Out to Launch
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Ads for Johnsonville created from employee ideas. Secret deodorant has a question. Let's launch!
  • Coors Light further encourages an active, outdoor lifestyle with a virtual reality campaign that takes viewers surfing, white water rafting and mountain biking downhill. "Climb On in 360°" is running on YouTube and inside thousands of bars nationwide via a Google Cardboard activation that combines the digital climb with a physical reward of a Coors Light, delivered by brand ambassadors, so be on the lookout. Each video begins with a panoramic view from the top of the Rocky Mountains. In the surfing video, viewers ride the Shipstern Bluff in Tasmania, Australia while the kayaking video brings folks through the waters of Behana Gorge, Wooroonooran. My heart-rate quickened while watching the surfing video. Very realistic. In the mountain biking video, users trek through Cairns, Australia, which hosted this year's Mountain Bike World Cup. See the videos here. 72andSunny created the campaign.

  • Since the debt crisis in Greece, children have had to deal with school closings and overcrowded classrooms. More than 1,000 schools have closed since 2011 and education spending has been reduced by 45%.

    Now, the NGO The Smile of the Child in partnership with HealRWorld, Geometry Global Hong Kong and Geometry Global Moscow are launching a pro bono awareness campaign to assist these schoolchildren.

    Launched in five languages globally, the Word Debt platform is linked to Facebook and Twitter and notifies users how many words from their social media posts are of Greek origin. The platform provides users with the original Greek word and gives them the option to donate 0.10€ per word to "The Smile of the Child."

    The initiative is supported with social media outreach and through influencers like actress Nia Vardalos.

  • Everyone's a critic -- and also has the ideal ad campaign for brand XYZ somewhere in the back of their minds. Johnsonville decided to tap into this uncharted territory by asking its employees for their ad ideas, some of whom saw their concepts come to fruition. To start, Droga5 created a 4-minute trailer and a behind-the-scenes video of the commercial shoots that introduces viewers to the three Johnsonville employees picked to share their ad ideas. In one ad, there's a high-speed car chase consisting of trucks, sportscars, grandmas on scooters and motorcycles, with each vehicle trying to surround the Johnsonville big taste grill. An employee left the brats on the grill and people are hungry. The second ad stars Jeff and a slew of talking animals. I love it. Jeff is in the forest to hunt, but begins his day with a Johnsonville meal. The guy can't eat in peace. Soon, he's surrounded by talking animals who ask about his yummy breakfast. Their dialogue is magic. The final spot has yet to be released, but looks fun. It takes place in a spooky house, but the homeowners are Johnsonville fans, so they can't be all that bad -- right?

  • Who says women can't propose? Secret deodorant breaks down that barrier in "The Question," which launched during the season premiere of "The Bachelorette." Part of the brand's "Stress-Tested for Women" campaign, the ad watches a couple finishing their meal at a Chinese restaurant. The man opens his fortune and it's addressed to him. Rather than assume the fortune is from his girlfriend, he freaks out, gets paranoid and nervously looks around him for the perpetrator. His patient girlfriend is beginning to stress, for this is not how she played this moment out in her mind. The woman tells her man to shut up, drops to one knee and presents him with a ring. #StressTested and passed! Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign.

  • Wieden+Kennedy Portland teamed up with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to create a virtual reality campaign that gave people suffering from the disease a new way to experience their favorite pastimes. The "Together We Are Stronger" campaign profiles Steve Bettis and Amy Meisner, both diagnosed with MS and altering the way they pursue their hobbies. In "Off My Wave," Steve, a surfer all his life, has to tweak his sessions in the ocean when his balance begins to deteriorate. His friend, professional longboarder Robert "Wingnut" Weaver, rides the waves with a virtual reality camera so Steve can experience the feeling of being surrounded by ocean. See it here. My eyes got misty watching "Exit Stage Never." Amy, a professional dancer from New York, was diagnosed in 1997. She dances now with her wheelchair and continues to choreograph, but it's not the same. LaTonya Swann, a professional dancer, danced with a virtual reality camera, giving Amy a memorable dance experience. Watch it here. Learn more at WeAreStrongerThanMS.org.

  • Burt's Bees launched a social media and packaging campaign that draws attention to the dwindling bee population. To imagine a world without bees, the brand removed the b's from its name. Actress Lea Michele stars in an online campaign that explains how 1/3 of the foods we eat could disappear, along with the bees. Social media users are encouraged to drop the b's from their posts and use the hashtag #BringBackTheBees. Burt's Bees will plant 1,000 wildflowers for bees to feast upon. During the campaign, all Pink Grapefruit, Coconut and Pear and Wild Cherry lip balms (flavors that depend on pollinators) will be repackaged without the brand's "B" initials and with #BringBackTheBees messaging. Baldwin&, Raleigh created the campaign and AKQA, San Francisco handled the media buy.

  • Nikon launched "Show Your Love Some Love," a TV campaign that tells smartphone photogs that important people and events deserve better than smartphone-quality pictures. In a world full of liking, show the things you love some loving. The ad begins with strangers placing "like" post-its on anything and anyone they cross paths with. When one man returns home, he pulls out the big guns, his Nikon camera, to take pictures of his wife. Watch it here, created by Cramer-Krasselt New York.

  • Random App of the week:Responsibility.org wants you to drink responsibly. The Virtual Bar is a free app that explains how different factors affect blood alcohol levels. It aims to educate people on how a night out can proceed, depending on the food they eat, the water they drink, and other variables. The Virtual Bar is available in the App Store and Google Play.