Hasta La Creative!

Dark chocolate? Yuck.

That’s the verdict of the kids who try the confection for the first time in this exceptionally cute, straightforward, and effective Israeli spot for Strauss Group’s Splendid brand.

The youngsters’ reactions are priceless. Heck, the moppet’s eye-roll at the 20-second mark almost made my head explode.

BBR Saatchi & Saatchi created the ad. “Most Israeli moms actually keep a full drawer stocked with goodies, which by the end of the week is bound to need serous refurbishing,” says agency rep Eva Hasson.  “But curiously, often enough, the only pack left half eaten in the drawer is the dark chocolate. This got us thinking, and we realized Splendid chocolate—being as dark and bitter a chocolate as you can get—probably lacked the sweetness kids were after.”

While the grown-up treat may offend immature palates, we’re assured at the spot’s conclusion that the candy will sweeten adult dispositions. (The effect on adult waistlines, however, may not be to everyone’s taste.)

“We filmed quite a few kids,” Hasson says, “but, to be honest, none of the kids really liked it. Most of them begged us to stop and one even cried.”

The results may not be scientific—on repeat viewing, the reactions could easily look put-on. Nonetheless, BBR has excelled at whipping up spots that depend on facial responses as key components. Its work for Super-Pharm’s Wet Brush, with school-age girls guessing if mom or dad is brushing their hair, exudes pouty cuteness. And a poignant film for that client’s razor blades—gauging the reactions of family and friends to a 44-year-old man who shaves off his thick beard after 14 years—makes a bald-faced emotional appeal.

Of course, another office in the Saatchi network is well known for delivering its own prize-winning display of artistic expression—right into a pair of Pampers.

“Maybe it’s a new chapter in my life.”

That’s how Amit (aka, “Mook”), a 44-year-old dude who’s had a thick beard for 14 years, describes the experience of shaving it off in “My New Face,” a remarkbaly three-minute online film by Israeli agency BBR Saatchi & Saatchi for Super-Pharm’s private label line of Life M6 razorblades.

Since the M6 competes with better-funded brands such as Gillette, “traditional messaging promoting efficiency due to number of blades” would likely have proven “majorly ineffective,” says BBR’s Eva Hasson. “That’s why we decided to follow a different approach.”

The idea for the film originated with an agency staffer who recalled that as a child, he did not immediately recognize his father after he shaved off his trademark beard. Much to the agency’s surprise, the client proved eager to give the offbeat idea a try.

“We were offering to shoot a documentary, which is not your regular advertising format where things are scripted,” Hasson says. “This format is a lot riskier, and we warned our client that we may ultimately go through all the motions and end up with nothing. Truth be told, we actually shot three documentaries—only one worked out. This was a gutsy decision by the client, who rolled with us, and so far, the movie has garnered over 430,000 views in under a week.”

Agency creatives were also surprised to learn “the volume and sheer power of the emotional attachment men have developed toward their beards,” says Hasson. “Some of the topics uncovered were the fact people like to hide behind their beard. It gives them a sense of security. It is an exteriorization of their virility. They believe it is a source of authority.”

Indeed, in the video, Amit admits that he “can’t remember being so nervous,” and frets about “loss of virility, loss of intimidation power.” Once the six-bladed cartridge has done its work, Amit looks at least 10 years younger and—in my estimation, at any rate—more friendly and approachable than he had before.

The reactions of his family are priceless. And in the end, the special people in Amit’s life heartily approve of the change, and our hero embraces his “new self,” reveling in the nearly forgotten tactile sensations he can once again enjoy. It’s almost as if he’s cut through a barrier he didn’t know existed. “It’s amazing,” he says.

“It’s about the simple pleasures that come from being clean shaven,” says Hasson. “Little things like the ability to feel a gentle breeze and the sunshine on your face, to kiss without tickling, to look younger.”

Few consumers will undergo such an intense sensation of renewal by using M6 blades. Still, the film does a fine job of boosting the brand by transforming a basic consumer good into an almost mystical agent of change.

CREDITS
Client: Super-Pharm
Brand: Life Private Label Brand
Product: M6 Razorblades
Agency: BBR Saatchi & Saatchi Tel Aviv
CEO: Yossi Lubaton
Executive Creative Director: Nadav Pressman
Creative Director: Idan Levy
Art Director: Michal Gonen
Copywriter: Yair Zisser
Digital Creative Director: Maayan Dar
VP Production: Dorit Gvili
Producer: Odelia Nachmias Freifeld
VP Client Services: Shani Vengosh Shaul
Supervisor: Noa Sharf
Account Executive: Stav Hershkovitz
VP Strategic Planning: Shai Nissenboim
Strategic Planner: Roni Arisson
Planning Information Specialist: Eva Hasson
Traffic: Ronit Doanis, Yael Kaufman
Production Company: T GO Tom Sofer
Director: Oded Binun
Postproduction: Broadcast

You thought Coca-Cola was getting personal when it rolled out 250 bottle labels featuring people’s first names. Well, Diet Coke just went and individualized 2 million bottle designs.

Coca-Coca Israel created the campaign, with help from Gefen Team, Q Digital and HP Indigo. (In fact, it was Indigo, which was founded in Israel, that helped Coke solve the enormous production challenges around the “Shake a Coke” campaign when it first rolled out in Australia in 2011.) For the Diet Coke project, a special algorithm led to a unique design technique that allowed millions of designs to be completely auto-generated.

The resulting product conveys to “to Diet Coke lovers that they are extraordinary by creating unique one-of-a-kind extraordinary bottles,” said Alon Zamir, vp of marketing for Coca-Cola Israel. (Dr Pepper, whose whole campaign is built around being one of a kind, is going to be pissed about this.)

The concept nicely extended to the ad campaign, which featured hundreds of uniquely designed billboards, as well as point-of-sale stunts that sold T-shirts and other merchandise featuring your specific bottle design.

The genius of “Share a Coke,” of course, was how personalized it felt, rather than how personalized it actually was. (Your first name isn’t exactly unique, after all—and if it is, it wasn’t on a Coke bottle.) Still, the Diet Coke idea is a conceptual and executional triumph—the designs look fantastic, on top of it all—and a brilliant stunt, even if it won’t generate the same level of buzz.

Check out more images below, along with a case study video showing the process.

Via PSFK.