Hasta La Creative!

After years of the hard sell, some regional and national retailers are actually trying to build brands. Last month, Men's Warehouse jettisoned its bearded chairman from its advertising (after jettisoning him from the company) in favor of a music-driven approach. And last week, Sleepy's put its first outside agency to work with playful new ads. Now, Burlington gets a brand makeover in a character-driven campaign from Silver + Partners.

Directed by Harold Einstein, TV ads feature adults in public spaces oddly voicing their internal thoughts about their clothes and what they represent. And while the clothes don't make the man (or woman), they may reflect his or her personality—at least according to the campaign. Each ad segues from a series of verbal thought balloons to pop-up images of clothes and a male voice that says, "Style says it all." Oh, and there's a bit of hard sell via on-screen copy that notes, "Up to 65% off department store prices every day." The tagline: "Style is everything."

The effort broke this week and follows a similar push by the retailer for back-to-school clothes in ads featuring kids speaking their minds—via internal voices, this time—as they view themselves (and their clothes) in the mirror. Best of that bunch: a boy in a striped shirt and jeans who thinks, "I'm about to go ninja in here," before he strikes a karate pose.

CREDITS
Client: Burlington
Campaign: "Style Says It for You
Agency: Silver + Partners
Chief Creative Director: Eric Silver
Creative Director, Copywriter: Ashley Marshall
Creative Director, Art Director: Jaclyn Rink Crowley
Managing Director: Michael Stefanski
Account Director: Lauren Pollare
Senior Producers: Chris Thielo, Terry Brogan
Production Company: Station Film
Director: Harold Einstein
Managing Partner: Stephen Orent
Executive Producer: Eric Liney
Editorial: The Now Corporation
Editor: Jesse Reisner
Executive Producer: Nancy Finn
Post, Finishing: Suspect
Managing Partners: Rob Appelblatt, Tim Crean
Director: Hoon Chong
Creative Director: Colin McGreal
Director of Photography: Evan Cohen
Producers: Tsiliana Jolson, Kevin Daly, Alexander Decaneas
Lead Animator: Damien Cho
Lead Flame Artist: Brendan O'Neil
Telecine: Co3
Colorist: Tim Masick

CREDITS
Client: Burlington
Campaign: Back to School
Agency: Silver + Partners
Chief Creative Director: Eric Silver
Creative Director, Copywriter: Ashley Marshall
Creative Director, Art Director: Jaclyn Rink Crowley
Managing Director: Michael Stefanski
Account Director: Lauren Pollare
Senior Producer: Chris Thielo
Production Company: Coverdale
Director: Amir Farhang
Executive Producer: Andy Coverdale
Editorial: The Now Corporation
Editor: Jesse Reisner
Executive Producer: Nancy Finn
Post/End Tag Animation: Hornet Inc.
Designer: David Hill
Executive Producer: Jan Stebbins
Producer: Cathy Kwan
Post/Finishing: Suspect
Producers: Tsiliana Jolson
Telecine: Co3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Audio Mix: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Tommy Jucarone
EP: Vicky Ferraro

Here it is, the first official Men's Wearhouse brand ad since the departure of iconic founder George Zimmer and the hiring of Phenomenon in Los Angeles as the retailer's new agency of record. (Last month, we got a bit of a sneak peek with a brief spot promoting the chain's charitable effort, the National Suit Drive.) The new spot, "Walk of Fame," is a retrospective of suit fashion through the decades since the store's founding in 1973. It's a fun watch, fueled by The Heavy's track, "What Makes a Good Man?" But I'm not sure the tagline—"For 40 years we've been helping men dress like gentlemen"—really fits in an ad where a guy keeps sleazily spinning around to eye hot women with a level of blatant ogling that went out of fashion long before most of these suits did.

George Zimmer, who founded Men's Wearhouse in 1973 and served as its CEO and ad spokesman until two years ago, was fired in June by the company's board of directors from his new role as executive chairman because of disagreements over the retailer's future. Zimmer, of course, was a fixture on TV with his gravelly voiced tagline, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." Below is the first post-Zimmer spot. It's only 15 seconds long, and it has a charity angle, so it's atypical for the company. Yet you feel Zimmer's absence palpably. That's because, without him, there's no real brand voice left at all, literally or figuratively. Zimmer's ads weren't very special, but he was unapologetic about that. "I apologize to those … who are going into the advertising or marketing business," he told BusinessMakers last year, "but what really drives success, in my experience, is repetition and consistency, not creativity. I think people who are in the [ad] business tend to get more hung up on the creative aspects. They start to think of themselves more as artists and less as businessmen. We have the same problem with tailors, by the way."

Ikea is a family brand, except when it comes to showing dozens of Hot Malms in compromising positions.

A new website, HotMalm.com, shows loads of explicit (yet completely safe for work) photos of Malms—i.e., Malm beds sold by Ikea. The photos have captions like "Black Twin Malms Get Supermanned," "Hot Malm's Box Filled Up," "Check Out the Pussy on This Hot Malm" and (our personal favorite) "What a Little Tease." You can also search by category—Ebony Malms, Big Beautiful Malms (BBM), Mature Malms, Teen Malms, Blonde Malms, Animal on Malm, Exposed Malms and Twin Malms. All the photos link through to the Ikea site.

