Discovery’s annual Shark Week extravaganza not only confirms that viewers go crazy for underwater creatures that can rip them into a thousand pieces, but that brands will use just about any tangential connection to a popular theme to try and wring out that extra dollar. Take the fat, colorful Tide billboard above the Lincoln Tunnel that I came across yesterday: “We get the blood out, too.” That’s one way to do it.
Volkswagen and Deutsch are going all in as well, bringing cars and sharks a lot closer than they’ve ever been before, a true sharknado of brand association if there ever was one. The VW campaign is loaded on social media, mainly focusing on sharable videos through Instagram and Vine. VW created a Beetle convertible that will be used as an underwater cage hooked up to cameras for the remainder of the week, hoping to conquer a chunk of the digital space floating around with these exclusive videos. Credits after the jump.
There’s no acrimony with this split it appears as we’ve been told by Deutsch itself that ad vet Cheryl Greene, who’s spent the last three-plus years as partner/director of business initiatives at the IPG-owned agency’s New York office, is preparing to retire from the agency world altogether. A Deutsch NY spokesperson adds and clarifies, “We have been working together to take the steps needed for a smooth transition – for example by reducing hours and client interface. We are happy that we are able to help her ease her way into retirement. We will not be looking to replace her.”
In early 2010, Greene rejoined Deutsch , where she initially spent sixteen years and worked in positions including brand strategy advisor, after a stint as managing partner, director of integrated brand strategies at KBS+.
To showcase their back-to-school dorm room wares, Target and Deutsch LA have built Bullseye University, a 4-day interactive installation housing social media stars such as actor/musician Chester See and Jenn Im of Clothes Encounters. Online visitors can see live-streams of the University’s inhabitants and then click to purchase the items in each of their rooms. The Bullseye U site also hosts back to school-centric giveaways and events like a Ben and Jerry’s milkshake dunk tank, which starts at 10am PST today by the way.
As a preteen who once waited with bated breath for the newest Pbteen catalogue, I can imagine getting into this scheme as a college freshman. Especially if I was already a follower of the social media celebs involved, Target’s campaign would play to my college fantasies. Alas, we all know the truth is less colorful and more drinking-oriented, but Bullseye University’s version lets us run wild with creative, Internet-savvy roommates and purple throw pillows.
In case you haven’t heard the news today, 15-year Deutsch LA vet Jason Elm, who last served as EVP/group creative director on Diamond Foods and Playstation (he was joined by 180LA alum Gavin Lester on the latter account late last year) has assumed the chief creative officer post at DDB California. Elm assumes a position that’s been left vacant at the Omnicom-owned agency’s Cali operations (L.A., San Francisco) since January when Lisa Bennettstepped down from her CCO role. Bennett has since been appointed as EVP/creative for DDB North America.
As for Elm, during his lengthy stay at Deutsch LA, where he started as a copywriter, the senior creative subsequently played a major role in PlayStation efforts, creating the Twitter feed for @TheKevinButler and leading creative on the award-winning “Michael” work for the console. His new boss, DDB California (formerly DDB West) CEO Mike Harris, speaks his name and sings his praises in a statement, saying, “Jason was recently, and rightly so, named to Business Insider’s ‘people most-sought after by rival agencies’ list. He is a creative genius and a superstar in the industry and I have no doubt that his creative vision will elevate the level of our work, across departments.”
Taco Bell's Dollar Cravings Menu is a low-budget option, so naturally it needs low-budget advertising. Enter Deutsch/LA, which claims to have produced radio ads for a dollar promoting the menu. The agency decided not to hire a voiceover actor, choosing instead to have a low-quality text-to-speech voice—i.e., a bad robot voice—read the scripts. The result is pretty amusing. The robot pronounces radio as "rah-dio," but more shameful is that he can't say "tortilla" properly either. He makes up for it with some humorous musings on his personal life, and the refreshing sign-off "Live Más. Bell sound."
About a year ago, GoDaddy hired Deutsch New York as their creative agency, and the world wondered whether we’d see the end of the “GoDaddy Girls” gimmick, or even the beginning of a more nuanced campaign. Instead, during this year’s Super Bowl, GoDaddy offered us Bar Rafaeli (“sexy”) making out with a red-faced man named Walter (“smart”). Danica Patrick narrated and did her best not to look embarrassed. Our op-ed contributor at the time, WWD&S co-head Harry Woods, may have captured the most accurate reaction: “The whole ugly thing once again sent us reaching for a wing bone, nacho or beer bottle cap to dig our eyes out.”
