David Bowie is usually up for anything. And the 66-year-old rocker's latest little detour involves serenading 25-year-old model Arizona Muse at a lavish Venetian masked ball in this Louis Vuitton commercial.
Since this is a high-profile fashion ad, it's required to be exquisite nonsense. And director Romain Gavras (last seen filming Robert Pattinson for Dior Homme) more than obliges, presenting gorgeously shot scenes of outlandish characters preening and posing around Bowie and Muse, who has made quite the entrance in a hot-air balloon. The story line is inscrutable, of course, as Muse later is seen alone and departing by red-sailed boat, no doubt to pop up later in a future spot.
Things are fairly pretty entertaining in the meantime, at least, as Bowie plays a harpsichord version of "I'd Rather Be High," a song from his latest album. Somewhat comically, though, the making-of video (also posted below) has no interviews with the creators or any real insight into the making-of. It's as though these fashion ads really do have nothing to say.
The spot is a continuation of Vuitton's "L'Invitation au Voyage" campaign, which launched last November with the brand's first-ever TV spot, directed by photographers Inez and Vinoodh—in which Muse ran around the Louvre before leaving in the hot-air balloon. That spot has 20 million views on YouTube.
CREDITS
Client: Louis Vuitton
Director: Romain Gavras
Photographer: David Sims
Hair: Paul Hanlon
Stylist: Jerry Stafford
Makeup: Lucia Pieron
After charming poor kids who love to sing Lorde in his previous spot, goofy-looking Samsung spokesman Lionel Messi is back, and this time he's fleeing such shiny, sleek black cars that I thought this was an automotive ad until I saw that the Mercedes logos were blacked out.
Basically, Messi flees the cars of the Shadow Government or whoever it is, dribbling his soccer ball with amazing skill through a restaurant, across the tops of cars and elsewhere in a clever riff on the Parkour craze that has taken over everything from broadcast TV to the James Bond franchise.
R/GA and Cheil Worldwide produced this new work, and the spot is expertly shot and edited in such a way that you don't have time to think, only to watch the leaping and running and kicking. So (spoiler) the revelation of the alien spaceship at the very end is a great twist—the Shadow Government has more to worry about than Messi's rabble-rousing soccer games with street urchins, if such a thing can be believed: The fate of the world is at stake. Probably. And only soccer will help.
The only thing about this ad that bothers me a little is that it feels like something's missing from it. It's a great, brief video with a cool twist at the end, put together in a completely professional way. But it's almost as if there should be some kind of a picture, somewhere? It's obviously part of an ongoing campaign—10 other international soccer superstars will be named to Galaxy 11 in the next few weeks on Samsung Mobile's social channels and campaign microsite, theGALAXY11.com—but I want to say maybe there could be, like, a company logo? Or maybe a product of some sort, possibly even a smartphone or a tablet or a really nerdy wristwatch?
Just spitballing, here.
CREDITS
Client: Samsung
Agencies: R/GA and Cheil Worldwide
Each year, as the holidays draw near, you can depend on Kmart to start rolling out ads for its reserve-now, pay-incrementally layaway program. (In fact, Kmart couldn't even wait for the official start of fall to begin touting it this year—the company's first Christmas layaway ad aired in September.) While the ads usually focus on the convenience of the layaway plan, for its latest spot, the mass retailer is finally taking a different approach by poking fun at its competitors' not-so-great offers.
The minute-long "Boardroom" spot, by Draftfcb in Chicago, imagines the corporate headquarters of a fictitious competitor as a place where villains gather to deprive consumers of a good deal. The company's chairman kicks things off by announcing that the marketing department has asked that they start offering layaway, but, being terrible and all, he's determined to make it as inconvenient as possible. So he calls on his hodgepodge of evil board members—Genghis Khan, Satan, the "evil doll from my childhood," the "guy who always takes the last donut"—to come up with ideas for thwarting would-be layaway customers. (Blackout dates! In-store only! No apparel!)
Considering the lack of ingenuity that Kmart often displays in its layaway campaigns, it's nice to see a spot that attempts to be something other than heartwarming or mom-friendly. And frankly, I'll take weird boardroom Satan over Sandra Lee any day of the week.
Yes, it sounds like a bad idea. But this British spot for grocery chain Sainbury's from AMV BBDO—actually a trailer for a longer film, coming at the end of the month—is pretty wonderful. And it reminds you that crowdsourced footage, in the right hands, can be very moving indeed.
In this case, the hands are Kevin Macdonald's. In 2010, the Scottish director—known for movies including The Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void—made a documentary called Life in a Day, which spliced together footage shot on a single day by people around the world. Now, in partnership with Sainbury's, he has made a sequel of sorts—a 50-minute film called Christmas in a Day, which will be posted to YouTube on Nov. 29. This three-and-a-half minute spot, which consumed an entire ad break last Wednesday on Coronation Street, is a trailer for it—but serves as a lovely holiday ad in its own right.
"When we made Life in a Day, we asked people around the globe to record their lives on a single ordinary day," Macdonald says. "When we were cutting that film, we talked about what it might be like if we chose a day that already had significance to people. The result is Christmas in a Day."
Many stories about the trailer have focused on the final scene, which is understandable, as it's very emotional. But there are lots of gems throughout—in particular, the kids preparing for Santa and his reindeer, and the guy planning his Christmas lunch with a spreadsheet (he's already become something of a folk hero in the U.K.).
