TBWA Designs a Bike-Lock Poster From Pieces of Competitors' Broken Locks

To introduce AXA’s Victory bicycle lock, TBWANeboko scoured the streets of Amsterdam looking for other companies’ broken bike locks, and used pieces of them in this memorable poster and billboard campaign (which even has its own making-of video).

The cracked, bent bits of metal form letters that spell out AXA’s message about Victory—that it’s “The lock that should’ve been on your last bike.” A sleek, shiny new Victory lock plays a key role in this found-object alphabet, serving as the “O” in the Dutch word for “lock.”

“Holland is the country of bikes,” explains agency art director Rogier Verbeek. “Almost everyone has a bike. Or had one. Because a lot of them get stolen.” More than 300 get pinched there every day, “so if you own a bike, you probably also know the feeling of having your bike stolen,” Verbeek adds.

That made using the remains of rivals’ broken locks to create the typography a no-brainer. Often, such piece are “the only thing left when your bike is stolen,” Verbeek says. “Since Amsterdam is full of bikes—and people stealing them—they weren’t that hard to find.”

Alas, Verbeek speaks from experience, as his own bicycle—not protected by an AXA lock, he concedes—was stolen while he was working on the Victory poster.

“It got stolen from in front of the agency,” he says. “I was pretty bummed, since we were working on this campaign. It was a nice bike and my kid’s seat was on it. Hope the current owner gets himself a better lock.”

As far as Verbeek knows, no cycling enthusiasts or typography fans have stolen the poster from public display, “but it would be great if someone did.”

CREDITS
Client: AXA
Advertising Agency: TBWANeboko, Amsterdam
Agency: TBWANeboko
Art Director: Rogier Verbeek
Copywriter: Matthijs Schoo
Graphic Designer: Reza Harek
Photographer: Paul Theunis

Arnold Schwarzenegger Re-creates Terminator 2's Bar Fight Scene for Video Game Ad

“I need your clothes. Your boots. And your motorcycle.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger really needs some new material. A quarter-century after walking naked into a seedy bar and uttering that famous line in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arnie’s still sizing up biker-dive patrons with his robo-vision and ordering folks to strip down and surrender their modes of transportation.

Here, the action-movie icon re-enacts that memorable scene in a fun spot for game maker 2K promoting its upcoming WWE 2K16 title. in which Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is a playable character for fans who pre-order.

“It’s a nerd’s dream: a painstaking recreation of a classic film with a relevant twist to the cast,” says Pete Harvey, creative director at barrettSF, which made the spot. “Our hope is that people pull up this scene with the original to compare what stayed absolutely consistent and what subtly changed.”

The most obvious change is the supporting cast, with real-life WWE stars such as Eva Marie, Daniel Bryan and Finn Bálor playing barflies and waitstaff. (Dean Ambrose is so going to wish he’d used an ashtray to put out that cigar.) There is no sign of Hulk Hogan—and I have a feeling he won’t be baaack anytime soon.

Also, in the cinematic original, Schwarzenegger was a sculpted god whose body epitomized muscly manhood, even if he was all transistors underneath. Today, though still in good shape, Arnie looks more like an aging, confused ex-governor of California, searching in vain for a bill he can veto.

CREDITS
Client: 2K
Campaign: Raise Some Hell – “Biker Bar”

Agency: barrettSF
Creative Director:  Pete Harvey
Senior Art Director: Brad Kayal
Senior Copywriter: Brad Phifer
Integrated Producer: Nicole Van Dawark
Assistant Producer: Heather Bernard
Managing Director: Patrick Kelly
Account Director: Brittni Hutchins
Account Manager: Jillian Gamboa

Production Company: Acne
Director/Director of Photography: Anders Jedenfors
Executive Producer (Production Co): Rania Hattar
CEO/Executive Producer: Line Postmyr
Line Producer: Taylor Pinson
Production Designer: Joshua Strickland

Editorial Company: The Vault
Editor: Kevin Bagley
Assistant Editor: Dustin Leary

Recording Studio: One Union Recording
Engineer: Eben Carr
Engineer: Matthew Zipkin
Executive Producer: Lauren Mask

Sound Designer: Joel Raabe

Animation Company: Oddfellows
Creative Director: Chris Kelly
Animator: Cosmo Ray
Animator: Stan Cameron
Executive Producer: TJ Kearney
Producer: Erica Kelly

Color Correction: Apache
Colorist: Shane Reed
Executive Producer: LaRue Anderson
Producer: Caitlin Forrest

Finshing: Everson Digital
Smoke Artist: Mark Everson

Man Shaves Beard Off After 14 Years, and Family Reacts in Shock, in Remarkable Razor Ad

“Maybe it’s a new chapter in my life.”

That’s how Amit (aka, “Mook”), a 44-year-old dude who’s had a thick beard for 14 years, describes the experience of shaving it off in “My New Face,” a remarkbaly three-minute online film by Israeli agency BBR Saatchi & Saatchi for Super-Pharm’s private label line of Life M6 razorblades.

Since the M6 competes with better-funded brands such as Gillette, “traditional messaging promoting efficiency due to number of blades” would likely have proven “majorly ineffective,” says BBR’s Eva Hasson. “That’s why we decided to follow a different approach.”

The idea for the film originated with an agency staffer who recalled that as a child, he did not immediately recognize his father after he shaved off his trademark beard. Much to the agency’s surprise, the client proved eager to give the offbeat idea a try.

“We were offering to shoot a documentary, which is not your regular advertising format where things are scripted,” Hasson says. “This format is a lot riskier, and we warned our client that we may ultimately go through all the motions and end up with nothing. Truth be told, we actually shot three documentaries—only one worked out. This was a gutsy decision by the client, who rolled with us, and so far, the movie has garnered over 430,000 views in under a week.”

