Hasta La Creative!

W+K Portland got Richard Sherman to star in its new spot “Never Finished” for Nike, following on the heels of Sherman’s recent appearances for Neff earlier this month and Campbell’s in August.

The new spot deals with the hype train surrounding Sherman, as he is constantly bombarded with media discussions of whether or not he is “the best.” “Never Finished” does a good job at finding humor in the situation, aided by a believably exasperated Sherman. The highlight is probably the made for TV biopic, starring Damon Wayans Jr.

Sherman’s roles in ads so far have mostly seen the Seahawks star not taking himself seriously and playing with his public persona. That definitely continues with “Never Finished,” but the schtick is much less over the top than some of his past roles, and the more nuanced characterization fits Sherman well as the spot, more than anything, mocks the media hype that surrounds star players. It makes for an entertaining ad, and Sherman’s most enjoyable performance by far.

The campaign, which runs until October 9th, also includes five additional videos, with special cameos from Johnny Manziel, Victor Cruz, Ndamukong Suh and Ken Griffey Jr.
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twofifteenmccann have created a new campaign for online radio service Pandora, entitled “#ThumbMoments.”

Users of the service typically give a song a thumbs up to favorite a song, and a thumbs down to not hear the song on their station again. But on September 5th, twofifteenmccann and Pandora made the thumbs up much more meaningful. Fans who favorited a song by Lindsey Sterling, the song was interrupted by a live message from the star, followed by a one-on-one concert for the fan. Over the course of three hours, Sterling performed seven of these concerts for Pandora listeners. Their reactions form the backbone of the new online campaign, which debuted today.

The emphasis on the thumbs up emphasizes one of the service’s more recognizable features, and allows for Pandora to surprise fans of other artists with similar concerts in the future. Indeed, The New York Times reports that future “commercials will follow the same format, but Pandora declined to name participating musicians.” Additionally, hitting thumbs up for certain (unspecified) artists in the future will result in fans receiving “thumb gifts,” such as signed instruments.

“It was very emotional for listeners, and very emotional for Lindsey, too, because she could see them one-to-one in a way that she doesn’t even get to in a concert,” James Robinson, chief creative officer of twofifteenmccann, told The New York Times of the campaign. “She could see what her music meant to these people.”

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TBWAChiatDay bids adieu to Yankees captain (and regular starting shortstop since 1996) Derek Jeter in a 90-second send-off spot for Gatorade, an MLB sponsor since 1990.

While there has been no shortage of fanfare surrounding Jeter’s exit from baseball at the quickly approaching end to the season (including a somewhat excessive display at the All Star game), TBWAChiatDay’s farewell for Gatorade, which Jeter collaborated on, manages to charm. Back in July (when it still looked like the Yankees had a shot at the postseason), TBWAChiatDay and Gatorade roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx and, in the words of Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement, “just kind of let Jeter go.”

Jeter is seen interacting with some very surprised and excited fans, signing autographs and even dropping in to Stan’s Sports Bar. Most of the spot’s charm comes from the authentic reactions of the fans, delighted by the opportunity to meet the star player.

Jeter’s collaboration for the ad also extended to the soundtrack, with the shortstop choosing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as the song that summed up his career. “It was a true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade,” Carter told Adweek.

The spot breaks online today, followed by a broadcast premiere this Saturday on the YES Network and Fox, when it’s sure to make more than a few Yankees fans teary-eyed. Gatorade will follow this with a full-page ad, written by Jeter, in the New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated on Sept. 28-29. Addressed to New York, the ad will see Jeter thanking fans for their years of support, opening, “From my first at bat until my final out, you helped make me who I am.” The print ad is timed to coincide with Jeter’s final game on September 28th (unless the team makes the playoffs, which they won’t). (more…)

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Samsung finally lets up on Apple in its latest spot, instead getting cozy with cute real-life couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.

In the 90-second spot, the couple continuously ditch other plans in favor of staying in and entertaining themselves with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. It’s a clever idea, and both the execution and the decision to go with an actual couple lend it an air of believability.

The spot begins with Shepard marveling at Bell’s tiny fingers. “How do you even hold things with these little guys?” he asks. This gives an indication of the tone for the rest of the spot, which may spell cuteness overload for some but has already picked up over 5 million views on YouTube in three days. “Hey, we promised we’d hike,” he then reminds her, only for the couple to spend the rest of the day on the Galaxy Tab S wasting time. (The only time either ventures outside the house is when Shepard picks up food to satisfy Bell’s pregnancy cravings.) At one point the couple dress up for an event, but get distracted and soon realize it ended hours ago.

It’s a refreshing approach for Samsung, and a welcome departure from what has become routine Apple-bashing. No word yet on whether this was created by Samsung’s agency of record 72andSunny or in-house, but we will update with that information when we receive it.

Update: We’ve received word that the spot was in fact created by McKinney.

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At the end of last month we brought news of Lincoln’s partnership with Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey for a new campaign promoting the Lincoln MKC, to be handled by a shop within WPP’s Team Detroit division.

Now, Team Detroit and Lincoln are rolling out the new campaign with a series of (purportedly unscripted) spots that take a somewhat unorthodox approach. In the 60-second introductory spot (featured above), McConaughey drives around pontificating on what it means to “go back” and how some people say you can’t do it but really you just have to look in the right places. What is he talking about exactly? How does it relate to the MKC? Your guess is as good as ours.

