Out to Launch
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Doggy dentures. Dream jobs. Skittles grow on a tree... connected to a teen. Let's launch!
  • Diet Coke launched two TV spots promoting its support of healthy heart programs. A great cause to draw awareness to, but soda isn't something I think of when "heart-healthy" comes to mind. A stick figure stands next to a deflated heart in "Fit." The figure does crunches and push-ups until the heart is reinflated. Watch it here. The stick figure must scale to the top of a heart in "Summit." With help from a ladder, success is imminent. See it here. The ads launched last week during "American Idol." Wieden+Kennedy Portlandcreated the ads, produced by Blacklist New York.

    "You're not you when you're hungry," according to an ad for Snickers that debuted in the Super Bowl. You're more of a "Golden Girl" or detective from "Barney Miller." Betty White and Abe Vigoda get tackled in "Game," where a spirited game of football is underway. Betty White gets tackled and her potty mouth takes center stage in a huddle. "Mike, you're playing like Betty White out there," says a teammate. "That's not what your girlfriend said," quips White. Once Betty eats a Snickers, she morphs into a young, athletic man. The spot closes with Abe Vigoda getting tackled. Watch the ad here, created by BBDO New York.

    If only commuting to work was this fun. Barclaycard launched "Rollercoaster," promoting its contactless technology that enables cardholders to pay for low-valued purchases with a simple card scan. A man pushes the elevator button in his building and a rollercoaster appears. Nice ride. Viewers listen to Boston's "More than a feeling," while the man rides up and down the rollercoaster, bypassing straphangers, rattling apartment furniture and peeping at a woman shaving her legs in the bathtub. The rollercoaster pulls up to our character's favorite breakfast spot, where his meal awaits. His Barclaycard is scanned and he's moving again, and dropped off at his high-rise office, complete with windswept hairdo. The ad launched two weeks ago in London. See it here. BBH London created the ad and The Mill New York provided visual effects.

    Skittles wants viewers to "harvest the rainbow." Who cares if the "plant" that provides said harvest grows from your son's abdomen. "Mom, do you think after the Skittles harvest, we can call the specialist," asks a teenage son with a Skittles-tree protruding from his stomach. "And I thought we were done with all that silly dreamer talk," responds the mother, after Douglas expresses his dreams of attending college. The spot ends with Mom tickling Douglas, resulting in a Skittles rainstorm that makes Mama proud. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day New York.

    Before the fiddling beaver, Monster.com introduced viewers to a burnt-out Boogeyman unable to effectively do his job. The children were better at scaring him than vice versa. One child beats Boogeyman with a baseball bat, the police find him snooping outside a bedroom window and a family dog even sniffs him out. Rather than scare a kid sleeping in the next room, Boogeyman uses the kid's Wi-Fi to search Monster.com for a new career. Boogeyman is good with numbers and winds up with a desk job as a CPA. See the ad here, created by BBDO New York.

    Red Tettemer wants to Sext you up. The agency has been matchmaking single admen and women every Valentine's Day with its iMate online dating site. This year, the game's changed and getting with the times. It's time to Sext. Check out the agency's Web site and choose a male or female companion. The site reads as follows: "Her - Nimble fingers and a whole lot more: 267-271-5566. Him - Sextastic and beautifully bilingual: 267-271-5550." Good luck!

    Gold Bond Ultimate wants to simultaneously promote its hand sanitizer moisturizer while freaking out germaphobes. It's a win-win! The Ultimate Hand Scanner is a Web site that allows friends to prank the germaphobe (or slob) in their lives. Once the name of the hypochondriac is added, the prankster gets to answer a handful (pun intended!) of questions about them, like: Where are the person's regular haunts? What type of beauty products do they use? Who are they attracted to? The person is then sent an email prompting them to place their hand to their computer screen for analysis. The answers provided by the prankster are used against the germaphobe. Walrus created the site.

    Pedigree launched an amusing TV spot called "Doggy Dentures" to promote Dentastix, a dog treat that reduces a dog's tartar buildup. The ad stars adorable dogs that look sad, almost, as a voiceover explains most dogs have gum disease, often caused by tartar buildup. The voiceover offers an unusual solution: doggy dentures. The sad, downtrodden dogs now sport pearly white creeptastic adult teeth. After flashing some faux pearly whites, a dog snacks on Dentastix, the easier way to keep tartar buildup at bay. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day.

    Random iPhone App of the week: Lancome launched an app promoting its Declaring Indigo make-up collection by Aaron de Mey. A touchpad lets users try original colors and different combinations from the new collection, a tribute to Parisian irreverence. Users can create custom looks on their iPhones then save and send them by email. Phonevalley designed the app, created by Digitas and free in the App Store.