Adweek : Advertising & Branding

Goodby, Silverstein Brings the Funny for YouTube's First-Ever Comedy Week

Tim Nudd — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:16:36 GMT

To hype its inaugural Comedy Week, which begins Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET, YouTube turned to an ad agency known for generating its share of laughs: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. The San Francisco shop—which has done comical spots for Budweiser, "Got milk?", Sonic, Corona Light and many others—whipped up a load of ads (many of them :15s) that have been airing in recent weeks starring the Comedy Week's actors and comedians. Check out a whole bunch of those spots below. (At the bottom is a longer promo with Arnold Schwartzenegger, which YouTube produced in-house, but we have to include because it's awkwardly hilarious.)

Goodby also designed a special YouTube masthead that will run all day Sunday to promote that night's kickoff. It shows a bathroom wall inside a comedy club. You can scroll around, click different doodles and find Easter eggs like Venn diagrams for classic jokes, a mounted moose head that sadly recalls "the bad man in the forest" and a phone number—(888) 303-3771—you can call for a good time (if you're not having one already).

The first two-hour live stream starts Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. New shows will air each night this week at 8 p.m. ET through Saturday. Guests will include Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Seth Rogen, Comedy Central's Tim and Eric, Conan O'Brien, Rainn Wilson, Ricky Gervais and Sarah Silverman, and YouTube stars The Gregory Brothers, Rhett & Link and Ryan Higa.

Schwartzenegger spot produced in-house by YouTube:

Sunday's YouTube masthead (demo):

Former Publicis COO Richard Pinder on Reimagining Global Networks

Noreen O'Leary — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:27:15 GMT

Former top Publicis exec Richard Pinder has spent his career at big networks like Grey, Ogilvy, and Leo Burnett before he became worldwide chief operating officer at Publicis Groupe's flagship agency. So after leaving that job in 2011, it was more than a little surprising to see him go public with a new entrepreneurial gig as a co-founder and CEO of The House Worldwide, a new take on global networks. The company has signed up independent agency, marketing and media partners around the world and in its beta phase worked with clients like Maserati. Pinder spoke with Adweek about his new industry model, how The House and its partners make money and why he’s given up an enviable Parisian life to return to his native U.K.

After you left Publicis, did you think of other career options or did creating this new company feel like the right next step?
I had previously thought a lot about it but hadn’t done anything about it and I had no time to focus on it until I left Publicis. I was 46 and I knew I had to do it. In the two years (after leaving the agency) people came to me with things and I stopped and thought for ten minutes, "Whoa, what if?" There were some big marketing roles or even heading up smaller businesses as CEO and, of course, agency discussions. I’d be lying if at some moments they weren’t interesting. But for one reason or another, they never gelled and this idea carried on gelling and built a life of its own.

Aside from industry considerations, why move from France and start your business in London?
I’m a huge fan of France. I spent seven years living there, my children were born there [and] I’ve only lived with my current partner in France, even though she’s Danish. France is our life, my family’s entire view of home. It’s one of the best places in the world to live but not necessarily the best place to work. ... Aside from the high rate of tax for the very top earners, the government took a less-publicized step that essentially assured all start-ups had to run the same taxation and social charge program as existing businesses, which never used to be the case. In France you can also pretty much multiply by two the salary of any employee in terms of total company costs and if you hire someone and it’s not working out, there’s not much you can do about it.

What have you heard from marketers about how to create your new industry model?
When you don’t have a (corporate) business card and you’re talking to large global clients they’re more willing to talk candidly. Twenty years ago at Grey it was news if you had an office in the UK but now marketers want you to usually organize around clients, not geographies. Clients want talent focused on the business, rather than having the very best people end up at the top of the companies, which is normally the case at most professional service companies. Value which is important but not at the top of their priorities. That’s interesting because it’s not about price: Agency profit is about one percent of a normal client’s marketing budget. So while price is important, it’s not a key driver. What is important is, am I paying for what I need?

How did you assemble your partners?
They are people that either I or members of the core team have worked with before. We’ve made an informal rule that we shouldn’t partner with anybody we don’t know and trust and couldn’t vouch for with clients. ... So you don’t have any of the games that go on in organizations that breeds politics when everyone agrees there is a problem but no one bothers to take responsibility to fix it.

