DDB Teases Skittles Super Bowl Spot

Skittles released a teaser of DDB’s Super Bowl spot for the brand today, but the content of the final spot remains a mystery.

The 15-second teaser shows a series of people with bulbous, muscular right arms (and normal left arms), ending with the text, “Super Bowl Sunday. It Will Be Settled.” What exactly “it” is and how it will be settled exactly remain unclear. Notably there is no sign of Marshawn Lynch, despite his association with the brand (and the Seahawks Super Bowl appearance). The brand will, however, be releasing a limited edition blue and green “Seattle Mix” to celebrate the team.

“While the two games settle things on the field, we’ll have people in a small town settling things, and this (commercial) will be about how they do that,” Matt Montei, senior marketing director for confections at Mars’ Wrigley unit, told Adweek.

Icaro Doria Heads to DDB NY as CCO

-28DDB Worldwide announced today that Icaro Doria has been named chief creative officer of its New York office, effective as of March. Doria will report directly to Chris Brown, who assumed the role of president and chief executive officer of DDB New York in September. He will be responsible for overseeing the entire creative department and maintaining the agency’s overall creative direction.

Most recently, Doria was a founding executive creative director at W+K São Paulo, spending the last four years with the agency and working with clients such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Heineken and Smirnoff. Before returning to his native Brazil, Doria served as creative director with Saatchi & Saatchi New York, global creative director for Dell and Bacardi at Young & Rubicam and group creative director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, working on Hewlett Packard and Sprint. In 2007, while Doria was still with Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Creativity named him “Most Awarded Copywriter in the World.”

“DDB New York is on a mission to blaze new trails and therefore finding the right creative partner and leader was really key. I’ve been describing DDB New York as the ‘original boutique’ agency and that is why I am so excited about Icaro joining,” said Chris Brown in a statement. “His appointment helps solidify our singular mission to create game-changing work and business ideas for our clients, and I’m confident he will be the perfect partner to help lead DDB New York into the future,” he added.

Cats Wreck Bags of Temptations in New Spot from adam&eveDDB

adam&eveDDB London has a fun new campaign for Temptations, in which they unleashed hungry cats on packs of the treats.

The results were, of course, completely predictable: the cats destroyed the bags in an attempt to get at the goodies inside. adam&eveDDB London not only captured their shenanigans for an online video (above), but used the wrecked bags for print and OOH ads. The video, which was just uploaded today, is all but guaranteed to go viral, since cats+destruction is a pretty winning formula. At the beginning of the spot, the hashtag “#PackAttack” appears onscreen, and the brand is calling on cat-loving viewers to submit their own photos of Temptations bags destroyed by hungry felines. It’s a nice way to bring in social engagement and get everyone excited about the “#PackAttack” effort — especially the cats.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Canada Cooks up Some E for Toronto Crime Stoppers

DDB Canada launched a pro-bono PSA campaign for Toronto Crime Stoppers examining the dangers of ecstasy use, entitled “Cookin’ with Molly.”

The spot, whose full-length version online runs 90 seconds, is presented as a cooking show with a drug dealer. Molly is a name for pure MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), but, as the video shows, pills presented as “Molly” are often adulterated with substances ranging from methamphetamine and cocaine to heroin and even bath salts. “Welcome to ‘Cookin’ with Molly,’” says the host of the show at the beginning of the ad, “today’s secret ingredient is meth.” He adds just a pinch of bath salts to some ground up MDMA, a bunch of meth and finishes up with his “signature” blue color and some binder before pressing the pills. The online version of the spot ends by directing to viewers to the campaign landing site for more information. There are also 15 and 6 second broadcast versions of the spot. DDB Canada hopes the tongue-in-cheek approach of the campaign, which launched today and will run through the end of February, will resonate with the target audience of people between the ages of 15 and 25.