In the similarly strange “Bull,” the actor admires the majesty of a large bull blocking the road, before deciding to turn around and take the long route. The 30-second “I Just Liked It” is a little more straightforward, with McConaughey explaining that he drove a Lincoln long before he was paid to, not to look cool or make a statement, but because he “just liked it.” (more…)

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M&C Saatchi is launching UGG’s first-ever global marketing campaign, entitled “This Is UGG,” which enlists the help of veteran brand ambassador Tom Brady in the brand’s latest effort to change its perception as the official fuzzy boot of Starbucks-toting girls everywhere.

Launching today, the campaign focuses on life’s smaller moments, centered around the 60-second spot “Time Out.” In the spot, Brady shares the message that in life you only get so many time outs and you need to make them count, because you can’t back pocket them or carry them over to another day. Tom’s voiceover plays out over a scene of him driving to play golf with his father, a pastime the two have shared since Tom was old enough to play. Another spot, featuring Brady and his mother, is set to follow in October, with a third entitled “Down Time” arriving in December.

“For the new UGG for Men campaign, we started with this premise: small moments can carry as much weight as the big moments,” explained Nancy Mamann, vice president of marketing for UGG Australia. “We conceptualized the spots to capture authentic moments that relate to men across the world. For Tom Brady in particular, we explored his life off the field, along with more personal settings, to show some of the moments that he considers meaningful.”

Whether that will convince men to rush out and buy UGG remains to be seen. Stick around for behind-the-scenes footage after the jump. (more…)

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With football season around the corner, Toth+CO enlists Drew Brees in their latest spot for Wrangler’s new Advanced Comfort Jeans. And the results are…exactly what you’d expect from a Drew Brees Wrangler ad.

Brees sits on a cooler on the back of a truck, plays some football with his buddies and his son, and takes his lady out to dinner. Pretty generic stuff. Interspersed with this footage are graphics of Wrangler’s “4-way flex technology” which offers “20% stronger” reinforced fibers. And the spot ends, of course, with Brees delivering the longtime tagline of “Real. Comfortable. Jeans.” There’s nothing fresh here, but fans of Brees, and football fans who can’t wait for the new season, should still find it a welcome sight. (more…)

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W+K Portland launched the “Don’t Touch My Dart” campaign earlier this month, pairing comedians Craig Robinson and Jake Johnson. Well, it’s a few weeks later and the duo are back for several follow-up spots the agency has released for the campaign, along with a new interactive digital experience.

In the 30-second “Craig,” Johnson tries to get Robinon’s attention by repeatedly saying his name while he cleans and admires his Dart. Robinson spends the whole time ignoring him, leading into the “Don’t Touch My Dart” tagline (along with accompanying music, composed and performed by Robinson) and a prompt for viewers to “See what happens when you touch my dart.” Clicking on the link leads to an interactive digital initiative where you can move your cursor to “touch” Craig’s dart and see what happens. Try it for yourself here, and stick around after the jump for a couple for “Voice Touching” and “Birdhouse.” (more…)

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Lincoln Motor Company has partnered with recent Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey on a multiyear campaign promoting the Lincoln MKZ, Adweek reports.

In a press release, McConaughey claimed to be a long-time admirer of the brand. “Lincoln is an iconic, American brand and I like where they are heading with their transformation,” he said. “I had the chance to drive the new MKC around Texas and I think they’re doing a good job.”

The spots in the campaign, which will be handled by shop within WPP’s Team Detroit division, will be unscripted, although the brand and director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) created a storyline around the MKC for the actor to work with emphasizing the joy of driving. You can check out the trailer above to get an idea of what to expect from Lincoln and McConaughey.

“Matthew is a natural fit with Lincoln and where we are going as a brand,” said Matt VanDyke, director, global Lincoln. “The transformation of Lincoln is well underway. With the MKC coming to market in a hot, competitive segment, now is the perfect opportunity to share to a wider audience what our brand offers. Matthew is the ideal personality to help us tell this story, and it is only the beginning of what we trust will be a fantastic relationship.”

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Lowe Roche has launched a new interactive campaign for the Canadian Cancer Society called “The Fearless Challenge,” which attempts to raise money online by asking people (such as the actors involved with the campaign) to face their worst fears for a certain price to be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. If the goal is met, individuals honor their pledge by facing their fear head-on.

“The Canadian Cancer Society is committed to creating a world where no Canadian fears cancer, but we are not there yet,” explains Mike Kirkpatrick, director, marketing for the Cancer Society in Ontario. “We know that more work needs to be done because a cancer diagnosis is still one of the scariest things a person can face.”

The campaign attempts to help raise funds to help those with cancer, based on the insight that a cancer diagnosis, despite progress with managing the disease, is still a very fearful proposition. So in addition to helping to raise funds, the campaign also attempts to help tackle that fear in cancer patients by showing people conquering their own greatest fears. Celebrity endorsers and participants in the campaign include actor Jason Priestley, sports commentator Jesse Palmer, Shannon and  Sophie Tweed-Simmons of Gene Simmons Family Jewels and Shannon & Sophie, and Hedley bassist and cancer survivor Tommy Mac. But the campaign isn’t just relying on celebrity endorsements, it invites viewers to participate by filming their own video and making a pledge at FearlessChallenge.com. Stick around for credits and actor Jonathan Keltz‘s pledge after the jump. (more…)

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