Hasta La Creative!

Last month, W+K Portland launched a new campaign for Booking.com celebrating the fantasy wedding of real-life engaged couple Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine Nine). The initial efforts showed the couple planning for their big day and brainstorming locations for a destination wedding in “Destination Wedding” and “Beach Booty.” 

Now the agency has released a follow-up continuing the theme, only this time around viewers get a look at Rebel Wilson and Keegan-Michael Key setting out on a road trip to the big event. The latest effort, which follows on the heels of the Key and Peele’s first movie, Keanu, which was released late last month.

“Road Trip” sees Key drive up to Wilson’s house to pick her up for a trip with a novel-length printed itinerary. Wilson knocks the itinerary out of his hand, claiming they “have to go off-script.” The sentiment echoes the voiceover at the spot’s introduction, claiming Booking.com can help them “wing it all the way to Jordan and Chelsea’s wedding.”

The effort doesn’t much get into the site’s specifics, but builds off the free cancellation selling point of “Beach Booty,” positioning the site’s versatility and flexibility as strong selling points.

This is further explored in the short “Mountain Lady,” which references the free cancellation specifically when Wilson finds herself a third wheel and, as the voiceover puts it, “the trip you’re on isn’t really the trip you want to be on.”

This campaign has a lot to live up to given its cast and, so far, the laughs aren’t quite what you’d hope for.

Still, it should capture the attention of said comedians’ fans and does a good job of telling a serial narrative while selling Booking.com for specific features. Here’s hoping W+K can bring things together for a memorable finale.

CREDITS

W+K PORTLAND
Creative Director: Micah Walker
Copywriters: Nick Morrissey, Mike Egan
Art Director: Jon Kubik, Meaghan Oikawa
Producer: Hayley Goggin Avila
Art Producer: Andrea Bakacs
Interactive Producer: Blake Carrillo
Comms Supervisor: Destinee Scott
Account Service: Regina Keough/Tristan Harvin/Mimi Kim
Strategic Planning: Eugene Krasnopolsky, Nicole Brandell
Business Affairs: Karen Roche
Studio Design: Dana Beaty/Greg Jacobsen
Studio Manager: Sally Garrido-Spencer
Retouchers: Kyle Pero/Saskia Thomson
Motion Designer: Adam Sirkin
Motion Producer: Sarah Gamazo/Tori Herbst

PRODUCTION
Production Company: SMUGGLER
Director: Randy Krallman
Executive Producers: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, Shannon Jones, Andrew Colon
Line Producer: Ian Blaine
Director of Photography: Darko Suvac
Production Designer: Jason Schuster

EDITORIAL
Editorial Company: Cartel
Editor: Andy McGraw
Assistant Editor: Eddie Mikasa
Post Producer: Meagen Carroll
Post Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographer: Emily Shur
Line Producer: Tricia Sherman
Production Company: Bauerfeind Productions

VFX
VFX Company: Joint
Lead Flame: MB Emigh
2D Artists: Leif Peterson/Noah Poole
VFX Producer: Gail von Dedenroth
VFX Coordinator: Nathanael Horton
VFX Executive Producer: Alex Thiesen

MIX + SOUND DESIGN
Mix Company: Joint & Lime
Mixer/Sound Design: Noah Woodburn/Sam Casas
Producer: Gail von Dedenroth/Susie Boyajan

TELECINE
Telecine Company: Joint The Mill
Color Producer: Gail von Dedenroth/Diane Valera
Colorist: David Jahns/Adam Scott

MUSIC
Music Company: Wolf at the Door
Composer: Chris Kennedy/Cecil Campanero/Jimmy Haun
Creative Director: Alex Kamp
Executive Producer: Natalie P. Montgomery

W+K Portland brings back a screaming Terry Crews for a new 30-second online spot for Old Spice, but that’s just the beginning.

