Hasta La Creative!

Comedian Craig Robinson stars in agency The Brooklyn Brothers’ latest efforts for Pepsi’s “Hyped for Halftime” campaign, “Headin’ to Halftime,” a collaboration with Comedy Central.

The series (comprising three online spots) sees Robinson getting his band, The Nasty Delicious, together to play the Super Bowl Half Time show (a lifelong dream) with some help from Robinson’s fairy godmother. In “The Nasty What Now?” Robinson’s fairy godmother is introduced and we learn that The Nasty Delicious will be headed to Arizona. The group is actually Robinson’s band in real life, but in reality, of course, Katy Perry will be headlining the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. While it’s possible the Nasty Delicious could make a brief cameo before Perry’s performance, the band will be definitely be playing the night before at Comedy Central’s Key & Peele’s Super Bowl Comedy Special.

The second ad sees Robinson and his magic companion getting the band back together (they’ve gone on to some pretty important jobs). At over three minutes long it tends to drag along a part of the story that really should have been handled more quickly. Part three, meanwhile, sees Robinson attempt to get The Nasty Delicious’ groove back. The latest effort takes “Hyped for Halftime” to new levels of goofiness as the band finally performs, while working in something of a surprise ending.

goodness Mfg. created an ad for online used car buying site Carvana that will run regionally during the Super Bowl.

The 30-second spot is a celebration of laziness as “the mother of invention.” At the beginning of the spot a man is using Carvana to view a car when his father asks, “So you actually bought that car online yesterday? Are you really that lazy?” This sends the younger man on a rant about all the technological advances that make life easier. “What you call lazy, I call brilliant,” he concludes while speeding away in his new car.

The spot will broadcast regionally in the Atlanta and Charlotte markets during the Super Bowl, which Carvana says are two of its three core markets. It is targeted (clearly) at older millenials, which the brand explains is due to the demographic’s “openness to make major purchases online.”

Nike turned to integrated agency Brand New School and professional skaters Sean Malto and Shane O’Neill to help launch its new SB Free skateboarding shoe.

In a 90-second online spot, Malto and O’Neil turn tricks in the shoe in dramatic slow-motion. The spot also emphasizes the freedom of the shoe by comparing it to going barefoot — at the beginning of the spot one of the skater’s bare feet gradual morph into the SB Free. Malto and O’Neill pull of a variety of moves against a minimalist backdrop in an attempt to win over skaters loyal to rival brands. During the ad, viewers can click on any of the SB Free line shoes featured to learn more about them at Nike’s SB Free landing page.

Credits:

Brand: Nike

Agency: Brand New School
Managing Partner: Devin Brook
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Notaro
Art Director: Kris Wong
Producer: Whitney Green

Production Company: Brand New School
Managing Partner: Devin Brook
Director: Jonathan Notaro
DP: Pat Notaro
Line Producer: David Wolfson

Post Production: Brand New School
Designers: Andres Rivera, Waka Ichinose, Sakona Kong, Jeffery Welk, Audrey Yeo
Editors: Eric Wais, Sam Goetz
CG Supervisor: Russ Wootton
Technical Director/FX: Daniel Bradham
VFX Supervisor: Mark French
3D Animation: Daniel Bradham, Sprydon Serbos
3D Lighting: Michael Lampe
3D Modeling: Adam Rosenzweig
3D Tracking: Bogdan Mihajlovic, Shandy Tam
2D Animation: Morten Christensen, Jim Forster, Michael Batista
Rotoscoping: Sergei Martirosov, Carlos Rosario
Flame Artists: Greg Cutler, Todd Hemsley
Compositor: Tonya Smay
Storyboards: Will Rosado

Telecine: Company3
Colorist: Tom Poole

Audio Mix: Sonic Union
Mixer: David Pappa

We learned a couple of important things about Israeli web development platform company Wix this fall: the client will air an ad during the Super Bowl and it won’t be created by former AOR Springer + Partners.

Earlier this month the first teaser confirmed that the ad will star some former NFL players, and information about the campaign continues to leak out…slowly.

Now we know who won the work: Committee LA, a “creative/production hybrid studio…led by noted ad directors Frank Samuel and Jeff Reed and Executive Producer Lauren Bayer.”

For creative lead, Samuel tapped Jeff Huggins, creative veteran who served as CCO at McCann SF, ECD at Deutsch NY, and CD at GS&P (among other roles).

Here they are on set with Brett Favre and the guy from Entourage:

The ad, titled “Wix Entrepreneurs,” will air during the fourth quarter — but the team created plenty of additional material in the form of regional ads, Vine clips, and a six-minute video of Terrell Owens cooking.

We now know that the ad will star Favre as a retired NFL star and Rex Lee as his agent — and that it will include the Emmitt Smith line-dancing clip you’ve probably already seen:

Here are the other teaser clips officially released today:

…and here are the full credits.

The Richards Group partnered with Miranda Lambert in its latest effort for Ram Trucks, entitled “Roots and Wings.”

Lambert wrote the song of that title especially for the campaign. “I am very inspired by what the Ram brand stands for – being who you are, working hard, staying true to your roots,” she explained in a statement. “I wanted to write a song that would represent all of those things. ‘Roots and Wings’ is personal to me about where I come from and where I am going.”

The song takes center stage in the ad of the same name, which combines live footage of Lambert singing and playing a Gibson Hummingbird, animation, landscapes which “are actual locations that are part of Lambert’s life” and family photos. It will run in 30 and 60-second broadcast versions starting today, as well as a 15-second digital version and will be supported by social media and print elements — including a print ad in the February 2nd release of Country Weekly magazine, which will feature Lambert on the cover. The campaign is also timed to coincide with the singer’s “Certified Platinum Tour,” which will feature corr-promotional material at several venues.

