Hasta La Creative! Komal Bedi Sohal Copywriters Archives

Jul 16

McDonald's the Musical Is Finally Here, and Leslie Grace Is Lovin' It

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If you ever wanted to see a musical set in a McDonald’s, your ship has come in.

McDonald’s lead Hispanic agency, Alma in Miami, on Friday will roll out “A Little Lovin’,” a three-minute bachata musical starring the 20-year-old Dominican American singer Leslie Grace. At the beginning, she is seen sitting in McDonald’s with a case of writer’s block, but a McDonald’s employee (played by Daniel “Cloud” Campos, who also was the director and choreographer) soon inspires her to find “A Little Lovin’ ” all around.

As musicals do, it gets wildly and ridiculously energetic from there.

Alma repurposed Grace’s “Solita Me Voy” song for the spot. “About a year ago, Leslie was warming up for an interview and reminiscing about her happy childhood and going to McDonald’s with her dad, which was down the street from her mom’s salon,” said Luis Miguel Messianu, president and chief creative officer at Alma DDB. “She didn’t know she was being recorded, but my friend from Sony shared the sound byte with me and we’ve been working on an idea for her to partner with McDonald’s ever since.”

CREDITS
Talent
Leslie Grace: As Herself
Danny: Daniel Cloud
Dad: Cris Judd
Daughter: Tatiana McQuay

Film Crew
Director: Daniel Cloud
Executive Producer: Danielle Hinde
Producer: Courtney Davies
Production Supervisor: Rose Krane
Assistant Production Supervisor: Josh Reed

McDonald’s Marketing Team
VP Brand & Marketing Content: Joel Yashinksy
Director of Hispanic Consumer Marketing: Patricia Diaz
Manager of Social Engagement- US: Jenina Nunez

Alma Agency
President/Chief Creative Officer: Luis Miguel Messianu
VP Executive Creative Director: Alvar Sunol
Creative Director: Iu La Lueta
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Beatriz Torres-Marin
Senior Art Director: Luis Aguilera
Art Director: Andres Schiling
Director of Production: Adrian Castagna
Producer: Diana De La Parra
Account Director: Karen Udler
Account Supervisor: Cristina Lage
Senior Strategic Planner: Tamara Sotelo

Sony Music Entertainment US Latin
Senior Director of Business Development: Melissa Exposito
Business Development Analyst: Isabelle Duran
Manager: Jose Behar
Management: Lorena Fusilier
Management: Larissa Leal
Road Manager: Francisco Martinez

Jun 01

Ogilvy Gets Potholes to Tweet, Asking to Be Fixed, Every Time They're Run Over

Posted in: Uncategorized

People aren’t the only ones complaining about potholes in Panama City. The potholes are complaining!

With so many streets in Panama City damaged, local agency P4 Ogilvy & Mather placed special devices in potholes that automatically tweet nasty messages at the Twitter account of the Department of Public Works whenever cars drive over them.

A quick glance at the @Elhuecotwitero Twitter page shows the campaign in action—scores of tweets per day asking @MOPdePanama for answers.

The campaign was done on behalf of a Panama TV station, which said potholes are a major concern of its viewers. And it seems to be working—at least, it got the attention of the minister of public works, who appeared on the TV station Monday to address the issue, which he blamed on a mix of poor construction and the failure of talks at approve money to fix the roads.

See public works minister Ramón Arosemena address the issue here:

CREDITS
Client: MEDCOM
Agency: P4 Ogilvy & Mather, Panama City, Panama
Chief Creative Officer: Edwin Mon
Associate Creative Director: Alejandro Blanc
Creative Director: Osvaldo Restrepo
Digital Creative Director: Alberto Lam
Copywriter: Edmar Quiros
Head of Art: Roberto Perez
Art Director: Edmar Quiros
Designer: Franklin Lu
General Account Executive: Monica Urrutia
Digital Account Manager: Luis Gonzales
Executive Producer: Benjamin Liao, Belisario Alvarez, Monica Crespo
Production Company: VFX Panama, SAKE Argentina
Music: Salmon Osado
Sound editing: Manuel Trejos
Post Production: Marcos Ruiz

Oct 22

Snickers Gives You an Early Halloween Treat With This Truly Twisted Ad

Posted in: Uncategorized

Halloween is like Christmas for candy brands, and Snickers usually swoops in, batlike, with some fun and spooky advertising (most notably, perhaps, BBDO’s truly odd “Grocery Store Lady” spot from 2010).

And this year, it’s Spanish-language Snickers spot that’s giving people chills.

Everything about the ad is great—the premise, the visual effects, the guy at the end bellowing about his TV show. A real treat from LatinWorks.

Jul 18

Honda Targets Hispanic Millennials by Mocking the Way Brands Target Hispanic Millennials

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Young Latino consumers: They’re hip! They’re mobile! They lead active, on-the-go lifestyles!