Some of your closest working partners spent time at Leo Burnett, as you did. What’s the significance of that?
When Leo Burnett was private its values were absolutely amazing, it was a place with the most-low politics, and high-focus on the good things of the business: focus on clients, work, teams, international reach. You could criticize it about other things but that’s how it ended up going from humble beginnings to become the most creative network in the world in 2001. We think those values are what held a lot of people together; it wasn’t money or titles. Virtually everyone we work with has spent at least part of their career at that company.

Are you looking to expand your partner relationships?
There will be a time when we’re not always looking but right now, yes. If you look at geography, in the U.S., there clearly is opportunity to grow partners. We’d like to expand more in Asia [Pacific], including Australia, and a couple of markets in Europe, particularly Germany.

How do you and your partners make money?
There are a whole lot of ways to get paid but our principles are very simple: We will only charge when something is being done. It’s time-based and you agree on a number and you pay. If a partner in France introduces a client to a partner in Spain, there is a fee to be paid because there is no acquisition cost to the Spanish team. And if the French team continues to provide management advice, that’s where a percentage comes in—but we’re talking 10 and 20 percent, not 50 or 80 percent. At no point would I want to characterize it as a management fee or overhead. We’re trying to avoid the "o" word because we think it’s a killer of the current value equation in advertising. ... We think each year you should revisit the value equation and say: "What am I doing for you?" That’s what partners and friends do which is why we like the name “The House” because we are trying to create a family-type atmosphere rather than an organizational atmosphere.

Virtually all of your career has been spent at large agency networks. What do you miss, what are you glad to be away from?
I was very proud and happy about what I did in the first 25 years of my career. No regrets, no issues and I’m not poking at that. I’m just looking at the opportunity rather than nagging away at a problem. People ask from time to time what do you miss and they imagine it’s the first-class hotels, the limousine at the end of the driveway, the fancy office. I spent five years working for (Publicis Groupe chief) Maurice Lévy and he doesn’t believe in any of that stuff. So I don’t miss it because I never had it at Publicis. About infrastructure and scale, the thing you realize when you create something of your own is that you turn up at a client and it’s not your business card that gets you in but your name. It’s odd, unusual, humbling, sobering and rewarding. It forces you to be at your absolute best and ironically at your most relaxed because if it fails the only person who is going to shout at you is you.

Better Eyewear Means Fewer Dead Cats, Says Amusing Specsavers Ad

Tim Nudd — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:53:07 GMT

The best performance by a cat in a TV commercial this week goes to the fluffy mess in this new British spot for eyewear maker Specsavers. Not that the veterinarian here would know—he's not clear on what a cat is anymore. Specsavers, of course, has a long and proud history of offbeat commercials. The best mistaken-animal-identity spot, though, remains the brilliant raccoon commercial from Sears Optical.

Meet the Sleepy's Creative Finalists

Andrew McMains — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:22:04 GMT

Three agencies are preparing for final presentations in the Sleepy’s creative review, with pitches slated to take place in two weeks, the retailer has confirmed.

The contenders are Havas Worldwide, Publicis Kaplan Thaler and Gotham. Each is pitching out of its New York office.

Annual media spending behind the brand is estimated at $75 million.

The finalists emerged from a broader list of about a half-dozen shops that met with Sleepy’s executives, including chief marketing officer Jeff Lobb. Roth Associates in New York is managing the search.

Historically, the mattress retailer has handled its creative and media efforts itself. In January, however, the company hired Horizon Media to plan and buy its media and now, it’s seeking a lead creative shop.

Sleepy’s, which has some 800 stores in 14 states along the East Coast, expects to complete its latest search by the end of the month.

British Advertising Hits New Low With Commercial Starring Talking Butt Crack

Tim Nudd — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:21:32 GMT

What a week it's been. As Friday draws to a close, I see your defecating man in the exercise video and your threesome-inducing Sexual Chocolate wine, and I raise you one talking butt crack in this British advert for something called Polycell. It's some sort of spray product that promises "No more unsightly cracks" in your walls. Unfortunately, there's one major unsightly crack in the commercial. And it talks. David Ogilvy would be proud. Agency: 18 Feet & Rising. Full list of perpetrators below.

