Out to Launch
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Girls can do anything. Tour Hong Kong like a local. Let's launch!
  • Synovus Bank took a back seat to Hurricane Boxing Gym, a nonprofit that reaches out to at-risk youth in Tampa Bay, in "Gym Rats," an unbranded 60-second PSA solely promoting the gym.

    The ad gives viewers a bird's-eye look at young gym members training with Hurricane owner Will Velez. "Gym rats -- that's what they call us. At first I didn't like it," says the voice of a gym member. As the ad continues, viewers watch teens extensively train, and the voiceover embraces his nickname. "Rats survive; they take care of their own. I'm cool with being a gym rat."

    The PSA, created by Fitzgerald & Co., aims to increase awareness in the Tampa community for the gym and its mission. It is airing locally and online.

  • Samsung tipped its hat to creatives on a budget with "Samsung Galaxy: The Rest of Us," which aired during the Academy Awards.

    The 60-second ad stars YouTube personality Casey Neistat delivering his version of an award show acceptance speech in a dimly lit parking lot.

    Neistat encourages fellow content creators to keep creating -- even if you're on a tight budget. Mind you, mobile phones aren't "cheap," unless you compare them to the fancy-pants cameras used by Hollywood directors.

    As Neistat approaches the microphone, viewers watch directors of all ages creating quirky videos for the world to enjoy. It can be something as simple as a man recording his bench press session or something more elaborate, like a guy catching a football as he skydives. To the creator, it's all sharable, worthwhile content.

    Vloggers create videos because they love to, not because they have to. Don't try and deter anyone from creating the next big Internet sensation; it will only push creators to prove naysayers wrong.

    "Do What You Can't," closes the ad, created by Wieden + Kennedy.

  • What begins as a PSA for a deadly disease or texting while driving is actually a humorous campaign for Huawei Mate 9. The ad also solidifies how utterly attached the world is to their smartphones.

    A teenage boy talks about video chatting with his girlfriend. She asks the ultimate test question: "How do I look in this dress?" Before he can respond that he doesn't care what she's wearing because he loves her and she's always beautiful in his eyes, a low phone battery cuts out, so his love only hears the words, "I don't care." Ouch.

    "Every year, too many people run out of battery," says the ad. Huawei Mate 9 can go two days straight without a charge, so offer your battery to help someone in need, with a multi-ended cable connected to the Mate 9 that can recharge four phones at the same time. Buzzman created the campaign.

  • Sport England launched the latest version of "This Girl Can," which encourages woman of all shapes and sizes to exercise and be active. Created by FCB Inferno, the video is set to "Phenomenal Woman," written and narrated by Maya Angelou.

    The latest campaign targets women 14 and up to work out and look past any judgment. It doesn't matter if you jiggle; being active and moving is the main key.

    The video features 15-year-old trampolinist Cerys McIntosh, 69-year-old outdoor swimmer Sue Bairstow, student kickboxer Fakhira Mohamad Hassan Mukhtar and blade-runner Debbie Squance, all exercising while Angelou's famous voice and poem is heard.

    "It's in the reach of my arms. The span of my hips. The stride of my step. The curl of my lips. It's in the fire in my eyes. The flash of my teeth. The swing in my waist. The joy in my feet. Because I'm a woman, phenomenally." Rock on.

  • Drug Free Kids Canada wants to make having the talk about driving while high as painless as possible with "The Call That Comes After," a unique campaign that lets parents target their teens via the most important thing in their lives: their smartphones.

    Created by FCB/SIX, the campaign has mobile elements, online components and real-time targeting to make the overall message that more effective.

    Parents visit TheCallThatComesAfter.com to create a custom video for their teen. The site asks for the teen's name, phone number and the name stored for mom or dad on their phones.

    The teen receives a video that shows a group of regular teens that decide to drive after smoking marijuana. A horrible crash takes place and a shattered phone features a series of worried texts from a parent asking where they are and if they are okay.

    Here's the ingenious part of the campaign: When the text messages begin appearing in the video, the teenager who is watching the video starts receiving the SAME texts on THEIR phone via five technology platforms: IBM's Marketing Cloud, Oracle Marketing Cloud, SMS, YouTube and an on-demand video rendering engine.

  • Make sure you have tissues at the ready before watching this PSA for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

    In the 60-second spot, viewers follow a grown man who dyes his hair blue, rocks a Mohawk, goes skinny-dipping, backpacking and plays drums for a punk band. Is the man having a mid-life crisis? Not at all. He's fulfilling the bucket list of a teenager whose heart is now keeping him alive. The spot ends with one last to-do item: do more for Mom. The man visits the teen's mom and does chores around the house. Mom listens to her son's heartbeat in another man's chest. Tissues... stat.

    Publicis New York created the campaign.

  • There are no lazy Sundays for drivers of the new Audi A4, designed for weekend warriors who are not afraid to get dirty in a luxury vehicle. In a 90-second online video, Sunday drives take place on the backroads, where pavement doesn't exist and roads are dirt and made in real time.

    A street of houses looks typical, except for the dirt roads and bushels of hay near the curb. A couple begin their weekend errands by kicking dirt in the air and taking a corner at high speed. Then it's time for coffee, a car wash and repeating the same activity.

    When faced with a sign that welcomes the off-road drivers to "Allroad USA," the couple quickly turn around and stay off-road. "A little dirt never hurt," closes the ad, created by Muh-tay-zik Hof-fer.

  • The Hong Kong Tourism Board wants visitors to experience the destination's sights and diverse cultures like a local. Created by Grey Group Hong Kong, the "Best of All, It's In Hong Kong" campaign first launched in China, Taiwan, India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines, with a later launch in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, U.K. and the U.S.

    The first video features Chef Bombana, a Michelin-starred chef who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. Eat like Bombana does, whether it's a fancy restaurant or street food. You can't go wrong.

    Next, viewers follow Anais Mak, a fashion designer who finds inspiration for her outfits from the streets of Hong Kong. The ad closes with a cameo by singer and actor Eason Chan.

  • Random App of the week: Love social media, but hate all the usernames, passwords and apps to visit? Take a look at Gaddr. It gives users one username for all their profiles.

    The same goes with your favorite celebrities that you stalk digitally. All profiles, feeds and people are found in one place.

    Social media addicts can explore billions of profiles across all media platforms. Or, you can call a friend and meet up face-to-face. The free app is available for iPhone and Android.