Agency creatives were also surprised to learn “the volume and sheer power of the emotional attachment men have developed toward their beards,” says Hasson. “Some of the topics uncovered were the fact people like to hide behind their beard. It gives them a sense of security. It is an exteriorization of their virility. They believe it is a source of authority.”

Indeed, in the video, Amit admits that he “can’t remember being so nervous,” and frets about “loss of virility, loss of intimidation power.” Once the six-bladed cartridge has done its work, Amit looks at least 10 years younger and—in my estimation, at any rate—more friendly and approachable than he had before.

The reactions of his family are priceless. And in the end, the special people in Amit’s life heartily approve of the change, and our hero embraces his “new self,” reveling in the nearly forgotten tactile sensations he can once again enjoy. It’s almost as if he’s cut through a barrier he didn’t know existed. “It’s amazing,” he says.

“It’s about the simple pleasures that come from being clean shaven,” says Hasson. “Little things like the ability to feel a gentle breeze and the sunshine on your face, to kiss without tickling, to look younger.”

Few consumers will undergo such an intense sensation of renewal by using M6 blades. Still, the film does a fine job of boosting the brand by transforming a basic consumer good into an almost mystical agent of change.

CREDITS
Client: Super-Pharm
Brand: Life Private Label Brand
Product: M6 Razorblades
Agency: BBR Saatchi & Saatchi Tel Aviv
CEO: Yossi Lubaton
Executive Creative Director: Nadav Pressman
Creative Director: Idan Levy
Art Director: Michal Gonen
Copywriter: Yair Zisser
Digital Creative Director: Maayan Dar
VP Production: Dorit Gvili
Producer: Odelia Nachmias Freifeld
VP Client Services: Shani Vengosh Shaul
Supervisor: Noa Sharf
Account Executive: Stav Hershkovitz
VP Strategic Planning: Shai Nissenboim
Strategic Planner: Roni Arisson
Planning Information Specialist: Eva Hasson
Traffic: Ronit Doanis, Yael Kaufman
Production Company: T GO Tom Sofer
Director: Oded Binun
Postproduction: Broadcast

These Emoji Flashcards From Domino's Will Teach You How to Talk to Your Kids

These days, if you can’t understand emojis, life is not worth living. But there is hope, thanks to an “Emoji Literacy” campaign from Domino’s and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

As you might recall, CP+B won the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes (honoring the most breakthrough idea of the year) for designing an emoji ordering system for Domino’s, which lets folks place orders on Twitter and via text message simply by typing a pizza emoji.

Now, in something of a follow-up, client and agency have created 52 flashcards designed to help the uninitiated “speak” emoji. The cards—a tongue-in-cheek promo which really should boost your emoji prowess—are available for free starting today at emojiliteracy.com.

There’s even a faux PSA explaining the initiative.

“I didn’t know what to say,” laments one befuddled middle-aged dad. “I just replied BRB and hoped they don’t text back.” A teary-eyed mom fears that if she can’t communicate with emojis, somebody might “take my kids away from me.”

So, smarten up and master emojis! (Sure, you could spend your time learning an actual language, like French or Spanish or Mandarin, but really, what for?)

Real Shoplifters Star in Ad for Harvey Nichols, Where There's a Better Way to Get Freebies

Shoplifters get their comeuppance in adam&eveDDB’s latest work for Harvey Nichols, which promotes the chain’s Rewards App with the tagline, “Love freebies? Get them legally.”

The 90-second spot uses “100% genuine actual real honest footage” from security cameras in the retailer’s flagship Knightsbridge, London, store, agency executive creative director Ben Tollett tells AdFreak. “We got to sit in the Harvey Nichols CCTV control suite with all the store detectives, toggling the cameras around,” he says. “It did feel pretty cool.”

The perps are particularly brazen, pinching clothes, jewelry, perfume and more, often with patrons and staff standing close by. (The department store shouldn’t be surprised by such behavior. Its best-known campaign urges folks to drop by and selfishly pick up stuff for themselves—though payment was strongly suggested.)

For the new commercial, the crooks’ faces are obscured by emoji-like “robber” animations, complete with black masks and, in one case, a knitted ski-cap with slits for the eyes and mouth. Created by the Layzell Brothers at Blink, these effects give the spot an oddly memorable creepy/cheeky vibe.

Ultimately, it doesn’t end well for the baddies. “Don’t bother shoplifting in Harvey Nichols,” warns Tollett. “The only free thing you’ll get is a day trip to the local police station.”

True enough. Knocking over a Reserva store in the dead of night is a better bet.

Denver Water's Outdoor Campaign Gets Even Cooler With These Incredible Handmade Ads

The well of inspiration apparently never runs dry for Denver Water’s long-running “Use Only What You Need” campaign. And while Sukle Advertising’s lauded conservation initiative often features eye-catching public installations, this year’s installment is brimming with artistry.

The agency used diverse materials such as colored pencils, Post-it notes, clay, crushed soda cans, Legos, yarn and string to create 10 original piece of art. Each depicts water in various forms, such as drops, splashes, cascades, showers and spray. The work adorns bus shelters around Denver, as well as print and online ads. The headline, “You can’t make this stuff,” drives home the message that water is a non-renewable resource.

Most of the results are quite splashy. For example…

I’d love to see this “fluffy” Lego cloud hovering over my block:

These pencil-tipped waves make a good point:

Someone should put a cap on this knitted-yarn faucet:

Here’s a fresh take on string theory:

This Post-it note poster is good to the last, well, you know:

“Consumers often see conservation as a sacrifice, something they have to give up, which they often aren’t willing to do,” says agency founder and creative director Mike Sukle. “We have, instead, used the approach of ‘not wasting.’ Consumers see waste differently than conservation, so the messaging of ‘Use Only What You Need’ follows the mind of the consumer that wasting is wrong.”

