Hasta La Creative!

Isn’t this clever. Roman, the erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation company, ran an ad on Pornhub that was as much an awareness play as a public service. Using their brand colors and typeface, the long-ish copy banner ad reads “We’re Roman,  and we’re not just treating Erectile Dysfunction and Premature Ejaculation, we’re buying up the ad space from those weird porn games so you can watch your video in peace.”

Clever idea. Except for one thing. When I loaded Pornhub’s page, one of those weird porn game ads was right underneath Roman’s ad. SInce we keep it clean around here, I blocked it out with Adland’s wholesome logo but you can trust me on it. Use your imagination.

Other things Roman doesn’t get rid of are those “meet local Milfs in your area,” ads. Or so I’ve been told. I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that Roman will deliver another product straight to your door that is even more relevant to Pornhub and that’s medication for genital herpes.

Zing!

To promote the new adidas originals OZWEEGO for the Chinese market adidas and Hypebeast created this slick alt-reality campaign. The flagship commercial features a star-studded cast of C-pop idol Jackson Yee, Japanese influencer Lala Takahashi, and rapper-producer Dough-Boy. Hypebeast enlisted boutique design and VFX studio Fin Design + Effects to craft the VFX for the film.

Directed by Crystal Choi, Creative Director at Hypebeast, the 30-second film theme is reworking the past to create a new future. We see the evolution from the 1998 classic OZWEEGO to the new, fresh, futuristic design. This is why a 3D printer replaces the chisel and hammer that Jackson Yee uses to craft the new shoe. 

Fin Design + Effects was tasked with creating the futuristic flourishes to complement the theme of the film. Fin’s VFX Supervisor Justin Bromley was on the shoot with the director in Shanghai to advise on the technicality of the VFX in relation to the shots, after which the post production was handled by Fin’s Sydney studio.

Alastair Stephen, Head of Visual Effects at Fin Design + Effects, comments: “Hypebeast’s Crystal Choi approached us with a refreshingly clear and succinct vision. This was one of the things that initially drew us to the project as we knew we could get stuck into the production straight away – leaving ample room for creative adjustments. Crystal had very clear references for the visuals she wanted and was open to technical advice on how we could craft this. It’s a very design-centric spot, so our main challenge was constantly being mindful of achieving visuals that were true to Crystal’s design sensibility. It was a pleasure to build on our body of work with adidas and Crystal was very collaborative and clear; I think the sleekness of the spot is testament to that.”

Speaking on the process, Fin VFX Supervisor Robert Grbevski comments: “Technically-speaking, the film required us to cover a whole range of CG disciplines. It made for an interesting palette of design, ranging from more abstract sequences such as the cuboid figures, which were achieved in Houdini, to the more traditional photoreal effects such as the mannequins, which we achieved in Maya. We executed most of the work in Houdini – for example where the old OZWEEGOs evolve into the new model – as it was well-suited to the design-centric nature of the project. Compositing was all finalised in Flame.”

Client: adidas

Product: OZWEEGO

Agency: Hypebeast

Production Company: GTONE

Director & Creative Director: Crystal Choi

Post Production Company: Fin Design + Effects

VFX Supervisors: Justin Bromley & Robert Grbevski

Producer: Isabelle Howarth

Head of Visual Effects: Alastair Stephen

Storytelling production company 1stAveMachine has expanded its renowned and decorated directorial roster by signing award-winning filmmaker Danielle Katvan.
 

As both a film and commercial director, Danielle’s distinct style infuses offbeat humor into highly stylized, cinematic worlds. “It’s like our world, but with the volume turned up a bit,” she describes. Katvan’s stories come to life through heightened visuals and eccentric characters, yet she always maintains an underlying thread of emotional authenticity. “The beauty of filmmaking is that you can escape to another place, but still feel emotionally connected to what you’re watching – and good performances are such a huge part of making that connection.”

Danielle has emerged as a directorial tour de force, from winning a Clio for her Vogue x Free People spot, to having her short film, The Foster Portfolio, premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. She was also selected for the 2017 SHOOT New Directors showcase, and was a recipient of an award from Kodak for Excellence in the Craft of FIlmmaking.

Partner of 1stAveMachine, Sam Penfield says, “We have been big fans of Danielle’s work for some time. Her eye for authentic performances and beautiful cinematography, set against thoughtful art direction, have made for some incredibly compelling films. We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of her career going forward.”

