Nothing says love quite like twisted steel and shredded tires.
Wrecked cars, and their understandably shaken and contrite teenage drivers, appear in Carmichael Lynch’s latest work for Subaru, which focuses on the automaker’s safety record as part of its long-running and highly successful “Love” campaign.
Carmichael Lynch promoted Julie Batliner and Marty Senn to roles as managing partners. They join the agency’s current managing partners, Mike Lescarbeau, Marcus Fischer and Mark Feriancek.
“These two brilliant young leaders are each rightly famous within the increasingly integrated fields of advertising and public relations,”Carmichael Lynch CEO Mike Lescarbeau said in a statemetn. “Their deep insights and modern worldview will keep our offerings relevant, continuing our longstanding tradition of providing groundbreaking work to our clients.”
Senn was promoted to chief creative officer at Carmichael Lynch last December, after serving as executive creative director for over three years. During his time with Carmichael Lynch he’s helped the agency win new business including U.S. Bank, Truvía and Arla Global. Before joining Carmichael Lynch he spent two and a half years as a creative director with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, following over three years as a senior creative with Cutwater and two years in that role with Fallon London.
“It’s an honor to help build this next iteration of Carmichael Lynch,” Senn said. “There’s so much talent here already, in so many different capacities, that I think we’re in a really unique position to be that ‘agency of the future’ that everyone is trying to be.”
Batliner has served as president, managing director and senior partner of Carmichael Lynch PR division Spong since May of 2010. Prior to that she spent five years as Spong’s managing principal and chief client relations officer. Before joining Carmichael Lynch in August of 2005, she spent seven years as senior vice president with Fleishman-Hillard International Communications.
“I am proud to work with the team to take the agency to the next level in this ever-evolving marketing landscape with an even sharper focus on our client-centric approach,” said Batliner. “We are poised to help our clients’ businesses succeed as marketing disciplines continue to become more interdependent.”
Years into its ongoing and successful “Love” campaign, Subaru has been named Kelley Blue Book’s 2016 Most Trusted Brand and Best Overall Brand. And to look ahead, it’s looking back—at scenes from its most beloved Carmichael Lynch spots, in a warm commemorative message for the people who love it best … and maybe for some new drivers, too.
“Proud to Earn Your Trust” kicks off with a throwback to “Subaru Heaven” (itself already nostalgic and heartfelt) but also features that glorious sunset shot from “Welcoming Party,” as well as moments from “Baby Driver,” “Honeymoon” and “Back Seat.”
Its storyline explores the times when people especially appreciate having a Subaru—road trips, childhood benchmarks, even accidents. It warmly concludes, “Every Subaru is built to earn your trust … because we know what you’re trusting us with,” followed by closing copy that winks to the campaign’s theme: “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.”
Carmichael Lynch launched a new spot for Subaru, directed by Biscuit Filmworks’ Noam Murro, following one man’s “Dream Weekend” with his 14-year-old dog.
The “Dream Weekend” of the title refers to the man’s canine companion, as he carefully checks off items from a list he composed of things that would make the dog happy. It’s a bittersweet spot, since the “14” cake at the beginning reveals the dog’s age and the fact that behind the man’s sweet actions is the knowledge that his canine companion is not long for this world. Sort of like a doggy bucket list. Among the gifts the man gives his dog on the road trip are a dip in the hotel pool, a pair of new shoes to chew on, 100 tennis balls, a steak dinner and a visit to an old girlfriend. It’s hard to imagine dog lovers not being at least a little moved by the sentimental spot, which gels well with Subaru’s “Love, it’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru” tagline and overall brand message. Carmichael Lynch has created its fair share of sentimental, bittersweet stories of parental love, like the recent “Making Memories,” this time around changing pace by extending the approach to a man’s love for his dog, which makes for a relatable and emotional spot.
Credits:
Carmichael Lynch launched a new spot promoting the Subaru Forester, entitled “Making Memories.”
The ad, directed by Noam Murro, shows a father cleaning out his old Forester and finding items that prompt flashbacks of moments he’s shared with his daughter, beginning with a crayon she left in the car as an elementary school student (apparently he didn’t clean the car out very often). It’s revealed, as the father tosses the daughter the keys, that he’s passing the car down to her. “You can pass down a Subaru,” says the voiceover, “but you get to keep the memories. That’s why we got another Forester.” The approach implicitly highlights the longevity of the vehicle, as well as the sentimentality at the heart of the brand’s advertising. “Making Memories” joins a long list of sentimental Subaru ads highlighting the father-daughter relationship and while it may not tread much new ground, it’s hard to fault Subaru or Carmichael Lynch for sticking to their strengths.