Water use in Denver recently hit a record low, so it appears the campaign, now in its ninth year, is having an impact. Alas, a local Lego shortage looms large, as Sukle reports using 6,000 of the colorful plastic bricks for the new ads.

Check out more executions below.



Rolling Stone Wants the Whole World to Think, and Dress, Just Like Steve Jobs

In this amusing 90-second spot for Rolling Stone, men and women of all sorts dress up like Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. They don wire-rim specs, black turtlenecks and blue jeans as they question aspects of their lives, large and small, ranging from health regimens and toupees to technology’s impact on the future.

The patently absurd sight of a geeky Steve army marching down the street is like an image plucked from Bill Gates’ darkest dreams. (Heck, it’s enough to give anyone nightmares!)

Produced in English and Spanish by The Community, the ad targets young adults in Argentina, encouraging them to “Question Everything” and find ways of improving their situations. It closes by showing a 2011 Rolling Stone cover: “The Steve Jobs Nobody Knew.”

The visuals here are pretty memorable, but the concept feels like a stretch, and doesn’t tie back to the magazine as well as it should. (The Community’s recent Corona spot, with winter narrating mournful letters to summer, is equally offbeat but more on brand.)

Mostly, “The Steves” reinforces Jobs’ standing as an icon of the highest magnitude. Ironically, that’s a distinction Rolling Stone itself once enjoyed, and the magazine’s effort to piggyback on the tech pioneer’s lasting relevance speaks volumes about our changing cultural landscape.

CREDITS
Client: Rolling Stone
Agency: The Community
Chief Creative Officer: Joaquin Molla / Jose Molla
Executive Creative Officer: Ramiro Raposo, Fernando Sosa
Art Director: Fernando Zagales
Copywriter: Juan Mesz
Group Account Director: Sebastian Diaz
Executive Account: Lucas Saez
Audiovisual Producer: Matias Castro
Responsible for the Client: Branowski Bárbara, Paula Rottenbücher
Production Company: Barry Company
Director: Mariana Youssef
Director of Photography: Adolpho Veloso
Director 1st Assistant: Elton Takii
Art Director: Guilherme Marini
Production Director: Tadeu Piantino
Wardrobe: Heloisa Cobra
Account Manager: Juliana Martellotta
Executive Producer: Krysse Mello
Editor: Alexandre Boechat / Rodolpho Ponzio
Postproduction: Fulano Filmes
Postproduction Coordinator: Karina Vallesi
Postproduction Supervisor: Ale Cois
Postproduction Supervisor Assistant: Sabrina Comar
Sound: Animal
Music Production: André Caccia Bava



Miller Lite Hits the Bodega for Indie-Style Ads About Neighborhood Characters

Silver Man—a dude in a top hat and glasses, every inch of him coated in silver paint—really shines in TBWAChiatDay’s new campaign for Miller Lite.

But he’s just one of many characters, oddball and otherwise, who visit a typical neighborhood bodega to pick up some suds and chat with wise, friendly Fred, the bilingual owner of the store. Other customers include a pair of muscular twins who say the same things at the same time; One Tripper (he doesn’t need help, dammit, toting a mountain of snacks and brewskies out the door); and a karaoke singer whose rendition of “Carry On Wayward Son” doesn’t quite match the sonic impact of the original.

Tagged “As long as you are you, it’s Miller Time,” the campaign includes ads in English and Spanish, targeting millennial and Hispanic audiences at a time when craft brews have eroded the sales of big-name beers. These eight spots have a relaxed, indie-film feel, inspired by the convenience-store settings in movies by Jim Jarmusch and the team of Wayne Wang and Paul Auster.

“The market seems to be rich with plenty of, let’s just say, less subtle beer advertising,” Arts & Sciences director Matt Aselton tells Fast Company, “so it seemed like a nice way of telling personal stories and not jock-rock archetypal stories. It’s like Sesame Street—the people in your neighborhood—except with a light beer.”

In real life, all sorts of people drop in and out of bodegas, so “anything is possible,” says Aselton. This makes the stream of strange customers in the commercials seem plausible, with the low-key and slightly askew humor hitting home every time. (The Silver Man, presumably a street performer, is a highlight, particularly when he’s joined by a glittery sidekick for an impromptu pose-down.)

Through it all, Fred serves as a calm, all-knowing foil, doling out advice and yakking it up with the clientele. Smartly underplayed by Eastbound & Down actor Marco Rodriguez, he keeps the proceedings firmly centered. The silver men may steal the show, but Fred is pure gold, one of the most welcome pitch-characters to hit screens in recent memory.

CREDITS
Client: Miller Lite
Campaign: “Bodega”
Andy England: Chief Marketing Officer
Gannon Jones: VP of Brand Marketing, Miller Family of Brands
Ryan Reis: Senior Director, Miller Family of Brands
Greg Butler: Director, Miller Lite
Jeanne-­ette Boshoff: Senior Marketing Manager, Miller Lite
Julia Watson: Marketing Manager, Miller Lite Multicultural

Agency: TBWAChiatDay LA
Stephen Butler: Chief Creative Officer
Fabio Costa: Executive Creative Director
Mark Peters: Creative Director
Jason Karley: Creative Director
Rick Utzinger: Creative Director
Bob Rayburn: Creative Director
Matthew Woodhams-­Roberts: Creative Director
David Horton: Creative Director
Jeff Dryer: Senior Art Director
Chris Rodriguez: Senior Art Director (Last Minute Gift)
Guy Helm: Senior Copywriter (Last Minute Gift)
Harris Wilkinson: Creative Director (Twins)
John Stobie: Art Director (Twins)
Brian O’Rourke: Director of Production
Anh-­Thu Le: Executive Producer
Stephanie Dziczek: Producer
Jill Nykoliation: Business Lead
Chris Hunter: Group Account Director
Scott McMaster: Group Planning Director
Bryan Reugebrink: Account Director
Alice Pavlisko: Project Manager
Linda Daubson: Director of Business Affairs
Nora Cicuto: Business Affairs Manager
Dorn Reppert: Business Affairs Manager
Dessiah Maxwell: Director, Traffic Operations
Judy Brill: Senior Traffic Operations Manager