Growing up in her parents eclectic photography studio in New York City, Danielle was exposed to the art of visual storytelling from a young age. She began by taking 35mm photographs, developing the film in their home’s darkroom. This evolved into an interest in moving images, when she bought her first video camera at age 12. It never left her side.

She has been a fan of 1stAveMachine since her early days as a filmmaker, captivated by their boundary-pushing material and original work ethic that truly matches her own. She is thrilled to be joining the roster, and looks forward to growing and refining her reel with 1stAveMachine’s support. “The team at 1stAveMachine has shown me such genuine support and enthusiasm, and I look forward to becoming a part of their family.”

1stAveMachine is a mixed media production company and storytelling outfit. They create video, digital, and experimental content for TV, print, web, and mobile, all with a unified singular vision. They have won numerous awards since their formation, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze Cannes Lions, AICP, One Show, and ANDY awards, and many others. Their work has been featured across the globe and during the Super Bowl, and their division 1stAve Content has been instrumental in pairing the perfect influencers and creators with agencies and brands.

Why on earth did we not think of this before? This is the question that Taylors of Harrogate are building their campaign around, After all, it seems so obvious that one could brew a single cup of coffee the same way you brew a single cup of tea. Like all truly clever ideas, it’s obvious in hindsight, and so the campaign is humorously self-deprecating.

Since their launch in November 2016, Taylors of Harrogate has grown to the number one brand in coffee bags. This campaign follows a relaunch of the product. After over 18 months of product development, Taylors coffee bags are now available in a redesigned box with an optimised bag and a new blend in the range, Flying Start.

 Kelly Wright, Senior Brand Manager for Taylors of Harrogate says:

“Coffee bags are proof that consumers don’t need to compromise to enjoy proper coffee, but not enough people know they exist. We’re really excited to be championing Taylors coffee bags through this campaign, enlightening millions about this game changer of a product.”

 “We don’t take ourselves too seriously at Taylors. This campaign is funny, disruptive and self-deprecating, asking the question we’ve been asking ourselves for almost three years. We hope everyone loves it as much as we do!”

Danny Brooke-Taylor, founder at Lucky Generals, says:
 

“So often in life, the best solution to something is the one that’s been staring you in the face from the very start. We’re really proud of this campaign but why didn’t we think of it before?”

The film in the campaign will be airing in 60, 30 and 10-second cut downs. It depicts a woman pondering why this ingenious idea hasn’t struck us before, and all these silly situations through time where someone who has come up with the idea is interrupted in various ways. Props for the 1970s and 1980s art direction, by the way. I love the stoner guy talking to a coatrack and the giant 80s phone. 

The TV campaign will be supported by a range of shopper marketing, out of home, digital, PR and sampling activity at music festivals and train stations across the country this month, targeting consumers who prefer roast and ground coffee but sometimes have to compromise with instant coffee in the interest of convenience.

Credits

Brand: Taylors of Harrogate

Client name and job title: Taylors Coffee Bags – Why didn’t we think of them before?
Creative Agency: Lucky Generals

Media agency: Goodstuff
Director: Randy Krallman
Production Company: Smuggler
Production Company Producer: Gustav Geldenhuys
Editing House/Editor:  Marshall Street Editor / Tim Thornton-Allan
Post Production: Electric Theatre Collective 

Post Production Producer: Jon Purton

Colourist: Janson Wallis 

2D Lead: Paul Wilmot

2D Artists: Flavio Kawamoto, Tomer Epsthein

DMP: Dave Gibbons

Sound Studio/Engineer: Wave Studios / Parv Thind 

About Lucky Generals

Lucky Generals is a creative company for people on a mission. An Emmy-nominated, multi-award-winning agency, with creativity at its core, we believe in making work that makes a difference. Founded in 2013 by Helen Calcraft, Andy Nairn and Danny Brooke-Taylor, Lucky Generals is now an international agency with offices in London and New York. Clients include Amazon, AB Inbev, Celebrity Cruises, Funding Circle and The Co-op.

McDonald’s and Leo Burnett London have launched an amusing campaign called ‘Schnuggs’ celebrating the release of new Spicy Chicken McNuggets, their hottest new product launch and the latest addition to its menu, available for seven weeks. The models Andrezo, Esmeralda and Jake strut their best “Cool” faces drumming up the hype as they are wearing custom made Spicy Chicken McNuggets apparel. It is the hottest fashion drop of the year – Spicy X Chicken McNuggets = Schnuggs. 

Spoofing the launches of fashion brands like Supreme, this is just McD’s way of teasing you about the hot, literally, chicken McNuggets.