It's an overused word, but this is as authentic as it gets, capturing genuine moments that are peculiar, adorable and just plain real. The clear contrast, of course, is Wieden + Kennedy's Tesco spot—a painstaking replica of a family at Christmas. Both approaches can work. But with a talent like Macdonald, Sainbury's put itself in a position to produce something very special—well beyond the scope of a traditional Christmas ad. The finished film should be something else.
UPDATE: Here's the full film:
CREDITS
Client: Sainsbury's
Agency: AMV BBDO, London
Director: Kevin Macdonald
It's understandable that most Americans who were alive on Nov. 22, 1963, remember where they were and what they were doing when they leaned that John F. Kennedy, the nation's 35th president, had been assassinated. The promise of Camelot and the nightmare of Dealey Plaza were seared into the shared memory of a generation. For them, the JFK era transcends history, and each individual's experience of the event is deeply personal.
Now, as we approach Friday's 50th anniversary of that fateful day in Dallas, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum launches an interactive tribute, designed by The Martin Agency and Tool of North America, that's meant to make JFK come alive in a highly personal way for a new generation of Americans, many of whom were born decades after the man was laid to rest.
An Idea Lives On draws inspiration from a speech in which Kennedy said, "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on." By assembling stories about JFK from a wide cross-section of people, young and old, in videos, photographs, audio files, text and tweets, the site uses the power of ideas and shared narrative to give Kennedy's legacy renewed vitality. As contributors explain what JFK meant to them and the impact he had on their lives—or, in some cases, simply discuss what they've done or achieved, with the Kennedy connection providing context—we see the connective tissue between the past, present and future begin to form.
Example: Richard Garriott de Cayeux, a video game designer and private astronaut, recounts growing up as the son of a NASA astronaut and poetically describes what it feels like to sit atop a rocket as it's launched into space. His tale is intercut with Kennedy's famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech. JFK seemingly played no direct role in de Cayeux's personal development. Yet the slain president's quest for a U.S. lunar landing inspired decades of space exploration and technological growth. That vision laid the groundwork for both de Cayeux's interest in space travel and his gaming career. And it continues to drive our data-driven lives and sets the stage for innovations yet to come.
Others sharing stories in various formats include comedian Conan O'Brien; former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis; astronaut Chris Cassidy; actor Martin Sheen; House leader Nancy Pelosi; journalist Luke Russert; and poet Richard Blanco. The JFK Library is soliciting stories via the hashtag #AnIdeaLivesOn. Content is curated in categories such as public service, the space program, arts and humanities, civil rights, fashion, politics, education and religion, and all stories are sharable through social media.
The work is reminiscent of Martin's previous projects for the client, commemorating the Apollo 11 moon mission and the Cuban Missile Crisis (the latter also done with Tool). This time, however, the work cuts a bit deeper by emphasizing personal impressions and striking a potent emotional chord.
It's not so much that history comes alive, but that JFK isn't viewed as "history" in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, An Idea Lives On presents him in an accessible, emotionally resonant fashion that lets those who weren't around during his lifetime understand and appreciate his lasting impact. The site treats JFK's legacy as a vibrant continuum, informing our present age and providing a blueprint for tomorrow.
CREDITS
Project: An Idea Lives on
Created by: Brian Williams, Wade Alger, Joe Alexander & Ben Tricklebank
Client: The JFK Presidential Library & Museum Foundation
Executive Director: Tom McNaught
Director of Marketing and Sales: Lee Statham
Director of Communications: Rachel Flor
Agency: The Martin Agency
Concept & Project Leads: Brian Williams & Wade Alger
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Executive Producer: Steve Humble
Producer: Anya Mills
Director of Digital Production: Darren Himebrook
Interactive Producer: Neil Cox
Project Manager/Junior Interactive Producer: Ryan Micklos
Account Supervisor: Carrie Bird
Account Executive: Josh Lybarger
Director of Brand Partnerships: Leslie Griles
Digital Production: Tool
Director: Ben Tricklebank
Live Action Production: Tool & The Martin Agency
Music: Plan8
Editorial: STITCH
It's been more than 16 years since Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear during a heavyweight championship fight. Now, in a Foot Locker ad from BBDO, New York, Tyson is giving it back.
That's just one bit of pop-culture brilliance in a spot that also sees national embarrassment Dennis Rodman buying a one-way ticket to North Korea—to the glee of everyone. NFL Bop Bag Brett Favre, meanwhile, waxes poetic about knowing when to quit, and sportscaster Craig Sager builds a bonfire out of the hideous suits that are his signature.
Alas, it's all a fantasy of NBA baller Kyrie Irving (aka, Pepsi MAX mischief maker Uncle Drew), who is dreaming of a world put in order by a weeklong Foot Locker shoe promotion. Sure, the premise is a bit of a stretch (and we won't delve too far into the many worse wrongs currently in need of righting, because sneaker ads are not about perspective). It's nonetheless fun—good, and simple—to watch Tyson and Holyfield hug it out over a chat about formaldehyde.
Plus, it's nice to see Irving do something in an ad other than dress up like an old man and school hapless street ballers over and over again.