Agency: Team Ignition
Erick Rodriguez: Senior Art Director
Raul Mendez: Senior Copywriter
Giovanni Chiappardi: Account Director
Elsa Gonzalez: Account Planner

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Matt Aselton: Director
Mal Ward: Managing Director/Partner
Marc Marrie: Executive Producer/Managing Partner
Zoe Odlum: Producer
Sal Totino: Director of Photography
David Wilson: Production Designer

Editorial: Spot Welders
Haines Hall: Editor (Advice, Silverman)
Kevin Zimmerman: Editor (One Tripper ENG, Twins, Karaoke)
JC Nunez: Editor (Rivals, One Tripper SPAN)
Oli Hecks: Editor (Last Minute Gift, Present)
Carolina Sanborn: Executive Producer
Evan Cunningham: Producer

VFX: MPC
Karen Anderson: Executive Producer
Abisayo Adejare: Producer
Mark Gethin: Colorist
Mark Holden: VFX Lead
Benji Davidson, Dylan Brown, William Cox, Sandra Ross: VFX

Music Supervision: Good Ear Music Supervision

SFX: Barking Owl
Michael Anastasi: Sound Designer
Kelly Bayett: Creative Director
Whitney Fromholtz: Head of Production

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



Tiny Dolls Act Out Hilarious Soap Operas Over Single Pieces of French Toast Crunch

Consumers bowled over by the recent return of French Toast Crunch after a nine-year hiatus should enjoy “The Tiny & The Tasty,” a strange and silly soap-opera parody that casts dolls as actors to reintroduce the General Mills cereal. McCann, Picture Mill and Beacon Street collaborated on the campaign.

All the classic daytime-drama tropes—amnesia, family intrigue, murder mysteries, surprise pregnancies—are played out in overwrought fashion on finely detailed miniature sets by poseable Ken- and Barbie-style action figures whose mouths never move.

Bill Wright, global executive creative director at McCann, says the idea stemmed partly from “the 1990s origin of French Toast Crunch. That was the decade when daytime dramas were at their height of popularity. So when you take soap operas and cross them with tiny dolls, you get a strangely awesome mashup.”

Real soap opera actors do a fine job of hamming it up on the tongue-in-cheek, breakfast-themed scripts (which, by the way, were written by Lex Singer, the son of former Adweek critic Barbara Lippert). And director Matt Piedmont, a writer for Saturday Night Live, establishes just the right tone. The spots channel the vibe of early SNL films by Walter Williams or Tom Schiller, though they’re less manic and, of course, more on brand.

Served up in brief, tasty bites, this serial really satisfies.



How This Interactive Subway Ad Got Everybody Yawning, and Wanting Coffee

This interactive outdoor campaign by Lew’LaraTBWA is a real yawner—which is exactly what the Brazilian agency intended.

The shop set up a digital panel equipped with a motion sensor at São Paulo’s busy Fradique Coutinho subway station at morning rush hour. When commuters approached the sign, the face on the panel would yawn. Naturally, many of the commuters themselves also began yawning—yawning being notoriously contagious, after all—at which point the screen made a product pitch.

In case the sign wasn’t enough of a wake-up call, perky glamor gals arrive on the scene with some product samples. (Watch the clip to savor the big reveal.)

That last bit—the glamor gals—might strike some viewers as gratuitous, but otherwise this a prime example of what prankverising has been morphing into over the past few years.

Shocking stunts have by and large been replaced by a fusion of technology and street theater as brands create positive real-world experiences designed for subsequent media consumption. Of late, they’ve run the gamut from fun to moving to doggone adorable.

As long as such campaigns remain clever and inclusive, it will be along time before the public tires of this approach.

Via Ads of the World.

CREDITS
Client: Café Pelé
Agency: Lew’LaraTBWA, Brazil
Chief Creative Officer: Manir Fadel
Executive Chief Creative: Felipe Luchi
Copywriter: Lucas Veloso
Art directors: André Mezzomo, Digo Souto



The Kids From SunnyD's Goofy '90s Rollerblading Ad Are Back, and They Never Grew Up

If you watch the ad below and conclude there’s nothing new under the sun, you’re half right.

Sunny Delight rollerblades into ’90s nostalgia with this delightfully deft parody of its own goofy, iconic (some might say moronic) commercial from the first Twin Peaks era.

Created by ad agency Grenadier, and targeting millennials with fond memories of SunnyD advertising from two decades ago, the new spot presents grown-up versions of the kids from the original. They’re not portrayed by the same actors, but they are still blading through suburbia and crowding into Mrs. B.’s kitchen for some vitamin-enriched, orange-flavored refreshment. Of course, they’ve all gained a few pounds, and the guys have lost some hair.

“Look, I can’t do this anymore,” the now-elderly Mrs. B. laments. “You and your friends have been doing this for 20 years. You’re 36. You need a job.”

“As a brand, we try not to take ourselves too seriously and to act with self-awareness,” says SunnyD marketing director Dave Zellen. Grenadier partner Rob Hofferman adds: “For people who grew up with that spot—who are now millennial parents or a little older—it’s a great way to give them a fun touchstone to that time that they can now share and pass on to their kids.”

With shimmering analog synths in the background, and splendid comic panache, the reboot is just as “radical” as the original—though I hope that “purple stuff” hasn’t been fermenting in the fridge all this time. One sip could trigger some wild flashbacks.