Together with the spoof fashion brand, there’s also ads with mysterious burn holes in the Metro, that announced the launch of Spicy Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s on Wednesday 7^th.

Liz Whitbread at McDonald’s said “The Spicy Chicken McNuggets campaign is a very exciting product launch for us. An existing innovation to one of our most loved products and with Schnuggs, we’ve got a campaign to match.”

Graham Lakeland, Creative Director at Leo Burnett London, said: “We drew inspiration from these cult-like brands that have this young audience going crazy for their latest product.  Therefore, creating a spoof ‘hype beast’ clothing brand to model our new Spicy McNuggets felt like a great fit. This, coupled with a mixture of food-focused posts helps us create a buzz to become one of the most talked about foods this year.”

Agency: Leo Burnett London
Creative Director:  Graham Lakeland
Creative:  Aaron Taylor
Planner/CSU Director: Carl Juresic, Adriana Ferran, Linnea Berglund
Designer: Paul Reddington, Sam Kallen
Photographer : Myles New

Every day in Israel, ten young adults ages 18-40 find out they have cancer. Still, the country’s support system does not recognize this age category as a population with special needs.

Quite the opposite in fact. For many of these young adults who are just starting out in life –  starting a family, buying an apartment, beginning their careers; getting cancer means getting stuck.

Why? Because young cancer patients (and even recovering young cancer patients) can’t get a mortgage, women cancer patients are not told to freeze their eggs (in spite of what you can imagine cancer treatments may do to their ability to conceive & have a baby) and 60% of them are not hired back to work. For these people, getting cancer means getting stuck.

The “Stop Cancer” association was created to change that and provide a network of support for young adults with cancer. Therefore, in honour of the first ‘Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week’, BBR Saatchi & Saatchi launched #The_Cancer_That_Stuck_Me.

The idea behind the campaign was to emphasize that while a ‘regular’ 29-year-old, buying his first apartment, life is on track to move forward, the life of another person that same age, who just was diagnosed with cancer, suddenly gets stuck. While he is asked to deal with the disease, once recovered buying an apartment will be an impossible dream as he will not be eligible for any funding or mortgage.

The campaign carried which was carried out on every media platform available, attempts to illustrate how cancer patients are getting stuck. It began with organic Instagram stories which hit a nerve and spread everywhere as hundreds of celebrities joined the cause and shared their stories. Live prime television broadcasts froze, live radio broadcasts got stuck, as did TV Promos, movie trailers and YouTube pre-rolls. Even Israeli President Mr. Reuven Rivlin voiced his position. The case study shows much of this.

Advertising Agency: BBR Saatchi & Saatchi, Israel

Chief Executive Officer: Ben Muskal

Chief Creative Officer: Yaron Perel

Creative Director: Kobi Cohen

Art Director: Gali Divon

Account Supervisor: Moran Darzi

Account Executive: Adva Aviad

Media Strategy Manager: Ronit Shekel

Marcom Director: Eva Hasson

VP Content & Production: Iris Yisraeli

Producers: Livnat Alon

Photographer: Ron Kedmi

Video Photographer: Leehou Porat

Video Editor: Tom Lin

Original Music: Yaya Cohen Aharonov

Studio BBR Manager: Yaron Keinan

Studio BBR: Zehava Gonen Greenberg, Masha Varshitsky, Noam Carmel, Jenny Gindus, Eyal Vinitzer, Gabi Levi Elkayam, Robert Mizikovsky

Stop Cancer Team:

Marketing & Strategic Manager: Adi Muggia

Community & social network Manager: Yifat Mor

Minisite Content Manager & copywriter: Sharon Shinar

Minisite Technical operator: Liran Rozen (Anova company)

Tal Center non-profit organization Team:

CEO & Stop Cancer project manager: Shira Segal Kuperman

Chief Executive Officer of Foreign relations & resources developing: Saar Amir

Operation& publicity manager: Shani Adelshtein

Tal Center Founders: Zohar & Yankale Yakobson

Ben Horin & Alexandrovitz Public Relations Team:

Head of Public Sector Department: Amit Melnik

Team leader: Ortal Elias

Media consultant?:  Yuval Mor

Bat For Lashes, aka Natasha Khan, unveils her new song “The Hunger” from her highly anticipated new album Lost Girls out on September 6 via AWAL Recordings.  The video for “The Hunger,” which Khan directed and stars in, is shot in an otherworldly nowhere place, and reveals Khan’s character Nikki Pink’s rise as the head priestess of the Lost Girls, spreading magic and light through a triumphant ceremonial performance. A meditation on love, grief, release, and redemption, the video was produced in collaboration with her production company Lief.

