Coca Cola (and subsequently Weiden + Kennedy, both Portland & Amsterdam) has been getting a fair bit of attention lately, with a plethora of new and decent spots. But this new superbowl one definitely leaves me smiling.
Creative directors Hal Curtis and Sheena Brady of W+K (who one or two of my regular readers may remember) worked with production company Psyop, who also worked on the Happiness Factory spot, among others. Creativity-Online has full credits and higher-res video, if you so desire. It’s nice to see a continued string of great Coke spots.
These days, there’s an appropriation of an Obama slogan juts about everywhere. And the “hope” Shepard Fairy poster appropriation seems to be multiplying faster than rabbits on viagra. But every now and then, there’s an appropriation done so well, it actually works. Like this one, for Berlitz Language School (in Israel):
For those that aren’t fluent in French or Hebrew, when read phonetically, it reads “yes we can.” And the biggest hook is both “oui” and the Hebrew “כן / Ken” literally translate to “yes.” In one fell swoop, this one makes up all the other horribly unfunny and unclever appropriations. In the spirit of disclosure, there’s a bit of discussion over at I Believe In Advertising regarding the copy being appropriated from another artist. Either way, it’s effective and well done.
In one of the more bizarre yet bizarrely interesting campaigns of late, Windell Middlebrooks is back for Miller High Life in a significantly truncated form (the spots, not Mr. Middlebrooks). In an attempt to call out/poke fun at/criticize/blasphemize/trash/etc. Anheuser Busch, Miller, with the help of Windell, is pointing out the uselessness of a 30-second superbowl spot. The week before the superbowl, an ironically 30 second long spot will air (probably enough to be nasueating), featuring Windell musing on the foolishness of a :30 spot. Then, supposedly, during the superbowl, there will be a true :1 spot.
Check out the commercial over at 1secondad.com, where you can also view an unnecessary amount of one-second ads… although I have to call attention to possibly my favorite ad moment of the year, the two one-second spots where Widnell embodies the spirit of Bob Ross (as pictured above). Just creepy and awesome on so many levels. Genius
Every time I stumble across this spot, it makes me smile. Such a simple idea, executed beautifully in stop motion. Simple yet complex, the idea is almost heartwarming. Toss in the unexpected (especially from Audi) track from Woodie Guthrie, and you’ve got a charming spot that breaks far from the standard top-gear-esque euro car spot. The ad itself is from BBH and Passion Pictures. I’m diggin’ it.
Shepard Fairey, the creator of the now famous “Hope” poster, has been getting a good deal of airtime lately. I first wrote about Fairey and the Hope poster almost a full year ago… I’m shocked how fast this past year has gone. Anyway, for a link clickfest on Fairey, Obey, etc., check out the other post.
So Fairey has been popping up everywhere now that inaugeration day is tomorrow. He was even on the Colbert Report. But this video piece from the LA Times seems to capture everything beautifully. It’s a fast-paced clip that’s only two minutes long – short enough for me to give it my full attention, while still getting all the info in there. Definitely worth watching. And it’s interesting to think about how fast Fairey went from a relative street artist into having a piece hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.
This has been making the blog rounds, and every time I see it, all i can think of is “cool.” call it what you want: photoshop adbusting, graffiti, street art, or what have you. But regardless, there are some interesting ideas going on there. Simply wheatpasted images of photoshop toolbars pasted over existing ads in the Berlin subway. Artist credit goes to Epoxy, Mr Talion, Baveux & Kone.
Virals don’t have to be over the top. They don’t have to involve people jumping into their own pants or exploding soda bottles. They just need to draw a bit of interest. And sometimes the simplest executions can be the most captivating, hence spurring buzz. Which this spot featuring LeBron James certainly has been doing:
The viral, which is being spread fairly quickly, is certainly generating some interesting commentary… time will tell.
It’s amazing what can happen when a good idea is put in the right hands and allowed to flourish. Check out this spot for soccer club St. Pauli.
The spot is promoting “the roughest jacket of the world,” which can be purchased here. The agency, Marke23 handed the idea over to Schöenheistfarm, who did some impressive work for what’s essentially a jacket commercial. Pretty impressive. Especially if you think about all the other less-impressive creative realizations that could have been brought to life.
I’ve been adamantly aganst the cocept of “Diet Coke Plus” since it was first announced. It just seems wrong. And apparently the FDA agrees. Last month, they sent a letter to Coca-Cola outlining how Diet Coke Plus is in violation of labeling laws. Apparently usage of the term “Plus” has been standardized as a comparative term and may only be used for certain fortified foods and beverages. And since Coca-Cola didn’t specify a reference product that this one is “Plus” verison of, it’s pretty much in violation.
The FDA decided to add another zinger in their letter:
Your product Diet Coke Plus is a carbonated beverage. The policy on fortification in 21 CFR 104.20(a) states that the FDA does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages.
So basically, Diet Coke Plus was a bad idea on multiple levels. I’m curious to see what ends up happening with this one. Maybe it will be relabeled as Diet Coke sort-of-plus.
I love this spot. Mostly because it reminds me (and maybe draws from?) of one my favorite photographers, David Leventhal. It reminds me of his Wild West series from the late 80s… static yet dynamic and captivating. The audio track adds to the ambiance that’s created. There’s something impressive about the spot being almost entirely comprised of miniatures. Kind of works to get the point across, even though I’m not entirely sure I kow why.
Glossy has a good bit more in the way of details, if you so desire. And the campaign itself is a bit more broad, carrying over to the web at the WWF website.
I’ve been adamantly aganst the cocept of “Diet Coke Plus” since it was first announced. It just seems wrong. And apparently the FDA agrees. Last month, 
