Hasta La Creative!

Pantene Philippines has launched a powerful campaign pointing out how identical behavior often earns men and women different labels in the workplace.

In this spot by BBDO Guerrero in Manila, a lovely cover of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears plays while each scene displays a double-standard in a working environment. A man is the "boss" while a woman is "bossy." A man is "persuasive" while a woman is "pushy." He's "neat" but she's "vain." He's "smooth" but she's a "show-off." "Don't let labels hold you back. Be strong and shine," says the copy at the end.

There's nary a shampoo bottle in sight, although glossy hair certainly features here. But the video delivers, and the #whipit campaign has inspired discussion on both the YouTube video and Facebook.

• "Too bad they couldn't find a male equivalent of 'bitch.' This is the one I hear the most about strong women in the workplace."
• "Sell product by convincing your target market that you are more invested in contributing to emotionally charged, globally relevant women's image issues than you are in advertising your product."

While it is disappointing that they used only light-skinned models—a long-standing trend in the Philippines—it's a potent spot with an important message criticizing gender stereotypes. Oh, and Sheryl Sandberg is a fan.

Bad news for grinches who still hate ugly holiday sweaters despite their newfound ironic popularity: Budweiser U.K. is adding some charm to the practice of capitalizing on them.

The beer brand has created a "Knitbot"—what it calls a tweet-powered knitting machine—to knit ugly sweaters for designated drivers. Every tweet tagged with the hashtag #jumpersfordes (jumper being British for sweater, and des being short for designated drivers) causes the machine to knit a little more. Everything about this—the grasping for relevance in social media, the uninvited participation in a tradition not directly connected to any brand—should be annoying. But it's hard to argue against celebrating non-drunk-drivers. People always get sloppy wasted during the holidays, after all, so why not foster good will—and look less mercenary—by focusing on the chaperones?

A quick Twitter search for #jumpersfordes returns only a few dozen mentions since Nov. 27. Now, the brand plans to hand out the sweaters to actual designated drivers via a contest on its Facebook page. Sure, it's not the first holiday campaign to tie in Twitter, knitting and wooly giveaways. But the campaign's real problem is that the sweaters aren't near ugly enough. Coke Zero's are way worse.

Via Design Taxi.

Behold the C21 Delivery Landing Pad, designed to accommodate package deliveries by airborne drones. According to the product's maker, real-estate giant Century 21, "no home of the 21st century will be complete without one." Even so, don't expect the pad to be included with your next split-level colonial.

Roughly the size of a welcome mat and equipped with tiny landing lights, the C21 is, in fact, a fictitious item, promoted in yet another quick-turnaround, tongue-in-cheek video from Boston ad agency Mullen. These promos riff on buzzy current events, in this case Jeff Bezos's claim that Amazon will offer deliveries via flying bots sometime in the future. (Such a system at Walter White's Albuquerque home—listed "for sale" by Century 21 in a Craigslist ad timed to the Breaking Bad finale—would've been invaluable for receiving drone-dispatched beakers, Bunsen burners, Badfinger CDs, etc.)

Alas, since Bezos made his announcement on 60 Minutes last Sunday, it's become increasingly clear that in light of regulatory hurdles and safety concerns, it may well be Century 22 before drone deliveries become commonplace.

Tesco had its family-through-the-years holiday spot. Now, it's Netflix's turn.

In its first work for the brand, Deutsch/LA tells the story of the McDermott family—from the point of view of a porcelain Christmas tree topper voiced by Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco. We begin in the late '70s, as Mom brings the ornament home, where it will witness all sorts of shenanigans over the next 34 years. Holidays bring the usual family stresses for the McDermotts, but three decades later, something finally comes along that brings them all together for a quiet few hours—Netflix streaming.

The spot is nicely shot by Matt Aselton of Arts & Sciences—all the period details are fun. (Even today, the McDermotts retain a stubborn '70s vibe.) And Bracco's voice is as rich and evocative as ever, perfect for an ad with vintage touches.

Not sure watching Forrest Gump is really what will bring the family together this holiday, though. Shame the second season of House of Cards won't arrive for another couple months.

