Hasta La Creative!

m:united has launched a new holiday spot for Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3, entitled “Winter Wonderland.”

As you might have guessed from the title, the 30-second spot makes use of the carol of the same name. And as you might have guessed from recent Surface Pro 3 ads, the spot is based on a minimalist comparison with Apple’s MacBook Air, visually limited to the computers in question and two pairs of arms. “My Mac is great, it’s so delightful,” begins the ad, with a reworking of the holiday carol sung in a somewhat grating voice. “So’s my Surface, it’s just as powerful,” answers a chorus, as the ad then goes on to list the features that make the Surface Pro 3 superior: the touch screen, digital pen, kickstand and detachable keyboard. By the end of the spot, the Mac booster is ready to make the switch to the Surface Pro. Somehow we don’t think most Mac fans will be quite so easy to convert.  (more…)

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Happy Monday! Since today is unofficially Apple Week, here’s yet another brand trying to co-opt a bit of that company’s publicity.

M: United has a new campaign for the HTC One in which the agency once again takes on Apple.

Following on the heels of its August campaign promoting the Surface Pro 3 comes a spot in which the agency takes aim at Apple’s Siri, or “Robot Scarlett Johansson.”

The spot opens with Siri looking into a mirror and repeating that classic line “I feel pretty, oh so pretty” before engaging in a conversation with HTC One’s Cortana. Obviously, the conversation is intended to make Siri look silly by comparison, both via Cortana’s less computerized-sounding voice and the HTC One’s fancy features (including not one but two speakers).

This spot works better than most in its surprisingly large family, but how many more Apple-bashing ads can viewers stomach? (more…)

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Just days after announcing his resignation from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Con Williamson has landed a new gig at Erwin Penland, where he takes on the role of chief creative officer and work with clients including Denny’s, an account the agency took over a few months ago. Initial word last week was that Williamson would be starting a new shop, but that is not to be obviously. The 15-year creative says in a statement regarding his move, “I immediately connected with [Erwin Penland president] Joe [Erwin[]when we met over a year ago and instantly related to Erwin Penland’s sense of purpose, its entrepreneurial drive and more than anything the team’s conviction. They aren’t just talking about ‘changing the game’ or ‘being digital,’ the agency is already doing these things. We want to shake things up together and I’m glad to have the opportunity to do it with amazing people from the leadership team down.”

Along with the hiring of Williamson, who also spent time at the likes of what was Euro RSCG as well as Fallon/Duffy and JWT during his 15-year creative career, Erwin Penland has also appointed fellow Saatchi NY alums John Cornette as SVP/ECD and John Dunleavy as managing director for the agency’s New York office;/director of account management for the entire agency.

(pictured l-r, Cornette, Erwin, Williamson and Dunleavy)

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