Hasta La Creative!

Toronto agency john st.’s latest campaign for World Wildlife Fund Canada is based around the insight that people are lazy. Or, as Stephen Jurisic, co-ECD at john st. puts it, “This idea comes from the rather depressing truth that most people will only do things that help the environment if it’s really, really easy to do…So rather than try to change that behavior, we thought let’s just embrace it and show that it takes next to no effort to help our oceans and the sea life in it.”

In a 60-second spot, the agency promotes buying seafood with the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) label on it to help protect our oceans by supporting sustainable fishing practices. The spot likens buying MSC-certified seafood with recycling (“Because it’s next to the trash.”) and buying organic, things that are “easy and practically unavoidable.” It’s an interesting change of approach from the usual call-to-arms, making the implication that there’s really no excuse not to buy MSC seafood, since it’s so easy.The campaign also includes two shorter how-to videos and a series of overtly simply online quizzes. (more…)

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Instead of making a live action trailer for Insomniac Games’ Sunset Drive for Xbox, twofifteenmccann created a fictional behind-the-scenes take on an attempt to film a trailer for “The Un-Filmable Game.”

The “Rules are Meant to be Exploded” marketing campaign for the title began all the way back in June, including a giant, interactive balloon of character Fizzie at E3. Fizzie is around for this effort, repeating a profanity-laced line at the end of the spot (visitors are asked to enter their date of birth before viewing). The ad promotes the game as too intense for a live action trailer (which has become something of the default for big game releases) as it parodies an attempt to make one for the game in which everything goes wrong, off-screen. It’s kind of a clever approach, and even finds a unique way to incorporate gameplay footage, but, unfortunately, it’s just too long for its own good, with the full-length online version clocking in at almost four and a half minutes. A 2:30 version will air tomorrow on Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken, and the integrated campaign will continue through the game’s October 28th release and beyond. (more…)

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twofifteenmccann have created a new campaign for online radio service Pandora, entitled “#ThumbMoments.”

Users of the service typically give a song a thumbs up to favorite a song, and a thumbs down to not hear the song on their station again. But on September 5th, twofifteenmccann and Pandora made the thumbs up much more meaningful. Fans who favorited a song by Lindsey Sterling, the song was interrupted by a live message from the star, followed by a one-on-one concert for the fan. Over the course of three hours, Sterling performed seven of these concerts for Pandora listeners. Their reactions form the backbone of the new online campaign, which debuted today.

The emphasis on the thumbs up emphasizes one of the service’s more recognizable features, and allows for Pandora to surprise fans of other artists with similar concerts in the future. Indeed, The New York Times reports that future “commercials will follow the same format, but Pandora declined to name participating musicians.” Additionally, hitting thumbs up for certain (unspecified) artists in the future will result in fans receiving “thumb gifts,” such as signed instruments.

“It was very emotional for listeners, and very emotional for Lindsey, too, because she could see them one-to-one in a way that she doesn’t even get to in a concert,” James Robinson, chief creative officer of twofifteenmccann, told The New York Times of the campaign. “She could see what her music meant to these people.”

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TBWAChiatDay bids adieu to Yankees captain (and regular starting shortstop since 1996) Derek Jeter in a 90-second send-off spot for Gatorade, an MLB sponsor since 1990.

While there has been no shortage of fanfare surrounding Jeter’s exit from baseball at the quickly approaching end to the season (including a somewhat excessive display at the All Star game), TBWAChiatDay’s farewell for Gatorade, which Jeter collaborated on, manages to charm. Back in July (when it still looked like the Yankees had a shot at the postseason), TBWAChiatDay and Gatorade roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx and, in the words of Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement, “just kind of let Jeter go.”

Jeter is seen interacting with some very surprised and excited fans, signing autographs and even dropping in to Stan’s Sports Bar. Most of the spot’s charm comes from the authentic reactions of the fans, delighted by the opportunity to meet the star player.

Jeter’s collaboration for the ad also extended to the soundtrack, with the shortstop choosing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as the song that summed up his career. “It was a true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade,” Carter told Adweek.

The spot breaks online today, followed by a broadcast premiere this Saturday on the YES Network and Fox, when it’s sure to make more than a few Yankees fans teary-eyed. Gatorade will follow this with a full-page ad, written by Jeter, in the New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated on Sept. 28-29. Addressed to New York, the ad will see Jeter thanking fans for their years of support, opening, “From my first at bat until my final out, you helped make me who I am.” The print ad is timed to coincide with Jeter’s final game on September 28th (unless the team makes the playoffs, which they won’t). (more…)

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Zambezi has a new campaign for VEEV, “the world’s first Acai berry spirit,” asking you to “Cheat on your vodka.” As you may recall, this comes on the heels of Nail’s “Cheat on Greek” campaign for Stonyfiueld Organic, so it would appear that figurative adultery with food and beverages is popular at the moment.