Credits:
Client: Subaru of America
Spot: Making Memories
Agency: Carmichael Lynch
Chief Creative Officer: Dave Damman
Exec Creative Director: Randy Hughes
Writer / Group Creative Director: Dean Buckhorn
Art Director / Associate Creative Director: Brad Harrison
Head of Production: Joe Grundhoefer
Senior Executive Content Producer: Brynn Hausmann
Business Manager: Vicki Oachs
Account Management: Brad Williams, Adam Craw, Kate Moret, Greta Hughes, Robert Ar
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Noam Murro
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Colleen O’Donnell
Line. Producer: Jay Veal
Director of Photography: Simon Duggan
Edit House: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Stewart Reeves
Assistant Editor: Luke McIntosh and Arielle Zakowski
Executive Producer: Angela Dorian
Producer: Ashley Bartell
VFX House The Mill
Exec Producer: Sue Troyan
Sr. VFX Producer: Dan Roberts
Production Coordinator: Mary Hayden
Shoot Supervisor: Chris Knight, Robert Sethi
Creative Director/2D Lead Artists: Chris Knight
2D Artists: Steve Cokonis, Daniel Lang
Design: Eugene Gauran
Telecine: Company 3 / Stefan Sonnenfeld
Audio Mix: BWN Music / Carl White
Sound Design: BWN Music / Carl White
Post Production Audio Producer: BWN Music / Annie Sparrows
On-Line Editor: Volt Studios / Steve Medin
Music: “Time Will Tell”
Performed by: Gregory Alan Isakov
Written by Gregory Alan Isakov
Music Supervisor: Venn Arts / Jonathan Hecht
On-camera talent: PJ King (Dad)
Fay Masterson (Mom)
Madison Beaty (Teen)
Cordelia Zawaraski (Tween)
Margaret Clark (Grade-schooler)
Quinn Porter (Toddler)
Voice Over Talent: PJ King
Justin Beere (Announcer)
Carmichael Lynch and Mekanism collaborated on the latest addition to Jack’s Links’ “Messin’ With Sasquatch” campaign, which has been running since 2006.
For the campaign, the two agencies worked with YouTube influencers The Dudesons, Kevin Brueck and PrankvsPrank, who will produce sponsored content for the brand, in addition to the campaign’s three broadcast spots. Each of the 30-second spots follows the familiar formula of people pranking Sasquatch, only to suffer brutal retaliation. In “Wedding” (featured above), a couple tells Sasquatch to lean in to smell the flowers on the cake, pushing the mythical beast into the cake. This, of course, is not a wise decision and Sasquatch has the last laugh. Other spots show pranksters enticing Sasquatch with a quarter glued to the pavement and a tree sap-soaked Frisbee that sticks to his fur (I’m sensing an adhesive theme). Additional pranks from the YouTube influencers are expected in the coming weeks.
“The Internet is filled with user-generated videos where fans reenact some of our most popular ads,” explained Kevin Papacek, Jack Link’s director of marketing, in a statement. “Working with popular YouTube influencers who love the Jack Link’s brand, eat our products and also live for playing pranks…well, that’s just a natural progression of how our fans personalize our ad campaign.”
U.S. Bank has named Minneapolis-based agency Carmichael Lynch as its creative agency of record following a review,.
Carmichael Lynch will be responsible for traditional and digital creative, social media, and production. BSSP had held agency of record duties for the client since winning the account from Publicis Kaplan Thaler in August of 2013.
It is unclear if BSSP will continue to have any involvement with U.S. Bank.
“U.S. Bank is that rare client who knows exactly what they stand for, and has a clear, compelling vision that sets them apart,” Carmichael Lynch CEO Mike Lescarbeau said in a statement. “Our job is to tell the world how the 67,000 people of U.S. Bank are helping customers of all sizes improve their financial futures by selecting the right banking partner.”
U.S. Bank, which is also based in Minneapolis, cited “the full integration of Carmichael Lynch’s services, the power of the creative idea, and a shared belief that people are a company’s greatest asset – employees and customers” as reasons for the decision.
