adam&eveDDB Introduces a ‘Memorable Guest’ for Maille

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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Monday Staffing Roundup

-Director James Rouse (above) joined the ranks of production company The Corner Shop mere days after the Harvey Nichols ‘Sorry, I spent it on myself’ spot he directed won a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. Rouse-helmed campaigns for Marmite and VW also earned awards (a Gold Lion and Three Bronze Lions, respectively); his first feature film Downhill saw release in 2013.

-Los Angeles creative agency Mistress added two new partners to its roster: Boris de Malvinsky and Hartmut Heinrich will be co-MDs of the shop’s first European office in Hamburg and run “dedicated entity” Mistress.tech from Germany and LA. de Malvinsky worked at Germany’s largest agency Jung von Matt before joining kempertrautmann, and Heinrich was a partner at global strategy consultancy Vivaldi Partners Group.

Meredith Xcelerated Marketing hired Dawn Furey as SVP, Head of Social, effective immediately.

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Leo Burnett Satisfies Craving with ‘Hunter Gatherer’ for McDonald’s

Leo Burnett has unveiled the latest in their “Favorites” campaign for McDonald’s UK with a new spot entitled “Hunter Gatherer.”

“Hunter Gatherer” — which will appear in a 60-second version online (above) and a 40-second broadcast version — follows a man as he attempts to satisfy his pregnant partner’s food craving while their city is shutting down. He goes to several groceries and convenience stores, all of which are closed, just shutting down for the night, or don’t have what he’s looking for. Finally, the man spots a 24-hour McDonald’s. He returns, McDonald’s bag in hand, to his skeptical partner. When she opens the box, however, it’s filled with the pickles she’s craving. It’s a cute concept, and highlights McDonald’s’ “Hey, we never close” selling point in an imaginative way. (Although it does also raise the question: Can you really go to McDonald’s and order nothing but a box of pickles?) Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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AMV BBDO Tackles Sports, Relationships for Currys & PC World

AMV BBDO’s new campaign for Currys & PC World, entitled “Football? What Football?”  — their first work for the brand — manages to be World Cup-themed without ever mentioning the words “World Cup” (although at one point they come pretty close). The new broadcast spots for the UK’s largest specialist electrical retailing and services company each feature a hopelessly transparent man attempting to (not so) slyly suggest to his significant other that they should buy a new television, positing the purchase as selfless, and certainly having nothing to do with the impending 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The approach is clever, examining the types of subtle and not-so-subtle manipulations partners in relationships make surrounding expensive purchases. In my favorite of the spots, “Pride and Sensibility,” a man tells his wife, over dinner, that him and his friends watched that “Pride and Sensibility” program and it really looked great on his buddy’s widescreen TV. He’s not nearly so slick as he thinks he is, and his significant other’s incredulous facial expressions really bring the spot together as he almost mentions the World Cup and claims the new TV is for “that castle program” she likes so much.

The other spots follow a similar formula, finding humor in a man suggesting to his wife that her gardening programs would look great on a new television, and a father attempting to justify the purchase as a way to better enjoy upcoming penguin documentaries to his daughter while a disbelieving mother looks on. It’s the kind of approach that works because of its relatability, with humor that is at once universal and distinctly British coming from true to life scenarios. The broadcast campaign launched on the first, along with accompanying 30 second ads appearing on sports radio. Stick around for credits and the other two spots after the jump. continued…

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