

Client: American Egg Board
Spot: “Side of Kevin”
Agency: Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren (Global) / Andreas Dahlqvist (New York)
Creative Directors: Ari Halper (Executive Creative Director), Steve Krauss (Executive Creative Director), Brad Mancuso, Susan LaScala Wood
Art Directors: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin, Matt DeCoste
Copywriters: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin
Agency Producer: Perry Kornblum
Production Company (location): Moxie Pictures (LA)
Director: Martin Granger
Director of Photography: Alar Kivilo
Editor (person & company): Alex Cohan / Vision Post
Music/Sound Design (person & company): Matt Baker / Vision Post
Principal Talent: Kevin Bacon, Geneva Carr, Jeff Wiens

BBH London released an ambitious new ad for paint brand Dulux, entitled “Colourless Future,” imagining a dystopian future where color is banned.

The cinematic, 60-second spot is something of a spiritual successor to a spot BBH London created last year depicting prohibition if color had been banned instead of alcohol. It opens with the text, “Once upon a time in the future.” A woman bumps into a man and spills colored paint on him, setting off an alarm for a “Colour Violation” in the sector. After the two manage to escape, she takes him to a hideout full of all kinds of color and Dulux paint cans everywhere. The two hatch a plan to make a pretty drastic change.

While the ridiculous premise might be a bit hard to swallow, BBH London execute the ad well. The scope of the visual effects makes the ad feel like a sci-fi blockbuster, with the agency integrating the product well. No one who watches for more than a few seconds will confuse this for anything but an advertisement for paint, which is a good thing, but its cinematic ambitions set it apart and make it memorable.

Credits:

Agency: BBH London
Creative directors: Martha Riley, Nick Allsop
Creatives: Richard Hooley, Victoria Jagger
Production company: Somesuch
Director: Daniel Wolfe

In case you don’t remember Chris de Burgh’s 1986 tune “Lady in Red” (which made American Psycho Patrick Bateman swoon back in the day), it serves as the centerpiece for a new spot from WE ARE Pi Amsterdam for soft-drink giant Coca-Cola.

The Dutch-based campaign features a hipster who goes from EDM to emotional for mom and continues Coke’s “happiness” mantra in a matter of 30 seconds in order to celebrate everyday moments with family. At the very least, it makes us wax nostalgic for a moment.

In a statement, Coke senior brand activation manager Jeroen Lampe says:

“We are very excited about this new launch and believe that the campaign, delivering a functional message in a very compelling and engaging way, is going to help consumers understand the added value of this new pack.”

New packaging equals added value. Got it.

Agency: WE ARE Pi

Creative Director: Barney Hobson

Creative Director: Rick Chant

Design Director: Nessim Higson

Creative: Kaz Salemink

Managing Director: Alex Bennett Grant

Managing Partner: Patrick Garvey

Account Manager: Sam Speed

Strategy Director: Jessica Perri

Exec Producer: Kimia Farshidzad

Project Manager: Ambar Surastri

Business Affairs: Barrie Williams

Production

Production Company: Hazazah

Director: Billy Pols

DOP: Wouter Westendorp

Production Company: Hazazah

Line Producer: Cynthia Fidder

Production Manager: Tjalf Melle

Editor: Kim Hinrichs

Grade/Online: Glassworks Amsterdam

Music/Sound: Amp Amsterdam

Music: Kilomash – “I’ll be on that new $@#%” &Chris de Burgh – “Lady in Red”

To illustrate the effects of cyberbullying, john st. created “Kids Read Mean Tweets” for Canadian Safe School Network.

The idea riffs on the popular “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live, even employing a similar brick backdrop. At the beginning of the spot, the first couple of tweets are lightly mean-spirited but funny and the kids are able to laugh them off. As the segment progresses, however, the tweets become more and more mean, eventually degenerating into cruel attacks. The pacing and change in tone is executed perfectly, sending the message that cyberbullying is no laughing matter and giving viewers an idea of what its victims feel like.

