The Martin Agency Asks Salt-N-Pepa to Spice Up Geico

The Martin Agency makes sacreligious use of Salt-N-Pepa’s iconic 90s hit “Push It” — as well as the group itself — in its latest spot for Geico.

The 30-second ad opens on a man trying to pull open a door that says “Push” on it. Soon Salt-N-Pepa show up behind him and break into “Push It” and the man walks in. Next we see the pair in an elevator (with Spinderella in the background), a Lamaze class, and at a football practice while performing the song. “If you’re salt and pepper, you tell people to push it. It’s what you do,” says a voiceover, in the campaign’s familiar formula. “If you want to save 15 percent or more on car insurance, you switch to Geico. It’s what you do.” The Martin Agency then manages to slip in a quick gag after the tagline.

The campaign, whose tagline feels like a response to Esurance’s “Insurance for the modern world” (with that company directly taking on Geico’s “15 percent or more “selling point in its advertising), seems like its running out of steam as its joke runs a bit thin, so bringing in an act nostalgic viewers will be pleased to see make sense. And Salt-N-Pepa’s presence certainly makes the ad more memorable, even if it can’t quite save the tired premise.  (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Mike Myers and His Brother Star in New Ad for Sears Canada

Mike Myers and his brother, Peter Myers, who has worked at Sears for 32 years, star in a new ad for Sears Canada.

In the spot, Mike talks about Sears Canada’s recent woes, asking if the retailer is going away. Peter reassures him that they aren’t going anywhere and asks if he knows anything about the retail business, to which Mike replies, “Not a lot. Just that Sears Canada has to demographically and psychographically alter the trajectory of its business model. But that would just be a wild guess.” Despite the two brothers’ natural chemistry, that’s as close to a laugh as the 60-second spot, which will only air in Canada, gets. Still, it’s not completely without its charm, as the brand being upfront about its recent struggles is refreshing. The spot ends with Peter asking if Mike is going to deliver the tagline, and Mike rehashing a long-retired one before offering up one of his own. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Zambezi, Hungry Man Release Another Awkward fruitwater Spot

Last month, vitaminwater’s fruitwater  brand got a little weird with Christina Applegate in the first of its new ads in a campaign created by Venice agency Zambezi and production studio Hungryman.

Today the company released its follow-up, another entry in the “painfully awkward” genre. Here’s “Decoy”:

The earlier one after the jump in case you missed it:

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

KFC Covers All Your Demographics in FCB Spot

This latest FCB Chicago spot for KFC can’t solve the diversity problem at ad agencies, but it can easily solve the challenge of casting diverse actors in ads: pick one member from each major demographic and place them around a kitchen table even larger than The Barbarian Group’s legendary desk…

In case you missed the point, it’s that age, race and other factors the U.S. Census considers important don’t matter much when it comes to fried chicken.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

WPP’s David Documents the Rise and Fall of ‘Subservient Chicken’ for Burger King

Today Burger King dropped the first spot by its new global AOR, WPP agency David.

As a faux “where are they now” covering the CP+B original’s fall from fame and return to viral advertising, it’s about as meta as you would expect.

It’s also more than a little “Rocky”: there’s an Italian trainer; there’s an instrumental montage; there’s at least one raw egg; there’s Screech as a costumed Mexican chicken fighter.

The campaign isn’t as interactive as its predecessor; while the rollout included a series of missing person-style print ads, viewers can’t tell this chicken what to do (and yes, we know the responses were pre-recorded in 2004).

The big question, given the spot’s very open-ended conclusion and the fact that BK CMO Eric Hischorn told USA Today that “[The Chicken] will stick around going forward”: where will the sequel go?

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CP+B Rolls Out New Kraft Mac & Cheese Spots

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…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Heat, Hungry Man Unleash ‘Shadow’ for EA’s ‘Titanfall’

Heat and their production partner Hungry Man have released a new spot for Xbox One crown jewel exclusive and E3 critical darling Titanfall, which just had its North American release yesterday.

The new, 60 second spot (there’s also a 30 second version), entitled “Shadow,” imagines what it would be like to constantly be shadowed by a 25-foot Titan that obeys your every command. Following in the recent trend of inserting gamers into the real world, the spot attempts “to capture the ear-to-ear grinning invincibility you feel when you first climb into your very own Titan and start dominating the world.” “Shadow” follows a man with a shit-eating grin walking through a city trailed by his own personal Titan. Everything is just peachy until he runs into another Titan owner, at which time, as you might expect, shit goes down.

The spot manages to capture the overall “Life is Better with a Titan” theme of the campaign, while also demonstrating Titanfall‘s unique features, like verticality. What really makes the spot work, though, is the perfect transition to gameplay footage during the final 15 seconds. While there’s nothing revolutionary about Heat’s approach here, they find a balance between live action and gameplay footage that a lot of similarly minded ads miss. And they certainly succeed at making the game look like a lot of fun. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Vanilla Ice Rocks Out in New Kraft Mac n’ Cheese Spot from CP+B

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…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CP+B Condones Grand Theft Auto for Kraft Mac & Cheese

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…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Ah, So This is How Halftime Was Born

If you’ve ever wondered how NFL’s halftime started, Denver-based agency Motive has the (entirely fictional) answer for you in their new spot for Pepsi, “There Since the First Halftime.”

