Commentary

Out to Launch

Love and water balloon fights make me smile. Holiday Inn combined the two in a music video for Kyle Andrews' song "You Always Make Me Smile." The song was used back in May as part of the brand's "Stay You" campaign. The song went over so well that Holiday Inn and its agency McCann Erickson New York formed a record label called StayU Music to produce, promote and make some money from the song. The video, shot at Brigham Young University, features Andrews singing his song in the midst of a massive water balloon fight. More than 4.000 students tossed 120,000 water balloons. How fun was this making of a music video? I enjoyed the end scene when Andrews shook the excess water and broken balloon pieces out of his guitar. See the video here.

School is back in session, making breakfast the "it" meal of the day. Jimmy Dean launched a trio of ads promoting Jimmy D's, its line of breakfast foods for kids. Its lovable Sun character has gone from friendly father and officemate to heroic, mask-wearing cape-crusader, saving kids from destructive characters like Slow-Motion Man the stopwatch, DimWit the broken light bulb and Crabby the crab. Each villainous character attempts to sabotage a student who hasn't had breakfast in "Anthem." Sun saves the day by rapidly throwing breakfast food at them. For sluggish kids who didn't eat breakfast, their reflexes are rather impressive. Watch it here. Basketball drills can be arduous when you've skipped breakfast. "Slow-Motion Man" is counting on this. Sun appears in time with turkey sausage in hand. Sun then crows like a rooster, which sounds more like an imitation of Scooby-Doo's signature speak. See it here. A kid hates science class because he's constantly prodded by Crabby the crab in the final ad, seen here. A turkey sausage corn dog is thrown his way, and now he wants to be a scientist. TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles created the campaign.

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"Does your breakfast make you amazing?" ponders an ad for Quaker oatmeal. The spot shows a handful of early risers: a teacher readying her classroom, a man stretching before he runs, a girl and her father heading for ice skating practice and a construction worker sitting high atop a beam. Each started their morning out the same way... with Quaker oatmeal. "Morning starts and changes everything. It's a clean slate. A fresh start... Wake up and be amazing." Watch the ad here, created by Juniper Park.

Weetabix cereal comes in a new flavor: chocolate. This news is so exciting, it has the family animals talking. And not in a creepy Quiznos way. "Happy Breakfast" launched Saturday during "X Factor" in the United Kingdom. A cat, dog and hamster awake to the sounds of a family eating chocolate Weetabix, which is both nutritious for adults but chocolaty to appease the kids. The animals, complete with British accents, discuss this shocking combination. The hamster is so surprised that he falls from his toy and the dog sits at his master's feet, encouraging him to eat up! See the ad here. WCRS, London created the campaign, directed by Ben Dawkins of Stink, London.

Wieden + Kennedy New York launched its first work for Delta Air Lines, called "Keep Climbing." The brand campaign consists of TV, print, outdoor and transit ads that describe the company's commitment to improving the flying experience for consumers, because let's face it; flying is no longer pleasant. It's downright stressful. "Lift," shot in black and white, shows luggage being organized and the building and testing of airplane parts, while the voiceover, Donald Sutherland, describes real-life flying issues: "No liquids, take your shoes off, cost-cutting and route cancellations." But Delta has your back. "We're not just building a bigger airline. We're building a better one." See it here. A little bit of human touch is added to "Human Factor." Bad weather, congestion and high oil prices affect all airlines; it's the people who work and embrace the industry's challenges that help conquer them. Watch it here. Print and outdoor ads, seen here, here, here and here, state the obvious like the importance of customer service, for example: "Customer service shouldn't fluctuate with the price of oil."

A submarine takes in water. Dr. Jekyll prepares a potion for his latest patient/victim. Would you believe these two ads have financial undertones, promoting State Street Global Advisors' SPDR ETFs? Me, either. In "Submarine," alarms sound and crew members frantically race to stop water from pouring inside the vessel. Things look grim until the plug is lifted. A young boy was playing with the sub in the tub, unaware of any danger until he heard the joyous crew member screams as he was drying off. In other words: do you know what's inside your investments? Watch it here. "Never make an important investment unless you know everything about it," says the voiceover in "The Good Doctor." A woman watches as her physician prepares a mysterious green concoction. He gives her the drink as his assistant calls, "your next patient is here, Dr. Jekyll." Will she or won't she drink the elixir? See it here. The Gate Worldwide created the campaign.

Breaking up is hard to do, unless you have Sprint's $69.99 unlimited data plan. A woman is thorough in her message delivery in "Restaurant." She brings her boyfriend out to eat, and breaks up with him in person and by phone call, text and email. And she changes her Facebook status to single right before his eyes. Some people are just cruel. Watch it here. An injured football player is informed by email that he's out for the season. His sports doctor, who's sitting right next to him, says he'll be dropping the athlete from his fantasy football roster ASAP. Ouch. See "Injury" here. Goodby Silverstein & Partners created the campaign, directed by David Shane of O Positive Films.

Contrary to popular belief, the Volvo S60 is a naughty car. The company created a set of online videos earlier this year, filmed at Volvo's proving grounds in Sweden, proving it. The first video tests the car's stability control. The driver maneuvers away from poles in the road with plenty of time. But not naughty enough. Next, a life-sized, fake elk is placed in the road. The car outmaneuvers the animal. Again, not naughty enough. The car then takes on moving Volvos barreling down in its direction. Crisis is again averted. Watch it here. The next video tests the Volvo's traction control. The car winds in and out of slalom poles with ease. Fine China, a goldfish and gumball machine are then added to the mix. The goldfish made it; the gumballs were not so lucky. One-upping that feat, the car goes through the same slalom poles again... this time backwards! See it here. Arnold Worldwide and EuroRSCG 4D created the campaign.

Random iPad App of the week: Flexfolios is an iPad app created by Emmanuel Faure and Antoine Verglas. The App, targeting photographers, talent reps, model agents, stylists, architects and creative directors, allows users to digitally organize and display mixed-media portfolios and campaigns. Users can customize individual portfolios by uploading music, videos, PDFs, word docs and excel files to accompanying photos or picture files. The App costs $14.99 in the App Store.

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