mOcean Helped Promote FXX’s Marathon of The Simpsons

mOcean helped FXX keep the fun rolling during the network’s record-breaking twelve-day marathon of every episode of The Simpsons with a series of Springfield-inspired promos.

Instead of just recycling footage from the show (which might get a bit redundant during a marathon, after all), mOcean took creative license with the Springfield universe, such as in the above promo superimposing Homer’s head and voice on footage of stunts gone wrong. Another spot takes Ned Flanders’ characteristic “Deedley” and gives it a musical makeover. Clearly, the agency had a lot of fun with these.

“This was by far the biggest, most exciting project with the FX family yet,” said mOcean SVP, Creative Director Greg Harrison. “The inherent challenge was doing justice to one of the funniest, most beloved TV franchises in history, not to mention the legacy of its creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks.” (more…)

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DDB’s Rodgers Townsend Agency Livens Up the Office for The Hartford

DDB’s Rodgers Townsend agency, St. Louis, pumps some life into the office (via jams) for The Hartford, in the latest iteration of its “Play On” campaign.

The agency collaborated with The Hartford, which provides insurance to small companies, for the interactive YouTube video. Viewers choose a genre of music, and then the office breaks into a spontaneous dance party, before promptly returning back to work. It’s well worth a view for a quick chuckle. We recommend “Retro Tech” and “Renaissance,” although you can’t really go wrong.

“We wanted to connect people to the message, when the unforeseen happens, The Hartford helps businesses prevail,” Steve Jones, assistant VP-marketing, small commercial at The Hartford, explained to AdAge. “This time, we wanted to do something fun and engaging that’s right for social channels and online.”

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FCB Chicago Helps Grandma ‘Shop Like A Boss’ for Kmart

FCB Chicago keeps things weird for Kmart in their latest spot for the brand, “Shop Like A Boss,” although it’s nowhere near as strange as the brand’s Christmas campaign.

The spot opens on a grandma-type, billed as “Shop Your Way Member Julia Ruiz,” sitting at her computer. After clicking a button, she throws on her hoodie, shades and bling as the soundtrack shifts from serene birds chirping to a hip-hop beat. Soon she’s joined by the two other members of her entourage, and the rest of the spot (the full-length version runs around 95 seconds) is basically a music video. Ruiz and her crew roll up to Kmart, dance around, and pick up her order.

It’s a pretty simple idea, but it’s not without its moments. In the full-length version some of the humor lies just in how the idea is drawn out to such great length, and also how well this Ruiz character plays the part. The spot is meant to promote Kmart’s “shop online, pay in-store” feature, which is touted by a voiceover at the spot’s conclusion. While some viewers may not draw the connection from “Shop Like A Boss” to the service, the spot is at least (quite) memorable and ties the idea to the brand. We’ll add credits if/when we receive them.

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Van Damme Sculpts Ice Bar for VCCP, Coors Light

Jean-Claude Van Damme is back for Coors Light, sculpting an ice bar in the Rocky Mountains with his bare hands in a new UK spot from VCCP.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s “Epic Split” for Volvo, Van Damme is now synonymous with advertising gold, and the VCCP spot capitalizes on his image in a way reminiscent of that ad. The 60-second “Ice Bar” has just about everything you’d expect given Van Damme’s involvement: Van Damme’s signature mullet/ponytail, cheesy 80s synths, ice block breaking (with bare hands, of course) and a tongue-in-cheek sense of intentionally over-the-top humor. It all makes for a pretty fun spot, which makes you wonder why this isn’t running stateside as well. (more…)

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The Brooklyn Brothers Brings Back Jason Sudeikis for NBC Sports

Jason Sudeikis reprises his role as coach Ted Lasso in The Brooklyn Brothers’ spot for NBC Sports’ coverage of the English Premier League, which starts August 16th.

Last year, Lasso went over the pond to coach London’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Now, he’s readjusting to life back in the states. Lasso engages in some early drinking, has an afternoon tea, drives on the wrong side of the road, and turns his apartment into “Teeny Tiny England”. In the process, he meets Tim Howard and lands himself another coaching gig. While Sudeikis’ character is pretty funny and the spot has some amusing moments, it also feels drags a bit at over six minutes in length. Maybe save this one for afternoon tea.

