Jun 04

J.B. Smoove Assumes ‘Legit’ Role for Rent.com’s Advertising Debut

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After playing foil to Larry David for several years on Curb Your Enthusiasm and hosting his own MSG show Four Courses, funnyman J.B. Smoove continues to pad his resume by taking on the role of “Legit-a-Master” for Rent.com.

This is the company’s first-ever ad campaign, created by MDC agency Doner. Doner emphasizes the word “legit” in its overall rebranding effort for Rent.com–a free national listings site targeted at both renters and property managers–which also includes a new logo and updated website.

In the debut spot above, we’re introduced to Smoove’s character and his mission: to ensure that every listing on Rent.com is legit and that every review is certified. While the actor/comedian doesn’t go full Smoove in the initial ad, his presence alone adds some levity to the campaign, which will soon find his character dealing with renters/dog owners and the always-contentious issue of picking up after your pets.

According to Doner co-CEO/CCO Rob Strasberg, the Rent.com ad debut is aimed at–you guessed it–younger millennials, hence its airing on cable networks such as Spike, Adult Swim, MTV and VH1 along with the usual broadcast channels.

Co-CEO, Chief Creative Officer: Rob Strasberg
EVP, Executive Creative Director: Brad Emmett
VP, Creative Director: Mark Cooke
VP, Creative Director: Bryan Hutson
Writer: Matt Livengood
Art Director: Dominique Wilson
Art Director: Bert Loera
EVP, Brand Leadership: Lisa Nardone
SVP, Brand Leader: Dennis Castillo
VP, Brand Leader: Stephanie Giorio
Brand Leader: Kari Weaver
Account Executive: Brad Sanders
VP, Strategic Planning: Alima Trapp
SVP, Director of Business Affairs: Sherryll Kollin
VP, Executive Producer: Paul Renusch
VP, Business Management Supervisor: Katherine Simmonds
SVP, Media Strategy and Activation: Bruce Haynes
VP, Associate Media Director: Alicia Lingenfelter

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Apr 30

J.B. Smoove ‘Goes Deep’ with The Economist

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Instead of skimming social media posts and hashtags for news updates, The Economist wants you to go deeper. Putting aside the sexual innuendo for a minute, “Dare 2 Go Deep,” created by Atmosphere Proximity, confronts an important topic in our short-attention-span world that continues to value speed more than depth. Investigating into the news instead of repeating tweets is one way to do this, according to the campaign. The attached video features the inspirational verve of comedian/actor J.B. Smoove, who must’ve taken some time off from his video game endorsement duties to help us all go deeper.

While the campaign was probably built with good intentions, it’s hard to ignore the blatant innuendo, which comes across as a dad trying to be funny in front of his kid’s friends with some stiff entendres. The Economist, after all, boasts a large chunk of readers who earn six-figures–maybe going deep is an awkward way to reach out to younger demographics? Smoove thrusting on a Segway and yelling, “I go deep,” as the spittle from the corners of his mouth land on students in the eighth row is a great stroke, but maybe not for current and future readers of the magazine. J.B. Smoove is still awesome enough to make the video enjoyable, just want to reiterate that point.

 

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