The account win is an important one for Carmichael Lynch, who lost the GNC business last week following a multiple month review.
Carmichael Lynch has another new spot for Subaru, following the release of a campaign promoting the Subaru Outback just last week.
This time around, Carmichael Lynch has crafted a spot for the Subaru Legacy. In the 30-second ad, a teenage boy is distracted by girl-minded daydreams when the Legacy’s obstacle-detection technology comes to the rescue. While his daydreams are squeaky clean compared to what actual teenage boys fantasize about, it’s still a relatively realistic scenario which makes a lot of sense as an approach for a family car, whose customers are likely to have to lend to their adolescent kid at some point. So while there’s not enough truth here for a full laugh, there’s more than enough to effectively make a point about the Legacy’s safety. (more…)
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
For its latest campaign for Subaru, promoting the 2015 Outback, agency-of-record Carmichael Lynch teamed up with director Lance Acord (best known for his cinematography on films such as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Lost In Translation) and production company Park Pictures for a couple of 60-second spots emphasizing that the Outback can “go anywhere.”
In “Memory Lane,” a family picks up a hippie grandmother for a road trip to Woodstock. The grandmother imparts some questionable teachings on her granddaughter and finds the spot where she met her grandfather, in a cute moment that also shows the Outback’s off-road capabilities.
“Bison” also features a road trip, as a father attempts to wow his tween son with major American landmarks. The bratty son is unimpressed with Redwoods and The Grand Canyon, more interested in his smart phone than anything outside the car, but the father does eventually get through to him, followed by the voiceover, “There’s nothing I can’t reach in my Subaru.”
Both spots are impressively shot (which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the director) while delivering their message in a way that should appeal to parents (always a target demographic for Subaru). And if they cross the line into cheesiness, it’s in a way that fits the brand well. (more…)
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Just over a year ago, Carmichael Lynch turned its role as Steak ‘n Shake’s new AOR into an opportunity to demonstrate its love of all things retro kung-fu with the “Hunger Wisely” campaign.
This week, the agency released an extension of that effort for the client (which is NOT to be confused with Shake Shack), helmed again by director Harold Einstein of Dummy Films.
The two new spots are very much in keeping with their predecessors. Here’s “Kung Fu Elbow”, which sounds like a very creative description of premature arthritis:
We’re partial to “Blindfold” after the jump.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
The latest ads in Carmichael Lynch’s master and apprentice campaign for Steak ‘n Shake continue to use sound effects and choice props to comic effect.
This time, the main featured sound effect is the comically exaggerated air karate chop. The latest series of wooshes reminds us fondly of Weird Al’s absurd dance sequence in his 1988 parody of Michael Jackson’s Bad (“Because I’m fat …”). As for the prop, it’s a black blindfold that Master wears in his “Pin the tail on the donkey” like search for a milkshake in the desert. The tagline remains, “Hunger wisely.”
As with last year’s spots, these were directed by Harold Einstein.
CREDITS
Client: Steak ‘n Shake
Spots: “Kung Fu Elbow,” “Blindfold”
Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis
Chief Creative Officer: Dave Damman
Executive Creative Director: Marty Senn
Art Director: Matt Pruett
Art Director (Food): Teela Shandess
Writer: Nick Nelson
Director of Production: Joe Grundhoefer
Executive Content Producer: Freddie Richards
Senior Content Producer: Jon Mielke
Producer (Food): Jenny Barnes
Business Manager: Vicki Oachs
Account Service Team: Stacy Janicki, Sarah Brehm
Senior Project Manager: Lisa Brody
Postproduction Company: Dummy Films
Director: Harold Einstein
Executive Producer: Eric Liney
Director of Photography: Ramsey Nickell
Edit House: Arcade Edit, New York
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Editor: Dave Anderson
Assistant Editor: Mark Popham
Online Artists: Tristian Wake
Telecine: CO3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Sound Design: Butter & Heard City
Audio Post: Heard City
Mixer: Keith Reynaud
On-Camera Talent: Mark Montgomery (Master), Alex Miles (Apprentice)
Voiceover Talent: Tom Hair
Ads are most beautiful when they speak to us in a language we understand—when they tap into our subconscious and make us feel like they empathize, like they are one of us. When this symbiotic, osmotic communication stream resonates with us in an enveloping, visceral way, we have no choice but to surrender.
