Hasta La Creative!

Isaiah Mustafa seems perfectly content simply being the Man Your Man Could Smell Like—or drink beer like, or do another manly activity like. And who can blame him? This new two-minute spot for an Israeli brewer lets Isaiah be Isaiah, giving him amusingly elaborate lines to deliver, even if they're a poor man's version of Wieden copy. Isaiah has done this kind of thing before, and he'll do it again. Which brand will give him a real challenge and cast him as a pathetic weakling, or a doofus dad?

Leon Sandcastle isn't real, but that doesn't mean he's not going places. In fact, the imaginary Hall of Fame cornerback, played by Deion Sanders in Grey New York's amusing Super Bowl spot for the NFL Network, just signed an endorsement deal with Under Armour. There's even real photos from the fake signing. (Although of course, you hardly have to be a real person to have real marketing value.)

"A talent like Leon doesn't come around very often," says Matt Mirchin, senior vice president of global brand and sports marketing at Under Armour. "Leon is the type of athlete we can't pass up because he plays the game with the experience of someone twice his age, and his trademark Afro and moustache look great on a graphic T-shirt."

"There is a ton of buzz on Sandcastle," adds NFL Network's Mike Mayock.

What does Sandcastle himself say? "I, for one, know my partnership with Under Armour is a match as good as peanut butter and jelly. The only company in the entire world who could keep up with Leon on and off the field is Under Armour. We're both ready for the Prime-Time, baby."

All this is leading up to the 2013 NFL Draft, to be broadcast on the NFL Network on April 25. Sandcastle is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick at the draft, according to NFL insiders who should not be believed. But in all seriousness, Sarah M. Swanson, vice president of marketing for NFL Network, says: "Leon's deal with Under Armour is the latest extension of the positive buzz and viral nature of this ad campaign … it's been a tremendous vehicle across all platforms for our partners to engage with the millions of NFL fans following the Combine and Draft on NFL Network."

Activision needed some high-impact firepower to tout its downloadable Black Ops 2: Uprising content, which is set for release next week on Xbox 360. Two riotous "replacers" answered the Call of Duty. Veteran movie tough guy Peter Stormare reprises his role as a nattily attired, ludicrously intense dude who substitutes for average Joes in their daily lives so they'll have more time to play the massively popular game. Stormare, just as insanely on edge as he was in his January debut, is joined by equally well-dressed, righteously kick-ass sidekick J.B. Smoove, aka actor-comedian Jerry Brooks.

The pitchmen wring every drop of humor from absurd "replacement" situations in this new three-minute clip from 72andSunny. They're both tightly wound, yet handle pressure differently. Stormare speaks softly and with great deliberation; it seems like his face might crack open from the tension building up inside. His barely repressed murderousness bubbles up as he tells a slow-choosing customer to "Pick a Sammmich" when he and Smoove substitute for counter help at an oddly named fast-food joint. (Note how he threateningly brandishes a knife, just as McDonald's crew members do in real life if you don't order fast enough.)

Smoove, conversely, lets it all hang out, and his loud, rapid-fire bursts of dialogue ricochet through the pair's adventures. Replacing an attorney, he delivers his closing argument: "Is my client guilty? Probably. Who cares?" When Stormare chides him from the defense table ("You're doing it wrong"), Smoove explodes, "I'm doin' it the way I'm gonna do it, OK? Let me do this, OK? … I'm in my zone right now! Did he do it? I DON'T KNOW!" He's also great as a happy-happy, hyperactive fill-in TV weatherman, emoting to the max as he warns, "There's a 45 percent chance of swamp ass today, New Orleans. Be careful out there!"

Sure, it's basically just a sendup of the familiar buddy-cop/action-flick formula—there's even a "Bad Cop, Bad Cop" bit where both actors smash every prop in an interrogation room. But these two elevate the material, which is superior to start with, to a stratospheric level. They share a rare chemistry, the kind attained by John Hodgman and Justin Long in Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, or James Garner and Mariette Hartley in Polaroid commercials of yore—for those of a certain age who, like myself, have to bump up the point size to read these advertising reviews. Stormare, Smoove—what are you waiting for? Guys, for the love of God, replace me!

