Out to Launch
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Adults relive their favorite childhood Christmas. #ListenToYourSelfie. Let's launch!
  • If you've been waiting with bated breath for an app that allows your cats to take selfies, you wait is over. The Candid Catmera app baits your beloved feline with animated loops of treats, mice and fish. When motion is detected, a picture is snapped and sent to the feline's human owner to post on social media. The app uses cat facial recognition technology when taking pictures and also support homeless cats.

    Current Studios, creator of the free app, tested it on cats housed at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shelters. For every app download, the agency will donate $1 to the SPCA. Feed your cat obsession and your soul simultaneously.

  • A good portion of the news these days focuses on the negative. Microsoft's holiday ad aims to boost spirits by highlighting regular people making a difference.

    "Art of Harmony" brings together such folks as Joel Artista, an artist and advocate for social change; Bobby White, a Florida police officer who played basketball with local kids, rather than busting them after a complaint; Hawa Diallo, a West African refugee artist; Jazz Jennings, the youngest person to publicly identify herself as transgender, and activist for transgender youth; and Mona Haydar, a Muslim-American activist who invites people to come "ask a Muslim" over for free coffee and doughnuts.

    The video is incredibly moving. Viewers first see each individual making a difference in their community and then watch them use Microsoft tools to create artistic renderings of hope and peace.

    "When the world seems divided, coming together can be a beautiful thing," closes the video, created by McCann.

  • I'll have what these adults are having, which is reliving their favorite Christmas memory as a child, thanks to Walmart and hypnotist Chris Jones. The older you get, the more stressful holidays become. Rather than getting excited about family, gifts under the tree and eating, holidays are filled with stress, stress and more stress.

    Jones spoke with some Walmart customers about their most memorable childhood Christmas experiences and hypnotized 10 of them, bringing them back to their childhood selves. The reactions were priceless. Adults were screaming with joy, unwrapping gifts with lightning speed, even looking for Santa inside the fireplace.

    Since none of them remembered actually doing this, Jones then replayed each person's reactions back to them. It was emotional to see them watching their inner child enjoy Christmas, stress-free.

    Saatchi & Saatchi NY created the campaign.

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a 45-second ad encouraging shoppers this holiday season to support small businesses beyond Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.

    "Nothing's Bigger than Small Business" highlights a series of small businesses, ranging from ice cream makers, to a visual effects company, yoga studio, barber shop and chocolatier. They employ as few as three people to as many as 289, but these small businesses create local jobs for people throughout the U.S. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small businesses provide 67% of jobs. SS+K created the campaign.

  • Truman & Cooper created a 4-minute online video for Childline/NSPCC,a hotline that offers advice and support to teens and parents.

    The video begins with a group of friends having a party at Lara's house when the girl's mother isn't home. The tame party takes a different turn when Dan shows up unannounced with his friends -- and alcohol.

    As the night progresses,  Lara gets drunk and Dan makes his move. He's pressuring Lara to sleep with him and as they go upstairs, Lara receives messages from her selfies. They come to life, telling drunk Lara that she doesn't want to do this  -- and what kind of guy is Dan for taking advantage of her in her current state? Even the framed pictures on the wall start speaking to Lara, telling her that she doesn't "owe" Dan anything and not to go through with this.

    The spot ends with a call to action and the viewer never knowing what Lara decides: "Not sure what to do? #ListenToYourSelfie. And if you're still not sure, talk to us," says a voiceover, with the Childline number and URL onscreen.

  • Random iPhone App of the week: Fitbit gets you moving and the achu app wants to help you avoid getting sick. Developed by Datapult, achu takes a user's Fitbit data to alert them when their body is showing signs of a reoccurring illness, such as a cold, before it even happens.

    Users first calibrate the app by entering their symptoms when they are actually sick. They then have the option to track various symptoms such as: headache, cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, fatigue, fever, and aches and pains. Once calibrated, achu will look for similar trends and patterns that match the sequence of data in the calibration. Users will receive a daily notification delivering their probability of getting sick based on their past sickness calibrations. Perfect for those who don't have enough to stress out about.

  • Ideal for the holidays, Godiva created a box that keeps on giving. What begins as a large box of chocolate is actually two boxes: one for eating and one for sharing. That box is then divided in half, as is the next shared box, until there's a two-pack of Godiva chocolates left to gift. It's a fantastic idea and would keep me honest, given that my self-control around chocolate is nonexistent. See how the packaging works in the ad, created by McCann NY.