“These party-type drugs have been a growing concern, and Toronto Crime Stoppers wanted to tackle this head on without being heavy-handed, so the cooking show format is intended to be tongue-in-cheek,” explains Craig Ferguson, senior art director, DDB Canada Toronto. “At the same time, this creative still allows us to educate people on the harmful, hidden ingredients found in MDMA which was our key objective.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Promotes State Farm’s Other Services

DDB Chicago is taking a break from reviving old Saturday Night Live characters to remind viewers that State Farm offers financial services, life and home insurance.

Two weeks ago, DDB Chicago launched the campaign with the sentimental spot “Never” (featured after the jump), depicting a man who says he’ll never get married getting married, having kids, moving to the suburbs and buying a minivan. Now, the agency has unleashed the next ad in the campaign, the similarly-minded “At Last.” The spot continues aiming for the heart, depicting a second marriage between a man and a woman who each have children. “Sometimes at last doesn’t happen at first,” says a voiceover as the couple tie the know. “Your dad just kissed my mom,” says the daughter and hugs her new brother as the voiceover ties the scene to State Farm: “Turning two worlds into one takes love, helping protect that world takes State Farm.” The spot debuted yesterday on ABC.

“It’s important for us to shift the way people think about us instead of just reinforcing what they already think,” Patty Morris, director-marketing and brand content at State Farm, explained to AdAge. “It’s all about the balance.”

The campaign will continue to roll out over the next 6-8 weeks, with at least two additional ads planned. According to AdAge these include a spot about a young man leaving home and a woman retiring early thanks to savvy financial planning. “They show things working out, but not how you planned,” said John Maxham, chief creative officer at DDB. “Theres a great human truth to that. And State Farm is there with you to handle these twists and turns.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Creative Hires at DDB Montreal and SapientNitro’s la comunidad

DDB-Logo-1-300x195DDB Canada and the agency’s Montreal office announced several major hires.

Monique Brosseau joins the shop as VP/managing director; she most recently spent seven years in the EVP/GM role at ZenithOptimedia Canada, and her 20+ year career includes stints in similar positions at Publicis as well as top PR firm Edelman and cosmetics brand L’Oreal.

Etienne Bastien will be VP/creative director for the DDB Canada organization. Prior to joining the organiztion, he spent more than a year in a creative director position at TBWA’s Montreal office as well as three years as a senior creative at BBDO Montreal. In addition to the general CD role, Bastien will serve as co-creative lead on the shop’s Volkswagen account.

The agency’s Montreal office also announced five new staffers: art directors Arnaud Tartier and Arnaud Deneux, who join from Bleublancrouge and Palm+Havas, respectively; copywriters Emmanuel Chevallier from Marcel Paris and Ben Duquette from Bleublancrouge; and group account director Jacques Blanchet, previously with JWT.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB Introduces ‘Could I Be Any Clearer?’ Christmas Cards for Harvey Nichols

Last year, adam&eveDDB’s “Sorry, I Spent It On Myself” holiday campaign for English department store Harvey Nichols turned heads with its ode to utter selfishness, eventually winning four Grand Prix awards at Cannes.

This year, adam&eveDDB is back with a spiritual successor entitled “Could I Be Any Clearer?” In the spot, a woman talks about her beloved Auntie Val and how, while good-intentioned, she always gives disappointing gifts. So, without any worry at all about Val’s feelings, she gives her a card describing exactly what she wants — Charlotte Olympia silver Octavia sandals from Harvey Nichols — and lets her know that seasons greetings will be “very awkward” if she doesn’t get what she wants. Auntie Val, predictably enough, looks pretty annoyed by the card. Like last year, the campaign extends beyond the broadcast spots, with real life “Could I Be Any Clearer?” cards available to purchase at Harvey Nichols. You can even create your customizable version online.

The ad doesn’t have the same impact as its predecessor, and, because of that ad, its reveal moment is entirely expected. Still, we imagine that Harvey Nichols will sell its share of “Could I Be Any Clearer?” cards — hopefully to those looking for a cheeky gag to play on friends, rather than entitled jerks. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB Introduces a ‘Memorable Guest’ for Maille

With the holidays around the corner, it is the season of awkward conversations with relatives and family friends you’d rather forget. Picking up on this, adam&eveDDB explores a conversation a young man has with one particularly tactless guest, who makes a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons.

