Hasta La Creative!

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…

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Back-to-back Saatchi-related posts, you say? Truly sheer coincidence. Anyhow, if you’ve ever shelled out the price of admission to see a movie in theaters only to have the experience ruined for you by some person loudly munching popcorn or slurping their soda, or if you’ve ever been that person, then you can probably relate to Saatchi & Saatchi Denmark’s latest stunt for Coca-Cola.

In an alternative to the usual PSAs discouraging people from making noise during film screenings, the agency had a surprise in store for Copenhagen film-goers. For the stunt, the creative team made their own genre films, while also capturing an unknowing audience with a green screen and hidden camera. As patrons “arrived at the cinema and settled into their seats, a retouch artist then quickly edited them into a bespoke film that was shown on the big screen to rapturous applause.” The two genre clips, directed by Christian Eagles Borg of Duckling Copenhagen, were “Gangster,” in which, “we see an actor, who represents a member of the audience, transported into a scene where a cop is being buried alive as she casually munches on her popcorn” and the romance “Stableboy” in which Coca-Cola slurping film-goers are inserted right into the middle of a love scene.

The stunt was not exactly easy to pull off. “We have seen real people in advertising before, but not — to our knowledge — so quickly after they have been filmed, and combined with previously shot footage in this way.  It required a hell of a lot of prep to get it right on the night,” said executive creative director Jason Mendes.

You can check out the Coca-Cola slurp stunt above, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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This Wednesday we brought you news of Greenpeace’s campaign exposing Procter & Gamble’s destructive palm oil sourcing practices in Indonesia and calling on the company to change their ways with a “Thank You, Mom” referencing video and a protest at P&G’s Cincinnati headquarters.

Now, Greenpeace has taken the campaign to Saatchi & Saatchi, who advertise the company’s Head & Shoulder’s product (which Greenpeace has chosen as a prime target). “Saatchi and Saatchi have spent years understanding how the public thinks. They’ll know that P&G’s customers want to wash away dandruff without wiping out tigers. So who better to advise it to break its ties with forest destruction?” said Richard George, forests campaigner at Greenpeace UK.

Greenpeace volunteers set up a division lobby at Saatchi & Saatchi’s London offices today, forcing staff arriving at the office to choose between a “Protect Forests” entrance and a “Destroy Forests” entrance. While workers arrived, Greenpeace volunteers kept tallies on which entrances they chose, with 163 workers choosing the “Protect Forests” entrance and 48 opting for “Destroy Forests.” A Greenpeace volunteer in an orangutan costume (orangutans habitats are being destroyed for the palm oil plantations that P&G uses to source their palm oil) was also on hand for the event.

“From the results of our survey, with 211 Saatchi employees passing through the division lobby and 163 choosing the ‘protect forests’ lobby, it looks as though they’re not really in favour of forest destruction after all. A lot of P&G customers feel the same way. Hopefully Saatchi’s will pass that on to their client,” George said. We’ve included Greenpeace’s “Thank You, Mom” tackling video above, in case you need a refresher. Let us know what you think of the group’s Saatchi & Saatchi office invasion in the comments section if you wish. continued…

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Today, Saatchi & Saatchi New York is launching the first ever campaign for the gun responsibility organization Evolve, encouraging people to take personal responsibility for gun safety and generally not be dumbasses.

Saatchi & Saatchi’s pro-bono campaign features a short, satirical video called “The Bill of Rights for Dumbasses.” The 1:40 video portrays Thomas Jefferson and other historical figures debating the language of the second amendment. Jefferson thinks the amendment runs a little long, and after much debate, convinces the rest of the council to remove the “as long as they aren’t being dumbasses about it” part from the amendment. While the founding fathers are debating the matter, viewers are treated to a humorous montage of gun owners engaging in questionable practices, before Jefferson concludes it’s common sense that you shouldn’t act that way with a gun. The video ends with the founding fathers playing pinata with a gun, followed by the tagline, “It’s the right to bear arms, not the right to be dumbass” and a message prompting viewers to go to takeonthecode.com and sign the code of gun responsibility.