I had this experience with a set of beef jerky commercials today.
Perhaps you will, too, if you’ve ever been hungry to the point of irrational thought—hungry to the point that you want to bite the head off of the person next to you, war-paint your face with Cheetos-stained fingers and dance a jig on their grave. When hungry makes the transition to hangry, everyone should stay the hell away.
Check out these pretty perfect spots from Jack Link’s and ad agency Carmichael Lynch, and see if you identify with these poor hanger-affected souls.
I don’t know about you, but you won’t like me when my spirit animal is hangry.
CREDITS
Client: Jack Link’s
Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis
Chief Creative Officer: Dave Damman
Executive Creative Director / Copywriter: Marty Senn
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Brad Harrison
Head of Production: Joe Grundhoefer
Executive Producer: Freddie Richards
Account Director: Jesse Simon
Account Supervisor: Sofya Vannelli
Director: Harold Einstein
Production Company: dummy
This morning Minneapolis digital agency space150 announced the hiring of “multi-disciplinary artist” and agency veteran Brock Davis, most recently GCD at OLSON, in the same role effective immediately.
Davis has worked in the industry for nearly two decades. ECD Brian Ritchie writes that the hire ”helps expand our content creation expertise while also elevating our design offering.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
It appears Sasquatch is sitting this one out, and the absence of Jack Link’s mascot is much appreciated.
Carmichael Lynch takes a different approach with their latest campaign for the jerky brand, based on a concept not all that dissimilar from Snicker’s “You’re not you when you’re hungry” approach: that intense hunger can make you angry, which they define as “hangry.” The series of 30-second spots depict several such hangry individuals, with their intense hunger personified by angry animals that emerge from their stomach, which also acts as a visual representation of the “Feed your wild side” tagline. In “Lecture Hall,” for example, a student is taking a test when his intense hunger causes a puma to emerge from his stomach. It is not until the puma is sated with a piece of beef jerky that it retreats back where it came from, after helping the kid out with a test answer (apparently this is a highly intelligent feline). Other spots take a similar approach, depicting a woman waiting for her flight to take off, and a man stuck in a meeting. The spots will run online and on on channels such as Comedy Central, ESPN, and FX, alongside the existing “Messin’ with Sasquatch” campaign.
“Nothing says Feed Your Wild Side like literally feeding your wild side,” explains Kevin Papacek, director of marketing for Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. “Hangry is how you feel when you experience hunger to the point of being angry – visceral, debilitating hunger. This deeper hunger can only be fed by Jack Link’s Jerky.”
Stick around for “Middle Seat” and credits after the jump. continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Joel Clement’s search for a stateside agency is over. Today McGarrah Jessee announced that Clement, who most recently served as executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand, will join the Austin firm to “focus primarily on writing.”
This summer Clement announced his plans to leave the agency after eight years, eight months of which he spent as ECD and regional creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi’s Asia operations.
In the release, he clarifies that he “had a pretty specific ideal in mind” when planning his repatriation and that he “found it all at McGarrah Jessee.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
This new ad in Subaru and Carmichael Lynch's "Love" campaign opens on a scene we all dread—a car with a flat tire, and of course it's raining. We see a girl in a raincoat crouched down next to her car, getting drenched while she faces the challenge of changing it. Odessa's beautiful "I Will Be There" plays throughout ("If you ever need someone to hold you/I will be there/Standing by your side"), and I can't help but inwardly cheer her on. I won't give this one away; you need to watch it for yourself. It's good. Really good. Another winner from a company that tells these kinds of stories particularly well.
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And speaking of Subaru, here's another new spot from Carmichael Lynch for the automaker, and it's a whole lot more sobering than that snogging-dogs one.
This one's about safety, and it boldly shows something you rarely see in car commercials—the twisted wreckage of what's left of one of the automaker's vehicles after a horrendous accident. The wrecked Subaru Outback here is not a prop—it's a real car that really got totaled. But the driver survived, and that's the point of the ad (directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures). "They lived," the characters say—from the policeman at the crash site to the workers at the junkyard. "Subaru. Five 2014 IIHS top safety picks," says the on-screen copy at the end.
Extending the reality theme, a companion website features actual letters from Subaru owners explaining how the vehicles helped save their lives.