Thankfully no eyeball gouging is necessary with GoDaddy’s latest spot. In it, a Ron Weasley-esque man is introduced to the GoDaddy team. His name and its closest iterations are already taken by his colleagues, so the team tosses around other possibilities. Anyone who’s thought about buying a domain name is familiar with this brainstorming process, and Deutsch did well personifying it. The whole thing is off-kilter and amusing, and finally we see Danica Patrick in racing gear, not heels. She’s still hot.
Here’s hoping GoDaddy continues the curve away from their signature blunt, sensationalist spots.
Damn you, hot hunks of advertising! Damn you to hot, hunky hell! Your Grecian glutes mock me as I polish off another nacho platter, and your six-pack abs shame me as I knock back my six-pack of beer! Shirtless Josh Button is the latest addition to the ad-hunk trend, rising seductively from the sea in Deutsch L.A.'s new tongue-in-cheek commercial for Diet Dr Pepper. (They make diet soda now?) "Millions of guys are born good looking," Button's voiceover begins, as the number 70,611,600 flashes on screen. "But not many are really good looking." The number 64,891 appears. "Even fewer are really, really, really, really, really good looking. At least, that's what I'm told." The number 45 zips by. "I'm Josh Button, and I'm one of a kind." We then get a full-on view of his chiseled torso as the red number 1 appears, thrust like a dagger into my cholesterol-clogged heart. (Hey, I'm at least one of the 70 million fairly OK-looking dudes, right?!) "We're poking fun at ourselves and the trend of hot guys in advertising," Dr Pepper svp of marketing Jaxie Alt tells USA Today, alluding to hunk sightings in spots for brands like Kraft Zesty Italian dressing and Diet Coke. After decades of impossibly trim bikini babes making women feel insecure, I guess it's men's turn to suffer. At least one advertiser out there is providing a more realistic depiction of the male form. But when you consider the state of that beach bum's liver, and his life expectancy, it's cold comfort indeed. Credits below.
CREDITS Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group Brand: Diet Dr Pepper
Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles Chief Creative Officer: Mark Hunter Group Creative Director: Brett Craig Creative Director: Xavier Teo ACD, Art Director: Erick Mangali ACD, Copywriter: Chris DiNinno, Lehr E. Ryan Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo Executive Producer: Lisa K. Johnson Director of Content Production: Victoria Guenier Ken Rongey: Senior Business Affairs Manager Directors: Craig Brett/Mangali Erick Director of Photography: Greig Fraser 1st A.D.: Anthony Dimino
Editorial Company: Spot Welders, Santa Monica, CA Editor: Patrick Murphree Executive Producer: David Glean Senior Producer: Carolina Wallace Producer: J. Patrick McElroy
Post Facility – Color Only: Company 3, Santa Monica, CA Colorist: Dave Hussey
Visual Effects: Arsenal FX, Santa Monica, CA Post Production Company: Arsenal F/X Executive Producer: Ashley Hydrick VFX Supervisor/Design: Lauren Mayer-Beug Flame: Mark Leiss and Terry Silberman Designers/Animators: Andrew Schreiber Post Producer: Pravina Sippy Production Coordinators:
Music/Composer: Elias Arts, Santa Monica, CA Creative Director-Dave Gold Executive Producer-Ann Haugen Composer-David Wittman Producer-Kiki Martinez
Audio Post Company/City/State: Play Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Others: Mnemonic and End Tag Wood Shop, Culver City, CA CD/Product Director: Trevor Shephard DP: Tom Lazarevich Live Action Producer: Christy Lindgren Post Producer: Sabrina Elizondo Nuke Compositors: John Weckworth, Forbes Hill, Jon Lorenz, Ned Wilson, Thomas Horne 3D Artist: Forbes Hill, Cody Smith CD
Client Credits Director of Creative: Shaun Nichols Brand Manager – Diet Dr Pepper: Angela Snellings Director of Marketing: Leslie Vesper SVP, Director of Brand Marketing and Sponsorships: Jaxie Alt SVP, Marketing: Andrew Springate EVP, Marketing: Jim Trebilcock Advertising Manager: Sharon Leath
Additional Deutsch Credits: Mike Sheldon, CEO Account Management Credits: David Dreyer, Group Account Director Helen Murray, VP Account Director Andrew DuBois, Account Supervisor Kate DeMallie, Assistant Account Executive Account Planners: Jeffrey Blish, Chief Strategic Officer Aileen Russell, Group Planning Director Business Affairs Abilino Guillermo: Director of Integrated Business Affairs
We all remember our awkward first kiss stories, full of nervousness and rapid heartbeats. Based on “First Kiss,” the new 30-second ad in the Taco Bell Live Mas campaign that came through the tips line, we can now add sticky fingers and spicy breath to the list of uncomfortable descriptors.