CREDITS
Client: Foot Locker
Spot: "All Is Right"
Agency: BBDO, New York
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars
Senior Creative Directors: Chris Beresford-Hill, Dan Lucey
Senior Content Producer: Tricia Lentini
Creative Director, Copywriter: Alex Taylor
Creative Director, Art Director: Jason Stefanik
Executive Music Producer: Melissa Chester
Senior Account Director: Troy Tarwater
Account Director: Janelle Van Wonderen
Account Executive: Nick Robbins
Assistant Account Executive: Samuel Henderson
Production Company: O Positive Films
Director: Jim Jenkins
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella
Executive Producer, Line Producer: Marc Grill
Director of Photography: Ramsay Niokell
Music House: South Music
Edit House: Mackenzie Cutler
Editor: Ian Mackenzie
Assistant Editor: Nick Divers
Another day, another holiday 2013 commercial. Our latest entry comes from 72andSunny for Target, which never fails to put a trendy spin on even the most mundane activities. (Seriously, these guys managed to make scooping mayo out of a jar look like the coolest thing ever.) Now, for the umpteenth year in a row, the most wonderful time of the year is getting the full Target treatment—in a campaign themed "My kind of holiday."
You see, regular old Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Solstice or whatever you're into, apologies to Sarah Palin) doesn't cut it anymore. Think you can just spend hours in the kitchen cooking up a delicious turkey dinner for 12 and call it a day? Nope. If you don't post a perfectly filtered photo of that roasted fowl to Instagram (and Facebook and Tumblr and Snapchat, and maybe even Google+, just to be safe), it didn't exist. Planning to send a bunch of Hallmark Christmas cards this year? How quaint! Better idea: Spend your entire weekend producing a stop-motion holiday video extravaganza to share with the family on Vine.
While traditionalists may balk at the idea of "ninjabread men"—and hopefully everyone will shake their heads at a bunch of overly excited millennials doing "carol-oke"—chances are someone at your holiday table really will be Instagramming their yule log this year, or Vine-ing the Christmas morning rush. So don't fight it; embrace it—preferably by replacing your loved ones with attractive young actors wearing colorful sweaters.
CREDITS
Client: Target
Agency: 72andSunny
Production Company: Partizan
Director: Augustus Punch
DP: DP Jess Hall
VFX: MPC
Grade: Mark Gethin, Ricky Gausis
VFX Supervisor: Rod Hodgson
VFX Lead: Elad Offer
Old Navy parted ways with longtime agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky over the summer, but it looks like its holiday advertising will remain as quirky as ever.
Last year at this time, the clothing retailer got George Takei to sing an epic power ballad promoting an epic Black Friday sale called "Cheermageddon." This year, it's Melissa McCarthy's turn to bring the funny.
She plays a contestant on a faux game show called Overnight Millionaire—and gets miffed when her big prize isn't actually a million bucks. Old Navy, however, is giving away $1 million to one lucky shopper on Black Friday. The first 500 shoppers in line at every Old Navy store when it opens at 7 p.m. Thursday will have a chance to win the jackpot.
McCarthy, as usual, is great. And the vintage look of the game show, nicely pulled off by director Roman Coppola and Old Navy project agency Chandelier in New York, certainly helps the work stand out in a crowded field. (The spot is running on TV as a :30.) Alas, there is no overnightmillionaire.com.
The retailer is also offering 50 percent off the whole store on Thursday and Friday—a tempting offer, so long as you're not among the critics angry at retailers for opening on Thanksgiving at all.
CREDITS
Client: Old Navy
Agency: Chandelier, New York
Production Company: The Directors Bureau
Director: Roman Coppola
Executive Producers: Lisa Margulis and Elizabeth Minzes
Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Carlos Arias
Harvey Nichols, the upscale U.K. department store, understands what Christmas is all about. Frankly, it's about getting what I want and feeling pleased with myself.
Sure, like everyone else, I prattle on about the spirit of giving and letting friends and family know how much I care—yadda, yadda. But deep down, I want some dope stuff under the tree. And if I have to buy that stuff for myself, and cheap out on presents for everyone else to afford it, well so be it.
Cue Harvey Nichols's tongue-in-cheek "Sorry, I Spent It On Myself" campaign from adam&eveDDB. Forget those other campaigns that stir yuletide emotion through cuddly animation,grainy nostalgia or well-choreographed glitz. Harvey Nichols undercuts them all by celebrating the gloriously greedy "Gimme!" impulse that ultimately drives the capitalist machine, especially during holiday season.
The campaign deftly mixes advertising, social media (via the #SpentItOnMyself hashtag) and in-store promotions by offering nattily packaged but ultra-cheap, jokey gifts you can buy for friends and family—leaving you the cash to spend bigger on yourself. These include paperclips, a water-resistant sink plug, genuine wooden toothpicks, plastic doorstops, a bag of gravel (from Lincolnshire—in England!) and Christmas lunch in a tin, with, we're assured, at least some of the trimmings.
"At this time of year it can be all too easy to get caught up in the spirit of giving," says client marketing director Julia Bowe. "Our new 'Sorry, I Spent It On Myself' gift collection will provide our customers with low-cost gifting options for others that will allow them to spoil themselves that little bit more this Christmas."
The collection is presented in a great James Rouse-directed film that gauges the reactions of folks young and old as they unwrap the cut-rate items on Christmas morning. (The style here couldn't be more different from adam&eveDDB's heart-tugging John Lewis spot. This agency shows impressive range.) The nearly two-minute clip is marvelously understated, and the responses of the recipients are often priceless, even if the gifts themselves aren't. "It's toothpicks," one guy says, with a confused look on his face. "You love toothpicks," says his wife, caressing the expensive tote-bag she got for herself.
In another vignette, Grandma unwraps a packet of paperclips as her grandson, wearing a chic jacket, enthusiastically explains, "They're from Harvey Nichols!" She smiles, nearly speechless. "Harvey Nichols … wow."
Wow indeed! Now, I can stick everyone on my gift list with Harvey Nichols paperclips and toothpicks—sorry, the gravel's a few pence too pricey—and have plenty of money left to buy myself those gold iPhones and remote-control drones I've been eyeing!
