Hasta La Creative!

With the holidays around the corner, it is the season of awkward conversations with relatives and family friends you’d rather forget. Picking up on this, adam&eveDDB explores a conversation a young man has with one particularly tactless guest, who makes a lasting impression for all the wrong reasons.

The woman tells the young man of the holiday she took with her husband in Greece. He initially appears bored, but soon the conversation veers from the mundane to the uncomfortable as the woman talks about the “very secluded balconies” in the hotel room and the opportunities they afforded. We’ll avoid giving away too much as the cringe comedy involved is fairly dependent on some level of shock value, but let’s just say things degenerate from there. It’s easily one of the funniest holiday ads we’ve seen. The comedy it manages to pull off is no easy feet either, as this kind of thing easily derails from awkward funny to just awkward. But the perfectly paced writing and stellar performances from the actors hold everything together with just the right amount of cringe. At the end of the spot, the camera cuts to a jar of Maille mustard, with the tagline “Be a memorable guest for the right reason” explaining the scene preceding it. The spot itself is more than memorable, and should get its fair share of attention leading up to those awkward holiday parties. (more…)

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TD Bank gave 24 of its customers $30,000 to contribute to a community cause of their choosing, with just one stipulation: they had to complete the project in 24 hours.

Created in collaboration with Leo Burnett and Diamond Integrated Marketing, the campaign is captured in the above four-minute video (which fell through the cracks here last week). The video release was perfectly timed for Thanksgiving and easily went viral, having past the 3.5 million views mark on YouTube in under a week. “#MakeTodayMatter” shows surprised TD Bank customers learning they’ve been awarded the money for a cause of their choosing and then getting to work on making a difference in just one day.

The majority of those nominated for the campaign were chosen by TD employees, TD Chief Marketing Officer Dominic Mercuri told Adweek, with a few “chosen based on random live interviews in branches and stores with random customers.” Mercurri added, “We didn’t know if this idea would work. Would people drop everything to bring to life their idea? Turns out—yes, they would.”

Those ideas are on full display in the “#MakeTodayMatter” video, from buying all-new gear for a local youth football team, to making a woman’s home wheelchair accessible (allowing her to leave for the first time in years), to a gala event to boost the self-esteem of foster children. It’s hard to not be at least a little touched with people making their charitable ideas a reality. There are also separate videos for each project, hosted on a campaign website, as well as a social component. As you may remember, Leo Burnett and TD Bank went viral with the similarly charitable, “Automated Thanking Machines” this summer, and TD also collaborated with Philadelphia-based Tierney to commission “Art For Trees,” promoting eco-initiative MillionTreesNYC back in October.

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john st. has a new holiday campaign for Future Shop that appeals to the selfish side in all of us by reminding viewers that tech gifts are “Gifts You’ll Want Too.”

The spot follows around a man as he gleefully tries out a variety of devices around Future Shop. “I thought he was shopping for your mom” says a confused retail worker, to which his embarrassed daughter replies, “He is.”

The obvious message of the spot is, while you could get your significant other some kind of clothing/jewelry/etc. that they, and only they, will enjoy, if you shop at Future Shop you can give them something that you’ll enjoy just as much. It may be kind of a selfish viewpoint, but its one john st. hopes wins viewers over with honesty.

“We’re all guilty of doing a little ‘me-shopping’ when doing our holiday shopping for our friends and family. ‘Gifts you’ll want too’ is a cheeky way of showing how you can make them and yourself happy
with the same gift.” said Angus Tucker, executive creative director at john st., in a press release

“What differentiates Future Shop from other gift-giving destinations is that when you give the gift of tech, other people get to enjoy it as well,” added James Pelletier, director of brand marketing, Future Shop…”It’s a win-win – for the gifter and the getter.” (more…)

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Martin Williams has unveiled its holiday campaign for Mall of America, focused around a 30-second broadcast spot entitled “Sparkle.”

The spot highlights all the different finds visitors can pick up at Mall of America, with an emphasis on women’s clothing and jewelry. Set to a “modernized” version of “Carol of the Bells,” the spot intersperses shots of models showing off different clothing, jewlery, makeup, etc. with messages like “Always elegant,” “Always stunning,” and “Always festive,” ending with the tagline, “Redefine your holiday.”

A print campaign running in newspapers regionally and nationally in magazines focuses on the message that Mall of America offers “More choices than anywhere else in the nation, all under one roof,” while additional support is provided by six different OOH executions. Additionally, Martin Williams created a Digital Buyers Guide for Mall of America, which will be released on a microsite on Black Friday. The campaign follows a rebranding effort from the agency for the Bloomington, Minnesota retail complex in April.

“The Mall of America has so many options to fit anyone’s need or mood,” said Laura Terry, SVP and chief marketing officer of Martin Williams, in a press release. “No matter what people are looking for, the new holiday television spot reminds them that there is always something new and fun at the mall.”

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Ogilvy & Mather worked with singer Kevin Ross on a holiday spot for Glade entitled “Feel Anticipation.”

For the spot, Ross wrote a song supposedly expressing how holiday scent Sparkling Spruce made him feel. Ross can be seen performing the song in an outdoor stage, surrounded by plenty of Glade candles ending with the “#FeelGlade” hashtag. While the “song inspired by a fragrance” premise can be a bit hard to swallow, it should appeal to fans of the emerging Motown singer, and maybe even net him — and the brand — a few new fans along the way. In addition to the 30-second broadcast spot, Glade also released a full-length music video for the song (featured after the jump), which is also available to download on iTunes.

