Well now. Here's a "liquor ad' that takes an unexpected turn. We've seen many alcohol brands - out of public and political pressure, of course - urge people not to abuse alcohol in a way that results in harm to oneself or to others. But we've never seen a brand do it so honestly and abruptly in the middle of a commercial that lulls you into the beauty and elegance of the brand.
The ad calls attention to the fact one in five parents in Sweden drink too much causing their children to suffer, eight out of ten acts of violence in public places are alcohol related and more than 325,000 Swedes are addicted to alcohol.
And in a twist on it's own tagline, the commercial closes asking, "How smooth is that?"
We love the ads honesty. We love its fearless deliverance of a sales and safety message all in one. We love the blunt, sudden, mid-commercial shift from the sales message to the safety message. And we love the fact it tricked us into thinking Taman was an actual liquor brand.
more »
Well now. If this doesn't motivate you to get off your fat ass and achieve glory in whatever it is you do, then you're just a hopeless slob. Check out this Nike spot from Argentina which aired last Sunday during Latin America's Copa America. It's called Voice of the Stadium and it was filmed during a practice at Bombonera stadium. The players were caught by surprise. Brilliant. Cannes Lion?
more »
T-Mobile makes another cultural coup with its ongoing and highly social "Life is for sharing" campaign. On May 11 in Barcelona, the firm set up a huge live Angry Birds installment inviting people to play.
A few curious stragglers were drawn to a booth, where they found a smartphone with Angry Birds loaded. They'd casually draw the slingshot back (the birth of an addiction) -- and find to their surprise that the result was replicated in real life. It goes without saying that a crowd formed fast.
more »
You can just feel Michael Bay pumping his fist in the background of this movie trailer-esque video for former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as it crescendos with patriotic bravado and pulls at the heartstrings. No matter your political beliefs, if you aren't at least moved in some way by this commercial then you are beyond jaded and there isn't much hope for you.
more »
In what some would consider to be cinematic excellence, director John Cameron Mitchell orchestrates an eight minute film for Christian Dior's Lady Dior during which Marion Cotillard offers inspiration to a crippled Ian McKellen and an artistically stifled painter, Russell Tovey. It's quite touching actually.
The film, called Lady Grey London, has Cotillard performing in front of a spellbound audience and driving men mad with desire. She invites one of her onlookers, a wheelchair-bound Ian McKellen to her dressing room where she works magic on his legs. She then visits the painter and imbues him with intense creativity. Both McKellen and the painter reap the benefits of Cotillard's touch.
more »
If you haven't seen it, you simply must. It's one of the best commercials we've seen in a long time. Although, because it is so funny, we had to watch it a couple times before we knew which brand was behind it. In the commercial (for Logitech), Kevin Bacon plays his biggest fan. And he nails it. Perfectly. As in fall over laughing perfect.
Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the commercial has Bacon obsessing over himself amidst a room full of Kevin Bacon paraphernalia anf, of course, a collection of Bacon's best works on the Logitech box. And let's not forget Bacon's hairstyles throughout the decades.
Absolutely brilliant work. But the :30 is way better than the :60
more »
If you can't watch this ad without it bringing a tear to your eye, then something is very wrong with you. Well, maybe that's just us but it is one of the best ads ever created. We're talking about the wondrous Alexander Commercials-created ad called Embrace Life for the UK's Sussex Safer Roads during which a father is saved, in tear-jerking slow motion, by his daughter and wife who take on the role of seatbelt.
The ad just won YouTube's Ad of the Year Award, besting Old Spice's I'm on a Horse.
Copyranter points out the ad came from a relative unkown and nabbed only a Bronze at Cannes. You don't have to be famous and work for a big agency to create great work.
To date, the ad has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube.
more »
We've all seen those gut-wrenching PSAs that urge us not to drink and drive. The ones that show the emotionally intense ramifications of that poor decision. From the simple to full-on death and dismemberment. We're late to this but this new PSA from Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing for the Texas Department of Transportation takes a decidedly different approach.
We see a tweet about meeting for a drink at a local bar. The entire scenario then unfolds online on social media platforms such as Twitter, SMS, Facebook, Gowalla(?), online banking, Google, Gmail and LinkedIn. From start to finish, the story is told using today's methods of communication.
more »
Here's a domestic violence PSA that clearly shares the horrific violence of domestic abuse without actually showing the violence. And yet, it's more powerful than PSA's that do show the violence. Created by Y&R Chicago for the National Domestic Violence Abuse Hotline, the work is beautifully executed and brings us inside the mind of the victim if only for a minute to share her tragedy. And it delivers a truism about domestic violence: it rarely stops.
The spot is accompanied by Peter Gabriel's eerie Mercy Street as the woman looks at herself in the mirror, tries to heal herself only to realize there's no end to it. Unless, of course, she calls the NDVH hotline.
more »
Last week, before all the Cannes fun and games were over, I scored an interview with ECD Richard Gorodecky of Amsterdam Worldwide (@amsterdamww).
You remember AW as the agency that did the Tansu shoe for Onitsuka Tigers, which won Design Gold at Cannes Lions in the Corporate/Brand Identity category.
Some background: this giant shoe is composed of multiple cupboards and openings in the Japanese Tansu style. Users that are able to unlock the compartments get to keep what's inside. The agency also made a digital version with revelations that include product information and free stuff.
A little context on this interview: he, Kerrie Finch and I took seats on the terrace of the Majestic. We made small-talk and every once in awhile they'd randomly mention suckling pig.
"I don't get this reference," I said after about the eighth time.
"Let me explain," Kerrie said. "You know that question, 'Is TV the new hearth'? We were saying earlier that it can't be the new hearth because you can't roast a suckling pig on it."
more »
|
