Out to Launch
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Michael Phelps shows his true self in Under Armour ad. Me-time whenever you need it. Let's launch!
  • Have you finished filling out your March Madness brackets? If you need some help picking a winner, look no further than the Bassetball site. Basset Hounds are known for their sense of smell, and now their noses are used to crown a basketball champion. The adorable site was created for the Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia and use adoptable rescue dogs throughout. Visitors to the site simple type in the names of two college teams. Once selected, an adorable basset hound either noses to the left or the right to signal his pick. Maybe the pooch will even find a forever home in the process. There's a tab in the right-hand corner of the site that profiles adoptable dogs in trading card form. It's precious. DigitasLBi created the site.

  • First I got emotional watching Under Armour's 90-second TV spot starring Michael Phelps. Then I got emotional watching Phelps and his fiancee watch the spot for the very first time. Swimming's comeback kid is making another go at the Olympics in Rio and Phelps' ad for "It's What You Do In The Dark, That Puts You In The Light," campaign follows ads for the USA Gymnastics team and soccer player Memphis Depay. Viewers get a glimpse of typical training day for Phelps. It's grueling. A bearded Phelps looks more like a mountain man than aqua man, beginning his days in the pool when it's still dark, working as the haunting tune "The Last Goodbye" by The Kills plays. After the pool, there's weight training, lots of eating, an ice bath and various forms of therapy, like cupping, to keep Phelps healthy and pain-free. Phelps get into bed and does it all again the next day and the next day. See it here. Droga5, the agency behind the ad, also captured Phelps' reaction when he watch the ad himself for the first time. See it here.

  • Snickers Crisper launched a TV and social media campaign promoting items to help people during hangry moments. "Hunger Innovations" are products to help when they're feeling "Angreepy" (Angry + Sleepy), "Sulgar" (Sad + Vulgar) or "Sprincess" (Spacey + Princess). Viewers can visit eBay and bid on products for the next month. A punching bag with a pillow helps Angreepy folks, a tissue box with an accompanying swear jar is suited for Sulgar people and an astro tiara helps the space cadets in your life. Prices range from $29.99 to $89.99. Check them out here. A TV spot promoting the auction shows how these innovative products would be sold on your favorite home shopping channel. See it here. Facebook videos staring the "Hungry Singers" use the platform's auto-play feature in an interesting way. The videos will auto-play without sound until a viewer taps the video to hear some thing unexpected. Like an adorable pop star who sounds like a death metal singer and a heavy metal band singing "The Wheels on the Bus." Watch them here and here, created by BBDO New York.

  • Bacon and eggs go great with a little breaking and entering in a video for the American Egg Board. Kevin Bacon reprises his role as bacon to nutritional eggs and got his brother Michael to appear as well. The more bacon, the better. "Wake Up to Eggs with the Bacon Brothers" features the pair creepily entering people's houses under the guise that a breakfast of eggs is a nutritional, delicious way to begin your day. The brothers co-wrote a song, aptly titled, "E-G-G-S" that the duo sing to unsuspecting families. Of the two families visited, both called the police. The video ended with the police arresting the Bacon Brothers, but not before singing the contractually obligated final line of their song: "The incredible, edible egg." Watch it here, created by Grey New York.

  • Every woman deserves some me-time, and Harlequin wants to help women escape reality with "Romance When You Need It," a platform that offers 17 downloadable Harlequin books for free. That long commute just became something to look forward to. The video shows an overworked woman whose boss tells her to take a break. The woman realizes that she indeed deserves some me-time that allows her to escape from reality. Seconds later, she and her co-workers are whisked away by sexy, romantic heroes like a billionaire playboy, shirtless fireman, cowboy, police officer, doctor and soldier. The spot ends by directing viewers to a custom website, where users can download 17 free books if they sign up to receive Harlequin news via email. Watch the video here, created by BBDO Toronto and directed by Ben/Dave of Partners Film, Toronto.

  • St John Ambulance launched a 75-second ad that tackles a sensitive subject in a light-hearted way. "The Impossible Nursery Rhyme" tackles infant CPR with rhyming instructions sung to viewers by beloved nursery rhyme characters like Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty and Incy Wincy. "Place your baby on a nice flat surface and tilt their head back, don't be nervous," says Incy Wincy spider before infant CPR is described. "Remember this song in case things go wrong" closes the video, seen here, and created by BBH. Blink produced the spot, directed by Becky and Joe.

  • Morton Salt launched an adorable winter ad featuring an unlikely friendship between two neighborhood dogs. Lucy and George are complete opposites physically, but the pair love playing together in their communal backyard. Things change for the "Neighbors" when winter strikes and snow arrives. Rock salt was placed around one house, preventing the little dog to leave without injuring its paws. Once realized, the owner buys Morton Safe-T-Pet salt, making a reunion between the two dogs a cold, snowy, one. See it here, produced by Blacklist and Studio AKA.

  • The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society launched a lovely 60-second PSA that celebrates the large number of blood cancer patients who are able to return home. Narrated by actress Linda Hunt, the ad shows vignettes of people of all ages returning home for the first time. As survivors are greeted by their families, Hunt says: "When you support LLS you not only advance the most pioneering cancer research of our time, you accelerate promising treatments that save lives. You make a difference." See the ad here, created by Interplanetary.

  • Random iPhone App pf the week: Are you a lover of food porn with a competitive side? Check out the Luncher app. Foodies can post pictures of their lunches between 11 and 2:30  daily and vote on lunches in a head-to-head matchup. By the end of the day, one winning lunch pic remains. Once users post a lunch pic, they can track their lunch performance in real-time as other vote for or against their yummy meal. Voters use a lunch mouth to vote for the winning meal. Badges are awarded to lunch winners. Good luck trying not to be hungry all day once using the free app. Download it here.