New Ad Campaigns

Thursday, February 25, 2010

New Ad Campaigns

Amy's Update for the week:

Vampires, skiing and snow monkeys, oh my! Let's launch!

GE launched a trio of ads during the Winter Olympic supporting its "healthymagination" initiative. "Beautiful" is a set of home movies chronicling a couple's courtship, marriage and children. "But the most beautiful thing I've ever seen was the image on a screen that helped our doctor see my wife's cancer was treatable," says the husband. Powerful stuff. See it here. A man undergoes a physical in "Doctors." His primary physician receives feedback from past doctors who are sitting in a lecture hall detailing his past medical procedures. GE is creating electronic medical records, making it easier for doctors to collaborate on a patient's diagnosis. Watch it here. Patients "Say Ahhh" to the tune of "Joyful, joyful" when doctors ready the tongue depressors. See it here. GE is also running an ad promoting its eco-friendly water heater. Cue the adorable snow monkeys relaxing in hot springs. "Heating the water in your home any other way is just going to seem primitive," ends the ad, shown here. BBDO New York created the campaign, edited by Crew Cuts.

Copper Mountain in Colorado wants you to cheat on your mountain. "Swinger's Pass" encourages season pass holders from any mountain in the world to ski Copper Mountain for $39. A TV spot shows a skier sitting with the mountain he's attached to for the season. Playing the role of clingy girlfriend, mountain demands attention from her skier, who's tempted by the fruit of another voluptuous mountain sitting at the bar. "Ride Something New," reads her bar napkin. Watch the ad here. There's also a print ad that's essentially a screen grab from the TV spot, and a Craigslist ad that reads like a personal ad. See them here and here. Wexley School for Girls created the campaign.

Old Spice unveiled a spokesman for its body washes who's charismatic, good-looking and capable of riding a horse backwards. In "Did You Know," our shirtless spokesman, while riding a horse backwards, tells his audience that women prefer their men to smell of Old Spice wash rather than a girly scent. See it here. The next ad jumps from one scenario to another. The spokesman is in the shower, on a boat, giving you diamonds, riding a horse. It's quite funny. "Anything is possible when you man smells like Old Spice and not a lady," closes the ad, seen here. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign.

Too bad this spoof didn't launch sooner, when "New Moon" was playing in theatres. Verizon Wireless launched "Vampire," an amusing spoof on the popular "Twilight" series. Vampire Sebastian is thisclose to making his beloved a vampire until he sees her network: AT&T. "Forever is a really long time to be struggling with music downloads and emails..." Sebastian says before he bolts for a trio of ladies with Verizon coverage. See the ad here, created by McCann Erickson New York.

Boost Mobile launched "Pet Carrier," the latest ad in its "Unwrong'd" campaign. Previous ads can be found here. "Pet Carrier" features a money-conscious mother who dresses her child up like a dog and places him inside a travel carrier to save money on airline costs. "Unwrong'd" is losing its mojo. This spot wasn't as appalling as previous ads that made my stomach turn. Watch the ad here, created by 180LA.

AT&T launched a great Olympic ad entitled "Up & Up." Starring the snowboarding talents of Gretchen Bleiler and the sound of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," the ad watches Bleiler soar to new heights. Outer space, to be precise. "Here's to possibilities," says the ad, as Bleiler breaks through a black hole. This is my favorite Olympic ad so far. See it here, created by BBDO New York.

Ok, this Olympic ad is sure to tug on your heartstrings. Aside from Tide, Pampers, Crest, Charmin and Bounty, Proctor & Gamble sponsors Moms. "You'll Never Walk Alone" features Olympic Moms in unglamorous child-rearing situations, from changing a flat tire, vacuuming, visiting the principal's office to chauffeuring kids to early-morning practice -- until the hard work and dedication is rewarded with a stellar performance, with Mom in the audience. See the ad here, created by Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

Durex created a print and online campaign to support the launch of its Avanti Bare condom. Print ads, running in Sports Illustrated, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maxim and Details, among others, feature a new tagline, "That's My Pleasure," and direct consumers to a microsite where users can create and send user-generated postcards to significant others. Select a picture (think banana or miner's hat), describe your pleasure, (but keep it clean, says the site), and send. See ads here, here and here, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.

Random iPhone App of the week: Junaio, an augmented reality platform, has created an app that allows users to insert an animated 3D object into a photo taken with their iPhone, or augment images that friends have posted on social networking sites. For example, you can take a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge and place an animated, 3D T-Rex eating cars. Users can also search for restaurants, cafes, museums and bars via Google local search and see the results in a 360 live-view. The free app can be found in the App Store.