Out to Launch
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Awkward hugs, pizza and butter. Or, a typical day in my life. Let's launch!
  • Kerrygold launched a new brand platform for its line of Irish butter and cheeses. "Made for this Moment" illustrates life's simplest moments as the best ones. The first ad under the new platform features a boy with a crush -- and the important role butter plays in getting the girl.

    A bored schoolboy is instantly infatuated with the "New Kid," especially when he learns she's from Ireland. The boy immediately visits the library and takes out books on Irish love poems, flowers and history. He tracks down Irish flowers growing in a field and, when he passes a Kerrygold store display, he picks up some cheese and butter.

    The plan is put into motion at lunch the following day when the boy surprises the girl with a tray of cheese, bread and butter, flowers and love poems. Energy BBDO created the campaign.

  • Andrew Garfield and Jo Hart team up to perfect the awkward hug in a PSA for nonprofit organization Youth Mentoring. The company launched a "Hug It Out Challenge" on ChallengeMaker.com that encourages people to submit videos of themselves until Dec. 31 giving a 20-second hug, or donating to Youth Mentoring. Pomegranate Films created a 3:00 video with a '90s throwback vibe starring Garfield and Hart learning to hug. Most of us forget how valuable a hug can be and this PSA depicts hugging like it's a new, fancy product that everyone is dying to get their hands on. The longer the hug, the higher the rate of empathy, so get out there and hold onto that hug a smidge longer than usual. It's for your health!

  • Kids these days are techno-savvy, yet they also want to enjoy life and socialize with friends, as shown in a 1:45 video for Samsung Mobile USA. "A Perfect Day" follows a group of young friends exploring their city, making new friends and viewing life through various items of technology. The pals video their skateboard moves from every angle possible, show a bodega owner a virtual reality world, pick up chicks at the pool by playing the skateboard video and answer a phone call from Mom via the Gear S3 watch. Meanwhile, I'm lucky I can send a text without any issues. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign.

  • Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam created a 90-second video for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known to us stateside as Doctors Without Borders. Running in France, the campaign targets a young audience -- 18- to 35-year-olds -- to make charitable donations in exchange for unique rewards. An online crowdfunding platform hopes to raise 1 million euros in 60 days. Twenty rewards are paired with various levels of donations, from exclusive apparel collaborations with French brands Maison Kitsuné or Paris Nord, to dining with an MSF doctor or a personalized autographed guitar from Muse.

    French actor Ahmed Dramé stars in the video, describing how MSF originated while he traverses war-torn countries, avoiding gunfire and violence while treating victims. The company has no political agenda and only serves to help those in crisis.

  • Pizza chain Mellow Mushroom launched its first national TV campaign, "Clinically Proven," which pokes fun at the countless medical ads seen throughout our favorite shows, especially during football.

    In "Cravings," a man suffering from irritability and moodiness is put in a better mood when he visits Mellow Mushroom. "Ask your doctor about Mellow Mushroom. She may want to come with you."

    "ED," mocking erectile dysfunction ads, features an older couple in the mood... for pizza. If you hang at a Mellow Mushroom for more than four hours, though, you might want to go home and come back another day.

    "Symptoms" lists random maladies, like goosebumps, cooties or sore shoulder, as sufficient reasoning to visit Mellow Mushroom.

    BooneOakley, Charlotte created the campaign.

  • PlayStation signed a 3-year partnership with the French sports institute INSEP. To support this, PlayStation created #GameIsNeverOver, an animated online video that pays tribute to the hard work and dedication athletes put in on a daily basis. Training never stops for these athletes, and the Tokyo Olympics are just around the corner -- 2020. Like professional athletes, gamers must have the mental grit and focus to achieve their goals. When one match is over, another one is just around the corner. TBWA\Paris created the campaign.

  • Random Android App of the week: The New York Times debuted an NYT en Español edition of its news app for Android users that features all the content available on The New York Times en Español Web site. Users who download the app can switch to the NYT en Español edition by visiting the app's Settings to toggle between English and Spanish versions. The app defaults to the Español edition for users who set their device language to Spanish. Similar to NYTimes.com/es, all content on the app is free and does not count against the 10 ­article a month limit for non­subscribers. The New York Times en Español publishes original journalism in Spanish as well as 10 to 15 translated New York Times articles a day.