Looking forward to the series finale of The Office tonight? Here's something else to look forward to. The real Dunder Mifflin ad below—for the defictionalized paper brand whose products you can actually buy at Quill.com—will air in five Dunder Mifflin "branch" markets (Scranton, Pa., Akron, Ohio, and Utica, Albany and Syracuse, N.Y.) as well as Chicago (the home market of Lincolnshire-based Quill) during tonight's telecast. Just as the NBC show winds down, Dunder Mifflin paper is ramping up its advertising. (It's already among the best-selling brands in the office-supply category.) Its slogan, "Limitless paper in a paperless world," is what drives this spot, which is all about a guy who can turn anything he touches into Dunder Mifflin paper. Of course, he immediately uses his power to prank his co-workers the same way Jim pranks Dwight. The Midas touch is a well-worn theme in advertising, and they're not really challenging any conventions. But let's face it. This is as good as paper advertising gets.
Just a few weeks after making the most awkward transmission-repair ad ever, Rhett & Link are back with another goofy local commercial—this one for the Ryan Lee Chiropractic Center in Los Angeles. It stars the eponymous practitioner, who twists, turns and otherwise contorts the bodies of his patients until their skeletons emit rather sickening crunching sounds. It only gets worse as the ad goes on. The tagline is "Gentle. Comfortable. Professional"—although if that's true, it's not totally clear what's going on at 0:41.
The only really surprisingly thing about Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin's appearance in an American Express ad is that it didn't happen sooner. It's been more than a year since Dubin charmed impecunious razor purchasers everywhere with his amusing starring role in his company's debut ad. He's a born pitchman—for whoever he'd like to endorse. The AmEx spot frankly is a little bland, but it proves that while the man may know his dollars, he has trouble with his cents. Via Co.Create.
Intemperance comes in many flavors, and SLO Down Wines has pairings for all of them. The California winemaker has rolled out three irreverent ads (from Harvest Films director Baker Smith and Arcade Edit's Paul Martinez and Dean Miyahira) about how well its Sexual Chocolate wine goes with group sex, horse role playing and bong rips, respectively. There's some light parody of insufferable wine-chat ("It's the deep red of a … really red thing"), but they don't spend too much time dwelling on it, and I'm glad they committed to the weird direction these ads went in. Well, except for the part where I saw Brandon Allen in a thong. I may need a glass of wine to throw in my eyes after that. Credits below.
CREDITS Client: SLO Down Wines Campaign: Goes Great With ? Spots: "Threesomes," "Equestrianism," "Horticulture"
Production Company: Harvest Films Director: Baker Smith Executive Producer: Bonnie Goldfarb Head of Production: Niko Whelan Producer: Leslie Owen
Editorial Company: Arcade Edit Editors: Paul Martinez and Dean Miyahira Managing Partner/EP: Damian Stevens Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Online: Airship Post
Music: Critical Mass Composer: H. Scott Salinas Sound Design/Mix: Tobias Enhus
There's a bunch of genetic meddling going on in the new video game Resident Evil Revelations. It may stand to reason, then, that marketer Capcom would stage a wholly unnatural promotion for its release. The company has created "the world's only blood-filled swimming pool"—good gawd, let's hope it's the only one—and tossed in some realistic-looking entrails and body parts. Then what, you ask? For two days later this month, it will invite people to take a dip in the London pool and search for swag! While bobbing for licensed merchandise in viscous liquid might not be everyone's idea of a good time, Capcom has reason to believe that fans of its horror-adventure franchise will be up to the task. For the last installment, Resident Evil 6, the game developer opened a fake butchery selling human body parts in London's famous Smithfields meat market. For the upcoming stunt, 200 people will have the chance to slog through intestines, brains and torsos under the watchful eyes of zombie lifeguards in a 55,000-gallon pool. (That's the equivalent of 11,327 blood-drained people, for those keeping track.) Goggles and towels will be available for loan, but no word on barf bags.
