Hasta La Creative!

Grey New York has introduced yet another Rob Lowe in its ongoing campaign for DirecTV.

Following on the heels of “Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe,” which apparently drew some criticism from shy bladder sufferers, the agency has returned with the self-explanatory “Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe.” The formula is the same as in previous spots, with Rob Lowe introducing himself as a DirecTV customer before a more unfortunate version of himself, who also happens to be a cable customer, comes along for comparison. In the new spot Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe watches ping-pong on a small screen and attempts to open a jar of mayonnaise. Like previous ads, it ends with Lowe saying “Don’t be like this me.”

While it may be that the series is running out of steam, “Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe” just seems like the weakest of the bunch so far. Whereas “Super Creepy Rob Lowe” and “Painfully Awkward Rob Lowe” found convincing ways of tying Lowe’s alter egos to the inferior quality of cable, “Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe” feels like an empty gimmick. Let’s hope Grey can up the ante with the inevitable follow-up and recapture the potential of this campaign. (more…)

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Grey New York has a new campaign for DirecTV, utilizing the services of Rob Lowe.

Lowe plays himself and “Creepy Rob Lowe” in the 30-second spot “Creepy.” Regular Lowe has DirecTV, while “Creepy Rob Lowe” has cable, which causes him to do creepy things like watch people swim at the rec center when his cable is out. While it’s a bit of a logical stretch, the character (complete with creepy facial hair) is kind of funny and a welcome change for the brand.

“Less Attractive” features a similarly-minded character, the schlubby, balding “Less Attractive Rob Lowe.” While not as funny as “Creepy” and even more nonsensical, it’s still entertaining to see Rob Lowe dressed up as a balding, paunchy version of himself. The format for the ads leaves itself open to plenty of possibilities with other celebrities in the future, so this could be a long-running campaign if it catches on. (more…)

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W+K Portland has unveiled “The Power of Hair” for Old Spice, the “newest, never-been-done-before interactive digital experience.”

The new site is an extension of W+K’s “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign promoting Old Spice’s new haircare and styling products, featuring the same anthropomorphic hair, and comes on the heels of the “Boardwalk” and “Meeting” spots Old Spice debuted late last month. Visitors to “The Power of Hair are greeted by a testimonial video with a young man extolling the virtues of Old Spice’s hair products. Predictably, this includes attention from the ladies and respect around the office. Less predictably, this includes Huey Lewis songs. “When you’ve got great hair like this, you’d be surprised by how many Huey Lewis songs it can play on the piano,” the now bald man says.

Visitors to the site are then asked to pick a Huey Lewis song, and the hair (which by now has slithered off of the guy’s head) will play them on piano, occasionally adding in some percussion. You can pick from among 29 of Lewis’ greatest hits, including “The Power of Love,” “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock n’ Roll,” “Bad is Bad” and “Doing It All for My Baby.” It’s a pretty absurd idea (and yeah, we’re pretty sure no one has done this before), but then this is the kind of silliness we’ve come to expect from W+K’s work for Old Spice and a fitting extension of the “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign, complete with a perfect title. Give “The Power of Hair” a try above or at the site, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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