Print ad and credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Netflix
Spot: "Tree Topper"
Chief Marketing Officer: Kelly Bennett
Vice President, North America Marketing: Jerret West
Global Creative Director: Trent Good
Senior Producer: Kara Pierce
Senior Marketing Manager: Megan Imbres
Creative Marketing Manager: Crystal Ponzio

Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Pete Favat
Group Creative Director: Gavin Lester
Senior Art Director: Gordy Sang
Senior Copywriter: Brian Siedband
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Producer: Rachel Seitel

Production Company: Arts & Sciences, Los Angeles
Director: Matt Aselton
Director of Photography: Corey Walter
Managing Director: Mal Ward
Executive Producer: Marc Marrie
Line Producer: Zoe Odlum

Editorial Company: Arcade Edit, Los Angeles
Editor: Geoff Hounsell
Executive Producer: Damian Stevens
Assistant Editor: Glenn Teel
Producer: Gavin Carroll

Post Facility: MPC, Santa Monica, Calif.
Colorist: Mark Gethin

Post Facility (Online): MPC, Santa Monica
Online Artist: Mark Holden
Online Assistant Artist: Adrian Leva
Producer: Abisayo Adejare
Executive Producer: Lexi Stearn

Music/Composer: Human

Sound Design: Henry Boy, New York

Audio Post: Lime Studios, Santa Monica
Mixer: Rohan Young
Assistant: Jeff Malen
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke

Shoot Location: Chicago

End Tag Treatment: Laundry, Los Angeles

Additional Deutsch Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Mike Sheldon
Director of Account Management: Kim Getty

Account Management Credits:
Group Account Director: John McGonigle
Account Director: Christi Johnson
Account Supervisor: Michal David

Media Credits:
MEC
Director of Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Business Affairs Manager: Maggie Pijanowski
Director or Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo

To get a sense of the scale of online ad-sharing growth since 2006, look no further than Dove. The Unilever brand had a major viral advertising hit that year, and again this year—"Evolution" and "Real Beauty Sketches"—providing useful bookends to see how sharing has expanded exponentially in eight years.

The "Evolution" spot was shared 60,954 times in its first year, compared to 4.24 million shares for "Real Beauty Sketches," according to Unruly Media, which has released a new version of its "Viral Spiral" infographic (see below) looking at branded-video shares through the years.

"Evolution," released just a year after YouTube launched, was the No. 3 viral spot of 2006, while "Real Beauty Sketches" was this year's No. 1. The gap in their shares, of course, reflects the maturing of the online video marketplace—and is reflected in the broader numbers. Unruly says sharing of branded video has increased 50 times in last eight years.

The Viral Spiral—a fun way to look at some of the biggest viral spots since 2006—has been spiced up since its last appearance in 2011. You can filter by year, shares and sector; see synopses of the major themes in each year; and learn all sorts of sharing-related info-nuggets. As a nod to the year of prankvertising, Unruly also threw in an "infoprank," so don't worry if the NSA appears to be tracking you while you browse.

Some other tidbits:

• Sharing of the top three branded videos has grown sevenfold from 2010 (the year of the game-changing Old Spice ad) to 2013—from 1.6 million to 11.6 million.
• Eight of the top 20 most viral ads of all time were released in 2013.
• The top 10 ads in 2013 generated 28.8 million shares, up from 19 million in 2012.

Play around with the full Viral Spiral below.

How do you deal with holiday stress? Activewear maker Lucy is humorously urging women to try something unconventional this year. Try dropping to the floor and adopting the "child's pose" from yoga—with your legs tucked under you, your head down and your arms outstretched in front. That should calm your nerves in line at Macy's, as long as security doesn't come running.

The tongue-in-cheek spot below from ad agency Mono, directed by the actress Elizabeth Banks, shows the strategy in action. Give it a shot, and let us know how it goes.

I was recently headhunted to join Grey Advertising in Singapore. I’ll be Associate Creative Director for the Panadol global account for GSK. Including other brands (Lucozade/Horlicks) for the Asia Pacific region. I just left Leo Burnet Dubai two weeks ago, and currently in London on a break between jobs.

Why are you into Advertising?

Actually fell into it by accident. Was half way through my Chemistry degree at UMIST University in Manchester when I found out about it. Fell in love with the idea of ideas, enrolled for the BA (Hons) Advertising & Marketing Comms course at the Watford campus of University of Hertfordshire, and never looked back.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
At Watford, I chose the BA (Hons) degree over the one-year copywriting course just for backup. I practised copy on the side during those 3 years though.

How have awards impacted your career?
Well they definitely get you noticed, but they’re not everything in my opinion. The biggest rewards are the results for the brands, reflected at the Effies. And I sure would prefer a few more of these under my belt. That’s what I personally strive for for every brand.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Regarding advertising none at all. In general, my parents and brother. In football, Ian Wright (Arsenal).