This new billboard in Milan for an insect spray also serves as a huge pest strip, thanks to a few layers of aerosol glue. The glue was applied in the shape of an Orphea can's spray arc, which filled in as bugs got stuck in it. The visual effect of that little mosaic of suffering is quite unique, and now all of Milan's summer tourists will see and understand the potency of aerosol glue. And maybe Orphea, too. Agency: Publicis Italy. Via The Denver Egotist.
Is JCPenney stocking up on slacks with extra room in the crotch? I'm inclined to think so, judging from its ballsy move of releasing a feel-good commercial from Young & Rubicam thanking consumers for "coming back" to the troubled retailer just two weeks after an ad apologizing for missteps under ousted CEO Ron Johnson. Many web commenters have posed the obvious question: "Isn't it too soon to say thank you?" Sure is. Just do the math, Einstein! Penney is set to release first-quarter earnings this week that reflect a 16 percent sales slump following a $4.3 billion loss in sales last year. In fairness, the chain has begun making changes under new CEO Myron Ullman, reviving coupons, sales and its St. John's Bay collection. And its recent mea culpa and #JCPlistens social outreach campaign have been well received. Still, two weeks of anything—and Penney offers no particulars—won't right this ship. Heck, even two good quarters probably wouldn't be enough. That doesn't mean I don't applaud JCP's moxie. For all its muted, mom-centric imagery, the new spot bespeaks a certain swaggering style—i.e., "We're back because we say we're back!" At least there's some substance here, with Penney returning to its roots and focusing on core values. That beats another troubled retailer's strategy of tossing Robin Thicke and phallic symbols into a video and hoping for the best.
Closing the books on a yearlong anniversary celebration double-stuffed with buzzworthy work, Oreo is now launching "Wonderfilled," a colorful new campaign celebrating sharing. The TV spots, Oreo's first from The Martin Agency since signing with the agency late last year, are infectiously catchy thanks to the custom soundtrack featuring Adam Young of Owl City fame. The premise is that passing along an Oreo could probably turn all manner of murderous beasts into kind-hearted souls. Who knew? "The ability to wonder is something we all share, but too often forget or ignore," the agency writes in its description of the campaign strategy. "Wonderfilled captures the universal human feeling that kids are naturally so good at, yet adults need to be reminded of: a sense of wonder in the world." Check out the anthem spot below, along with a shorter version and a print piece after the jump.
Gape in awe at these impressive "Windows 8 Training Camp" videos that dramatize product benefits through the goofiest of competitions. In "Makeup," three women have 10 seconds to apply cosmetics, with results that are hilariously mixed. In "Piano," we are introduced to two men who balance work and play by tickling the ivories while playing pingpong with their buttocks. They’re actually quite talented. And in "Watermelon," three skilled martial artists carve and suggestively finger some watermelons. Microsoft told bloggers the online-only videos were created specifically for Asian markets and were only posted to the global Youtube channel by mistake, but we're not buying it. While I don't speak Korean or Chinese, commenters who are native speakers of both have said on The Verge' that the actors in the ads are actually speaking a fake language that's just gibberish, which makes you wonder if the whole odd-Asian vibe and vague backstory for the spots are signs that these were intended to be viral videos from day one. More spots after the jump.
Anubhav Khatri came to us with the usual client problem. ‘I want instant fame for my store but I don’t have any money.’ Given that it was a specialized knives store, we told him to not do advertising. Rather spend some money on a unique set of visiting cards, which will work as advertising for him. We presented him with the idea of visiting cards made to look like impossibly thin fruit/vegetable slices. So that , the cards would give a tactile experience of the quality of knives he was selling. A specialized store suddenly became known to a wider community and now Anubhav bBhai’s shop is the place to buy quality knives from in Agra.
Don't believe everything you see and hear in Draftfcb Toronto's deceptively clever TV and interactive poster campaign for Union Hearing Aid Centre. Known for its tricky advertising, the client's new "vision tests" display letters in successively smaller fonts in typical eye-chart fashion—but there's quite a surprise in store. Those who can read the final line of tiny type on the poster and in the commercial are told that there's probably nothing wrong with their eyesight. But they might want to visit Union and get their hearing checked, because a "really annoying, really loud high-frequency sound" has been playing throughout the test, and those with sharp ears would've reacted to it and likely sought relief before they'd finish the exam. (The hearing center ran similar spots last year.) During the eye-test phase of the TV spot, I couldn't hear the high-pitched sound; but at the end, with the ruse revealed and the tone cranked way up, making it detectable to just about everyone, the message got through loud and clear. And given how many YouTube commenters mention being annoyed by the tone through the whole spot, I suppose I probably should book an appointment. Via Media in Canada.