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BBDO NY Taps NBA Greats for Foot Locker

BBDO New York taps Houston Rockets star James Harden and retired NBA greats Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen for a funny new spot entitled “Short Memory,” which promises to be the first in a series.

When Harden asks Barkley for advice on starting the new season fresh, Barkley explains that all the greats have short memories. Harden asks if that means Barkley forgot about it if he had a bad game, to which Barkley replies that he never had a bad game. Harden persists with a series of questions, until Barkley cuts him off, seeing that he doesn’t get it, and turns to Scottie Pippen for help. Pippen perfectly encapsulates Barkley’s point, declaring himself the greatest Chicago Bull ever — which would be true with a parenthetical “(available for selection in NBA Jam).”

It’s a clever spot, making good use of Barkley’s comedic potential, even if Harden comes across a bit stiff in comparison. Pippen’s tongue-in-cheek boast alone gives “Shot Memory” viral potential, which the spot already seems to be fulfilling. It has racked up almost 600,000 views since being posted yesterday. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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GSD&M Talks Protection for Radio Shack

GSD&M has a new back-to-school campaign for Radio Shack that makes good use of awkward humor to promote the brand’s protection plans.

In “The Talk” for example, a dad tells his son it’s time they had “the talk.” His son, horrified, listens as his father emphasizes the need to use protection. “I know you just want to get out and show it off, but you can’t just go swinging it around all willy-nilly trying to impress the girls.” He continues, “This glass is fragile. We’re covered though…” as the son looks greatly relieved. The spot’s use of innuendo in an awkward, easy to relate to situation makes it funny and memorable.

In the similarly suggestive “Laundry,” the tables are turned, and it’s the father who is made to feel awkward. We’ve included that spot, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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The Vault Taps Dante Exum for Foot Locker

The Vault tapped NBA Draft prospect Dante Exum for a humorous new Foot Locker campaign.

The series of 15 second spots, entitled “Everything Changes After the Draft” highlight how things don’t change after the draft. Although Exum seems to perceive himself as a celebrity, it’s evident no one else does. The approach works best on the above “Paparazzi,” in which Exum informs friends that he doesn’t want to head to Foot Locker because “paparazzi might be there,” eliciting uncontrollable laughter from his two buddies. Other spots in the campaign take a similar approach, seeing Exum practicing his autograph, interacting with a dorky neighbor, combing through “fan mail” and making a dinner reservation. We’ve included “Reservation” and “Fan Mail,” along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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DDB Toronto Targets ‘Junkface’ for Neutrogena

DDB Toronto has a new campaign for Neutrogena discouraging men from washing their junk and their face with the same soap (and offering up Neutrogena Men Face Wash as the perfect solution).

As Adweek points out, the Canadian campaign “assumes that men start low and move up in the shower,” a somewhat dubious assumption. Still, the 60-second spot is not without its (heavily influenced by W+K’s Old Spice) charm. While “Junkface” explains the cause of Junkface, there is little description of the symptoms, although we can reasonably assume they include junk particles in the facial region.

The goofy humor continues on www.stopjunkface.com, which contends that 72% of Canadians have junkface, with Alberta having the most Junkface sufferers at 86%. Men with chinstraps are especially prone to Junkface, and all bounty hunters suffer from it. The site also offers the important reminder to keep knees, owls, and footballs away from your nether regions. No word yet on whether Neutrogena plans to offer a separate line of soap for your junk.

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W+K, Three Apologize for ‘Holiday Spam’

Wieden+Kennedy have a clever new spot for U.K.-based mobile provider Three, in which the company makes a timely apology.

The 60-second spot sees Three apologize for the rash of “holiday spam” resulting from the company allowing users to utilize their phone in 16 worldwide destinations without any extra cost for calls. texts or data. Three “thought this was a good thing,” but “failed to consider the consequences: the holiday spam,” says a contrite Three representative. It’s a clever approach, employing dry British humor to let Three brag about their coverage while leveraging a cultural phenomenon anyone can relate to. “Holiday Spam” also manages to be memorable without spending much money (it’s basically just one actor and a series of backgrounds). At the conclusion of the spot, viewers are prompted to visit the campaign landing site at stopholidayspam.com, which includes a heat map of spam levels in various locations. The campaign is also supported by the #holidayspam hashtag, a pretty seamless social integration.