The spot features Crews crashing into a bathroom on an Old Spice rocket and promoting the brand’s “powerful smelling” body spray and body wash, which he uses to cover his “powerful body.” It’s a return to an old formula for the brand, following the slight departure of its previous campaign, but ends with something different: a call to viewers to click through to an interactive experience called “Muscle Surprise.”

Old Spice spokesperson Kate DiCarlo told Mashable “Muscle Surprise” was designed to appeal to the brand’s video game-loving audience. “We know our guys love video games. We know they’re spending a lot of time engaging with their friends digitally,” she said. “But they’re also spending a lot of time engaging with brands digitally, so we thought, ‘Why not give it a try and turn Terry into a game?’”

Calling “Muscle Surprise” a game might be a bit of a stretch, as there isn’t a clear cause and effect to users’ actions. Rather, the surreal interactive experience finds users clicking on Crews’ various muscles to bizarre and unexpected effect, with which muscles they click on, and in what order, leading to different (always strange) results. You can give it a try yourself here, and see if you can figure out how to get the ennui-suffering stapler.

Credits:
W+K PORTLAND
Executive Creative Directors: Mark Fitzloff, Joe Staples
Creative Directors: Craig Allen, Jason Bagley
Copywriters: Jarrod Higgins, Andy Laugenour, Ansel Wallenfang
Director of Interactive Production:Mike Davidson
Interactive Producer: Eddye Borgese, Amy Marsh
Interactive Strategy: Michael Holz
Social Strategy: Danny Schotthoefer
Media/Comms Planning: Lisa Feldhusen, AJ Blumenthal, Mary O’Malley
Account Team: Nick Pirtle, Liam Doherty
Business Affairs: Cindy Lewellen

PRODUCTION COMPANY
Production Company: MediaMonks
Founder: Wesley ter Haar
Director: Tom Rijpert
Executive Producer: Joris Pol
Executive Producer: Nell Jordan
Post Production Producer: Marloes de Rijke
Producer: Tim Ruiters
Executive Creative Director: Jeroen van der Meer
Digital Art Director: Nicolas Mollien
UX Lead: Martin Kool
Animation Director: Pierre Nelwan

DiMassimo Goldstein, an independent, New York-based agency, has been selected by Weight Watchers to handle the brand’s spring campaign, which will debut Sunday, AdAge reports.

Weight Watchers decided to leave W+K last month after less than a year with the agency, in a move many attribute to an attempt to save money on the part of the struggling company. W+K took over for McCann Erickson New York in April of 2014, at which time Weight Watchers proceeded to drop its celebrity spokespeople.

A Weight Watchers spokesperson stated that this is not an agency of record selection and that the brand will “continue to evaluate agencies for the longer term.” AdAge notes that DiMassimo Goldstein “has experience crafting ads for subscription-model businesses, ranging from Netflix and eBay to Reader’s Digest and FreshDirect.” We featured the agency’s work on the FreshDirect broadcast spot “Lonely Shopping Cart” last year.

As you may remember, W+K’s last work for the client was its “All You Can Eat” Super Bowl ad featuring voiceover work from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.

At the end of February, W+K Portland released an ad for Nike Golf called “Why Change?” featuring Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, among a host of other athletes. Now, Woods and McIlroy are back for a new spot, released in 60 and 120-second versions, exploring the nature of athletic idols inspiring young athletes.

The ad, entitled “Ripple” tells the story of McIlroy as a dedicated young golfer who looks up to Woods as his hero. He watches Woods on TV with hypnotic awe, and practices his game relentlessly. A young McIlroy hits a plastic ball around the house, as he ages he is so devoted to the game he’ll practice driving in the pouring rain and beg his father to let him hit a few more as it gets dark. It ends with McIlroy now a proffesional golfer, playing alongside his idol. While “Why Change?” took a humorous approach, complete with sarcastic narration from Key & Peele’s Keegan-Michael Key, “Ripple” instead goes for emotion, based on the insight that athletic idolatry creates a ripple effect, with one generation inspiring the next.

