Hasta La Creative!

W+K has a new spot for Old Spice’s “#SmellcometoManhood” campaign entitled “Dadsong,” a follow-up to to the goofy musical “Momsong,” in which mothers lament Old Spice turning their sons into men while engaging in some pretty creepy behavior.

The follow-up, with music and lyrics written by Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords, The Muppets), reprises the sad moms of that spot, but with an answer from the dads. It opens on one of the moms from “Momsong” singing, “Where’s my little boy, I miss him so? Who’s this man living in our home?” while clutching her sons teddy bear as he slow dances with a girl. Soon a chorus of fathers replies that they’re “overjoyed” that they’ll be using their son’s room “for storage pretty soon.” The song is a step up from its predecessor — not a surprise given McKenzie’s involvement — and strikes more of a balance between goofiness and creepiness (which mostly comes across through visual gags). And while it deals in over-the-top portrayals of stereotypical motherly clinginess and fatherly aloofness, it’s also pretty clear that it isn’t dealing in anything resembling reality. Fans of McKenzie’s distinct style of musical comedy, and anyone who enjoyed the original “#SmellcometoManhood” installment, should get a kick out of “Dadsong.” (more…)

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Wieden+Kennedy’s latest spot for Sony, titled “Script to Screen,” has already earned more than a million YouTube views since its debut this weekend. But it’s new to us, and it’s the opening of the Fall edition of the brand’s ongoing “Be Moved” campaign, which started during the Golden Globes in January and continued in February with a profile of the New Jersey man behind “the world’s largest model railroad.”

“Script to Screen” is a bit less…quirky than that offering:

In case you missed it, the point is that Sony doesn’t just make movies, music and games — they also make the tools.

Since this work is all about the products, we have two product-specific spots after the jump.

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W+K Portland got Richard Sherman to star in its new spot “Never Finished” for Nike, following on the heels of Sherman’s recent appearances for Neff earlier this month and Campbell’s in August.

The new spot deals with the hype train surrounding Sherman, as he is constantly bombarded with media discussions of whether or not he is “the best.” “Never Finished” does a good job at finding humor in the situation, aided by a believably exasperated Sherman. The highlight is probably the made for TV biopic, starring Damon Wayans Jr.

Sherman’s roles in ads so far have mostly seen the Seahawks star not taking himself seriously and playing with his public persona. That definitely continues with “Never Finished,” but the schtick is much less over the top than some of his past roles, and the more nuanced characterization fits Sherman well as the spot, more than anything, mocks the media hype that surrounds star players. It makes for an entertaining ad, and Sherman’s most enjoyable performance by far.

The campaign, which runs until October 9th, also includes five additional videos, with special cameos from Johnny Manziel, Victor Cruz, Ndamukong Suh and Ken Griffey Jr.
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Back in April, we covered “Winner Stays,” part of W+K’s “Risk Everything” campaign for Nike, which feature some of the world’s best soccer talent and clocked in at over four minutes long. Now, with only three days to go until the 2014 World Cup kicks off, W+K is back with an even lengthier effort for Nike.

Like “Winner Stays,” the new spot, entitled “The Last Game,” features some of the best players in the world — only this time they’re animated and voiced by voice actors. The over five-minute long “short film” tells the story of a scientist who creates clones of the great players which remove risk-taking in favor of efficiency and decision-making abilities. The results on the game are disastrous, turning it into a complete bore. Brazilian legend Ronaldo decides to do something about it, and gets together a team of superstars, all now leading “normal” lives, to take on the clones in a sudden death match.

Somehow the lengthy “The Last Game” doesn’t feel as long as its predecessor. While the trend of calling long ads “short films” is a touch ridiculous, W+K comes closer to earning that title than most do with “The Last Game,” which, in addition to some fine animation, has a plot that convincingly tells a story that viewers (especially children) may actually feel compelled to follow to its conclusion. While “Winner Stays” felt like an idea drawn out past the point of effectiveness, “The Last Game” actually uses all of its extended run time in service of a story. Whether or not it’s the most effective way to market Nike, the results are certainly entertaining. In addition to the full-length online spot, the campaign also includes 30-second trailers and athlete-specific teasers, and will run for six weeks. We’ve got a full list of credits after the jump. continued…

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In a world with Starbucks at every corner and small, fancy artisinal coffee shops sprouting up everywhere, it would be counterproductive for an instant coffee brand to try to compete. So W+K starts a different conversation for Maxwell House, asking, “Whatever happened to good?”

The new “Say Good Morning to a Good Day” campaign features a series of broadcast and web spots centering around an affable, middle-aged everyman (everydad?) who laments that with all the attention on phrases like “Awesome,” “Amazing,” and “That’s epic, bro!” people have forgotten about “good.” In the 30-second spot, he goes on to explain that good is “Swinging to get on base” or “choosing not to overshoot the moon, but instead to land right on it.” This all makes “good” seem pretty appealing, with the spot ending with the resurrected “Good to the Last Drop” tagline.

While some may question the choice of admitting your product isn’t “amazing,” the strategy makes sense for Maxwell House, whose coffee is, at best, “good enough,” and whose best bet is to convince the older generation that all the fuss over fancy coffee just isn’t worth it. W+K pull off the execution really well, making the “good” approach about as persuasive as it can be. Credits after the jump. continued…

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W+K’s trademark nonsensical humor is on full display in their latest, the new spot “Made by Kobe” promoting Kobe Bryant‘s Kobe 9 Collection for Nike, which launched on March 6th.

