TBWA Celebrates a Day of Sun for Jimmy Dean

TBWA/Chiat Day, LA has a new series of online spots in their ongoing campaign promoting Jimmy Dean’s new lunch and dinner offerings.

Some wondered, when Jimmy Dean announced the move into the instant lunch/dinner market, whether the brand would retain its recognizable sun character due to its association with the morning. But the brand is leaning on its mascot as much as ever, explaining its continued presence with a new series of online spots tracking him on characters across the country and throughout the day.

In “Slow Roast Shuffle” (featured above), he’s dancing up a storm while promoting Jimmy Dean Pulled Pork. Things get over-the-top pretty quickly and his dance partner can’t exactly keep up, as TBWA/Chiat Day stretch the character into some cartoonish territory. Other spots are slightly more down-to-earth, with the sun dropping change into parking meters, giving out free lunch at baggage claim in an airport and riding off into the sunset. All the videos are hosted on a website where you can also track the sun’s progress on the “Sunniest Day,” which Jimmy Dean says was yesterday.

Despite TBWA’s best efforts, the character, so long associated with breakfast, seems a little out of place in these scenarios (and past the AM). With time we’ll see if these are just growing pains or if the character continues to feel awkward promoting meals past breakfast. (more…)

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Innocean Kicks Off ‘Because Futbol’ for Hyundai

With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil now just over a week away, Innocean has kicked off Hyundai’s World Cup campaign, entitled “Because Futbol.”

In the campaign, two new in-game 30-second spots featuring the redesigned 2015 Hyundai Sonata will accompany digital, social, CRM, and retail executions. The spots will air on ESPN and Univision “as part of Hyundai’s exclusive whistle-to-whistle automotive advertising sponsorship of the World Cup series broadcasts on the networks.” The creative theme behind both “Avoidance” and “Boom” is fan passion, with Innocean likening fans loyalty to their team to Hyundai’s number one ranking in customer loyalty. In “Avoidance” a passionate fan leaves the office having recorded the day’s match. Seeking to keep himself in the dark on the game’s outcome, he goes through all sorts of trouble to avoid interacting with those who would spoil the surprise. “Boom” looks at a completely different aspect of fan passion. The campaign also includes a “#BecauseFutbol” site, built on the Tumblr platform, which “inspires and engages fans with unique content and tools developed by dozens of leading Tumblr artists and content creators.” Tumblr artist content will also be featured on the Times Square Billboard in New York during the days leading up to the World Cup.

“Soccer fans are more than just supporters of the game – they are die hard, loyal fanatics for their teams and countries,” said Steve Shannon, vice president, marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “As the industry leader in customer loyalty, Hyundai knows a thing or two about passion. This year’s World Cup campaign shows what being a ‘true’ fan really means; and how for 30 days people come together, lives change, emotions rise and unexpected moments happen.”

Stay tuned for credits and “Boom” after the jump. continued…

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Walton Isaacson Slows Things Down for Cruzan Rum

Following on the heels of last year’s “Don’t Hurry” campaign, Walton Isaacson has created a series of follow-up ads for Cruzan Rum. Keeping that campaign’s tagline and focus on slowing down to live in the moment, this year’s iteration takes things off the metaphorical “Don’t Hurry” island to everyday life.

In the new series of ads, people are shown in common situations where hurrying really isn’t getting them anywhere, including speed dating (above) and speed chess. The digital campaign includes these two 30-second spots, as well as three 15-second pre-roll videos, and will be supported by social media, public relations and retail extensions.

“If you hurry through life, you could miss something big, and that’s what we really want people to take away from the campaign,” explained Brendan Lynch, senior director of rum & cordials at Beam Suntory. “We’re often so focused on what’s in front of us that we miss what’s going on around us. It’s important to slow down, take the time to enjoy the best things in life, like Cruzan Rum, one sip at a time – and our fans agree.”

Stick around for “Speed Chess,” a recipe for “Cruzan Life’s A Peach” and credits following the jump. Don’t forget to lightly slap your mint sprig. continued…

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Here’s Your First Airbnb Spot by Pereira & O’Dell

Now that Airbnb, that controversial apartment “sharing” (read: renting) business, has grown beyond its startup roots to become a company with an estimated value greater than the entire Hyatt Corporation, it needs a little creative work to show the world what it’s all about.

