Out to Launch
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Skeletor has moves. Sound helps blind man run unassisted. Let's launch!
  • MET-Rx launched an ad campaign leading up to Thursday's 2017 NFL Draft. The 60-second spot, created by Droga5, stars Leonard Fournette, former star running back for LSU and projected top pick in the NFL Draft.

    Trophies are great, but elite athletes are always looking for the next challenge to conquer. Viewers listen to Fournette as he waxes poetic about old trophies, forever encased in glass. While they show what an athlete has accomplished, the trophies sit in the same spot, day after day, collecting dust, and possibly some rust.

    Fournette knows there's more to success than trophies; hard work is essential as is a new goal, once the previous one has been met.

    "You can push forward or sit on the shelf, frozen, a relic," says Fournette, as trophies are destroyed by heavy weights and fire.

    On Thursday, hours before Draft, Leonard will take over a live stream on the MET-Rx Facebook and Instagram pages, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look as he prepares for his big night.

  • Champions of Cash is a scratch-off ticket from the New York Lottery that allows New Yorkers to play sports games in 3D by scanning the ticket with the NY Lottery 3D app. Players can play either basketball, baseball, football, or soccer.

    To promote the 3D game, McCann NY made New York City basketball courts rain money whenever a shot was successfully made. Coins poured out from the basket, but slam dunks and three-point shots yielded dollar bills.

  • If you don't think women can do everything, check out this ad for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts to watch a woman in heels slide successfully into home plate.

    The ad is an extension of Sheraton's "Go Beyond" campaign that highlights its partnership as Official Hotels & Resorts for MLB.

    A hotel employee is seen rounding the bases and running down stairs in high heels. She's cheered on by baseball players in the dugout and fellow hotel employees. She slides safely into home plate, just in time for a hotel elevator door to open. A family is going to a baseball game and the son forgot his baseball glove. Crisis averted.

    Venables Bell & Partners created the campaign.

  • By the looks of this promotional video for Booking.com, the company seems like an ideal place to work.

    Employees were outfitted with Go Pro cameras and tasked with one mission: travel to exotic places. Let me break out the violin.

    Created by Cloudfactory, the campaign began last year when 14,000 global employees documented their travel plans. Boy, did they ever. Employees ate, drank and connected with locals at each destination. Travelers walk that fine line of being a tourist in a new place while also becoming a "local."

    Employees traveled to more than 190 countries last year. Hard to sum all that up in 3:30, but Booking.com did a fine job.

  • My favorite ad right now comes from England's MoneySuperMarket, a price comparison site focusing on financial services. Any child of the '80s will recognize evil villain Skeletor, a cameo from He-Man, and the theme song to "Fame" playing throughout. Masters of the Universe and Irene Cara? I'm in my happy place.

    Created by Mother London, the 60-second ad starts with a voiceover describing how Skeletor saved money using MoneySuperMarket. When Skeletor is happy, there's a pep in his step, music in his head and everything is so right.

    Skeletor leaves his dark house and dives into a sunny day as "Fame" begins. Our villain is friendly, happy and pelvic-thrusting -- and that's just the first 20 seconds!

    Before you know it, Skeletor is leading a group of passersby in a light-hearted walk/dance parade that moves by He-Man, who tells his archrival that he's "so MoneySuperMarket." Not exactly what I'd say to my running archrival from the gym, but it fits here. And to end with the Skeletor cackle... I'm hoping for a follow-up ad that may or may not involve She-Ra.

  • Lexter, a Swedish sound design company, used technology to improve the life of Oscar Widegren, an 18-year-old blind athlete who typically runs with the help of one of his parents.

    The company, aiming to improve the lives of many via technology, used sound to allow Widegren to run in a straight line, unassisted. To Widegren, this is the definition of freedom and independence.

    "The Impossible Run" came to fruition when Lexter created an invisible sound corridor that enables a blind person to run via hyper-directional sound. A wall was built that enables different sounds on the left and right of athletes, enabling them to be aware of their surroundings and stay inside the sound wall to run freely.

    McCann Stockholm created the campaign.

  • Dos Equis launched "Spice Up Your Cinco," encouraging fans to take a walk on the wild side May 5.

    A new ad features the "Most Interesting Man in the World" challenging a man to eat a scorpion pepper. MIM does it with ease. His counterpart can't tolerate a small bite. When an attractive woman challenges MIM to eat another scorpion pepper, he eats two! Guests must have one hellluva release form to sign.

    On April 27, Dos Equis is hosting "Mercado XX," a Cinco de Mayo party in New York City, with DJ Questlove providing entertainment. Havas New York created the campaign.

  • Random iPhone App of the week: One of my biggest challenges in life is learning how to relax, and YogiTunes aims to help me. The app contains individual playlists for health, wellness, and relaxation. YogiTunes offers a library of tens of thousands of yoga tracks curated by top DJs and yoga teachers.

    Users who don't like the playlists provided  can make their own and stream unlimited songs from any device, with no Internet connection required.

    Individual unlimited streaming starts at $9 a month. Yoga studios can sign up for performance rights plans starting at $15 a month.