In these ads the shapes are the outline of the Indian Map that denotes the phone has a good battery life that can travel across India on a single charge. From Tamil Nadu to Jammu&Kashmir (South to North), and from Assam to Maharashtra (From East to West).
Advertising Agency: BEI Confluence, New Delhi, India Creative Director: Ammar Mohammed National Creative Director: Anwar Abbas Art Director / Illustrator: Deb Chakraborty Copywriter: Ranit Mukherjee
Coup de cœur pour le récent projet « Creative needs to Eat » : une série de créations typographiques réalisées à partir de papier par la graphiste sud-africaine Lavanya Naidoo. Un rendu très coloré et esthétique. Plus d’images de ces créations travaillées à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
Advertising Agency: DraftFCB+Ulka, Mumbai, India National Creative Director: K. S. Chakravarthy Group Creative Director: Kartik Smetacek Art Director: Balakrishna Gajelli Copywriter: Donavon D’souza, Siddharth Shah
You may have seen an uncharacteristically bawdy ad for Crocs on the Internet this week. Well, it turns out it was fake (it was apparently a spec spot from London production company Compulsory), and Crocs isn't happy about it. "It is not an authentic Crocs ad," the company says. "We're very concerned by it, because it does not reflect our company values as a global lifestyle brand. No one at Crocs is familiar with this ad; no one at Crocs authorized its creation or appearance. We are committed to portraying the Crocs brand in a positive and respectful manner." This is understandable. Any sexiness scale worth anything would rate Crocs somewhere between dead grandma and Linux conference. Any ad that suggests otherwise is clearly phony.
All new from McDonald's: the McCloseUp. The chain is taking fast-food porn to new heights with a series of print ads from TBWA Paris that consist entirely of intimately photographed classic menu items (or at least, prop food dressed up as, for example, the ideal Big Mac). We already posted the TV spots from the same campaign, but these print ads are worth looking at in their own right. Mainly because they exclude Golden Arches or other overt branding—and they get away with it. In the on-point words of one commenter, "Lazy, but genius." The images are easily recognizable, and striking enough that, depending on your relationship with the brand, they'll either have you licking your chops or feeling a little queasy. Either way, they make an impression. More images below.
UPDATE: A reader points out that one of the executions features a wrapper with an "M" in the lower right corner. Because apparently, fish filet sandwiches are more generic—and therefore in need of a differentiating logo—than ice-cream sundaes.
The horribly cheesy corporate song is something of a tradition. The classic example is Bank of America's cover of U2's "One," with the lyrics updated to celebrate BofA's merger with MBNA. We've seen it in the agency world, too—for example, the Ogilvy Athens tribute in song to David Ogilvy, and SapientNitro's wretched "Idea Engineers" music video.
Here's a new mortifying entry: the Mercedes-Benz Service Song. It's sung from the point of view of a Mercedes car that's desperately craving a little TLC from a Mercedes repairman who knows how to use his hands. The lyrics begin: "I like them to be strong, that they can catch me when I skid/Like them to turn me on, I thought that some of them did/But just as I needed a helping hand, so many men were 'out of service,' not like you … You only give your best, won't stop until I smile." These prurient declarations, sung (by Patricia Meeden) like this is the '80s, are paired with the most clichéd, over-Photoshopped images they could apparently produce.
It may be the most downmarket thing this luxury brand has ever produced. I give it a week before it's gone from YouTube. Extended version after the jump. Via The Denver Egotist.
Car ads have disappointed me lately, so I was pleasantly surprised by this Fallon London spot for Skoda, which ranks as one of the more entertaining and memorable commercials in the category so far this year. (It avoids stalling on gooey sentimentality and hey-we-set-a-record! docudrama.) The awesomely realized one-joke spot shows various objects in a typical suburban neighborhood that have become outrageously big and powerful. These include a baby carriage that's more like a tricked-out moon-buggy; an ice-cream truck serving 2-foot-high cones; a lawnmower with eight cylinders; a jackhammer with mini-hammers to really grind up the pavement; a barbecue grill that's a cross between a UFO and a nuclear plant; and a kid's Big Wheel-type tricycle with wildly humongous wheels. Despite all the size and power on display, folks still stare open-mouthed at a dude tooling around in his high-performance Skoda Octavia vRS.