CREDITS
Client: Polycell
Agency: 18 Feet & Rising
Creative Director: Stephen de Wolf
Creatives: Alex Delaney & Oli O'Neill
Agency Producer: Emily Hodgson Julia Methold
Account Director: Adrienne Little
Strategic Business Lead Rob Ward
Director: Simon Willows
Production Company: Blink
Production Company Producer: Tiernan Hanby
Executive Production Company Producer: James Bretton
Editor: Mark Aarons
Post Production Company: The Electric Theatre Company
Post Production Company Producer: Helen Sutermeister
VFX Supervisor: Andrew Stewart
Colourist: Steffan Perry @ Framestore
Sound Engineer: Tony @ Wave Studios

Dumb Ways to Die Is Now a Video Game for the iPhone and iPad

Tim Nudd — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:38:53 GMT

There are now even more "Dumb Ways to Die"—and smart ways to live—as McCann Australia has made a video game out of its beloved, superviral train-safety ad from last year. "Starring all the characters from the viral hit Dumb Ways to Die for Metro Trains Melbourne, the game allows players to flick piranhas away from a character's private parts and defend another from a snake attack among other ways to avoid being dumb," the agency says. "Players can also pledge to 'not do dumb stuff around trains' at the click of a button." The game, developed by McCann in collaboration with local developer Barrel Of Donkeys, has been the No. 1 free app in Australia for a week, and is charting in 79 other countries. John Mescall, executive creative director of McCann Australia, said: "With the main Dumb Ways to Die video now close to 46 million views, we wanted to give young people another platform on which to enjoy the characters and, more importantly, to continue to remind them that being dumb around trains can and should be avoided."

Embattled Abercrombie CEO Backpedals on Exclusionary Comments

Maura McGowan — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:21:28 GMT

After a viral video incited widespread backlash against Abercrombie & Fitch Co., CEO Michael S. Jeffries tried to stem the tide of hostility, according to the L.A. Times.

Critics lambasted the company as discriminatory, citing a Salon interview with the CEO: "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong."

In a statement, Jeffries responded to criticism over his comments that Abercrombie is "exclusionary" and will never sell women's clothing in XL and XXL sizes.

"A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers," Jeffries said. "However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion."

Data from consumer perception tracking firm YouGov BrandIndex indicated that attitudes toward the Abercrombie brand among 18- to 34-year-olds took a hit this week. Meanwhile, H&M, lauded for featuring nontraditional models in its ads, gained a boost.

He Shoots, He Scores: David Beckham's 10 Most-Viral Commercials

Tim Nudd — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:14:14 GMT

David Beckham is retiring from professional soccer, but he'll never stop making ads. One of the world's most prolific pitchmen, the former England captain has sold everything from underwear and soda to hamburgers and, yes, athletic gear—building, with posh wife Victoria, the Beckham brand into a global juggernaut. (David alone is believed to make more than $40 million a year in endorsement money.) At the link below, check out the 10 most-viral commercials Becks has ever done, as compiled by Unruly Media. And like Michael Jordan before him, expect to see plenty more Beckham ads for years to come.

Video Gallery: David Beckham's 10 Most-Viral Commercials

He Shoots, He Scores: David Beckham's 10 Most-Viral Commercials

Tim Nudd — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:08:10 GMT

YouTube Star Tobuscus Forced Into Making Insane Musical Ad for Hot Pockets

David Kiefaber — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:15:47 GMT

Stand-up comedian, actor, songwriter and noted YouTube personality Toby "Tobuscus" Turner made this fourth-wall-shattering musical ad for Hot Pockets in which he is bullied by an unseen voiceover into singing about the new Cuban Style and Spicy Beef Nacho flavors. God help us all, Spicy Beef Nacho? I can already hear my toilet crying. Anyway, the concept might not thrill you, but the execution is top notch, mostly due to Turner's facial expressions. Now I want to see him in some sort of comedy duel with Jim Gaffigan, who once compared Hot Pockets to filling a Pop Tart with nasty meat. Making this ad is like slapping Gaffigan in the face with a dueling glove.