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
The man who told me I had no future in Advertising. He was the closest person I had to a mentor after completing my degree and when I was struggling for a job. Then he told me to forget advertising and try something else. So walking home I wondered what I was going to do now that I had zero support. Then just before I entered my apartment, I said to him in my head; “fuck you.” And never looked back.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
From within. I have my own objectives wherever I go and the pressure I apply on myself to go one better will always be more than the demands of any agency I work for.

Tell us something about the work environment at Grey Dubai…
It’s Grey Singapore. I’m yet to find out. But I’ll be in touch when I start work there on December 9. I’m currently taking a hard-earned break back at my family home in London.

Do you have any kind of a program to nurture and train young talent?
Read. Absorb everything. Don’t listen to your iPod walking out and about. Look and listen all around you, and be inspired by your surroundings and the behaviours of people. And think holistically as much as possible. Think how an idea can live beyond everything traditional. Bear in mind, digital is fast-becoming ‘traditional’ these days.

What about new and young film makers/photographers? Do you consciously keep looking for newer talent and try someone completely new?
I’m always active and welcoming such talent. As long as their portfolio/reel is genuine, that’s what competition is for. Keeps us all on our toes and helps the industry peak new standards.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad? Why do you think it has lost the shine? Why are the younger lot more interested in TV?
That’s something you can’t escape. TV has always been more glamorous than other other medium. But today there are opportunities to link digital with TV. So perhaps this is another reason. But it’s also up to a special few to try and bring back and elevate the standards of Print work released by convincing clients. It’s always the culmination of a number of factors why standards either decline or increase.

More and more young people are web savvy and want to work on the internet or on more entrepreneurial ventures. Has that affected the quality of people advertising has been getting?
It’s the new breed of people in advertising. I started in digital before touching ATL. And I’m glad my path took me this way rather than the reverse. It’s a necessary evolution for today’s world. It’s not about quality; people will always have ideas. But the nature has changed to become more bold and likely to take risks – and this is exactly what the industry needs on a consistent basis.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
No. Prime example is Harvey Nichols Dubai. They were with Y&R when I was there back in 2006. They’ve won hundreds of awards from Cannes to Clio to D&AD with their print work. And that was the problem. No balance between award work and day-to-day work. The client wasn’t happy with the progression of the brand and in the last few months Y&R lost their cash-cow account.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Don’t give up. And don’t let anyone make you feel less of a person than who you are. Most of all, don’t believe it. You can do it if you put in the expected effort; from research to continually refining ideas. There were times in Dubai I worked for days on end with no sleep. Or 4 months without a weekend. I hope it’ll never be like this for you. But that’s how I learned; fast and the hard way. Don’t shy away from hard work; it won’t kill you. Just makes you stronger and ready for anything. And don’t forget to have the time of your life.

What is your dream project?
I think I’m about to start it in Singapore.

Mac or PC?
MAC

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Not gonna tell you everything.

What’s on your iPod?
Don’t own one. For the reasons I mentioned above.

The post Sunny Deo : Interview with an Associate Creative Director appeared first on desicreative.

BRIEF – Once Again is a Bangalore-based NGO that follows a unique model where it accepts donations only in the form of old items, not money.

It collects items people don’t use anymore, sells them at a minimal price to the underprivileged and uses this money for the empowerment of their community –
supporting a crèche for their children, providing vocational training to women and computer training to young adults.
The brief was to make the NGO recognizable and maximize donations to support its activities. The challenge was to accomplish this with no budgets in hand.

STRATEGY – We noticed that the youth were passionate about making a difference to their surroundings, but saw charity as a boring, guilt-driven moral obligation.
We used Facebook – a place where they hang out everyday – to involve them in this cause, by making the act of donating fun and engaging.
CREATIVE EXECUTION – We created The Tagging Drive, an online donation drive on Facebook. We started with a team of Facebook volunteers, who revisited their friends’ old pictures
and tagged ‘Once Again’ to things worth donating – shoes, toys, clothes, furniture, books, etc. When the friend received the notification of the tagged picture,
curiosity prompted them to click on it. It led them to the Once Again Facebook page where they read the message, “You’ve been tagged to remind you that someone,
somewhere needs your old stuff more than you. Please donate.” The page also invited them to become Facebook volunteers and spread the word by tagging their friends.
THE RESULTS – The tags created curiosity and thousands were directed to the Once Again page. The campaign went viral with friends tagging friends.
It gained visibility on social media, received prominent coverage in leading media publications and went on to become Bangalore’s biggest tagging drive.
In a matter of a few months, thousands of pictures were tagged and several donation drives initiated. Once Again collected over ten thousand items for sale
at their thrift shop, giving the underprivileged an access to goods they couldn’t afford otherwise. The monies generated from the sale of these goods increased by 462%,
which is being recycled to support its activities. And it all started with a tag.
www.facebook.com/onceagainbangalore

