Hasta La Creative!

Oh man, grumpy dad who’s working weird hours in this new Cheerios ad from Saatchi & Saatchi. Don’t get mad at your kid. Take a lesson from Peanut Butter Cheerios dad, and be cool. Hang out for a minute and laugh with Junior. It’ll be nice before you head off for however many grueling hours of whatever it is you do.

Judging by your rugged appearance and attire, and that clocking in at midnight is even an option, it’s presumably something blue-collar. Dock worker? Warehouse worker? Auto worker? You are in the Cheerios demo. You should be eating lots of Cheerios at 11 p.m.

Sure, Cheerios might being mimicking your frustrating but also beautiful existence right back at you just to sell more breakfast cereal, because times aren’t just tough for salt-of-the-earth people with families to support, they’re tough for cereal brands, too. Nobody wants to eat cereal with their kids at any time of day these days.

So, also don’t get mad at Cheerios, because making ads that use children to pander to your heartstrings is what they do. Indeed, sometimes manipulating your love for sentimental family moments really does work well … so Cheerios is probably going to keep trying.

M&C Saatchi is launching UGG’s first-ever global marketing campaign, entitled “This Is UGG,” which enlists the help of veteran brand ambassador Tom Brady in the brand’s latest effort to change its perception as the official fuzzy boot of Starbucks-toting girls everywhere.

Launching today, the campaign focuses on life’s smaller moments, centered around the 60-second spot “Time Out.” In the spot, Brady shares the message that in life you only get so many time outs and you need to make them count, because you can’t back pocket them or carry them over to another day. Tom’s voiceover plays out over a scene of him driving to play golf with his father, a pastime the two have shared since Tom was old enough to play. Another spot, featuring Brady and his mother, is set to follow in October, with a third entitled “Down Time” arriving in December.

“For the new UGG for Men campaign, we started with this premise: small moments can carry as much weight as the big moments,” explained Nancy Mamann, vice president of marketing for UGG Australia. “We conceptualized the spots to capture authentic moments that relate to men across the world. For Tom Brady in particular, we explored his life off the field, along with more personal settings, to show some of the moments that he considers meaningful.”

Whether that will convince men to rush out and buy UGG remains to be seen. Stick around for behind-the-scenes footage after the jump. (more…)

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In today’s episode of “Fun Public Marketing Stunts That Aren’t Firmly Connected to the Actual Product,” Saatchi & Saatchi Europe turned Prague into a giant karaoke machine on behalf of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

The playlist, which is an almost-impressive living monument to awful pop songs, was made by changing the street names in Prague’s town center to song titles, and then connecting the Yaris’ stereo to a GPS system that triggered a new song every time the driver turned onto a different street. That’s an awful lot of work just to hear a complete stranger’s off-key rendition of “Uptown Girl.” 

It’s not that the idea itself is bad—plenty of people sing in their cars, myself included. Some of the performances, supposedly culled from the best of live auditions, could even seem endearing. But the payoff doesn’t fit the scale of execution at all, and the whole thing looks a little silly as a result. On the other hand, maybe that’s the point. 

Seriously, though, Hall & Oates? Do they not know who Queen is? 

Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney has a new campaign for Toyota, entitled “Bad in Dad,” featuring one dad’s “bad” antics, attributed to his new Camry RZ.

Set to George Thorogood‘s ubiquitous “Bad to the Bone,” the dad is pictured using his leaf blower to blow leaves onto the neighbors yard (kind of funny), spraying his wife with a hose (cute) and embarrassing his son with the locked door trick as he picks him up from soccer practice (just plain cruel). The narrator at the end of the 45-second spot asserts that the new Camry will “bring out the bad in dad,” making the positioning of the vehicle as the motivator behind dad’s behavior explicit. While he may occasionally step over the line, the dad’s antics are mostly presented as the kind of things most of us think about doing, don’t, and then wish we had, which fits with the vehicle’s presentation as a sort of liberator. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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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.

Established brand + established meme = eyeballs.

(more…)

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Saatchi & Saatchi teamed up with Internet prankster Rahat to launch a new multichannel campaign promoting the Toyota Aygo.

