Hasta La Creative!

Someone really wants us to keep posting on West, the San Francisco-based agency that refuses to respond to anything resembling a press query.

First, we went over TechCrunch’s unenthusiastic review of the agency’s homepage. Then we heard that West had lost a large chunk of its business (the agency and the other contacts that our readers suggested did not respond to our requests for more information).

Someone else kept telling us to contact Travis Britton, who joined the agency as chief experience officer before leaving more than a year ago and (according to one very insistent tipster) launching his own venture. We also heard that Keith Cartwright, who was once CCO at West but no longer lists it on his resume, is happily running his own agency Union Made Creative. This is not really news.

Over the last week or so, however, we have received conflicting tips about the newest top creative executive at West.

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Translation has a new back-to-school campaign for Champ Sports, entitled “Game Loves An Audience.”

That phrase appears on screen, leading in to the brand’s “We Know Game” tagline following short vignettes in several 30-second spots. For the most part, Translation keeps things pretty simple. “Practice,” for example, is a montage of players training for the upcoming season at football practice, ending with the coach riling the team up with a chant. “Joy Ride” and “First Period” (which we’ve included after the jump) are similarly straightforward (and self-explanatory) eschewing any dialogue for a focus on Champs Sports’ products. You have to wonder if maybe they could have benefited from a little more substance, though. (more…)

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For the Super Bowl, the game is the advertising. For the World Series, ads are a respite. For the World Cup, however, there’s just not as much fanfare. TBWAChiatDay hopes to change that with its new spot for Adidas.
The work features retired legends of football/soccer/futbol (depending on who you ask) David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane, who are bored watching the young guys Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura playing EA Sports’ 2014 FIFA World Cup.
And then, a jewel-encrusted goblet of male bravado spills on the hardwood floor as a real soccer game trashes “Beckhingham Palace.”

Now that you’ve recovered, click through for some credits.

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Well, perhaps this is old news by now, but it does appear that John Norman is leaving his chief creative office position at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA after barely 18 months at the helm. Here’s one tip we received a few hours ago that may provide some clarification (and according to sources in the know, is legit): “John Norman will be leaving his post as Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles. John’s last day with the agency will be March 31 and until then he will be working with our Executive Creative Directors, Brent Anderson, Stephen Butler and Fabio Costa, to transition leadership across all our accounts.”

According to Adweek, BBH London partner/deputy ECD David Kobulsz is in talks to co-lead Chiat LA  with Butler following Norman’s official departure. Speaking of Norman, the departing CCO joined TBWA\Chiat\Day LA after serving in the same role for two-and-a-half years at The Martin Agency. Prior to Martin, he held senior creative positions at the likes of W+K and Goodby.

As for the Chiat LA ECD team, Anderson has been with the agency for nearly nine years, Butler joined last summer after serving as creative partner at Mother while Costa worked with Norman at Martin before joining up with TBWA C\D LA as global GCD just after the CCO’s arrival.

Update: After the jump, you can read the brief note Norman sent to his TBWA\Chiat\Day LA colleagues earlier this afternoon that somewhat reveals his future plans, which have something to do with a certain founder of Translation.

Update 2: Yes, as has been reported, Norman will assume the role of CCO at Translation, a role we recall was last occupied by Chris Cereda, who eventually joined up with Scratch/Viacom Media Networks.

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Nissan’s new online initiative “The Briefcase” courtesy of TBWA\Chiat\Day LA features a high octane car chase (starring the new 2014 Nissan Rogue) ending in a click through to a contest offering contestants the chance to win one of three 2014 Rogues.

The video opens with a man getting in a hired car for his usual commute home from work. When a motorcycle pulls up and hands off a briefcase to the driver, however, all hell breaks loose. Soon everyone seems to be after the Rogue, including a helicopter that attempts to land on the car. In the end, they run into a blockade and a man shouts “Open the briefcase,” at which time viewers are prompted to click on a link to open it. This link clicks through to the contest on Nissan’s Facebook page. It’s a clever, interactive way to lead viewers to the contest, even if the video is a little over the top. Fans of the brand should enjoy having a background story going into the contest, where they can enter once per day, or more if they share information about the contest via email or social media — a pretty good way to incentivise sharing.

The contest begins today and runs through February 13th at 11:59 PM. You can enter the contest here for your chance to win a 2014 Nissan Rogue. Credits after the jump.

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Right about this time every year, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA debuts its TV spots for the Grammys. And, every year, they’re pretty underwhelming. A few years back, we got a swirly, graphics overload with CGI re-tellings of artists like Eminem’s life story. Last year, we got the hashtag-happy #TheWholeWorldIsListening, which aimed to put viewers into the shoes of stars like Rihanna while trying to convince them that the awards show was still in any way relevant.

This year’s first spot, “Anthem,” looked more like a VH1 commercial than anything else, and it seemed we were in for yet another year of mediocrity. But then, dare we say it, the Grammys and Chiat LA ctually surprised us. The latest spot in the Music Unleashes Us campaign, “Drive” (above), does a fantastic job of convincing viewers that they owe it to the artists who get them through times of sorrow and heartbreak to watch their performances on the Grammys.

From Pink and fun., we move to Macklemore and “Doughnut Shop,” another well-produced and compelling spot filmed outside of Inglewood’s famous Randy’s Donuts. Again, these spots excel at following through with what the campaign promises – portraying the affect that popular music has on the average TV viewer. It both ignites and unleashes, an important sentiment for the Grammys to glom onto as the show still figures out its approach to celebrating an industry that doesn’t know what to do next. One more Katy Perry-tinged spot, and credits, follow after the jump.

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