In the 30-second spot, a group of guys playing football are interrupted when a broken down car full of fetching ladies arrives asking for help. One of the guys tells his team to stay focused, but the girls shout, “We’ve got Pepsi!” Another player says “What if we just take, like, fifteen minutes?” and thus, Motive and Pepsi would have you believe, halftime was born. It may be a bit ridiculous, but, more importantly, it’s fun and memorable.

The spot marks the Hungry Man debut for director Kinka Usher. The former DGA Director of the Year joined the production company, along with EP Nancy Hacohen, last month.

“There Since the First Halftime” started running during the NFL Playoffs this past Saturday as part of a larger campaign supporting the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl Halftime Show. Chances are you’ll catch it if you stick around for commercial breaks during the Conference Championships this Sunday. Credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New CP+B Spots for Xbox One Tackle Retirement, Relationship Issues


With the Xbox One’s November 22nd launch date looming ever nearer, CP+B’s marketing blitz for Microsoft’s next-gen system continues with two new spots. Coming on the heels of the “Invitation” spot released late last month, the two new short spots highlight the system’s diverse capabilities while otherwise taking different approaches.

The first spot, “Retirement Home,” features recently retired NFL linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher. Urlacher asks Lewis if he’s having any trouble adjusting to retirement as both watch football and play Madden 25 at the same time. Lewis claims not to be having any adjustment issues, but his actions say otherwise. It’s a funny little spot that will appeal to the (sizable) segment of the Xbox crowd who have always wished they could play Madden while watching the NFL.

The second spot, “His and Hers” addresses the apparent sexism of the “Invitation” spot (in which the only female featured uses the system only to watch movies, not play games). It highlights the voice recognition system by showing a woman command the Xbox One using her voice after arriving home to find her boyfriend watching soccer. She tells the system “Xbox go to Dead Rising 3″ and begins to play. Then she starts similarly commanding her boyfriend in a similar matter, telling him to get her a beer. It’s a bit over the top, but a welcome reversal of the gender stereotypes displayed in CP+B’s “Invitation” spot.

Credits and “His & Hers” after the jump.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Microsoft, CP+B Send Xbox One ‘Invitation’

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 TitanfallDead 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…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Trolli Candy Goes to a Strange, Strange Place

Trolli gummy candy wants to get funky. Apparently, the bright colors and odd shapes weren’t quirky enough, so the candy company called upon Minneapolis-based Periscope for some creative legwork. The result is the new “Weirdly Awesome” campaign, which features a couple of thirty-second spots that are off the reservation. Periscope seems to be tapping into a “Napoleon Dynamite” aesthetic that hasn’t really been relevant in the eight years or so. The only other comparable campaign I’ve covered in the last year is this strange bit of Bugle buffoonery from Canada. Trolli’s campaign is a little more appropriate because of the sour candy product, but I’m not so sure that weird is the new currency of cool.

You can watch the second spot and sort through some credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Activision, 72andSunny Tap CollegeHumor Duo for ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Trailer

In this Call of Duty: Ghosts trailer, Jake and Amir from CollegeHumor give us a preview of the action-packed prestige edition of the game. It includes a paracord strap, a Steelbook, and an HD Tactical Camera. “Naturally, we’re going to do what you do when you have a badass tactical camera strapped to your head,” the boys say. I realize I’m definitely not a video gamer when I have no idea what the next step will be. Parkour? Surveillance?

“We’re going to breach some stuff!!” Jake and Amir proceed to burst through doors, elevator doors, garden gates, and bathroom stalls, entering unexpected scenarios as they go. The best part is when they’re the uninvited guests at a little princess’s tea party. “Hi guys!” she squeaks, and we see them taking a moment to sip out of miniature purple plastic cups. The whole thing is a fun idea, far better than watching a fictional character slaughter everything in his path while the new Eminem single “Survival” plays. If only we all had disposable screen doors and wacky neighbors worthy of tactical camera footage. As it is, mothers should prepare for the onslaught of their teenage boys trying to karate chop the front door.

Check out the credits after the jump

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

‘The Replacer’ Returns, with JB Smoove in Tow, in New ‘Black Ops II’ Clip

Nearly three months after 72andSunny introduced us to “The Replacer”–aka Fargo baddie Peter Stormare–in its campaign for Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Revolution trailer, the agency has brought back the character, now with sidekick JB Smoove in tow, for its Black Ops II – Uprising promo. Jesus, how many entries are in this franchise? Anyhow, the newly formed dynamic duo embarks on several replacing adventures from serving as weatherman to fixing cable, with Stormare being his usual, somewhat menacing self and Smoove giving us the fast-talking delivery that we first came to know and love in Curb Your Enthusiasm. 

We’re not sure what the budget is here, but as the Black Ops franchise expands, so do seem the timeframe and scope of the clips promoting it. But, if you have the patience for it (it is lunchtime on the East Coast, after all), don’t let us stop you from taking in this slightly entertaining, slightly grating clip. Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.