CREDITS
Client: Harvey Nichols
Project: Sorry, I Spent It On Myself
Clients:
Julia Bowe - Marketing Director
Anna Davidson - Marketing Manager
Alexa Mullane - Senior Marketing Executive
Creative agency: adam&eveDDB
Executive Creative Directors: Ben Tollet, Emer Stamp, Ben Priest
Copywriter: Daniel Fisher
Art director: Richard Brim
Account Team:
Paul Billingsley - Business Director
Kannayo Okolie - Account Manager
Planner: Jessica Lovell
Product Design and Design: Alex Fairman
Creative Producer: Kirsty Harris
Producer: 'Range' film: Daniel Moorey 'Sorry, I Spent It On Myself': Victoria Keenan
Media agency: Rocket
Production company: 'Range' film - Siobhan Squire 'Sorry, I Spent It On Myself' film - Outsider
Director: 'Range' film - James Day 'Sorry, I Spent It On Myself' film - James Rouse
Editor ('Sorry, I spent It On Myself' film): Bill Smedley
Soundtrack name and composer ('Sorry, I spent It On Myself' film):
Title: Silent Night
Composer: Stuart Hancock
Music Production Company: SIREN @ Factory Ltd
Publisher: SIREN Publishing Ltd
Post-production: MPC
Audio post-production: Factory Studios
Exposure: Products sold in-store and on Harvey Nichols website, POS, online
For all the earnest and sappy Christmas ads out there, there's a countervailing trend toward presenting a more realistic view of the holiday season—i.e., that it's actually a very stressful time of year. This can make for good comedy, of course, and over in Britain, KFC has produced this year's grandest seasonal piss-take—a two-and-a-half-minute musical extravaganza that recommends uniting with yuletide enemies over a bucket of chicken and eating your holiday cares away.
The spot, from BBH London and Biscuit Filmworks director Tim Godsall, opens with a showdown in a store between angry moms. "I almost tore your hair out for the last doll in the store," one sings. "But the things that once divided us don't matter anymore," the other one sings in reply. And we're off on a grandiose musical journey, as traditional holiday foes (carolers and carolees, snowballers and snowballees, Santa Claus and incontinent children) put aside their differences and bond over the soothing comfort of 11 herbs and spices.
It's all amusingly goofy and completely over the top—even the lip-syncing at times seems intentionally bad. (And to an American audience, the British pronunciation of "herbs" only adds to the comedy.) Yet the song is catchy enough to tie it all together—it's parody, yes, but also genuinely infectious. And the spot has quite the impressive finale, as the KFC Choir appears (no, really, you can follow them on Twitter) to belt out the chorus one last time.
"We wanted to make something that stood out from a lot of ads you come to expect this time of year," says David Kolbusz, deputy executive creative director at BBH (which, showing its range, also did the stately and elaborately choreographed Baileys Christmas ad)."The trick was to address the reality of unavoidable yuletide stress and conflict without depressing people. We decided the best way to do this was through the medium of song. A schmaltzy, sugar-coated song."
There's a nice social tie-in, too. All this week, people are encouraged to tweet about someone they'd like to make peace with this Christmas—using the hashtag #UniteThisXmas. The winning tweeter will have his or her conflict resolved by starring in a new commercial that will air Dec. 14 on the finale of Britain's version of The X Factor.
The song is also available for purchase on iTunes, although that's really superfluous, since it will be in your head for the rest of the day regardless.
Agency: BBH London
Deputy Executive Creative Director: David Kolbusz
Copywriters: David Kolbusz, Matt Moreland
Art Directors: David Kolbusz, Chris Clarke
Creative Director: Marc Hatfield
Producer: Rachel Hough
Assistant Producer: Vaia Ikonomou
Strategic Business Lead: Sian Cook
Team Director: Phil Baker
Team Manager: Leo Sloley
Strategy Director: Ross Berthinussen
Strategist: John Jones
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Tim Godsall
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Orlando Wood
Producer: Amy Appleton
Production Manager: Nicola Dempsey
Director of Photography: David Procter
Postproduction: Electric Theatre Collective
Visual Effects Supervisor: Giles Cheetham
Telecine: Aubrey Woodiwiss
Post Producer: Matt Williams
Editing House: Final Cut
Editor: Rick Russell
Music Supervision: The Most Radicalist Black Sheep Music
Artist: The Hot Sauce Posse
Sound: String and Tins
Sound Designer: Will Cohen
More Messi, more Kobe—this time, Turkish Airlines (which, you will remember, has pitted the two athletes against each other before) has the epic-est epic selfie contest of all time.
There is much flying back and forth, much face-licking of CGI lions, and much money spent both by the sports stars in the fictional world of the ad, and also presumably by the agency, the London office of Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
To be completely honest, the only shot that is a completely unqualified win as far as I'm concerned is the punch line. Kobe photobombing Messi at the Hagia Sophia Blue Mosque is great, although I do like the shoulder monkey taking the picture of Kobe in the jungle.
It's a cute spot with fun music and two likable guys, though I still don't quite get the demographic for this ad, unless I underestimate the draw of Kobe Bryant outside the U.S. or Lionel Messi within it. Seems like a very serious effort to have one's cake and eat it too, but not entirely a successful one.
At any rate, it certainly communicates (to this weary traveler, at least) a positive brand message: You can fly all around the world on Turkish Airlines and still be able to smile at a camera. Dude, sold.