Microsoft Hammers Google in Leaked Parody of a Chrome Ad

David Gianatasio — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:28:15 GMT

Microsoft takes a break from perfecting its blue screen of death to ape Google's ad style—abundant white space, bouncing Chrome ball, Beethoven's Fifth on the soundtrack—in this anti-Google video that was reportedly intended for internal use but was conveniently leaked to the universe just in time for Google's big I/O developers conference. Tagged with the same "Don't get Scroogled" line that Microsoft uses whenever it needles the only digital company more reviled than itself, the spot warns, "With Google Chrome, everything everywhere is tracked. To target you with ads. To monetize your personal info. … Google watches everything you do and uses it to make a profit off of you. Chrome has you commercialized." Cool. Google can trash my privacy and pick my pocket as long as there's some value added. ("Commercialized" is a good thing, right? I can always Google it and find out. See—value added!) What's Microsoft done for anyone lately? Since they took away the Windows start button, I just stare at a blank PC screen and write all my stories on a Mac. Though Google did give the world Glassholes, so I guess they're just as bad.

The original Google Chrome spot:

Adweek's Top 10 Commercials of the Week: May 10-17

Melissa Hoffmann — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:45:21 GMT

Paul Caine Hires Condé Nast Exec

Lucia Moses — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:47:38 GMT

Ex-Time Inc. CRO Paul Caine isn't wasting time raiding other media companies as he bolsters his staff at Dial Global, the audio content syndicator he joined as CEO in March.

In his first major hire, he tapped Christina Albee as chief marketing officer, a new position at the company. Albee comes from Condé Nast, where she helped run The Studio, a digital ad unit, and where she also served as gm of the marketing arm of the Condé Nast Media Group.

It was at Time Inc. where Albee and Caine got to know each other. They worked together at the publisher for nearly 15 years, Albee at über magazine brand People and on a variety of launches including its spinoff Teen People, InStyle and All You.

"One of our first priorities is reinforcing the importance of our many talented departments across the company," Caine said in announcing the hire. "Our goal is to unify, to nurture and to strengthen those teams."

Layoffs Hit BBDO, Goodby

Noreen O'Leary — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:26:14 GMT

Bruised by the recent loss of major accounts, two Omnicom agencies, BBDO and Goodby Silverstein & Partners, today announced layoffs.

BBDO said it made “significant” cuts after losing the global Gillette men’s grooming business in late April, a development that will have staffing consequences around the world. Goodby has let go staff following its exit in March from the General Motors Chevrolet joint venture with McCann, known as Commonwealth. Neither agency would divulge the number of people cut other than to say layoffs were made across departments.

While BBDO had no comment at all on the layoffs, Goodby's co-founder Jeff Goodby shared an internal memo in which he wrote:

You’ve heard the financial reasons for reducing our staff. I just want to talk a bit about the human side of it all.

Please be assured: No one takes this process lightly.

As we often say, advertising is all about people and accounts. David Ogilvy wrote, “The assets go up and down in our elevator every day.” It is so true. We value our people, and our humanistic environment, more than anything.

Strangely, that’s why, when we lose business or have cuts in fee, it is important to react thoughtfully, but expeditiously. Companies that don’t are not prepared for the future, and they don’t serve the people who are still on staff. They endanger present and future jobs.

We are optimistic about our plan to move forward, in terms of serving present accounts and getting new ones, and will share details next week. But we are also thankful for and deeply appreciative of the contributions of people who are leaving.

We will do everything to find them new situations. And if history is any indication, we will find ourselves welcoming some of them back in the future.

Here's the Real (and Real Silly) Dunder Mifflin Ad Airing Tonight on the Series Finale of The Office

Rebecca Cullers — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:05:39 GMT

Looking forward to the series finale of The Office tonight? Here's something else to look forward to. The real Dunder Mifflin ad below—for the defictionalized paper brand whose products you can actually buy at Quill.com—will air in five Dunder Mifflin "branch" markets (Scranton, Pa., Akron, Ohio, and Utica, Albany and Syracuse, N.Y.) as well as Chicago (the home market of Lincolnshire-based Quill) during tonight's telecast. Just as the NBC show winds down, Dunder Mifflin paper is ramping up its advertising. (It's already among the best-selling brands in the office-supply category.) Its slogan, "Limitless paper in a paperless world," is what drives this spot, which is all about a guy who can turn anything he touches into Dunder Mifflin paper. Of course, he immediately uses his power to prank his co-workers the same way Jim pranks Dwight. The Midas touch is a well-worn theme in advertising, and they're not really challenging any conventions. But let's face it. This is as good as paper advertising gets.

