FCB West, MJZ Tell Levi’s Fans to Get Personal (But Not Boring)

The latest spot for Levi’s, created by FCB West/The House Worldwide and MJZ, imagines a personal relationship between each pair of denim pants and its owner.

Every pair tells a story, see…and all the jeans ask of you, consumer, is that you keep things interesting.

The pants-as-lifestyle-accessory theme marks a shift from the Wieden+Kennedy “Go Forth” campaign, which turned existential with the help of one Charles Bukowski.

You may recall that Levi’s announced an agency change back in February, and we can expect more in the vein of this spot to come. Yesterday Fast Company called the effort “more inclusive, and more mainstream”, and FCB CCO Eric Springer emphasized the break from the W+K aesthetic, saying:

“The first step was to get the brand voice back and make everyone know it’s their brand once again…It’s not a comeback tour. It’s a forever tour.”

The company’s own CMO emphasized the social components that will (hopefully) involve lots of people documenting the shared journey of themselves and their jeans.

Three words, then: User. Generated. Content.

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David&Goliath, Kia Reveal Extended Version of Super Bowl Spot, ‘The Truth’

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…

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David&Goliath Reveals Teaser for Kia K900 Super Bowl Ad

With the big game less than a week away, the folks at El Segundo, CA-based David&Goliath have released a teaser for their Kia K900 Super Bowl spot.

The “Official K900 Game Day 2014 Teaser” sees Laurence Fishburne reprising his role as Morpheus from The Matrix trilogy. Morpheus returns to the Construct, where he fiddles with a classic Radiola TV set in an attempt to kick back with some chips and watch the big game. The trailer doesn’t really let us know what to expect on Sunday, other than Fishburne as Morpheus sometime in the third quarter, as it’s designed to keep us guessing. The spot won’t be the first featuring Fishburne promoting the K900, as he narrated December’s “Preconceived Notions” ad, which may offer more clues to the Super Bowl spot than the teaser itself. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Nike, W+K Portland Unveil Star-Studded ‘Winning in a Winter Wonderland’ Spot


W+K Portland tapped some of the world’s greatest athletes for their new holiday spot touting the advantages of Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer, directed by Rupert Sanders. ”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” features the talents of Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, skier Julia Mancuso, snowboarder Scotty Lago, soccer stars Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, and former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, who now appears to be headed to Seattle. Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer also makes a brief cameo appearance.

While undeniably cheesy (hey, it’s the holidays) the spot does an admirable job at promoting the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer. People are prone to listen to endorsements from star athletes, and W+K got a wide, varied group together for the spot. They emphasize that the Nike Hyperwarm Performance Baselayer makes playing in cold, harsh conditions seem almost enjoyable by keeping you warm without restricting movement, perfectly matching the song selection. “Winning in a Winter Wonderland,” of course, changes the words of the holiday classic, which gets a bit cringe-worthy in spots but mostly comes across as cheesy holiday fun. The words are sung by the star athletes in the spot, mostly while in action, and they seem to have a lot of fun with it — which makes it hard to hate.

The campaign features both a one minute and thirty second version of the spot, as well as a digital takeover and social media elements.”Winning in a Winter Wonderland” premiered during college football’s Big Ten NCAA Championship game and will run throughout the holiday season. Credits after the jump.  continued…

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If Bottles Could Talk: Keep America Beautiful Personifies Recycling

The press release for the new 60-second recycling spot from Keep America Beautiful, the Ad Council, and Periera & O’Dell states that the average American generates 4.4 pounds of trash per day, but only recycles 35% of that output. It’s unclear whether that means 35% of all recyclable trash is properly recycled rather than 35% of all trash, but the creators of the campaign don’t seem too concerned with stats. After all, people probably won’t respond to numbers.

Periera & O’Dell have decided to redirect the campaign with an emotional tilt, turning an empty plastic bottle into a protagonist that thinks and talks – through voice-over, thankfully. The result is a corny, yet necessary plea to viewers who should be recycling more. Credits after the jump.

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