Hasta La Creative!

At the beginning of August, Wild Turkey named Matthew McConaughey as the brand’s “creative director,” undoubtedly earning a series of eyerolls from actual advertising professionals, while awarding its creative business to JWT. Now JWT New York has launched its first work for the new client, in collaboration with the celebrity “creative director” and production company RSA Films.

The resulting spot, “The Journey Begins,” is pretty indistinguishable from your average ad for a liquor brand, minus the actor’s presence. McConaughey provides voiceover as well as appearing in the ad, opening with the line “We’re not in a rush to be most popular, not in a rush not to be” over the requisite pour shot. The Wild Turkey on the rocks is then brought through a scene of a room dancing to a brass band to McConaughey himself, who’s playing a piano.

It’s nothing revolutionary by any means, but at the same time it’s not terrible. There are some interesting choices in the way it’s shot, such as the camera mostly following the perspective of the person bringing McConaughey his drink. Without McConaughey’s involvement the ad would probably bot being generating as much attention, but then that’s why Wild Turkey hired the “creative director” in the first place.

Should you doubt McConaughey’s involvement in the creative process, take a gander at the below photo of the actor directing a shot.

From the man himself: “I want to be reincarnated as a jaguar. Jaguars are keen and they’re perfectly poised. I’d sure love to be that well designed.”

Yeah, he said that, bro.

When we last checked in with Hudson Rouge’s work for Lincoln starring Matthew McConaughey, the agency had also teamed up with director Gus Van Sant for the poker-themed “The Winning Hand.”

In Hudson Rouge’s latest efforts, as with “The Winning Hand,” McConaughey presence is an entirely quiet one. This time around, though, the agency also dispenses with the linear narrative of its predecessor, instead focusing on visual similes for the 2017 Lincoln MKZ’s various features while working with director J.C. Chandor.

In “Shave,” for example, the actor receives a close shave with straight razor from a barber. These shots are then compared to the Lincoln MKZ driving through the fog on a tight mountain road, ending with the tagline, “It’s Like That.”

As with previous campaigns, the ad is more about selling the overall “feeling” of the vehicle than highlighting certain features as selling points, although in this case the MKZ’s precise handling is clearly referenced.

“Midnight” shows the actor getting home late in formal wear and staring at his pool before falling in backwards, an experience compared to driving the MKZ around in the rain.

“Ensemble,” meanwhile, features a performance by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.

As the camera zooms out, the band appears to be performing in the grille of McConaughey’s MKZ. We’re not sure whether the comparison is supposed to be to the elegance of the redesigned grille or the sound of the vehicle, but it could potentially work in either case.

The new spots take the brand in a somewhat more understated direction that, nonetheless, is meant to evoke the visceral experience of driving the new, more powerful version of the vehicle. Something about the lack of dialogue works, lending the ads a sense of silent authority and avoiding the self-parody of McConaughey’s intitial efforts with the brand. Not all of the comparisons work, but when they miss it’s a lot less loud than those earlier efforts.

“Matthew is the glue across the Lincoln brand — he brings a certain attitude and allure,” Hudson Rouge CCO Jon Pearce told The Hollywood Reporter. “The new MKZ will have a 400-horsepower engine, so this campaign is meant to convey something more visceral.”

“What you’re trying to bring out is the feeling of exhilaration” generated by driving the newly hopped-up MKZ, Lincoln CMO John Emmert told the publication, adding that McConaughey spoke lines in earlier takes of “Midnight” but the spot seemed more convincing without them. “Sometimes you can get it in just one weird facial expression — Matthew is so good with body language.” 

At the end of last month we brought news of Lincoln’s partnership with Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey for a new campaign promoting the Lincoln MKC, to be handled by a shop within WPP’s Team Detroit division.

Now, Team Detroit and Lincoln are rolling out the new campaign with a series of (purportedly unscripted) spots that take a somewhat unorthodox approach. In the 60-second introductory spot (featured above), McConaughey drives around pontificating on what it means to “go back” and how some people say you can’t do it but really you just have to look in the right places. What is he talking about exactly? How does it relate to the MKC? Your guess is as good as ours.

In the similarly strange “Bull,” the actor admires the majesty of a large bull blocking the road, before deciding to turn around and take the long route. The 30-second “I Just Liked It” is a little more straightforward, with McConaughey explaining that he drove a Lincoln long before he was paid to, not to look cool or make a statement, but because he “just liked it.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lincoln Motor Company has partnered with recent Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey on a multiyear campaign promoting the Lincoln MKZ, Adweek reports.

In a press release, McConaughey claimed to be a long-time admirer of the brand. “Lincoln is an iconic, American brand and I like where they are heading with their transformation,” he said. “I had the chance to drive the new MKC around Texas and I think they’re doing a good job.”

The spots in the campaign, which will be handled by shop within WPP’s Team Detroit division, will be unscripted, although the brand and director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) created a storyline around the MKC for the actor to work with emphasizing the joy of driving. You can check out the trailer above to get an idea of what to expect from Lincoln and McConaughey.

“Matthew is a natural fit with Lincoln and where we are going as a brand,” said Matt VanDyke, director, global Lincoln. “The transformation of Lincoln is well underway. With the MKC coming to market in a hot, competitive segment, now is the perfect opportunity to share to a wider audience what our brand offers. Matthew is the ideal personality to help us tell this story, and it is only the beginning of what we trust will be a fantastic relationship.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Olá, antidesigners e brainstormers!
Neste programa, Ivan Mizanzuk, Saulo Mileti, Thiago Grossmann e Mau Saldanha discutem sobre essa série fantástica que nos deixou malucos por oito semanas: True Detective. Adentre na psicologia de Rust Cohle, saiba do nosso amor por Matthew Mcconaughey, pire sobre o conceito do Yellow King e pondere sobre quem é o verdadeiro detetive.

>> 0h12min31seg Pauta principal
>> 1h35min42seg Leitura de comentários
>> 1h58min14seg Música de encerramento: “Far from any road”, da banda The Handsome Family

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Ivan no Clichecast sobre YouTube
Conto Arcano XV, do Ivan
True Detective, Yellow King e Lovecraft (em inglês)
Texto do Saulo sobre True Detective e Emil Cioran
AntiCast 23 – “Impulso Criativo” (sobre Ernest Becker e seu livro “A Negação da Morte”, acerca do sentimento de finitude e a importância da criatividade na vida humana)

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Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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