CREDITS
Client: Turkish Airlines
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, London
Let's get something out of the way first: Oreo cookie balls are not an actual Oreo product. They are, according to the Internet, a homemade delicacy involving crushed Oreos that are mixed with cream cheese, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I've never actually had one of these confections (and only learned of their existence about an hour ago), but dear God they sound delicious.
Anyway, we're here to talk about Oreo's latest ad-slash-song from The Martin Agency, and this time it isn't another rendition of the "Wonderfilled" tune but an entirely new paean to the aforementioned cookie balls. While Oreo has stuck with semi-familiar names to headline its past musical endeavors, for the "Oreo Cookie Balls Song," it enlisted the mostly unknown (at least judging by his 816 Twitter followers) hip-hop artist Jinx.
And my, what a bang-up job he does.
While "Wonderfilled" was undeniably catchy, it was also incredibly cloying. (Sorry, but giving an Oreo to the Big Bad Wolf isn't going to magically convince him to help the Three Little Pigs build a deck. They're still getting eaten.) The "Oreo Cookie Ball Song," on the other hand, is both catchy and delightfully weird.
From Jinx's bizarre pronunciations ("bawls," "rein-dur") to his deadpan delivery of helpful decorating tips ("Put a little carrot on it, you made a snowman!") and possibly suggestive lyrics ("Come Christmas mornin', you gon' taste some cookie balls"), the song steers clear of any Owl City-esque saccharine overload. (Hell, even Chiddy Bang's version of "Wonderfilled" was kind of sappy.)
And at this time of year, when the sheer amount of advertising treacle can give anyone a sugar headache, a cookie commercial that eschews holiday sentimentality for rapping about "balls" is a welcome sight indeed.
CREDITS
Client: Oreo, Mondelez International
Senior Director, Oreo and Chips Ahoy: Janda Lukin
Brand Manager, Oreo: Kristin Hajinlian
Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director: Jorge Calleja
Vice President, Creative Director: David Muhlenfeld
Creative Director: Magnus Hierta
Vice President, Planning Director: John Gibson
Strategic Planner: Gigi Jordan
Group Account Director: Darren Foot
Account Supervisor: Laurel Busony
Account Executive: Molly Holmes
Broadcast Senior Vice President, Managing Director: Steve Humble
Senior Broadcast Producer: Kathy Lippincott
Junior Broadcast Producer: Maggie Shifflett
Group Project Manager: Giao Roever
Animation Company: Hue & Cry, Richmond, Va.
Lead Animator: Andrew Prousalis
Animation Artists: Matt Deans, Georgiy Kuznetsov, Stephen Loveluck, Ryan Musselman, Liam Ward
Audio Post Company: Amplified Wax
Engineer: Jimmy Hill
Music: English Major
Composer, Arranger, Mixer: David Muhlenfeld
Canadian airline WestJet played Santa to a couple hundred travelers recently, and the result was heartwarming and tear-jerking.
Before two flights from Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, to WestJet's home airport in Calgary, travelers chatted with a virtual Santa on a display in the terminal, who asked them what they wanted for Christmas. In a video released by WestJet on Monday, we see little kids and grownups alike chatting with Santa (who knew their names!) before boarding their flight. Behind the scenes, WestJet employees are shown working feverishly to actually buy the requested items, wrap them and deliver them to the Calgary airport.
When the flights land, the travelers arrive at the baggage claim and are shocked to see wrapped gifts tumbling on to the carousel. It's everything they had asked for. Gifts range from socks and underwear to airline tickets to a 50-inch flatscreen TV. People are smiling and crying (this writer watching the video included). And everyone's hugging Santa and even WestJet employees.
This is a brilliant move by WestJet—giving back to its passengers as a form of advertising. There's no charity involved and no sad story told (though neither is bad, of course)—a deviation from the good deed norm—just a bunch of super happy people opening presents and eating cookies in a fluorescent-lit baggage claim.
I cram everything into a carry-on when I travel, so I would have been bah-humbug-ing my way through the airport while my fellow travelers rolled in new electronics. Maybe the moral of the WestJet story is that if a digital Santa asks you what you want for Christmas, check a bag and tell him you want a yacht. (Kidding.)
CREDITS
Client: WestJet
Video Production: Studio M
Virtual Santa Unit and Technology: Globacore Interactive Technologies
PR: Mosaic
Given the actor's reputation for demanding final cut (all right, the director was notoriously insane) and distancing himself from projects he doesn't like, it makes perfect sense that if Edward Norton is going to do a commercial, it's going to be a really good commercial.
This mcgarrybowen spot for Verizon Wireless and Motorola's Droid phone has the performer finding a guy's wallet, stealing someone's girlfriend, running afoul of serious thugs, landing a private jet and gambling for a ferret with a Russian mafioso. It's one of the better 90-second spots we've seen, with enough action packed in to justify the running time and agile enough cutting and writing to make everything clear.
MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen has done a fine job of delineating each chapter of the story and showcasing Norton's gifts; it's also a very good spot for the brands—we get to see the phone do quite a bit here. There's been a lot of discussion about how thoroughly the invention and proliferation of the cell phone has changed movies; this spot is pretty convincing evidence that it need not ruin them.
Lots of great little bits in this one: I love that the hard-core mobsters are betting on game of Connect Four, and that we have no idea how the key around the hot karaoke bar babe's neck got into our hero's stomach. Also, is that the swankiest karaoke bar anyone has ever seen, or is it just me? I usually end up in the East Village in a room with five friends belting out "I'm Gonna Be" by the Proclaimers. Then someone thinks he can sing "It's the End of the World as We Know It," and everyone goes home.
All right, that's usually me, too.
