Hasta La Creative!

To celebrate 40 years of flying to the Cook Islands, Air New Zealand has collaborated with Sports Illustrated (celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Swimsuit Issue) for a new safety video featuring swimsuit models such as Chrissy Teigen, Ariel Meredith, Hannah Davis and Jessica Gomes.

“Safety in Paradise” launches next week, but Air New Zealand has shared this behind-the-scenes video of the Cook Islands shoot in the meantime. Christie Brinkley, who was propelled to fame in large part thanks to appearing on three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covers, also makes an appearance in “Safety in Paradise,” from her Hollywood home.

“Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has a massive worldwide television, online and print campaign to celebrate the 50^th anniversary and we’re incredibly excited to feature in that activity.  The magazine alone has more than 61 million readers annually and the safety video shoot with Air New Zealand will feature in the special anniversary edition,” said Air New Zealand Head of Global Brand Development Jodi Williams.

Entertaining safety videos are nothing new for Air Zealand, who have been doing it for years, featuring folks like Richard Simmons, Bear Grylls, and Betty White, not to mention the Hobbit-themed one they released to coincide with Peter Jackson’s film. If Delta’s recent 80s-themed safety video is any indication, entertaining safety videos are now practically a requirement for airlines. The “Safety in Paradise” video will begin showing on Air New Zealand flights on February 11th, when some fear an epidemic of uncomfortable in-flight arousal.

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Personally, we prefer Maria Sharapova back in her Land Rover and Dentsu crotch shot days but, hey, we all grow up eventually.

If you haven’t heard, last summer Sharapova was named Samsung brand ambassador for Sochi. Today, she and Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Studio inside Olympic Park. The Galaxy Studio Olympic Park will give people a chance to check out Samsung’s newest technology and connect with the Olympic Games.

Of her involvement, Sharapova said,”I’m thrilled to join Samsung in the opening of its Galaxy Studio in the Olympic Park and delighted to be a part of today’s celebration that symbolizes the start of Samsung’s onsite Sochi 2014 campaign. As an athlete myself, I appreciate Samsung’s efforts to provide personalized Games Time experiences to fellow Olympians and also fans through a variety of Studio experiences that help us all get the most out of the Games.”

Chances are you were watching Sunday night when Bob Dylan actually asked, in a Chrysler ad reaching over 100 million people, “Is there anything more American than America?”

It stands out, amidst stiff competition, as the most ridiculous line uttered during the barrage of Super Bowl advertising. The rest of the spot almost doesn’t even matter, since all people will remember is that one terrible line that begs to be parodied. And now it has been. A not as of yet identified Miami Ad School student created this parody using the footage from the Chrysler spot, dubbed with  their best Dylan impression waxing ridiculous on America. With lines like, “Cuz ‘American’ is America’s adjective, and sometimes it’s a noun for people in America” and “Being an American person? Well, that takes being a person in America” the parody does a good job at pointing out what’s so ridiculous about not just the specific Chrysler ad in question, but a whole genre of overly-patriotic advertising. Now if only we knew who was responsible…

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Since few would argue that the commercials were more interesting than the game last night, chances are you saw RPA’s “Hugfest” spot, featuring Bruce Willis and SNL-alum/Portlandia star Fred Armisen.

The simple, straightforward spot features Willis urging viewers to hug those around them that they care about — “the people that matter to you, matter to us” — as a way of emphasizing Honda’s commitment to safety. Armisen then appears and hugs Willis for the duration of the 60 second spot.

“Our simple, yet engaging, big-game spot is intended to highlight not only Honda’s deep concern for the safety of our customers, but the actual industry-leading crash test results that back up our commitment,” explained Mike Accavitti, senior vice president of auto operations at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The campaign extends beyond the big game spot, with a large social media component utilizing the hashtag #hugfest. During the Super Bowl, Honda posted “real-time video reactions from Willis about events such as penalties, fumbles and referee calls on the brand’s @Honda Twitter feed.” Immediately after the spot aired, Honda encouraged viewers to send virtual hugs (actually Willis hugging the camera) to loved ones who they couldn’t be near during the big game. Today, Honda is collecting hugs via Twitter by asking people “to send a picture or Vine of their hug with the hash tag #hugfest.” Bruce Willis will then respond with a “meme appraisal of the hug.” Additionally, Honda will have a homepage takeovers at MSN and ESPN, where a 30-second spot “How to Hug” video featuring Willis and Armisen will greet visitors to the sites. You can view “How to Hug,” along with credits after the jump. continued…

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Jessica Simpson, spokesperson and avid customer of Weight Watchers, is out with a new campaign for her 2014 Jessica Simpson Collection. In the campaign, she sports a form fitting one piece bathing suit, a sundress and a sweater.

And that’s all for today’s pointless celebrity piece.

About two weeks ago, we shared the teaser trailer for Jaguar’s Super Bowl ad, which features Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong, and Tom Hiddleston (although only Kingsley was featured in the trailer). Today, Jaguar and their in-house agency, Spark44, have debuted the full 60 second spot, “Rendezvous.”

“Have you ever noticed how in Hollywood movies, all the villains are played by Brits?” Kingsley asks at the opening of “Rendezvous,” featuring the three star British actors as vaguely defined villains who all drive Jaguars. Filmed in London by Oscar-winning British director, Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), in collaboration with Smuggler, Spark44 and Jaguar clearly threw a lot into “Rendezvous” to make the spot cinematic, also employing Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Hooper on The King’s Speech, to compose the ad’s original soundtrack, which was recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road studios. “‘Rendezvous’ was filmed with the realization that many of today’s television viewers have access to beautifully sharp picture screens and multi-channel surround sound not unlike the best movie theaters,” explained Brand Vice President of Jaguar North America, Jeff Curry.

