Hasta La Creative!

Coca-Cola’s grown tired of happiness, and is moving on to magic. As one does.

In “Taste the Magic,” a new spot by agency David, a waiter approaches a table that’s ordered an unusual amount of Coca-Colas. (Really, nobody wanted anything else?) A woman tells him she didn’t order a regular Coke. No problem! Before her eyes, he transforms it into a Coca-Cola Zero. 

It turns out this is no ordinary waiter. This is Justin Flom, a resident Las Vegas magician and social media star. 

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Pop culture is full of stories about people trying to escape the boring-ass town they were born in. Not so in Boring, Oregon. As one inhabitant remarks, “Nobody leaves. They think they’re gonna go, but they stay.” 

Just like the Hotel California! 

In a short film by Ogilvy & Mather London, a brand that we won’t mention until later (to avoid spoiling the reveal) takes us directly to Boring—which actually exists!—to learn its charms, attributes and history. 

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Sarah Jessica Parker just dropped Stash SJP, her latest fragrance, on Instagram. This follows the weeks she spent teasing fans with mysterious messages online and in the streets, led by the hashtag #ComeAndFindIt (where the “it” wasn’t specified). 

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“Betty B. goes to my school. This is my school.”

In “Betty B.,” a PSA written, directed, shot and edited by Matt Bieler, a crisp young voice recounts her relationship with a girl from school. As she describes how Betty B. courted her trust, from saying hello to teaching her how to put lipstick on, we see flashes of the places and objects around which their friendship bloomed. 

“I like having a friend,” our protagonist muses, as she adds Betty B. on Facebook.

Halfway through the film, the narrative starts over. Same images, different relationship dynamics. See how it all plays out:

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Overwhelmed as we are with wacky politicals, terrorist hysteria, a looming police state and social media’s unending attacks on our peace of mind, more than a few of us feel outsized pressure to do something—or at least say something—even when we normally wouldn’t.

This apparently applies to brands, too. In “This Land,” Delta and SS+K dive into the moral fray with a meditation on America from 30,000 feet up. 

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When this Nutchello ad popped up in my feed, it melted my brain into a delicious puddle of chocolate pouring onto a gold cougar statue. You know, in a good way.

The ad, from Fallon, throws one quirky headline after another at you while you stare at giant type superimposed over impressively weird CGI. You are assailed by alternately relaxing and terrifying images.

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The humans sprinkled throughout the Ikea catalog traditionally have been pure background material, a supporting cast to the furniture and other brand goods for sale. But no longer!

In this spot from DDB Brussels, they speak out, during the photo shoot for the new catalog, about their hopes and dreams, display their impressive thespian chops, and most of all, are thrilled to be poised on the cusp of what will surely be worldwide fame on the A-list level.

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Today in things you shouldn’t watch on a full stomach: In an ad for organic clothing brand PACT, agency Denizen reprises the aesthetics of old Calvin Klein ads, producing something that is sometimes funny, mostly damning and completely uncomfortable. 

“Skidmarks” features people lounging around nearly nude, making passionate love to the camera and touching each other the way beautiful people in fashion industry ads do—possessively, reverentially, like they’re caressing an art form and need you to watch. 

There’s just one problem: The unsightly fruits of what we can only imagine were a stunning amount of sharts (did they have chili before the shoot?), staining the backs of their otherwise pristine white skivvies. 

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Brunner stages a colorful open house in its first major campaign for Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating.

To dramatically convey the idea that Mitsubishi systems allow different temperature settings for various zones of a home, the agency built a life-size mock-up house, facilitating a seamless commercial shoot with no CGI required.

The dwelling consists of two huge 22-by-35-foot open-faced sections, each containing five fully furnished rooms across their respective upstairs and downstairs levels.

The rooms are color coded to represent different “Shades of Comfort”—e.g., the heating and cooling preferences of different family members. For example, Grandma likes it warm—76 degrees—so her room is rendered in deep coral tones, while Dad’s mancave elsewhere in the house is set to 68 degrees and decorated in cerulean hues.

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From raising chickens to tackling the world’s biggest men to dancing for the nation, it seems there is nothing Von Miller can’t do. And now, he’s adding the revered title of Old Spice guy to his résumé.

Procter & Gamble today announced that the Denver Broncos linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP will be the face of Old Spice for the 2016 season. He will promote the brand’s Hardest Working Collection. The first creative will be here early in the season, the brand tells AdFreak. For now, you’ll just have to enjoy these two photos.

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