Out to Launch
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Vibram gives forgers the middle toe. Sea legs vs. land legs. Let's launch!
  • Nike launched "Boom," a campaign that celebrates memorable moments in sports that render witnesses capable of saying one thing: boom. (My personal boom moment took place in 2002 in Oakland, Calif. I attended the Oakland A's game where the team came from behind to beat the Kansas City Royals and tie the AL major league record of most consecutive wins (19). Boom.) Five in a series of 15-second ads launched, featuring Nike athletes and coaches like Robinson Cano, Ndamukong Suh, Bo Jackson, high school football and volleyball players... and rap artist Rick Ross. A high school football coach writes plays on a whiteboard, with the end result being "boom." See it here. Ndamukong Suh is fitted for a suit in "Tailor." Both he and his clothier are preoccupied with a boxing match on TV. Watch it here. Rick Ross heads to a jewelry store and picks up his bling, which screams, "boom." See it here. Bo Jackson knows boom and heckles Yankees star Robinson Cano throughout batting practice until Cano convinces Bo that he, too, knows boom. Watch it here. A high school drum line brings the noise and the boom in the final ad, seen here. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign.

    Australian online marine media company Yacht and Boat launched a quirky TV, print and socialmedia campaign aiming to cure land sickness for boaters who prefer wobbly legs to land legs. The TV ads are not for the weak-stomached. In "Nausea," office workers performing ordinary tasks begin to sweat and appear ready to vomit. One worker even throws up in his office garbage can. Another races to the bathroom, where he bows down to the porcelain god. "Land sickness. There's only one cure," closes the ad, driving viewers to Yacht and Boat's Web site. Watch it here. Keeping yourself balanced while boating requires swaying with the ocean. It takes your legs some adjusting once you return to land. A woman teeters side-to-side in an elevator and friends drinking beer sway in motion. To a land lover, they look nauseous... and they are. See "Swaying" here. A print ad, seen here, shows what happens when you can't make it to the bathroom in time. The ads are running in marine publications and metro newspapers throughout Australia. Belgiovane Williams Mackay created the campaign.

    Nissan Juke brings light to darkness, with a pent-up energy that creates a party. The small car, described as SUV-tough and sporty, launches this fall throughout Europe. Minute- and two-minute long versions of "Stay Awake" follow Juke down a dark city street. The car gives off electric energy, lighting dark buildings, reviving battery-operated toys, culminating with a billboard's lights exploding, bringing strangers together to watch the display. A man in drag is ready to call it a night but rethinks his decision once the billboard explodes. The music flows better in the 60-second ad than the 120-second. Fredrika Stahl sings "Twinkle Twinkle" and the line "like a diamond in the sky" is paired with the billboard exploding. Perfect. In the 120-second, the same line is paired with a diamond thief robbing a store. Not the same fit. See both versions of the ad here and here, created by TBWA/G1 and TBWA/Paris.

    There's no mincing words or toes in a print ad for Vibram Five Fingers running shoes. I will be scouring my copies of Runner's World for it. Unlike typical running shoes, Vibrams fit like gloves, with a compartment for each toe. The ad attacks counterfeiters mimicking its shoes and soles. Running in Footwear Insight, Footwear News, Footwear Plus, Outdoor Insight and Running Insight, Vibram gives the middle toe to forgers. See the ad here, created by Nail.

    Pacific Paint (Boysen) in the Philippines launched a beautiful print campaign that promotes the brand as "an accredited responsible care company for environmental safety" by creating animals from paint splashes. "Snail" and "Jellyfish," seen here and here, are my favorites. I had to look at "Mantis" a few times before creative resembled the insect. See it here. TBWA/Santiago Mangada Puno created the campaign.

    Old-school male country-club members driving Mercedes, BMWs, Jaguars and Bentleys get a jolt to the system when golfer Michelle Wie arrives in her red Kia Soul. The lone female takes to the course and stuns onlookers with her golf swing, causing drinks to be dropped and a golf cart fender-bender. Kia Soul hopes to cause the same effect in the automotive realm. Watch the ad here, created by David&Goliath.

    ESPN launched a trio of TV ads promoting its "Monday Night Football" coverage, part of the network's "Is It Monday Yet" campaign. "Two Stops" follows a torn-up middle manager riding a crowded bus home. His day can't get any worse: he accidentally sent an email mocking his boss' cankles to "all"; hit himself in the eye with a laser pointer; and set off the fire alarm trying to leave work early. Luckily, it's Monday and he has football to watch... with his working eye. See it here. "Stone's Throw" is hysterical. An office worker is seen leaving the office in a shredded shirt. Not only did a naked-lady picture make its way into his important presentation, he was caught picking his nose in public -- and his tie got caught in the elevator, causing him to lose his shirt and his fellow riders to lose their lunch. Watch it here. "Exit Away" follows the bad day of an electronics salesman. He congratulates a woman on being pregnant when she's not, shreds his tie in a blender, and mocks Stephen Baldwin's choice of jeans, resulting in a bloody nose. See it here. Wieden+Kennedy New York created the ads.  

    In honor of the DVD release of "Iron Man 2," let's look at a TV spot that ran earlier this year to coincide with the movie's theatrical release. Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance in a Dr Pepper ad as a Stark Industries custodian dusting Iron Man suits in Tony Stark's home lab. Lee's co-worker is mopping the floor when JARVIS, an AI computer program, is prompted. The co-worker asks to be suited up, expecting the Iron Man outfit; instead, he gets a hi-tech Dr Pepper vending machine. He's not complaining. Watch the ad here, created by Deutsch Los Angeles.

    Random iPhone App of the week: The National Peanut Board launched a "Peanuts: Energy for the Good Life" app that offers recipes, snack suggestions and short meditation exercises with Stephan Bodian, author of "Meditation for Dummies." The app features more than 30 dietitian-selected recipes and emphasizes peanut snacks aside from the tried-and-true peanut butter. The app is free and available in the App Store.