W+K Amsterdam’s ‘Messimorphosis’ for ‘FIFA 14? is Kind of Creepy

Last Thursday saw soccer star Lionel Messi become the world’s “first life-size, living avatar” dubbed Lifesize Messi, to promote EA Sports’ FIFA 14 for PS4 and Xbox One. W+K Amsterdam have just rolled out the follow-up TV campaign, “Messimorphosis.”

W+K chose to show a gamer morphing into Lifesize Messi as a metaphor for “how the game now feels more alive” than ever. The execution comes across something like an Aphex Twin music video. In other words, quite unsettling.

The spot opens with our gamer sitting on his couch, loading up his Xbox One. As he presses a button, he looks at his hand to see it changing before his eyes. Soon, his entire body is morphing into the Messi avatar, and it’s pretty damned creepy. There’s a shot of the kid’s unnerving smile, and a really freaky one of his face melting into Messi’s. This is pretty strange stuff. The close-up of his feet turning into cleats is just plain gross. We don’t see any gameplay (which looks pretty good, but not mind-blowing) until the final few seconds of the spot, with most of the 58 second ad devoted to the Lionel Messi metamorphosis. Clearly, W+K is banking on Messi’s star power and the lifesize avatar schtick — and presumably not factoring in that the morphing stunt will weird some people out. One thing you can say about “Messimorphosis” is that it’s certainly memorable.

If you’re easily disturbed or grossed out, avoid this one at all costs. If, on the other hand, you’re a big fan of FIFA, Lionel Messi, or are under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, then this one’s for you. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Booking.com Invites You to Stay at a Haunted Hotel

W+K’s new spot for Booking.com features legendary ghost hunting destination the Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco. The Queen Anne, which was featured on an episode of the Travel Channel’s Haunted Hotels, was a boarding school before it was a hotel, and one-time headmistress Mary Lake is said to haunt it.

In the spot above, a woman sleeping in the hotel is awoken by the television turning on by itself. She sees a camera view of something approaching her room, Room 410: the very room Mary Lake is said to haunt. Later the woman sees shots of herself, presumably while Mary’s ghost approaches. We cut out just before this woman wets the bed. At the end we see the tagline “Stay if you dare,” followed by “Over 350,000 accommodations including haunted hotels.” I’m not sure there’s a huge audience who wants to stay at haunted hotels, but I suppose the idea is that Booking.com can accommodate your every whim. Even a weird one like wanting to stay in a haunted hotel. I don’t love it, but it could be the most interesting Booking.com spot since they stole Bob Marshall’s idea of showing someone booking a room during Spain’s Running of the Bulls. Now if they’d only stop the whole “Booking.yeah” thing.

If you’re a paranormal enthusiast and are serious about wanting to stay at a haunted hotel, Booking.com will totally hook you up. They’ve created a Haunted Destination finder on their site. Included are the Queen Anne Hotel, The Stanley Hotel in Colorado (the inspiration for Stephen King‘s The Shining), the Vinoy Renaissance Hotel in St. Petersburg, Hotel Galvez in Galveston, Texas, The Historic National Hotel in Jamestown, California, The Gettysburg Hotel, and the 1886 Crescent Hotel (a purportedly haunted Arkansas hotel that houses an old morgue in its basement). It’s worth a quick click through for the histories of these paranormal destinations. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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