Hasta La Creative!

180 Amsterdam has launched a new campaign for Sony’s PS4 holiday push entitled “Welcome to the Future of Play.”

In what has long been the standard for gaming advertising, players are thrust into the action of a game. “I don’t want to die…again,” says one of the players, as he and a friend hide during a fierce battle. The friend decides they have three options: check YouTube and hope someone shared how to get past the stage via the PS4?s “Share” button; ask their friend Dave how to survive the Viking attack; or invite Nick to join them in the game, even though he doesn’t own the game. The last option illustrates one of the PS4?s big selling points, that you can join a friend’s game remotely, even if you haven’t purchased the title. The way the ad arrives at this point, however, may seem a little forced to some viewers.

The campaign is launching simultaneously in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Middle East, as the holiday season approaches. In addition to the broadcast spot, the campaign also includes print and OOH elements, each focusing on one of the key new features for the PS4 promoted in the spot. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Yesterday, we brought you news of David&Goliath’s teaser for their big game spot, “The Truth,” promoting the all-new 2015 K900, Kia’s first-ever luxury car. Today, David&Goliath and Kia revealed the extended, 90 second version of their Super Bowl ad, designed to “dispel the notion that tradition and history are what makes a luxury sedan,” according to Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing & communications, KMA.

“The Truth” features Laurence Fishburne reprising his role as Morpheus from The Matrix. Morpheus offers a couple waiting for the valet outside a restaurant a choice: “Take the blue key, you go back to the luxury you know. Take the red key, and you’ll never look at luxury the same again.” (Spoiler alert: They take the red key.)  Fishburne repeats the word “luxury” ad nauseum during the spot’s first 30 seconds or so, really hammering home that Kia is now offering a luxury vehicle. The spot manages to contain a lot of the Matrix references you’d expect, like a bending spoon and an explosion filled action sequence. But at the same time, “The Truth,” via Fishburne, manages at least one big surprise.

The 60 second version of “The Truth” will debut during the third quarter of the Super Bowl this Sunday, Feb. 2, launching the Kia’s campaign for the 2015 K900 in earnest, and marking Kia’s fifth consecutive year advertising in the big game. You can expect more Matrix-themed advertising from David&Goliath and Kia. Before and after the Super Bowl, David&Goliath’s integrated campaign “will incorporate TV, cinema, digital, print, experiential, social media and CRM components, all drawing heavily on imagery and ideas from the films.” Credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Epic Night Out,” the splashy new 90-second Call of Duty: Ghosts spot from 72andSunny for Activision, is indeed epic, and easily riffs on the four-guys-who-have-fun-in-danger motif made popular by The Hangover. There are a few celebrity cameos, a crumbling Las Vegas set, and classic music, Sinatra’s “Live Until I Die.” Very epic. But no baby, though. Instead, the four heroes and their dog travel from desert wasteland, to cityscape, to outer space, and then to a frozen tundra. With the music and quick editing, it’s hard to pay attention to anything else.

I’m all for first-person shooters, and I don’t think they are ruining kids. If this spot were for the U.S. Armed Forces, that would be different. But, it’s worth pointing out that guns, explosions, apocalyptic Vegas, Frank Sinatra, and Megan Fox is way past the boiling point of glorying violence for a TV spot. That’s sensory overload for all of the juiced up gamer-guys who are going to sit in the basements and pretend not to pee in empty soda bottles. It’s also brilliant misdirection.  And if not for the Grand Theft Auto V ads, this would be the best video game spot I’ve ever seen. Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What if an entire country was built around the theme of a sports team? Every wall, building, and inch of space would be swathed in team colors and logos. While some European cities may resemble this set up (as does Green Bay, Wisconsin), there’s nothing as extreme as the land of FC Barcelona, a fictional place created by 180 Amsterdam that brings together one of the best soccer teams in the world with its sponsor, Qatar Airways, for a light-hearted spot.

Everything seems rather cheery in the land of FCB. I’m not sure of crime rates, prison systems, recidivism,  or income inequality, but I do know that Lionel Messi teaches soccer performing arts. Pique works at an airport. And Carles Puyol walks around with his long locks waiting to head falling potted plants. Even if the ad is a little corny, there are a few smart, subtle easter eggs, like streets named Tiki and Taka. Although, I imagine the quick movements on those roads makes for some queasy driving.

Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.