FCB Continues to Celebrate Bellies for Kmart, Joe Boxer

A couple weeks ago FCB Chicago launched its “Jingle Bellies” holiday spot for Kmart and Joe Boxer, a follow-up to last year’s “Show Your Joe,” which was unofficially dubbed “Jingle Balls” and went on to score over 18 million views on YouTube. With “Jingle Bellies” now just past the one million view mark, the agency has unveiled a follow-up belly performance entitled “Santa Baby.” The twist? This time around it’s pregnant women dancing.

The women shake their posteriors to an upbeat rendition of the song “Santa Baby” (most famously sung by Eartha Kitt) and then turn around, exposing their pregnant bellies. The reveal comes early in the ad, with the pregnant women dancing for the remainder of the spot, in their pajamas, until they stop and one woman extolls the virtues of Kmart and Joe Boxer. So basically more of the same goofy humor FCB has been employing in its holiday efforts for Kmart and Joe Boxer since the original, although a slight departure from the “body parts as instruments” schtick. The ad comes as a bit of a surprise, however, as there was no immediate sequel to last year’s spot. With Sears Holdings’ Kmart account currently in review (Sears is also up for grabs), this could potentially be FCB’s last work for the struggling brand. Kmart, meanwhile, badly needs its holiday marketing efforts to drive sales to make up for a very tough year for the company. (more…)

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FCB Chicago Introduces ‘The Truck Whisperer’ for Fleetmatics


Earlier this month FCB Chicago introduced “The Truck Whisperer” for fleet tracking and management service Fleetmatics.

While a “Dog Whisperer” parody may have come across as edgy and topical say, 6 years ago, FCB Chicago’s character mostly felt flat and slightly annoying. The newly added additions to the campaign, unfortunately, take things even further in the annoying direction. The new spots — “What?”, “Therapy”, “10 & 2” and “Cinderblocks” continue embellishing the “Truck Whisperer” character. “Cinderblocks” (above), for example, sees the character pained over the fate of a truck and wishing he had been contacted sooner. If you like the character already (can’t imagine that’s a lot of you), the new spots may tickle your fancy, or may sour you on him, as there’s even less to like than with the original “Meet The Trick Whisperer” spot. If you don’t, they certainly won’t do anything to change your mind. All told, this is kind of a curious approach for Fleetmatics, and we’re not sure it’s doing much for the brand. Stick around for credits and more from the “Truck Whisperer” after the jump. continued…

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