Creak, Crack, Crunch. Local Chiropractor's Goofy Ad Is Painful to Watch

Tim Nudd — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:31:25 GMT

Just a few weeks after making the most awkward transmission-repair ad ever, Rhett & Link are back with another goofy local commercial—this one for the Ryan Lee Chiropractic Center in Los Angeles. It stars the eponymous practitioner, who twists, turns and otherwise contorts the bodies of his patients until their skeletons emit rather sickening crunching sounds. It only gets worse as the ad goes on. The tagline is "Gentle. Comfortable. Professional"—although if that's true, it's not totally clear what's going on at 0:41.

JP Morgan Chase's Claire Huang Talks Digital and Mobile

Christopher Heine — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:17:11 GMT

JP Morgan Chase named Claire Huang its first-ever CMO last August, poaching the marketing veteran from an executive position with competitor Bank of America. Huang has since attempted to reinvigorate the Chase brand while positioning it as a strong financial option for both consumer and small-business needs.

Her work culminated with the cross-channel "So You Can" campaign that kicked off last week. Adweek caught up with Huang during to learn about her "brand refresh" strategy, and below are excerpts from the conversation.

From what I've been able to see of "So You Can," the first spot has a strong mobile message with the QuickPay app. The second commercial is aimed at small businesses. Is it at all tricky creating an overarching campaign narrative to cover both b-to-c and b-to-b?
Seasoned marketers must be able to identify and know their audience. Whether it's b-to-c or b-to-b, it's most important to meet customers where they are. "So You Can" celebrates the incredible stories we have heard over the past few years, and how those stories have inspired the way we work with our customers. ... This brand refresh is a way to show the integration that we are trying to present in our business—a holistic offering based on our customers' needs.

How do you think Chase fits into the larger mobile scene when it comes to making commerce seamless for the on-the-go consumer?
Whether it be their first checking account, purchase of a home, adding a card to [their mobile wallet] or using the QuickPay app to pay the babysitter, our [customers] have very different needs, and we continue to simplify our products to make them valuable, easy to use and [understandable].

Retailers are increasingly investing in so-called "architectural media" for their physical spaces. Is the digitization of bank branches upon us?
Our brand refresh reflects the simple solutions and customer service that makes banking easier ... For example, new modern-build branches are expanding throughout the country. We've developed a new branch concept with an open format that gives customers options. From the traditional teller window, to the advice zone and the paperless tablets, to self-serve kiosks and the instant-issue credit card machines, our approach is centered around choice and making the experience better for the customer.

How do you think social media marketing fits into creating more Chase customers?
We have amazing customers, and employees are looking for more ways to communicate all that the firm has to offer by telling our story. For example, we see huge opportunities in the digital/social space. Since I arrived at [JP Morgan Chase], we’ve worked to develop a digital center of excellence. I'm working closely with our CTO to use digital channels more to deepen relationships with customers who are using digital/social media. Digital media also creates the opportunity to leverage big data to deliver the right products to the right customers at the right time.

TurboTax Contacts Creative Agencies

Andrew McMains — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:44:37 GMT

As TurboTax emerges from the dust of a hyper-competitive tax-preparation season, the brand is already thinking about next year.

TurboTax, a San Diego-based unit of Intuit, has contacted creative agencies—via a consultant—about its advertising business. The consultant is Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif.

The software rival to bricks-and-mortar stalwarts like H&R Block spent more than $100 million in media last year, according to Nielsen.

TurboTax’s review encompasses creative and media planning responsibilities, according to an initial questionnaire from SRI. In the document, the tax preparer indicates a preference for a West Coast-based agency and lays out the steps in the process. TurboTax hopes to complete its search in July.

