Hasta La Creative!

Tampa agency PP+K is launching a new campaign for Bright House Networks with a 60-second broadcast spot entitled “First Dance.”

The spot follows the story of a young boy as he learns to dance and attempts to win over a crush, getting help from Bright House Networks products and services along the way. Opening with the boy stealing a glance at his crush, the spot shows him learning to dance and concludes with him at his first dance, crossing over from the boys side of the auditorium to girls (anyone who has ever been to a middle school dance is familiar with this gender divide) to ask his crush for a dance.

“A boy figuring out how to impress a girl is a timeless story,” explains Paul Prato, creative director at PP+K. “What’s different is that technology is now so intuitive and integrated into our lives that it creates new means to fulfill this type of personal journey.”

The spot, which broke yesterday, was a collaboration with Serial Pictures, shot on location in Los Angeles by director Matt Bieler and then completed at PP+K’s Tampa office by its internal production house. It marks the beginning of what will be an ongoing campaign for Bright House Networks, entitled “Connecting Friends,” which aims to “pursue common themes that truly matter in people’s lives: love, learning, self-improvement, family and friendship.” Additional spots will being airing early next year. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Last year, FCB Chicago (then Draftfcb Chicago) caused a stir with its “Show Your Joe” spot for Kmart and Joe Boxer. The spot, which showed boxer-clad men jiggling their unmentionables to the tune of “Jingle Bells” went viral while stirring up controversy among the easily offended and earning the unofficial title “Jingle Balls.”

This year, FCB Chicago is back with a new holiday musical, moving on to a new body part but sticking with same song. “Jingle Bellies” features men clad in open suit tops and pajama bottoms exposing their bellies, as you might imagine, and performing a percussive rendition of “Jingle Bells.” The 60-second spot ends with a surprise tip of the hat to last year’s spot, and the same “Get More Christmas” tagline. Fans of last year’s spot should enjoy it well enough, although without the same level of controversy it’s unlikely to generate the same viral success as “Show Your Joe” and those irked by that attempt will continue to not be amused. The ad, which like last year’s spot was directed by Christian Weber, makes its broadcast debut tonight.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Here’s a unique twist on the classic anti-drunk driving PSA from AMV BBDO in the UK.

It’s the government’s way of celebrating the success of its 50-year-old Think! campaign in reducing the number of drunk driving deaths in the Kingdom by setting the usual rescue scenes to what may be the least appropriate music available: Jersey City’s own Kool & the Gang.

The numbers tell a story that’s somehow both encouraging and pessimistic as the end of the spot shows us exactly why the campaign matters. And of course the whole thing is set to a song best fit for roller rinks and the dentist’s office.

UK press has called the ad “shocking“; if an American group ran it, we’re fairly certain that scandal would follow.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

W+K Portland launched a campaign for Nike’s Hyperwarm line with the 60-second broadcast spot “Choose Your Winter.”

The spot enlists an unexpected guest for the brand in Chris O’Dowd (who you probably remember as Kristen Wiig‘s love interest in Bridesmaids). O’Dowd plays an alarmist newscaster making dire predictions about a “snow-mageddon” or “snow-tastrophe” — even claiming that ancient man went extinct during the Ice Age. His over-the-top warnings about the cold and snow are contrasted with images of athletes — including NFL stars Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson, figure skater Gracie Gold, soccer players Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans, middle distance runner Mary Cain and snowboarder Johnnie Paxson — decked out in Nike Hyperwarm and powering through the cold. The message is clear and effective: you can exaggerate the effects of the cold and use it as an all encompassing excuse or you can tough it out with help from Nike. 

Nike told Adweek the spot is the first in a series. Athletes who will appear in future spots include NHL star Dion Phaneuf and Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who is currently playing in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Area 23, part of FCB Health, teamed up with diabetes advocacy organization The diaTribe Foundation for a campaign called “The State of Diabetes” launching today, on World Diabetes Day.

The campaign is based around the insight that if the 343 million people living with type 2 diabetes around the world were recognized as a sovereign state by the United Nations it would be the world’s third largest country. So Area 23 and The diaTribe Foundation launched an initiative petitioning the United Nations to recognize type 2 diabetes as a sovereign nation. While it’s fair to assume that no one involved actually expects that one to pan out, The diaTribe Foundation hopes the initiative will “spark conversations about furthering education and awareness efforts, and even inspire access to healthier food across the globe.”

“In emerging nations—where processed and fast foods are too often more accessible than healthier options—‘lifestyle choices’ may not really be choices,” explains Kelly Close, founder of The diaTribe Foundation. “Education on an individual basis is only one piece of the puzzle. We need to put type 2 diabetes awareness on the agenda, at the national and international levels.”

