• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, March 17, 2010

Zappos launched "Jesse," its first TV spot created by Mullen. The ad acts out an actual call between Zappos and a customer, using puppets. A woman receives a dress in the mail but doesn't know who sent it. She has three guesses: Eddie and Darryl, two puppets, or Jesse, a hottie with a six-pack. Jesse sent the dress, getting her one step closer to becoming "Jesse's Girl." See the ad here. mediahub handled the media buy.

Who knew renting a car could be so emotional? And in a good way. Hertz launched a branding campaign called "Journey On" that follows people on their journey of life before and after road trips taken with Hertz cars. In "Luke," a young couple plans a road trip. Only music is played while the pair drives to their final destination: a field of hot-air balloons. Luke says, "The trip was to Scottsdale, Arizona with my girlfriend. The journey was seeing if she'd come back as my fiancée." Very touching. Watch it here. Singer/songwriter Amy Regan stars in the next spot, shown here. "Amy" performs her song "Carry On," as the viewer watches her leave for her own concert, only to have her car break down. "The trip was to Big Sur, California. The journey was getting through my first big concert," says Regan. Spots are airing on CBS, NBC, FX, The Food Network, TNT, TBS, The Travel Channel, USA and ESPN. DDB created the campaign.

EAS launched a print and TV campaign promoting its Myoplex shakes to a mainstream audience of people who work out regularly, not just body builders and elite athletes. "Musclefesto" features shirtless athletes playing basketball, football, water polo and rock climbing. "If you use muscles, use Myoplex," concludes the ad, seen here. If muscled legs are your thing, then you will love this next spot. "Legs" focuses on toned, sweaty gams playing soccer, running steps, swimming, running track and jump roping. See it here. Print ads, running in Self, Shape and Men's Health, pair a well-sculpted body part with quirky copy that encourages readers to get up and use their respective body part. See creative here, here and here. McKinney created the campaign.

Sticking with fitness, here's a trio of ads for Muscle Milk, running throughout March Madness. "Dave," who nicknamed his mustache "the general," claims to have invented the Electric Slide and drives a stolen powerboat. But the ladies still flock because he drinks Muscle Milk after he works out. See it here. If only I could get abs like "Katie's" from power walking. Her walking partners overlook the fact that she doesn't get sarcasm and has trouble discerning reality TV from reality. See it here. "Chet" wears pastels, fantasizes about fantasy baseball, rides a tandem bike with a handful of women and drinks muscle milk. Watch it here. In addition to the March Madness campaign, the brand that brought you the "Sexy Pilgrim" crafted a Spring Break 2010 music video. Watch it here. I still prefer the sexy pilgrim. You? Pereira & O'Dell created the campaign.

If this ad doesn't make you feel warm and cozy, I don't know what will. Belgian Natural Gas launched a TV spot that illustrates something invisible. As a house begins to heat up, wool spreads throughout, warming floors, walls and radiators. I especially loved how hot water, emerging from a showerhead, came out as drops and streams of wool. The "stop motion" ad closes with the question, "Who gives you the softest heat?" as yarn appears beneath a pot placed on a stove. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/Brussels.

DIRECTV launched a TV spot starring Alex Trebek doing that thing he does best: hosting a game show. A panel of contestants must determine which TV provider offers the best service package in "To Tell the Truth." Cable and Dish Network pale in comparison to DirecTV, making the panels' decision an easy one. Watch "Best Value" here, created by Deutsch Los Angeles.

 

J.G. Wentworth launched a sequel to its "Opera" spot from 2008. If by sequel, you mean using the same song but changing the location to a "Bus," then a sequel we have. Bus riders are singing about structured settlements, annuities and needing cash ASAP. The JG Wentworth phone number is sung aloud by riders that include a Viking and construction worker. The Viking exits the bus in front of a sign that advertises JG Wentworth's opera performance for that evening. Watch the ad here, created by Karlin+Pimsler.

The Worker's Compensation Board of Nova Scotia launched a workplace safety campaign on dry cleaning garment bags that poses the question, "Is the safety record at your workplace as clean as your clothes," and directs consumers to a Web site with a running scroll of recent work injuries and how businesses and employees can work safer. The campaign marks the first time that ads -- 50,000 in all -- were printed on dry cleaning bags in Nova Scotia. See creative here. Statements Media created the campaign and Cossette Media Atlantic handled the media buy.

Random iPhone app of the week: Readers wrote in and I can no longer ignore the phenomenon that is Cat Paint. It becomes addictive fast. Users have eight different cat brushes to choose from: my personal favorite is the fat white cat with a hint of gray on him. Once you've selected a cat, you can add cats to existing pictures in your photo library or take a picture, add cats and send to your friends. And don't forget to submit your masterpiece to the cat paint library. The app, created by Davander Mobile, cost 99 cents in the App Store.