New Ad Campaigns

From Amy:

Baseball. Sex. Mini Cabrios. Not necessarily in that order. Let's launch!

Gatorade launched a TV and print campaign promoting G2, its low-calorie sports drink. The campaign teams up well-known professional athletes such as NBA star Kevin Garnett, Candace Parker of the WNBA and volleyball player Kerri Walsh with athletes in their own right, everyday athletes who have one thing in common with their more recognizable counterparts: the same first name. The first TV spot pairs Kevin Garnett with Kevin Crowe, a man who took up swimming daily as a stress reliever after he was laid off twice in one year. "I've never had to tell my wife we can't pay the mortgage," says Garnett. "I've never led the Celtics to an NBA title," counters Crowe. Watch the ad here. I like the concept of the ads, pairing ordinary athletes with those carrying household name status, but comparing someone who makes millions a year playing a professional sport, not including endorsement deals, to someone unemployed, does not sit right with me. Focus on the positive, not the unpleasant reality. Print ads, seen here, here and here, feature side-by-side "Kevins," "Candaces" and "Kerris" and a list of obstacles each individual has overcome. All creative elements encourage athletes to share their stories at http://www.missiong.com/. TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles created the campaign. Kohler launched a print and TV campaign this month that depicts its kitchen and bathroom fixtures as a way for homeowners to add some personal touches around the house. In the first TV spot we see a whale swimming above and underwater while a woman takes a bath. She ups the volume on her VibrAcoustic bath, which allows her to hear sound underwater. The spot ends with the woman and whale relaxedly floating underwater. See the ad here. Love hurts, but having strong Kohler cast-iron sinks helps deflect some of that pain. A chef learned that lesson the hard way in "Cooking Class." His jilted lover interrupts his class by slamming the lesson's worth of food and pots into two sinks. "Today's lesson: the importance of durable Kohler cast-iron sinks and honesty is the best policy." Watch the ad here. Print ads, seen here, here, here, here and here, range from a modern feel to a classic theme. I personally love the "boat" in a bottle, which, in actuality, is three white toilets back to back to back. And the admiring captain looks much like hero pilot Captain Sully Sullenberger. GSD&M Idea City created the campaign and Carat handled the media buy. Valspar paints launched a TV, print, online and outdoor campaign that oozes color. It's great, and the TV ads are not what you're used to seeing when you think of a commercial for paint. One TV spot begins with a cello losing its caramel luster. Next, the bright red color from a group of Chinese lanterns vanishes. "Now the colors of life can last a lifetime," says a voiceover, as the paint from a statue drips into a can of Valspar. See the ad here. Print and outdoor ads follow the same theme, showing lively colors from a violin, peppers and a gorgeous purple starfish dripping into a Valspar paint can. See the ads here, here and here. Euro RSCG Chicago created the campaign and MPG handled the media buy. MINI Cabrio is launching a global print and TV campaign next week that takes the "Always Open" tag line seriously. Don't even think about putting the top up. A man is paroled from jail and picked up in a MINI Cabrio, top down, in "Best Buddies." The parolee is obviously cold and makes the extreme error of reaching for the button to put the top up. The driver leaves him on the side of the road with a briefcase and the contents he left jail with. Watch the ad here. Duelling MINIs play chicken in another ad. The cars speed through muddy water, getting the car, and themselves, dirty. And the game continues. See the ad here. The third ad shows two friends throughout history, where one friend constantly tries to shield his buddy from downpours, never grasping that the friend loves the rain. Watch the ad here. Print ads showcase the MINI Cabrio in different colors, with the roof down, along with copy such as "Rain is just a four letter word." See the ads here, here and here, created by Plantage Berlin. The Chicago White Sox launched two of five TV spots that will run throughout spring training. And you thought you had unusual rituals. The first ad shows a man who grows a beard beginning with the last day of the regular season until opening day. His wife disapproves, leaving him constant hints, like disposable razors in his cereal box. Watch the ad here. His beard is impressive, but not as useful as this man's beard. One man's tradition of catching foul balls and home runs does not end once the season is completed. He practices year-round, which makes for interesting dinners. Catching spaghetti is harder than it looks. See the ad here. Energy BBDO created the campaign. Here's another campaign heavy on color, especially lots of pastels. This time it's Ray-Ban. The global effort kicked off with a viral ad showing a chameleon morphing into the color of whatever Ray-Ban it touched. See it here. Shorter snippets consist of a stick of dynamite dropped into a can of paint; a drill outfitted with crayons; and a cannon loaded with seeds that fires a bouquet of roses. See the ads here, here and here. Print ads, running in Rolling Stone, GQ, Details, Fader, Nylon and Blender, follow the drill and feature something explosive on one side of the ad and a colorized painted face on the other. See them here, here and here. In addition to the brand work, ads were created to relaunch the Clubmaster sunglasses. Each poster is half modern and half retro. Check them out here and here. Cutwater created the campaign. LifeStyles Condoms launched a TV spot promoting its latex-free SKYN Condom. Eschewing humor, typically used in condom ads, this spot gets right down to the nitty-gritty, showing couples making out in dark lit hallways, undressing in the back of a car, or in the bedroom. See the ad here, which is also running online at MTV.com and ESPN.com. AMP Agency created the ad. Yesterday was World TB Day, and Seiter & Miller launched a TV campaign to raise awareness about the global epidemic that kills one person every 20 seconds. The spot likens the TB epidemic to that of a plane crashing or a natural disaster. The last two events may be out of your control, but stopping TB is within reach. "Deadly. Contagious. Treatable. Stoppable," concludes the ad, seen here. Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.

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