Can you hate a brand? I’d argue that it’s technically possible to hate a company for whatever reason, but hate is such an extreme emotion. It seems like we ought to save it for the big things, like war, poverty, and violence. But no. Reviewing a range of information, including major news events from the […]
Americans love sports, but not all sports get the love and attention they deserve. USA Curling, for instance, does not get the attention it needs to thrive on the big stage. Now, with a push from Cheetos, curling has a chance to capture imaginations and become part of the conversation in living rooms from coast […]
PyeongChang, South Korea. The winter games open next month just 60 miles from North Korea amid threats of nuclear war. It wouldn’t be this way if moms ran the world. Moms have too much to lose. This moving Olympics sponsorship work is from Wieden+Kennedy/Portland. W+K tapped director Alma Har’el to direct the ad. Har’el is […]
Budweiser is raising a cold one to one the most popular drivers in NASCAR history, Dale Earnhardt Jr., with a new tribute video. The video showcases Dale Jr.’s famed Bud car for one last ride down memory lane, just in time for the legendary driver’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. Budweiser was the […]
“We have lost our way. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.” -Charlie Chaplin Minneapolis agency, Colle McVoy, tapped one of film history’s most famous speeches (from Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator) to help win the hearts and minds of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board. But will the commercial […]
Today is an historic day in the National Football League. In addition to today’s slate of games, there’s a media game being played by Don Trump. It’s another game he can never win. On Friday, the President of the United States—in an effort to stir up more racial and class hatred—called NFL players who take […]
Minnesota is different. For once, many of the people have Canadian-like accents and they ALL love hockey. When your state is endowed with 10,000 lakes and eight months of winter, it makes sense. Like this new commercial from ICF Olson makes sense. The Minneapolis agency partnered with NHL team, the Minnesota Wild, to create a […]
Leonard Fournette ran for more than 100 yeards in his National Football League debut on Sunday. I’m sure this pleases Panini, the exclusive trading card partner of the NFL and NFLPA, as Fournette is the star of the company’s new commercial. The spot was created by Conscious Minds and shot at the 2017 NFLPA Rookie […]
Wieden+Kennedy/NY was handed a cherry assignment from their new client Fox Sports. Fox wanted a commercial for each of the 12 football programs in the Big 10 Conference. For the agency that used to work on ESPN and still works on Nike, this assignment was a walk in the park. Sadly, the agency paraded some […]
Appearing online, on social media and in swim clubs and organizations across the country, these posters are part of the USA Swimming’s “Swim Today” campaign from Colle McVoy in Minneapolis. As competition for kids’ time continues to increase, the campaign highlights what makes swimming different and encourages kids to join their local swim teams.
I used to go fishing on fishing trips to Minnesota with my grandfather. It was a big deal to go away for a week, stay in the camper, and catch a mess of Walleye. I’ll also never forget looking deep down into the clean, clear blue lakes of the region. Given my upbringing and current […]
Häagen-Dazs UK and Grey London are showcasing the pleasures of championship tennis, accompanied by an ice cream bar. According to Adfreak, the agency hired fashion photographer Adam Katz Sinding, known for his streetside style portraits, to capture courtside fans for the ice cream brand’s Instagram. The idea celebrates the ice cream marketer’s new five-year sponsorship […]
Sampling is the oldest play in the book. Sampling works where ads do not, because people often need to “see it to believe it,” or taste it, as the case may be. Take Coke Zero. How can it possibly be as good as full-calorie Coca-Cola? The idea defies logic. It’s a problem that requires new […]
After years of debate and controversy, the 2014-15 college football season marks the first to culminate with a true College Football Playoff. To celebrate the occasion, ESPN debuts a series of spots showcasing a diverse array of fans representing all 128 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The campaign was developed in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy/New […]
Green Bay comes to Seattle next Thursday to open the NFL season.
It is safe to say anticipation is rising across the American football loving land.
The 45th season of Monday Night Football kicks off on ESPN with a doubleheader on Monday, September 8 – New York Giants at Detroit Lions (7 p.m. ET) and San Diego Chargers at Arizona Cardinals (10:15 p.m. ET).