“We wanted to use the ‘Mean Tweets’ model because in a way, those videos give the message that cyber bullying is ok – even funny,” explained Stu Auty, president of the Canadian Safe School Network, in a statement. “But adult celebrities have the maturity and confidence to overcome these hurtful words. Children don’t. For regular kids, words can cut like a knife. Cyber-bullying is an epidemic that invades their lives and leaves many feeling like there’s no way out.”

The team has launched a crowdfunding effort to pay for media buys, with the goal of placing the spot in the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs, where it will be seen by millions.

Credits:

Advertising Agency: John St, Canada
Executive Creative Directors: Stephen Jurisic, Angus Tucker
Creative Director: Niall Kelly
Copywriters: Kohl Forsberg, Jacob Greer
Art Directors: Jenny Luong, Denver Eastman
Agency Producers: Madison Papple, Cas Binnington
Production Company: OPC
Director: Chris Woods
Director of Photography: James Gardner
Executive Producers: Harland Weiss, Donovan Boden, Liz Dussault
Line Producer: Dwight Phipps
Editorial: Saints Editorial
Editor: Mark Paiva
Editorial Executive Producer: Stephanie Hickman
Editorial Producer: Ardith Birchall
VFX, Online & Finishing: The Vanity
Colourist: Andrew Exworth
Flame Artist: Naveen Srivastava
VFX Executive Producer: Stephanie Pennington
Audio Post Facility: Eggplant Collective
Audio Director / Composer: Adam Damelin
Audio Head of Production: Nicola Treadgold

Grey San Francisco created a public awareness campaign for The Salt Institute, a “North American-based, non-profit trade organization dedicated to advancing the benefits of salt,” introducing the character Olde Salty.

Olde Salty is an elderly gentleman with white hair and a long, white beard who is passionate about the idea that “Everything’s better with a little salt.” In the spot above that includes the roads (salt reduces accidents 88 percent) and the goose he’s cooking (salt increases poultry deliciousness by at least that much). Other spots see Olde Salty share his distinctive take on non-alcoholic beverages, longevity, history and more.

“Our goal was to create an iconic personality that could spread the word on many important uses of salt from traffic safety to softening water to the better
performance of household appliances,” explained Milan Martin, president of Grey San Francisco, in a statement. “He follows in a long line of Grey’s advertising icons that include the ETrade Baby and Rob Lowe for DirecTV.”

Credits:

Advertiser: The Salt Institute, Alexandria, VA

Agency: Grey San Francisco

Spot Title: Olde Salty Campaign

First Air Date: March 9, 2015

Agency:  Grey San Francisco

Chief Creative Officer: Curt Detweiler

Creative Director: E Slody

Art Directors: Tatum Cardillo, Jessica Churchill,

Copywriters: Curt Detweiler, Anthony Pagaza, E Slody

Agency Producer: Julie Costanzo

Production Company (location): Hungry Man, Los Angeles, CA

Director: Dave Laden

Director of Photography: Stoeps Langersteiner

Editor (person & company): Patrick O’Leary, HutchCo Technologies, LA, CA

Visual Effects: Jon Howard, HutchCo Technologies, LA, CA

Colorist: Jonny McPheeters, Libertad Soul, Redondo Beach, CA

Music/Sound Design (person & company): Chris Forrest, Studio Guapo, San Francisco, CA

Principal Talent:  Madison Mason “Olde Salty”

Gyro San Francisco teamed up with ROOF Studio to launch a digital campaign for Toshiba entitled “Bring Life Forward.”

A new 50-second spot promotes Toshiba’s “plans to create clean smart communities through green infrastructure.” Gyro and ROOF envision a near future where wind and solar energy are widespread. To visualize this they show a woman look out her window and then reach through her tablet, her hand becoming a tool that transforms power plants into wind turbines and installs solar panels on the roofs of houses. At the end of the spot, the city landscape is transformed into a futuristic version of itself. It’s a visually imaginative way to show Toshiba’s Smart Community initiative, and comes across as intriguing and memorable. As it is just the beginning of a larger digital campaign, it will be interesting to see how it unfolds from here.