The incumbent, Interpublic Group's Dailey in West Hollywood, Calif., is not defending.

In a statement, Tom Lehr, Dailey's president and CEO, said the shop was "very proud" of its past work for TurboTax, noting that Dailey launched the brand with an $800,000 test market campaign 11 years ago and that this past year more than 26 million tax returns were filed using TurboTax. "We ... wish them all the best in the future," Lehr added.

An Intuit representative confirmed the search, saying that "while Dailey has been a valued partner, in light of changing business needs and a rapidly evolving external environment, we believe it's time for fresh perspective and creative insight that will strengthen the TurboTax brand and accelerate our go-to-market strategy."

TurboTax made some noise in its advertising this year through a campaign that skewered rivals’ “tax experts.” In one TV ad, a fortysomething guy repairing a water pipe in a home kitchen reminds the homeowner that he prepared his taxes last year.

H&R Block took umbrage with the campaign and went to court, seeking an injunction to stop the ads. A federal judge, however, denied the company’s legal motion. Interestingly, Dailey did not create those ads.

Last month, while revealing underwhelming sales results for TurboTax this year, Intuit CEO Brad Smith said, “While we’re disappointed in the outcome for TurboTax, we maintained our strong leadership position in the fastest growing segment of tax preparation and saw impressive results in mobile.”

Perhaps with the advertising in mind, Smith added that the company already has “exciting efforts underway to strengthen our offering next season.”

Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin Pops Up in an American Express Ad

Tim Nudd — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:40:43 GMT

The only really surprisingly thing about Dollar Shave Club CEO Michael Dubin's appearance in an American Express ad is that it didn't happen sooner. It's been more than a year since Dubin charmed impecunious razor purchasers everywhere with his amusing starring role in his company's debut ad. He's a born pitchman—for whoever he'd like to endorse. The AmEx spot frankly is a little bland, but it proves that while the man may know his dollars, he has trouble with his cents. Via Co.Create.

Draftfcb Wins California Nature Conservancy

Noreen O'Leary — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:15:49 GMT

The San Francisco office of Draftfcb has won the creative account for The Nature Conservancy in California as the group hires an outside agency for the first time.

The Interpublic Group shop was among four agencies that vied for the business. The identities of the other shops could not be ascertained.

Spending could not immediately be determined. It’s Draftfcb's first new business win since Brooks Day joined the agency in February as vp of business development. Day was formerly director of business development, West, at Razorfish, where he oversaw revenue growth of the digital agency's San Francisco, Portland and Seattle offices.

Julie Scelzo, svp and group creative director, who joined Draftfcb in 2009 and made her mark with the “Wear the Pants” campaign for Dockers, led the Conservancy pitch and will oversee the agency’s efforts to raise the organization's profile.

Michael Ian Black's Twitter Ad for Dos Equis Does Gangbusters Thanks to All the Haters

Tim Nudd — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:09:09 GMT

Michael Ian Black is not the most interesting man in the world, but he might be the most interesting beer endorser. Last Friday, the comedian, who has 2 million Twitter followers, posted a tweet to a Dos Equis app—which seemed somewhat out of character for him. And indeed, when called on it, he freely admitted that he's been paid for the tweet. Black took a fair amount of heat for being a shill, but responded to the haters frankly, and often humorously. He also got support from some fans, including model Chrissy Tiegen. The best part? He got his revenge on the haters in the best way possible—for Dos Equis, at least. "Because the blowback on it has been so unexpectedly harsh, I'm going to tweet it again for free," he wrote, and then did just that. See below for some highlights from the saga. Via Business Insider.