Many of Mumbai’s iconic destinations were once named after prominent figures of the British Raj. However, post India’s independence many of these places were renamed after well-known Indian personalities. Through its walking tours, Raconteur Walks takes locals and tourists on the city’s journey from Bombay to Mumbai.
It’s been viewed a million times since last night alone and has single-handedly resurrected the voice of troubled literary genius David Foster Wallace, bringing his words to a global audience that might not even recognize his name. And it was all done without permission. “This Is Water,” a cinematic interpretation of Wallace’s bleak-yet-inspiring 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, has quickly become one of the week’s most passed-around videos. It was created by The Glossary, a small video production shop in Los Angeles. We wanted to know the story behind the video, and the team that created it was kind enough to answer a few questions. Check out the video below and our Q&A with the creators after the jump.
The following email Q&A from AdFreak was answered by The Glossary's Matthew Freidell, director; Allison Freidell, producer; and Jeremy Dunning, producer.
AdFreak: How did the idea come about to create a short film from "This Is Water"?
The Glossary: After suffering through a particularly awful commencement address at his own college graduation, Matt came across DFW’s speech online and it really struck a chord. Ever since then, he’s listened to it periodically to remind him of the core message. A short film seemed the perfect way to spread this message to a wider audience.
This is a pretty ambitious undertaking, trying to enhance something that's already so powerful without visuals. Did you ever worry that even with all your skills, you might not do it justice?
Absolutely we were worried! Wallace has an extremely passionate following and we knew it wouldn’t be easy to adapt the original version. We couldn’t use the entire 20-minute speech since we didn’t have the budget, and that length of video is tough to release online. We had a ton of long conversations about what to cut, and it was probably the most difficult part of the whole process. However, we encourage anyone who enjoyed our video to seek out the complete text and experience the full message.
What did you have to do to get permission to use the audio?
We had little to no budget for this project and we knew that the publishing house was going to be really skeptical of our little company’s request to utilize his work. We had faith in our vision for the video and that once it was complete they would see that this was something made with the best intentions in mind. We are in no way making any money directly from this video; it was purely a passion project. While we had high hopes for this, we could have never seen all of this attention coming. Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Did you give yourself a budget to work from?
The whole budget came out of our pockets, but we had an amazing group of friends who helped us along the way. The cast worked for a small amount knowing that the project was something we were incredibly passionate about.
Were the talent auditioned, or are they just friends of the agency?
The main actors auditioned; everyone else was cast based off their look. We got extremely lucky with the talent of the cast. They all were able to communicate a lot with no dialogue and not much screen time.
For many of the commenters on your video, this seems to be their first exposure not only to this speech but also to Wallace. Was that part of your goal, to introduce him to a new generation?
Our main goal was to expose people to the content of the speech. But as members of a generation that is often referred to as “generation me,” we felt like this message actually changed the way we thought about life in a way that went beyond the typical cliched advice into something actually useful.
Prior to this video, your YouTube clips tended to top out around 1,500 views or so, with one or two exceptions. What's the impact been like for your business, having one of your creations go so viral so fast?
It’s a little too early to tell, but as a tiny company in an industry filled with so much talent and competition, it’s extremely difficult to get your work noticed. We feel like we’ve done that with this video and we’re over the moon with the response. But we’re always looking for what’s next, so we’d welcome anyone who enjoyed “This Is Water” to get in touch with us.