The spot imagines what it would be like if Kobe Bryant designed a piano: “It will turn piano boys into piano men. It will make Lionel Richie‘s tears cry tears.” Lionel Richie actually appears in the spot, tear slowly rolling down his cheek while he plays the piano, adding to the humorous tone. After talking up the hypothetical Kobe Piano, which looks pretty badass, the narrator introduces the “Made by Kobe*” Kobe 9 Collection. Although the product reveal comes 50 seconds into the 75 second spot, the sidelined Lakers star can be seen wearing his new line throughout the commercial.

The spot is exactly what we’ve come to expect from W+K, calling to mind some of their well-known past hits, like their famous work for Old Spice. The formula may be starting to show signs of age, but W+K still has a big leg up on the countless competitors attempting to imitate this kind of work. “Made by Kobe” will run until March 27th. Now if they’d only release that piano for real. Stick around for credits after the jump.

*Kobe is the name of a 12-year-old Chinese boy who works around the clock to handcraft the Kobe 9 Collection for 2 cents an hour. continued…

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W+K Portland has unveiled “The Power of Hair” for Old Spice, the “newest, never-been-done-before interactive digital experience.”

The new site is an extension of W+K’s “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign promoting Old Spice’s new haircare and styling products, featuring the same anthropomorphic hair, and comes on the heels of the “Boardwalk” and “Meeting” spots Old Spice debuted late last month. Visitors to “The Power of Hair are greeted by a testimonial video with a young man extolling the virtues of Old Spice’s hair products. Predictably, this includes attention from the ladies and respect around the office. Less predictably, this includes Huey Lewis songs. “When you’ve got great hair like this, you’d be surprised by how many Huey Lewis songs it can play on the piano,” the now bald man says.

Visitors to the site are then asked to pick a Huey Lewis song, and the hair (which by now has slithered off of the guy’s head) will play them on piano, occasionally adding in some percussion. You can pick from among 29 of Lewis’ greatest hits, including “The Power of Love,” “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock n’ Roll,” “Bad is Bad” and “Doing It All for My Baby.” It’s a pretty absurd idea (and yeah, we’re pretty sure no one has done this before), but then this is the kind of silliness we’ve come to expect from W+K’s work for Old Spice and a fitting extension of the “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign, complete with a perfect title. Give “The Power of Hair” a try above or at the site, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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W+K Portland has been very, very busy for Old Spice. First it was body spray with the “Smellcome to Manhood” campaign aka “Mom Song.” Then last week it was the triumphant return of Isaiah Mustafa and the “Interneterventions” surprise online campaign. Now, breaking the consistency of strange portmanteau puns is “For Hair That Gets Results,” marketing Old Spice’s line of hair care and styling products.

The first 30-second spot, “Meeting,” finds a studly studs mop of hair jump off his head and get a girl’s number. The lesson? If, young man, you pull this move, you’ll get a phone number that connects to a voicemail message that says, “Hey, I can’t come to the phone right now. I’m either studying for my master’s degree or having a tickle fight with my friend, Consuela. (Giggles.) Stop it, Consuela, I’m going to get you!” Yep, pretty cool.

The second, “Boardwalk,” teaches young men another valuable lesson. You see, a lady wants your hair to tell her if you can put in baby in her. You know, through the means of sexual intercourse or via a mechanical claw. Credits after the jump.

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If you were watching the Golden Globes last night, you may have caught the debut of W+K Portland’s “Join Together” spot for Sony, which will run for the next six weeks.

The new work (perfectly set to The Who’s “Join Together”) celebrates Sony’s longtime practice of joining a “steadfast passion for artistry and commitment to engineering” in a matter of 90 seconds. Directed by Imperial Woodpecker Stacy Wall , the spot also comes equipped with its fair share of star power, whether it be director/Knicks mascot Spike Lee (filming with Sony’s 4K CineAlta camera), Academy Award-nominated actress Quvenzhane Wallis (now starring in Sony Pictures flick, Annie), actor Grizz Chapman of 30 Rock and Columbia Music artist, DJ Cassidy. In the process, the spot highlights a wide range of Sony’s most iconic products and innovations.

The broadcast effort is supported by the “Be Moved” brand experience site, and four product-focused online videos: “Inventing Furniture,” “Eyeballs,” “Skeptics” and “Floor Plan.” These online videos highlight some amazing new technology from Sony with a dash of light humor. Check out “Skeptics” below, and stay tuned for “Eyeballs” and “Floor Plan,” along with credits, after the jump.

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Is there anything more heartwarming than watching children of all ages fall over repeatedly?

From Proctor & Gamble and W+K comes “Pick Them Back Up,” a new spot that’s part of the “Thank You, Mom” campaign running during the length of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. If you’ll recall, P&G and Wieden have been leaders in mom joy, child guilt and intermittent bouts of crying since a 2010 Mother’s Day campaign, which set the stage for the very viral 2012 London Olympics spot “Best Job.” Since the initial broadcast of “Best Job,” most of the world has been stuck in a routine of enthusiastic weeping followed by hugging their mom until it hurts.

Adding a little humor to the affair (this is, if you’re a sociopath like me), “Pick Them Back Up” sees attractive young mothers repeatedly watch their children fall down before picking them up, thus transforming them into successful Olympic athletes. For those mothers whose children didn’t grow up to be competitive in winter sports on an international scale, well, your time was better spent leaving your kid on the ice and just working on you for a while.

Of course, this spot also begs the question, how did they film so many babies falling over? Were they stunt babies, or did they trip them with invisible wires or something? In any case, after seeing this on TV, your mother’s gaze will slowly drift over to the photo she has of you as a baby on her nightstand, and she’ll sigh a million disappointed sighs because you were once so cute and loving and now you apparently don’t “have the time” to give her a call once in a while. She’s right, you know, because you just watched this and it caused you do to nothing. Credits, and one in a series of new athlete-specific video, follow after the jump.

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