Agency Cutwater teamed up with production company Cap Gun Collective for a series of comedic shorts promoting Intel’s Chromebook.
Set in a coffee shop, the shorts are based around the premise of computer problems happening in the real world. Unfortunately, the scenarios presented seem a little bit dated. In “Monotaskers,” for example, a woman at a coffee shop won’t let a man do more than one thing at a time, taking his book while he sips his coffee. “Frozen Coffee” presents a glitchy barista, which is funny in a way, but also seems removed from the current technological climate (as is the case with “Monotaskers”). Since, at the end of these spots, Intel’s Chromebook is presented as the solution, it’s as if Intel’s competition is presented as computers from the previous decade, rather than modern competitors. That doesn’t do a whole lot to represent the Chromebook in a good light, and leaves viewers with little reason to pick it up over its real-world competition. (more…)
EVB has launched a new digital campaign combining the Internet’s love of cats with the burgeoning phenomenon of wearable tech for cat food brand 9Lives.
In the trailer, EVB introduces Morris (the cat) to wearable tech, or, as his owner calls it “a face computer.” Morris seems pretty jazzed on the experience, impressed that it appears to know everything about him. It’s a bit on the cheesy side, but should appeal to cat lovers (and who else is watching an ad for cat food?). You can check out the trailer above, but for the complete interactive experience, including Easter eggs leading to 9Lives coupons and a Morris poster, head to the site. (more…)
In this new, extended clip created by CP+B to promote NBA2k15 (set to be released in October), Rockets guard James Harden has a problem. Not, it’s not his defense: it’s his beard, which is too intense for the game’s new “face scanning technology.”
In order to address the matter, he turns to the appropriately Germanic “Beard Guru”:
As people with beards, we love this spot. Anthony Davis’ cameo really makes it, and we’d like to test that scanning technology ourselves.
Unfortunately, the Guru is not real. Germans’ ability to grow and preen amazing facial hair, however, is almost too real.
CP+B have unveiled the latest in their continuing “You Know You Love It” campaign for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Previous work on the campaign for Kraft’s macaroni and orange goo product has included the funny, on-point “What I Did For Love” and the nostalgia-laden “Go Ninja, Go.”
The two new 30-second spots are more in the vein of the former, although not as funny or effective, relying more on cuteness than humor. In “Pregnant,” a man eats the macaroni and cheese his pregnant wife requested, claiming that they’re “all out.” As you may have guessed, this is not a smart move and the spot ends just before she claws his face off (okay, not really). “Babysitter” is similarly minded, with a babysitter who will pay the price for helping herself to a late night mac and cheese snack. Stick around for credits and “Babysitter” after the jump. continued…
Students at the VCU Brandcenter are back, launching a campaign promoting the AICP Show and AICP Next Awards for the 9th straight year.
The campaign takes a humorous route to displaying the lasting quality of an AICP award, showing top creatives like Gerry Graf, Co: collective partner/chief content officer Tiffany Rolfe and Droga5′s Ted Royer waxing on the perceived perks of yesteryear. While these perks may have vanished, their AICP awarded work is in the permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.
“Every generation hears about the halcyon days when perks were free-flowing – perhaps they were, or perhaps it’s all wishful thinking. But through it all, the one constant is that no one can ever take away your AICP honor and recognition,” explained Matt Miller, President and CEO of AICP.
“Ty Montague of Co:Collective, Susan Credle of Leo Burnett, and Diane Jackson of DDB Chicago (all VCU BrandCenter Board members and either current or past AICP Show Curators)” collaborated with Miller, AICP Director of Events Ileana Montalvo and AICP Chief of Staff Kristin Wilcha in selecting the campaign from among those presented by second year student teams at VCU Brandcenter. The results are pretty funny, with Graf commenting on vanishing drum kits, Rolfe wondering where the prostitutes went, and Royer lamenting the ever-shrinking office. The entry deadline for the awards is March 7. Both the AICP Show and the AICP Next Awards will take place June 10-12, during AICP week. You can check out Graf’s video above, and stick around for Royer and Rolfe’s two cents, along with credits, after the jump. continued…
Vanilla Ice appears as a grocery store worker stocking shelves and rocking out to his own “Ninja Rap” in a new spot from CP+B promoting Kraft’s ubiquitous macaroni and cheese-like food product, now with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shaped pasta.