Following on from the lush slow burn of “Kids in the Dark” and the poppered up 80’s rush of “Feel For You”, comes third single ‘The Hunger’: a powerful, mystical anthem, spilling out across five precisely crafted minutes. “I started that song with this organ sound on a really old ’80s synth”, Natasha remembers. “Then (co-writer/ producer) Charles Scott IV brought in his bass, and every time we were adding more and more stuff it was getting closer to this particular feeling that I wanted. There’s nothing like this feeling of translating something that’s in your DNA, part of who you are energetically, coming out in music. Like it matches a thumbprint inside of you.”

Spanning 10 tracks, Lost Girls sees Khan dreaming up her own fully formed parallel universe, laying tantalizing clues on social media. If her last album, The Bride, was melancholy and mournful, a tone poem of loss and regret, Lost Girls is her mischievous younger sister, widescreen in scope and bursting with Technicolor intensity.  It’s an album for driving in the dark; holding hands at sunset; jumping off bridges with vampires; riding your bike across the moon.   Within the women of Lost Girls and her character Nikki Pink, Khan unfolds elements of herself; within these songs, we do the same.  Filled with gauzy, 80’s-esque power ballads, Iranian-inspired beats, and the sort of epic sonics reserved for film credits rolling up a screen, Lost Girls is a noir, supernatural night-riding adventure, and one of the finest albums in Khan’s rich, varied discography.  

Nikki Pink: Natasha Khan

Lost Girls: Avery Wheless, Evangeline Neuhart, Dominique N Godinez, Kenzie McClure, Angelica DeWitt

Director: Natasha Khan

Producer: Margo Mars

Production Company: Lief

Director of Photography: Sean Conaty

Costume Design: Devin Winter

Nikki Pink Dress: Romance Was Born

Hair & Make-Up Artist: Alex Perrone

Line Producer: Roberto Rodriguez

Casting: Avery Wheless

Editor: Jamie O’Donnell

Colourist: Yoomin Lee

Titles: Fraser Muggeridge Studio

Cactus, an independent strategic creative agency specializing in health and recreation brands, has launched a campaign for Utah’s Washington County Convention and Tourism Office. The agency won the business in November after a competitive pitch.

The new brand renames the State of Utah’s Washington County as Greater Zion, with the aim to unify and celebrate the area’s diverse tourism offerings, spread visitation throughout the region and entice visitors to stay longer.

“Tourism is one of the largest economic drivers in our area, and visitation has grown substantially in recent years,” said Kevin Lewis, director of the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office. “One of our key objectives was to distribute visitation throughout the entire area in a way that would inspire longer visits. Cactus helped us develop a cohesive countywide brand to represent all our towns, attractions, parks, and other tourism entities to encourage discovery. The Greater Zion brand anchors us to Zion National Park but also allows us to talk about the many state parks, national conservation areas, communities and activities available within the county. Our vision with the new brand is simple: Inspire Greater. Experience Greater. Live Greater. Beauty and wonder don’t end at Zion’s edge.”

Located in the southwest corner of Utah, Greater Zion encompasses more than 2,400 square miles and includes Zion National Park, the fourth most-visited national park in the United States. Four other state parks with year-round recreational land offer some of the best scenic activities such as mountain biking, off-highway vehicle riding, 12 top-rated golf courses, and world-class cultural performances at Tuacahn Center for the Arts. 

The vibrant communities of St. George, Springdale, Hurricane, Ivins and towns in between offer a wide range of lodging options, dining experiences and access to outdoor pursuits through local outfitters and tour companies. Host to the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships, Greater Zion is also a world-class destination for sporting events, conferences and meetings. 

Media for the campaign includes TV, online video, OOH and social media in the Rocky Mountain Region, covering five states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada along with national and international marketing efforts.

“Agencies talk a lot about putting their clients on the map, but with Greater Zion, that’s literally what we’re doing,” said Jeff Strahl, creative director at Cactus. “Three months ago, Greater Zion didn’t exist. We worked with the Washington County Tourism Office to turn a collection of communities lacking a cohesive identity into a unified brand they can be proud to stand behind.”

Greater Zion gives context and language to the communities in Washington County, allowing them to easily communicate where they are and what they have to offer to their audiences. It creates a unified sense of place that Washington County has been searching for for a long time. This brand will not only bring communities together, but it will also bring people from around the world together. This place is greater than just one park. This place is greater than just one adventure. This place is Greater Zion.