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A Vulgar Elizabeth Hurley Stars in Droga5?s ‘If We Won’ for Newcastle

Elizabeth Hurley gets vulgar in the latest addition to Droga5?s “If We Won” campaign for Newcastle, which imagines how much better America would be if Great Britain had won the Revolutionary War.

The campaign kicked off last week, with a humorous spot featuring Stephen Merchant. Hurley’s spot borrows a bit from that one, as it devotes quite a bit of time to how many great curse words we’d have at our disposal had we remained British, something Merchant touched on in the original “If We Won.” Still, we suppose the subject doesn’t hurt from further exploration, and the video has over 300,000 views since being uploaded earlier today as people seem to be amused by seeing Hurley stringing together British expletives. Hurley’s 39-second video is just part of the wealth of material put out by Droga5 for the campaign, which also includes Zachary Quinto in a pair of spots and a second appearance from Merchant, who explains how his British accent helps him appear intelligent and get laid. If you’re wondering what American actor Zachary Quinto is doing in this campaign, you’ll just have to watch the video, along with the second Merchant spot, after the jump. (more…)

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McCann NY Takes Unique Approach to Gun Safety PSA

You might not associate a sex toy battle with gun safety, but McCann New York ties the two together in a new 30-second video entitled “Playthings” that (finally) takes a different approach to the familiar gun safety PSA, created for gun responsibility organization Evolve.

In the spot, a woman goes to pick up her son at a friend’s house and finds him locked in heated sex toy battle with his friend. The friend’s mother, of course, looks horrified, and just when you thought things couldn’t get any more awkward one of the kids turns on the vibration feature. Around this time the voiceover intones the message, “If they find it, they’ll play with it. So always lock up your guns.”

The humorous approach is a welcome departure from the typical gun safety PSAs — which we see a lot of. “Playthings” is a lot more memorable than those efforts, and a lot harder to ignore, which makes it more likely to effectively communicate its message and even reach people who might just tune out the more serious, stern warnings of other gun safety PSAs. Of course, some of those people will just find the suggestive humor packed on “liberal propaganda” that much more offensive. But then McCann and Evolve didn’t really have any hope of reaching them anyway. While this isn’t the first time Evolve has employed humor in its PSAs — Saatchi & Saatchi New York’s February effort “The Bill of Rights for Dumbasses” took a similarly lighthearted approach — it is definitely the most effective. “Playthings” has already generated a fair share of buzz, approaching one million views since being released Wednesday and eliciting mentions in myriad media outlets.

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Teddy Roosevelt Likeness Aims to Remain in Brazil, Rally US Soccer Fans

With the US-Germany World Cup showdown getting underway in a matter of minutes, we figure it’s rather timely to mention the man above, who’s going by the name of “Teddy Goalsevelt” but is actually one Mike D’Amico, an ACD at Chicago-based, WPP-owned agency, Cavalry. Those who watched the US-Portugal stunner on Sunday may have seen D’Amico hamming it up as his Teddy Roosevelt character and rallying U.S. soccer fans on the telly (he even joined in on a pic with Super Bowl XLVIII MVP/Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith earlier in the week according to Deadspin commenters). Now, the very optimistic D’Amico, who’s also president of the Chicago chapter of US soccer fanatics the American Outlaws, wants to continue in his efforts as the USMNT’s unofficial mascot down in Brazil should team USA (fingers crossed) make it to the knockout round.

How? Well, with the aid of his cohorts at Cavalry (who count clients including Coors Light), Mr. D’Amico has launched a GoFundMe site asking for fan help to keep him and his character in Brazil through the tournament…or as far as the US goes, we imagine. We’ll see what transpires in the next couple of hours, but thus far, D’Amico and company have raised nearly $2K in less than 24 hours and will match the first $2,500 donated. You can check out the Facebook page here for more info and go to the GoFundMe site to donate here. Now, who’s ready to join in on the by-now-familiar “I believe that we will win!” chant?

Also: here’s a supportive tweet from Listerine (and AOR MRY):

Huge match today. But #USA should like their chances—especially with #TeddyGoalsevelt leading the charge. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/VSmCR4TMYS

— Listerine Global (@ListerineGlobal) June 26, 2014

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Droga 5 Taps Stephen Merchant in ‘If We Won’ for Newcastle

Since it’s hard to market a British beer on July 4th, Stephen Merchant implores viewers to enjoy a Newcastle while celebrating “Independence Eve” on July 3rd and imagining how great it would have been if Great Britain had won the Revolutionary War in a new online spot from Droga 5.