Mixing Doritos Locos Tacos and kisses may not seem like the best idea, but this spot might strike the right cord for those who value some teenage sentimentality and John Hughes movies. Associating Taco Bell with cuteness is a tough trick to pull off, you know, with the greasy smells and penchant for attracting drunk college guys as a significant customer base, but Deutsch LA and director Zach Mathfound a way to pull it off. Taco Bell seems to have tapped the right nerve with Doritos Locos Tacos: the product helped create 15,000 new jobs. Maybe the company can use the profits to provide complimentary mouthwash with any purchase, so young lovers who want to make out in Taco Bell parking lots can have pleasant memories.
Oh, how I've longed to get away from it all and live in the woods, wild and free, with some guy in a bear suit as my only companion. The scruffy protagonist of Deutsch LA's new "Mountain Man" spot for Dr Pepper Ten is living that dream in a parody of macho '70s beer commercials that's as goofy as all outdoors. Our hero grows out his beard (itchy, most likely); eats bark off trees (not so tasty, one assumes); calls out for a hawk to fetch him an icy-cold can of the "manliest low-calorie soda in the history of mankind" (no eye-pecking—maybe next time); and gets taxied around by Mr. Bear paddling a canoe (all that fur must be hot as hell). Note to self: Order a bear suit. It commands respect, and I could stand to sweat off a few pounds. A few shorter executions plus credits after the jump.
CREDITS Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group Brand: Dr Pepper Ten
Client: Chief Marketing Officer: Jim Trebilcock Director of Marketing: Leslie Vesper Brand Manager: Angela Snellings Associate Brand Manager: Erica Hollington Director of Creative: Shaun Nichols Advertising Manager: Sharon Leath
Deutsch Creative Credits: Chief Creative Officer: Mark Hunter Group Creative Director: Brett Craig Integrated Creative Director: Xavier Teo Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Erick Mangali Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Ryan Lehr Copywriter: Trey Tyler Art Director: Jacob Abernathy Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo Director of Content Production: Victoria Guenier Executive Producer: Lisa K. Johnson Producer (Post): Matthew Magsaysay
Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker Director: Stacy Wall Executive Producer, Managing Partner: Doug Halbert Producer: Jeff Shupe Director of Photography: Corey Walter First Assistant Director: Miles Johnstone
Editorial: Cut and Run Editor: Frank Efron Assistant Editor: Jeff Carter Managing Director: Michelle Burke Executive Producer: Carr Schilling Senior Producer: Christie Price
Visual Effects: The Mill Executive Producer: Sue Troyan Producer: Jess Ambrose Color Producer: LaRue Anderson Shoot Supervisor: Tara Demarco Colorist: Shane Reed 2-D Lead Artist: Tara Demarco 3-D Lead Artist: John Leonti 2-D Artist: Dag Ivarsoy 3-D Artists: Ryan Reeb, Brian Yu Matte Painting: Lyndall Spagnoletti
Music: Massive Music Creative Director: Tim Adams Executive Producer: Scott Cymbala Composer: Tim Adams Producer: Jessica Entner
Sound Design: Massive Music Sound Designer: Dean Hovey
Audio Post: Lime Studios Mixer: Mark Meyuhas Assistant Mixer: Matt Miller Executive Producer: Jessica Locke
Additional Deutsch Credits: Chief Executive Officer: Michael Sheldon Group Account Director: David Dreyer Account Director: Helen Murray Account Supervisor: Andrew Dubois Account Executive: Kate DeMallie Chief Strategic Officer: Jeffrey Blish Group Planning Director: Aileen Russell Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo Senior Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey Broadcast Traffic Manager: Gus Meija
Advertising has been obsessed lately with scaring the crap out of people. So here, for your Friday enjoyment, is a more benign prank. Target, which is the exclusive retail partner for the release of Justin Timberlake's new album, got 20 of the pop star's biggest fans together for a commercial shoot. They thought they would just be singing a Timberlake song for the ad. They didn't realize the great and powerful JT himself would actually be there. Check out the spot below, and a behind-the-scenes video after the jump. All the reactions are genuine. Decent work by Deutsch in Los Angeles—though to be honest, the bar for this kind of thing was set by David Beckham and Adidas last summer. If you don't leave someone sobbing tears of joy, maybe you haven't gone far enough.
