Out to Launch
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
David Beckham goes #AllIn with Sprint. Road trip, anyone? Let's launch!
  • Travelers, embrace your spontaneous side this summer by winging every aspect of your vacation, except your lodging. Booking.com launched "Wing It," a 30-second spot that follows friends on planes, trains and gassing up automobiles for an epic vacation. Old-school road maps are dusted off and put to use while dirty dishes are left in the sink and washed -- or thrown away.  "It's summer. Wing it," says the ad, seen here, and created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam.

  • Honda has launched a pair of TV spots promoting its 2016 Pilot using CG animation and a classic Weezer song. The first ad, "The Incredible Pilot Elite," takes the Pilot through both real-life situations and CG special effects to demonstrate Pilot's ability to roll with whatever weather and terrain comes its way. Icy road conditions, a motorcycle passing too close or a kid simply looking for an easy way to reach the way-back row are easily navigated by the Pilot. See it here. "Even Better" features a tired family driving home from a day trip. A girl starts playing Weezer's "Buddy Holly" on her iPhone piano app. Within seconds, each member of the three-generation family sings a line from the hit song. I still can't digest the fact that the song is 21 years old. Watch the ad here, directed by Jason Reitman, and good luck getting Weezer out of your head. RPA created the campaign.

  • Subaru launched an adorably sweet TV spot that highlights the bond between a man and his aging dog. "Dream Weekend" is a road trip between man and his aging best friend in a 2016 Subaru Impreza. The pair cross off activities on the dog's bucket list, like playing with an endless supply of tennis balls, tracking down an old girlfriend, chewing a fancy shoe, eating a steak and lounging at the beach. The spot is set to "I've Loved You All Over The World" by Willie Nelson. See it here. "Dream Weekend" is part of a larger social initiative called #MakeADogsDay, which aims to inspire dog lovers to give thanks for all their dogs do for them by treating them to something special. Carmichael Lynch created the campaign, directed by Noam Murro.

  • For the man who feels uncomfortable browsing Pinterest pages, FirstBank has a solution. The company is promoting "Mortgages Made Easy" brand positioning while considering that men buying their first home might need some DIY tips and ideas for decent bedding or kitchenware. "FirstBank presents Man-O-Flage your Pinterest page" takes place in a man's workshop, where the browser extension is explained. It's downloadable via Firefox and lets men put one of three skins on their browser: "Meats," "Power Tools" or "Sporting." Once downloaded, the skin allows just one Pinterest image at a time, the one under the cursor, to show. Other photos are replaced by pictures of raw beef, drill bits, or a fly tackle box. Watch the video here and visit the Man-O-Flage site here. TDA_Boulder created the campaign.

  • Sprint debuted an "All-In" pricing plan that offers consumers a smartphone with unlimited talk, text and high-speed data for $80 a month. This amounts to $20 per month to lease a smartphone, and $60 per month for the data plan. Sprint enlisted will David Beckham to score a deal for himself, and the throngs of fans that follow him throughout the ad. Beckham visits each of Sprint's competitors: AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, looking for a decent phone plan that won't break the bank. Each brand advertises one price and then tacks on additional fees. Beckham don't play that. Whenever he sets off to a new location, his number of followers increases. An exhausted Beckham finally reaches a Sprint store, repeats his spiel and, to his surprise, is told that he'll get everything he requests. And so will his followers. Watch the ad here, created by Deutsch LA.

  • Chevrolet launched "Real People, Not Actors," a series of amusing videos that begin as market research studies and end with amusing scenarios not typically found in consumer feedback settings. In the first video, the researcher asks consumers extremely personal questions, like if they pick their nose, their social security number, who the ugliest person in the room is and if they wear underwear. The purpose is to demonstrate how the 2015 Chevy Malibu sends car owners diagnostic email reminders when it's time for a tune-up. See it here. When a researcher asks folks to keep their eyes on a screen, distractions are rolled out, like zombies, a rock star and puppies. This promotes a car that send text messages for you. Anyone else think left with an unsettled feeling about this? Watch it here. In this video, parents are must choose which child rides in a Chevy Traverse, awarded for safety features, or a Honda Pilot, sans safety features found in the Traverse. WiFi access in a Chevy vehicle means quiet, well-behaved kids. No WiFi and the kids are restless. What did parents do in the olden days? See it here. In the final video, the Chevy Traverse has blindside technology that can spot a scary clown before someone seated at a table can. Watch it here. Commonwealth//McCann created the campaign.

  • Small ideas can turn into something big -- just like GE's "Invention Donkey." The adorable animal is pint-sized but capable of granting large wishes, as long as the request is for an invention that doesn't exist. One man is visited by the invention donkey, but doesn't grasp the concept of what to ask for. He asks for items that already exist -- like DVDs, two best friends and an app. He then asks for something to help power the planet. The donkey goes back in time to describe all the planning, research and technology that goes into a request so big, yet attainable. The spot ends with the man exhausted by all the work involved, so he asks the donkey of someone else could do it. See it here. BBDO New York created the campaign.

  • How did I miss this video when "Pitch Perfect 2" premiered? This video is so bad, it's good. Schick/Skintimate partnered with the movie to create "Ready, Shave, Shine," a music video featuring a sorority house of acapella singers who care so deeply about shaving and ladyscaping that they sing about it. A parodied version of the movie's "Bang, Bang" is all about smooth legs and shaming the sisters with porcupine legs. "I Love It" also gets the parody treatment, with the gals singing more about smooth legs and keeping the bikini presentable. See it here, created by J. Walter Thompson New York and directed by Adam Shankman.