The ad is airing on TV is Sacramento, Indianapolis and Charlotte, and online everywhere.

And here’s the original spot:

CREDITS
Client: Sunny Delight
Spot: “SunnyD 2015 Rollerblade”
Agency: Grenadier
Creative Director/Art Director: Randy Rogers
Creative Directors/Writers: Wade Paschall, Mark St. Amant
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Grant Minnis
Executive Producer: Keith Dezen
Production Company: Community Films
Director: Clay Williams
Executive Producer (Production Co): Lizzy Schwartz
Producer (Production Co): Helen Hollien
Line Producer: Helen Hollien
Director of Photography: Guyla Pados
Editorial Company: HutchCo Technologies
Editor: Jim Hutchins
Music Company: JSM Music
Visual Effects Company: Brickyard VFX
Visual Effects Editor: Patrick Polian
Visual Effects Producer: Linda Jackson
Account Service Lead: Becky Herman
Account Service Supervisor: Ryan Smith
Planner: Elisa Cantero



Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard Kill You With Cuteness in Their Latest Samsung Ads

For those who couldn’t get enough of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard in their hit Samsung Galaxy Tab S holiday ad, the hyper-cute Hollywood couple—married in real-life—have returned for an encore, this time plugging the company’s high-tech home appliances.

In a minute-long spot, the actors—known for Parenthood (Shepard) and House of Lies (Bell), among other projects—are planning a big dinner party. And naturally, Samsung’s refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, washing machines and vacuum bots prove invaluable. A 30-second commercial focuses on their efforts to clean an infant’s toy bunny using Samsung’s Activewash Top Load Washer.

McKinney created the ads, and Tucker Gates directs in a suitably off-the-cuff, relaxed style.

Bell and Shepard also appear in a nearly 10-minute behind-the-scenes/interview clip. That’s right—10 minutes! Highlights come when Bell says Samsung ovens are “almost like Transformers” because of their dual-temperature functionality (sorry, Optimus Prime) and Shepard briefly discusses his involvement in the upcoming feature-film reboot of ’70s highway-cop series “CHiPS” (give Erik Estrada a cameo!).

Adweek responsive video player used on /video.

brightcove.createExperiences();

Throughout the campaign, Bell and Shepard are adorably affable, showing off the time-and-labor-saving technology with effortless élan, perfectly cast as bubbly brand ambassadors for the millennial generation.

The 90-second version of their holiday spot got 13 million YouTube views, so clearly the work is connecting with its audience. Still, the couple’s cuteness is, at times, so overwhelmingly insufferable that I kind of wanted to stick my head inside that snazzy Samsung fridge and bash my brains in with the door.



This Agency Snuck a Testicular Cancer PSA Into the Adult Film Game of Balls (NSFW)

Adult movies have suddenly become the hot place to put cancer PSAs.

M&C Saatchi in Sydney worked with adult film studio Digital Playground and the Nonprofit Blue Ball Foundation to place an unexpected testicular-cancer PSA inside Game of Balls, an X-rated Game of Thrones parody, last month.

During one of the flick’s steamy scenes, actress Eva Lovia—who really should try harder with her porn name—briefly breaks character (such as it is) to demonstrate a cancer check on a male member of the cast. She also tells viewers to visit PlayWithYourself.org for more information. It’s stroke of genius, I’d say! (But I say lots of silly things.)

Check out the case study below, which is not explicit but might be a bit NSFW anyway.

So far, 200,000 people have visited the site, and total video views have passed 1.5 million, according to the video. “We’re overwhelmed with the amount of feedback we’ve been getting, from emails to Facebook messages to phone calls from all over the world,” says Blue Balls founder Jamie Morgan.

This isn’t the first ballsy way of generating exposure for the cause. McCann Lima and PornHub recently dispatched adult performer Charlotte Stokely—now that’s a porn-star name!—to show men how to perform self-examinations, and Cancer Research U.K. went all-in with last year’s selfie-sock campaign. (There was also DDB Bolivia’s breast-check adult clip, though Pornhub has questioned that case study’s claims of success.)

In any case, hopefully some of the messaging will rub off on the intended audience.



High Fashion Is a Prison in These Striking Print Ads Opposing Child Labor

The striped patterns on dresses, shirts, tunics and sweaters become prison bars—with small, sad faces peeking through—in this Brazilian campaign against child labor.

Lew’LaraTBWA created the print ads for the Abrinq Foundation, which is affiliated with Save the Children, in the style of high-fashion magazine spreads. Each one features a single line of copy, such as, “A dress shouldn’t cost a childhood.” Brazilian model Caroline Ribeiro appears in some of the ads, which were shot by top fashion photographers.

#Dress4Good is the hashtag, and the public is encouraged to post “positive fashion-foward images” on Instagram. According to the agency, the initiative is not intended as an attack on the fashion industry per se, but is designed to spread the message that “child labor crimes are closer to the consumer than they might think.”

The work is similar in theme and execution to “What’s Behind,” a recent public-service effort from Brazilian human-rights group Cepia (though Abrinq’s use of stripes—note how the kids’ fingers clutch at them in desperation—really drives the point home).

Ultimately, both campaigns do a fine job of encouraging consumers to dig beneath the surface and find out what’s really going on.

CREDITS
Agency: Lew’LaraTBWA
Client: Abrinq Foundation – Save the Children
Campaign Title:
CCO: Manir Fadel
Executive Chief Creative: Felipe Luchi
Copywriter: Gabriel Sotero
Art director: Rodolfo Fernandes
Art Buyer: Ale Sarilho, Sabino and Caio Lobo
Image treatment: Arms Image
Photographers: Jacques Dequeker, Jayro Goldflus, Henrique Gendre, Daniel Klajimic and Gil Inoue
PR: Bia Ribeiro
Client: Victor Alcântara da Graça, Yeda Mariana Rocha de M. Pereira e Denise Maria Cesario



Doggies vs. Babies: Big Lots Hosts a Shamelessly Cute Showdown in Latest Ads

Who needs a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch?

