Elizabeth Hurley gets vulgar in the latest addition to Droga5?s “If We Won” campaign for Newcastle, which imagines how much better America would be if Great Britain had won the Revolutionary War.
The campaign kicked off last week, with a humorous spot featuring Stephen Merchant. Hurley’s spot borrows a bit from that one, as it devotes quite a bit of time to how many great curse words we’d have at our disposal had we remained British, something Merchant touched on in the original “If We Won.” Still, we suppose the subject doesn’t hurt from further exploration, and the video has over 300,000 views since being uploaded earlier today as people seem to be amused by seeing Hurley stringing together British expletives. Hurley’s 39-second video is just part of the wealth of material put out by Droga5 for the campaign, which also includes Zachary Quinto in a pair of spots and a second appearance from Merchant, who explains how his British accent helps him appear intelligent and get laid. If you’re wondering what American actor Zachary Quinto is doing in this campaign, you’ll just have to watch the video, along with the second Merchant spot, after the jump. (more…)
Since it’s hard to market a British beer on July 4th, Stephen Merchant implores viewers to enjoy a Newcastle while celebrating “Independence Eve” on July 3rd and imagining how great it would have been if Great Britain had won the Revolutionary War in a new online spot from Droga 5.
Entitled “If We Won,” the spot sees Merchant trying on an “incredibly convincing American accent” before asking, “Do you really still have to celebrate your emancipation from us? That’s like your girlfriend breaking up with you and then celebrating with fireworks. Every year. For 300 years.” He then goes on to list all the ways America would be better if it were still a British colony, including “better comedy, news, TV programs,” and way better curse words.
“In the late 1700s, colonial Americans risked life and limb to fight for their freedom,” Newcastle Brown Ale Brand Director Quinn Kilburytold Adweek. “Today, we’re running the very real risk of people totally not getting the joke here, and we think that’s pretty patriotic.”
Judging from a cursory glimpse at the YouTube comments section, that was a very real risk indeed. Stick around for limited credits after the jump. (more…)
New York agency Sid Lee created a series of thematically unified spots to promote Syneron Beauty Inc.’s m? “smooth” hair removal system, the “first and only professional at-home system that uses patented elos light technology and is FDA-cleared and clinically proven safe and effective on all skin tones.” The campaign, entitled “It’s for ME, not for her” launched with three spots this week, with two more forthcoming in November.
The spots all end with the line “You deserve the m?, but you might know someone who doesn’t,” before directing viewers to the m? website. Each spot precedes this with a woman explaining how they will tell everyone they know about the m?, except for one person who they really hate.
In the above video, “One Upper,” it’s the dreaded copycat who makes the spot’s protagonist attempt to one up her adversary in order to stay one step ahead and preserve her identity. Not a terrible premise, but the execution falls completely flat. This and the other spots’ attempts at humor all come across as awkward and cringe-worthy — and not in a funny Stephen Merchant kind of way. The other two spots feature a criminally bad blind date setup and a woman who always brings a large crowd along uninvited to intimate gatherings. Again, either of these premises could have been funny if well-executed but just come across as awkward and annoying.
We also see very little of the product being used — just a few seconds at the beginning and end really — with most of the time spent on cringe-inducing attempts at humor. If the product (which retails at $395!) is really as great as they say it is, shouldn’t they spend a little more time extolling its virtues? Especially if they’re going to ask women to drop $395, maybe Sid Lee and Syneron should use something other than spite to sell the product. Maybe explain what the hell “elos light technology” is (I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t know) and why it’s such a step up from the competition.
The spots were an attempt to cut “through the lingerie and bikini clad cosmetic noise of the category and [speak] to our audience as a friend, not a corporation,” explains Sid Lee New York CD Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce. Unfortunately, the spots come across as that one friend who means well but who you avoid because they won’t stop making terrible jokes and you hate the pressure of feeling like you have to force-laugh to avoid making them feel bad.
Perhaps the one redeeming quality of the campaign is the invitation to viewers of the m? website to submit via Facebook, email, or Twitter an explanation of someone who doesn’t deserve to find out about the m?. Although it would work better if the ads held up on their own, this could be a fun way for viewers to vent about a specific problem person in their life. It will also undoubtedly yield better stories than those featured in the current m? spots. Maybe Sid Lee can mine these stories for their next installment in the campaign. Stick around for the spot “Strangers” after the jump. continued…
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