The woman tells the young man of the holiday she took with her husband in Greece. He initially appears bored, but soon the conversation veers from the mundane to the uncomfortable as the woman talks about the “very secluded balconies” in the hotel room and the opportunities they afforded. We’ll avoid giving away too much as the cringe comedy involved is fairly dependent on some level of shock value, but let’s just say things degenerate from there. It’s easily one of the funniest holiday ads we’ve seen. The comedy it manages to pull off is no easy feet either, as this kind of thing easily derails from awkward funny to just awkward. But the perfectly paced writing and stellar performances from the actors hold everything together with just the right amount of cringe. At the end of the spot, the camera cuts to a jar of Maille mustard, with the tagline “Be a memorable guest for the right reason” explaining the scene preceding it. The spot itself is more than memorable, and should get its fair share of attention leading up to those awkward holiday parties. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Canada Works Out Ears for Sony

DDB Canada crafted a new campaign for Sony, promoting its Hi-Res Audio collection via two 30-second broadcast spots.

The ads aim for a weird sort of humor, with each showing people working out their ears in preparation of the intense experience they’ll get from Sony’s products. In practice, this ends up looking a bit creepy, as in “Ear Crunches.” The spot opens on a man as he takes off his cowboy hat and, with the aid of some special effects, begins some vigorous ear crunches. “Ear Workout” (featured after the jump) is more or less the same concept, with each spot ending with the tagline “Get Your Ears Ready” before showing the range of products in Sony’s Hi-Res Audio collection. Strange as the approach may be, it’s refreshing to see audio equipment advertised for sounding good rather than as a fashion accessory worn by celebrity athletes. Still, it would have been nice if DDB Canada could have mixed up the formula a bit more between the two ads.
(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Brussels Attempts to Stop People from Googling Medical Symptoms

Belgium’s Flemish government recently commissioned DDB Brussels to come up with a way to get people to stop googling their medical symptoms, leading to myriad, and potentially harmful, (self) misdiagnoses.

The agency came up with a pretty intriguing solution, buying Google Adwords for the top 100 searched symptoms and directing searchers to the Gezondheid en Wetenschap (Health and Science) website through a message stating, “Don’t Google it, check a reliable source.” They also made a promotional clip (featured above) for the campaign, introducing the issue of the perils of self-diagnosing via Google search. “I have a deadly disease, and I’m going to die in six weeks,” says a man with a solemn expression on his face. Suddenly, though, his expression relaxes and he adds, “Or at least that’s what I thought when I used Google to diagnose my twitching eyelid.” It’s a good way to get your attention, using the most dire of scenarios to draw attention to the ineffectiveness of using a tool like Google for self diagnosis, as 75 percent of the population does. Since, on the Internet, “anyone can be a doctor,” the video states, you’re likely to find the wrong solution, which can potentially make things worse (as it illustrates through comic exaggeration). It’s a clever campaign, and by placing the information in the right place at the right time, DDB Brussels just may help change people’s behavior. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB Celebrates Holiday Materialism for Mulberry

In adam&eveDDB’s Christmas spot for Mulberry, a grandmother “wins Christmas’ with a Mulberry bag, trumping some pretty stiff competition in the process.

The ad follows a young woman as she opens a series of presents, beginning with a pointillist portrait of her painted by her sister. Each gift gets more over the top and ridiculous, verging into the absurd, until the girl’s reaction to the Mulberry bag from her grandmother reveals it to be the best gift of all. It’s an interesting approach, forgoing the typical sentimentality of holiday advertising for a tongue-in-cheek celebration of materialism. adam&eveDDB pulls it off well, slowly ramping up the absurdity and not taking itself too seriously while still effectively promoting the brand. That the agency was able to produce both the heartwarming “Monty The Penguin” ad for John Lewis and this, pretty much its polar opposite, shows impressive range. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Employees Read Mean Tweets About Their Ads

DDB Canada takes a page from Jimmy Kimmel’s playbook in this amusing video, in which employees read mean tweets about their work.