The spot plays on the nostalgic humor surrounding Vanilla Ice when a mom starts singing and dancing along with him. Her son is not pleased by this turn of events, and he angrily puts the box of Kraft Mac+Cheese in the cart and walks away as Ice–aka Rob Van Winkle–utters his trademark “Word to your mother” line. CP+B will run with several #WordToYourMother memes over the course of the new campaign, and also plans to reward the brand’s “most fervent Facebook & Twitter fans with Golden Autographs –limited edition boxes of Kraft TMNT Mac & Cheese that were props featured in the commercial and signed by Vanilla Ice himself.” Because Vanilla Ice autographs are still something people want, apparently.
The new campaign is a fun continuation of Kraft’s “You Know You Love It” and a fond reminder of TMNT days gone by for those of us who grew up with the turtles. Now, before Michael Bay ruins the franchise, let’s all take a moment to remember this wonderfully terrible moment in cinematic history:
If you still haven’t had enough of Vanilla Ice (You’ve had over 20 years to have enough of Vanilla Ice, what’s wrong with you?) stick around for a behind the scenes video, along with credits, after the jump. continued…
CP+B’s funny new spot for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese examines the desperate lengths people will go to for a bite of Kraft’s signature macaroni and cheese-like-product.
Set to Marvin Hamlisch’s “What I Did For Love,” the 45 second spot shows individuals engaging in some questionable behavior to get their hands on Kraft Mac & Cheese, ranging from the everyday sneakiness of a grandfather stealing a bite from his grandson while the family says grace, to the potentially unsanitary exploits of a man who desperately destroys his child’s macaroni picture, to the utter illegality of a woman willing to steal a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese truck. Directed by Hank Perlman, “What I Did For Love” is the latest in CP+B’s “You Know You Love It” campaign for Kraft Mac & Cheese, and is a perfect example of what the campaign is capable of. The new spot is a lot more thought through than the “Noodle Reunion” promotion we covered back in October, and while they push the irreverent humor to new heights — for Kraft Mac & Cheese it’s downright edgy — they balance the irreverence with Kraft’s standard wholesomeness to make a fun spot that works for the brand. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…
Last October/November, CP+B helped launch Xbox One with a series ofTV spots designed to show off how with the next-gen system “games and entertainment are no longer separated.” Well, following a series of Playstation 4 ads that positioned that system as the one “For the Players,” CP+B and Xbox One return serve with a new television spot reminding viewers that, oh yeah, “first and foremost, Xbox One is a gaming console.”
The new effort, entitled “Lost,” focuses on the realism of Xbox One’s graphics, imagining them as so realistic that a young man playing Ryse: Son of Romeactually believes he’s sustaining injuries. That, or the dude is just tripping balls, in which case he should probably play something a little less intense. The spot concludes with the somehow familiar sounding tagline, “If it was any more real, it would be real.”
As mentioned, “Lost” does feel like a direct response to the PS4 ads that position it as the system for gamers, which makes a lot of sense for Microsoft. The Redmond, WA giant may have overestimated the appeal of the whole “gaming and entertainment in one” selling point, and now it seems they can’t let Sony claim the “For the Players” crown without a fight. It will be interesting to see how the advertising battles for the two systems play out as both fight to win the next-gen console war. With the systems selling at a pretty close rate, it doesn’t look like things will let up any time soon. and perhaps that’s a good thing. Credits after the jump. continued…
I may be something of a Sony loyalist, but I’ve got to admit CP+B’s new spot “Invitation” makes the Xbox One shine. Even some of Sony’s biggest fanboys might concede it looks a lot better than the recent PS4 spot.
