Thursday, October 14, 2010

New Ad Campaigns

from Amy:

Having Stella Artois is better than having a woman. Snickers frightens while Butterfinger electrifies. Let's launch!


The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta offers consumers a car that's "Great. For the price of good." A group of designers and engineers tirelessly work to perfect the Jetta in "Dream Team." The team attends a gala to debut Jetta, and, presumably earn themselves accolades. When Jetta's $15,995 price tag is revealed, tears are shed -- and they're not happy ones. Watch it here. "Moonlighting" is my favorite spot. A man has his sights set on owning a Jetta, so he takes any side work he can get his hands on, including giver of sponge baths, dog walker, rodeo clown, self-defense punching bag and nude model, complete with bruises from other gigs. Upon eyeing the Jetta's price, the man drops his sponge bath bucket in favor of a car-washing bucket to clean his two Jettas. See it here. "Split Second" highlights Jetta's standard safety features. Watch it here. Print ads, seen here and here, also focus on Jetta's low price: "It's like 'who are you wearing,' for the price of 'what are you wearing.'" Deutsch Los Angeles created the campaign.

Nissan Juke has launched globally, so let's critique Juke ads globally. Two weeks ago, I wrote about Juke's European ads, created by TBWA/G1 and TBWA/Paris. See them here. This week, we have American and Canadian spots. In Canada, Juke takes on "The Dread," a 500-ton steel monster with tank treads for feet and an appetite for destruction. An urban legend for an urban-proof car? I thought that was Nissan Qashqai's job. Juke throws a wrench in Dread's plans, concluding with an explosion and Dread's demise. See it here, created by TBWA/Toronto, directed by Psyop with visual effects by MassMarket. Stateside, we have Robert Downey, Jr. as our voiceover in a light-hearted spot where a businessman named "Kowalczyk" saves the day when he navigates his Juke to the closest donut shop for staff meeting treats. And is that the theme from "Superman" I hear in the background? Watch "Donut Action" here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles. Europe's spot remains my favorite of the three, followed by Canada and U.S.

Stella Artois launched "Apartomatic," a TV ad in the United States, directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola. In 1960s Europe, a young man brings a woman to his apartment that's chock-full of gadgets, ranging from a revolving sofa, pop-up fireplace, mood lighting and an automatic Stella Artois-pouring machine. As the man changes in another room, the woman plays with the gadget board, turning lights on, pouring a Stella Artois, and winds up getting swallowed by the sofa. The man emerges, sees his Stella awaiting him, along with the faint sound of his name, coming from inside the couch. Of course, he thinks it's his beer speaking to him, causing him to respond, "Mon amour." What girl? His only woman is Stella. Watch it here, created by Mother London. Media buying was handled in-house.

When it comes to receiving medical treatment, ever feel like you're stuck on a treadmill that never brings you closer to your destination? Axa has a solution. A woman, clad in hospital gown, walks towards a medical center, on a treadmill going in the opposite direction. She passes a Cruella de Vil look-alike and remains unable to reach the center, even when her walk turns into a run. Her solution is Axa PPP Healthcare, which offers a 6-week option that helps consumers receive treatment when needed. Watch "Treadmill" here, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, London, directed by Arno Salters, and produced by Stink.

AT&T launched "Paper Dolls," the latest ad in its "Rethink Possible" campaign, highlighting its 97% coverage. The star of the ad is an orange cut-out paper doll, yet I immediately thought of George Clooney's character from "Up in the Air." The paper doll constantly travels for business, witnessed by his continual flights, hotel stays, and dinners alone. With AT&T's coverage, the paper doll becomes a string of connected paper dolls holding hands and leading to his family. Paper hands across America? "You're never far away when you're covered," closes the ad, seen here and created by BBDO New York.

A Southern belle goes from polite to "shocking" when her friend tries to lay a finger on her Butterfinger Snackerz, bite-sized chocolate candies with a Butterfinger center, topped with peanut butter drizzle. "Southern Bellz" features a genteel woman entertaining her friend, both in full ball gowns, of course. When the friend tries to help herself to a Snackerz, the candy bowl comes alive and delivers an electric shock to her fingers. Watch the ad here. Dailey created the ad and Zenith Optimedia handled the media buy.

Snickers launched a creepy, yet amusing Halloween ad starring two kids who take to the supermarket to ensure their neighborhood will be stocked with their favorite candy. Did I mention that the kids are dressed in costume, wearing a mask that's eerily similar to the actual face of the cat woman herself, Jocelyn Wildenstein? The pair stands in front of the Snickers shelf and chide Mrs. Jensen for not having any Snickers in her shopping cart. A handful of bags make their way into her cart before she sets off in the opposite direction. The kid on the bottom of the costume then peeks out and says, "We're definitely going to her house." Watch the ad here, created by BBDO New York.

Werewolf or vampire? You can choose both with Eclipse Secrets, a cross-promotion between Wrigley's Eclipse gum and the December 4 DVD release of "Twilight Saga: Eclipse." The Web site offers exclusive video and images that Twihards can access through logos on packs of specially marked packages of Eclipse gum. There are five different packages to choose from: Villains, Cullens, Love Triangle, Wolf Pack and Bella. Hold a pack of gum up to your Web cam and exclusive pictures and videos will be yours. The site uses advanced image recognition technology to determine that the Eclipse pack logo is legit and not just a logo unrelated to the cross-promotion. Firstborn created the site.

Random iPhone App of the week: REDBOOK launched One Stop Shop, its first app, available for free in the App Store. Developed by NearbyNow, the app features REDBOOK's weekly picks on fashion, beauty, styling tips, recipes and decorating advice. One Stop Shop allows users to search, locate and reserve products at their local retailers.


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

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