Credits

Client: Once Again, Bangalore.
Headline: “BANGALORE’S BIGGEST TAGGING DRIVE”
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore.
President: Poran Malani
Senior Vice President: Vikram Menon
Executive Creative Director: Ajanta Barker
Creative Director: Anoop Sathyanand
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Siju RS
Copywriters: Bhumika Udernani, Dipika Aranha
Planners: Venkataraghavan Srinivasan, Manasi Trivedi
Production: Foxfilms.in
Additional Credits: Yousef Anani, Rishad Melethil, Junaid Rahman, Rahul Antony, Prem Madhu

The post Once Again by Ogilvy Bangalore appeared first on desicreative.

Envy makes advertising go round—when creatives aren't busying copying ideas, they're coveting them. D&AD celebrates that dynamic with a series of new spots, created by Wieden + Kennedy in London, to promote the awards show's 2014 call for submissions.

In the videos, industry heavyweights including Dan Wieden share their picks for work from the past year that they "wish they'd done." In Wieden's case, it's an ad by Barton F. Graf 9000 that proposes changing the titles of devastating hurricanes from apparently random names like Katrina and Sandy to names like Marco Rubio and Michele Bachmann, in an attempt to lay blame for the natural disasters on politicians who deny climate change. It's sort of like an "Oh, diss, gotcha dummy" on the dilapidated playground of American politics—but done in a way Wieden hopes will actually have some positive effect.

The other spots focus on media beyond straight advertising. For the digital category, W+K alum Iain Tait, now at Google Creative Lab, praises Philips's Internet-connected, color-changing lightbulbs. For the design category, Jessica Walsh of Sagmeister & Walsh spotlights the new "W" logo for the Whitney Museum, in what may be, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most opaque explanation to the uninitiated—because design work that looks good doesn't always translate to the most down-to-earth or persuasive argument.

The parts of the promos most worth envying may be the opening zoetrope animations that Nexus's Productions Factory Fifteen developed. The spinning toys pack in quick references to past standout work—the advertising bit, for example, includes the Guardian's "Three Little Pigs" opus (BBH), Honda's flying motors (W+K) and Cadbury's famous Phil Collins gorilla (Fallon). For insiders, the presence of such greats should amp the challenge to submit—or maybe just render it moot. Nobody is ever going to make anything half as good as a big-feeling simian beating the crap out of a drum kit.

GoldieBlox went from hero to zero in one short week, putting our ad-loving hearts through a roller coaster of emotions. Now, it's belatedly making amends by removing its parody of the Beastie Boys' "Girls" from its mega-popular "Princess Machine" ad—and posting its own "open letter" to the band (and the world) telling its side of the story.

To recap: GoldieBlox last week released an empowering spot using a rewritten version "Girls" as the soundtrack to breaking gender roles in the toy space. (Sample lyrics: "It's time to change/We deserve to see a range/'Cause all our toys look just the same/And we would like to use our brains.") The ad was clever and cool, and everyone loved it—except they failed to ask the Beastie Boys for permission to use the song. The band objected, and GoldieBlox sued to have its soundtrack declared fair use. That precipitated a PR nightmare (especially after the Beasties' posted a frankly damning open letter in response). So now, GoldieBlox has surrendered—deleting the video, posting a new one with a more generic soundtrack and releasing its own lengthy statement about the affair.

"We don't want to fight with you. We love you and we are actually huge fans," GoldieBlox founder Debra Sterling writes. She goes on to defend her intentions but says "our hearts sank last week when your lawyers called us with threats." Sterling says she had no idea the late Adam Yauch was opposed to using his music in ads (not every "huge fan" of Yauch's knows this, apparently, even one who is looking into doing just that), and adds: "We don't want to spend our time fighting legal battles. We want to inspire the next generation. We want to be good role models. And we want to be your friends."

It's basically a passive-aggressive non-apology, casting the Beastie Boys as bullies and GoldieBlox as the victim—and also, irritatingly, the bigger person. The company suddenly doesn't want to fight a legal battle, even though it started one. And it wants to be friends, even though it's spent a week trying to be enemies.

Perhaps this bitterness is understandable. The company had a huge hit on its hands—deleting it must be tough to swallow. And the new spot (posted below), without the Beastie Boys song, definitely has less energy—although maybe it just seems that way because most of us are sort of over it.