I'm not sure what I was expecting from a retro gaming remake about Nazi robot armies, but this trailer surely isn’t it. (And that's a good thing.) Agency AKQA and production house Psyop have created a slick, compelling and enigmatically dark preview of Wolfenstein: The New Order, scheduled for release later this year. Wolfenstein is one of the oldest franchises in gaming, dating back to Castle Wolfenstein in 1981. Its most famous installment, 1992’s Wolfenstein 3D, allowed you to kill Hitler while he stomped around in a robotic suit, which was about as enjoyable as it was ridiculous. In the trailer below, though, we see a much darker and more ominous take on the Nazi robot, which is apparently the Reich’s foot soldier of choice in this alternate history’s 1960. The 100-second teaser clip is definitely a fine piece of commercial cinematography, but I remain skeptical that the new Wolfenstein—or any game about a guy shooting giant, goose-stepping robots—can live up to this level of gravity.
CREDITS
Client: Bethesda Softworks Agency: AKQA Michael Powell – Creative Director Akira Takahashi – Creative Director Ed Davis – Account Director Paul Chang – Senior Account Executive Andy Haynes – Senior Motion Designer
Production Company: Psyop Jon Saunders – Creative Director Lucia Grillo – Executive Producer Jen Cadic – Producer Jon Saunders – Designer Edward Laag – Designer Kenesha Sneed – Designer Ram Bhat – Designer Cass Vanini – Editor Robin Nishio – Storyboard Artist Eban Byrne – Lead Technical Director Pat Porter – Animation Kitty Lin – Animation Eric Chou – Animation Dan Fine – Modeling Bryan Eck – Modeling Jordan Harvey – Modeling Zed Bennett – Rigging Eban Byrne – VFX Fabio Piparo – VFX Jonah Friedman – Lighting Andy Gilbert – Lighting Keith Kim – Lighting Oliver Castle – Lighting Andy Hara – Lighting Brandi Diminio – Lighting Michelle Ko – Lighting Nick Tanner – Lead Compositor Bo Kim – Compositing Tim Regan – Compositing Tobey Lindback – Compositing Nick Tanner – Flame Artist
Music Production Company: COPILOT Strategic Music + Sound Jason Menkes – Music Producer Ravi Krishnaswami – Music Arranger
Sound Design Company: Defacto Sound Dallas Taylor – Sound Designer Ken McGill – Sound Designer Samson Neslund – Sound Designer
Sometimes it takes a little boost to be better to your mother. It takes a legally binding contract. Luckily, that's exactly what Mother New York has come up with to celebrate Mother's Day—the one holiday when this ad agency is particularly pressed to deliver the goods. In the video below, learn about the "Momtract," a legal agreement in which you give control over one aspect of your life back to your mother—like the old days. The website explains further: "Momtract gives power over one aspect of your life to your mother, restoring her to the position of authority she enjoyed when you were a child. Follow our easy 5-step process, and start enjoying the emotional benefits of America's premier legally binding gift." The gag is somewhat reminiscent of last year's "labor reparations" Mother's Day stunt from the same agency, which offered a helpful form for you to "calculate and repay the expenses you incurred as a fetus."
Today in useless marketing-driven product innovations, we have Huggies TweetPee, a little sensor dreamed up by Ogilvy Brazil that affixes to your baby's diaper, syncs with an app and tweets at you whenever it detects pee (in the form of a higher humidity level). This will work great for people whose parenting consists of the occasional diaper change in between marathon Twitter sessions. Evidently (it's somewhat hard to tell from the case-study video) the app also keeps track of the number of diapers you go through, and alerts you when you're running low. That may be the whole idea here—getting you to blow through diapers quicker by prompting you to change them every time the kid pees a little bit. In that regard, TweetPoop might be more useful than TweetPee—getting the kid out of a poopy diaper faster has its benefits. (You could call it "DM Your BM.") The problem, of course, is you don't need a fancy sensor to detect that. Via Adverblog.
UPDATE: Huggies got in touch and clarified that the clip-on humidity sensor is only a concept device and will not be available to purchase. The app is apparently intended simply to help parents in their purchasing of diapers. Here is the statement from Huggies:
"Huggies Brazil is excited to announce we will launch TweetPee in Brazil this July—a new iPhone app that is designed to help parents better keep track of the volume of diapers they use and provide easy integration with online retailers to make life easier for busy moms and dads. In conjunction with the TweetPee app's debut in Brazil, feature videos will highlight the experiences of 10 moms and dads who use the app to streamline and more effectively plan for their purchases.