Evolve co-founder Rebecca Bond hopes that “Humor can be a gateway to taking away the defensiveness that is the legacy of these discussions.” Joe Bond, also an Evovle co-founder, added, “We want the ‘Dumbass’ concept to catch on in popular culture the way ‘friends don’t let friends drive drunk’ did for safe driving.”

Since it’s rare to find people discussing guns without getting hysterical about it, Saatchi & Saatchi’s employment of dumb humor is somewhat refreshing. But will it really chip away at the defensiveness that gun rights activists feel when discussing anything related to guns? Or are they more likely to take offense at the video depicting gun owners, and even founding fathers, as dumbasses? Unfortunately, I doubt the video will convince many viewers to “take on the code,” because even though Evolve professes to be a “third voice” in the gun debate without political affiliation, gun rights activists will still likely view the video’s satire as an attack on them. Meanwhile, the video will appeal to plenty of gun reform proponents — people who don’t need any convincing on the importance of gun safety, and mostly don’t own guns (and therefore have no need to take Evolve’s pledge). That’s too bad, because Evolve’s responsibility code is really just common sense and something any gun owner should be able to get behind — which makes this feel like a missed opportunity. Credits after the jump.

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Samsonite tapped Saatchi and Saatchi Brussels to craft a new campaign putting their products to the test in a series of online videos called “Samsonite Vs. The World.”

In the online series, several products from the world’s largest luggage brand face a series of tests meant to demonstrate the real-life testing Samsonite puts their products through. Each test was designed to highlight the selling point of each particular product. Samsonite’s Paradiver faces a simulated monsoon in “Samsonite Vs. Monsoon,” with the suitcase’s contents, most notably a book of matches, remaining dry throughout the test. The Samsonite Cosmolite endures quite the beating in “Samsonite Vs. Gravity,” dropped from a 15 meter height into a luggage cart to demonstrate its “impact-resistant Curv material.” Least impressive has to be “Samsonite Vs. Chicken,” which emphasizes the lightness of Samsonite Short-Lite by comparing it to a chicken. To keep things lighthearted and pleasant, each of these tests is narrated by a charming British chap.

The “Samsonite Vs. The World” campaign will be launched to online travel and lifestyle media throughout Europe starting today. Check out “Samsonite Vs. Monsoon” above, and stick around for “Samsonite Vs. Gravity” and credits after the jump. continued…

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What the hell?

Well, credit Brazilian-based F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi for truly capturing that disorienting mix of horniness and fearfulness that comes with doing a bunch of drugs and then grinding up on a bunch of weirdos for a few hours. A new campaign for African and South American beer brand Skol (not to be confused with American chewing tobacco brand Skoal, which is still around apparently) advertises ‘The Summer Beats Festival,’ a series of 20 parties/concerts around Brazil that features the country’s best DJs.

What’s the appeal, your uncultured ‘Merican self might ask? Well, rumor has it that if you get fucked up enough and dance harder than anyone else, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll have sex with a girl wearing a tiger mask, a guy wearing a rabbit mask, or (jackpot!) both at the same time. That certainly sounds fun, doesn’t it?

A collection of shorter sports promises that after your wild night of substance abuse and terrifying lovemaking, you get to relax on one of Brazil’s many gorgeous beaches, which may or may not be filled with floating piles of garbage. Then, of course, it’s out again for another night of intermittent bouts of crying and psychotic screaming. Woo! Two more spots, and credits, follow after the jump.

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Twitter is a tough crowd during any high-profile live TV programming, when snark levels always spike. Cheerios learned that the hard way during the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday when it aired a six-month-old commercial from Saatchi & Saatchi in New York that aimed for heartwarming but came off, to many, as depressing.

The ad shows a mom and her son having breakfast, when the boy pipes up and asks, "Did Nana ever give you Cheerios when you were a little kid?" This seemingly innocent question leads to an exchange that's supposed to be cute, though it leaves Mom practically in tears by the end—and got Twitter fuming.

Check out some of the reactions below. The spot is, of course, super manipulative—but that's hardly out of line with what Cheerios always does in its advertising. The General Mills brand blatantly manufactures emotion, sometimes more deftly than other times. We didn't think this one was actually that bad. (And in fact, a number of people praised the ad on Twitter last night, or at least said it made them teary.) But the difference is, during an event like the Globes, you're much more likely to get abused on Twitter for that kind of manipulation.

