Hasta La Creative!

With the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting coming up this Sunday, BBDO New York crafted a PSA campaign for Sandy Hook Promise, an gun violence prevention organization formed in the wake of that tragedy.

In the three-minute video “Monsters Under the Bed,” an interviewer has children draw pictures of monsters and then interviews parents asking them what they do to protect their children from these imaginary creatures, with parents offering up a range of responses. Then the interviewer changes the conversation, asking, “How do you protect them from gun violence?” Most of the parents just sit silently with a pained expression, and not one is able to offer a satisfying answer. BBDO New York drives the message home when text appears onscreen reading, “Last year, zero kids were killed by monsters under the bed. Let’s protect our kids from the real threats…so they can continue being afraid of the imaginary ones.”

The video ends by directing viewers to SandyHookPromise.org, where the organization offers parents, students and teachers tools and programs to prevent future gun violence, including mental wellness, social development and gun safety approaches.”Monsters Under the Bed” is being promoted on social channels including Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, and Twitter.

Additionally, BBDO New York worked with director Tarik Karam and executive producer Stephen Daldry to create a short documentary film called What They Left Behind. The documentary tells the story of three children who lost their lives to gun-related violence: “from a 17–year-old girl who committed suicide with her father’s gun; to an argument among young teenage boys in Iowa that  ended in bloodshed; to the Barden family who lost their 7-year-old son in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.”

“In the two years since I lost my son, I have been speaking with communities across the country to better understand the causes of gun violence,” said Nicole Hockley, communications director for Sandy Hook Promise and mother of six-year-old Sandy Hook victim Dylan. “What we have learned is that, as a nation, we can help to prevent tens of thousands of gun deaths, by first learning the warning signs of violent behavior and focusing on community-based programs to help and heal those most at risk.”

Stick around for the 35-minute What They Left Behind, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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In international campaign news, W+K New Delhi collaborated with production company Gang Films Paris for this lavish “Warrior Princess” ad promoting Forest Essentials.

Directed by Carole Denis, the spot has a cinematic feel and scope that makes it truly ambitious. “Warrior Princess” tells the story of “the transformation of a warrior maiden sent to battle,” according to a press release. While not all viewers will pick up on that, the spot is beautifully shot and produced while also incorporating the product well. It depicts a woman bathing and having a Forest Essentials cream rubbed on her forehead before suiting up, sheathing a small sword and riding off with a small group. While it’s hard to say a lot more without knowing much about the product in question, this is certainly one of the most visually stunning ads we’ve seen in awhile. (more…)

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BBDO New York and Foot Locker continue their extended winning streak with this just-released spot in which Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook promotes the client’s new Air Jordan line:

We like that the spot plays on multiple sportswear ad tropes as well as the mistaken but long-held belief that the right pair of sneakers can actually make one better at basketball (which has always been the not-so-secret selling point behind the Air Jordan line and all other celebrity-sponsored shoes).

The Spike Lee cameo is a nice touch as well.

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DDB Chicago is taking a break from reviving old Saturday Night Live characters to remind viewers that State Farm offers financial services, life and home insurance.

Two weeks ago, DDB Chicago launched the campaign with the sentimental spot “Never” (featured after the jump), depicting a man who says he’ll never get married getting married, having kids, moving to the suburbs and buying a minivan. Now, the agency has unleashed the next ad in the campaign, the similarly-minded “At Last.” The spot continues aiming for the heart, depicting a second marriage between a man and a woman who each have children. “Sometimes at last doesn’t happen at first,” says a voiceover as the couple tie the know. “Your dad just kissed my mom,” says the daughter and hugs her new brother as the voiceover ties the scene to State Farm: “Turning two worlds into one takes love, helping protect that world takes State Farm.” The spot debuted yesterday on ABC.

“It’s important for us to shift the way people think about us instead of just reinforcing what they already think,” Patty Morris, director-marketing and brand content at State Farm, explained to AdAge. “It’s all about the balance.”

The campaign will continue to roll out over the next 6-8 weeks, with at least two additional ads planned. According to AdAge these include a spot about a young man leaving home and a woman retiring early thanks to savvy financial planning. “They show things working out, but not how you planned,” said John Maxham, chief creative officer at DDB. “Theres a great human truth to that. And State Farm is there with you to handle these twists and turns.” (more…)

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McCann XBC teamed up with Gwen Stefani in a new 30-second broadcast spot for MasterCard directed by Wondros’ Sophie Muller.

The spot focuses on MasterCard’s integration with Apple Pay and the “priceless surprises” the company is giving away to customers using the new feature. Stefani works a rocket launcher, sending these surprises — including a hand bag, concert tickets (to see Stefani, naturally) and a “golf experience” represented by a golf kart — flying through the air toward unsuspecting MasterCard users. At the end of the spot, an unsuspecting fan rocking Stefani’s old haircut wins a chance to meet the woman herself.

It’s pretty basic stuff, with McCann XBC and MasterCard counting on Stefani’s star power to win over viewers and the potential prizes to get them excited for MasterCard’s Apple Pay integration. The choice of Stefani isn’t simply a nostalgic one for the brand, as the singer’s recent single “Spark The Fire” is used as the spot’s soundtrack and she has both a solo album and an album with No Doubt in the works.

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BBH London tells the story of “The Boy Who Learnt To Share” for KFC in a 60-second holiday spot for the brand.