CREDITS
Client: Verizon Wireless/Motorola Droid
Spot: "A Lot Can Happen in 48 Hours"
Agency: mcgarrybowen New York
Executive Creative Director: Cheryl Van Ooyen
Creative Director: Tiffany Smith
Associate Creative Director: Jamie Massam
Writers: Cheryl Van Ooyen, Tiffany Smith, Alex Flint
Art Director: Jamie Massam
Director of Broadcast Production: Dante Piacenza
Executive Producer: Leelee Groome
Executive Music Producer: Stephanie Diaz-Matos
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen
Executive Producer: Scott Howard
Producer: Mark Hall
DoP: Chris Soos, Alwin Kuchler
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editors: Adam Pertofsky, Neil Meiklejohn
Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver
Producer: Juliet Batter
VFX: The Mill
Creative Director: Chris Knight
Executive Producer: Jo Arghiris
Senior Producer: Dan Roberts
Producer: Jillian Lynes
3D Artists: Feliz Urquiza, Blake Guest, Matt Bohnert, Ashraf Ghoniem
2D Artists: Chris Knight, Margolit Steiner, Daniel Thuresson, Chris Payne, Jake Maymudes, Tara DeMarco
Matte Painting: Andy Wheater
Motion Graphics: Byron Slaybaugh
It's the allure of Airbnb, but also its biggest stumbling block—its rental listings are not impersonal hotel rooms but actual people's homes. Some travelers embrace this, knowing they'll experience a private space that's naturally more interesting and personalized. Others—well, they'd say that staying in a stranger's house is a little bit creepy, isn't it?
In its first integrated national campaign, the self-described "community-driven hospitality company" naturally embraces the broader definition of "home"—i.e., anybody's home can be your home, too, if you have a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world.
Pereira & O'Dell in San Francisco communicates this creatively by using the metaphor of migratory birds, who call many places home. The agency had artists build birdhouse versions of 50 of the most intriguing Airbnb listings worldwide, and is displaying them from today through Sunday in New Orleans at Audubon Park's Tree of Life.
This agency, which excels at long-form feel-good video—look no further than its Skype campaign—shows off the project in the clip below, which mixes footage of the birdhouse construction with voiceover mediations on the emotionally expansive nature of travel. "What makes a home feel like a home to you?" a man asks. "When someone's individuality and personality is reflected in the design of a house," a woman replies. Each Airbnb listing is presented not merely as a property but as a story—which it surely is. (Just don't ask about the horror stories.)
Appealing to a sense of adventure and creativity is smart. And the birdhouse idea, if a little precious, meshes conceptually with the one-of-a-kind nature of the listings. Footage of all the sketching and building also provides a canvas on which Pereira & O'Dell can work up an emotional piece of film—bringing in songwriter Zach Shields to sing his song "Home to You" in a somewhat random but rousing finale.
"We created these birdhouses inspired by real Airbnb homes and the accompanying film as a metaphor for the hospitality about which our company is built," says Amy Curtis-McIntyre, CMO of Airbnb. "Our hospitality is completely individual and designed by our hosts who know that making people (or birds!) feel at home anywhere in the world comes from warmth, intuition and an attention to detail. We love the world's real travelers, and this is an invitation to travel in a new way."
The campaign will be running on TV, in cinemas and online.
CREDITS
Client: Airbnb
Agency: Pereira & O’Dell
Chief Creative Officer - PJ Pereira
VP & Executive Creative Director - Jaime Robinson
Associate Creative Director - Rafael Rizuto
Associate Creative Director - Eduardo Marques
Art Director - Rafael Rizuto
Copywriter - Eduardo Marques
VP, Client Services - Gary Theut
Account Director - Marisa Quiter
Senior Account Executive - Jen Wantuch
VP, Strategy - Nick Chapman
Director of Strategy - Molly Cabe
Associate Strategist - Beth Windheuser
Associate Strategist - Sara Lezama
VP, Media Strategy - Joshua Brandau
Associate Media Director - Jasmine Summerset
Media Strategist - Liz Wood
VP, Production - Jeff Ferro
Senior Broadcast Producer - Susan Crimley
Senior Broadcast Producer - Elisa Moore
Senior Integrated Producer - Victoria Whitlow
Senior Interactive Producer - Erin Davis
Director of Business Affairs - Kallie Halbach
Production Co: Tool of North America
Director – Alma Har’el
Director of Photography – Edu Grau
Executive Producer – Danielle Peretz
Executive Producer – Brian Latt
Line Producer – Christopher Leggett
VFX: The Mill
Title Design/Motion Graphics – Erik Buckman
Lead Artist – Tara Demarco
2D smoke artists – Tim Robbins, Robin McGloin, Scott Johnson
Producer – Jessica Ambrose
Color: Company 3
Colorist: Beau Leon
Producer: Liza Kerlin
They say Christmas is a time for miracles. And not to overstate it, but Apple picked a good time to deliver one of its own—a lovely holiday ad to finish out what's generally been a tough year for its marketing team.
We won't spoil the plot—just watch below.
In contrast to some Apple ads this year, this one is quietly soulful, doesn't say too much, and has a very strong idea at its core and a payoff that's delightful. (You may or may not actually weep, though several of the characters in the spot have that covered, just in case.)
The title of the ad is "Misunderstood." And Apple can surely relate to that. Though its stock price hit a 52-week high this month, the company has seemed uncertain in its marketing at times this year, and critics wonder when it will introduce another hit product—four years after the iPad's launch.