Forsman & Bodenfors teamed up with production company New Land and director Gustav Johansson for a four minute homage to winter in Sweden on behalf of Volvo.

“Vintersaga” recently made its debut on YouTube and will also run on broadcast and in movie theatres. Set to Amanda Bergman’s ‘Vintersaga’, written by Ted Ström, the ad intersperses cinematic shots of winter landscape in Sweden with footage of different Volvo models (V70, XC70 and XC60), ending with the line “Made by Sweden.” According to a press release, the ad was inspired by the Swedish word “‘vemod,” which has no direct English translation but means “a tender sadness, or something that is sad but at the same time beautiful.” The spot certainly evokes something along those lines, with its footage of desolate but beautiful snow-covered forests, glaciers and rain on cobblestone Stockholm streets, positioning the brand as distinctly Swedish.

Credits:

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors

Production company: New Land

Director: Gustav Johansson

Director of Photography: Niklas Johansson

Post Production: Stopp Family

Skittles released a teaser of DDB’s Super Bowl spot for the brand today, but the content of the final spot remains a mystery.

The 15-second teaser shows a series of people with bulbous, muscular right arms (and normal left arms), ending with the text, “Super Bowl Sunday. It Will Be Settled.” What exactly “it” is and how it will be settled exactly remain unclear. Notably there is no sign of Marshawn Lynch, despite his association with the brand (and the Seahawks Super Bowl appearance). The brand will, however, be releasing a limited edition blue and green “Seattle Mix” to celebrate the team.

“While the two games settle things on the field, we’ll have people in a small town settling things, and this (commercial) will be about how they do that,” Matt Montei, senior marketing director for confections at Mars’ Wrigley unit, told Adweek.

72andSunny enlisted model Charlotte McKinney in its regional Super Bowl spot for Carl’s Jr., the brand’s latest sexually objectifying effort.

McKinney appears to be walking around a farmer’s market in the nude, while suggestively talking about how she loves “going all natural” — meanwhile carefully placed objects obscure certain areas (think Austin Powers). “Nothing between me and my 100 percent, all natural, juicy, grass fed beef,” she says, holding a burger, as the spot reveals a (not so surprising) twist. Interspersed with the cleavage is frat humor, as onlooking guys gawk and engage in activities suggestive of various states of arousal. In short, as usual Carl’s Jr. goes for the lowest common denominator, by way of sexuality and adolescent humor. We imagine there will be some awkwardly aroused teenagers watching the game with their families on the West Coast, where the ad will air, along with more than a few offended parties.

Credits:

Client: Carl’s Jr.

Agency: 72andSunny
Chief Creative Officer/Founder: Glenn Cole
Group Creative Director:  Justin Hooper
Group Creative Director: Mick DiMaria
Creative Director: Mark Maziarz
Jr. Writer: Reilly Baker
Designer: Esther Kim
Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Executive Film Producer: Molly McFarland
Film Producer: Brooke Horne
Film Production Coordinator: Taylor Stockwell
Group Brand Director: Judson Whigham
Brand Director: Alexis Coller
Brand Manager: Scott Vogelsong
Brand Coordinator: Anthony Fernandez
Group Business Affairs Director: Amy Jacobsen
Business Affairs Manager: Audra Brown
Business Affairs Manager: Maggie Pijanowski
Business Affairs Coordinator: Calli Howard
Group Strategy Director: Matt Johnson
Strategist: Eddie Moraga

Production Co.: RSA Films
Director: Jake Scott
Executive Producer: Tracie Norfleet
Producer: David Mitchell
Head of Production: Elicia Laport
Sales Rep: Shortlist

Post Production CO: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Rick Lawley
Assistant Editor: Devon Bradbury
Executive Producer: Joni Williamson
Producer: Evan Cunningham

Transfer: CO3
Colorist: Mike Pethel
Sr. Producer: Matt Moran

Visual EFX CO: JAMM Visual
VFX Supervisor: Jake Montgomery
VFX Supervisor: Andy Boyd
CG Supervisor: Jonathan Vaughn
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards

Sound Design + MIX: On Music & Sound
Composer: Chris Winston

Digital media company SheKnows, which owns sites including BlogHer and StyleCaster, has signed the Holderness Family to a deal for several videos throughout the year. The first of them, a Super Bowl-themed video for Hidden Valley, made its debut today.

The Holderness Family are former news anchors Kim and Penn Holderness and their children, Lola and Penn Charles, who first gained attention with a series of viral videos including “XMas Jammies” (which has almost 16 million views on YouTube).

They have worked directly with brands like Monopoly and Weight Watchers before, but the deal with SheKnows marks the first time they have signed with a publisher.

The resulting “It’s Sunday Night” — which features the Holderness Family singing/rapping (if it can be called that) about the difference between their family’s Super Bowl celebration and the party next door — is, frankly, insufferable.

If you’re already a fan of the family’s over-the-top mannerisms, then you may want to check it out — but it’s hard to imagine anyone else sticking around for the full video.

Snickers has released a teaser of its Super Bowl spot from BBDO New York, apparently a continuation of the agency’s ongoing “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign.

The teaser features Danny Trejo as Marsha Brady, angrily brushing his hair and counting each brushstroke as Mrs. Brady calls from downstairs, giving a pretty clear indication of the direction the full 30-second ad will take. Snickers’ ad will mark the brand’s first Super Bowl appearance since 2011, as Mars has instead opted to plug its M&Ms brand during the big game for the past few years. Interestingly, Snickers has promised to release the complete ad early if it generates enough interest.

“Fans can ask to have the spot released early through a number of social media activities, and if consumers generate 2.5 million social media engagements before kick-off on Feb. 1, Snickers will release the entire 30-second spot early,” the brand told Adweek.