Out to Launch

by Amy Corr, Oct 3, 2012, 4:11 PM

• Comment
• Recommend
• Tweet
• 

Hunger makes everyone do crazy things, even the headless horseman. In an ad for Snickers, the headless horseman actually becomes the horseless headsman when his blood sugar drops. His scary street cred also plummets when a group of kids trick or treating feels sorry rather than afraid of him. One kid gives the oversized head a Snickers, quickly transforming it back to the feared headless horseman. The spot ends with another character in need of help. This time it’s a man sitting on a headless horse. See it here, created by BBDO New York and produced by MJZ.

Catnip takes one kitty on a psychedelic trip to the ‘60s in an online video for Litter Genie, a cat litter disposal system. “Psychedelic” is a music video for “I Haz a Catnip in Mah Head” by Walter and the Wizards. There are cats in costume, roaming cat heads and a cat whose head looks like a piece of bread. Then Litter Genie speaks: It’s so easy to use, for both cat and owner. The end result for the cat is: “I haz no smelly.” But he might have a rabbit’s head. So much spilled catnip… Watch the video here, created by JWT New York, produced by Caviar Content and directed by Keith Schofield.

A purple piñata, the size of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day float and filled with candy, gives unsuspecting townsfolk a sweet surprise in an ad for Cadbury. Street teams donning purple attire, Cadbury’s signature wrapper color, emerge from potted plants, manhole covers and a purple car to unveil an enormous piñata in the middle of a street. You can’t open this with just the whack of a stick. Once the piñata breaks, the street is covered with candy bars. “Welcome to Joyville,” closes the ad, seen here. Ogilvy Toronto created the ad, directed by Greg Brunkalla and produced by Holiday Films.

Remember KAYAK.com’s depressed crooner who was upset at his new inability to charm his way to a discounted hotel rate? Well he’s back in a 60-second spot for the brand, showing folks how he used to score a low-priced hotel room before KAYAK.com existed. Our crooner liked to smooth-talk the ladies at the front desk, hoping for a corner room with extra towels and a bidet because he’s got “funky bowels.” And really, what else rhymes with towel? Watch it here. The ad is running along with the original 30-seond spot during “The Daily Show.” Barton F. Graf 9000 created the campaign.

NEST, a thermostat that learns a homeowner’s preferred temperature settings, launched a TV campaign filled with smiling houses. As the song “Our House” plays in the background, a sequence of houses are shown, each with a smiley face crafted from two windows and something from the yard, like a canoe, hammock or shrubs. “Saving energy is a beautiful thing” closes the ad, seen here and created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Wilfrid Brimo directed the spot, produced by Wanda Productions and Paranoid.

RadioFace created a cute online video for the .ME domain name. The video brands the .com domain as one for corporations and .ME as a domain for individuals looking to personalize their brand… themselves. Actor TJ Miller plays a one-man corporation who answers everyday life questions as a corporation would. When his niece’s ice cream falls off her cone, Miller replaces it with a hamburger, calling this event a “probopportunity.” Miller also walks on a treadmill while shouting on his cell phone as his wife pours hot coffee in his mug and on him. My favorite part was when Miller accosts a teen boy and asks him about the rage of social media and Twitter. “You’re not a corporation. You’re a person,” ends the ad, seen here.

Allergies blow. In a wild posting campaign for Allegra, Montreal was plastered with ads of man blowing his nose – using the bottom of the ad he’s in as a tissue. Each poster was individually crumpled and placed on the man’s face. The campaign launched in September in parts of Montreal that are nightmarish for allergy sufferers during summer months. See the ads here and here, created by lg2 and Touché! PHD.

 

Nike launched a TV campaign called "Parallel Journeys," which ran during India's match against England in the T20 World Cup. The ad shows the passion, hard work and dedication that all cricket players possess, whether they are a part of Team India’s cricket team or everyday athletes. The playing field might be different but their dedication to the sport is the same. The ad follows the athletes as they begin their day. Whether it’s training in a well-equipped gym or taking a bus to a dirt field for practice, the end result is the same: sheer determination to win. Watch the ad here, created by JWT Bangalore and directed by Abhinay Deo of RDP Films.

Random iPhone App of the week: Raved launched a free app for the iPhone and iPod touch that allows consumers to discover, save and share places to eat, drink and shop based on friend recommendations. From Apptera, Raved lets users save favorite places to get future deals and share places they love so friends can, too. Raved automatically integrates friends 'likes' and check-ins from social networks like Facebook and Foursquare. Download it here.

 

• Comment
• Recommend
• Tweet
• 

Be the first to comment on "Out to Launch"

Leave a Comment