The action manages to be self-consciously silly but never stupid, because the souped-up stuff, while outlandish and cartoony, is nonetheless cool-looking and convincing. (Check out the "behind-the-scenes" clip below, which opens with a spoof commercial for the jet-powered, bomb-proof grill, and shows some of the impressive props being made.) The slogan, "It's not your everyday family car," is a bit weak, but I still got the message that this is one powerful Skoda, and it might just turn some heads on my boring old street. I'm sold … I'll take the grill! (And a chocolate cone with extra sprinkles, please.)
Twentieth Century Fox has ramped up its marketing machine in anticipation of the next X-Men movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past, out next May, by creating fictional advertising for Trask Industries. Trask is the evil corporation in X-Men, creators of the Sentinels—giant robots that kill mutants—and other fun anti-mutant devices. They also dabble in mutant containment and genetic research. Ignition Creative in Los Angeles made the commercial, which comes with a website and some delightful anti-mutant propaganda posters up on the movie's Tumblr. It's wonderful if already a bit formulaic fan service that's almost required for all good sci-fi movie openings these days. It's too bad the timing of the campaign release coincides with The Wolverine biting it at the box office.
Ever wanted to chomp a big, savory bite of barbecue brisket right out of the side of your soda bottle? Of course you haven't. That would be disgusting and real damn strange. But Texas-based soda brand Big Red is floating the idea anyway in its new ad for the (blessedly fictional) Big Red BBQ Bottle. The spot was created by Austin comedy duo Beef & Sage, who also partnered with the brand last year to create a surprisingly entertaining video series called "Don't Tell Mom We're Doing Experiments in the Garage." The Big Red BBQ Bottle is apparently the first of three new videos that will roll out this summer. "Our new series highlights new 'innovations' that Big Red created to either solve a common consumer problem or make the lives of our consumers better," Big Red marketing svp Thomas Oh tells AdFreak. "Complementing BBQ with the sweet, smooth flavor of Big Red is a fan favorite, so we wanted to feature a new way to enjoy both." Well, Thomas, mission disturbingly accomplished. Credits and more Big Red comedy clips after the jump.
CREDITS Client: Big Red Spot: "Big Red BBQ Bottle" Agency: Real Normal/Beef & Sage Copywriter: Beef & Sage Executive Producer: Toby Schwartz Director: Kirk Johnson Art Director: Sam Webber Director of Photography: Nathanael Vorce Editor: Beef & Sage Production Services: Real Normal
Subaru stakes its claim as the car for people whose lives are just so damn cute in this pair of new spots from Carmichael Lynch.
"The Date" follows a young couple as they drive down country roads, first stopping at a diner for chocolate shakes and then at a produce stand, where the woman sticks an orange in her mouth for, I dunno, an impromptu impression of Marlon Brando from The Godfather, or something. It's such an awkward moment, I would've split and left her there. This guy's more of a gentleman, however, and drives her straight to the commercial's cutesy twist ending. Turns out they're strangers who just met when her truck ran out of gas and he drove her to the station to get some. I guess they really clicked on the ride. How sweet.
"Redressing Room" tells the tale of a toddler who keeps undressing in the backseat. "If I've gotta wear clothes, you've gotta wear clothes," says his perky mom. (If I had a dime for every time my boss at AdFreak has told me that!)
Look, there's nothing wrong with these spots; they're well directed by Lance Acord, and I'm sure they'll resonate for some. That said, I found them strangely insincere. They just feel too much like, well, Commercials with a capital C, right down to details like the hunky "Date" dude's windblown hair and scraggy bread and the "Redressing Room" mom's cutesy (yet disturbing) decision to keep extra kids' clothes in plastic drawers in the hatchback.
Stranded in this deflating post-modern-Rockwell vision of America, I'm the one who needs a lift.
Here's a simple concept executed simply for Adidas. This beautifully shot, expertly cut short tells the story of the opening of the D Rose Jump Store in London. This unique store gave fans a chance to jump with the Chicago Bulls point guard to get a pair of Derrick Rose signature Adidas sneakers. Hundreds of fans descended and tried to make the 10-foot jump. Great moments, from Rose laughing at a girl who can't get enough air to helping a kid reach a pair, are offset by some pretty impressive jumps—including a dude who not only reaches the shoes but manages to kiss them on the shelf. Best pop-up store promotion in a while.