Multiple reliable sources have been telling us over the last few hours that Mark Hunter, who assumed the chief creative officer post at Deutsch LA at the end of 2010, has been let go from the agency. We’ve inquired a couple of times for official word, have yet to hear back, but sources say this move happened as of this morning, is “100% legit” and was made at Deutsch’s request.
Hunter, who essentially replaced Eric Hirshberg after the latter quit Deutsch L.A. to join Activision, headed to the former after spending time as ECD at TBWA/London. During his career, the senior creative also worked at the likes W+K Amsterdam on Nike as well as Euro RSCG. While at Deutsch, as one would imagine, Hunter has overseen all notable creative for past and present clients including VW and PlayStation (we believe you know quite a few, lest we run it down). We’ll update, of course, if and when we hear more.
First, Amazon treated gay marriage like it was no big whoop in its latest Kindle ad. And now this. Microsoft has juxtaposed becoming a professional stuntman with getting gay married in its latest Outlook.com ad from Deutsch in New York. Much like the Kindle spot, the lesbian wedding here is treated as nothing out of the ordinary. That's right, a truck explodes (you'll remember the stunt driver from the launch ad for this campaign), and then some lesbians get married, and it's no big deal—as the happy Outlook.com user congratulates her newly married friend, pressing her hands together with an expression of sheer delight. Truly, when juggernaut advertisers decide that endorsing gay marriage won't hurt their bottom line, there's been a sea change in society.
Happy drivers wanted. Volkswagen's free Smileage app for Android, developed with Deutsch LA and Grow Interactive as part of Google's Art, Copy & Code initiative, is set for an early summer release, just in time for road trips. It syncs with systems in most cars (not just VWs) and facilitates all manner of information sharing, including routes, photos and comments. Digital bumper stickers and a variation of the Punch Buggy game (drivers receive virtual punches when they pass VWs) are included. Trip highlights are shared via Google+. The application of technology is impressively innovative, but the broader concept seems kind of forced and creepy. It's like keeping yourself under surveillance as you travel, blithely uploading data to Google as you go—but you're supposed to be happy about it, because this is social media and nothing beats sharing everything all the time. Are most long drives so freaking happy? A weekend trapped in a car with broken air conditioning, three bladder-challenged kids and a irritated spouse sounds more like Frownage. Maybe Bing and Chrysler can jump on that one.
Yes, we have received confirmation that after 13 years at Deutsch, serving as partner, chief media officer most recently, Peter Gardiner has resigned from the agency this week. Here are the statements from all parties involved:
“Today Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo announced that Peter Gardiner, Partner, Chief Media Officer, would be leaving the agency to pursue entrepreneurial interests and investments in the media and tech space. Gardiner joined Deutsch in 2000 and during his tenure helped grow Deutsch’s media offering at a time when many agencies were unbundling their media operations. He was an important part of the agency’s success and we wish him well. Gardiner’s last day will be February 28th.
An announcement will be made early next week regarding the plans we have in place, it’s a 1 + 1 = 3 approach that will continue to keep us ahead of the curve.
And from Gardiner himself:
“Having been a Partner of one of the best agencies in history has been incredibly rewarding and fun. But leaving Deutsch now gives me the opportunity to find, grow, and nurture startups in the media and tech space. I’m excited about what’s ahead and I thank everyone at Deutsch for the best years of my professional life, so far…”
During his time at Deutsch, Gardiner helped launch Media Bridge Entertainment, a product placement company that introduced pay-for-performance as its core offering, nearly a decade ago as well as research unit, Consumer Prime.
Des étudiants en photographie, André Giesemann et Daniel Schulz ont eu l’excellent idée de prendre des images de boîtes de nuit le lendemain de soirées. Symbolisant le calme après la tempête, une série de clichés est à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
There’s no acrimony with this split it appears as we’ve been told by Deutsch itself that ad vet 
In case you haven’t heard the news today, 15-year Deutsch LA vet 
Multiple reliable sources have been telling us over the last few hours that 
Yes, we have received confirmation that after 13 years at Deutsch, serving as partner, chief media officer most recently, 
