Energy BBDO Debuts Cannibal Potato Spot for Lay’s

Chicago-based Energy BBDO are behind this new cannibalistic spot for Lay’s, featuring the classic Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters.

The 30 second spot, which was created in collaboration with production company Psyop and directed by Lauren Indovina and Borja Pena, shows Mr. Potato Head arrive home from work unable to find his wife. When he finally locates Mrs. Potato Head, he discovers her hiding in the pantry eating Lay’s. Mr. Potato Head overcomes his initial trepidation at delving into cannibalism immediately after trying a potato chip, accompanied by the tagline, “One taste and you’re in love.” Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s abhorrent crime against nature becomes their “little secret” in what, in a bizarre way, is something of a Valentine’s Day themed ad. The choice of Mr. and Mrs. Potato is something of a curious one, since Energy BBDO and Psyop had little chance of competing with Pixar’s likeness of the characters in the Toy Story series, and viewers will undoubtedly make that unfavorable comparison. Chalk this one up as a head spud scratcher. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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JWT, MassMarket Make Using Tissues Seem Fashionable

MassMarket and JWT New York have partnered up with noted fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi to make blowing mucus into a tissue fashionable for Kleenex in the new spot “Do My Thing.”

The 30-second spot, directed by Grady Hall, highlights different women (there are only women in this ad, because men don’t use tissues — they just blow snot rockets) expressing their personal style with their Kleenex selection. The new designs follow the ladies, enveloping their surroundings in their patterns and colors. To achieve the effect, MassMarket “brought together an interesting mix of artists and techniques to smoothly unite the multiple shots for this project,” explains VFX supervisor Diego Vazquez. This included implementing “traditional 2D, stylistic motion graphics and dynamic 3D.” The team’s distinctive visual design really shines in the spot, succeeding at making Kleenex’s new styles seem appealing and inviting. Credits after the jump. continued…

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D&G’s New Blake Griffin/Jack McBrayer Spots for Kia Fail to Deliver

Back in October, we brought you news of David&Goliath’s new campaign for Kia Optima starring L.A. Clippers power forward Blake Griffin and Jack McBrayer (an actor best known for his work on 30 Rock) as a superhero team saving people from non-Kia purchases. We were a bit disappointed with the initial spot, but hoped that the spot’s title “Trailer” indicated it was just a teaser for things to come. Now, David&Goliath have released two new spots for the campaign, “Zipline” (featured above) and “Apologize to You.” Unfortunately, both fail to live up to the potential of the premise.

“Zipline” features Blake Griffin and sidekick Jack McBrayer crashing in on a lame Internet shopping session. They present the Optima as a better option, to a man who is understandably freaked out by this series of events. Griffin and McBrayer have good chemistry together, but the spot fails to capitalize on it and ultimately falls flat. It might help if the two interacted more, instead of seemingly splitting screen time in separate shots.

That “Zipline” is actually the better of the two spots should tell you something about “Apologize to You.” The spot features Griffin and a fire extinguisher-wielding McBrayer demanding a passerby apologize for not selecting the Optima. It’s repetitive to say the least, lacking any real substance in exchange for a failed attempt at cheap laughs. Hopefully, the folks over at David&Goliath can rebound from these efforts, as we still think this campaign has the potential to be funny. Credits and “Apologize to You” after the jump. continued…

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