Hasta La Creative!

Ted Baker London has collaborated with New York agency HUSH to launch StreetWinker.com, which punily asks visitors to “Spread the Ted” with a “Baker’s dozen” (the last we checked a baker’s dozen didn’t equal five, but whatever) of video shorts, digital “winks,” “Teditorials” and “Fashion Art” (or fart for short) in an effort to promote their autumn/winter collection. (Update: we were told by Ted Baker’s PR folks that they’re adding 8 more shorts before the end of the campaign. Sorry for getting all snarky there.)

Ted Baker London worked with Gavin McInnes (co-founder of Vice and Rooster) to craft the sardonic Redge Blaker persona featured on the site. Brand Communication Director at Ted Baker London Craig Smith commented, “Through channeling Redge Blaker, we have created enjoyable content that is genuinely laugh out loud funny, stylish and still very consistent with our brand messaging.” He elaborated that audiences want to share “something authentic” and for that reason much of the content is kept unbranded. The sites’ disparate content is all unified by a very British kind of irreverent humor.

The featured video short shows Blaker giving a bloke advice on how to stay cool around the ladies. “They’ll know if you’re over-eager or faking it,” he warns. When a cute bird (that’s British for “girl”) walks by, though, Baker’s advice goes out the window. You kind of have to see his reaction to get it, so I won’t give it away here: just watch the video above for yourself. We’ve included a few more of the shorts after the jump as well. Enjoy.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

If you’ve ever had a nightmare boss in advertising, Zulu Alpha Kilo’s latest spot for NABS Vintage Intern Auction should appeal to you.

The NABS Vintage Intern Auction auctions off “twelve notable executives and thought leaders,” to be used as interns for a day, for the Canadian charitable group NABS, who provide assistance for people in communications and related industries who need help due to illness, injury, unemployment or financial difficulties. Winning bidders can assign their interns to do anything from giving a speech or holding a seminar to cleaning up the kitchen or getting coffee.

The spot highlights the revenge aspect of the auction, with bidders attempting to win the right to boss around a truly awful Chief Creative Officer. At the center of the spot is the eventual winning bidder, a man  with an eye patch who the CCO told, “If you can work from home, you can work from Intensive Care.” He outbids the woman the CCO called “Sarah in bed and then said ‘I’m so sorry, Diane,’ which isn’t [her] name either.” I don’t know what kind of work he has for the CCO, but it won’t be pretty. Perhaps cleaning the bathroom floor with a toothbrush?

As you can tell from the synopsis, Zulu Alpha Kilo isn’t afraid to push the boundaries a little bit with some risque humor, and the result is a spot that is actually funny. We’re guessing that since it’s for a good cause, no one will be offended. No CCOs were harmed in the making of this video. At least not any that didn’t deserve it.

Here’s the full list of the “interns” up for bids, in case your boss from hell is one of them:

Claude Carrier – President, DentsuBos

Mary Maddever – VP & Editorial Director, Brunico Publishing

Brent Choi – Chief Creative & Integration Officer – JWT

Lance Martin – Partner & Executive Creative Director, Union Creative

David Crichton – Partner, Creative Director, Grip Limited

Ian MacKellar – Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy

Simon Jennings – President, Gesca

Angus Tucker – Partner, Co-Creative Director, John Street

Mitch Joel – Author and President, Twist Image

Kenneth Wong – Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Queen’s School of Business

Amber Mac – President, co-founder, Konnekt; and co-host of App Central

Christina Yu – Executive Vice President, Creative Director, Red Urban

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Wingmanning is a Tumblr dedicated to photos, taken by Scott Cleveland, of Drew Phillips, planner at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, standing next to couples who are making out or otherwise engaging in PDA. Their slogan/mission statement: “Make out in public? We’re behind you.” The page also includes user-submitted “Amateur Wingmanning” from fans of the sites’ photo cringe comedy who snapped their own shots of themselves standing next to lip wrestling couples.

The whole thing is so cringe-inducing it’s almost like you’re there feeling socially awkward yourself! Just look at these photos and try not to feel uncomfortable. Trust us, you can’t do it.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

By now, you’re probably well aware of Burger King’s new lo-cal “Satisfries” and perhaps have even seen Mother’s spot that promotes the fast-food chain’s launch of its newest product. Well, what we happened to miss this past weekend during our hibernation was the teaser social/experiential portion of the event dubbed #WTFF, which not only involved Mother but also Big Fuel (where have ya been?), who dropped giant, 8-foot (steal-able) fries in NYC, LA and Chicago.

Subsequently, the fries were photographed by pedestrians as well as hand-picked “Instagram influencers,” who posted their images here as well as on a Tumblr site. It wasn’t until the official launch of Satisfries that Burger King officially acknowledged the project dubbed #WTFF.  The parties involved even managed to photobomb the Today show (above) earlier this week, so what the hell, we decided to regale for a minute in a neat project touting something we’ll probably never consume anyways. We just wish we had one of those large-size fake fries to take home, though.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The latest Adobe Systems spot, from Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, brings up a valid issue: companies that rely on digital marketing may not understand if their ad tactics are working properly. Traffic, as we all know, can be misleading. But Abode won’t mislead. They’ll presumably cut through the smoke and tell a company how to effectively increase exposure. At least, that’s what one is led to believe after watching “Click, Baby, Click.”

