Hasta La Creative!

Lyft is in the midst of a creative review in search of an agency of record and has asked big agencies to pitch for the business, but in a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday (featured above) and accompanying Twitter post, Lyft calls on small “wildcard” agencies to take the last seat at the table.

In the video, Lyft states that they have invited large agencies to the review, “But we root for the little guys too” and outlines the rules for submission. Interested parties can submit a 60-second or shorter video, which must take place inside a Lyft vehicle and creatively embody the Lyft brand, to @Lyft with the hashtag #LyftWildcard by June 9th. The winner will then get to compete in the next round of the review.

For one example, here is the pitch from Made Movement of Colorado.

Not everyone is enthused by Lyft’s invitation, however. In AdAge, marketing consultant Rupal Parekh called it “a PR stunt veiled as an effort to make an agency search more hip and fun.” NSW/Swat CEO Richard Kirshenbaum, meanwhile, told Adweek that it was a “gimmick,” adding, “It’s a clever idea for somebody right out of school. But is it really interesting to people of experience and quality who know what they’re doing? The answer is ‘absolutely not.’”

Another hot take from Kyle Snarr of Tribal Worldwide:

#LyftWildcard embodies everything wrong with advertising’s current new biz mentality. More like #LyftFishingTrip. https://t.co/R8pt4rMeHh

— Kyle Snarr (@kyality) June 4, 2015

Lots of strong opinions on this one, though the consensus seems to be negative.

Southwest Airlines and their agency GSD&M like to give people a good reason to fly. For instance, wedding season is upon us. Whether you would like to fly towards this mess on two heels (and Kristen Wiig impersonator), or away from her, is your business. It’s Southwest’s business to move you about the country at […]

The post Bee Gees and Sugar Hill Gang Remind You To Fly Southwest appeared first on AdPulp.

“Everybody will start to cheer when you put on your sailing shoes.” -Robert Palmer Sperry Topsider is the favorite summertime footwear of WASPy sailors from Nantucket to Coronado. It’s great to have a built-in audience—and with 80 years in business, Sperry has one—but how does the boat shoe expand its footprint beyond the boarding school […]

The post The Weekend Wear of Statesmen and Scholars Now Seeks Broader Audience appeared first on AdPulp.

I took a speed reading class once when I was in college. It seemed the smart thing to do, given the intense workload. But I couldn’t train my eye to skim. Then one day the teacher asks, “by chance are you a writer?” Writers can’t speed read, she told me. They care too much about […]

The post Honda Wants To Push You To Read Real Fast appeared first on AdPulp.

Theodore Roosevelt was a Harvard man, a voracious reader and a loquacious speaker. In 1910, Roosevelt travelled to Paris to speak on “citizenship in a republic” at The Sorbonne. Now, this 105-year old speech has resurfaced in a Cadillac commercial. Looks like someone at Cadillac’s new agency, Publicis Worldwide, majored in American history. But the […]

The post Critics Drive Clunkers. Those Who #DareGreatly Prefer Cadillac. appeared first on AdPulp.

Conventional wisdom says agencies are not supposed to have a style, or a consistent “look and feel” across its body of work for a variety of clients. Wieden + Kennedy isn’t big on conventional wisdom. Thus it’s no surprise that the agency’s new Turbo Tax Super Bowl spot shares a lot in common with a […]

The post Wieden + Kennedy Rolls Out the Stars & Stripes. Again. appeared first on AdPulp.

Ace Hardware is in the early stages of a creative review and “a request for proposals is likely out to agencies,” sources told Adweek.

According to Kantar Media, the brand spent $52 million on measured media in 2013 and $57 million in the first nine months of 2014. Incumbent agency GSD&M has handled the account since taking over for Mars Advertising in 2009, and it is unclear if they are defending in the review. We reached out to the Austin-based agency but they declined to comment. Media buying and planning is not part of the review and will remain with Spark.

Choosing the right footwear can bring one comfort and a certain confidence, based on style and fit. For example, the wearers of Sanük brand shoes choose not to sweat the small stuff, thanks in large part to the utter comfort their shoes provide. Agency: Ignited in Los Angeles.

The post Be “Never Uncomfortable” In A New Pair of Sanüks appeared first on AdPulp.

Cats rule the internet. But does the feline brand of cuteness transfer well to TV? Let’s look at this new Diet Coke spot, “Kittens,” developed by Droga5 New York for evidence. Filmed in New York City and directed by Keith Schofield, “Kittens” is the third TV spot for Diet Coke’s “Get A Taste” campaign. The […]

The post Diet Coke-Fueled Taylor Swift And A Room Full of Kittens (Need We Say More) appeared first on AdPulp.

Miami ad man, Bruce Turkel, appeared on Fox to provide expert commentary on two new commercials: a sexist blunder from Subway and a spot from Domino’s that features a voice ordering app for pizza. Turkel rightly claims that Subway missed the mark. You don’t tell people to go on a diet so they fit into […]

The post Subway Crosses The Line, Bruce Turkel Throws A Flag #goodcall appeared first on AdPulp.