Saatchi & Saatchi New York introduces Internet phenomenon Grumpy Cat to Honey Nut Cheerios in a new 30-second broadcast spot for the brand designed to appeal to younger audiences.
For the spot, entitled simply “Buzz Meets Grumpy Cat,” Saatchi & Saatchi teamed up with California-based production company Backyard and director Rob Pritts. If you count yourself among Grumpy Cat’s legions of fans, you’ll probably just be happy to see him make an appearance here. Otherwise, there’s not a lot going on beyond “Oh, you’re that Grumpy Cat,” as Buzz tries to make the feline crack a smile. His strategy consists entirely of talking about how much people like Honey Nut Cheerios.
Saatchi & Saatchi NY are helping Walmart in their bid to get you to please not hate them, delivering a an emotionally effective (some may say emotionally manipulative, given how Walmart treats their own employees) online spot for their “Work is a Beautiful Thing” campaign telling the story of Patrick.
Patrick introduces himself by saying, “When I was born the doctor said I had a condition that affected every part of me, from my body to my brain.” His whole life, Patrick is treated differently: sent to a different school, put on a different team, talked to “a different way.” But Patrick doesn’t let his disability stand in his way, as his fierce determination to be independent leads him to learn how to drive, to learn to walk again when his condition causes him to lose feeling in his legs, and to get a job at a local factory where he’s part of a team.
“My whole life, people have been telling me I have a learning disability,” Patrick says in a line turning that phrase on its head, “I guess they’re right, because I’ve never learned how to give up.” This great line is followed by the “Work is a beautiful thing” tagline and Walmart’s message: “It’s why we’re committed to the American factory, and all the people who work there.”
As you’ve probably gathered, it’s impossible not to like Patrick, so Saatchi & Saatchi hopes that by aligning Walmart with him, it’s a little harder for people to hate Walmart, too. Patrick’s poignant story is already making waves on YouTube, where it’s garnered over 600,000 views in five days. If it wasn’t for people’s reluctance to have anything to do with WalMart (let’s say this was an ad for Target, for example) that figure would probably be even higher. As is, Saatchi & Saatchi NY did a fine job here, with a conversation changer that just may get a few people to rethink their views on the retail giant, and which stands as great work regardless. Credits after the jump. continued…
It takes a comfortable man to perform karate in a barber’s robe and tinfoil, not to mention skintight jeans and snakeskin boots. Meet the face of Southern Comfort, a moustachioed man we’ve met once before in “Shampoo,” one of the previous spots in W+K’s SoCo “Whatever’s Comfortable” campaign.
Then, he was meditating amidst soft suds, opening his eyes only to check out the woman across the barbershop. Now, he’s showing off for all the ladies.
Director Tim Godsall and the W+K creative team wrote the spot after seeing our protagonist’s casting tape for “Shampoo,” in which he did karate – he’s actually skilled in the martial art, and owns a few dojos. Given the nature of the campaign, they wanted to play to his natural skills. It was a good choice, because this is the best spot yet. While “Beach” and “Shampoo” play to the relaxed side of comfort, “Karate” has more personality and ease. Especially when backed by “I’m a Fool to Care,” by Les Paul and Mary Ford, this barbershop guy paints a poignant picture, and will probably ascend to be your new role model.
The title is not a bathroom pun. Saatchi & Saatchi created a new campaign for Fiber One built around the 80′s song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” originally by Bonnie Tyler. If you’ve ever been within 50 yards of a karaoke bar, you’ll recognize the tune, and apparently, the 1983 hit is getting a second wave of popularity decades later. A May survey by UKbathrooms.com reported that it is the most popular song people sing in the shower. And more recently, actor and vocal impressionist Christina Bianco had a video of her singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the voices of 19 different divas go viral (1.8 million hits in four days).
So the relevance for the Fiber One campaign is there. We have two spots to show you, one titled “Turn Around Barry,” and the other, “Turn Around Barbara.” Ignoring the missing commas, both are about hapless characters on diets who want to eat food that tastes good but won’t make them fat. Those people do deserve power ballads playing as the soundtrack to their lives. The set-up is slightly confusing, because each ad includes multiple characters who we are supposed to assume are all named either Barry or Barbara. At one point, it looks like one Barry is even holding a leek he’s about to eat whole. But then he finds Fiber One. All in 30 seconds.
Watch “Turn Around Barbara” and read some credits after the jump.
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