mcgarrybowen Celebrates ‘Mr. Amazing’ for Verizon

mcgarrybowen launched a spot for Verzion, entitled “Mr. Amazing,” which celebrates the company’s XLTE service and football season.

In the spot, some rather fantastical football leads into a man screaming “Yeah” at a field day type event, accompanied by the voiceover, “Don’t just dream about being the hero, make it happen.” The man, it is revealed, is streaming a football game at his daughter’s event, much to the relief of another father present. “So be that guy,” Verizon implores at the end of the spot, “with Verizon XLTE.” It’s a bit of an odd sendoff, as the phrasing of “that guy’ the way they use it usually has a negative connotation. It’s almost as if they can’t decide whether they want to make fun of the protagonist (who screams “Yeah!” after the initial fantasy segment) or celebrate him as “Mr. Amazing” and instead the spot attempts to do both. (more…)

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mcgarrybowen Plays iPhone Homewrecker for Verizon

mcgarrybowen has a new ad for Verizon Wireless, advertising the company’s iPhone trade-in offer allowing customers to trade in their old iPhone and for a new one, supposedly for free.

In the spot, a man reading a newspaper comes across a print ad highlighting the deal and is intrigued, reading the offer out loud. His iPhone overhears, saying, “Did you say something, Paul?” For the remainder of the spot, Siri attempts to remind Paul of the good times they’ve had together in an attempt to stop him from trading the phone in. The efforts are for naught though, as he eventually gets to Verizon to make the deal, followed by the fine print explaining that the transaction is nowhere near as straightforward as just pictured.

Finding sympathy with the to-be-replaced phone may seem like kind of an odd tactic, but it ends up being a good source of humor and makes the spot memorable. And the approach is executed well, with Siri’s attempts to stop the trade-in well thought out and naturally paced with Paul’s trip to the Verizon store. (more…)

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BBDO New York Ruins Classic Beach Boys Song for AT&T

This one’s been making the rounds for awhile, but we figured we’d add our two cents since it involves the ruining of a classic Beach Boys track. BBDO New York employs the Beach Boy’s “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” for their latest AT&T campaign. In the debut spot, “Sing Anthem” people in everyday situations randomly start singing the song as if they’re on Glee or something.

To be fair, BBDO does a passable job of connecting the song to AT&T’s message of helping “people and things speak the same language” and a good job of illustrating the point visually. But people of various walks of life (including an operatic news reporter) randomly bursting into song is a lot to swallow, and that the song is a personal favorite makes it even harder to take. The spot, which BBDO collaborated with Biscuit Filmoworks and editorial company Rock Paper Scissors to make, is part of a broader campaign that employs “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” as a theme song in each of its commericals. Thankfully, “Sing Anthem” is the only one of these to turn everyday life into a cheesy impromptu musical. Stick around for credits and “Sing Network” after the jump. continued…

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