Makes you wonder what the brand is planning for its first Super Bowl ad next month.

Cheerios–reanimating dead grandparents for 83 years.

— tad friend (@tadfriend) January 13, 2014

Perhaps I'm unfeeling but that mawkish "breakfast w Nana" ad from Cheerios should be taken off the air and flogged #GoldenGlobesAds

— Brian Steinberg (@bristei) January 13, 2014

WHY IS THIS CHEERIOS AD ABOUT BREAKFAST WITH DEAD GRANDMOTHERS TRYING TO BRING ME DOWN? #GoldenGlobesAds

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 13, 2014

Did Nana die because she choked on a Cheerio? #GoldenGlobes #Cheerios

— Julia Bensfield Luce (@Juliabirrd) January 13, 2014

Did Lars Von Trier direct that @cheerios commerical? #dark #GoldenGlobes

— Paul Kuhn (@PKRippa) January 13, 2014

Congratulations to that Cheerios commercial for being the most manipulative and calculated thing I've seen all night. #GoldenGlobes

— Matt Pruett (@matthasarms) January 13, 2014

"Let's have a commercial about a grandma dying and discussing Cheerios" "yes that sounds great!" #goldenglobes

— Kylie Sparks (@kyliesparks) January 13, 2014

Fuck you Cheerios

— Joshua Topolsky (@joshuatopolsky) January 13, 2014

Okay, so we’ll start this one by admitting we have no idea what cricket is all about, but Saatchi and Saatchi New Zealand are behind a new campaign for Tui beer, called “Catch A Million,” giving fans the opportunity to win their share of one million dollars.

Fans can win $100,000 by making a one-handed grab in the stands while wearing a special orange Tui t-shirt. So far the campaign has been a big success, says William Papesch, Tui marketing manager, with “a sea of Tui orange at grounds and the first one-handed winner, Michael Morton in Hamilton on Jan 8th.” The promotion is  a pretty clever way to get a bunch of people to advertise your product for free, even if it comes with a potentially hefty price tag. Now if only someone could explain the rules of cricket to us… Credits and footage of the first winning catch after the jump. continued…

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Earlier this month, Sao Paulo-based F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi launched their “Electrolux Kindness Kitchen” campaign for Electrolux Brasil, which filled some of their appliances with food for those who want to do good this Christmas.

Here’s how it works: During this month, “when a consumer buys any of the ‘full’ products, he or she will receive the household appliance at home and Electrolux will donate all the food to those in need.” It’s a pretty simple way to do some holiday philanthropy, and one that can make a world of difference to a family in need. The campaign was designed to give back to the community and highlight “the company’s social positioning in the country.” It includes the above online film, as well as display ads, a hot site, and social media. This campaign’s focus on digital was nothing new for Electrolux, who invested 10% of the company’s communication budget on digital this year — making it the environment they invested in the most.

The video explains the genesis of the campaign, linking it to all manner of small kindnesses, and offers a brief explanation of how it works. It does a good job of introducing the idea behind the campaign and prompting viewers to further action, such as visiting the campaign site.

“Electrolux Kindness Kitchen” is a refreshingly philanthropic campaign, and it gives people a compelling reason to buy a new appliance during the holiday season. More companies should engage in this kind of community action, during December or otherwise. Credits after the jump. continued…

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I’m not sure where the “myth” that gum-chewing gives a bad impression comes from, but Beldent and Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi set out to disprove it in a social experiment called “Almost Identical,” which was conducted October 1st at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires.

The experiment, conducted under the assumption that such a myth exists, employed five pairs of identical twins. Each pair of twins were dressed and presented identically, with the only difference being that one of the twins was chewing gum. Onlookers were then asked a series of questions about their impressions of the twins, ranging from “Which one seems like he has more friends?” to “Which of these bosses would give you a raise?” to “Which one has a better sex life?” The gum-chewing twin received the more positive answer 73% of the time. Beldent would like that to mean that they’ve proven that “chewing gum doesn’t give a bad impression” but, rather, does the opposite. Obviously, that’s extrapolating a bit much from the limited survey, but this is marketing, not social science. I just feel bad for the twins that had to chew gum all day. That must have been hell on their jaws. Credits after the jump. continued…

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