Part of the “Go Fun Yourself” campaign, the debut spot features Rahat slipping into a costume that perfectly matches the seats of the Toyota Aygo, making the car appear to be driving itself. He then drives around Europe with a hidden camera documenting people’s reactions. That’s right, another hidden camera prank video. If you’re tired of these already, you might want to head elsewhere, because the 90-second “Who’s Driving” — set to the Fratelli’s track, “Chelsea Dagger,” and directed by Smuggler’s Jamie Rafn — doesn’t do a lot to distinguish itself from the pack.

The spot will launch the “Go Fun Yourself” Pan-European integrated campaign on TV, in cinemas, and online — supported by social and print components — today, in markets including the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Denmark. “Go Fun Yourself” attempts to “emphasize Aygo’s image as the playful, dynamic car of choice suited to those that don’t take themselves seriously.” Aimed at a younger audience, the campaign will comprise a series of prankster-style videos and social activity which will roll out across the year.

“Aygo is not just another car, so for the launch we wanted to do things differently,” said Stephane Rydlewski, brand & communication manager, Toyota Europe. “With ‘Go Fun Yourself’, we found the perfect way to express the true spirit of the car – fun, provocative & irreverent, without taking ourselves too seriously. We all have this fun inside, we just need to let it go. This is the magic of the new AYGO campaign.” Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand created a flaming billboard to launch Sealord’s new line of hot smoked salmon.

The billboard was constructed using Manuka wood branches (the same type used in Sealord’s smoked salmon), which were then set on fire to replicate Sealord’s traditional smoking process. Sealord’s billboard reads, “Smoked: Just Like Our New Manuka Salmon,” although it’s pretty hard to read through all the smoke and fire. As you might recall, this is not the first burning billboard we’ve covered, but it is the first non-steakhouse-related burning billboard we can recall, so there’s that. The campaign also includes the above online video documenting the creation of the billboard, as well as pre-rolls and digital banners.

“When we learned about the wonderful artisan techniques involved in the creation of this delicious salmon, we were inspired to try and find a way to make this process the hero,” explained Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand executive creative director Antonio Navas. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai is helping VICE introduce Mutesic in China. Mutesic is a mobile phone add-on that allows users to enjoy their music on any player while helping to keep them safe and aware while on the road by syncing with their GPS and lowering the volume when they approach busy intersections.

To introduce Mutesic, Saatchi & Saatchi chose to show the add-on in action. In the 1:50 video above, you can see a young man enjoying Pharell’s international hit “Happy” while walking. As he approaches a busy intersection, the music automatically decreases in volume, allowing him to hear ambient warning sounds. The spot concludes by reminding viewers that Mutesic can’t prevent all types of accidents and that “…you still need to pay attention.”

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MillerCoors is cutting their ties with Saatchi & Saatchi New York, lead agency on Miller Lite since early 2012, Ad Age reports. Saatchi & Saatchi New York was also lead agency on the newly launched Miller Fortune, an extension of the Miller brand with higher alcohol content. Earlier this year MillerCoors moved a significant portion of the Miller Lite account to a collection of WPP agencies, who played a major role in Miller Lite’s latest campaign. The move also follows a long-term sales decline for the brand.

“We appreciate the efforts and professionalism from [Saatchi & Saatchi New York CEO] Brent Smart and his team behind our brands,” Pete Marino, MillerCoors VP-communications, said in a statement to Ad Age. “Any immediate needs for Miller Lite and Miller Fortune will be handled by other roster agencies, though we have a lot of current work to draw from that we recently debuted at our sales and marketing conference. We have no timetable for the longer term, and will take our time making decisions that strategically make sense for both brands.”

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Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand have just announced winning Virgin Active duties in Thailand, adding to the agency’s business growth momentum.

“We’re so pleased to be working with Virgin Active,” said Mark Cochrane, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand. “They want to become the most loved fitness brand in Thailand, and with the power of Lovemarks thinking we’re really excited to be fuelling their journey. They are great people, and have a great dream.”

Virgin Active is launching their flagship location in Bangkok this month, but Saatchi & Saatchi have confidentially been working on the launch for several months prior. They will be responsible for advertising, design, branded content, PR and activation, and overseeing all social media activity. “We have really concentrated on creating a seamless launch experience for potential members that is rich with surprise and delight at every turn,” said Cochrane. “Together, we’re excited to build ‘the happily ever active movement’ and help Virgin Active become a Lovemark in Thailand.”

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