Michael Bolton follows up his Optimum campaign with a cameo in the Starburst ad below, part of a new campaign from DDB Chicago that offers theories on why the candy is so "Unexplainably juicy." In "Orchard," it's because Bolton serenades trees whose fruit then becomes extra luscious, obviously. Another spot says it has something to do with Keyboard Cat and dragon tears. The spots were directed by Andy McLeod of Rattling Stick. More executions and credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Starburst
Agency: DDB Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson
Creative Director: Chuck Rachford
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Alex Zamiar
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Jonathan Richman
Executive Producer: Will St. Clair
Producer: Matt Green
Senior Account Director: Kate Christiansen
Production Company: Rattling Stick
Director: Andy McLeod

Few brands have mastered the marketing non sequitur quite as well as Old Spice, which just rolled out two new, fascinatingly bizarre ads for its Fiji Bar Soap. Parodying similar spots from the 1980s, the ads quickly take a surrealist turn. In the 15-second version, the singing narrator struggles to keep up with the ad's transition from shower to basketball-watermelon to soap. The 30-second execution follows a handsome doctor being stalked by his shower, even during surgery. A third spot will debut this summer. As always, Wieden + Kennedy manages to barrel past the line of absurdity while still somehow managing to keep the product front and center. Weirdness weirdness weirdness … buy soap.

Dropped off by egrets, in the Middle East, Alicia Souza’s folks had a hard time keeping up to her experiments of drawing on doors and burning them because its faster than erasing. She followed her  gut of studying down under only to find absolutely no sheep in the city. She. hence, decided to huddle to India and is now smiling happily that every morning she can drink chai and grin at cows at a safe distance. They grin back, she insists.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Yes, I did attend a design school in Melbourne and hold a Bachelors in Communication Design.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My brother, because he was and is incredibly smart. He still is my go-to person when I don’t feel like reading Wiki or searching Google.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
More than a particular person, I just have an incorrigible love of illustrated children books, which developed in my 20′s and that was when I fell in love with pictures all over again. It was like finding new love.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
Advertising agencies get illustrations only if it suits the brief. There is also the competition of having photographs instead. I work with publishers a lot more.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Yes, when I just started. It’s hard making something you love, a job too. But I didn’t have a choice and had to make it work and now I love it excessively.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
MANNNNYYYY times. Unfortunately, it involves a budget that I look to invest in the future.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Nilofer Suleman amazes me with her detailing! I think I’d call her an ‘artist’ more than an ‘illustrator’ though!

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing?
I got my first freelancing illustration project at graduation. But I believe I was a full-time freelancer only a year and a half ago, when I left my previous position. I did’nt feel I had much of a choice in that regard. My previous engagement ended abruptly and I din’t want to join a place yet I needed to earn, so I started freelancing. In the beginning it was slow and now I feel like I’m running all the time. I’ve been lucky:)

Do you have any favourite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
I have a million favourites but my recent love are these blokes (I think) who do this comic called Toon Hole. I think they are hilarious! I don’t frequent works as often as I’d like to, so my other resource is general information at google.

You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option? Is it paying well enough?
You have to realise that there’s more to taking up illustration as a freelancer than just drawing. You have to be proactive about getting to know people, advertising or marketing your work and have a basic plan about how you want to grow. Money is definitely not ‘the’ incentive in this field and you make how much you want to make. The more projects you take up, the more you get paid. Simple.

Tell us something of your personal projects.
My personal project is my daily drawings. The ones I put up on Facebook. It’s become a personal space to showcase my work and also gives me freedom to do anything I want, daily.
My other personal projects involve me growing as a person. So every year I take up something new to learn or do something that I’ve been wanting to and never did. I can’t tell you about my current year plans till the end of the year but last year, I learnt a bit of a language, started to cook a wee bit, got my hands dirty with gardening, grew my nails out a bit, and brought up another dog.

What is your dream project?
Having to draw about 3 greeting cards every month. I love greeting cards!

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Richard Gere. Or my parents. Absolutely not together.

What’s on your iPod?
Country music and Christmas classics.

Mac or PC?
Mac.

The post Alicia Souza : Interview appeared first on desicreative.

Ad agency Sukle in Denver made this "Need Someone" spot promoting the Wyoming Department of Health's counseling services for people who want to quit smoking—hopefully before they go into full-on Harvey Dent mode like the guy in the ad. His professional side is more flattering, I think. The spot also links to Quitnet, the official website for the WDH's program. Judging by its online forums, that guy's problem is not unique to him. Two more new spots after the jump.

