Out to Launch
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
It's been a good week for MC Hammer. Jumping, frozen fish. Let's launch!
  • Who needs to talk when you have soda cans that do it for you? Pepsi launched a global campaign to promote emojis offline and on Pepsi cans worldwide. "Say It With Pepsi" will use more than 600 proprietary #PepsiMoji designs (that's a lot of symbols) on more than one billion bottles and cans, sunglasses and stadiums, in more than 100 markets. And I had a hard time finding my name on a Coke bottle. Aside from a series of online videos, which we'll get to in a sec, Pepsi partnered with designer Jeremy Scott to create PepsiMoji-colored sunglasses featuring designs like Kissy Face, Love and Smirk. The first online video, "Origins," features the gazillion PepsiMoji designs that were fueled by a young couple's love. Dad initially didn't approve of his daughter's romance with the Pepsi worker, but after swiping through pics on her cell phone and seeing how happy she is, he changed his tune. See it here, created by Moondog. The next two videos were created by BBDO New York. "Backpackers" features a handful of travelers all journeying through Europe alone. They speak different languages, but are able to communicate through emojis on Pepsi cans, eventually deciding what they should visit next: the Eiffel Tower. Watch it here. In "Concert Connection," a concertgoer develops a crush on the sound guy, and she tells him so via PepsiMojis. He feels the same, and in a concert of thousands, tracks her down and takes her above stage to dance. See it here. In the words of Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon:" I'm getting too old for this $hit."

  • What a wonderful idea: putting the face of a missing person on a faceless retail mannequin.

    "Invisible Faces" is a project involving the NYPD Missing Persons Department, local retailer K-Way and BBDO New York. The agency worked with a Brooklyn-based studio and portrait sculptor to create the face of Patrick Alford, Jr., a 7-year-old Brooklyn boy who went missing from his foster home about six years ago.

    The mannequin that will be on display in K-Way, a SoHo-based store that manufactures packable rain jackets. The store was chosen because of the large amount of foot traffic it receives. The mannequin will be dressed in the same clothing Patrick was wearing on the day he disappeared.

    Basic information will be displayed on a plaque next to the mannequin, such as when and where Patrick was last seen. A microsite and hashtag, #BringPatrickHome, has been created for people to learn more about the case and help drive leads. The display will be up through mid-May. See a video about the initiative here.

  • MC Hammer has resurrected his hammer pants as part of Starburst's "Unexplainably Juicy" campaign. Hammer created a "Juicy Raindance" that shows him dancing all over the Internet in front of iconic places, like Mount Rushmore, or just hobnobbing with unicorns. Whenever Hammer dances, juicy raindrops fall.

    The interactive print, digital and social campaign uses a partnership with Shazam to drive mobile users to a microsite to watch more than 30 short-form Hammer videos. If consumers Shazam the Starburst print ads, they are automatically directed to the Hammer Raindance site.

    DDB created the campaign.

  • Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em. MC Hammer is having quite the week. Not only does he star in an online campaign for Starburst, he was also named brand ambassador for Command Brand from 3M, which produces damage-free organizing and decorating products. The one hammer that doesn't like nails.

    Supporting the partnership is a TV campaign starring MC Hammer giving a DIY woman help in hanging a picture. Since he's MC Hammer, he resides in the woman's toolbox. He encourages the woman to use Command Brand picture hanging strips to hang frames, saving her wall from countless nail holes and potential damage down the road. Watch #DoNoHarm here, created by Grey New York.

  • Everyone loves fresh fish, but what happens when frozen fish move?

    That's exactly what happened inside Mila, a supermarket chain in Poland. The company wanted to illustrate that frozen fish can be just as good quality, if not better, than fresh fish. "The Live Fish Pack," consisting of dorada, mackerel and tilapia, were placed inside one Mila store. Using animated techniques, packages of fish were created that acted like a fresh catch of fish. In other words: the packages jumped.

    The packs were connected to WiFi with a proximity sensor, so whenever a person was close by, the fish moved, no doubt surprising those shopping in the frozen-food section. The activation was also broadcast on a Web site, allowing visitors in real time to select a fish and activate a package as consumers walked past. See it here, created by Y&R Poland.

  • I'm pretty sure I still have one of these phones, and it's not one of the new, high-tech gadgets. Samsung launched a fun 90-second ad that follows the evolution of the cellphone through the years. "Unpacking Samsung" begins with a clunky phone and a detachable antenna. The phone opens to reveal smaller, light-weight and more high-tech versions of Samsung phones, juxtaposed with researchers attempting to build a watch that doubles as a phone. The ad continues with TV being watched on phones and entire music collections fitting in the palm of a hand. That watch-phone comes to fruition at the end of the ad, along with virtual-reality headsets. Watch it here, created by 72andSunny Amsterdam.

  • The Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Conventionrevamped its website, providing users with streamlined information on Philadelphia's preparations to host the convention July 25-28. Updates include a new mobile menu to make the site navigable across various devices.  O3 World, the agency that updated the site, also turned the Host Committee's Vendor Directory, which provides information about available vendors and suppliers, into a live, searchable database.

  • Squarespace teamed up with R&B artist Leon Bridges for its latest ad campaign, created by Preacher. "Leon's Journey" tells Bridges' story as he pursued his dream to become a famous singer. The spot begins with humble beginning, following Bridges as a dishwasher by day and open mic singer in Fort Worth, Texas by night. The spot ends with Bridges performing for much larger audiences and touring the country on a massive tour bus. Watch his story here, directed by Danny Clinch.

  • Random iPhone App of the week:Detour is a company aiming to reinvent audio walking tours. The app takes audio walking tours to a whole other level and currently offers 10 different one-hour tours of San Francisco. Later this year, the app will launch in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Detours uses a GPS to guide you through areas of the city that locals might not even be aware of. The app allows tourists to sync audio with up to three phones, so each friend can follow the tour at the same pace. Each tour includes a directory of restaurants, shops and hidden gems. Download the app here and watch a video of how the app works here. Smartypants Pictures created the campaign.