The World Cup is upon us and
everyone's a soccer fan, even big brands. Audi created a ginormous LED scoreboard highlighting each day's series of World Cup scores. The installation is located in Greenpoint,
Brooklyn and illuminated with the headlights of 28 Audi A8 sedans. Visible from miles away, including from an airplane, the Audi LED Scoreboard was crafted from 45 shipping containers, some containing
Audi A8 sedans and some empty, and stands more than 40 feet high. The Audi LED Scoreboard will be live through July 14. Watch the scoreboard being
built here.
Even those
who champion peace have World Cup fever. Visa is promoting its global sponsorship of the 2014 FIFA World Cup with "United in Rivalry," an ad that shows the competitive side of the
world's most peaceful people. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates from Costa Rica, Ireland, Liberia and Poland describe their passion for football and the temporary backseat peace takes when an important game
is being played. Leymah Gbowee of Liberia sums it up nicely: "We pride ourselves in being united, except when football is involved." Sir Bob Geldof makes a funny crack about football, saying the only
way to escape the excitement is going to the United States. Ouch. "There's peace. Then there's football," closes the ad, seen here, and
created by BBDO.
So true.
Pantene launched an empowering video to encourage women to stop apologizing unnecessarily. The first half of the 60-second ad shows women at home, the office and a waiting room,
apologizing for asking a question in a meeting, knocking on a co-worker's office door, being nudged accidentally by someone in a waiting room, and hogging the covers in bed. At the midway point,
"Don't be sorry. Be strong and shine" appears onscreen. The remaining half of the video shows the same women in the same situations, not saying sorry. Now, the woman in the work meeting sounds
competent rather than hesitant, and the woman entering her co-worker's office appears friendly, not apprehensive. And the woman hogging the covers in bed? Well, let's just say she's sorry, not sorry.
#ShineStong closes the ad, seen here and created by Grey New York.
Even popcorn kernels
need to let loose. Pop Secret invented the MicroRave, coinciding with EDC, an electronic dance music (EDM) festival. A MicroRave is a hip place (a spray-painted microwave with a disco
ball and strobe lights) where the cool kernels pop to techno music. The MicroRave is located in an abandoned building at an undisclosed location, so the kernels that find the MicroRave are in for an
epic night filled with techno music, strobe lights, a spinning hot plate and popped kernels. Like all trendy, underground scenes, there's a line of kernels waiting to experience the MicroRave. See it here. There's also an extended version that clocks in at 20 minutes long. It's a lot of kernels being popped. In reality, it looks like
the 60-second ad on a loop but I didn't come close to watching all 20 minutes, so I'm going out on a limb here. Watch the extended version
here. Deutsch LA created the campaign.
McDonald's revamped the look of Ronald McDonald earlier this year and sent the beloved spokesman on a global tour to bring "fun" to a global audience. Ronald's first stop was Kuala Lumpur,
where the average current temperature is 95 degrees. What better way to spread joy than some snow to beat the heat? An indoor, snow-covered hill was built and adults and kids, with sleds
in-hand, waited in line for a chance at winterizing a hot day and getting their picture taken with Ronald McDonald. Watch it here. Be on the
lookout for additional fun activities popping up throughout the world. The project was a partnership between creative agency June, TwentyFirst, which made the video,
and Olson Engage.
The latest ad in
Southern Comfort's "Whatever's Comfortable" campaign introduces viewers to Stephen. More of a bartending journeyman than typical bartender, Stephen has a rather
unconventional way of tending bar. In the ad, an older man pours Southern Comfort into a bar full of glasses while a crowded house noisily awaits their drinks. And in comes the "Young Gun," ready to
take aim with his pistols of soda water and cola. Stephen then shoots liquid into awaiting glasses... I'd say pour, but Stephen's self-described form of drink-creating is "not neat." Once each glass
is filled, Stephen leaves as quickly as he came. SoCo fans can check out the redesigned SouthernComfort.com to view a catalog of Stephen's noteworthy drinks.
Watch the video here, created by
Wieden+Kennedy New York.
War
Child in the Netherlands launched a 60-second video in May, coinciding with May 4 and 5, when WWII is remembered in the Netherlands. The organization gives physical support to children who
are traumatized by war. The video shows a young "war child," recalling a traumatic time in his youth when people of all ages were taken abruptly and thrown in the back of a truck. "Don't let this
story become his story," flashes copy. "Help us take the war out of a child." The story is actually that of a now grown man, a child of WWII, still visibly and emotionally haunted by the image he
witnessed as a child.
See it here, created by TBWA's Dutch agency,
Doom&Dickson.
Chivas 18 Hong
Kong launched "A Tribute to the Modern Gentlemen," a video campaign about three men from different walks of life, including a venture philanthropist, filmmaker and social designer. Each story
explores the qualities of the real modern gentlemen and how their knowledge and achievements influence and empower the people around them. Each story is roughly 90 seconds long, highlighting one man's
mission to help feed school children in need, the influences of a filmmaker and a designer who turns a tree uprooted from a typhoon into a kite winder to raise money for typhoon relief. Watch the videos here, created by Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong.
Random
iPhone App of the week: This app is a dream for germaphobes and anyone looking to stay healthy year-round but still wanting to leave the house. Sickweather created an iPhone
app that alerts users in real time when they enter Sick Zones: areas where illnesses are reported on social media. This time around, oversharing is caring. The latest update to the app lets users
report illnesses directly and anonymously to the Sickweather map. So when a person publicly shares on Facebook or Twitter that their kid has strep throat, Sickweather files the post and then plots it
on a map, heat sensor-style, so users can see areas with a high occurrence of 19 different threats to health, like whopping cough and high pollen counts. Sickweather users who travel near a Sick Zone
will receive a real-time alert on their iPhone warning them of their proximity to said illness. Download the free app here.