Entitled “If We Won,” the spot sees Merchant trying on an “incredibly convincing American accent” before asking, “Do you really still have to celebrate your emancipation from us? That’s like your girlfriend breaking up with you and then celebrating with fireworks. Every year. For 300 years.” He then goes on to list all the ways America would be better if it were still a British colony, including “better comedy, news, TV programs,”  and way better curse words.

“In the late 1700s, colonial Americans risked life and limb to fight for their freedom,” Newcastle Brown Ale Brand Director Quinn Kilbury told Adweek. “Today, we’re running the very real risk of people totally not getting the joke here, and we think that’s pretty patriotic.”

Judging from a cursory glimpse at the YouTube comments section, that was a very real risk indeed. Stick around for limited credits after the jump.  (more…)

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Greenpeace Uses Humor in Attempt to ‘Stop the Madness’

Greenpeace tapped writer/director Olivier Agostini to create a comedic video for their efforts to stop Arctic drilling.

In the nearly four minute video, small-business owner (and whale music afficionado) Gary Stephenson explains to elderly office assistant Dina her latest mission: to attach a banner to an oil rig in the Russian Arctic. He explains the rigorous trials Dina will face on her mission, all of which actually happened to the team of dedicated Greenpeace activists known as the Arctic 30 — including being  ”blasted by water cannons…shot at, and eventually arrested and detained for 12 months in a Russian prison.” The online film contains actual footage from the real event toward its conclusion.

“This film is a comedic interpretation of a very serious situation that is currently happening in Russia,” said Agostini. “We wanted to draw attention to plight of the Arctic 30 without solely relying on documentary style footage. We hope this film will reach and raise awareness to a broader audience, not just green-minded individuals,  in an entertaining and engaging way.”

Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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DigitasLBi, Tide Not Afraid of a Little Blood in New ‘Game of Thrones’ Infographic

DigitasLBi and Tide leveraged Twitter’s two-month-old pinned tweet feature to highlight a new Game of Thrones themed infographic, Adweek reports, the latest sign that the brand isn’t afraid of a little blood.

Blood, of course, was the number one stain for the fourth season based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, with a whopping 530 stains (as the infographic shows). That’s enough to finish well ahead of the runner up, dirt, which comes in at 156. The infographic also shows the “Most Used Stain Makers” — nail/cross, followed by sword — and a slew of least used stain makers that nontheless left a lasting impression (and probably never came out), such as mammoth, wolf, and a frying pan. Tide’s infographic ran with the title “A Season of Stains,” while referring viewers to Tide’s Stain Brain app. It was a fun diversion for fans of the show (who isn’t?) and has thus far received 1,351 retweets and 1,575 favorites. The infographic follows in the spirit of Tide’s Carrie-themed Halloween Vine video and last summer’s Vine for Shark Week, positioning the brand as the antidote to bloody messes. As Adweek pointed out, this makes a lot of sense for a brand attempting to appeal to parents, for whom blood and grass stains (which accounted for just one of the Game of Thrones stains this season) are an everyday reality.

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PornHub Selects Winner of Creative Director Challenge

Pornhub.com has officially announced their choice of creative director, out of over 3,000 entries from over 2,000 contestants. The winner of their PornHub Creative Director Challenge for best “safe for work” advertising campaign is 24-year-old Nuri Gulver, of Istanbul, Turkey.

As PornHub puts it, Gulver’s submission, “All You Need Is Hand,” “beat out the final 15 due to its inherent mass appeal and ease of penetration to different advertising platforms.” (Insert Beavis and Butthead laugh track here). His concept (pictured above) shows two hands making the shape of a heart, with the tagline “All You Need Is Hand,” a very relatable idea that offers a memorable solution to the “safe for work” issue (although his idea to have “People of different nationalities…sing our ‘All You Need Is Hand’ song with the music of ‘All You Need Is Love’ seems a bit over-the-top). As winner of the competition, Gulver will be awarded a one-year paid contract as PornHub’s official creative director, and will be responsible for future ad campaigns and creative content creation.