Big Lots stages a “Battle for Ultimate Cuteness” between dogs and babies to promote the retailer’s American Kennel Club Select products for dogs and B*loved line of baby goods.

Episodes of the not-so-epic war for supremacy pit kids against pups in competitions ranging from an election-style debate (“Goo-goo,” “Arf”—both make good points), to a chess match with ridiculously outsized pieces (I thought the pooch was going for a Ruy Lopez, but it just wanted to gnaw on the queen). In most cases, the tykes were teamed with their own family pets to ensure harmony on the set.

OKRP created the campaign for maximum sharing across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with consumers prompted to use the hastags #TeamDoggies or #TeamBabies to indicate which side they favor. (Unless they have lives, of course.)

Originally, Big Lots planned two separate campaigns backing each product line, but the agency decided to double down. “We have less than three seconds to get customers’ attention on social platforms and thought we’d play to the most popular Internet content,” says OKRP’s Tom O’Keefe. “Nothing seems to activate social sharing and comments like funny and cute, and there’s no subject that can deliver that better than doggies and babies.”

I can think of one species that might disagree.



This Dutch Insurance Ad Has a Hilariously Skeptical Take on Smart Homes

A high-tech house proves to be far from a “smart home” when two burglars arrive in “Welcome,” the latest amusing spot from Tribal DDB in Amsterdam for insurance company Centraal Beheer. The long-running comic campaign is tagged “Just call Apeldoorn,” the Dutch city where the client is located.

This minute-long ad is more subtle than previous installments like “Speedboat” and “Self-Driving Car,” which relied heavily on slapstick and noisy effects to deliver the message. Still, one key theme—technophobia—is carried over from past work, and once again viewers are promised a nasty future shock if we don’t take proper precautions (like buying insurance from Centraal Beheer).

The humor is pleasantly subdued, and the perfectly paced build-up leaves us slightly off balance until the satisfying payoff (not payout, however, unless you have Centraal Beheer).

You’ve gotta love those final scenes, with a cocksure, sweaty Silicon Valley-type hyping his home-control gizmo in a packed auditorium. Good luck with that IPO, Einstein!



Incredible Pedigree Film Profiles Ex-Cons Who Find Their Way by Adopting Dogs

“You save a dog. A dog saves you.”

That’s the poignant message of “First Days Out,” a four-minute online film for Pedigree by Almap BBDO in Brazil that follows Joey and Matt, two former inmates who begin to turn their lives around after they adopt rescue dogs.

Joey, who served 12 years for armed robbery, finds the world transformed, and in some ways unrecognizable, after his release. At first he’s alone, confused and frightened about his future, but a trip to the pound changes everything.

“Having a dog with me in this house was so much better,” he says. “Sadie became my family.” Soon, he’s training kennel dogs for adoption.

Matt, who served two years for burglary, is initially estranged from his father and reluctant to connect with others. At one point, he draws a heartbreaking parallel between his own life (inside and out of prison) and the lives of the dogs in the animal shelter: “They all looked kind of sad, just like I was—just caged in.” After adopting Jeanie, he feels as if his “future’s bright again,” and he starts going on job interviews and brings the dog to meet his dad.

The immensely moving documentary, directed in a relaxed, naturalist style by Ricardo Mehedff via Hungry Man, is part of Pedigree’s new “Feed the Good” campaign, its first global push in several years.

“By nourishing the lovable innocence in every dog, Pedigree helps feed the good they bring to the world,” explains Leonid Sudakov, CMO of Mars Global Petcare.

That same theme informs all campaign elements, which include TV, print, online, in-store and social media. Of course, interpretations will vary. For example, a 30-second spot by Colenso BBDO in Australia, titled “Good Fight,” feels more like a typical “commercial” than “First Days Out.” Still, its quirky take on an a street fight about to happen is far from typical pet-food ad fare.

We chatted about “First Day Out” with Mehedff and his brother Alex, who produced it.

AdFreak: “First Day Out” sort of takes the “cute puppy” commercial in a fresh, more meaningful direction. Can you speak to that a bit?
Alex: Advertising is moving into this new territory of content storytelling. A more emotional engagement. With this in mind, we need to approach the narrative of the film differently. The creative [idea] behind this film is just brilliant. That moved us in a big way to get involved and tell a moving story.

Anytime you move away from the “typical” creatively—and hats off to the agency for this brilliant idea—it becomes a golden strategy. We’re happy to have been able to deliver up to par with the idea. We hope it will move people, engage emotionally with the audience … and place the brand in a very special place.

Take me through the process of putting the project together.
Alex: The process is just deep character research, where you cast real people and see what they can bring to the story. You definitely need a couple of weeks. If you rush this phase, you’re dead in the water.

Ricardo: We started nationwide, and were able to get many candidates. Some were inmates who had participated in dog training programs while in prison. This is how we found Joey. He’d done 12 years, and in the last four, he got into the dog training program that, in his owns words, changed his life. When he got out, he was truly alone, and since he spoke so well about dogs, Pedigree helped him adopt a dog for himself. And the incredible thing is, you could really see the change in his spirit and mood. Sadie really brought a smile to his face. The job he got as a dog trainer was directly related to his experience in the dog training programs in prison.

Matt never had any contact with dog training programs in prison. He was just a kid going through a rough patch with his father and having a hard time getting adjusted to life on the outside. Pedigree suggested that he adopt a dog and see what would happen.