The staffers seem both entertained and mildly horrified as they rattle off insult after insult aimed at eight of the agency’s recent campaigns.

It’s actually a fun way to showcase the work in an ego-puncturing way, and it surely went over well at Strategy’s Agency of the Year event, where self-lacerating videos are all the rage.

brightcove.createExperiences();



How This Agency Cleverly Stopped People From Googling Their Medical Symptoms

If you’re like me, you type your symptoms into Google every time you get the sniffles or feel the slightest bit under the weather. Well, that plan is ill-advised. It can yield reams of misinformation and all manner of (potentially harmful) misdiagnoses.

The Flemish government in Belgium commissioned DDB Brussels to help remedy the situation, and they came up with an intriguing cure.

They bought Google AdWords for the top 100 symptoms. Now, when people search Google about their ailments, the top result reads, “Don’t Google it, check a reliable source,” and clicks through to the Gezondheid en Wetenschap (Health and Science) website.

Check out DDB’s amusing minute-long promotional clip below, featuring hair loss, a bloody nose, gangrenous finger and festering boils. I feel better already!

CREDITS
Client: Gezondheid en Wetenschap
Campaign: Don’t Google It
Clients: Marleen Finoulst, Elizabeth Bosselaers & Patrick Vankrunkelsven
Agency: DDB Brussels
Creative Director: Peter Ampe
Creative Team: Tim Arts & Stefan van den Boogaard
Head of Digital: Geert Desager
Strategic planner: Maarten Van Daele
Senior Account Manager: Silvie Erzeel
TV-Producer: Brigitte Verduyckt
Digital producers: Stefanie Warreyn & Maarten Breda
Webdeveloper: Christophe Gesquière
Design: Andreea Buescu & Cedric Lopez
Content planner: Michael D’hooge
Production company: Lovo
Director: Norman Bates
Producer: Bert Brulez & François Chandelle



adam&eveDDB Crafts Holiday Epic for John Lewis

adam&eveDDB crafted what is sure to be one of the most talked about holiday ads of the year with “Monty The Penguin” for John Lewis.

Of course, this hardly comes a surprise, given the pair’s track record with holiday advertising. But “Monty The Penguin” still manages to stand out. The two-minute ad tells the story of a boy and his best friend, a penguin named Monty. We follow them through scenes of their day-to-day activities, and get an idea of their relationship through a charming montage set to a cover of the John Lennon-penned “Real Love” by Tom Odell. Somewhere along the way it becomes apparent that Monty is missing something, as he wistfully watches couples in the park and in movies. The conflict reaches its adorable conclusion on Christmas morning, coupled by a reveal that is effective even if it doesn’t come as a surprise.

The broadcast spot, which cost around $1.6 million dollars to make, is part of John Lewis’ overall $11 million holiday campaign. It is supported by a children’s book called Monty’s Christmas, an audio app version of the book narrated by Dermot O’Leary, a single release of Tom Odell‘s version of “Real Love,” and an in-store experiential event called Monty’s Den, created in partnership with Samsung and including Monty’s Goggles, an Occulus Rift like technology created using Google Cardboard.

“At John Lewis, this time of year is all about helping our customers create their dream Christmas,” Craig Inglis, marketing director at John Lewis, told Adweek. “We hope this uplifting tale of Sam’s love for his friend Monty will remind people of the magic of Christmas through a child’s eyes and inspire them to think how they can make the festive season extra special for their friends and loved ones.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We Hear: Big Changes Coming to DDB New York

ddb NY logo

Today we received word of some big changes brewing at DDB New York.

The first hint came in June when the agency hired Chris Brown, who had been CEO of DDB Group Australia since 2012, to run its New York office. (Peter Hempel, CEO of DDB NY since 2005, is now chief executive of the larger DDB Group.)

Since then, DDB NY won the Iams and Eukanuba pet food brands accounts and began planning its larger restructuring; the biggest announcement in the near future will be the hiring of a new chief creative officer to lead the office’s newest incarnation. We don’t know exactly when the news will drop, but the change is coming — this yet-to-be-named CCO will aim to make the most of DDB New York’s existing talent while pushing for new business.