For “Cheat on your vodka,” Zambezi imagines vodka as a grotesque older woman who has apparently been peeling potatoes (you know, because vodka is made from potatoes), questioning a man who she believes is cheating on her. She asks if she’s “too boring” and if she doesn’t “mix as well,” claiming she can smell betrayal on him. He’s pretty quick to relent, admitting his betrayal of vodka for VEEV without much pressure. The ad will run in 60 and 30 second formats online as both pre-roll and in-ad placements. It marks the first marketing campaign for VEEV since its 2007 inception. (more…)

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Los Angeles-based production company Three Point Stance (TPS) brings together Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman and a llama named Spartacus in a new campaign for Neff’s Brodie sunglasses collection.

“We wanted to connect with the Neff core audience and what better way to do that than to bring together one of the biggest names in the NFL and a llama?  What started as several creatives in a room laughing at the idea of a llama and Richard morphed into an entire campaign when Shaun (Neff) and Richard (Sherman) believed in it,” said Three Point Stance founder Erick Peyton, who co-directed the spots along with Michael Koerbel.

The campaign includes seven videos, ranging in length from 15 seconds to almost a minute. Each spot employs some pretty ridiculous humor, imagining Sherman and Spartacus as inseparable buddies in various scenarios, such as hosting a cooking show and appearing together at a press conference. TPS hopes that the lighthearted approach and Sherman’s popularity will appeal to Neff’s young target demographic, and get shared on social channels. Neff founder Shaun Neff was excited to work with Sherman, stating, “Such an amazing experience to work with one of the most animated, nicest and top athletes in the NFL, it’s truly a dream come true.” (more…)

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In celebration of National Life Insurance Month (yes, this is a thing), CP+B created a campaign for MetLife asking customers who they live for.

They then shared the results in a series of two online videos, called “Who I Live For” in an attempt to show the positive, human side of life insurance. The videos, as you might expect, attempt to pull on the heartstrings as people share photos of their children, grandchildren and significant others. Mixed in with the more predictable answers are a couple who share their love for their bulldog, Huey. Both spots end by inviting viewers to share who they live for with the hashtag #WhoILiveFor, as a social extension of the campaign.  “Who I Live For”  puts a premium on spontaneity, with seemingly unscripted responses from those interviewed and in the longer of the spots (featured above), one respondent offering up a seemingly improvised song as a soundtrack. (more…)

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GSD&M has a new campaign for the Air Force, bringing back the slogan “Aim High,” after a fifteen year absence.

The campaign, entitled “American Airmen,” launched Monday with two spots and a website. In “New Frontiers,” Airforce Chief of Staff General Mark A. Welsh III becomes the first Air Force general to be featured in an advertisement. The 30-second spot seeks to inspire with a celebration of technological innovation from the Air Force, such as breaking the sound barrier, and space exploration. “America’s Future,” meanwhile, draws on U.S. Air Force Academy commencement speeches from former Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

The campaign also includes online video content entitled “Barrier Breakers’ hosted on the Air Force website, and a multi-platform digital media buy, which will make the Air Force the first military branch to partner with PlayStation via a link on the PlayStation store menu. It will also make use of mobile advertising platform TapJoy and Spotify, where “users will view ‘Barrier Breakers’ video content while a custom playlist generator suggests music based on their current selections.”

The campaign arrives as the Air Force faces bad publicity for its decision to deny reenlistment to an atheist airman for refusing to sign an oath including the phrase “So help me God.” (more…)

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Ogilvy unveiled a new “Morning Anthem” ad for IKEA, the latest in the deluge of advertising from the brand in recent weeks.

The 30-second spot focuses on bedrooms and bathrooms and how the retailer can help make your morning rush a little less stressful. It does a good job of incorporating IKEA products like “organized wardrobes that help you pull it together” and a bathroom organizer that gets “big families out the door” into a peak at the morning routines of a couple of busy families.

The focus on mornings, bedrooms and bathrooms stems from a study IKEA conducted into the morning routines in eight major cities, which has informed all its recent morning-focused marketing, such as SMFB’s “Where Good Days Start” interactive campaign. Accompanying the new spot is a campaign extension called “First :59,” including a website hosting advice from bloggers and designers on how parents can make their mornings easier, as well as a “First 59? Pinterest board.

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Nail Communications has launched an innuendo-laden campaign for Stonyfield Organic’s Petite Creme yogurt.

In the pre-roll video (featured above), entitled “Confessions,” a group of women talk about Greek yogurt, albeit in somewhat suggestive terms. It opens with a woman laughing and saying, “I don’t know, a couple times a week, I guess,” before whispering “I don’t really enjoy it.” “It’s just too much in the morning,” adds another woman. The spot concludes by asking, “Not satisfied with Greek yogurt,” followed by the “Cheat on Greek” tagline and a shot of Stonyfield Organic’s alternative.

A “Choose Your Own Adventure” style series of YouTube videos also deals in suggestiveness. The first video in the series asks “So you want to cheat on Greek?” Answer “yes” and you’ll get a coupon, “no” and you’re redirected to a video asking “Are you sure?” Here the series makes a grammatical error, as answering “Yes” to “Are you sure?” lands you the coupon, while “No” leads to a series of videos of “hunks” who attempt to seduce you. (And the suggestiveness gets a little gross, with one guy offering “pure pleasure and ten grams of protein.”) All the videos can be found on the campaign’s microsite. We expect a protest from the American Family Association for Stonyfield’s “promotion of adultery” within 72 hours.
(more…)

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