I just turned myself into a Most Interesting Person with the new @dosequis Legend of You app. Check it out on.fb.me/166xmC6
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 10, 2013

@planetoffinks No, they wrote it and paid me thousands of dollars to run it.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

@planetoffinks I dunno. I just like money.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

@planetoffinks Hopefully the salaries they didn't get went towards paying me.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

Enjoy your Dos Equis, my friend. RT @interpolantics1: @michaelianblack @dosequis wish you had died on 9/11, fucking douche.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

@brianlynch @dosequis It's a terrific beer drink from Canada!
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 12, 2013

@brianlynch @dosequis I literally have NO idea.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 12, 2013

@chrissyteigen No shit. I'm certainly happy to do it. BTW, is there anything you need promoted?
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

Yes @dosequis payed me to tweet. But because the blowback on it has been so unexpectedly harsh, I'm going to tweet it again for free.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 12, 2013

I just turned myself into a Most Interesting Person with the new @dosequis Legend of You app. Check it out on.fb.me/166xmC6
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 12, 2013

My only regret, and it is a HUGE regret, in tweeting for Dos Equis, is that I somehow misspelled the word "paid." bit.ly/16lcsA7
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 16, 2013

Ad of the Day: Getty Images

David Gianatasio — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:15:39 GMT

Creating evocative narratives using the vast archives of Getty Images is becoming AlmapBBDO's stock in trade.

Getty's stock video footage provides the raw material for the Brazilian agency's new "85 Seconds" ad, which incorporates 105 clips of people doing all sorts of activities to tell a boy-meets/loses/reunites-with-girl story that spans decades of the characters' lives. Directors Joao Simi and Marcos Kotlhar and copywriter Sophie Schoenburg sifted through 4,000 videos and worked for four months on the project, a promotional piece designed to highlight the diversity and scope of Getty's image bank, which contains video footage with a combined running time of approximately two years.

"85 Seconds" is thematically and stylistically similar to "From Love to Bingo," last year's award-wining visual feast from the same client-agency team. That ad used 873 still photos to convey the story of a life in 60 seconds. The follow-up is easily equal to its lauded predecessor, and perhaps even outpaces it to some degree. Both films achieve a poignant universality by using images of different people to portray the same characters at different points in their lives. This makes the narratives seem less about strangers and more like shared experiences in which it's easy to see ourselves. Most movies are about other people—their stories. "From Love" and "85 Seconds" could be our stories, too.

Running 15 still clips per second gave "From Love" its own special flow, but the video in "85 Seconds" perhaps better captures the rush of time—the inexorable progression of years, of chances lost—and if we're lucky, recaptured. Seemingly small moments take on deeper meaning within the broader context of the film. Note the early footage of the kids dragging luggage across a yard and the later scene of a business-suited couple racing through an airport with wheeled cases in tow. Innocence is lost as life's baggage accumulates; what was once a game is now the harried pace of adulthood.

The above-and-below split-screen of their separate travails and misadventures play with time and space via a detour into the hippie-era 1960s. It's an unexpected move that adds a dimension of timelessness. The finale shows men and women rushing into each other's arms, finding the comfort and connection we all crave. This closing sequence doesn't feel clichéd because it speaks to such a basic human need, and its length, a full quarter of the video, underscores the primal importance of such bonding.

Ultimately, both "85 Seconds" and "From Love to Bingo" transcend their promotional missions, which enhances their value as advertisements. They offer superior branded content and profoundly moving pictures.

CREDITS
Client: Getty Images
Agency: AlmapBBDO, Brazil
General Creative Directors: Marcello Serpa, Luiz Sanches
Creative Directors: André Kassu, Marcos Medeiros, Renato Simões, Bruno Prosperi
Creatives: Marcos Kotlhar, Sophie Schoenburg
Agency Producers: Vera Jacinto, Rafael Motta, Charles Nobili
Production Company: ZOLA
Directors: João Simi, Marcos Kotlhar
Head of Art: Gustavo Vockos
Research: Marcos Kotlhar, João Simi, Procuradoria de Filmes, Beto Araújo, Sacha Bastos, Gustavo Vockos
Motion: Marcos Kotlhar, João Simi, Daniel Lemos, Rafael França
Music: Satélite
Music Producer: Kito Siqueira, Roberto Coelho
Editor: Beto Araújo, Sacha Bastos
Executive Producer: Jimmy Palma
Post Production: CLAN vfx
Project Manager: Markinhos Fagundes, Claudio Costa
Production: Amelinha Lobo, Pedro Bueno
Account Supervisor: Cristina Chacon, Tássia Massumi Nishida
Media: Paulo Camossa, Patricia Moreton
Advertiser's Supervisor: Renata Simões

