W+K Amsterdam Takes ‘Leap of Faith’ for Audi

W+K Amsterdam have launched a campaign for Audi’s new TTS Coupe.

The campaign is built around a broadcast spot entitled “Leap of Faith.” Rather than build a case for the car in the usual format touting various features, W+K Amsterdam lets the vehicle speak for itself (sort of). The ad begins with what looks like a meteor in the sky. Upon closer inspection, it’s clear that it is in fact an Audi TTS Coupe rapidly approaching the ground. Luckily, rather than crashing into the land below, the car lands on an elaborately staged landing track and speeds off to the road ahead. A bit over the top, maybe, but it’s at least does something a little different for its category, ending wih the tagline, “The New Audi TTS Coupe. You Dare or You Don’t. (more…)

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AMV BBDO Brings Back Mr. Bean for Snickers

AMV BBDO has a new series of ads for Snickers’ ongoing “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign, resurrecting Rowan Atkinson‘s Mr. Bean character.

In the longest of the three broadcast spots, Atkinson’s character finds himself jumping over rooftops with a group of ninjas, in a parody of kung fu movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Only, while his colleagues glide gracefully from rooftop to rooftop, Mr. Bean has a bit more trouble and eventually finds himself crashing through the roof to an angry group of warriors below. At this point, one of his fellow ninjas tosses him a Snickers, saying “…you can’t concentrate when you’re hungry, eat a Snickers” and he’s back to his old self.

The character is a perfect fit for the popular “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” approach, and the spots are all pretty entertaining. In the remaining pair (featured after the jump), Atkinson’s character practices nunchucks and kata, with less than stellar results. Atkinson’s character is such a good fit — he’s certainly one of the best celebrities featured in the ongoing campaign — that you almost wonder why he hasn’t been featured before. (more…)

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Van Damme Sculpts Ice Bar for VCCP, Coors Light

Jean-Claude Van Damme is back for Coors Light, sculpting an ice bar in the Rocky Mountains with his bare hands in a new UK spot from VCCP.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s “Epic Split” for Volvo, Van Damme is now synonymous with advertising gold, and the VCCP spot capitalizes on his image in a way reminiscent of that ad. The 60-second “Ice Bar” has just about everything you’d expect given Van Damme’s involvement: Van Damme’s signature mullet/ponytail, cheesy 80s synths, ice block breaking (with bare hands, of course) and a tongue-in-cheek sense of intentionally over-the-top humor. It all makes for a pretty fun spot, which makes you wonder why this isn’t running stateside as well. (more…)

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Boost Mobile, 180LA Say ‘You Earned It’

After their amusing spot featuring a basketball player juggling a couple of extra balls, Boost Mobile and 180LA are back together once again, this time emphasizing the savings Boost customers can get. In three short videos, we see various stealing scenarios: a man on the subway gets pickpocketed, a city guy leaps over fences to evade a mugger, a woman has her purse snatched on the sidewalk. But by the end of each ad, the victim has money handed back to them, showing that “Boost Mobile puts cash back in your pocket, literally.”

It’s a good concept, and the little song that shifts each scene into celebration coupled with the actors’ yay-I’m-richer-than-I-thought smiles makes these spots sweet. I only wish they could have cast at least one white thief. Sure, they’re all good guys in the end, but these spots still reinforce tired racial stereotypes. We can do better.

Credits and the rest of the videos after the jump.

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