Oh, how I've longed to get away from it all and live in the woods, wild and free, with some guy in a bear suit as my only companion. The scruffy protagonist of Deutsch LA's new "Mountain Man" spot for Dr Pepper Ten is living that dream in a parody of macho '70s beer commercials that's as goofy as all outdoors. Our hero grows out his beard (itchy, most likely); eats bark off trees (not so tasty, one assumes); calls out for a hawk to fetch him an icy-cold can of the "manliest low-calorie soda in the history of mankind" (no eye-pecking—maybe next time); and gets taxied around by Mr. Bear paddling a canoe (all that fur must be hot as hell). Note to self: Order a bear suit. It commands respect, and I could stand to sweat off a few pounds. A few shorter executions plus credits after the jump.

CREDITS
Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Brand: Dr Pepper Ten

Client:
Chief Marketing Officer: Jim Trebilcock
Director of Marketing: Leslie Vesper
Brand Manager: Angela Snellings
Associate Brand Manager: Erica Hollington
Director of Creative: Shaun Nichols
Advertising Manager: Sharon Leath

Deutsch Creative Credits:
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Hunter
Group Creative Director: Brett Craig
Integrated Creative Director: Xavier Teo
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Erick Mangali
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Ryan Lehr
Copywriter: Trey Tyler
Art Director: Jacob Abernathy
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Director of Content Production: Victoria Guenier
Executive Producer: Lisa K. Johnson
Producer (Post): Matthew Magsaysay

Production Company:
Imperial Woodpecker
Director: Stacy Wall
Executive Producer, Managing Partner: Doug Halbert
Producer: Jeff Shupe
Director of Photography: Corey Walter
First Assistant Director: Miles Johnstone

Editorial:
Cut and Run
Editor: Frank Efron
Assistant Editor: Jeff Carter
Managing Director: Michelle Burke
Executive Producer:  Carr Schilling
Senior Producer: Christie Price

Visual Effects:
The Mill
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Jess Ambrose
Color Producer: LaRue Anderson
Shoot Supervisor: Tara Demarco
Colorist: Shane Reed
2-D Lead Artist: Tara Demarco
3-D Lead Artist: John Leonti
2-D Artist: Dag Ivarsoy
3-D Artists: Ryan Reeb, Brian Yu
Matte Painting: Lyndall Spagnoletti

Music:
Massive Music
Creative Director: Tim Adams
Executive Producer: Scott Cymbala
Composer: Tim Adams
Producer: Jessica Entner

Sound Design:
Massive Music
Sound Designer: Dean Hovey

Audio Post:
Lime Studios
Mixer: Mark Meyuhas
Assistant Mixer: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke

Additional Deutsch Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Michael Sheldon
Group Account Director: David Dreyer
Account Director: Helen Murray
Account Supervisor: Andrew Dubois
Account Executive: Kate DeMallie
Chief Strategic Officer: Jeffrey Blish
Group Planning Director: Aileen Russell
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Gus Meija

New York Presbyterian Hospital and ad agency Munn Rabôt recently made this video celebrating the life of Danion Jones, who was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. NYPH treated him until his death at age 7, and the video isn't an ad so much as a promise to find new and better ways to help kids like Danion. It's hard to use kids in videos like this without looking schmaltzy and insincere. But you're made of stone if you don't get a little misty watching Danion, who got to perform at the Apollo Theater before his death, sing "When You're Smiling."

JetBlue and its ad agency, Mullen, celebrated April Fools' Day with a payout instead of a prank. For the "April's No Fool" promotion, the airline actually offered to refund the entire fare (as a JetBlue credit) of anyone named April who happened to fly JetBlue on April 1. The carrier quoted its very own April—director of media relations April Dinwoodie—in the announcement. "April 1 isn't always fun and games for everyone," she said. "For many of us, it represents an annual tradition of mockery. We're thrilled to take a moment and do something for those customers that might not look forward to starting their month with a day of teasing." Poor Dinwoodie's life of teasing wasn't for naught, as it delivered a fun insight that drove this neat little promotion, causing excitement for Aprils all over Facebook. And yes, they really, actually, truly did give the money back.

Check out 42 other branded April Fools' efforts here.