“It’s been an incredible journey for me, going from massive fan to competitor,” said McIlroy, in a statement. “To think that not too long ago I was that little boy watching him on TV to where I am now. It’s been a cool journey and I’m very lucky I get to compete with and against him, because he inspired me as a kid and he inspires me now. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen.”

“I’ve been in that same situation,” added Woods. “Growing up, Jack [Nicklaus] was my idol. My first recollection of The Masters was 1986, when Jack won. I remember him making a putt at 17 and lifting that putter up. Fourteen years later at the 2000 PGA Championship, I got to play with and against him – someone I looked up to.”

(The campaign is particularly relevant given the fact that Woods fell out of the Official World Golf Rankings’ Top 100 last week for the first time since 1996.)

Credits:

W+K PORTLAND

Creative Directors Chris Groom / Stuart Brown

Copywriter Brock Kirby

Art Director Derrick Ho

Producer Jeff Selis

Interactive Strategy Reid Schilperoort

Strategic Planning Andy Lindblade / Brandon Thornton

Media/Comms Planning Alex Dobson / Jocelyn Reist

Account Team Alyssa Ramsey / Rob Archibald / Heather Morba / Ramiro Del-Cid

Business Affaires Dusty Slowik

Project Management Nancy Rea

Executive Creative Directors Joe Staples / Mark Fitzloff

Head of Production Ben Grylewicz

PRODUCTION

Production Company Biscuit Filmworks

Director Steve Rogers

Executive Producer Holly Vega

Line Producer Vincent Landay

Director of Photography Nicolas Karakatsanis

EDITORIAL

Editorial Company Joint Editorial

Editor Peter Wiedensmith

Post Producer Leslie Carthy

Post Executive Producer Patty Brebner

VFX

VFX Company The Mill

VFX Supervisor Tim Davies

Flame Artist

VFX Producer Will Lemmon

Titles/Graphics

MUSIC + SOUND DESIGN

Music+Sound Company

Composer Ludovico Einaudi

Sound Designer

Song (if applicable) Nuvole Bianche

Producer

DIGITAL / INTERACTIVE

CONTENT TYPE Online Media

LAUNCH DATE 4/5-12/15

DURATION 1.5 weeks

W+K PORTLAND

Creative Director Chris Groom / Stuart Brown

Copywriter Brock Kirby

Art Director Derrick Ho

Producer Jeff Selis

Interactive Strategy Reid Schilperoort

Strategic Planning Andy Lindblade / Brandon Thornton

Media/Comms Planning Alex Dobson / Jocelyn Reist

Account Team Alyssa Ramsey / Rob Archibald / Heather Morba / Ramiro Del-Cid

Executive Creative Directors Joe Staples / Mark Fitzloff

Agency Executive Producer Ben Grylewicz

Digital Designer Rob Mumford

Exec Interactive Producer Patrick Marzullo

Content Producer Byron Oshiro

Broadcast Jeff Selis

Art Buying Amy Berriochoa

Photographer Luke Delong

AdAge reports that General Mills has appointed W+K Portland as agency of record for its Yoplait brand.

Incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi will continue to handle portions of the business including innovation and kids variety Go-Gurt, but W+K will play lead moving forward.

For W+K, the account, along with the addition of KFC to its roster last month, makes up for ground lost in Kraft’s agency consolidation in November and the recent departure of Weight Watchers.

The agency move — like so many others — comes shortly after General Mills’ appointment of Ann Simonds as chief marketing officer. According to Kantar Media, the company spent $169.4 million on U.S. measured media for the Yoplait brand last year.

W+K Portland’s new spot for Powerade, entitled “Rose from Concrete,” stars Derrick Rose and features narration by Tupac Shakur.