Today Pereira & O’Dell provided that work in the form of the very first Airbnb spot:

We’re not sure whether the business will catch on with the public at large and we can’t imagine warming to the idea of swapping apartments with strangers, but we also can’t think of a better way to summarize Airbnb’s appeal than with a series of views from alternate windows in a “you could be here, or here, or here” montage.

Unfortunately, you may still have a tough time describing the company’s product to your grandmother.

Credits after the jump.

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RPA, Tool Share Terrible Parenting for Newport Beach Film Festival

RPA teamed up with production company tool for a new campaign celebrating Newport Beach Film Festival’s 15th anniversary entitled “15 Years Under the Influence.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is a short film called “Bedtime Story.” In the two and a half minute video, directed by Tom Routson, a daughter asks her father to read her a story before bed. The father begins a story about “a beautiful princess who lived in a magical castle far, far away,” but soon finds himself bored with the story and strays from the narrative, deciding that the princess is not actually a princess but a “beautiful operating system” (referencing Spike Jonze’s Her). From there his story bounces all over the place, referencing memorable moments in independent film from the last 20 years or so, with a rather gory ending. Somehow, through all this his daughter manages to fall asleep, making the display of truly awful parenting seem almost sweet. In addition to its home online, the film will screen during this year’s festival in Newport Beach, which will take place from April 24th-May 1st. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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New Lowe Campbell Ewald Campaign Marks Beginning of the End for ‘Got Milk?’

Lowe Campbell Ewald marks the end of an era today, with their campaign for Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) offering up a new tagline that shifts away from the iconic “Got Milk?” line that seems like it’s been around forever.

Although the “Got Milk?” tagline will still be used in some markets, such as California (where the processors are reportedly still with Goodby), the campaign is largely fazing out the popular tagline in favor of “Milk Life” — which may or may not be inspired by “Thug Life.” Lowe Campbell Ewald’s multi-million dollar integrated campaign focuses on milk’s health benefits (fitting the new tagline), most notably as a strong source of protein.

“Got Milk has very high awareness,” Sal Taibi, president at Lowe Cambell Ewald, New York told AdAge, “But we have a new strategy. We have a new message and we just felt we needed a new approach.”

At the heart of the “Milk Life” campaign is the new anthem spot featured above, which “spotlights everyday moments of accomplishment, achievement and enjoyment, showing milk with the latest in graphic and animation technology to bring to life how families who include milk’s protein at breakfast make the most of their day.” The obviously high-budget visuals are impressive enough, and the spot is fairly well put-together, but I’ve got to say I really miss the milk mustaches. In addition to the 30 second anthem spot, the campaign also includes “print, TV and digital advertising, consumer and retail promotions, public relations and social media” — presumably also devoid of milk mustaches. The “Milk Life” campaign also marks the first work to come out of Lowe Campbell Ewald’s recently opened New York office. Stick around for credits after the jump, and let us know what you think of the new direction in the comments section. continued…

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Macklemore, Ryan Lewis Bring Grammy Life to NYC Bus

Most likely, this video of Macklemore and his Jazzy Jeff shadow Ryan Lewis is a staged marketing effort from TBWA\Chiat\Day LA to promote the 56th Grammy Awards. The two musicians hop on a New York City bus with a boombox and start performing an impromptu concert full of Macklemore’s signature exuberance and corny hand movements. The riders on the bus start dancing and feeling the music – the bus driver even starts clapping on (probably fake) closed circuit footage.

I’d probably react the same way if Macklemore came on the crosstown bus. But you know how I know it’s not real? Because if anyone came on NYC public transportation with a boombox and started making noise, there will undoubtedly be at least two people who hate it and tell them to shut it off before they turn into depressed and sarcastic versions of the Hulk.

But whether it is real or not, the question everyone wants to know is: where is Ray Dalton? Credits after the jump.

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Draftfcb LA Continues Full-Court Press for Nabi

Just two weeks ago, we were covering the first wave of Nabi spots from Draftfcb, a pair of 30-second ads that favorably compared kid-friendly Nabi tablets to Kindle devices a la Microsoft vs. Apple. Our Erik Oster found them to be informational and appealing. However, these two new spots, “Fear Not Question” and “Swagger,” drop the comparison technique for an unconvincing plea for Nabi to be a lifestyle brand.

“Fear No Question” presents the Nabi brand as classroom-friendly, going right after a parent’s sense of idealistic learning, so in turn, that parent will go right for his/her wallet. It’s a boring and safe play that may have worked out if Draftfcb hadn’t already launched the Kindle attacks that are much more memorable.