Advertising Agency: Cactus, Denver, CO (USA)

Brand/Client: Washington County Convention and Tourism Office

For the record, Marmite started it, in case the brewer’s yeast spread’s parents are reading this. Marmite (a softer, gentler, more polite version of Vegemite) was handing out free jars of Marmite at the Ashes in an attempt to woo those attending. The Australia vs England hostilities have now spread beyond the cricket field – heh, “spread”, see what we did there? In the press, Vegemite and Marmite are having it out in ad spreads. Ad spreads hehehe. Fine, I’ll see myself out.

“G’Day” the ad reads and continues: 

“News has reached down under that free jars of marmite are being handed out at the ashes to try and prove it tastes better than our Vegemite. 

Are you guys barmy?

Of course the refined English palate will prefer yours.
You see, Vegemite is a far stronger taste, made of resilience and fortitude with a dash of cunning and guile. Vegemite tastes like back-to-back tons on your return test. Vegemite tastes like a come-from-behind victory by 251 runs.

You lot won’t like the taste of Vegemite, because Vegemite tastes like Australia.

Catch ya at Lord’s. “

I must say, even if I don’t understand half of it because I am neither British nor Australian, nor am I wise to the ways of cricket, I love the tone of this ad. It’s all chest-thumpingly proud of being not only an acquired taste but even more so than the other polarising-taste spread, Marmite. For the record, I like them both, on hot and slightly buttered toast. Fite me.

Matt Gray, Vegemite spokesperson in Australia said “It’s not often we get brought into such a large scale international conflict. However, we found Marmite’s behaviour to be a little untoward. It’s just not cricket to give away Marmite at the cricket. We just want to set the record straight that Australians will always prefer Vegemite as Vegemite actually tastes like Australia. The English are welcome to their mild Marmite, it probably suits their sensitive palates a little more.”

Thems fighting words.

Renault has launched its latest campaign ‘The Getaway’ starring brand ambassador and legendary French striker Thierry Henry for its sponsorship of Sky Sports’ coverage of the Premier League.

Shot in the style of a classic getaway movie, we see Thierry Henry play the role of ‘The Transporter’ whose mission is to help football fans ‘Get to the Game in Style’. Thierry and his Renault rescue fans from the everyday commitments such as shopping or going to the gym to get them back in time to watch the football on Sky Sports, whether at home or the local pub. I need a driver like this in my life. 

The campaign created by Publicis•Poke features two 60-second & 30-second films titled ‘The Big Shop’ and ‘Game Over’ that when cut-down serve as idents broadcast during 128 live games and various non-live programming across the 2019/20 Premier League season on Sky Sports. 

Adam Wood, Marketing Director – Groupe Renault UK and Ireland said: “The renewal of our partnership with Sky Sports is about celebrating the dedication of football fans to be part of the game. Football fans show a zest for life, a desire to succeed and a spirit of togetherness, and will try to be at the game no matter what.”

Dave Monk, Executive Creative Director – Publicis•Poke

“We’ve all been there, there’s a big game on telly but you’ve got something equally big on that you can’t escape; Your sons ballet class, your daughters best mates 9^th birthday, or that big weekly shop. Take one beautiful Frenchman, a couple of brand spanking new Renaults, a legendary directing / cinematographer combo and a cracking soundtrack, and you’ve got a visual feast that should get footy fans revved up for the new footy season”

PUBLICIS•POKE CREDITS

TITLE: Renault Sky Sports Sponsorship

CLIENT: Renault UK

CLIENTS: Adam Wood, Olivia Kaye, Chriso Antoniou

BRIEF: (sum up in one sentence) To grow awareness and affinity of Renault through the Sky Sports Premier League sponsorship

ADVERTISING AGENCY:  Publicis•Poke

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR:  Dave Monk

GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Colin Byrne

SENIOR CREATIVE TEAM: Andy Thirsk & Matt Comras

PLANNERS: Calvin Lyon & Will Elliot

BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Stuart Pond

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Abby Fox

ACCOUNT MANAGER: Luke Cox

HEAD OF FILM PRODUCTION: Colin Hickson

AGENCY PRODUCERS: Emma Havard-Jones, Joss Haynes

MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: MGOMD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pulse Films

DIRECTORS: 32

PRODUCTION COMPANY PRODUCER: Shirley O’Connor

DOP: Sean Bobbitt

EDITOR: Ten Three

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Time Based Arts

AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Factory

ILLUSTRATOR: Sam Gilbey

DATE RELEASED: 9^TH August