But like its protagonist, Apple seems to be saying, the company means well—and will come through for you in the end. We'll see if that's true in 2014.
In the long list of ways we've seen tablets marketed over the past few years, from highlighting their technical aspects to their family-friendliness to their excellent customer service, there's one tactic that hasn't been deployed: comparing the device to an outdated hairstyle. But that's exactly what Nokia is doing in this new spot for its Lumia 2520 tablet—a two-minute film that will leave you scratching your head, feeling considerably uncomfortable, or most likely, both.
Although a bit of a stretch, the general premise of the ad, titled "For Work. For Play," makes some sense. Like the ever-controversial mullet, the Nokia Lumia 2520, with its high-res screen and reverse side that comes in an array of bright colors, is all "business in the front, party in the back." But that's where the "sense" ends. The actual story line of this ad is a total creep-fest, to put it mildly.
A man goes to a salon in search of a new haircut and encounters the word's creepiest barber since Sweeney Todd. After a lot of overzealous touching (note the decaying fingernails) from the barber, the strangely unfazed customer decides to go with "something a little different": a mullet. Rather than giving his customer an actual haircut, the barber summons his equally creepy assistant to present the man with a Nokia tablet on a silver platter and beckons him to "touch it."
As the man plays with the tablet, filled with pictures and videos of the barber and his assistant, his cropped hair magically grows into a voluminous mullet. The barber returns, inexplicably dressed in tennis whites, to see the unveiling of the new 'do. "All set for business," says the man. "All set to party!" adds the barber, stroking the man's hair.
The spot ends there, but were it to continue, we'll take a guess that the customer winds up dead while the barber adds his scalp to a large collection hidden in a secret room behind the shop. Then again, maybe the man just goes out and buys himself a Lumia 2520.
Old Spice appears to be gunning directly for Axe with a new line of refresh body sprays, two new spray scents—with the explosively awesome names of Bearglove and Lionpride—and some of its first spots targeted directly at the fragile psyches of teenage boys.
The concept is that Old Spice will make you smell like a man, which will make ladies treat you like a man, which will make your poor mother cry. Easier than running afoul of the law and far more satisfying than simply talking back, men around the nation now have a healthier way to rebel: Just spray to get laid.
In the three spots from the "Smellcome to Manhood" campaign, by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., the lamentations of the mothers are conveyed in amusing musical fashion as they stalk their sons. The frumpy old moms are seriously creepy, dressing up like janitors, washing up on beaches like corpses and sliding up the ball return at the bowling alley as their sons are out on dates with nice young ladies. Even better, the nice young ladies actually look like nice young ladies and not lingerie models twice their age. For extra mom-upsetting value, the two :15s are both interracial. The :30 is better than the :60, which is a more in-depth bildungsroman and has some seriously weird parts in it.
Fun fact: While the spots don't get into it, the campaign is part of an education effort by the brand to prevent the scourge of overspraying—you know, where young men overcompensate for the hideous smell of their pubescent bodies by dousing themselves with the magical juice that promises to bring bikinied babes running at them in slow motion, except all it does is set off the fire alarm or cause kids in the school to be hospitalized. Supposedly, Old Spice is tackling that somehow with these spots. (See more in the infographic below.) But more important, it's doing it with an awesome PSA about how to scent responsibly that involves synthesizers and a guy in a mullet.
If anyone can spray goodbye to boyhood hygiene habits, Old Spice can.
CREDITS
Client: Old Spice
Project: Old Spice Global | Refresh Body Sprays
Global Marketing Director: Bobbie Jo Ehlers
Global Brand Manager: Mathew Krehbiel
Global Associate Brand Manager: Charlie Nutting
Agency
Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Craig Allen, Jason Bagley
Copywriters: Justine Armour, David Povill
Art Director: Ruth Bellotti
Senior Producer: Lindsay Reed
Account Team: Liam Doherty, Diana Gonzalez, Yaya Zhang, Jessica Monsey
Executive Creative Directors: Susan Hoffman, Joe Staples
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Production
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Steve Ayson
Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson
Line Producer: Mark Hall
Director of Photography: Ryley Brown
Editing
Editing Company: HutchCo
Editor: Jim Hutchins
Assistant Editor: Patrick O’Leary
Post Producer: Jane Hutchins
Visual Effects
Visual Effects Company: The Mill
Head of Production: Arielle Davis
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Adam Reeb
Coordinator: Ben Sposato
Creative Director, Flame Lead: Tim Davies
Shoot Supervisor: Steve Anderson
3-D Lead: Meng-Yang Lu
3-D Artists: Mike Di Nocco, John Price
2-D Artists: Lisa Ryan, Margolit Steiner, Jale Parson, Edward Black, Steve Cokonis, Tara De Marco, Tim Robbins, Dag Ivarsory
Music
Music Company: Walker
Producer: Sara Matarazzo
Assistant Producer: Abbey Hickman
Composer, Arranger: Brad Neely
Music Record: Warehouse Studio, GGRP Productions
Music Record Engineer: Vince Renaud
Composition Engineer: Graeme Gibson
Music Engineer Assistant: Zach Blackstone
Record Coordinator: Derick Cobden
Final Mix Studio: Barking Owl
Post Engineer: Brock Babcock
Producer: Whitney Fromholtz
While most of the ad industry is busy buzzing about Super Bowl XLVIII, let's not forget that other massive sporting event (i.e., branding opportunity) on the horizon: the 2014 Winter Olympics. Procter & Gamble certainly isn't overlooking the Sochi games, and in classic wholesome Midwestern fashion, the company has already started rolling out its latest installment of the long-running, tearjerking "Thank you, Mom" campaign celebrating the matriarchs behind athletes everywhere.