How Your Depraved Facebook Posts Would Get You Tortured in Other Countries

David Griner — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:25:47 GMT

How often would your Facebook activity get you beaten, tortured or beheaded in the world's most repressive countries? A lot more often than you'd think. Amnesty International of New Zealand and agency Colenso BBDO of Auckland created an app called "Trial by Timeline" that analyzes your Facebook posts and lets you know how you might be brutalized in countries that persecute people based on everything from sexual orientation and religion to drinking and writing for the media. (I was beaten and tortured more than 270 times, but at least I wasn't beheaded or stoned to death.) It's a morbidly fascinating way to explore the liberties most of us take for granted. The app actually came out late last year but didn't get much attention until it was featured recently by The Inspiration Room and a few other sites.

Mattress Ads Wake Up to Human Sexuality

Robert Klara — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:42:39 GMT

The fact is largely forgotten, but first lady Eleanor Roosevelt used to host a weekly radio show sponsored by the Simmons mattress company—a cultural footnote immortalized by Cole Porter in one of the last stanzas of “Anything Goes”: “So Missus R. with all her trimmin’s, can broadcast a bed from Simmons ’cause Franklin knows, anything goes.” Porter’s line was also a sly reference to the fact that while Mrs. Roosevelt might have slept in her Simmons, her presidential husband was said to be fond of, er, more mattresses than just his own.

The line is also worth mentioning here because, in those days when it came to mattress advertising, anything didn’t go.

Adhering to the media decency standards of the era, mattress print advertising kept its imagery exceedingly prim and proper. Obviously, those days are long gone. But the painful prudishness of this 1949 Simmons ad—contrasted with the wide-open frankness of its 2013 Sleep Number counterpart—affirms a familiar truism: A brand can be sold just fine on its own merits but adding sex sure ain’t a bad idea.

If your only plans are to use a mattress for sleeping, the pitches in both of these ads actually haven’t changed that much. “What connects them is that both lean on technology,” observed Peter Madden, president and CEO of marketing agency AgileCat. “The Simmons ad has the stamp of the U.S. Testing Company, complete with the guy in the white lab coat. The Sleep Number mattress shows the control module sitting right there. So both of these ads embrace technology.”

Both, however, do not embrace sexuality, the unavoidable subtext for a product like mattresses. While couples have been sharing beds since the late 1800s when the industrial revolution forced people to live in smaller city dwellings, ads didn’t reflect that reality when postwar, suburban ideals of wholesomeness were a surer road to profits. Though this darling couple might be young newlyweds (the rings are clearly visible), “They’re buttoned up and there’s nothing going on here tonight, folks,” Madden said, adding, “This ad would never have been in Ladies’ Home Journal without that dresser between the beds—it was too risqué.”

It would take some daring on the part of TV shows including Mary Kay and Johnny, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and, oddly enough, The Flintstones and The Munsters—all of which portrayed couples sharing a bed—to loosen the cultural buttons. By the late 1960s, most mattress ads had followed suit.

And a good thing, too. As the Sleep Number ad shows, even the suggestion of sexuality adds a potent ingredient to the marketing formula. Sleep Number’s technical feats aside, “There’s a hot-looking couple, she’s wearing his shirt and his shirt is off—so there’s already something happening here,” Madden said. “The bed itself is in a suggestive pose. So it’s a not-so-subtle invite that you might enjoy this mattress to a greater degree than just sleeping in it.”

Hey, anything goes.

Partners & Spade Helps Brands While Creating Its Own

Noreen O'Leary — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:41:58 GMT

Specs
Who Co-founders and co-creative directors Anthony Sperduti (l.) and Andy Spade
What Creative studio
Where New York offices

When Andy Spade teamed up with Anthony Sperduti, a former colleague at Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, in 2008, they weren’t just going to market other brands but create their own. For Warby Parker, Partners & Spade designed the eyeware company’s flagship store. They got even more involved with Harry’s razors, supplying advice on product design, naming, identity and packaging. Sperduti and Spade, the other half of fashion mogul Kate Spade and brother of David, describe their business as a studio, a creative partnership that produces films, books, apparel and products in addition to marketing and branding.