New Ad Campaigns

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New Ad Campaigns

from Amy:

Muffin tops. Don't tailgate without Ritz crackers. Snowball fight. Let's launch!

The AICP is promoting the 2010 call for entries for its 2010 AICP Show & Next Awards with a trade campaign urging the advertising and marketing industries to make art, not clichés. In other words, quit using babies and puppies in creative elements, especially in digital and social media channels. Aim higher. The entry Web site, StopBabiesAndPuppies.com, serves as a hub for industry hopefuls to submit their creative work, and watch a video filled with babies and puppies to learn how to stop the use of clichés. Did I mention that the logo is a baby with a puppy face? Precious. There are a lot of fun things available on the site, including a video game where users equipped with a rocket launcher must blast puppy-riding babies out of the sky, and a cliché ad machine maker that lets users make their own ad using clichéd pictures, products, music and themes. And don't forget to send away for a free T-shirt. Deadline submissions are Feb. 26 and March 12. VCU Brandcenter created the campaign.

Now pretend you didn't read the above post about using babies in ads. But this ad supports Gerber -- it's not like puppies can be used. "United Babies" launched Jan. 15, coinciding with the "Beautiful Baby Contest" on "LIVE! With Regis and Kelly." The spot will run exclusively on the program as part of Gerber's sponsorship of the contest. The spot is a mash-up of cute babies and toddlers waving, clapping and eating. The messy eating part is a bit unrealistic. These kids have perfect food beards. The ad highlights the importance of good nutrition, especially at an early age. "The nutrition children get in the first 5 years can affect their health forever," says the ad, shown here. Draftfcb New York created the campaign.

DieHard puts its car batteries to the test. For its reemergence into the ad scene, the brand used the juice from its Platinum car battery to run a microphone, speaker and lights used by comedic performer Reggie Watts. And the car still starts, too. See the ad here. I prefer this DieHard ad from 1975, where a car was left on a frozen lake for three months, and started up in April, because it was outfitted with a DieHard battery. Y&R Chicago created the campaign and MPG handled the media buy.

Coca-Cola launched two TV spots, "Snowball" & "Finals" during "American Idol." A melting icicle starts a chain reaction that results in an athlete losing his bottle of Coke and a massive snowball fight in the Athletes' Village during the Olympic games. One man has his heart set on replacing his Coke while his buddy is intent on retaliation. Soon athletes from all countries are involved in the snowball fight as the main character nears his target: a Coca-Cola vending machine. He's several feet away from mission accomplished when a ginormous snowball takes him down. The spot closes with our athlete sitting down with his bottle of Coke, only to have it knocked away, again. See it here. I love "Finals." Think of it as "Gulliver's Travels" meets "Night at the Museum." A student falls asleep at his desk while studying for finals. He's dangerously close to sleeping through his exam when his textbooks come to life. Soldiers, Indians and warriors band together and fire their tiny weapons at him. No movement. Same result when an airplane drops its bomb. It's not until Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci and Cleopatra fly above the man's bottle of Coke to help release the cap that he's awoken from his slumber in time to take a sip and run to his exam. See the ad here. Wieden + Kennedy Portland created the campaign.

The W Network in Canada is launching a Canadian version of "How to Look Good Naked," a TV series hosted in the U.S. by Carson Kressley. The show teaches women how to look and feel good about themselves with their clothes on or off. The outdoor campaign running in Toronto and Vancouver heavily emphasizes being comfortable sans clothes. A naked, pear-shaped woman stands next to a giant pear, covering her crack, with copy stating, "Learn to love your pear shape." A woman with an apple bottom stands next to a large apple and similar copy. See creative here and here. Pear- and apple-shaped bodies are basically out of one's control, but the muffin top, however, is controllable. The third ad has a naked lady sitting on a blueberry muffin, advocating her to love that muffin top. Buy pants a size bigger and you won't have a muffin top. Done! See the ad here. Zig created the campaign.

The Advertising Council and the American Red Cross launched a PSA ASAP following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The simple, yet effective PSA was filmed in the White House Vermeil Room and features First Lady Michelle Obama encouraging audiences to go to www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text "HAITI" to 9-0-9-9-9, which automatically donates $10 to the American Red Cross. Watch the ad here, and donate.

Ritz crackers have their very own "Tailgate" marching band. Who knew? A tailgating party is taken over by a marching band whose instruments are shaped like Ritz crackers. The circular portions of drums, cymbals, trumpets, tubas, trombones and saxophones all resemble Ritz crackers. A tailgater kicks a football and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber catches it. I didn't see that one coming. "Open for fun," closes the ad, seen here. Euro RSCG New York created the campaign and MediaVest handled the media buy.

Peugeot launched a TV spot called "Perfect Day," promoting its Crossover 3008 with grip control technology. A husband and wife are driving through snow, rain and mud with ease. An aerial shot reveals the couple is going around and around in one big circle, mimicking a record. See the ad here. BETC Euro RSCG, Paris created the ad, directed by Psyop, with visual effects handled by MassMarket, Los Angeles.

Random iPhone App of the week: It's like being at the casino, without being surrounded by smoke. Foxwoods Resort Casino launched a free application where users can play Foxwoods-themed games with play money. The app also gives users access to a 24-hour concierge service that provides access to Foxwoods reps who can answer questions about the casino, its services, book rooms or spa treatments. Users can even take virtual visits to hotel rooms, restaurants, retail shops and spas. Mullen and Aurnhammer created the app, available at the App Store.