KBS+ Takes Bissell to the Subway in Gross Spot

KBS+, Toronto have a new campaign for Bissell that gets a little gross. In the spot, promoting the Bissell Symphony, which vacuums and cleans hardwood simulateneously, Bissell Canada Senior Brand Manager Ravi Dalchand sets out to prove that he’s behind the product one hundred percent.

So he uses the Symphony to clean a subway floor and then takes things a giant step forward in the gross department and eats some saucy pasta right off the spot he cleaned, seemingly to the disgust of fellow subway passengers.

“Instead of just showing how it works at home, we felt the stronger message was to show how well it could clean, even in an extremely tough, dirty, messy situation,” Bissell Vice President General Manager Craig Emmerson told The Huffington Post.

As that publication points out, however, this was not a normal Toronto subway stop. The stop used was the Bay Lower Station, which TTC CEO Andy Byford said had been “closed off to the public six months after opening in 1966 due to passenger confusion and consistent delays.” It’s now mainly used as a set for movies and television. So while eating off of subway tile is still pretty gross, it’s not as disgusting as it originally appears. And those onlookers are almost definitely actors. But KBS+, Toronto and Bissell assume (probably correctly) that most people won’t reach that conclusion, and, staged or not, the gimmick is pretty memorable. (more…)

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Toronto Shop Bemoans ‘Stupidification of Society’ in Short Films for TED Event

We here at the Spy couldn’t help but be reminded of Mike Judge‘s highly underrated 2006 film, Idiocracy, when checking out these shorts from Toronto-based agency, Capital C. The shop paints a bleak portrait of a social media-addled future hinged on 6-second sound bites versus long-form content and one which lacks any thought-provoking communique. Yes folks, behold the “Stupidification of Society,” which Capital C created pro-bono for the  TEDxColumbiaSIPA conference that took place in New York on May 8. According to the agency’s chief creative officer, Gary Watson, the films “The Vine Effect” (above) and “The Glass Era” (below) “…very much play into cultural and digital trends. Shortened attention spans. Technology overload. Things that get in the way of spending time with inspirational content that ultimately makes a difference in our lives.”

Short films lamenting the loss of longer-form content? Oh, the irony, but perhaps that’s the point of all this to begin with. Full credits after the jump.

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Toshiba, Capital C Make College Awkward Again

Toronto shop Capital C and Toshiba have teamed for a new online back-to-school campaign meant for silly college guys who need cool technology. Sometimes, these college guys use the technology for school, other times, for play. In “Chicken Prank,” a helpless dormer finds himself wrapped to his bed with chickens on the loose, and to get out of the rut, he waves his feet in front of a touch-controlled monitor. In “Math Notes,” handwritten notes on a tablet lead to an awkward moment of affection between roommates. And in “Black Light,” well, I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.

What’s most interesting about this trio of Toshiba spots is that they are clearly targeting only males. I’m not sure if any female-themed spots about woo girls and sorority hijinks are on the docket, but I’m curious to know why Toshiba is only looking for collegiate males to purchase products for this campaign, especially considering more girls than guys go to college. But, aside from the oversight, the creatives took care of business with some safely effective locker room humor.

Credits and the two other spots after the jump.

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