Hasta La Creative!

Cramer-Krasselt, who lost domestic creative duties for Johnsonville to Droga5 following a review last December but continue to work with the brand internationally, launched a campaign for Johnsonville Canada emphasizing the company’s long history and dedication to quality ingredients.

For the campaign, Cramer-Krasselt collaborated with social media agency Matchstick and Braque, who adapted the campaign for the French Canadian market. In “Questions,” Cramer-Krasselt poses a series of questions such as “Does it really matter that we started making great sausage right here in a small butcher shop?” before answering with a resounding, “Yeah, it matters a whole heck of a lot, actually.” There’s more of an emphasis on a commitment to quality and tradition than in Droga5’s campaign, which takes a more humorous approach. “Around Here” takes a closer look at the brand’s history and small town roots.

“In our research, we really wanted to understand if Canadians would be open to buying sausage made in America,” said Bob Fitzgerald, director, International Business Development, Johnsonville Sausage, in a statement. “We were glad to find out they just want a brand that cares as much about quality and freshness as they do, which is certainly true of Johnsonville and has been since 1945.”

The broadcast spots are supported by print, as well as Matchstick’s social campaign. Social elements span Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and include multicultural recipe suggestions which will be shared on the brand’s Twitter account every Friday with the hashtag #foodiefriday. Johnsonville will also unveil a revamped, mobile-optimized mobile-optimized website at the end of June.

It’s been some time since we’ve heard from Craig Markus, the former McCann Erickson EVP/ECD who spent a decade at the agency and then went on to form creative shop Rage, Grace & Partners.

Now, the creative vet has moved on to assume the CCO role at the New York City office of Cramer-Krasselt. Markus takes over at C-K NY for Larry Hampel, who spent a decade in the agency’s Big Apple branch as creative head and currently works as a freelancer. This hire follows the January appointment of former Y&R CCO Ken Erke to lead the C-K team in Chicago.

Over the course of his career, he has helped spearhead the McCann agency TAG and launched Xbox over a decade ago. In the 90s, he also held creative roles at Ogilvy and Deutsch, where he worked on Snapple, Foot Locker, and Tommy Hilfiger (among others).

For a glimpse at what was going on the Effie/CLIO/Webby-winner’s mind in the summer of 2013, check out the video below:

Cramer Krasselt launched a campaign promoting Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual Knott’s Scary Farm event with a series of short horror videos for broadcast and online.

Created in collaboration with production company Vitamin Pictures, the gritty videos are populated by creepy clowns, demented dentists and hungry zombies, giving viewers an idea of what to expect at Knott’s Scary Farm. In “Clown,” for example, the camera follows a woman as she makes her way through a creepy abandoned room with children’s toys and balloons strewn across the floor. As she turns a corner, a demonic looking clown pops out to greet her. The spot ends with the tagline, “Whatever you’re imagining, it’s here.”

“It was great to be hired to make these little horror films for Knott’s,” Vitamin Creative Director Danny DelPurgatorio says. “There were severed heads, body parts, blood and gooey stuff all over the place. It was a dream come true.” (more…)

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While we have very little to go on at the moment, a tipster tells us that Larry Hampel, who spent nearly a decade at Cramer-Krasselt and most recently held the executive creative director title, is no longer with the agency.

Things we do know: Hampel joined the agency almost exactly ten years ago to become one of the co-creative directors in its then-new New York office. This move followed a ten-year stint running Hampel/Stefanides, the agency he co-founded with fellow CD Dean Stefanides. His work during that period includes multiple PSAs attributed the Ad Council.

A tipster pointed us toward Hampel’s LinkedIn profile, which lists his current position as “Chief Creative Officer, Self-Employed” and has his stint with Cramer-Krasselt ending this year.

Unfortunately, we have not received word from the agency today so we can’t elaborate on the details of the story. More information as it arrives.