Despite focusing on a quartet of icy winter sports, the new spot, "Pick Them Back Up," is as warm and fuzzy as it gets. The video follows four future athletes—a skier, ice skater, snowboarder and hockey player—from their first (not so successful) baby steps to their Olympic debuts. But the ad isn't really about the athletes, of course. It's about the dedicated moms who were there to pick them up when they fell (which is quite a lot), ice their bruises and warm their freezing toes—and send them back out to try again.
Whether or not you've ever actually been a parent, it's pretty hard not to get a little misty about "Pick Them Back Up." The spot, by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore. (and director Lance Acord, who previously did Nike's "Jogger" spot through W+K), has all the essential ingredients for a successful heartwarmer, from adorable tumbling babies and determined kids to painful disappointment followed by well-deserved triumph (plus a great cinematic score). And it manages to stop short of becoming too cloying.
The public seems to agree: The two-minute video, which will make its TV premiere on Sunday during the Golden Globe Awards, has already racked up nearly 1.5 million views on YouTube since being posted two days ago. (The campaign actually kicked off in October with "Raising an Olympian," a film series showcasing the journey of 28 world-class athletes as seen through the eyes of their moms.)
And what about the dads, you ask? Well, when they catch up to their female counterparts as the primary purchasers of P&G products at the supermarket, maybe they'll get a little love too.
CREDITS
Client: Procter & Gamble
Project: "Pick Them Back Up"
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Director/Copywriter: Kevin Jones
Creative Director/Art Director: Ollie Watson
Senior Producer: Erika Madison
Account Team: Eric Gabrielson / Jesse Johnson
Strategic Planner: Dave Burg
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples / Susan Hoffman
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Production Company: Park Pictures
Director/DP: Lance Acord
Executive Producer/Owner: Jackie Kelman-Bisbee
Executive Producer: Mary Ann Marino
Line Producer: Caroline Kousidonis
Production Designer: Jason Hamilton
Editorial Company: Joint
Editor: Peter Wiedensmith
Post Producer: Ryan Shanholtzer
Post Executive Producer: Patty Brebner
Assistant Editor: Kristy Faris
VFX Company: A52
Executive Producers: Jennifer Sofio Hall / Megan Meloth
VFX Supervisor: Patrick Murphy
VFX Producer: Kim Christensen
Lead Flame Artists: Patrick Murphy / Andy Bate
Flame Artist: Steve Wolff
Roto Artists: Cathy Shaw / Robert Shaw
CG Supervisor: Kirk Shintani
CG Artists: Erin Clark / Adam Carter / Joe Chiechi
Song: Primavera
Composer: Ludovico Einaudi
Sound Designer: Peter Wiedensmith
Mix Company: Eleven
Mixer: Jeff Payne
Producer: Caroline O'Sullivan
It's been two years since DirecTV and Grey New York launched their "Cable Effects" ad campaign, detailing the strange and terrible fates that can befall cable customers. In that time, the formula has remained essentially the same, with mundane annoyances escalating quickly into life-wrecking chaos.
Will the laughs keep coming this year as the campaign enters its third year, treading back over entertaining but familiar ground by taking characters from disappointment to depression to borderline catastrophe? Decide for yourself with the three new spots below, which highlight job loss, gorilla attacks, riots and facial swelling as just a few potential downsides of going with one of DirecTV's cable competitors.
In the best spot of the lot, "Don't Become a Local Fisherman," we watch as a man's attempt at a stress-free vacation turns him into an island pariah stranded away from home. In another spot, a man's decision to try hang-gliding ends in urban anarchy and violence against the elderly. You can probably guess what happens in the third spot, called "Don't Get Body Slammed by a Lowland Gorilla."
The ads are solid, though Grey and its client have clearly reached a moment of choice frequently faced by the wacky experimenters at Geico and The Martin Agency: Does this campaign have the legs to keep getting laughs for years to come, or should it be retired early enough to ensure it's remembered fondly?
CREDITS
Advertiser: DirecTV
Agency: Grey, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren
Executive Creative Director: Dan Kelleher
VP Creative Director: Doug Fallon
VP Creative Director: Steven Fogel
Agency Executive Producer: Andrew Chinich
Agency Associate Producer: Lindsay Myers
Agency Music Producer: Zachary Pollakoff
Account: Chris Ross, Beth Culley, Anna Pogosova, Aaron Schwartz, Meredith Savatsky
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Tom Kuntz
President: David Zander
Senior Executive Producer: Scott Howard
Producer: Emily Skinner
Production Supervisor: Daniel Gonzalez
Directors of Photography: Greig Fraser (Fisherman), Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki (Soup, Gorilla)
Editorial Executive Producer: Sasha Hirschfield, Mackenzie Cutler
Editors: Erik Laroi, Mackenzie Cutler (Fisherman), Gavin Cutler, Mackenzie Cutler (Soup, Gorilla)
Assistant Editor: Brendan Hogan, Mackenzie Cutler (Fisherman), Ryan Steele, Mackenzie Cutler (Soup, Gorilla)
Mixer: Sam Shaffer, Mackenzie Cutler
Sound Designer: Marc Healy, Mackenzie Cutler
VFX: Method Studios, NY
VFX Supervisor: Doug Luka, Method Studios
VFX Producer: Christa Cox, Method Studios
Casting (OCP): Francine Selkirk, Shooting From the Hip
Casting (VO): Nina Pratt and Jerry Saviola, Avenue 3 Casting
