Hasta La Creative!

In anticipation of the impending Master’s Tournament, W+K New York has launched two new spots in their long-running “This Is SportsCenter” series, starring 2012 Master’s champion Bubba Watson.

In the first spot, Watson, whose “miracle” shot to get out of a difficult lie helped him win the Master’s, finds himself in another tricky situation in ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut office, with the Stanford Cardinal mascot blocking their way. Watson and caddy Ted Scott try to decide how to proceed, when SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi shows them the way without really thinking about it. The spot delivers the kind of fun goofiness we’ve come to expect from the “This Is SportsCenter” series and shouldn’t disappoint, especially for fans of Watson.

The 15-second “Pencils” is a little more straightforward, but no less fun, with Watson’s incessant sharpening of scorecard pencils posing a distraction for anchor Jay Harris. First and second round play of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club will be televised on ESPN from 3-7:30 on Thursday and Friday, April 10-11. Stick around to view “Pencils” and credits after the jump. continued…

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More from W+K, as W+K New York have unveiled their latest “This is Sportscenter” offering.

The 30 second spot, “Long Week,” celebrates Super Bowl XLVIII with a fun look at the rivalry between Denver Broncos’ mascot Miles and Seattle Seahawks’ mascot Blitz. Set in an elevator on ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut campus, the spot stars SportsCenter hosts Jay Crawford and Steve Levy, who witness a tense, awkward exchange between the rival mascots. Credit has to go to director Jim Jenkins and the guys playing the mascots for perfect comedic timing. At the end of the spot, Everett and Levy reveal that the two mascots have been engaging in such behavior all week. Hopefully Miles and Blitz don’t kill each other before the big game.

The timely “Long Week” is designed to promote ESPN’s weeklong coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII, which began yesterday with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike kicking off 115 hours of TV and radio programming from New York City. ESPN’s programming originates from their Herald Square and Times Square Studios all week, up until Superbowl Sunday. Keep an eye out for “Long Week” during that coverage. Credits after the jump. continued…

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W+K New York and ESPN are back again with yet another 30-second This is Sportscenter spot. This time, we follow Clippers dunker and terrible free-throw shooter DeAndre Jordan as he enters the illustrious Top 10 Club reserved for individuals who make Sportscenter’s famed nightly Top 10 plays segment.

However, it turns out that the Top 10 Club is not so illustrious considering the windowless room looks more like a  doctor’s moldy waiting room than a hangout for stars and celebrities. ESPN  usually pokes fun in the context of sports news, but here, we get to see self-satire as Sportscenter parodies its own highlight tropes – i.e. the lanky high school kid who hits a full-court buzzer beater and the college mascot who does ridiculous college mascot shenanigans. I say this frequently, but it’s worth repeating, these spots are almost perfect for what they’re trying to accomplish, and they almost make you forget that Sportscenter has actually become a caricature of itself. Credits after the jump.

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Another day, another team-up between ESPN and W+K. “Inner Monologue,” the latest 30-second NBA on ESPN RV ad created by W+K New York, answers very important questions about the crew’s sleeping arrangements. Yes, some players and analysts do have to bunk up. Bulls All-Star center Joakim Noah has to sleep in the same bed as ESPN kingpin Bill Simmons, even though neither of them are happy with the situation. Noah, who stands 6’11″, probably has a better argument than Simmons, who is listed at an unconvincing 6’2″. Simmons, for all his Boston sports proclivities, is in bed with a Bull. He’s actually sleeping with the enemy. But wait…as with most of the RV spots, there’s a Jeff Van Gundy punchline. And as usual, it’s the best part of the clip. Not only is Van Gundy funny-looking, but if you’ve been following his RV escapades, whether getting stuck on the stunt double vehicle or trading glasses with Russell Westbrook, you know that JVG is also funny. And in a sports media world that is often lacking in self-deprecation and humor, the silly shtick from the NBA on ESPN panel is always nice to see. Credits after the jump.

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W+K and Heineken’s initial “social experiment” (sorry guys, no, this is a marketing campaign) “Departure Roulette” set about to send travelers at JFK Airport on a free trip to a new destination — one that they didn’t know of in advance.

Operating under the assumption that “Heineken consumers are especially open to adventure and the unknown” (and pissy-tasting beer), Heineken and W+K chose to follow-up by finding enthusiastic fans of the initial campaign in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York and bring the Departure Roulette board to them with “Departure Roulette En Route.” These were fans who tweeted that they would love to be given the opportunity to play Departure Roulette, so it was a fair assumption that they would accept the challenge.

Surprised but delighted to be given the opportunity to press the red button and set off for destinations unknown, most seemed excited at their travel prospects. One dude didn’t know where Reykjavik is, which is kind of lame, since I would club baby seals to be given the opportunity to travel to Iceland. Someone else appears to not have been home. (They must be kicking themselves for that one.) Another guy seemed less than elated to be going to Romania, with a reaction something along the lines of “Romania? Okay, I guess I’m going to Romania.” I guess he would have preferred Disney World or something. Maybe that “open to adventure and the unknown” assumption wasn’t so accurate.

This is a really interesting campaign from W+K. The original premise was a cool idea, and the follow-up engaging fans who claimed they’d love to participate makes a lot of sense; and taking things outside of the airport really raises the bar on the spontaneity factor. Wasting a perfectly good chicken parm, though? Not so cool. Credits after the jump.

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It takes a comfortable man to perform karate in a barber’s robe and tinfoil, not to mention skintight jeans and snakeskin boots. Meet the face of Southern Comfort, a moustachioed man we’ve met once before in “Shampoo,” one of the previous spots in W+K’s SoCo “Whatever’s Comfortable” campaign.

Then, he was meditating amidst soft suds, opening his eyes only to check out the woman across the barbershop. Now, he’s showing off for all the ladies.

Director Tim Godsall and the W+K creative team wrote the spot after seeing our protagonist’s casting tape for “Shampoo,” in which he did karate – he’s actually skilled in the martial art, and owns a few dojos. Given the nature of the campaign, they wanted to play to his natural skills. It was a good choice, because this is the best spot yet. While “Beach” and “Shampoo” play to the relaxed side of comfort, “Karate” has more personality and ease. Especially when backed by “I’m a Fool to Care,” by Les Paul and Mary Ford, this barbershop guy paints a poignant picture, and will probably ascend to be your new role model.

Credits after the jump.

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