Out to Launch
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The GE air show takes flight. Kia Soul hamsters shuffle on scene. Let's launch!
  • BojanglesTalk about an appetite for destruction. Folks with a craving for Bojangles' chicken and biscuits have urges so strong that they're willing to leave friends and acquaintances in life-threatening situations without a second thought. A man with a face full of bees is left powerless once his friend buzzes off to a Bojangles restaurant. See it here. A first-time bull rider is left to fend for himself atop a raging bull. Watch it here. There's also a son left by his father to teeter between a cliff and terra firma; a hiker who unexpectedly leaves his injured friend to fend off wolves; and a magician who leaves his assistant handcuffed inside a full water tank. BooneOakley created the ads, directed by Brian Lee Hughes of SKUNK.

    General MillsGeneral Mills launched a creepy TV spot promoting its various fruit-flavored snacks. "Cocoon" takes place in a young boy's eerily empty bedroom. He sits on his bed and stares at a large, red cocoon hanging in his closet. A sticky, slippery young boy emerges from the cocoon, causing the boy on the bed to exclaim: "You look delicious." "I feel delicious," responds cocoon boy. The voiceover directs kids to a site where they can enter to win a year's supply of fruit-flavored snacks. "What would you do with yours?" Not build a cocoon, that's for sure. See the ad here, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York and directed by Jeff Low of Biscuit Filmworks.

    ESPNMonday Night Football is almost here, and ESPN reminds fans of their only job on Monday nights: to watch football. A woman calls "Animal Control" when an unknown pest begins emerging from inside her bedroom wall. The animal control guy surveys the situation, hands the woman a large laser gun to shoot the animal with, then rushes home to watch Monday Night Football. See it here. A plumber leaves a homeowner up to his ankles in brown water and a clogged toilet, so he can make it home for MNF. "Most of this liquid will just evaporate and the floorboards can just absorb everything else," the plumber tells a mortified man. Watch it here. Wieden+Kennedy New York created the campaign.  

    EA SportsIf you're not watching football, playing football, reading about football or worrying about a football game, then you might as well be dead. So says a 60-second ad for EA SPORTS FIFA 12 video game. "Love football, Play football" stars soccer phenom Wayne Rooney and premiered Sunday during the Manchester United and Arsenal game. The ad tells the story of a football fan who truly eats, sleeps and breathes the sport. While describing his loyalty, shots from the latest version of FIFA 12 are shown. My favorite part features the game version of Rooney flicking a flock of birds away prior to kicking the ball toward a tiny goalie. The spot ends with the storyteller being carried off a soccer field on a stretcher. Look for famous faces. See the ad here, created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam.

    SonySony launched two TV spots promoting its digital and video cameras. In "Take Control," a man strolls through a city during a power outage and takes watchable HD video, despite little light being available. Watch it here. A man takes scores of video footage throughout India in "Family Vacation." Later that evening at dinner, the man is able to project his footage on a wall by using the camera's built in projector. See it here. 180LA created the ads, directed by Christopher Riggert of Biscuit Filmworks and edited by Arcade Edit.

    GEEvery year, GE is a sponsor of the Osh Kosh Air Show. That being said, this year GE wanted to involve Facebook fans in their love for flight, so the company asked FB fans what they wanted to see happen each week, and then MakerBot made it happen. Watch the teaser here. One week GE asked, "What kind of planes do you want to see at our air show," and fans responded with flying saucers, planes that land on water and flying toasters. Once made, GE put the toaster plane to test and had it fly through hoops. See it here. Another week brought the question: "What kind of spaceships do you want to see at our air show," and fan drawings, a replica of the space shuttle and a rocket ship were recreated. Watch it here. Keep watching the FB page for weekly updates. Evolution Bureau created the campaign.

    VWVolkswagen UK is bringing back the Golf Cabriolet after a nine-year hiatus. A supporting TV campaign tugs at viewers' nostalgia strings, taking them back to their childhood days. The spot shows vintage footage of kids playing in bumper cars, pedal carts and go-karts. "Remember how the cars you had most fun in never had a roof," says the ad, as a shot of the new Golf Cabriolet drives by the ocean with the top down. Watch the ad here, created by DDB UK

     

    KIA

    The Kia Soul hamsters are back, and they're saving the world from war with their dancing skills. Set in a futuristic video game, "Share Some Soul" begins with alien robots and humanoids shooting one another. A Kia Soul appears from nowhere and the hamsters emerge and break the tension by dancing to "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. Their moves are contagious, prompting humanoids and robots alike to drop their weapons and dance. Even the dark clouds fade away to let the sunshine in. See the ad here, created by David&Goliath

    Human AppRandom iPad App of the week: AKQA created DK's The Human Body app for the iPad. Readers can use their finger to swipe away 3D layers of body systems, zoom in to illustrations and actually feel the heart beat and lungs breathe through the iPad. The app covers 12 systems of the body and is illustrated with more than 200 images. Users can also watch four CGI movies of the key processes of the human body. The app is available for $13.99 in the App Store.