“We received an overwhelming amount of responses, which made it incredibly difficult to pick a winner,” said Corey Price, vice president, PornHub. “In choosing a winner, we were keen on picking an idea that was catchy and could be rolled out as a full multi-media campaign. We found Nuri’s ‘All You Need is Hand’ idea to be just that. The concept is smart, relatable and it has potential to work across all advertisement platforms. We’re thrilled to announce Nuri as the winner and are looking forward to working with him to roll out the industry’s first mainstream ad campaign.”

Nuri, who recently graduated from Istanbul Technical University with a degree in architecture and marine engineering, works as a copywriter for an advertising agency in Turkey. He has admitted that he doesn’t know how to explain his new job title to his parents.

“As soon as I saw the campaign, the ‘All You Need Is Hand’ idea came to my mind, and I took the hands photo and prepared my campaign plan,” said Gulver. “And I’m so glad I did because now I’m Pornhub’s Creative Director for the next 12 months. The gig suits me as I have a passion for creatively solving problems – in this case launching an advertising campaign for a taboo industry in the mainstream press. I used to think I was lucky, but now I think I am the luckiest person on earth.”

PornHub also selected two runners-up and one honorable mention from the fifteen finalists, which we’ve included after the jump. (more…)

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Durex Tells Footballers: ‘Don’t Fake It’

A new spot for Durex combines football/soccer and double entendre with a cheeky call for footballers to stop faking it–their ridiculous on-field “injuries”, that is.

The spot brings the overwrought drama with a little help from one Don Giovanni:

Coincidentally (or not), this campaign arrives at the same time as a super-serious survey sponsored by Durex which found that “I want to watch football” happens to be the number one excuse British men use to avoid having sex with their significant others. Numbers two and three: “I’ve got a bad back” and “I’m too tired.”

We wonder what sort of advice Durex might have for LeBron James…

Havas Worldwide is creative AOR for Durex, but we don’t have credits at the moment.

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Hello Flo Scores Viral Hit with ‘First Moon Party’

When a girl lies about getting her first period, her mother takes the ultimate revenge in a new spot for tampon subscription service (yes, that’s a thing) Hello Flo.

Company founder and CEO Naama Bloom once again teamed up with Jamie T. McCelland and Pete Marquis, the writers/directors of last year’s “Camp Gyno” spot for an even funnier follow-up.

Entitled “First Moon Party,” the 2:19 video begins with a girl who is frustrated to be the last of her friends to get her period. She decides to fake it in order to become a member of the “Cherry Slush Club.” When her mother questions her about a rubylicious nail polish-stained pad, she says “What do you think it is? I’m on my ladies days.” Angered by both the lie and her daughter’s tone, the mother decides to take the ultimate revenge, and goes way, way too far. Claiming that it’s “family tradition” she throws her daughter a “First Moon Party,” inviting friends, family, and co-workers to celebrate her menarche. With activities like “pin the pad on the period,” “bobbing for ovaries,” a uterus pinata, and a “vagician” the daughter is traumatized by the party. When the daughter inevitably reveals she was lying, the mother gives her a Hello Flo Period Starter kit, followed by a pretty hilarious punchline.

Like “Camp Gyno” the spot uses humor to frankly tackle a subject all too often treated as squeamish, while also perfectly tying it to their product/service. “First Moon Party” has already proven to be a huge success, racking up almost 1.5 million views since being posted two days ago. Given its humor and relatability, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Hello Flo team will have a hard time topping this one, but we look forward to seeing what they can come up with next. Stay tuned for credits and a “Camp Gyno” refresher after the jump. (more…)

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W+K Portland Takes Terry Crews, Old Spice to the Next Level of Craziness

W+K Portland and Terry Crews are back, dialing up the mishigas in a new spot for Old Spice entitled “Drill to Brazil.”

In what may be the craziest Old Spice spot yet, Crews attempts to drill to Brazil by spiraling himself into the ground, because Terry Crews is magic. After a few failed attempts see him end up in Egypt, an office, and a snowcone, Crews finally gets to Brazil, where he meets what appears to be Brazilian Crews. In Brazil, Crews shares (screams) the message, “Old Spice thinks you’re amazing and is now available in Brazil!” before heading off to an unexpected location. If you’ve seen any of the previous Crews spots you already know the drill, just expect even more random craziness than usual from this one.

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