ESPN’s 17-game regular season prime time schedule in 2014 will feature all 12 playoff teams from 2013, including both the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and AFC champion Denver Broncos. ESPN will also televise the Pro Bowl and, for the first time, a NFL Wild Card playoff game.
As a Seahawks fan, I love that the team and Richard Sherman is getting this kind of prime time commercial coverage. As a fan of soups, the chunky cheese, beer and bacon soup featured in the spot also sounds pretty enticing. Ergo, this is clearly six points for the Campbell’s Chunky brand.
Derek Jeter is on his farewell tour, and the Jordan brand gives him a salute filled with celebrity cameos showing their #RE2PECT (respect for those not numerically hip)
Jordan is the product division for Michael Jordan from Nike, which has formerly had life under the Jumpman moniker.
The NCAA College World Series wrapped up last night at TD America Park in Omaha. New national champion, Vanderbilt beat Virginia 3-2 on the strength of a dramatic 8th inning home run from John Norwood.
Sporting events of this magnitude offer marketers fantastic opportunities to communicate value to a highly engaged TV audience. But how does a fan capture a moment in the game and share it with others who love baseball? Not the next day. Right now!
Answer: fans turn to the NCAA’s CWS account on Twitter, where lovingly created snapshots of the action are captured in real time and posted for all to see, share, bookmark and/or repurpose.
The images above were rendered in real time by the NCAA social media team. They came to the ballpark with readymade graphics and a template, yet they had to work live elements into this static framework, and they did so in rapid succession.
Take a look at the @NCAACWS stream from last night. There’s a solid mix of straight images and text, along with the ad-like posts I highlighted above. The posts above got my attention because they have a collectible quality, kind of like baseball cards.
Colle+McVoy’s new work for USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming, is meant to inspire more kids to take up the sport and make it easier for parents to find clubs, pools and lessons.
To do that, the agency needed to make swimming cool. I’d say they won that race on the strength of high-def camera work, the music bed and copy that connects.
“Basketball. Softball. Cannonball. Which sounds the most fun to you?”
Adpulp asked Mike Caguin, chief creative officer of Colle+McVoy about the campaign.
Q. Slow motion is popular right now. Is there a reason you chose this camera technique? Does it increase tension or interest?
A. Being in the water is so different than anything else. We used slow motion to capture that unique feeling. With its fluid forms, waves and bubbles, water is stunningly beautiful to the eye. Slow motion helped us romanticize that even more.
Q. I like the music. Who is the artist?
A. A Minneapolis hip-hop producer named Benzilla partnered with us on the music track for “The Walk”. The Skeptics supplied the music for “Cannonball” and “Alligator”.
Q. Swimming is an individual and a team sport. How did this play, or did it play, in the development of the work?
A. It’s true. The beauty of competitive swimming is that it is both an individual and team sport, which is why we struck a balance with our work. Some messages are clearly speaking to the individual aspect of the sport, while other messages are meant to highlight the social and team aspects of swimming.
Q. I like that this campaign didn’t go to the “be a future Olympian” de facto place and instead focuses on the everyday experience of summer time at the pool.
A. Exactly. The research shows what any parent who’s stayed in a hotel knows that swimming and swimming pools create fun, lasting moments for kids. There’s something magical and transformative about being in the water. Why not give your kids even more of those moments by signing them up for a swim team?
According to TaylorMade, many golfers have yet to experience the phenomenon of low-forward center of gravity (CG), which is at the foundation of SLDR’s performance. Low forward CG greatly reduces spin, and when coupled with a high-lofted driver creates the ideal conditions for distance: high-launch and low spin.
As technology in sports equipment continues to advance (and players with it), the challenge for brands is getting this new gear in people’s hands. You have to sample these products, and feel their power.
Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s director of product creation for metalwoods, says “We know there are golfers out there who don’t trust our science or what tour players do. So we’re encouraging these golfers to trust their own distance. That’s why we’re putting the SLDR Guarantee in play.”
TaylorMade is so confident golfers will add 10-to-20- yards to their drives, they’re offering money back to anyone who buys the club and finds it lacking.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