“Rendezvous” marks Jaguar’s debut Super Bowl advertisement, and also launches their straightforwardly-titled “British Villains” campaign, which promotes the new Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe (available spring, 2014) and will run through July. The spot features the campaign’s #GoodToBeBad hashtag (a line also spoken by Kingley during the ad, which honestly sounds a little forced), but that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Jaguar’s online and social engagement. They’ve launched a campaign landing page, that “hosts information about the F-TYPE Coupe, the commercial and some unique video content including teasers starring each of the three actors.” Jaguar is also hosting an event with Deadspin as part of their partnership with the latter’s parent, Gawker, as well as two co-sponsored events with Sports Illustrated, including during the magazine’s Super Saturday event the night before Super Bowl Sunday.

What’s more, Jaguar “aims to be the most real-time engaged advertiser during the Super Bowl through a unique physical space called ‘The Loop,’  developed by Mindshare, where multiple screens will monitor real-time consumer data and translate it into actionable insights, and ultimately, rapid marketing decisions…” Jaguar claims “The Loop” is “the first real-time marketing tool to impact paid media – whereby media dollars can be quickly shifted and redeployed to leverage opportunities uncovered by the data.” It will be interesting to see how Jaguar’s first Super Bowl advertisement, and their “The Loop” strategy plays out this Sunday. Stick around for behind the scenes footage of “Rendezvous” after the jump. continued…

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If you were watching the Grammys last night, you might have caught this spot launching Mastercard’s “Priceless Surprises” campaign. The 45 second ad features Grammy-nominee Justin Timberlake surprising a fan by showing up at her door to hang out.

A 30: teaser for the spot rolled out last Friday, debuting the new campaign, ending with Justin ringing one lucky fan’s doorbell. The new spot picks up where the teaser left off, recycling some of the audio from the teaser about how Timberlake is excited about sharing a few moments with a fan. The “Priceless Surprises” recipient reacts about how you’d expect, shouting “Holy fuck!” after opening the door. Timberlake spends some time with his fan, even jamming out with her for a bit while she plays guitar. Obviously, Mastercard couldn’t have picked a more appropriate time to launch this campaign.

“Pricelss Surprises” will continue to roll out as an integrated campaign featuring “social, print, radio, television and digital platforms to inspire cardholders to give, get and share #PricelessSurprises.” Timberlake will stick around to surprise Mastercard holders who use the #PricelessSurprises hashtag, spending a day with a few more lucky winners. Cardholders will be automatically entered for a chance to win a slew of other, lesser prizes, such as trips and concert tickets, when using their Mastercard or tweeting with the #PricelessSurprises hashtag as well. Stick around for the teaser spot after the jump. continued…

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Droga5 New York have a new campaign for Newcastle Brown Ale making fun of all the cheesy theatrics and excesses of typical big game advertising.

Entitled “If We Made It,” Droga5′s site for Newcastle imagines the over-the-top campaign that could have been, if Newcastle had the marketing budget of a much larger, shittier brewery. Oscar-nominated actress Anna Kendrick and former NFL receiver/current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson are at the center of the campaign, which includes “trailers, storyboards, focus groups and behind-the-scenes interviews.”

The campaign features “giant robots, skateboarding cats and bikini babes that would have starred in the ad – if they made it.” Above you can view the “Teaser for the Trailer” for Newcastles would-have-been huge Super Bowl spot. It’s a much needed deflation of the self-importance surrounding big budget Super Bowl ads, parodying both the content typical of such mega productions and the trend of releasing teaser trailers for 30 second TV advertisements. Stick around after the jump for a second teaser, called “Newcastle’s Cheap Ad we made for the pricey ad we didn’t make.” The bigger pieces of the “If We Made It” campaign — the centerpiece “ad” in the campaign, as well as behind-the-scenes interviews with Kendrick and Johnson — will remain under wraps until Tuesday, so you’ll have to check back in on the ”If We Made It” website next week.

By the way, if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive beer that’s still pretty tasty, you could do a lot worse than Newcastle. It sure beats the shit you’ll see advertised during the Super Bowl. continued…

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Derrick Coleman isn’t exactly an NFL superstar. But, thanks to a new campaign for Duracell and by helping his team, the Seattle Seahawks, earn a place in next weekend’s NFC Championship game, he may soon become a household name.

From Saatchi & Saatchi NY and Park Pictures director AG Rojas comes the above “Trust Your Power” spot, which in just two days has already netted 1.6 million plays on YouTube. Following Coleman’s career from his days as a young boy being mocked for his hearing aid through going undrafted out of college, it’s a well-told story of overcoming adversity and, remarkably, ties Coleman’s success to Duracell in a not-so-terrible way.

In case you’re wondering, the spot doesn’t mention that while Coleman went undrafted after college, he was picked in 2012 by the Seahawks and made his NFL playing debut earlier this year. The highlight of which so far was the above TD scored on Monday Night Football last month, which itself is accidentally symbolic of the unlikelihood of Coleman’s career. If this Duracell spot is playing during the commercial breaks, it will be downright impossible to root for anyone other than the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl this year.

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And here we are, the final day of 2013. With that, we give you our second and final installment of our most popular posts of the year, which, as we mentioned yesterday, weren’t all too surprising compared to previous years (save for the #1 item). Anyhow, we thank you one and all for reading, glancing at, commenting, loving and/or hating the site in 2013. We sincerely appreciate it. Have a happy new year and we will see you on the other side.  Now, on with the show.

5) Samuel L. Jackson Wants You to Get a Motherf***in’ Capital One Quicksilver Card

4) Grey Wins Gillette (Memo Included)

continued…

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