For the voiceover, W+K took audio from the song “Mamas Just A Little Girl,” released posthumously on the 2002 album Better Dayz. Tupac’s spoken word lyrics form the emotional basis for the 60-second spot, which finds an appropriate subject in the injury-plagued Bulls star. Set in the streets of Englewood, Chicago, it shows (presumably) a young Rose as he rides his bike to the United Center. He stares at it longingly and then, in the next shot, an adult Rose sips a Powerade while taking in the sights from inside, ending with the message, “We’re all just a kid from somewhere.”

The words present a powerful message of overcoming adversity, and W+K does an admirable job of matching them to footage of Chicago, filmed last December. “Rose from Concrete” risks alienating some, however, who might take objection to Powerade’s use of Tupac’s sentiment for commercial means (even if they have the blessing of his estate).

“Tupac Shakur serves as the ultimate example of someone who couldn’t be limited by the environment in which he was raised,” Guy Duncan, group director, integrated marketing content, Powerade, said in a statement. “We are honored the Tupac Shakur estate has allowed us to use his inspiring message to tell our story to a generation that didn’t get the chance to experience his larger-than-life presence.”

W+K Portland debuted a new ad for Coca-Cola during the Oscars on Sunday, entitled “A Generous World.”

The 60-second ad, the latest in Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign, follows a series of unfortunate events. It opens on a man buying a Coke when he sees a woman break a guitar string and decides she needs it more than he does. She’s about to sip the bottle when she sees an elderly nun whose car is being towed and gives the Coke to her. From here, the Coke keeps making the rounds from one person to the next. As each is about to sip the drink, they see someone who has suffered a worse misfortune than they have and decide to give it to them instead. It’s very much in line with the “Open Happiness” mood of promoting happiness and positivity, although the premise wears a bit thin by the end of 60 seconds after so much repetition. The broadcast spot ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and Coca-Cola invited fans to submit their own ideas for endings before finally revealing their own (see below).

Thanks to all the screen-writers and guessers out there. Ready to see who gets the Coke next? #AndTheCokeGoesTo… https://t.co/TQa3pKOodQ

— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) February 23, 2015

Credits:

Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Spot: “Generous World”

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Hal Curtis / Jeff Gillette / Antony Goldstein
Copywriter: Neil Ramanan
Art Director: Gianmaria Schonlieb
Producer: Jennifer Hundis
Account Team: Brian Mead
Business Affaires: Teresa Lutz
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples / Mark Fizloff
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz

Production Company: MJZ
Director: Dante Ariola
Head of Production: Scott Howard
Line Producer: Natalie Hill
Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sound

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
Assistant Editor: Marjorie Sacks
Post Producer: Shada Shariatzadeh
Post Executive Producer: Angela Dorian

Final Online & Effects: The Mill, Chris Harlow
Color Correction : Company 3, Stefan Sonnenfield

Music Company: We Are Walker
Executive Producer : Sara Matarazzo

Audio Post and Sound Design Company: Eleven Sound, Jeff Payne

Katy Perry may have headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but the costumed sharks acting as her backup dancers completely stole the show, (and our hearts in the process). In its latest “This Is SportsCenter” spot for ESPN, entitled “Sharks,” W+K New York unmasks the halftime heroes.

In the spot, Left Shark and Right Shark pull into the ESPN parking lot in Bristol, Connecticut after a long drive. After stepping into the ESPN office, the sharks finally remove their costumes and reveal their true identities before assessing their performance and getting back to work as usual. Capitalizing on the popularity of the Super Bowl’s breakout personalities (and using the real costumes, designed by Katy Perry, Baz Halpin and Marina Toybina) the spot is a fun reminder of the Super Bowl’s breakout personalities.

W+K Portland brought its “It’s Amazing What You’re Capable Of” for TurboTax to the Super Bowl last night with “Boston Tea Party.”

“It’s Amazing What You’re Capable Of,” W+K’s first campaign for the brand, debuted at the start of 2014 with “The Year of You,” following the agency winning AOR duties the previous summer. “Boston Tea Party” introduces TurboTax’s new offering of free filing for individuals who file a simple tax return (1040A/1040EZ). The spot imagines that historical event going down a little differently when the British offer to allow Americans to file taxes for free, injecting a bit of big game appropriate humor into the campaign. “Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it went down,” the spot concedes, “but you can file on TurboTax for absolutely nothing.”

