Commentary

Out to Launch

GrammysThe Recording Academy teamed up with TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles for the fifth year in a row to create "We Are Music," supporting the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Traditional and interactive campaign elements illustrate how music moves listeners. TV ads star Skillrex, Foo Fighters, Bon Iver and Adele. Bon Iver’s “Holocene” plays throughout the CGI spot of the world coming apart, starting with a wooden walkway and continuing all the way down to the earth’s core. Each particle comes together to create Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, singing his song. Watch it here. Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” might be the song of choice heard in her GRAMMY ad, but a new release, “Set Fire to the Rain,” is depicted throughout. The sparks collide to form Adele. See it here.

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MarsHere’s a feel-good story inside an ad for MARS. The brand teamed up with Hockey Canada to create a heated viewing area inside Grand Manan’s lone ice rink. The community worked together, with financial help from MARS, to make this happen. Now, hockey can be watched without freezing to your seat. Watch “Take Part” here, created by BBDO Toronto and directed by Doug Pray of Holiday Films.

 

BoostBoost Mobile launched “Bill from Hell” this week, the latest ad in its "Be Heard" campaign. The ad spoofs the horror film genre and begins on a dark, rainy night. A sketchy man with a bad, matted combover breaks into a building, scans the names on the mailboxes and walks upstairs. Finding the right door, he gently taps, then knocks, and then breaks down the door. His objective? Delivering a mobile phone bill to the resident. “I’m so sick of fearing my monthly bills” tweets a consumer. Boost Mobile has a monthly unlimited plan with shrinking payments -- so no need to fear the messenger. See the ad here, created by 180LA.

UggsUGG can best be described as both an Australian shoe brand -- and how Tom Brady feels, post-Super Bowl. The brand placed a print ad in the Monday edition of the Boston Globe and online at Boston.com, WSJ.com and ESPN.com, congratulating Brady on a great season. “To a leader both on and off the field, we congratulate Tom Brady on an outstanding season,” reads copy, seen here. M&C Saatchi created the ad.

 

AsicsASICS launched a TV ad Sunday for its GEL-Neo33 running shoe. The new shoe is lightweight yet stable, and comes in loud colors, something I enjoy in a running shoe. The lightweight feel is depicted using 2,000 glow-in-the-dark balloons carried by more than 50 runners. In “Launch,” a bevy of runners converge in the middle of the woods to assemble their glowing balloons in the shape of a GEL-Neo33 shoe. “Lightweight. The enemy of limits,” closes the ad, seen here and created by Vitro.

 

Jack In The BoxI often feel this way about bacon -- and Key lime pie and peanut butter. Not necessarily in that order. Jack in the Box launched a TV and digital campaign called “Marry Bacon,” promoting its BLT Cheeseburger Combo. The TV spot begins with a man telling his mother he’s getting married to bacon. He and bacon shop for rings, a bouquet, and Jack himself carries the bride -- the BLT cheeseburger -- down the aisle. Best part of the ad has to be the priest telling the groom, “You may now eat the bride.” See it here. There’s also a Marry Bacon website, where users can create their own bacon baby, open wedding gifts, buy a bacon-tie T-shirt and learn that bacon milkshakes exist. Hold me back on that one. Secret Weapon Marketing created the TV ad and StruckAxiom created the website.

VegasCee-Lo was everywhere before, during and after the Super Bowl, so I’m guessing this ad portrays his everyday life accurately. In an ad for The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Cee-Lo sets off to escape the paparazzi hounding him in Los Angeles for some Vegas peace and quiet. Cee-Lo can’t go for an outfit fitting, read poetry to his ladies or use the bathroom without the paparazzi finding him. His driver takes Cee-Lo and his ladies on a high-speed ride that takes them all the way to Vegas. Once Cee-Lo passes city lines, the paps stop, deciding not to follow him. Is it because the paps are vampires and must be invited to Vegas to go any further? Interesting. Watch “Cee Lo’s Escape” here, created by R&R Partners.

 

Feed the PigThe American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ad Council launched a PSA for financial literacy called “Feed the Pig.” “Chase” targets 25- to 34-year-olds and stars a man out shopping who receives a mobile alert that his bank funds are low. He’s on a mission to track down a pig in a pink suit. He runs through traffic, hops on a caterer’s scooter, and follows the pig on the subway until he finally wrestles him to the ground. The man then adds some money to the pig and proclaims, “So, same time next week?” I love the voiceover at the end, driving traffic to FeedThePig.org. Rather than just say it, he sings it, a good octave higher than his normal voice. See the ad here, created by Turbine and directed by Matt Pittroff of Twist.

 

48HrAppRandom iPad App of the week: CBS created an iPad app for its true-crime series, “48 Hours Mystery.” The app is free and offers fans access to preview videos and clips not seen on the program. Users have the option of buying an annual subscription for $4.99 via In-App Purchase. This gives users access to full episodes of “48 Hours Mystery” dating back to 2005. Users can also interact with fans and post comments without having to leave the app. Download it here.

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