“Swagger” goes straight after the kids. Promoting Nabi headphones – think Beats for kids – the spot shows a little kid walking down a school hallway in slow-motion as he gives headnods to his friends and long stares to the girl he probably has a crush on. This is more Fubu than Fuhu. This is also just a bad commercial, corny and overdone, even for a children’s market. The tagline of “Everyone Needs a Theme Song” actually has a nice ring to it, but the visual execution is too silly. The clip almost plays like a mocking comedy skit of itself.

At 30 seconds, both ads are easy to watch and easy to forget. ”Swagger” and credits after the jump.

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Sears’ Diehard Batteries Will Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Including a narrative is usually a good way for a commercial to hook the audience with creativity, but this Y&R Midwest zombie spot for Sears actually overdoes the narrative focus to the point where the  brand association is almost negligible. We know, zombies are popular, but it seems like the creatives put more time into the character development of the actors than organically integrating the product. Somebody really enjoys The Walking Dead.

The setup: a girl and a guy running from zombies try to escape in separate cars. The guy’s car won’t start, but the girl’s car has a Diehard battery that is still kicking even after the apocalypse, which is conceptually clever. But, the 70-second running time is too long for the two-second insert shot of a Diehard battery at the very end. If the first 35 seconds of the ad were cut, the relevant story points would still be in tact. There’s also a #SurviveZombies for brand engagement, but if you want or need a reliable car battery, you probably don’t care about hashtags or zombies. Credits after jump.

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Taco Bell is Excited About Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos, Therefore You Must Be, Too

Hey, did you know that Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos tacos now come in a Cool Ranch variety? Of course you did, and you and your 20-something-year-old friends are probably celebrating in a parking lot or pool hall right now according to this spot from DraftFCB. “By golly, what a wonderful new offering,” you thought to yourself. “I should throw a Doritos bag containing a taco to my similarly aged friend across town. That is what I shall do.” And then you did.

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GoDaddy Finally Moves Away from Douchebag Ads with ‘TMI’

About a year ago, GoDaddy hired Deutsch New York as their creative agency, and the world wondered whether we’d see the end of the “GoDaddy Girls” gimmick, or even the beginning of a more nuanced campaign. Instead, during this year’s Super Bowl, GoDaddy offered us Bar Rafaeli (“sexy”) making out with a red-faced man named Walter (“smart”). Danica Patrick narrated and did her best not to look embarrassed. Our op-ed contributor at the time, WWD&S co-head Harry Woods, may have captured the most accurate reaction: “The whole ugly thing once again sent us reaching for a wing bone, nacho or beer bottle cap to dig our eyes out.”

Thankfully no eyeball gouging is necessary with GoDaddy’s latest spot. In it, a Ron Weasley-esque man is introduced to the GoDaddy team. His name and its closest iterations are already taken by his colleagues, so the team tosses around other possibilities. Anyone who’s thought about buying a domain name is familiar with this brainstorming process, and Deutsch did well personifying it. The whole thing is off-kilter and amusing, and finally we see Danica Patrick in racing gear, not heels. She’s still hot.

Here’s hoping GoDaddy continues the curve away from their signature blunt, sensationalist spots.

Credits after the jump. [Ed: Welcome back, Ella]

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Let’s Wind Down the Day with a Brutal Film Festival Promo from RPA & Tool, Shall We?

As the opening moments states, viewer discretion is advised with this lengthy promo from RPA and Tool, who for the fourth year in a row are teaming up to hype the Newport Beach Film Festival. If you haven’t seen Corbin’s Bernsen‘s epic, award-winning (ok, not really) The Dentist saga or better yet The Marathon Man, consider this clip called “Mandible” the Cliff’s Notes version.

Again, this is not for the squeamish (though as a horror fan it’s not all that shocking; as a guy who’s got a dentist appointment next week, that’s another story), but in a statement regarding “Mandible,” RPA creative director Scott McDonald says, “We wanted to demonstrate the power of film by taking audiences to a heightened state of emotion and then pulling them back to reality, reminding them that they’re watching particles of light on a screen.” Perhaps what we’re seeing is how RPA felt during the recent Honda review, but who knows, they came out of it pretty OK and so will you. The Newport Beach Film Festival begins April 25 and runs through May 2. Enjoy the show, kids. Credits after the jump.

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