Credits:

Client: Toshiba
Agency: Gyro
Director: ROOF Studio
Executive Producer: JaM Japan Marketing

Gyro:

Executive Creative Director: Steffan Postaer
Creative Director: Steve Mawhinney
Management Supervisor: Blythe Graham-Jones
Account Director: Maye Chua
Producer: Kathryn Redekop
Art Director: Toby Petersen
Senior Art Director: Rei Young
Senior Copywriter: Eric Flynn

Roof Studio:

Creative Directors: Guto Terni and Vinicius Costa
Executive Producer: Crystal Campbell
Line Producer: Stephanie Haberman
Director of Photography: Christopher Webb
Vfx Supervisor: Fred Palacio, Shane O`Hara and Mike Merron
Storyboard Artist: Carlos Ancalmo
Modeling: Alex Liki, Danilo Athayde, Todd Daniele and Wes Roblett
Rigging: Wesley Schneider
Tracking: Martin Gunnarsson
Animation: Lucas Ribeiro Fernandes and Shane O`Hara
UI Interface design: Piano Fuzz and Arvid Niklasson
Matte Painting: Fred Palacio and Guto terni
Render and Texture: Pedro Kobuti, Shane O’Hara, Guto Terni, Vinicius Valente
Effects: Pedro Kobuti
Compositing: Jason Conradt, Shane O’Hara, Guto Terni, Vinicius Costa, Pedro Kobuti, Fabio Zeveti and Oscar Tornincasa.
Edit: Guto Terni
Additional Footage: Getty Images and Shutterstock
Original Music: Huma-Huma

BBDO continues its Left Twix vs. Right Twix schtick for the brand with the release of several new ads featuring Nick Lachey.

In the introductory spot, a Left Twix spokesman announces the “big news” that Lachey has signed on as a celebrity endorser for Peanut Butter Left Twix, adding the “lame news” that Lachey has also signed on with Peanut Butter Right Twix. The remaining spots follow up on the premise, with Left and Right supporting Lacheys badmouthing each other as sellouts.

The spot was released as 15-second versions for Left and Right Twix, and a full 30-second version containing both (featured below). It’s really more of the same for this campaign, built around the absurdist humor of the Left and Right Twix adversaries, only extending the idea with Lachey’s celebrity endorsement. The campaign also includes print and a social component asking fans to declare their allegiance to #LeftTWIX or #RightTWIX. Why can’t we all just get along?

Credits:

Agency: BBDO New York

Client: TWIX

Title: TWIX Peanut Butter Celebrity Endorsement
Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Worldwide: David Lubars

Chief Creative Officer, BBDO New York: Greg Hahn

Executive Creative Director: Gianfranco Arena

Executive Creative Director: Peter Kain

Creative Director: Peter Alsante

Creative Director: Andre Massis

Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe

Group Executive Producer: Amy Wertheimer

Executive Producer: Alex Gianni

Executive Art Producer: Betsy Jablow

Managing Director: Kirsten Flanik

Global Account Director: Susannah Keller

Group Planning Director: Crystal Rix

Planner: Alaina Crystal

Account Director: Lisa Piliguian

Account Director: Phil Brolly

Account Manager: Ashley Gill

Account Executive: Aparna Joshi

Celebrity Talent Acquisition: The Marketing Arm

Entertainment Director: Brad Sheehan

Production Company: O Positive, LLC

Director: Kenny Herzog

Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella

Line Producer: Ken Licata

Editing Company: No 6

Executive Producer: Corina Dennison

Editor: Jason Macdonald
Martin Schoeller Studio

Photographer: Martin Schoeller

Producer: Lisa Hooper

Retoucher: Jim Lewis