New Ad Campaigns

Thursday, July 09, 2009

New Ad Campaigns

From Amy:

Roller babies. Name Hardees' biscuit holes. An hourglass of Skittles + hungry friend = prematurely aging man. Let's launch!

Just another day in the "Birdhouse." A TV spot for Robinsons' Be Natural soft drink give a bird's-eye view inside a bird's humble abode. Our feathered friend comes home from work, puts away toys, watches news delivered by a pigeon broadcaster, has a human cuckoo clock and keeps packaged worms in the fridge, next to the Robinsons. The bird curls up with a beverage and a nice tabloid. "Squash made from naturally sourced ingredients" ends the ad, seen here. BBH created the ad, edited by Cut+Run.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority launched "What Happens in Blank," a TV spot that drives home the fact that inserting your town's name into the popular "What happens here, stays here," tagline doesn't magically transport you to Vegas. The debauchery found in "The Hangover" cannot be replicated at the Caribou lodge. A man puts the moves on a woman while riding a Ferris wheel... in Billips County. She's unimpressed. A man hopes his rectal exam stays between him and his doctor -- and Caribou lodge members love to let loose and dance. See the craziness here, created by R&R Partners.

Starburst feels connected to a Scot-Korean father and son in "Kilt." Both are contradictions; Starbursts are solid, but juicy, and meeting a kilt-wearing Scot-Korean doesn't happen every day. Once the father explains to his son that Starbursts, along with their family tree, don't make sense, he points out another oxymoron: Timmy, the albino lifeguard. Watch the ad here. TBWA/Chiat/Day New York created the ad and MediaVest handled the media buy.

Evian is making roller skates popular for the diaper-wearing demographic. Roller Babies is airing on broadcast TV in Europe, and on YouTube in the United States, Japan and Canada. "Let's observe the effect of Evian on your body," begins the ad. Viewers are shown a boombox with a "Rapper's Delight" tape, and a baby clad in a white onesie and roller skates. The song begins and a group of onesie-wearing skaters convene at a park to show off their skills. Halfway through the spot, action is halted for Evian copy that touts the water as a supporter of a body's youth. More shots of laughing, happy, skating babies complete the ad. "Evian. Live young," says the voiceover. Ninety-six babies were filmed to create the ad, seen here. There's also a Web site containing teasers, making of the ad footage and links to babies' Facebook pages. BETC Euro RSCG created the ad and BETC 4D created the site.

Like Skittles through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Well, at least one man's life depends on where in the hourglass the Skittles lie. A guy nonchalantly grabs a handful of Skittles from an active hourglass, only to have his roommate arrive home with clumps of hair falling out. "I told you not to eat the Skittles from my hourglass. You're speeding up time. How many did you eat?" the roommate asks while his friend continues to eat. The roommate grows older, balder and wrinkled by the second, until he falls asleep mid-conversation. Watch the ad here. TBWA/Chiat/Day New York created the spot and MediaVest handled the media buy.

Hardee's added Biscuit Holes to its menu but wants a catchier name than biscuit holes. Man-on-the-street taste-tests bring out more double entendres than you can stuff your hole with. The first ad pits Hardee's "b" holes against donut "a" holes. "The a-hole seems kind of small" and "the a-hole tastes funny" are just some of the feedback given by passersby. See it here. Consumers attempt to name the biscuit holes and come up with some gems: goody balls, sweet balls, puffy nuts and frosty dippers are only a few possibilities. See them all here. It's crass, but hard not to laugh at some people's reactions. One woman gets an entire ad dedicated to her hearty appetite and name suggestions. Watch it here. Remaining ads show a woman being fed, an eating contest and a challenge: how many holes can one fit in their mouth at once? After watching these ads, did anyone else think of an old "South Park" episode where Chef shared a recipe for his chocolate salty balls? See a clip here. Don't forget to visit the biscuit holes microsite where the witty can upload idea names. Mendelsohn Zien created the campaign.

A national cinema spot for Axe Instinct: Leather is strange. You have no idea what the spot even advertises until the closing credits. What we have is a seductive song and something moving underneath black leather. Halfway through the ad, an outline of a leg is revealed and the camera moves up the leg and over a woman's chest until we see the outline of her face. The spot ends with the woman wrapped in an embrace and the copy: "Axe Instinct. The Power of Leather." See the ad here, produced by Blacklist New York.

Mitsubishi Electric launched two TV spots promoting its ductless HVAC comfort systems. The first spot compares the quality of fresh air found in the middle of nowhere to that achieved with Mitsubishi Electric's cooling and heating systems. Watch it here. The second ad, "Footprints," uses most of the same footage found in the first ad, but focuses on saving money on home energy bills and reducing one's carbon footprint. See it here. Ames Scullin O'Haire created the campaign and handled the media buy.

Random iPhone App of the week: MasterCard launched ATM Hunter, an App to find ATM locations anywhere in the world. The free App can locate ATMs based on a person's current coordinates and inform him/her where an ATM is located, whether it's in a bank, store or gas station. ATM locations can be shared with others via SMS. MRM Worldwide created the App.