New Ad Campaigns

Here's this weeks latest from Amy:

Do you have the sexiest mouth in America? Vampires prefer Volvos. Mobile phone wars. Let's launch!

I gave into temptation and finally watched "Twilight." It's given me a better perspective on the hype surrounding the main characters. It doesn't explain to me why a teenaged-looking Vampire drives a Volvo. The car manufacturer launched a 30-second spot that's more of a preview for Twilight's sequel, "New Moon" than a car ad. There are shots of Robert Pattinson, talk about safety and understated beauty, two things Pattinson's character, Edward aren't. This must be why he owns a Volvo. The spot drives fans to WhatDrivesEdward.com, a microsite where Twihards can win a Volvo if they successfully complete a 6-phase puzzle. See the ad here. Arnold created the ad and MPG and Media Contacts handled the media buy.

There are a lot of words beginning with "Re" in a TV spot promoting the Boston Celtics and its new season. I didn't see the word "refurbished," but, then again, you could get a headache trying to read all the flashing words. Words change to the rhythmic sounds of a dribbled basketball in "Reloaded." Snippets of players are shown and the ad ends with a team chant led by Paul Pierce. Watch the ad here, created by Allen & Gerritsen. Media buying was handled in-house.

'Tis the season to take shots at your mobile phone competition. Verizon Wireless takes aim at AT&T by banishing the iPhone to the island of misfit toys. A spotted elephant wonders why the iPhone resides alongside other unwanted toys. The iPhone shows his AT&T 3G coverage, which pales in comparison to that of Verizon's. It's red state vs. blue state, 3G-style. See it here. The next spot, "Blue Christmas," uses the voice of Elvis Presley while illustrating the difference between a blue Christmas and one with an abundance of 3G coverage. Watch it here. "Naughty/Nice" is great. Elves are packaging Christmas gifts -- those who were good all year receive Verizon Wireless coverage, and those who are bad get an iPhone, equipped with AT&T coverage. See it here. McCann Erickson, NY created the ads.

Virgin Mobile launched a TV campaign to promote its $49.99 unlimited calling plan. File the first ad under TMI. A woman is talking to her mother in the locker room of a gym. As she's about to go shower, she puts her phone down, and her mouth follows and continues the conversation. An unpleasant, unknown medical condition is described in tremendous detail, much to the horror of the woman sitting on the same bench. Watch it here. The next ad takes place in a store, where a woman enters a changing room and her boyfriend hears her conversation about a secret crush on her hot boss. See it here. Beginning Nov. 23 on Facebook, Virgin Mobile is launching a contest looking for the "Sexiest Mouth in America." BBH New York created the campaign.

Visa launched a pair of TV spots highlighting its relationship with the NFL. The first ad describes a promotion that enters Visa cardholders into a contest to win Super Bowl and NFL playoff tickets. See it here. The next ad follows passionate Patriots fans en route to an unconventional game of football. "Go Football," concludes the ad, seen here, and created by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles.

Pyrex launched a TV, print and online campaign showcasing its latest line of smarter kitchen tools, bakeware and glassware. Creative is simple and clean. I like it. The kitchenware is sketched in pencil, and ads conclude with a look at the finished product. The first ad, shown here, features a cheese grater that lets users measure while grating. Glass storageware that's stain-free and also used for baking? Hold me back. See it here. Pyrex created a whisk that scrapes the bottom of the bowl. I guess my index finger is out of a job. Watch it here. The final ad, seen here, is a combination of all new products available. TV spots launched this week on ABC Family, Bravo, Lifetime, Food Network, Style and Oxygen. Print ads, running in Everyday with Rachael Ray, Real Simple, Elle and Redbook, are similar to TV ads, resembling mock-ups of an unfinished product. See the ads here, here and here. Cramer-Krasselt Milwauke created the campaign and handled the media buy.

The Gap launched a holiday campaign that's cheery and catchy, but not over-the top. Dancers and models, clad in Gap apparel, sing cheery, timely lyrics such as, "go classic tree, go plastic tree, go plant a tree, go without a tree." See it here. There's also a microsite for users to send any of 10 customizable holiday cheers, via email, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Crispin Porter + Bogusky created the campaign and PHD handled the media buy.

Let your index finger do the work in an ad for Samsung's Beat DJ, a phone that offers users a wealth of DJ-mixing capabilities to use on their music collection. A giant finger literally inserts itself into the music-making process, playing drums and high-fiving indie band Chester French. See the ad here. Blacintosh receives similar treatment from an index finger that takes control of the drum set and DJ turntable. Watch it here. Beattie McGuinness Bungay created the ads, edited by Cut+Run.

Random iPhone App of the week: The uber-popular Web site YearbookYourself.com has become an app. Did you have '80s hair? Do you miss the smell of Aqua Net? This app can do nothing about your fascination for Aqua Net, but it can give you the '80s hair you once had and loved. The app offers hairdos and vintage outfits spanning five decades, including "Mad Men" hair from the '60s and dreadlocks from the '90s. The app also offers users discounts at Taubman malls and lets you post photos to Facebook. The app costs 99 cents and is available at the App Store. Colle+McVoy created the app.

Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.

Sphere: Related Content