TBWA Celebrates a Day of Sun for Jimmy Dean

TBWA/Chiat Day, LA has a new series of online spots in their ongoing campaign promoting Jimmy Dean’s new lunch and dinner offerings.

Some wondered, when Jimmy Dean announced the move into the instant lunch/dinner market, whether the brand would retain its recognizable sun character due to its association with the morning. But the brand is leaning on its mascot as much as ever, explaining its continued presence with a new series of online spots tracking him on characters across the country and throughout the day.

In “Slow Roast Shuffle” (featured above), he’s dancing up a storm while promoting Jimmy Dean Pulled Pork. Things get over-the-top pretty quickly and his dance partner can’t exactly keep up, as TBWA/Chiat Day stretch the character into some cartoonish territory. Other spots are slightly more down-to-earth, with the sun dropping change into parking meters, giving out free lunch at baggage claim in an airport and riding off into the sunset. All the videos are hosted on a website where you can also track the sun’s progress on the “Sunniest Day,” which Jimmy Dean says was yesterday.

Despite TBWA’s best efforts, the character, so long associated with breakfast, seems a little out of place in these scenarios (and past the AM). With time we’ll see if these are just growing pains or if the character continues to feel awkward promoting meals past breakfast. (more…)

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Macklemore, Ryan Lewis Bring Grammy Life to NYC Bus

Most likely, this video of Macklemore and his Jazzy Jeff shadow Ryan Lewis is a staged marketing effort from TBWA\Chiat\Day LA to promote the 56th Grammy Awards. The two musicians hop on a New York City bus with a boombox and start performing an impromptu concert full of Macklemore’s signature exuberance and corny hand movements. The riders on the bus start dancing and feeling the music – the bus driver even starts clapping on (probably fake) closed circuit footage.

I’d probably react the same way if Macklemore came on the crosstown bus. But you know how I know it’s not real? Because if anyone came on NYC public transportation with a boombox and started making noise, there will undoubtedly be at least two people who hate it and tell them to shut it off before they turn into depressed and sarcastic versions of the Hulk.

But whether it is real or not, the question everyone wants to know is: where is Ray Dalton? Credits after the jump.

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