BBDO NY Pauses the Action for U-verse

There are an abundance (some might say an overabundance) of ads for television related products and services showing the viewer immersed in the onscreen action as a means of highlighting features, so BBDO New York’s latest spots for U-verse certainly don’t score many points for originality. Yet BBDO’s latest contributions in the category for AT&T’s U-verse get the formula right in a way not many do, thanks to deft editing and good transitions from the onscreen action to “real life.”

In “Police Drama” for example, a man is thrust into the action at a police station as a sergeant berates his officers to get leads on a case. He interrupts the sergeant, telling him, “We’ve got to move.” “That’s mu point,” the sergeant shoots back. “No, we’ve got to move to the den, my wife’s got book club in here,” he replies. He then marches through his wife’s book club crowed over to the den to finish the show. “Space Capsule” takes a similar approach with a sci-fi show on a train. It’s not anything viewers haven’t seen before, but the transitions make for a better execution than is typical for the approach. Now maybe it’s time to move on to a new idea?

“Space Capsule” and credits after the jump. (more…)

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What Do Lou Reed and PS4 Have in Common? BBH NY Has the Answer

Sometimes, choosing the perfect song to set the mood can elevate a spot from good to great. That’s the case with BBH NY’s choice of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” in the latest ad that’s part of the ongoing “Greatness Awaits’ campaign for Playstation 4 (Sony also launched a new site to accompany the campaign here).

The song works as the perfect backdrop to the spot, conveying the feeling of a perfect day battling friends in a variety of games. Lou Reed’s classic song’s somber undertones fit perfectly with the onscreen mayhem, while the lyrics suggest that a day of slaughtering each other onscreen can in fact be a perfect day. I would have appreciated hearing the original version of the song, rather than having the actors in the spot sing it, but I guess BBH NY has decided it better underscores the theme of the effort to have the actors speaking the words directly. At any rate, the song choice is admirable and really makes the spot, which also does a pretty good job conveying the possibilities of the system without including any actual gameplay footage. It feels like a big step up from the earlier PS4 work, a more fully-realized conceptualization of the idea behind the campaign. Hopefully, the next time we see an ad for the system though, it will include some gameplay.

If you didn’t already really want a PS4 (you did) you do now. Or at least when it  hits shelves Nov. 15. Credits after the jump.

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Lesson Never Learned: Jack Link’s Once Again Sullies Up to Sasquatch

It’s been almost a year since we last covered Jack Link’s and their Sasquatch antihero, but everyone’s favorite ugly creature is back to sell some beef jerky and beat up anyone who messes with him (it). Minneapolis-based agency Carmichael Lynch has produced three new spots for the campaign, all of which were once again directed by Rocky Morton.

In the above commercial – “All Dolled Up” – three fools try to get their kicks by putting makeup on Sasquatch. He responds by flipping their car and possibly killing them, because, well,  Sasquatch doesn’t wear lipstick. The ads tap into the creature’s vaguely redneck brand appeal with foggy rural settings and the fact that the product is beef jerky. If I learned anything here, it’s to avoid Jack Link’s beef jerky, because eating it will lead to serious personal injury and an upset Sasquatch. Two more clips and the credits after the jump.

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