It’s part of a larger rebranding campaign from Ogilvy for the brand, which is seeking to reposition itself as not just selling scents but the feelings they evoke. In another recent effort, Glade set up a pop-up shop, which they called the Glade Boutique, in New York’s meatpacking district. According to Adweek, the Glade Boutique saw “concierge” guide visitors through a “scent and emotion journey” in the Feelings Lounge, with scents such as Blooming Peony and Red Honeysuckle Nectar. The brand also teamed up with Cirque de Soleil for an October event in Madison Square Park. (more…)

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Team One has launched the annual “December to Remember” holiday sales event for Lexus with a new integrated campaign built around three broadcast spots.

In each of the 30-second spots parents present a different explanation for how exactly Santa manages to deliver a luxury sedan. The parents in “Christmas Train” explain how an iconic holiday train made its way to their driveway, where elves helped unload it right to the driveway — complete with Lexus’ signature red bow. In “Magic Box,” the car magically self-assembles from a small box Santa places in the driveway, while in “Teleporter” it is beamed in directly from the North Pole.

The broadcast spots begin airing today on network and cable television, with “Christmas Train” also being translated for Hispanic and Asian-American markets. Additionally, the campaign is supported by print and OOH executions, as well as a digital partnership with The Weather Channel which will “provide targeted December Sales Event ads in real time based on local weather conditions.”

“The holidays are a time of year when people indulge their imaginations and share stories filled with magic and wonder,” said Brian Smith, Lexus vice president of marketing. “This year’s holiday campaign celebrates the tradition of storytelling and reminds us that children aren’t the only ones who get to have fun this time of year.” (more…)

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MMB teamed up with production company Aggressive for a new holiday campaign for Subway employing a mix of methods in three different spots.

The animated 30-second “Winter Wonderland,” introduces Subway’s holiday “Customer Appreciation” event, which sees the fast food sandwich chain offering two of its most longstanding offerings — the meatball marinara and coldcut combo — for a reduced price. “Winter Wonderland” keeps the holiday vibe low-key, with the music and background animation celebrating the season in general rather than a specific winter holiday in particular. Two 15-second spots take a similarly laid-back approach, but swap out the animation for live action spots with appearances by NFL stars Justin Tuck and Robert Griffin III in “Famous Fans” and the brand’s longtime spokesman in “Jared.” There’s nothing particularly memorable here, as MMB and Aggressive seem to rely on the deal speaking to fans of the brand without any unnecessary bells and whistles. (more…)

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Anna Kendrick returns to the advertising world following her role in Newcastle’s “(Non-) Super Bowl Commercial” at the beginning of the year.

This time, Kendrick appears in an online ad for Kate Spade in which she has locked herself out of her apartment. Stranded on her stoop, Kendrick drinks champagne, chats on her cell phone, models her Kate Spade finds for her dog and loudly sings the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” while waiting for the locksmith to show up. Finally. she hatches a plan to reach her fire escape and get into the apartment, then opening the door to let her dog in. Kendrick brings her usual charm to the ad, directed by Michael Mohan, and keeps things amusing enough, even if it’s more cute than funny.

The video is also available in an interactive format, allowing viewers to “click on the items throughout to view behind the scenes footage and shop all of the Kate Spade looks featured.” Stick around for the interactive version, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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AMV BBDO created a holiday ad for U.K. supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, telling the story of the historic 1914 Christmas Truce between Britain and Germany during World War I.

To make sure the details were correct for the 3:20 ad, entitled “Christmas is for Sharing,” AMV BBDO and Royal British Legion worked closely with historians, basing the ad on original reports and letters describing the event. The ad opens on Christmas Eve 1914, with both sides hunkered down in their bunkers. Soon, both the Germans and British are singing “Silent Night” and one brave soldier emerges, arms waving in peace, and walks towards the war zone. Both sides meet halfway between their bunkers, engaging in friendly conversation and even a game of footie. The spot is elaborately produced and well-shot, directed by Ringan Ledwidge, looking more like a Hollywood war film than an advertisement. Its long running time is no mere gimmick either, as the spot utilizes the time to build emotion and prepare the viewer for the ultimate payoff.

Sainsbury’s unveiled the ad during Tuesday night’s airing of Coronation Street, and a chocolate bar that features heavily into the story is available for sale in their stores, with proceed going to the Royal British Legion.

“Christmas is a special time of year when people come together to share simple moments and kindnesses,” Mark Given, head of brand communications at Sainsbury’s, told Adweek. “This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history, when on Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers laid down their arms, and came together on neutral territory to share stories, mementos and even a game of football.”

Stick around after the jump for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the ad and a look at the historical events that inspired it. (more…)

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RPA looks to the gifts that you loved receiving as a kid in its “Happy Honda Days” campaign, celebrating such cultural touchstone of yesteryear as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Stretch Armstrong, Strawberry Shortcake and Gumby.

The ads all follow in a similar formula, with each character asking viewers if they remember how excited they were to receive them as a gift, before saying that they can get that same feeling by purchasing a Honda CRV, Civic or Accord. In the 30-second “Skeletor” spot above, for example, the He-Man villain reminds viewers of the exultation they felt when they got him as a holiday gift, before touting the CRV’s rear-view mirror, used to detect danger (in this case, He-Man). Children of the eighties and/or fans of these characters should appreciate the dose of nostalgia present in these ads as they tout the vehicles’ features, and RPA went ahead and applied the formula to half a dozen different characters so viewers don’t grow tired of the same ad.

“Every season consumers are inundated with holiday ads. Our goal is to break through the clutter by tapping into people’s memories of their favorite childhood toys and helping them relive that feeling of getting something they loved for the holidays by getting a great deal on a new Honda at the Happy Honda Days Sales Event,” explained Susie Rossick, senior manager at American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The broadcast spot will be supported by print ads in People, Sports Illustrated, and local newspapers in top markets, as well ad network radio ads.

(more…)

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