You can’t go
wrong when you use songs from the 1980’s in TV spots. Even when the songs are being clucked by chickens. Foster Farms launched "Amazing Chicken," a TV and video campaign starring a choir
of animatronic chickens clucking out '80s classics. Ever wonder what “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League would sound like when clucked by chickens? Wonder no more. See it here. The chickens show their range when they cluck out “Africa” by Toto, seen here. My favorite
rendition is the chicken’s version of “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger. Watch it here. I’m still partial to people clucking like
chickens for their love of chicken, so I leave you with this classic Perdue ad, which I still sing on occasion. Goodby, Silverstein &
Partners created the campaign.
Get ready for the feel-good video of
the day, courtesy of Intel. "Look Inside" tells the story of 15-year-old Jack Andraka, who, inspired by the death of his uncle, developed an early detection method for pancreatic cancer
that won the Grand Prize at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. The journey for Jack to be taken seriously, however, was no easy one. His story is told in reverse, depicting how
199 experts in the medical field rejected his idea, telling Jack he was too young and not to be taken seriously. “Where do breakthrough ideas begin?” asks Intel. For Jack, it was his fifth
period biology class that started the ball rolling. For all the naysayers that said Jack was too young, his early detection method for pancreatic cancer is 168 times faster, 400 times more sensitive,
and 26,000 times less expensive than the medical standard. How do you like them apples? The video is running on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Watch it here, created by Venables Bell & Partners and directed by Britton Caillouette of Farm League.
Coca-Cola may no
longer be the top global consumer brand, but the brand is tops when it comes to dishing out happiness to others. The latest installment of the brand’s global campaign, “Where Will
Happiness Strike Next?” takes place in a business setting, where pedestrians are surrounded by drab, gray buildings, and a patch of grass is nowhere in sight. Until Coke rolled in. The brand
placed a pop-up park smack dab in the middle of a high-trafficked pedestrian area that contained grass, trees and a Coca-Cola machine dispensing free beverages to those who took their shoes off and
walked barefoot on the grass. Curious folks who took a close look at the trees would find blankets, balls, kites and a guitar hidden inside for park-goers to enjoy. And did I mention that the pop-up
park is shaped like a Coca-Cola bottle? See it here, created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam.
Heinz is
promoting its Jalapeño Ketchup by targeting Millennials with an online campaign full of kick. “Lil’ Kicker” stars a miniature donkey with the same name wearing
saddlebags full of Heinz Jalapeño Ketchup that he delivers to those who need some spice in both their food and life. In “Trim,” Lil’ Kicker visits a twenty-something man
eating a plain chicken tender. The man grabs a bottle of Jalapeño Ketchup and gets a much-needed flavor kick. Lil’ Kicker also doles out hair-care advice, like when it’s time to
trim your unibrow. See it here. There’s also a Lil’ Kicker Tumblr page full of recipes, ads and coupons.
Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago created the campaign.
Trolli's Sour Brite
Crawlers launched a “Weirdly Awesome” campaign that began with a candy-filled piñata delivered to the MediaPost office. It's the brand's first national marketing campaign, and I
can attest that it’s also a memorable one. The campaign targets kids age 12-17 with a Tumblr account and online videos that are as quirky and strange
as the candy’s weird shapes. In “Best Friend Ever,” a lonely boy creates a best friend: a dog made of Trolli sour brite crawlers. The pair does everything together until a teenage
boy grabs the head of the dog and starts eating. “Your best friend’s delicious,” says the teen. See it here. In
“Manicorn,” a boy has a candy-shaped horn on his head that houses a cassette player that allows the boy to break out his dance moves at any given moment. Watch it here. Next comes the teenage boy who dresses, sounds and eats like a bird. See it
here. The Aurora Trolli-Allis might be my favorite of the odd ads. The once a year-event is a way for two teem boys to wake up their mouths, aside from hitting themselves on the tongue. A jaunt
outside shows the grass filled with glowing Trolli candies. Time to feast. Watch it here. Periscope created the campaign, directed by
Dave Laden of Hungry Man and edited by Nick Rondeau of Arcade Edit.
Do.com, a cloud-based social
productivity app, lets groups of friends or small businesses get work done… fast. And seconds count when you’re given a short time to live. A man in a senior citizen’s home is told
he has precisely 17 minutes to live. Not wanting to waste a second, he whips out his tablet and starts delegating work to his friends. One makes a meatloaf, another brings music, and someone else
brings party favors. This is a going-away-and-never-coming-back party. The friends step up, plan an epic party and count down the seconds until Ernie is supposed to die. When the clock strikes 12:17,
Ernie’s doctor appears, informing him of a mix-up. Ernie is going to live, nurse Janet is pregnant -- and we may know who the father is. Watch “17
Minutes” here, created by MUH·TAY·ZIK | HOF·FER.
Learning to drive a “Stick
Shift” on any car is hard. Imagine teaching two people at the same time. Subaru launched a cute TV spot starring a patient father teaching his twin sons how to drive a stick. The old
Subaru is getting beat up, and so is dad’s patience, as the two boys learn to tackle the clutch. In the end, both the father and Subaru make it through unscathed; luckily the aging car is
capable of withstanding the abuse during the learning curve. Watch it here, created by Carmichael Lynch and
directed by Lance Acord.
Special K launched a
fall challenge that takes place in a retail store that sells jeans -- not your typical place to find cereal. The latest installment of Special K’s “More Than a Number” campaign urges
women to look beyond the size of their jeans by replacing numbers with words of encouragement. Every pair of jeans lacks a size, so when a saleswoman measures a customer, they are met with sizes like
radiant, charismatic, courageous, stunning, confident and fabulous. Plus, every woman left with a pair of jeans that fit, regardless of their numeric size. Watch it here, created by Leo Burnett Chicago.
Random iPhone App of
the week: Family travel brand Trunki teamed up with Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace and Gromit, to create its first kid-friendly app. PaddlePak Party targets kids 3- to
6-years-old, with a simple objective: clean up your beach gear. Users can choose from nine PaddlePak characters to try and collect between 5 and 50 beach items, such as swim shorts, sunglasses, sun
hats and flip-flops. When everything is picked up, players unlock prizes at each level. The app is available for free in the App Store.