What were the biggest challenges in making the film?
Ricardo: We found many other good characters in our research, but were limited to only shooting two of them. Then, shooting in a way that could capture the emotion and truth of their stories and experiences. I found that the best way to do this was to shoot them in the most naturalistic way, with as little interference as possible.

What surprised you most?
Ricardo: How the dogs really helped these guys. I thought it would be strong, but their connections were really intense.

From the first day I met Joey, he was always a very serious, soft-spoken guy. He was really nice, but very quiet. Almost never smiled. Sometimes I would kindly ask him to smile, but it just didn’t look right. The moment he adopted Sadie, he was became a different person, a natural smile formed. This guy truly loves dogs. And his facial expressions show this.

It must be tough not to make this kind of material seem overly manipulative.
Ricardo: That was my goal in making this film. I have a strong background in documentary filmmaking, having worked closely with Eduardo Coutinho, one of the most important doc filmmakers in Brazilian cinema. I direct and edit my films, so that really helps in the storytelling process. As I’m directing, I’m usually editing the film in my head.

This film was about capturing the magic that occurs between man and dog. I knew this magic exists. I just wanted to shoot it in a way that was non-invasive and let their relationship flourish and grow naturally.

CREDITS
Advertiser: Mars
Agency: AlmapBBDO
Title: First Days Out
Product: Pedigree
General Director Creation: Luiz Sanches
Executive Director Creation: Bruno Prosperi, Renato Simões
Creation Director: André Gola, Pernil
Digital Creative Director: Luciana Haguiara
Creation: Pernil, André Gola, Fabio Cerdeira,  André Sallowicz,  Felipe Cirino, André Leotta
Rtvc: Vera Jacinto, Ana Paula Casagrande, Diego Villas Bôas
Producer: Hungry Man
Managing Partner: Alex Mehedff
Executive Producer: Rodrigo Castello e Renata Corrêa
Direction: Ricardo Mehedff
Photography: Grant Weiss, Mike Alex and Ricardo Mehedff
Line Producer: Mariana Barbiellini
Track: Big Foote
Assembler / Editor: Ricardo Mehedff
Post-production Supervisor: Rodrigo Oliveira
Finishing: Great Studio
Color Grading: Psycho N’Look
Assistance: Fernanda Antonelli, Pedro Fragata, Samantha Kechichian and José Maria Fafe
Planning: Cintia Gonçalves, João Gabriel, Daniel Machado, Augusto Veríssimo and Marília Rodrigues
Media: Flávio de Pauw, Brian Crotty, Fábio Cruz, Juliana Melo and Carolina Pimentel
Digital Media: Kaue Cury, Livia Novaes e Rogério Beraldo
Business Director: Rodrigo Andrade
Approval: Leonid Sudakov, Marina Sachs, Oduvaldo Viana, Fernando Manoel



Quiksilver Is Now Making Business Suits That Double as Wetsuits

Surf’s up—so let’s suit up business-style and catch a wave!

That’s the thrust of a new project by TBWAHakuhodo and Quiksilver, which have teamed up to introduce True Wetsuits in Japan. These 2-millimeter-thick neoprene suits help guys look smashing at the office—or while hanging ten, shooting curls or whatever the hell people do on surfboards these days.

The well-dressed dude in the two-minute clip below certainly seems to be having fun, playing hooky at the beach and texting work that he’s stuck in traffic. Such a rebel. He’ll make CEO in no time.

So, why is Quiksilver selling such an item? In the making-of video, Tokyo salaryman Masashi Yuki explains: “It takes too much time to put on a wetsuit and then take it off again, you know?” Quiksilver brand director Shin Kimitsuka adds, “As your lifestyle changes, you have less time to go surfing. I thought it would be interesting to offer this product as a new solution to deal with this issue.”

These made-to-order suits are, at present, available only in Japan and exclusively in men’s styles. Delivery takes two months, and jacket, pants, shirts and ties are included for about $2,500 total. That’s a bargain! At Barney’s, some sportcoats alone will run you more than that. And think how much you’ll save on dry cleaning!



W+K Travels to 1960s Iceland for This Wry and Beautiful Yogurt Commercial

Somebody get this kid a bike! (And snowshoes, while you’re at it.)

Orri, the plucky little dude in this fanciful 90-second ad from Wieden + Kennedy London introducing Arla’s Skyr Icelandic yogurt to the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands, really has it rough. Most of the action takes place in 1968, as the boy braves storms and covers vast distances, always on foot, to deliver messages that arrive via his remote village’s only telephone. (Often, these communications are of a less-than-urgent nature, such as, “Your trousers are ready for collection.”)

Does he even draw a salary? Or get tips?

On the plus side, Orri enjoys heaping bowls of Skyr to power his travels.

The low-key, humorous film, W+K’s first work for the brand, is expertly directed by Dougal Wilson, who placed two spots (“Monty the Penguin” for John Lewis and “Adventure Awaits” for Lurpak) among Adweek’s top 10 ads of 2014.

This Skyr ad, “The Messenger,” really delivers, subtly touting the brand as a hearty snack or meal while keeping viewers engaged and smiling. W+K’s Thom Whitaker, who wrote and art directed the work with Danielle Noël, chatted with us about the commercial:

Where did the idea come from?
Skyr’s full of protein, so we wanted to tell a story of extraordinary Icelandic strength, but one which people weren’t familiar with or had heard before. We’d heard about young Icelandic kids working as telephone messengers back in the ’60s—which we thought could be the perfect story to tell.

Why go this route with the creative?
Because of Iceland’s tradition for Viking sagas, it felt right to create our own epic story for this Icelandic yogurt. We wanted to go back to the old tradition of classic storytelling—a bit like the old Stella Artois work.

Skyr has got a pretty wide appeal. It’s very much Scandinavia’s answer to Greek yogurt, and in Iceland it’s part of everyone’s daily diet, so we thought the story of the little boy was universal enough for everybody to enjoy.

