Hasta La Creative!

Swedish agency Le Bureau teamed up with Seattle-based animation studio The Academy’s Swedish collective known as Brikk to create a two minute PSA for Red Cross Sweden.

The ad tries to convince Swedes to give Red Cross parcels to those in need for Christmas, rather than buying something they won’t even remember next year. Or, as Brikk puts it, “We together with Red Cross think that a food package to Syria is a better Christmas gift than a fitness band, and that’s what we are trying to communicate in the animation.”

To accomplish this, the animation highlights just how many gifts are forgotten, or even sold secondhand online after the holiday season. “Don’t buy thoughtless presents for the ones you care for, buy something special that shows they mean more,” says the spot’s rhyming narrator, positing Red Cross gifts as the answer. Near the end of the PSA he gets a little more direct, saying, “…this year don’t buy shit, make an active choice.” The candidness is refreshing, and should get more people to share what otherwise could have been a very dry message. (more…)

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R/GA London rolled out a digital holiday campaign for Bailey’s, an extension of the brand’s global “Here’s To Us” campaign targeting millenial women, created by BBH London.

The digital extension celebrates getting together with friends — whether it’s going out and trying new places, as in “Here’s To Getting Together” (above), or staying in and hanging out, as in “Here’s To Staying In” (after the jump). Both videos, which launched in the UK last month and are now rolling out across Europe, feature montages of quick shots which together tell the story of a night with friends. In “Here’s To Getting Together” it’s “trying new places,” “catching up… on everything,” waiting for that one friend who’s always late and having just one more side dish. Each spot ends with the group of women toasting with a glass or shot of Bailey’s, implying the brand is part of the perfect evening.

In addition to the online spots there is also a campaign Tumblr page functioning as part of “a unique influencer campaign featuring women such as Daisy Lowe and blogger Eleanora Carisi.” The influencer campaign will include editorial interviews, Instagram content creation, and cocktails created by Daisy Lowe (UK), Jessica Weiss (Germany, of Journelles Blog) and Eleanora Carisi (Italy, of JouJou Villeroy blog) alongside “London Mixology icon” Missy Flynn.

“Our ambition is to create unique online content that captures the magic you feel when you’re with your best girlfriends and inspires women to raise a toast to each other with,” explains Dawn Allison, global digital marketing manager, Baileys, in a press release, adding that the campaign “marks a critical phase in our journey to re-ignite performance by putting consumer behaviour – serve and occasion – at the heart of every brand execution.” (more…)

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Back in September, McKinney created an ad for Samsung starring the almost-too-cute Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard preparing for a night out only to stay in wasting time on their Galaxy Tab S. Now the couple has returned in a holiday effort for Samsung, presumably also from McKinney that sees Dax decorating the house with a little help from a very pregnant Kristen.

In the spot, entitled “Home for the Holidays,” the couple communicates via video as Dax scours the attic for decorations and goes to the store for holiday treats and Dax shows off Samsung’s smart watch when he takes a call from Kristen while setting up lights on the roof. When they finally complete decorating and switch the lights on Kristen says suggestively, “You know what this gets me in the mood for?” — but it’s not what you think. Viewers who enjoyed the cutesy appeal of the couple’s previous Samsung ad will find plenty to like here. Those who found that spot a little cute for its own good will probably want to skip this one.

If you’re wondering how close to real life the couple’s antics in the spot are, the answer is pretty close. According to Todd Pendleton, chief marketing officer at Samsung Telecommunications America, “Kristen and Dax go big for the holidays and their traditions from wearing matching pajamas and sweaters to decorating the house Griswold style are all true to what they do in real life.”

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Red Bee Media recently teamed up with production company Strange Beast and Polish directing duo Kijek/Adamski for a new spot blending stop-motion and 2D animation to promote the BBC’s “Radio 4 in Four.”

The ad opens by asking, “What can you do in four minutes?” before answering with “boil an egg,” and “change a lightbulb” and suggesting that “Radio 4 in Four Minutes” is a more productive use of time. Going on to stoke viewers’ curiosity with animated representations of a few stories, the spot ends by directing viewers to the “Radio 4 in Four” website and asking, “Where will four minutes take you?”