You would think the epic-ness of a Strawberry Pop-Tart Ice Cream Sandwich would speak for itself. But just to be safe, Carl's Jr. has layered its new ad (via 72andSunny) for the dessert treat with breathless commentary from the blogosphere and perhaps the most awe-inspiring soundtrack around: Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra," otherwise known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Can the product possibly stand up to this grand teaser? Judging by the early reviews, yes—yes, it can.
UPDATE: Carl's Jr.'s sister brand Hardee's rolled out a new spot from 72andSunny today—for the Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwich, featuring bull rider and Texas native Douglas Duncan. See that spot below.
Talk about a loud poster! Novalia in England has developed a drum-kit poster you can play with your fingertips. The interactive paper works like a touchsceen and produces seven different drum sounds, including cymbals. (Sadly, there's no cowbell.) The poster itself acts as a speaker. There's also a Bluetooth version that plays through iPads and iPhones. When the neighbors complain, you can let them look around your apartment and honestly say, "Drums? I don't have any drums. Must be the people upstairs." (Ba-dum-bum-CHING!) Needless to say, the company has a more enlightened vision for the technology. "Packaging, greeting-card manufacturers, point-of-sale, bus-shelter advertising, books, newspapers—yes, you can touch a story in a newspaper and if you've got your smartphone with our app anywhere on your person it can automatically pick up the recording of the actual press conference," Novalia's Kate Stone tells Cambridge News. The company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund volume production. Fusing traditional media with new technology is becoming a trend. What will they think of next—a print ad that charges your cell phone? Via PSFK.
Advertising Agency: BEI Confluence, New Delhi, India Creative Director / Copywriter: Ammar Mohammed National Creative Director: Anwar Abbas Art Director / Illustrator: Deb Chakraborty
The Marijuana Policy Project is spreading its message to Nascar fans by purchasing video ad space on a Jumbotron just outside the entrance to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis from today through Sunday. Not only that, but the 30-second spot they're running (see below) disparages alcohol multiple times, something that Nascar sponsors Miller Lite and Crown Royal might not be too happy about. The video's specific claims are that marijuana has "no calories … no hangovers … [and] it's not linked to violence or reckless behavior." Drug cartels might have something to say about that last point, but I get what they're trying to say. If the MPP is truly interested in public service, they'll tell Nascar fans where to find decent weed. I grew up in Nascar country, and the stuff they smoke is total garbage.
UPDATE: The ad was pulled after the Drug Free America Foundation complained about it to Grazie Media, which owns the jumbotron. "Grazie Media does not, in any way, shape or form, support the use of marijuana nor the promotion of illegal drugs at a family event," Vanessa Wojtala, CEO and director of programming at Grazie Media, said in a statement.
You plug Google's new $35 Chromecast dongle into the back of your TV set to wirelessly stream Internet video on a larger screen. "For Bigger Fun," this minute-long commercial by 72andSunny, shows all kinds of people doing just that. They watch mainly Hollywood fare (Charlie Chaplin, Austin Powers, etc.) or candid footage from their own lives. In a way, this is the YouTube generation coming full circle, as we can now broadcast ourselves onto our living-room screens and enjoy a stripped-down version of old-school TV stardom. The spot works hard to portray Chromecast as an enjoyable shared experience, though watching people watch TV isn't that exciting. The music, "Zorba the Greek," sets my teeth on edge. It reminds me of the bloody bouzouki that drones on and on and on and on in Monty Python's "Cheese Shop" sketch. Now there's some video worth streaming! Bottom line: Dongle's a funny word. Kind of.
Here's an ad that's really the dog's bollocks. It's by Grey Mexico for Motor Master floor disinfectant. "What is on your floor is not always on your mind," says the tagline. The ad, though, may be on your mind for some time, and not in a good way. It is topical, though, and Grey confirms it's a real ad. "They don't have big budgets, but they are very willing to use our creativity," a Grey executive in Mexico City says of Motor Master. There's also a cat version of the ad. Via Ads of the World.
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