New Ad Campaigns

Thursday, March 05, 2009

New Ad Campaigns

From Amy at Mediapost:

Romance blooms at J&R Music and Computer World. Boost Mobile hams it up. Chips Ahoy gets "Rocky." Let's launch!

Watching unattached limbs arm-wrestle is not my idea of fun. You? The British Columbia Dairy Foundation launched "Arm Wrestling" throughout cinemas in British Columbia this week, the first of three new spots released under the "Must Drink More Milk" umbrella. A muscular, probably steroid-laden, arm pumps up the crowd as it awaits its opponent. Two small, mask-wearing, arms pummel their rival with punches and hits with a metal folding chair. It's as real as modern-day wrestling. "Must drink more milk," says the large arm, as the winning pair hoists their championship belt in the air. See the ad here. DDB Canada's Vancouver office created the campaign and OMD Vancouver handled the media buy.

Shure microphones launched a print campaign where artists such as The Who, Maroon 5, Rascal Flatts, G. Love and The Black Crowes endorse products they actually use. Finally. The "Reason Why" campaign features each band or solo musician alongside specific Shure products. Brief artist quotes are included to serve as testimonials. "Shure wireless has been great for us," says the quote from Maroon 5. The band looks like they pulled off the side of the road, jumped off their tour bus and snapped this pic underneath a tree. See the ads here, here, here, here, here and here, running in Relix, Metal Edge, Performer, Performing Songwriter, American Songwriter, Alternative Press and Jazz Times, among others. The ads were created in-house and Spark handled the media buy.

J&R Music and Computer World launched "Romance," a sweet TV ad where love between a TV salesman and shy customer is unavoidable. A woman is looking at a large-screen TV when a salesman approaches her. "That Toshiba's a real beauty," he says. Cue the awkward glance and mushy music. Did I mention that every TV in the background is tuned to a couple taking a romantic stroll on the beach? After uncomfortable banter is exchanged, the salesman changes the channel, sensing the awkwardness. The spot ends with the line, "Uniting People and Electronics Since 1971," while the channel lands on a shot of a man casually waiting for an elevator. The door opens to reveal a couple going at it. Watch the ad here, created by Toy New York.

I was just recovering from the first two ads in Boost Mobile's "unwrong'd" campaign. Quick refresher: long armpit hair and a coroner who eats where he works. A third ad launched Monday and features refined pigs dining on ham in an upscale restaurant. "I like a nice ham. You think that's wrong? We're just enjoying the flavors of a fallen friend," says the pig. The hog is more appalled at cell phone companies charging hidden fees than eating one of its own. See the ad here. 180LA created the campaign and Mindshare handled the media buy.

Chips Ahoy "goes to the movies" again, so if you've ever wondered what Rocky Balboa would look like in cookie form, then your week's been made. Cookie man has won a hard-fought boxing match and sports a black eye as proof. As the press interviews him, he scans the crowd, looking for his beloved Adrian. I must say that the clay-version of Adrian is very Talia Shire-esque. Adrian makes her way through the crowd just in time to watch "Rocky" get swooped up by a hungry hand. "They go fast," concludes the ad, seen here. Draftfcb New York created the ad and Mediavest handled the media buy.

Playstation launched a TV spot for Killzone 2 called "Bullet" which, in actuality, is an in-game shot of a bullet en route to its intended target. It's quite good. The traveling bullet reminded me of Korn's "Freak on a leash" music video from 1999. A character in the game fires a bullet. Viewers follow the path of the bullet, while witnessing soldiers battle one another and walls explode, until we look the unlucky target in the eyes. "War. Perfected." concludes the ad, seen here. Deutsch Los Angeles, Guerilla Games and Zoic Studios created the ad.

Nike launched a TV spot in partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods that stars Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. He approaches two young customers, one of whom is trying on a pair of Nike baseball cleats. The young man makes the mistake of saying that the cleats feel good. Rollins steps in to be pummelled repeatedly in the chest by baseballs from a pitching machine, in an effort to show that "performance can hurt." Watch the ad here, created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland.

Ask.com launched the first TV spot in a NASCAR-themed campaign, coinciding with the search engine becoming the "Official Search Engine of NASCAR." The season-long campaign will feature "The Rays," a family that loves its NASCAR. In the first spot, the Rays are watching a race from what appears to be the top of their RV. One of the young boys asks his grandfather where the best place to watch a race is, to which his grandfather replies, "It's not here." The father, wearing noise-blocking headphones, then shouts, "we may have the best seats in the house." The spot ends with the Ask.com toolbar onscreen typing the question that appeared in the ad. See it here. Hanft Raboy & Partnerscreated the campaign and Mullen handled the media buy.