Out to Launch
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Seize the night. Cosmonaut encourages people to travel the world. Let's launch!
  • A positive campaign like this really hits the spot now. The Garden, a Canadian agency, launched a social media campaign where Canadians tell Americans that they're already great. An essential boost of cheer, "Tell America It's Great," reminds Americans that Canadians are closely watching the election and realize we have a big decision to make in a few weeks.

    Canadians uploaded videos, letting us know exactly what makes us great: charitable contributions to the world, jazz music, diversity, national parks and inventing the Internet are just a few of our accomplishments.

    Canadians are encouraged to spread the love by visiting TellAmericaItsGreat.com or tweeting a message using the hashtag #TellAmericaItsGreat. Thanks, Canada! I know I needed this.

  • Have you ever left your house and thought the worst was happening back home, like you forgot to turn the iron or stove off, or perhaps you left the bathtub running? Home security device Canary launched its first ad campaign that aims to calm those who fear the worst by showing outlandish, freak incidents that will never happen.

    In a "While you were out," spot, created by CP+B Miami, a couple leave their house and kids in the hands of a babysitter. Once out the door, all hell breaks loose: the sitter's boyfriend comes over, the dog accidentally starts a fire, the bathtub overflows, a window breaks and a beloved car drives through the garage door. Fortunately, none of these things really happened, because the parents had Canary and were able to check on all aspects of their house in real time before their movie started. "Live life in the know" closes the ad, directed by Peter Atencio.

  • Gusto, a start-up platform for HR, payroll and benefits, launched an amusing brand campaign that illustrates the crazy number of jobs that HR professionals handle on a daily basis. The brand hired actress and comedian Kristen Schaal to play the role of Zoe, the Jack-of-all-trades HR employee. In the first ad, Schaal knows the exact location for the ever-missing key to the men's bathroom. An employee asks Zoe a bunch of questions in the second ad, seen here. For each question, Zoe dons a different outfit.

    Zoe also has everyone's passwords on the tip of her tongue and gives co-workers balloons that mesh with events in their lives, good or bad. Erich & Kallman created the campaign.

  • Russia's S7 Airlines launched a lovely online video that encourages seeing as much of beautiful planet earth as possible. Few people are ever truly away from the planet, so Andrey Borisenko, a Russian cosmonaut who spent 164 days away from earth on his last expedition, describes the feeling. He misses the smells of exotic foods, thunderstorms, swimming in the ocean, exploring caves: all things the rest of us take for granted. Borisenko tells Russians that they have earth every day, while he only truly saw it when he was away. Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam created the campaign, directed by AG Rojas.

  • There are those who seize the day, and those who "Carpe Noctem," according to a TV and social media campaign for Bacardi. Spoiler alert: The rum brand wants the night owls.

    "We Are the Night" highlights the merging of various nighttime personalities after a long work day. It's told from the point of view of a passenger in a taxi. The rider sees the "Brave Shirts," or men who wear loud, obnoxious tops with confidence; "Glow Gals," who have their face buried in their phones; the "Careless Dancers," "Midnight Feasters" and the "Last Train Sprinters," or anyone who has ever hauled ass to catch the final train of the night. "We are the night," closes the ad, created by BBDO New York and directed by Michel Gondry.

  • One of my downfalls in life is cheese, so I can attest that I spent a great deal of time playing around with Castello Cheese's digital Cheese Board Builder. To begin, cheese lovers select their cheese types: creamy, blue or aged, followed by whether one prefer a mild or bold flavor. Next, the builder chooses from a traditional or unexpected pairing, adding in such dietary restrictions as gluten-free, low-sugar or no alcohol. Data is analyzed and a delicious cheese board is crafted. Users can learn about the cheeses selected and print out a grocery list to recreate the board in real life.

    Consumers can save the board for later or share it via email, Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter. Carmichael Lynch Relate, formerly known as SpongPR, created the site.

  • Honda reached out to fans on social media, wanting to know what their ideal stunt track would look like. What should be inside a 12-foot pinata -- and what crazy stunts should be incorporated into the track?  (It's too late, but I'd vote for peanut butter cups and Skittles for treats inside the pinata.)

    Using this feedback, Honda created a crowdsourced stunt track to promote its new Civic Coupe. The Civic "Dream Track" features stunt driver Matt Powers performing various stunts around the track and making the rest of us green with envy. Fans that had their ideas used were included in the stunt track. Powers broke the pinata -- where was the candy? -- knocked down bowling pins, painted a duck on the course, played car pinball and avoided dozens of doughnuts catapulted his way. RPA created the campaign.

  • Random App of the week:Chicken Charge is a mobile app that's similar to Pokemon Go, with the objective of catching virtual chickens in real-life settings. As if catching virtual chickens wasn't hard enough, players must avoid giant robots, buffalo herds and falling pianos.

    As in Pokemon Go, you can see and hear virtual characters in a real-world setting. But unlike that game, you can also physically walk around the virtual objects, seeing the 3D creatures from all angles. The app, created by Virtex Apps, is available for free in the App Store and Google Play.

  • Do these come in adult sizes? The Honest Company launched a line of limited-edition election-themed diapers. In "Love Today for a Better Tomorrow," babies play with stuffed donkeys and elephants, clad in diapers decorated with red elephants and blue donkeys, and obviously not caring about political affiliations. The song "Why Can't We Be Friends?" is playing in the background. Less than three weeks to go. Supermoon created the campaign.