Hasta La Creative!

Mangan Berlin launched a new spot promoting Volkswagen leasing with the 60-second “Cat Video.”

The spot explores the Internet phenomenon of cat videos, with a twist: the cats are all played by people. As with most cat videos, it’s an exercise in pure ridiculousness. The connection to the brand is delivered at the very end, when a cat driving a Volkswagen says, “You don’t have to be a cat to get on the Internet. And if you want to drive a Volkswagen, you don’t have to buy one.” While that connection is a bit of a stretch, the video and accompanying catchy song will be hard for viewers to forget.

“We began this project with an intense casting session and pre-production planning that included a stunt coordinator and a special rig to simulate the curtain gag,” explained director Curtis Wehrfritz. “Cats act like diva rock stars, their demeanour is so dry, and unaffected. It’s not that the cat drops the vase but rather his ‘who gives a shit’ attitude that really makes them funny. We wanted to make sure we captured that.”

Credits:

Spot Title: Cat Video
Marketing Volkswagen Leasing: André Hajek
Marketing Volkswagen Leasing: Miriam Laridjani
Marketing Volkswagen Leasing: Rafael Schady
Marketing Volkswagen Leasing: Kristin Woltmann

Agency: Mangan Berlin
Copywriter/Concept: Christian Fries
Art Director: Christian Peters
Art Director: Felix Szymoniakn

Production Company: Tony Petersen Film Berlin
Director: Curtis Wehrfritz
Director of Photography: Stefan Austmeyer
Executive Producer: Fabian Barz
Producer: Stefanie Schuster

Casting: Ana Dávila
Production Design: Sven Gessner
Make Up: Andres Heldmann
Styling: Katja Höft

Editor: Hannes Andresen
Colour Grading: Pana Argueta
Post Production: nhb studios Berlin
Cat Animation: Fido, Sweden
Music: Steve Ibsen

Yes, that’s right, a dog raps in the two-minute “We Could Be Heroes” music video meant to raise awareness and money for animal cancer. The video for Pet Trust comes from Toronto-based Red Urban and appears to be a sort of “We Are the World” spin-off with dogs and cats. The opening over-the-should shot of a paw pressing against a keyboard tells you all you need to know. If you love animals, you’ll probably find this cute. If you don’t, you’ll probably find this cringingly corny.

Regardless of your position, I’m sure we all want to find a cure for animal cancer, so this campaign can always block any creative criticisms behind a shield of philanthropy. But even though the animal-personified-as-human motif  lacks substance, it’s hard to navigate this kind of project without resorting to Sarah McLachlan territory. And by comparison, Red Urban took a more positive approach that doesn’t make you want to immediately change the channel or start weeping. Points for that, and credits after the jump.

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The folks at Toronto-based agency Blammo, which in recent times has showcased Canadian ad players and gave us a kooky Halloween campaign for Arby’s, now induces a little shudder with this effort for a chatline company called QuestChat. Don’t let the hot and heavy fool you as the end result is not, uh, the gratifying one you’d expect, the buildup can be considered both sensual and amusing or all/none of the above. Take your pick and enjoy the 3am ad while we refrain from pulling out several stereotypical/cliched jokes from the bargain basement of comedy. Credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.