The one-minute spot is enjoyable enough. There’s some frenetic action, frenetic music, and an easy punchline at the end. That formula generally works, and any viewer with three ounces of common sense understands the commercial is a flashy exaggeration. But, part of me would like to see at least a hint of what Adobe Marketing Cloud can do for a business rather than focusing on what it won’t do. Still, we’ve seen much worse.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I’m not sure if Cool Jesse actually eats denim, but after you watch the latest three-minute side project from LA-based Ignited, you’ll see that it is a serious question. Ignited has a history of playing around with characters, like Deadpool, for instance, and while Cool Jesse may not be a Marvel superhero, he knows how to get denim out of printers. Who is Cool Jesse, you ask? He’s a fictitious employee who stands around the office not doing any work. He looks like the guy you know who wants to look like a Gap model. He’s probably a compilation of Ignited inside jokes, and he’s also an excuse to talk about how big the desks are at the Ignited offices. Seriously, those are some big workspaces. I’m envious, and not because I avoid denim. Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Love it or hate it, Sportscenter has always been good at maintaining a certain tone across its ad campaigns. They’ve been running with the “star athletes in the ESPN office” schtick for what seems like forever, and it seems to be an infinitely adaptable formula. The latest in this long line of ads is the new 30-second spot “Candy Dish,” from Wieden + Kennedy New York, featuring U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal, fresh off his defeat of Novak Djokovic last night.

In the spot, Sportscenter host John Anderson and ESPNNews anchor Bram Weinstein wonder what makes Nadal so popular in the ESPN office (especially with the ladies). Is it his good looks? His tan? His accent? Or could it be that U.S. Open trophy he’s using as a candy dish? If you ask me, I think it’s the sweatband. Who doesn’t love a good sweatband?

This is the second This is Sportscenter spot to be released in both English and Spanish, following the clever Robinson Cano “Handshakes” spot. The Spanish-language version swaps out Anderson and Weinstein for ESPN Deportes anchors Alvaro Morales, Jorge Eduardo Sánchez and Carolina Padrón. Personally, I prefer the Spanish version (featured below). Because, well, everything sounds better in Spanish.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Following Google’s announcement Tuesday that the upcoming 4.4 version of Android will be named after its new partner Kit Kat, Nestle and JWT have launched a new advertisement on YouTube for the Kit Kat 4.4, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

The ad pokes fun at Apple’s self-serious style of advertisement, with “Chief Breaks Officer” Chris Catlin doing a pretty spot-on imitation of Apple designer Jony Ive’s accent and dramatic speaking style, while bragging of the Kit Kat 4.4’s features. These include “adjustable orientation,” “global coverage,” and compatibility “with all liquid accessories.” The tagline? A rhyming riff on Apple: “There’s a Kit Kat for that.”

Kit Kat’s website and social media sites have also been revamped to make the Kit Kat appear like a smartphone. The site is broken into categories including, “Hardware,” “Features,” “Accessories” and “Tech Spec” where you can read about Kit Kat’s “praline software, crisp waferware, and …unique chocolate unibody.”

Mmm…unique chocolate unibody. Confectionary perfectionary indeed.

JWT also designed the packaging on over 50 million specially branded Kit Kat bars in 19 international markets, including the UK, Australia, Brazil, Germany and Japan. The packs will lead consumers to android.com/kitkat, where they have the chance to win Google Nexus 7 tablets, credits to spend in Google Play, and other prizes. JWT has also created local campaigns across TV, outdoor, ambient, retail activation and experiential to run in these 19 international markets. The Kit Kat branding marks the first time Android’s operating system has launched under a brand name.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Would a Creative Director take advice from anyone, regardless of the source? What if that source is a recent UNC grad offering up satirical tips about the industry in exchange for a chance to work? Well, if you’re a CD looking to fill an open position, you might want to check out creativedirectorselfhelp.com.

The website comes from Jared Wicker, a young, nomadic copywriter looking to lose “nomadic” from his unofficial bio. We covered another of Wicker’s side projects – “Dining with Dems” – last September, when he was interning with BooneOakley. While his old site was more of a specific flavor of the week, the new site is essentially a long resume full of images, memes, and clever text. We’ve seen these types of self-promotional ventures before, some good, some boring. Wicker’s work finds a way to stand out with novelty ideas like Rapid Feedback Cards. He may not be the guy who modeled his resume after an Amazon Product Page, which is still number one in my book, but the effort shows. Give it a view, and help out a nomad.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In this Call of Duty: Ghosts trailer, Jake and Amir from CollegeHumor give us a preview of the action-packed prestige edition of the game. It includes a paracord strap, a Steelbook, and an HD Tactical Camera. “Naturally, we’re going to do what you do when you have a badass tactical camera strapped to your head,” the boys say. I realize I’m definitely not a video gamer when I have no idea what the next step will be. Parkour? Surveillance?

“We’re going to breach some stuff!!” Jake and Amir proceed to burst through doors, elevator doors, garden gates, and bathroom stalls, entering unexpected scenarios as they go. The best part is when they’re the uninvited guests at a little princess’s tea party. “Hi guys!” she squeaks, and we see them taking a moment to sip out of miniature purple plastic cups. The whole thing is a fun idea, far better than watching a fictional character slaughter everything in his path while the new Eminem single “Survival” plays. If only we all had disposable screen doors and wacky neighbors worthy of tactical camera footage. As it is, mothers should prepare for the onslaught of their teenage boys trying to karate chop the front door.

Check out the credits after the jump

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.