The stylized animation provides a clever way to get people interested in the stories without giving too much away, and the stories themselves seem carefully selected to represent the kind of subjects covered on Radio 4. So viewers get an idea of what they can expect, with something to stoke the interest of different types of readers. While it may not be the most inventive or memorable spot, the ad communicates its message rather neatly in its attempt to attract readers, although not providing a link to the website at the end of the ad seems an oversight (it is published in the video description on YouTube). (more…)

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The 2016 Rio Olympic Games mascot was unveiled Monday, and while we don’t know what the name of the creature is, one thing’s for sure. Following in the line of cat-like creatures that are not cats—pointing the finger at you, Hello Kitty—it’s not a feline.

According to its official description, the long-limbed, pointy-eared, tailed creature is a mixture of all the Brazilian animals including cats, monkeys and birds. It should come as no surprise that he is existentially pondering “Who am I?” on his description page.

Likewise, his sidekick, the Paralympic Games mascot, is a tree that is not a tree. It’s a combination of all the plant life in the Brazilian forests. Or it’s an overenthusiastic artichoke that’s turning blue from lack of oxygen. Take your pick.

People echoed the same confused reaction on Twitter.

Rio’s Olympic mascots are a wacky, yellow cat and a weird blob that has plants for hair http://t.co/hKCnDYjpdU pic.twitter.com/hO7A5WZT5O

— For The Win (@ForTheWin) November 24, 2014

Behold the Rio 2016 mascots, Cat-Thing and Shrubby http://t.co/pCwes31IEi

— Ian Prior (@ianprior) November 24, 2014

The Rio 2016 mascots. Are awful. Fuleco is a Warhol in comparison.

— Fernando Duarte (@Fernando_Duarte) November 24, 2014

A yellow “cat-like” thing with a brother with a bush for a head. Unnamed Rio 2016 mascots unveiled: http://t.co/tlZHbzvjxk

— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) November 24, 2014

Flashbacks to Pokemon and Mario Bros. 2 -> Rio unveils 2016 Olympic mascots http://t.co/iMKTwvSjnM via @TIMEWorld pic.twitter.com/hq2idu5BMj

— Michèle (@MicDio) November 24, 2014

Rio 2016 mascots featuring a Lego Tina Turner. pic.twitter.com/o1Mu4KpYas

— Roberticus (@Santapelota) November 24, 2014

Do the mascots for the Rio Olympics remind you of anyone? pic.twitter.com/W9NjLqNmxn

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 24, 2014

It could have been worse. They’re downright cute compared to the one-eyed monsters that London touted (not a euphemism for something else) or the phallic banana-colored creatures that represented Athens (still not a euphemism).

The Rio committee is asking people to submit names for the beings on its website. For some inspiration, see them in action in the video below.

Seattle-based agency Super Frog Saves Tokyo is behind the above hilarious and endearing video of three grandmothers smoking cannabis for the first time, followed by Jenga using “all your hands,” discussions about ironing and attempts at opening a bag of chips. The agency created the video, which has now surpassed the 12 million view mark on YouTube, as a side project, but told The Wall Street Journal it plans to host a whole series of “entertaining yet thought-provoking videos” on the new site Cut.com beginning next week.

“Cut.com is an experiment for us,” Mike Gaston, SFST’s creative director, told that publication. “BuzzFeed is really good at getting content spread, and Vice is good at creating really thought-provoking content, but I think there’s space in between. I think it’s possible for us to create culturally relevant videos that are also entertaining…”

Gaston stressed that the video “isn’t simply a marketing tool for the agency,” despite all the publicity afforded to Super Frog Saves Tokyo as a result of its viral success. “This isn’t a business development tool,” he said. “Right now I’m only really looking for long-term, strategic partners for SFST.” He did add, however, that the agency “would happily turn Cut.com into its own business.”

One of the more interesting (and funny) facts to emerge from the Wall Street Journal interview was an unexpected challenge in creating the video. “Surprisingly, the hardest part of the entire video was finding grandmas that haven’t smoked weed,” Gaston said.