Directed by Hungry Man’s Bryan Buckley, the commercial vet who recently helmed the R&B-inflected DirecTV spot starring the Manning bros (and who earned an Emmy nod for Grey Poupon’s “The Chase,” also from CP+B), “Invitation” features users invited into the world of several different games, and one movie. The spot opens with a giant robot warrior crashing a business meeting and making a “come here” gesture to a man giving a presentation. Then we see soccer player Steven Gerrard inviting a fan down from the stands. Spock invites a girl along for some sci-fi adventures. A sports car parks itself in front of some dude’s car and opens its door for him. (This is the automotive equivalent of “come here” apparently.) A zombie attempts to cajole a student in a library to join him, loses an arm, and then tells him to come along with the other arm.
Emphasizing the immersive nature of the next-gen platform, the spot announces, “This is an invitation to a new generation: where your games and entertainment are no longer separated, but together, in one.” Showing Xbox One users utilizing the system’s voice activation to launch games like Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, and the movie Star Trek: Enter Darkness gives fans an idea of what they can expect on launch day. The spot also shows users making use of the motion sensitive Kinect. You know, the camera that might be spying on you.
Mixing live action with just the right amount of actual gameplay, “Invitation” is slickly produced and should have Xbox fanboys chomping at the bit for the console’s Nov. 22 release date. My biggest problem with the spot is that the one woman featured uses the Xbox One not for gaming, but to watch a movie. Aside from this perpetuation of the gaming industry’s prevailing sexism (which most people won’t even notice), it’s a really solid ad. The whole “invitation” approach works to emphasize both the immersive nature of the system and the all-in-one entertainment value it offers. The $499 starting price, however, is less inviting. Credits after the jump. continued…
In 2012, a creative director fell into Herman Melville’s 720-page trap and reimagined Ahab as a tow truck driver, madly chasing his white whale, an Audi Quattro. “Sometimes, I actually think it’s mocking me,” Ahab says in a gruff voice, anxiously twisting his thermos as he waits in the arctic tundra.
Said creative director then got distracted by Cetology, but has now resurfaced to produce “Ahab Redux,” in which, obviously, our automotive whale has yet to meet his driver. Ahab has retired on an island “most folks would call paradise,” but he can’t escape his all-wheel drive demon. “There isn’t a road on earth that can stop it.”
Thankfully this ad is a departure from the old winding-mountain-road glamour reel, and I appreciate the attempt at literary allusion. We’re all familiar with Moby Dick, whether we became obsessed like Ahab or SparkNoted its entirety. “Ahab Redux” is a bit of a cop-out due to its repetition, but the general idea probably gives Audi’s target affluent audience a twinge of self-satisfaction: “Oh, I know that story!”
Credits and original Ahab after the jump continued…
Men with comb overs look hapless. Little boys with comb overs look creepy. To see the difference, please watch the latest Jell-O television spot, appropriately titled “Comb Over.”
In the forty-five-second ad built by CP+B, a balding father whose depressing life resembles a deflated balloon schools his son on the importance of the little things, like a cup of Jell-O pudding. In turn, we see some surreal daydream where the son, still about six years old, goes through a day in the father’s life, only now he has a giant cone head and a comb over. If you ever wanted to know what the male offspring of Lord Voldemort and Francis Dolarhyde (Manhunter version, not Red Dragon) would look like, here you go. Is that not the definition of creepy, a little boy who somehow resembles two fictional psychopaths all because of a comb over? Still, the commercial’s surrealist twist manages to make it stand out in an otherwise standard concept. It’s almost sweet, if not for the whole hapless/depressing/pitying reaction that comes along with comb overs.
I’m sitting in Salt Lake City Airport, shocked at the number of people wearing flip flops, and I want nothing more than to be in Myspace’s fun room of young, beautiful artists grabbing at one another amidst fluorescent confetti. Their instruments and skateboards may be breakable but they are not. They smash faces and tangle limbs and fall on the floor, but this video gives us the sense that these fiery singers, models, DJs, and rappers will never flame out.
After Justin Timberlake’s reboot, can the same be said for Myspace (capital S begone)? We weren’t sure the social network could drag itself away from obsolescence, but this spot seems to be doing just that, and with a bang. If Myspace is a room filled with the likes of DIIV, Iggy Azalea, Pharrell Williams, Sky Ferreira and Schoolboy Q, then it is anything but irrelevant. If you don’t know those names, you better learn them. And check out the new Myspace while you’re at it; it seems to be the cool thing to do.
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