It may not be the most noteworthy ad of the Super Bowl, but “Boston Tea Party” fits the brand well, managing to simultaneously feel like an extension of the “It’s Amazing What You’re Capable Of” campaign while also introducing a new selling point for the brand.

Credits:

W+K PORTLAND

Creative Directors Dan Kroeger / Max Stinson

Copywriter Darcie Burrell / Brooke Barker

Art Director Chris Taylor

Producer/ Assistant Producer Endy Hedman / Julie Gursha

Account Team Courtney Nelson / Vanessa Miller / Anna Boteva

Executive Creative Directors Joe Staples / Mark Fitzloff

Head of Production Ben Grylewicz

Strategic Planning Amber Higgins / Nathan Goldberg

Project Management Liza Robbins

PRODUCTION

Production Company Biscuit

Director Noam Murro

Managing Director Shawn Lacy

Executive Producer Colleen O’Donnell

Line Producer Jay Veal

Director of Photography Simon Duggan

EDITORIAL

Editorial Company Exile

Editor Kirk Baxter

Assistant Editor Nate Gross / Grant Hall

Post Producer Toby Louie

Post Executive Producer CL Weaver

VFX

VFX Company The Mill

VFX Executive Producer Sue Troyan

Executive Color Producer Thatcher Peterson

VFX Producer Dan Robers

Color Producer Antonio Hardy

Production Coordinator Benjamin Sposato

Creative Director / Shoot

Supervisor

2D Lead Chris Knight

2D Artists Sarah Eim / John Price / Robert Murdock / Martin Karlsson

3D Lead Tom Graham

3D Artists Phill Mayer / Katie Yancey / Alberto Lara / Jason Monroe / Majid Esmaeili / Mario Afu

Matte Painters Sun Chung / Thom Price / Andy Wheater

Robert Sethi / Chris Knight

Hassan / Nick Lines / Fabian Elmers / Steve Olsen / Dustin Colson / Carl Harders / Simon

Brown / Ed Boldero / Jason Jansky

Colorist Adam Scott

MUSIC

Sound Company Barking Owl

Creative Director Kelly Bayett

Head of Production Whitney Fromholtz

Song #1 Original composed music — “To Win (Hero Theme)”

Song #2 Bob Dylan “The Man in Me”

SOUND DESIGN

Sound Company Barking Owl

Sound Designer Michael Anastasi

Creative Director Kelly Bayett

Producer Whitney Fromholtz

MIX

Mix Company Eleven Sound

Mixer Jeff Payne

Assistant Mixer Ben Freer

Producer Dawn Redmann

Exec Producer Suzanne Hollingshead

Squarespace has teased its ad from W+K featuring actor Jeff Bridges and if the teaser is any indication this may be the strangest ad broadcast during the Super Bowl.

The spot opens with an oddly-framed shot of Bridges as the actor says, “I love listening to intriguing sounds when I drift off into my dreams.” He’s plugging his album Jeff Bridges Sleeping Tapes, as a means of showing how even oddball ideas benefit from the Squarespace treatment. Proceeds from the album, full of “intriguing sounds, noises and other things to help you get a good night’s rest,” go to No Kid Hungry.

“We wanted to create a campaign to illustrate that any idea, no matter how wild or weird, can be presented beautifully and meaningfully through Squarespace,”  Anthony Casalena, Squarespace founder and CEO, told Adweek.

Squarespace does not plan to release W+K’s ad prior to the Super Bowl, but you can learn more about Bridges’ sleep album here. According to David Kolbusz, executive creative director at W+K New York, it really works. “[Bridges’] voice is like oak and leather and cigar smoke and the wilderness. I personally have fallen asleep to the recording on more than one occasion,” he said in a statement.