SFST initially attempted to use their own grandmothers, only to discover that they’d all tried cannabis at least once — as had all their friends. Next they turned to a talent agency, but even then only managed to find two candidates who fit the bill. Funnily enough, they resorted to using the talent agent’s own grandmother as the third party. According to The Wall Street Journal, Cut.com has already recorded more content, which will be uploaded to the site and its corresponding YouTube channel in the coming weeks. Let’s hope they can live up to their initial success.

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BBH New York enlisted dancers from the New York City Ballet for a series of ads depicting victory celebrations for PS4, an extension of the “Greatness Awaits” campaign.

Each of the six spots begins with a group of dancers performing classic ballet moves in scenery/dress meant to evoke certain styles of games (sports, space, war, etc.) before a musical change signifies a shift in style and they perform a more modern victory dance. At the end of each 30-second spot, viewers are invited to contribute to the linked social initiative, calling on gamers to submit their own victory dance on Instagram for a chance at winning a PS4. At this point, any gaming advertising that tries something different is a welcome departure, and the social initiative has the potential to lead to some fun engagement with fans. We do wish, however, that they had managed a take of “Dunk” (stick around for it after the jump) where she actually makes the shot. (more…)

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Anna Kendrick returns to the advertising world following her role in Newcastle’s “(Non-) Super Bowl Commercial” at the beginning of the year.

This time, Kendrick appears in an online ad for Kate Spade in which she has locked herself out of her apartment. Stranded on her stoop, Kendrick drinks champagne, chats on her cell phone, models her Kate Spade finds for her dog and loudly sings the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” while waiting for the locksmith to show up. Finally. she hatches a plan to reach her fire escape and get into the apartment, then opening the door to let her dog in. Kendrick brings her usual charm to the ad, directed by Michael Mohan, and keeps things amusing enough, even if it’s more cute than funny.

The video is also available in an interactive format, allowing viewers to “click on the items throughout to view behind the scenes footage and shop all of the Kate Spade looks featured.” Stick around for the interactive version, along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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Area 23, part of FCB Health, teamed up with diabetes advocacy organization The diaTribe Foundation for a campaign called “The State of Diabetes” launching today, on World Diabetes Day.

The campaign is based around the insight that if the 343 million people living with type 2 diabetes around the world were recognized as a sovereign state by the United Nations it would be the world’s third largest country. So Area 23 and The diaTribe Foundation launched an initiative petitioning the United Nations to recognize type 2 diabetes as a sovereign nation. While it’s fair to assume that no one involved actually expects that one to pan out, The diaTribe Foundation hopes the initiative will “spark conversations about furthering education and awareness efforts, and even inspire access to healthier food across the globe.”

“In emerging nations—where processed and fast foods are too often more accessible than healthier options—‘lifestyle choices’ may not really be choices,” explains Kelly Close, founder of The diaTribe Foundation. “Education on an individual basis is only one piece of the puzzle. We need to put type 2 diabetes awareness on the agenda, at the national and international levels.”

Area 23 also worked with artist Henry Hargreaves and director Tim Hawkey for a PSA video promoting the initiative. The video sees Hargreaves construct a world map made out of the kind of unhealthy foods that can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and asks “What kind of world are we creating?” before directing viewers to the campaign microsite, where they can choose to sign a petition addressed to the UN. Print ads for the campaign are designed to drive traffic to the microsite as well, while social media efforts will also support the campaign. (more…)

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PETA is certainly no stranger to provocative advertising, and its latest attempt to take on the wool industry with its “#WoolFreeWinter” campaign is no exception.

The group created two separate ads featuring models in open red long johns scratching their junk, one male and one female, ending with the tagline “Scratch Wool From Your Shopping List” and directing viewers PETA.org to watch a video exposing animal cruelty in the wool trade. Both ads were intended to run on digital billboards, above 42nd Street and at 1500 Broadway from November to January, but Neutron Media deemed the male version — which, unlike the female one, contains a hint of pubic hair, too suggestive, so it is running on PETA’s website instead. The website also features an editorial questioning if Times Square is sexist for rejecting the male ad. We’ve included it after jump, so you can decide for yourself.

“PETA routinely uses both men and women in sexy ads advocating for animal rights,” said PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews. “It was especially important in this campaign, as wool is marketed to both men and women who have no idea how violently sheep are mutilated in the shearing process.”

(more…)

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