Droga5, Nas Take ‘The Ride’ for Hennessy

Droga5 enlisted New York rapper Nas in its latest spot for Hennessy, entitled “The Ride..”

Nas‘ association with the brand dates back to his classic 1994 debut Illmatic, where the brand is mentioned on the very first track. He signed a deal with the company at the beginning of last year to appear in the latest iteration of its “Wild Rabbit” campaign, which finally comes to life with “The Ride.”

The 60-second spot channels Nas‘ own past with a re-worked version of the song “New York State of Mind” from his debut. Over Nas‘ recitation of the re-imagined lyrics he steps on a subway car and is seemingly transported back in time to the 80s, with time progressing over the course of the ad so that when he emerges from the car later, he is back in the present day. A newspaper headline reading “Panic on Wall Street” at one point signifies a transition to the modern era. It’s all very slick and stylish, with plenty of attention to detail lavished on the concept. The spot ends with Nas walking toward a stage after uttering the line “It was only right that I was born to use mics,” and the text “I tell the stories that need to be told” appearing onscreen, followed by the “What’s your Wild Rabbit?” tagline. (more…)

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Droga5 Swarms Taylor Swift with Kittens for Diet Coke

Earlier this month, Droga5 released the spot “Car Wash” as part of its “Get A Taste” campaign for Diet Coke. Now the agency is rolling out a new 30-second ad starring Taylor Swift and a whole lot of kittens.

In the spot, entitled “Kittens,” Swift is playing with a kitten when she takes a sip of Diet Coke and all of a sudden there are two kittens. She takes another sip and there’s an entire table full of kittens, and before the end of the spot the entire room is filled as the singer/songwriter is engulfed in a swarm of feline cuteness. “What if life tasted as good as Diet Coke?” says text at the end of the ad, before Swift works in a quick plug for her new album. Since everyone with a soul likes kittens, this one is sure to be a hit. Add in Swift’s star power, and a preview of a new track featured exclusively in the ad until the release of her new album on October 27th, and this is all but guaranteed millions of views.

The ad was launched online today and will make its broadcast debut this Friday. As part of the campaign, Diet Coke is also giving fans a chance to win “concert tickets and a flyaway trip for two to an upcoming performance through iHeartRadio.com, RyanSeacrest.com and other sites.” The brand is also sponsoring Swift’s co-host appearance on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” on October 30th, the first time a celebrity co-hosts the entire program as well as the first time it is presented by a single brand. (more…)

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Droga5 Takes Diet Coke to the Car Wash

Droga5 has a new ad for Diet Coke taking the beverage to a somewhat unusual setting: the car wash.

A girl pops open a bottle of Diet Coke while going through a car wash. Instantly, the car wash is transformed, as a choreographed scene unfolds in front of her eyes. Dancers in yellow outfits similar to car wash scrubbers mingle with others in white bubble dresses, while everyone drinks Diet Coke (obviously) in a lavish, hallucinatory party scene. This enjoyable eye candy is followed by the nonsensical line, “What if life tasted as good as Diet Coke?” as the girl returns to reality, followed by the new “Get a Taste” tagline. The new ad, the latest in the “Get a Taste” campaign, will run tonight during Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy (a 15-second version will debut next week). Another broadcast spot featuring Taylor Swift will launch later this month. (more…)

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Diet Coke Moves Up a Class with Droga5

Ogilvy may be handling the Coke Zero account now, but this new Droga5 campaign for sister brand Diet Coke would fit the brand well: it’s all about the flavor, see…

The “Economy Class” spot’s protagonist is a washed-out airline customer awakened by the unstoppable flavor of Diet Coke…until she realizes that the visions of shaggy dogs and upright bassists dancing in her head are just that.

The larger campaign’s theme, of course, holds that Diet Coke offers consumers a taste of “The Good Life.”

This spot will debut on Wednesday’s Nashville premiere, but it’s really just a taste…coming weeks will see the debut of two new spots, one of which stars Taylor Swift.

You’ll have to be satisfied with credits after the jump, though. The client included the second spot, “Car Wash”, in the credits and the press release but didn’t feel like sending the actual work out to press contacts.

(more…)

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10 Minutes Without Your Phone Can Provide Water for a Child in Need

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The latest iteration of Droga5′s UNICEF Tap Project (started all the way back in 2007) asks people to put down their smart phones for ten minutes to provide clean water for a child who needs it.

Across the globe, 768 million people lack access to clean drinking water and 1, 400 children die every day from diseases directly related to unsanitary drinking water. Since 1990, UNICEF has been working to provide clean drinking water to those who would otherwise lack access to it. For the past seven years, Droga5 has been helping get the word out via UNICEF’s annual Tap Project campaign.

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This year, visitors to www.UNICEFTapProject.org will be met with a challenge: for every ten minutes they don’t use their mobile phones, UNICEF’s sponsor will provide one day of clean water for a child in need. Currently in its beta phase, the app from Droga5 is scheduled for official launch on March 1st. The way it works is pretty simple: once you visit the site, the app will calculate how long you spend there, with a final tally counted once you touch the mobile device again. For every 10 minutes, a donation will be made by UNICEF’s sponsors, including national sponsor Giorgio Armani Fragrances. Visitors to the site “can also learn more about UNICEF’s clean water initiatives, sign up to be a volunteer and make their own personal donation to help UNICEF provide children with clean water.”

So, if you’re reading this on your smart phone, head on over to www.UNICEFTapProject.org and then put your phone down for a while. It’s for a good cause, and you’re probably on your lunch break anyway. You can live without it for a few minutes. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Newcastle Celebrates ‘Independence Eve’

Normally, a made-up holiday like Independence Eve would be some sort of patriotic money grab, but for Newcastle Brown Ale and Droga5, it’s actually a tongue-in-cheek U.K. money grab. Independence Eve – the latest part of the No Bollocks campaign – celebrates the last day of British rule, one day before John Hancocks were signed and European monarchies renounced.

Across the States, Americans (and immigrants, legal and illegal) can buy a Revolutionary Koozie, which features both the British and American flags on the bottle. I’m not sure how many Americans would willingly drink a British beer the day before July 4th, but I think we’ve buried the hatchet 237 years later. You see, revolutions can be humorous once enough time has passed. So in the next decade, everybody get ready to chug some Edelweiss and giggle over the French Revolution. Credits after the jump.

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