In the promotional video referenced, the clip-on humidity sensor is intended merely as a concept device to help showcase these 10 parents' experience with the app. It will not be made available for purchase, nor are we suggesting parents are unable or too busy to notice when their babies' diapers need changing! Please visit huggiestp.com.br for more information as news develops."
#UWANTIT? #NOUDONT. Grasping for relevance in the youth market, RadioShack serves up a strange, suggestive spot featuring gals in bikinis and plastic wrap dancing to Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" and caressing phallic Pill speakers from Beats by Dr. Dre. The ad, which also stars Thicke, is basically a rehash of the artist's uber-popular "Blurred Lines" video, and ties in with a promotion that lets customers access a remix when they buy any Beats by Dr. Dre device. "I know you want it" is a key line from the song, and #UWANTIT is the title of the ad. The level of silliness on display makes me want to beat myself in the head with a package of D batteries (only $12.99 at The Shack!) Yes, the clip has quickly amassed 700,000 YouTube views. But RadioShack shouldn't get too excited about that, because I'm betting the numbers say more about the tune's smooth mojo and the sexy imagery on display than any renewed excitement about the retail brand. RadioShack comes off like an unhip, balding, middle-aged dude desperately trying to prove he's down with the kids—and failing badly. (Being unhip, balding and middle-aged myself, I should know!) The dying chain's desire for reinvention is understandable, but how tossing off quick-buzz pop-culture crap like this is supposed to help it survive over the long haul beats me.
A "Spock vs. Spock" ad should, when considered logically, be a complete nerdfest packed with inside jokes only Star Trek superfans would appreciate. Instead, Audi's new spot, "The Challenge," is a charmingly bizarre vignette in which two of geek culture's greatest heroes refrain from taking themselves too seriously. "New Spock" Zachary Quinto plays his part pretty straight, leaving plenty of room for the original Vulcan, Leonard Nimoy, to be straight-up amazing. With his chaotic mop of hair, gravelly grumble of a voice and inspiring rendition of "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" (from the actor's second album, released in 1968), Nimoy steals every scene of this nearly three-minute oddity. The spot was created by agency PMK*BNC and Paulilu, the comedy team behind Dollar Shave Club's viral launch video.
Any Mother's Day commercial with Susie Essman is not going to be warm and fuzzy. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star appears in the new online video below for Virgin Mobile urging young adults to give their moms a great gift this Mother's Day—by getting off the family cellphone plan and getting on one of Virgin's no-contract deals (starting at $35 per month for unlimited text and data). According to a recent survey Virgin Mobile survey, 46 percent of Americans in their 20s still receive some sort of financial assistance from their parents. Half also said they know at least one friend who is still on their parents' mobile plan, and 38 percent said they would hide it from their friends even if they were. Today only, Virgin Mobile is giving online customers 30 percent off the purchase of a new Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE to switch over to one of its no-contract plans.
Finlandia cheese may come from Finland, but its new ad campaign from Barton F. Graf 9000 takes a detour through Flanders with its comical paintings of a land "where cheese reigns" and some strange cheese-obsessed characters reside. There's the Cheese Dunce, the Cheese Masochist, the Flavor Caretaker and the Flavor Philosopher—all of whom will be coming to out-of-home executions near you. The accompanying radio work—which has probably the most amusing sound effects of any campaign this year, introduces the Cheese Gladiatior, the Cheese Rogue, the Cheese Thief and the Cheese Watchman. Bold flavors, indeed. The illustrations were done by Dan Craig, who's been drawn for years to the work of the 15th century Flemish masters. More work after the jump.
—Radio spots
CREDITS Client: Finlandia Cheese Campaign: "Where Cheese Reigns" Agency: Barton F. Graf 9000 Illustrator: Dan Craig Photographer: Jamie Chung Typography/Crest: Jordan Metcalf Retoucher: Box Graphics Record/Mix: Heard City Media: MediaWorx
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