Hasta La Creative!

On August 18, 2014, TBWA Toronto and Gatorade surprised members of the Cruisers sledge hockey team by inviting NHL stars to join them on the ice. TBWA Toronto then used footage from the event to create the above online spot, released just a few days ago.

In the 2:15 video, we see the surprised look on the faces of Cruisers players as a Gatorade spokesperson invites NHL stars such as Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell onto the ice. But the ad isn’t just about how excited the Cruisers were to meet their hockey idols. The sledge hockey team proved the naysayers (who say sledge hockey isn’t as hard as the stand up version) wrong, and actually schooled the pros. “A couple of those guys did circles around us,” admits Giroux.

“At the end of the day, hockey is hockey,” the spot concludes,” followed by the message, “Proud supporter of hockey everywhere. No matter how it’s played.”

It’s an inspiring message, delivered well over the course of the ad — which actually does a good job of developing its story of the course of its run time, not feeling too stretched at out, even at over two minutes. “Sledge Hockey” is a pretty perfect encapsulation of Gatorade’s “#WinFromWithin” campaign message, and seems to have struck a chord with hockey fans, as it has already tallied almost 700,000 views on YouTube. (more…)

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In exchange for a lifetime supply of Doritos Los Tacos, Tyler agrees to get a tattoo…of a taco…on his arm. It’s relevant because Toronto Taco Bells decided to keep DLT on their menus permanently after a trail run. Aside from the unintended sexual connotations of a taco tattoo, Tyler fails to realize that in a few decades, it’s possible that Taco Bell takes the tacos off their menu (though we’ve been told they’re “permanent” in Canada). Not guaranteed, but possible, and then he has a tattoo of an obsolete offering from Taco Bell. Tyler is maybe 50 or 60 at this point and thriving as an MP in Toronto. If this scenario plays out, does Tyler still get the tacos for life? Would love to get a copy of his contract.

The spot itself, from Toronto shop Grip Limited, is not as exciting as the idea behind it. Fairly simple, guy walks into tattoo parlor, gets tattoo, confirms stereotypes by saying things like, “I’ve been a fan of Taco Bell since I was ten years old,” even though he looks about 26. I’d have to imagine the kind of person who finds this spot cool already eats Doritos Los Tacos regularly, has half-serious plans to move to Colorado or Uruguay, and is probably between the ages of 15-19. If not, then I’ve really overestimated the collective common sense of humanity. Credits after the jump.

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DDB Canada has a new campaign for K-Y Brand lubricant called “Warm Up To Love Again.” As the title suggests, this campaign is targeted at couples having intimacy issues, rather than continually fapping, hormonal teenage boys (another key lubricant demographic). More specifically, the campaign speaks to “women, who want to stay connected with their partner through enjoyable physical and emotional intimacy, but who have not been comfortable introducing a personal lubricant into their relationship.”

DDB manages to do this with lighthearted humor, important because of the awkwardness of broaching the issue of personal lubrication. In each spot, a woman witnesses her (conspicuously unsexy) partner performing an everyday task in slow-motion, while an R&B slow jam plays in the background. The idea is that K-Y “makes physical intimacy with your partner so comfortable and easy, women will view sex, and their partners in a whole new light,” explains agency ECD, Denise Rossetto. So, suddenly seeing her partner starting up the lawnmower or do push-ups is enough to turn each of the women in these spots on, culminating into the campaign’s “Warm Up To Love Again” tagline. DDB keeps things short and to the point, with the trio of adverts each clocking in at 15 seconds. The campaign debuted online on December 12th, and will make its television premiere next month. Credits and “Sit-Ups” after the jump. continued…

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WPP-owned, Toronto-based john st. continues in its great annual tradition of taking the piss out of the industry as part of its pitch for Strategy‘s Agency of the Year awards (we covered fellow Toronto agency Lowe Roche’s entry earlier today). In its follow-up to last year’s introduction of a “professional clicking service” called Buyral, john st. gets more aggressive, scaring the bejeezus out of total strangers (well, at least let’s play along) as part of the a new marketing strategy that the agency’s christened “exFEARiential.”

It’s just as absurd/amusing, if not more so, than previous john st. AOY videos including Buyral as well as predecessors, Catvertising and Pink Ponies. It looks like we aren’t the only ones that get a kick out of “exFEARiential” as it picked up Best Agency Video at the Strategy awards, where john st. also took home gold for Agency of the Year and bronze for Digital Agency of the Year. FYI, if you stick around til the end of the clip, you can click on separate videos of the stress tests featured above (or if you’re just unwilling to wait, go here and here). Credits after the jump.

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