Area 23 also worked with artist Henry Hargreaves and director Tim Hawkey for a PSA video promoting the initiative. The video sees Hargreaves construct a world map made out of the kind of unhealthy foods that can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and asks “What kind of world are we creating?” before directing viewers to the campaign microsite, where they can choose to sign a petition addressed to the UN. Print ads for the campaign are designed to drive traffic to the microsite as well, while social media efforts will also support the campaign. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Nest is launching its first broadcast campaign, with a series of 30-second spots created in-house.

Each ad takes a humorous tone, often extolling Nest’s virtues through someone who doesn’t like the product. In “Grandpa,” for example, an older man complains about Nest, since “being cold builds character” and people are not building up enough leg muscle since they don’t have to get up and change the thermostat. It’s the most believable and down to earth of the ads, and because of that the most successful. Other spots see a destructive toddler and a dog (who talks through a voiceover, ugh) complaining of Nest’s Dropcam preventing them from engaging in their hijinks. A fourth spot changes up the approach, focusing on an obsessive-compulsive type who repeatedly checks if his house is on fire.

The ads will run during NFL games, beginning Sunday, as well as during prime-time programming and on cable channels such as ESPN and Discovery. Nest is hoping the ads will promote their products as potential holiday gifts.

“Who would have ever thought of giving smoke alarms and thermostats for Christmas or the holidays would be the norm, but we see a lot of people gifting our product,” Doug Sweeny, Nest’s vice president of marketing, told Adweek. “It’s a big part of our business.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Mike Myers and his brother, Peter Myers, who has worked at Sears for 32 years, star in a new ad for Sears Canada.

In the spot, Mike talks about Sears Canada’s recent woes, asking if the retailer is going away. Peter reassures him that they aren’t going anywhere and asks if he knows anything about the retail business, to which Mike replies, “Not a lot. Just that Sears Canada has to demographically and psychographically alter the trajectory of its business model. But that would just be a wild guess.” Despite the two brothers’ natural chemistry, that’s as close to a laugh as the 60-second spot, which will only air in Canada, gets. Still, it’s not completely without its charm, as the brand being upfront about its recent struggles is refreshing. The spot ends with Peter asking if Mike is going to deliver the tagline, and Mike rehashing a long-retired one before offering up one of his own. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Back in September, Mekanism rolled out its “It’s On Us” sexual assault awareness PSA for the United States government, enlisting the help of celebrities (including actor Jon Hamm), along with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, to deliver its message.

Now, the agency is rolling out phase two of the campaign, again calling on bystanders to help prevent sexual assault. While the initial effort relied on its star power, this time around Mekanism instead attempts to put the viewer in a realistic situation. At a drunken house party, a female guest attempts to leave, only to have her exit blocked by an aggressive guy asking, “Oh no, you’re not leaving are you? Why do you want to go home?” as another guy sits on the couch with a drink. “This isn’t a PSA about sexual assault,” says the voiceover, “it’s about being the guy who stops it.” The spot ends with the guy getting up from the couch to come to the girl’s aide, followed by the message “It’s on us to stop sexual assault” and directing viewers to ItsOnUs.org.

While lacking the visibility of its predecessor, the spot communicates its message well. By focusing on the guy on his couch just having a drink at a party as an uncomfortable situation unfolds, it puts the viewer in his position, the idea being that viewers in a similar situation will know that it’s time to act rather than simply doing nothing — to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. Its released is timed in anticipation of next week’s “National Week of Action” at colleges and universities across the country, a push to get students involved with “It’s On Us.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

BBH London has crafted an ambitious online spot for British Airways entitled “The Welcome of Home.”

The four minute long ad tells the story of a Canadian woman named Chitra visiting her grandmother in India, and bringing along a bit of a surprise. It is an emotional journey, perhaps a bit too saccharine for some, dealing with themes of family, love, culture and the true meaning of home. “No matter how many years I’ve been away, home will always be India,” Chitra says at the spot’s conclusion, before the message, “We know how important home is appears onscreen.” There’s little overt branding in the ad until its conclusion, with BBH London instead tying British Airways to the idea of home and the emotional tone of the ad. It’s well produced and, unlike a lot of long-form ads, doesn’t feel stretched beyond its limits. Still, getting people to sit through a four minute long ad for an airline is an uphill battle, making the attempt perhaps too ambitious for its own good. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Earlier today, Wieden+Kennedy’s latest campaign for Sony got practical, shining a spotlight of sorts on the company’s many products and the roles they play in turning a creative idea into that thing we try very hard not to call “content.”

Here is a very different take on promoting the same client via DigitasLBi and “Venice-based creative think tank The Ebeling Group.” (These ads are technically a few weeks old, but we’re seeing them for the first time.)

First, a music archivist uses his smartphone to share some top-quality audio with an originator:

Two more after the jump.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.