HotMalm.com is "dedicated to bringing you the hottest Hot Malm action on the Web," the site says. "Our diverse and international team prides itself on curating and maintaining the Internet's most comprehensive collection of Hot Malm videos, images and content. Hot new Malms are being stripped down, screwed and laid by the thousands every day, and it's our mission to expose them."

HotMalm.com was created by some Droga5 creatives and their friends, and was tweeted out by David Droga on Monday. But it's not an official Ikea project and is meant purely for entertainment.

"The idea for HotMalm.com built up over a span of three years," says Asa Block, who worked with Droga5 colleagues Spencer Lavallee and Jen Lu and two freelancers on the site. "My roommate and I were on the obligatory post-collegiate Ikea trip and buying new beds. Of course, we started giggling at the Malm series and before long, every time someone said the word 'mom' we would reply 'HotMalm.com.' Fast-forward three years and we are both grown men, still living in an Ikea furnished apartment, and still thinking way too much about this stuff. Now, we just have a website to show for it."

Block adds: "We have never watched porn."

Ikea has yet to comment, though it now seems unlikely that it will be moving its account to Droga5 anytime in the near future. Credits below.

CREDITS
Asa Block, Spencer Lavallee and Jen Lu of Droga5
Graham Douglas, freelance creative director
Adrian Cabrero, freelance Web developer

Another little something built by our best and naughtiest. http://t.co/D3ypi9xxyy

— David Droga (@ddroga) July 8, 2013

Let's say it like Comic Book Guy: Best. Collaboration. Ever. Fox's dysfunctional yet loving animated family, The Simpsons, have joined with Converse for a line of screen-printed Chuck Taylor sneakers. Through Converse retailers and Journeys.com, you can get your paws on these colorful high-tops festooned with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, catch phrases, chalk scrawls and more. The Simpsons, in production now on its 25th season, is the longest-running scripted show in TV history and one of the biggest licensing hits of the past few decades. It's a multibillion-dollar franchise in swag alone, with plenty of footwear over the years. You didn't have puffy, oversized Bart-head slippers? What a sad childhood that must've been. The Chuck Taylor All Star collection comes in adult and kid sizes. All together now: Woo-hoo! More images below.

If you can ship your pants skillfully and creatively, you have a good chance of working at Kmart's ad agency, Draftfcb. The agency said today that it has brought in a new intern in large part because of his pants-shipping abilities. Alf Zapata shipped his actual pants and résumé to Draftfcb's recruiting department. That got him an interview; his "portfolio, witty humor and enthusiasm" got him the internship, the agency says. This raises the possibility that you could get an internship at Y&R in New York simply by apologizing and then acting superior. More images below.

Is JCPenney stocking up on slacks with extra room in the crotch? I'm inclined to think so, judging from its ballsy move of releasing a feel-good commercial from Young & Rubicam thanking consumers for "coming back" to the troubled retailer just two weeks after an ad apologizing for missteps under ousted CEO Ron Johnson. Many web commenters have posed the obvious question: "Isn't it too soon to say thank you?" Sure is. Just do the math, Einstein! Penney is set to release first-quarter earnings this week that reflect a 16 percent sales slump following a $4.3 billion loss in sales last year. In fairness, the chain has begun making changes under new CEO Myron Ullman, reviving coupons, sales and its St. John's Bay collection. And its recent mea culpa and #JCPlistens social outreach campaign have been well received. Still, two weeks of anything—and Penney offers no particulars—won't right this ship. Heck, even two good quarters probably wouldn't be enough. That doesn't mean I don't applaud JCP's moxie. For all its muted, mom-centric imagery, the new spot bespeaks a certain swaggering style—i.e., "We're back because we say we're back!" At least there's some substance here, with Penney returning to its roots and focusing on core values. That beats another troubled retailer's strategy of tossing Robin Thicke and phallic symbols into a video and hoping for the best.

Strap that lap belt tight, because Old Navy’s newest airline-themed ad will rocket you all the way back to 1994. Boyz II Men are the newest retro celebs to star in Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s zany spots for the retailer, which most recently tapped the supposed T-shirt expertise of Mr. T. In the new ad, 1990s R&B romancers Boyz II Men reinterpret their hit “I’ll Make Love to You” as an ode to white jeans. It's good to see them back on the air and still rocking the ivory suits, but given the fact they only have two lines of lyrics and a bunch of “loolooloo” noises, it’s probably for the best the trio gets cut off a bit early. They’re definitely an improvement over the perennial ad cameos by Mr. T, but in this series of pun-packed Old Navy spots, I’d say the best of the lot is definitely Jennifer Love Hewitt and her “flirtation device,” which you can check out after the jump.

JCPenney is looking to bounce back from an absolutely wretched 2012, when it shed customers at an astonishing rate. But first, it wants to say sorry. In this admirably honest new commercial—the first work from JCPenney's new lead creative agency, Young & Rubicam in New York—the retailer admits that it's troubles are "no secret," but that it's committed to winning you back.

The voiceover says: "It's no secret. Recently, JCPenney changed. Some changes you liked, and some you didn't. But what matters with mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing: to listen to you. To hear what you need to make your life more beautiful. Come back to JCPenney. We heard you. Now, we'd love to see you." The spot ends with the full JCPenney name, and the lines "Come back to see us" and "We're listening on Facebook."

One viewer responded on YouTube by writing: "Thank you for admitting your mistake! My friends, family, and I will be shopping? here again!" See how easy that was!