The ad shows the selfish nature of a young boy who refuses to share. He hogs up all the snow when making snowmen with his sister, won’t share an umbrella with his mother, writes his name on all the Christmas presents and, when cast as one of the wise men in a Christmas pageant, he won’t even give a gift to the baby Jesus. When the family gets KFC he initially holds his arms around an entire bucket, declaring it for himself. But when he sees the rest of the family happily sharing the rest of the meal, he finally decides to share, offering his sister a drumstick.

The whole “learning to share” angle is not a bad approach for a heartwarming holiday spot, and the spot is mostly put together well, but there’s one problem I can’t seem to get over with this one. At no point in the ad do we see the parents actually try to teach their son to share, something he should presumably have learned at least a little about from them. Instead, the parents seem to just ignore his bad behavior as if there’s nothing they can do and let him continue to act like a little snot. Wouldn’t the boy finally learning to share mean more if they had made attempts to teach him before? Understandably the spot is attempting to show KFC as the catalyst for the revelation, but this comes across as a bit random and forced since viewers aren’t really presented a window into his motivations or given the impression that the parents have done anything to try to change the son’s behavior.

“The Boy Who Learnt To Share” is supported by a social campaign in which KFC is calling on fans to tweet using the hashtag #KFCSharesies for the chance to participate in a campaign challenge and win a prize. (more…)

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EVB and Victors & Spoils give “The Gift of Giving” in a holiday campaign for JCPenney which asks shoppers to give a gift to a complete stranger.

Filmed last month in JCPenney stores in Illinois and Indiana the video follows as customers are told to find someone in the store to give a gift to. That person then travels with them around the store and together they pick out a gift, with JC Penney picking up the tab. The gifts range from jeans and a jacket to a sofa and even an engagement ring as participants engage in tearful signs of appreciation and hugs. It’s designed to be a heartwarming affirmation that giving is better than receiving; in other words, the polar opposite of Harvey Nichols’ cynical “Could I Be Any Clearer?” spot from adam&eveDDB.

“The idea of having to give something to a complete stranger can be very scary,” JCPenney CMO Debra Berman told Adweek. “And it’s that vulnerability that made this experiment so real and interesting. It brought out emotions in both the giver and the receiver.”

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Publicis London turns to beeped out cursing in its irreverent holiday ad for Oral-B, entitled, “Merry Beeping Christmas from Oral-B.”

The spot opens on a woman stepping on an angel ornament while tip-toeing around the house barefoot carrying presents. She lets out a few bleeped out choice words, and quickly we’re on our way to the next profanity-inducing situation. These scenarios run the gamut from ugly sweaters to cooking accidents and trouble with the lights but each result in an expected torrent of profanity. The ad ends with the tagline “At least you don’t have to worry about your smile,” accompanied by the Oral-B logo. It may be a bit of a stretch, but tying oral care to the holidays isn’t the easiest proposition in the world and the spot is fun and clever enough to fit in with other cheeky holiday ads we’ve seen this year from brands in the UK. (more…)

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CHI&Partners launched a new holiday campaign for Carphone Warehouse enititled “#ColourInvasion” promoting the large number of color exclusives available in its stores for the holiday season.

The spot is set in a dark, gloomy seaside town that (as you may have guessed from the title) receives a sudden invasion of color. That color arrives courtesy of a group of bikers, all decked out in colorful clothing to create a kind of motorcycle chain rainbow. Keeping things on the minimalist side, the spot lets the color speak for itself, without any intrusion from voiceover. The campaign is running online on Carphone Warehouse’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels, as well as the brand’s online content hub, The Lowdown. Yesterday the rband also launched a competioon across its social channels, affording customers the opportunity to win an “exclusively colored handset every day for two weeks” and the chance to win a grand prize of a Harley Davidson 883 Matte Black Roadster.

“The work is an epic, vibrant, dollop of colour hitting Britain’s shores with impact,” said Rob Webster and Alexei Berwitz, creative directors at CHI&Partners, in a press release. “Here, the team have created a campaign which is as joyously simple as the brief that inspired it.” (more…)

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Wellington agency Clemenger BBDO has a history of releasing intriguing road safety PSAs, forgoing the typical heavy-handed scare tactics in favor of nuanced spots that tell stories rather than beat viewers over the head with a message. Their track record includes last year’s “Blazed” stoned driving PSA and this effort from January. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the agency has once again delivered with “Local Legends,” but it just may be their best attempt yet.

The spot takes an intriguing approach to the problem of drunk driving, targeting not drivers themselves but bystanders who witness people getting into their cars drunk but are unsure how to act, or if it is their place to do so. In the ad, two elderly gentleman at a gas station see a group of rowdy youngsters getting into their car. “They’re just kids, if we don’t say something” one of them says, gesturing toward the group. “Why don’t you get a lift home tonight?” one of the men asks the boys, who are initially dismissive. Eventually, after much discussion, they convince the group to let one of them drive them home. What really sets the ad apart is how convincing the dialogue is, with awkwardness and humor that pulls the viewer into the story.

Clemenger BBDO also manages to incorporate a clever social extension, with local newspapers, radio and street posters asking public “What would you say?” and allowing them to respond via phone, text or Facebook, and then sharing the best responses. Rather than feeling tacked on, it engages viewers with a question the PSA implies and gets people thinking about what they’d do in a similar situation. Not only does this increase viewer engagement with the PSA, it may even help change bystander behavior, ultimately the goal of the campaign.

“The purpose of this strategy is to get people to be their own legends,” explains Linda Major, head of social marketing at Clemenger BBDO. “By thinking about what they would do in a similar situation people will be better prepared intervene in a way that defuses a real situation.” (more…)

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