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Hilton is in the final stages of a creative review for its Hampton properties, Adweek reports

Cramer-Krasselt, David&Goliath and GSD&M are preparing for a final presentation, according to Dan Pearlman, CEO of Bob Wolf Partners/TPG, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based consultancy managing the search. The winning agency will handle creative duties for Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Hampton by Hilton for markets “including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Young & Rubicam have been Hampton’s lead agency since 2011, when they took over for Draftfcb. They were defending in the review, which initially included over a dozen agencies, but failed to reach the final stages. Media, digital and public relations will remain with “OMD in Los Angeles, iCrossing in New York and Dallas and Emanate in New York, respectively.” Hilton expects to select their new lead creative agency for their Hampton properties by the end August.

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After two years with the brand, Cramer-Krasselt has ended its relationship with Panera Bread. Cramer-Krasselt Chairman-CEO Peter Krivkovich announced that the agency would be resigning Panera Bread in an internal memo this morning, AdAge reports.

The memo painted a portrait of a truly dysfunctional relationship between the brand and their lead agency that can be summed up with the phrase “enough is enough.” In it, Krivkovich says “…the constant last-minute shifts in direction, the behind-the-scenes politics, the enormous level of subjectivity that disregards proof of performance — all churn people at a rate that becomes much too much even in this crazy business. The previous agency found that out as well. There is a pattern. And in the end, no amount of money makes it worthwhile.”

Cramer-Kraselt became lead agency on Panera Bread in May 2012, following a review. It had previously been held by Interpublic agency Mullen, which split with Panera citing their own “creative differences.” While it’s not known if a review will result from the resignation, AdAge speculates that “it’s likely one will.” Stick around for a more complete excerpt from the memo following the jump. continued…

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Para algumas pessoas, felicidade é ir a uma lanchonete e descobrir que o ketchup que eles usam é Heinz. Especialmente se elas têm o hábito de usar o produto em quase tudo que consomem. E é um pouco dessa felicidade que a marca resolveu levar ao intervalo do Super Bowl, em seu retorno ao grande jogo após 16 anos. Happy tem criação da Cramer-Krasselt e, apesar de sua simplicidade, tem tudo para conquistar o público.

O filme coloca o produto em diferentes situações que fazem parte do cotidiano dos consumidores, que ao som de If You’re Happy (Se você está contente bata palmas), mas substituindo a batida de palmas por uma batidinha no fundo do vidro de ketchup. É o tipo de comercial simpático, que gruda na nossa cabeça e até te faz cantar.

Abaixo, a versão mais longa.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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The moon isn't made of cheese. It's made of lime. Corona and ad agency Cramer-Krasselt have put up a fun billboard in New York City which—on certain nights of the month, from a certain angle—makes the waxing crescent moon look like a slice of lime resting in a Corona bottle. The next public viewing of "Luna Corona," at 15th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan, will happen this Friday and Saturday nights, if you're interested. For the promo video below, the agency trots out scientific types, who explain in hushed tones how difficult it is to get the precision just right for this. I'm not an astronomer, but wouldn't it be easy to line up the moon and the bottle throughout the evening by walking around with your camera to a different spot on the street? The billboard is cool enough on its own without making it seem too much like a true celestial event.

We’re sure some sort of bubbly is flowing in the offices of Cramer-Krasselt’s various offices as the agency follows up retaining the Porsche creative biz by nabbing ad duties for tequila brand, Patron. The spirits brand previously worked with Dallas-based The Richards Group on its ad work, but it’s now turned its focus to C-K’s New York office.

In a statement,  Patron VP of marketing Jennifer Pisciotta says, “As we look to build on the brand’s premium positioning within the tequila and ultra-premium white spirits categories, we must ignite the unique passion people have for Patrón. Our product is different than the rest of our category, right down to each individual bottle, and Cramer-Krasselt has demonstrated they are the ideal partner to help us show off this truly special product.” From what the parties involved say, Patron was inspired by C-K NY’s holiday work for the brand. We’re awaiting links on this one.

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