Safety spots almost always imply danger rather than graphically showing the effects of it. And indeed, it's a bold move to leave viewers pondering a pile of your own disfigured steel. What do you think—good move, or over the top?
Credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Subaru of America
Spot: "They Lived"
Agency: Carmichael Lynch
Chief Creative Officer: Dave Damman
Executive Creative Director: Randy Hughes
Writer, Associate Creative Director: Conn Newton
Art Director, Associate Creative Director: Michael Rogers
Head of Production: Joe Grundhoefer
Executive Producer: Brynn Hausmann
Business Manager: Vicki Oachs
Account Service Team: David Eiben, Krista Kelly, Kate Moret
Production Company: Park Pictures
Director: Lance Acord
Executive Producer: MaryAnn Marino
Line Producer: Aristides McGarry
Director of Photography: Lance Acord
Editing House: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Stephen Jess
Assistant Editor: Tim Quackenbush
Visual Effects: Steve Medin, Volt
Telecine: Sean Coleman, Company 3
Audio Mix, Sound Design: Carl White, BWN Music
"Clear Moment"
Composer: Miles Hankins, scoreAscore
Music Supervisor: Jonathan Hecht
On-camera talent: Tim Lane, Diane Luby Lane, Millie Lane, Charlie Burrows, Aaron Norwell, Frederick Lawrence, Stephen Taylor, Kevin Bowers
Voiceover Talent: Tim Lane, Justin Beere (announcer)
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Does talking to plants really help them grow? It's a question that, I'm sure, keeps us all awake at night. Luckily, Carmichael Lynch and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have launched a social experiment (and marketing effort) called "Talk to a Plant," to probe this very issue.
One plant at the museum will "hear" tweets converted into human speech by an Arduino-based device. Another plant sits in silence nearby. Both are watered and tended to by staff. Which will grow stronger and healthier?
To take part in this odd experiment, just visit TalktoaPlant.com, log into your Twitter account and send the plant a message. Checking tweets via #talktoaplant, it seems that most folks, naturally enough, are sending their love and encouragement, bidding the green guy to grow big and strong.
Sending a note all the way from London, @ItsSeanBone gets into the spirit of things: "Plant, you're becoming famous. Make sure you keep yourself grounded." Heh. Plant humor. Not all the tweets are words of encouragement, though. "You deserve to die, plant," posts Parisian visitor @SylvainPaley. Sounds like someone needs a hug.
The campaign runs through Jan. 6, 2014, corresponding with "MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition" at the museum, a tie-in with the long-running Discovery Channel science show.
On the site, there are constant updates on each plant's health and growth. Leaf peepers can even enjoy a 24/7 live plant-cam. (Oddly, there's no tie-in with Vine.)
It's definitely a fun, creative way to build traffic and engage new audiences with a topic as dry as natural science, though the setup seems a tad sadistic. The budding star gets all those tweets from well-wishers, while the other guy's trapped in a silent hell. C'mon, dude, grow—I'm rootin' for ya!
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Subaru stakes its claim as the car for people whose lives are just so damn cute in this pair of new spots from Carmichael Lynch.
"The Date" follows a young couple as they drive down country roads, first stopping at a diner for chocolate shakes and then at a produce stand, where the woman sticks an orange in her mouth for, I dunno, an impromptu impression of Marlon Brando from The Godfather, or something. It's such an awkward moment, I would've split and left her there. This guy's more of a gentleman, however, and drives her straight to the commercial's cutesy twist ending. Turns out they're strangers who just met when her truck ran out of gas and he drove her to the station to get some. I guess they really clicked on the ride. How sweet.
"Redressing Room" tells the tale of a toddler who keeps undressing in the backseat. "If I've gotta wear clothes, you've gotta wear clothes," says his perky mom. (If I had a dime for every time my boss at AdFreak has told me that!)
Look, there's nothing wrong with these spots; they're well directed by Lance Acord, and I'm sure they'll resonate for some. That said, I found them strangely insincere. They just feel too much like, well, Commercials with a capital C, right down to details like the hunky "Date" dude's windblown hair and scraggy bread and the "Redressing Room" mom's cutesy (yet disturbing) decision to keep extra kids' clothes in plastic drawers in the hatchback.
Stranded in this deflating post-modern-Rockwell vision of America, I'm the one who needs a lift.
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