They’re also, you know, pretty much like anybody else—though that’s something marketers rarely want to hear when they’re paying small fortunes for demographic “experts” to demystify the millennials who live at an every-growing cultural crossroads in America.

Honda pokes some fun at the marketing world’s Hispanic fixation in its newest ads from the Santa Monica-based Orci agency for the Fit. Wild-haired comedian Felipe Esparza serves as a tour guide of sorts into the world of young Latinos, only to find that they’re mostly just focused on running errands and getting to work.

“Are we going to a party?” he asks a couple from the back seat.

“We’re…just going to the movies,” the young woman replies.

He’s also shocked to learn that instead of packing their trunk with trendy fixies, they’re just grabbing groceries. “Groceries? Rebels!”

Agency president Andrew Orcí says the spots, shot in Spanish and English, began with the idea that brands often try to fit Hispanic consumers into specific patterns and niches, when in fact it’s a group that’s pretty much impossible to lump into a few convenient categories.

“Latino millennials are much more than what we make of them. They are a versatile bunch. They ping-pong between cultures, languages, interests and behaviors. That’s why it’s funny when you hear others trying to fit them into their box of clichés,” Orcí says.

“Felipe Esparza, as our ‘Latino expert,’ is the perfect voice to make fun of this situation. Why? Because not even a Latino can define a Latino. They simply defy all expectations.”

Jul 11

Allstate Has a Black Cat Who Will Predict the Loser of the World Cup Final

Posted in: Uncategorized

Sure, we could listen to pundits or statisticians to try to predict the outcome of the World Cup final on Sunday. They’ve got suits and numbers. But what they don’t have is a black cat.

Why listen to logic when there’s a feline (named Lucky, natch) who can—and will—tell you who will lose the World Cup. At least, that’s what Leo Burnett and Lapiz have cooked up for Allstate’s interactive World Cup campaign. Let’s not forget that Allstate is a fan of mayhem, and black cats, of course, are well-known harbingers of bad luck.

If you tweet the hashtag #EnviaMalaSuerte (translation: “Send bad luck”) with the name of the team you’d prefer to lose, some cat food will drop into that team’s bowl. On Sunday, before the game, during a live YouTube broadcast, Lucky will get to choose between the Argentina and Germany bowls. Whichever bowl Lucky chooses to nosh at—well, that team will not win the World Cup. Allegedly.

It’s a silly (and cute) campaign. Rooting for sports teams can bring out some odd behavior, so why not play with people’s fan rituals?

Jun 11

McDonald's World Cup Ad Puts a Fun Family Spin on the U.S.-Mexico Rivalry

Posted in: Uncategorized

You can always count on McDonald’s for more modest World Cup advertising—simple stories about family and friends, not flashy spots with overpaid stars. Some of it can be hokey, though sometimes it captures little truths that are quietly sweet and evocative.

This spot from multicultural agency Alma zeroes in on a great cultural insight in the Mexican American community: what happens when a father and his friends still unequivocally support Mexico, while the son, as secretly as he can, roots for the U.S.

The ad was directed by Diego Luna, still perhaps best known as Gael García Bernal’s costar in 2001’s Y Tu Mamá También. The humor is broad, and the acting isn’t subtle, yet it’s one of those ads you can’t help but like. Shot in both English and Spanish, it breaks Thursday and will air in general market and Hispanic media throughout the World Cup.

Credits below.

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CREDITS
McDonald’s: Client
Alma: Creative Agency
Luis Miguel Messianu: Chief Creative Officer
Alvar Suñol: SVP Executive Creative Director
Jorge Murillo: Creative Director/Copywriter
Serge Castagna: Associate Creative Director/Art Director
Rodrigo Vargas: Executive Producer
Marta De Aguiar: Account Director
Ana Silva: Account Supervisor
Diego Luna: Director
Canana Films: Production House
2105 Editorial: Post Production House
Alejandro Santangelo: Editor
Personal Music: Music House
Co. 3: Color Correction

Oct 22

Don’t Mess With Danny Trejo, and Don’t Mess With Miller Time

Posted in: Uncategorized

I was enjoying Telemundo the other day when Danny Trejo interrupted a trio of cellphone-using friends to save Miller Time.

I don't speak Spanish, but you don't need to in order to appreciate the presence of Trejo. Casanova Pendrill made an excellent choice by casting the toughest of toughs. Without nothing more than a stone cold stare, he castigates the inconsiderate friends who are paying more attention to their technology than to sacred beer time. He inclines his head slightly, his heavy-lidded eyes drifting downward in an unspoken threat. Drop the phones, his face says, before you disappoint me. All three quickly dunk their phones in the Miller Lite ice bucket. Trejo lets a smile flit across his face before turning, his hair whipping back in an unseen wind, presumably running off to protect Miller Time elsewhere.

From New Belgium's app that shuts down your phone when you're drinking to the Offline Glass, which stands up straight only if it's resting on your cellphone, bars and beer companies are taking a stand against social media's social-killing effect. Of course, none of them stand quite as tall as Trejo.