Out to Launch
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Holiday ads, basketballs and jingly balls. Let's launch!
  • footlockerFoot Locker launched a stellar TV spot yesterday that has already racked up more than 1 million views on YouTube. It might have something to do with Mike Tyson returning Evander Holyfield’s missing piece of ear. NBA star Kyrie Irving is so excited about Foot Locker’s annual “Week of Greatness” event that he believes that all is right with the world. Irving dreams of a day when Mike Tyson will return to Evander Holyfield the piece of ear he bit off but kept neatly preserved in formaldehyde. Irving also envisions a day when Brett Favre will stay retired for good, and sportscaster Craig Sager makes a bonfire with his wild-colored suits. My favorite vignette, after the Tyson/Holyfield rematch, features Dennis Rodman booking a one-way flight to North Korea -- and fellow travelers ecstatic that he’s never coming back. See it here, created by BBDO New York.

  • FedExThe holiday campaigns are out in full force, with FedEx debuting TV ads and Vine videos to promote its One Rate shipping service -- which reminds me of the “If it fits, it ships” campaign from the U.S. Post Office. Same logic here: Consumers can fill a box and ship it for one flat rate. I’d want to get my money’s worth, too. And so does Grandma in “Cozies.” She not only had room to send knitted toaster cozies, she also sent cozies for the Christmas tree, family dog and her grandson. See it here. Fun fact: the cozies in the ad were actually knit by the winner of FedEx’s small-business grant contest – Darn Good Yarn. Thanks to One Rate shipping, Santa doesn’t just send one lump of coal to a bad kid, he fills the box. Watch it here. In one Vine video, seen here, FedEx sends not just one pair of glasses to NFL referees, but an entire box filled with eyeglasses, binoculars and a mini-telescope. In “Thanksgiving,” a mom sends her child everything needed to host his first Thanksgiving. See it here. BBDO NY created the campaign.

  • nbaThe NBA is starting its holiday advertising early with a Christmas-themed spot called "Jingle Hoops." The ad promotes the NBA’s Special Edition Christmas Day Uniforms, to be worn by NBA players (and fans, natch) during each Christmas Day game. The ad features Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Steve Nash and LeBron James wearing the special-edition uniforms and shooting basketballs into nets with sleigh bells attached. Order is key here, as each net has a different note. The end result is a nice rendition of "Jingle Bells," and the final note (when singers typically shout “hey”) is created by an alley-oop by none other than LeBron James. See it here. Check out some behind-the -scenes footage here, and last year’s Christmas spot, “Big Color,” here. Goodby Silverstein & Partners created the campaign.

  • kmartWell, if this ad doesn’t put a new bounce on Thursday’s holiday-themed ad, I don’t know what will. To recap, the NBA launched a holiday-themed ad last week where a handful of players shot basketballs into nets with sleigh bells attached, the end result being a cute version of "Jingle Bells." In Kmart’s “Show Your Joe,” a group of tuxedo-clad men – from the waist up – prepare to ring bells in a rhythmic fashion. The bells are scrapped, the table is removed, and what are left are men in their boxers, Joe Boxers, moving their balls in a rhythmic fashion to create a spirited rendition of Jingle Bells, or Jingle Balls, because this video just writes itself. See it here. Add this to the brand’s recent “Evil Boardroom” and “Kids Talk” videos and Kmart is on fire with its holiday ads. DraftFCBChicago created the campaign.

  • nba2With basketball season up and running, let’s take a look at “Big is On,” the debut TV spot from the NBA to get fans and players excited for the season. As an cappella rendition of “This Little Light of Mine” plays in the background, basketball players are shown in empty arenas, shooting three-pointers in the dark. When the shot is good, the lights go on, signaling the art of a new season. “Big is On” features a group of up and comers in the NBA, including Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats, Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz and Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons, among others. Watch it here, created by Goodby Silvertstein & Partners.

  • extragumExtra gum launched a TV campaign that I’m convinced will make even the most non-emotional person tear up. When I first watched the ad, I thought it was for Hallmark, not gum. The spot follows a father and his young daughter throughout various events in life: a baseball game, birthday parties and trips to the beach. Dad always creates little origami cranes from their gum wrappers as a little “just-because” gift for his daughter, no matter how old she grows. When the now-grown daughter moves out, Dad packs up the car and spills a box. What’s inside is a lifetime of origami cranes that releases a rush of memories and emotions for both father and daughter. “Sometimes, the little things last the longest,” closes the ad, seen here, and created by Energy BBDO.

  • takisHow hot do you like your convenience store snacks? Takis Fuego snacks are so hot that two guys must cool their mouths with windshield wiper fluid. After a convenience store pit stop, two hungry friends start eating Takis Fuego crunchy taco snacks.  The flavor is too spicy, so rather than run back to the convenience store and buy drinks, the pair panic and turn the windshield wiper fluid on high and start drinking. Oddly enough, their wiper fluid is clear and looks like water. Mine is a crazy blue and looks toxic. Even the customers inside the store don’t know how to react. See it here. Publicis Dallas created the campaign, directed by Nicolas Iyer of atSwim.

  • littlecaesersLittle Caesars launched a pair of quirky ads to promote its Hot-N-Ready pizzas. In “Ohhh!” a woman craves pizza but hubby doesn’t want to wait. No problem, since Little Caesars has hot pizzas at the ready. Neighbors come from everywhere to yell, “ohhh, she told you,” to the unsuspecting hubby. Even the garbagemen take part. See it here. Why high-five someone with excitement if you could high-85 them? Don’t try that at home. See it here. Barton F. Graf 9000 created the campaign.

  • oralbRandom iPhone App of the week: Need help brushing your teeth? There’s an app for that. Oral-B launched an app that helps people ensure they are brushing their teeth for the dentist-recommended two minutes, which seems like an eternity in brush time. The app can be used with manual toothbrushes or connect with any Oral-B Professional or Deep Sweep toothbrush. The app uses the microphone from a person’s iPhone or iPod Touch to sync with the motor sound from the toothbrush to begin a session. To keep brushers occupied for the 120 seconds, the app offers up weather updates, info on when to change your brush head, and brushing statistics -- because we are a data-obsessed world, even when it comes to brushing teeth. Download the app for free in the App Store.