Why keep the product mostly in the background?
We wanted to weave Skyr into the story in the natural way, while giving as much screen time as possible to the boy’s epic journey, so that the final payoff becomes even stronger.

Some have likened the approach to Wes Anderson. Agree or disagree?
It does have a bit of a Wes Anderson vibe to it, but that wasn’t really intentional. The brightly colored houses and the retro wardrobe might have something to do with it. We should have set the titles in Futura!

Any amusing anecdotes from the shoot?
The lighthouse scene was pretty interesting—a full-on Icelandic storm was battering the cliffs and it felt like we could be swept away at any second. I don’t think we’ve ever been so happy with a first take.

Skyr’s got more work coming out soon?
Short films [not by Dougal Wilson] are out next week on YouTube and Facebook and are called “Skyr Guides.” They’re also from W+K, but Toby Moore and Selena McKenzie are the brains behind them, not us [Thom and Danielle].

They’re basically two short portraits of modern-day Icelanders who exhibit the same sort of strength as Orri does in our film: Kolla, a cyclist who braves the Icelandic climate every day, and Joi, a modern-day Viking who’s a doorman at one of Reykjavik’s oldest nightclubs and who’s not averse to putting Skyr on his steak. They’re all about introducing us Brits to Skyr—the history of it, what it’s good with, how it’s pronounced.

CREDITS
Client: Arla Foods
Project Name: Arla Skyr
Media Channels: TV, OOH, DOOH, Online Films
Lead Client Name: Sam Dolan
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy London
Creative Directors: Dave Day, Larry Seftel
Copywriter: Thom Whitaker, Danielle Noel
Art Director: Thom Whitaker, Danielle Noel
Executive Creative Directors: Tony Davidson / Iain Tait
Agency Executive Producer: Danielle Stewart
Group Account Director: Katherine Napier
Account Director: Will Hunt
Account Manager: Maria Kofoed
Head of Planning: Beth Bentley
Planning Director: Theo Izzard-Brown
Planner: Rachel Hamburger
TV Producer: Matthew Ellingham
Creative Producer: Michael Winek
Production Company: Blink
Director: Dougal Wilson
Executive Producer: James Studholme
Line Producer: Ewen Brown
Director of Photography: Karl Oskarsson
Editorial Company: Final Cut
Editor: Joe Guest
Post Producer: Julie Evans
Post Executive Producer: Julie Evans
VFX Company: MPC
VFX Supervisor: Bill McNamara
Flame Artist: Tom Harding
VFX Producer: Julie Evans
Colourist: Jean-Clément Soret
Titles/Graphics: MPC
Music+Sound Company: Alex Baranowski
Composer: Alex Baranowski
Sound Designer: Anthony Moore
Producer: Becs Bell
Mix Company: Factory
Mixer: Anthony Moore
Producer: Becs Bell
Online Films:
Art Director: Toby Moore, Selena McKenzie
Copywriter: Toby Moore, Selena McKenzie
TV Producer: Greg Hemes
Production Company: TrueNorth
Editorial Company: WracK
Print Production:
Art Director: Thom Whitaker, Danielle Noel, Kelly Satchell
Copywriter: Thom Whitaker, Danielle Noel
Head of Design: Karen Jane



Tourists Give Jason Sudeikis Some Directions in AT&T's Tribeca Film Festival Ad

Live from New York … it’s Jason Sudeikis!

The former Saturday Night Live cast member appears in “The Tourists,” a 45-second video from BBDO promoting AT&T’s sponsorship of the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through April 26 (and features three movies starring Sudeikis). In the clip, the actor encounters two out-of-towners who start “directing” him, Hollywood style, as one of them captures the moment with a smartphone.

The tagline: “There’s a film lover in all of us.”

Sudeikis “prepped” for his role a few years back when he and his fiancee, Olivia Wilde, made news—and I use the term loosely and with extreme irony—by giving directions to some real tourists in NYC. (They directed them to someplace in Manhattan. Nobody yelled “Action!” as far we know.)I suppose the festival promo says something about our celebrity-crazed, media-mad culture. Mobile technology turns us all into would-be auteurs, roving the streets in search of a scene that just might go viral. Celebs, of course, make great subjects, and they’re always glad to do a few takes when fans whip out recording devices.

Oddly, the spot tacitly acknowledges that much of today’s compelling content isn’t made by professional filmmakers or entered in festivals. Increasingly, it’s being created by average folks when opportunities arise—and distributed online, with a few clicks as the price of admission.

The ad is running on YouTube, in theaters prior to every feature screening at the festival, on Taxi TV, mobile pre-rolls and elevator screens.

CREDITS
Client: AT&T
Agency: BBDO New York
Chief Creative Officers: David Lubars (worldwide), Greg Hahn (N.Y.)
Executive Creative Director: Matt MacDonald
Senior Creative Director: John LaMacchia
Senior Creative Director:  Simon Foster
Associate Creative Director: Geoff Proud
Senior Art Director: Will Holmes
Group Executive Producer: Julie Collins
Executive Producer: Alex Gianni
Producer: Gillian Burkley
Managing Director: Mark Cadman
Senior Director: Brian Nienhaus
Account Director: Gail Curtis
Account Executive: Sigourney Hudson-Clemons
Production Company: O-Positive
Director: Brian Billow
DP: Joe Zizzo
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella
Executive Producer: Marc Grill
Producer: J.D. Davison
Edit House: Mackenzie Cutler
Producer: Sasha Hirshfeld
Editor: Ryan Steele
Assistant Editor: Jean Taylor
Color Correction: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Masick
VFX: Schmigital
Flame Artist: Jim Hayhow
Flame Asst: Joseph Miller