In the meantime, however, “restructuring” unfortunately means downsizing. Today the agency let what we believe to be a small percentage of its New York staffers go in the interest of better aligning its team with the coming changes.

We hear that DDB’s shift will include more leadership moves and that its long-term goal is to create a more efficient operation in Manhattan to better serve both current and future clients (while pitching some new business that might not have been considered in the past). No word on which departments were hit hardest today.

In short, expect significant announcements from DDB in the coming days and weeks. Updates when we receive them.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Chicago Names Jack Perone CSO

1d42bc2

DDB Chicago has named Jack Perone as its new chief strategy officer, AdAge reports. Perone takes over for John Kottman, who leaves for New York to become director of strategy for DDB’s North America operations.

Perone arrives at DDB Chicago as an 18 year veteran at JWT, most recently serving as VP-director of strategic planning. In that position, Perone was responsible for managing the planning department, overseeing agency accounts and generating new business — including Tylenol, Motrin, Kit Kat, Grand Marnier, Special K and the University of Toronto. Prior to JWT, Perone worked at FCB as an account executive, McCann Erickson as account supervisor and Lowe SMS as account director. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We Hear: Staffing Changes at VB&P, DDB, and Union Creative

intel-logoSpeaking of layoffs, we’ve received quite a few tips about staffing changes this week. First, we hear that Intel’s agency review, which started in August and ended with a win for mcgarrybowen two weeks ago, led to layoffs at Venables Bell & Partners. (VB&P won the business in January 2009.)

We reached out to the agency but have yet to receive a response, so we have no specifics on who was (allegedly) let go.

Second, we can confirm that DDB lost its CIO earlier this week.

Here’s the internal memo:

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB Shows Beauty of ‘Ice Bubbles’ for Sony

adam&eveDDB has a new broadcast spot promoting Sony’s 4K Ultra HD TV with a new spot called “Ice Bubbles.”

The 60-second spot takes a look at the majestic beauty of bubbles freezing in mid-air. As the bubbles freeze, intricate crystalline patterns form inside them, and despite their almost unearthly beauty, the spot was purportedly shot without the use of special effects. It’s a clever (and visually stunning) way to reflect the kind of detail captured in Sony’s 4K Ultra HD TV.

“We were blown away by the beauty of the intricate patterns that the freezing of the bubbles’ surface was creating at very low temperature. The feather, flower and star ice shapes were so delicate and mesmerizing when they reflected light,” Leila de Blinkk told Adweek. “To bring out all these details in 4K was to almost discover a new world, that we didn’t suspect existed.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB California Built This City for Brita Water Filters

It’s pretty fair to assume that people know by now that people know that soft drinks have a lot of sugar in them, yet it’s easy to forget just how much you’re putting into your body. So DDB California found a clever way to visualize the amount of sugar you intake if you drink a soda every day for Brita.

The agency created a model city made entirely of sugar cubes. The spot starts small, by showing the amount of sugar in one soda, before showing what a soda a day for a year, and then a lifetime, looks like. “But you can help change that with a simple choice,” the voiceover says at the conclusion of the spot, “Drink more water — filtered, by Brita.” It’s a really effective way to deliver the message, first taking down sugary drinks and then presenting Brita as the solution, and, beyond that, the sugar cube city is just really cool to look at.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB, UK Slows Things Down for YouTube

adam&eveDDB, UK enlists the aid of The Slow Mo Guys in a new online ad in support of YouTube, directed by Jack Driscoll, released in both 30 and 60-second iterations.

Since, in recent years YouTube has seen some fierce competition in a market they seemed to solely dominate for a long period (namely Vine), using one of its most popular channels to promote the service makes a lot of sense. It also helps that the schtick The Slow Mo Guys employ is pretty handily explained in under 30-seconds but engaging enough to capture people’s attention. The Guys also tout YouTube as an interactive community by showing how they take suggestions for their show. This format works well for YouTube, allowing its stars to champion the format while also gaining free exposure.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.