Out to Launch
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Heated bus shelters. William Shatner is one protective dad. Let's launch!
  • doritosFor a look at my post-Super Bowl hits and misses, check out my column here. Now, onto non-Super Bowl ads for the week.

    Doritos
     typically crashes the Super Bowl with a contest in which the general public creates Doritos ads, with the top two spots running during the big game. Doritos added something new this year: a guerrilla-marketing stunt consisting of 50 fans dressed in orange jackets at the Super Bowl, staged to look like one large human Doritos chip. The fans were seated at the back of the end zone, and if you squint, with a liberal view, they do resemble a Doritos chip. Check out the making of the chip here. These prime tickets weren't just given away; unsuspecting New Yorkers were asked to do something "bold," like get a haircut from a bad stylist or help a senior citizen with her racy online dating profile. Those who agreed to participate were rewarded with big-game tickets. Goodby Silverstein & Partners concocted the stunt.

  • kraftKRAFT Mac and Cheese launched an amusing TV spot called “What I Did For Love,” which strings together some awkward moments of weakness when it comes to gooey mac and cheese. In one instance, a tall man forgoes helping a petite woman reach the mac and cheese on the top shelf and instead helps himself to a package. She could have been his foodie soulmate. Other selfish mac and cheese vignettes include a mother eating the leftovers from a family member's plate, grandpa sneaking in a bite while the family prays before dinner -- and my favorite, a father boils the macaroni off a craft project made by his kid that reads #1 Dad.  Marvin Hamlisch’s “What I Did For Love,” plays throughout the ad, seen hereCP+B created the ad, directed by Hank Perlman

     

  • nissanDriving should feel like ziplining through a busy city, according to an ad from Nissan Qashqai. The European campaign begins with a man inside his office, itching to leave for the night. He grabs his car key, walks out to the company balcony, and presses a button on his key that activates a sleek zipline so he can traverse a bustling city nightlife. Oddly enough, whenever the man passes something reflective, he's the shape of a Qashqai, not the zipline. Naturally, the man isn't ziplining, he's navigating the city in his Qashqai. "This is how driving should feel," closes the ad, seen here and created by TBWA\G1, TBWA\Paris and Else.

  • coldwellbankerFor the second year in a row, Coldwell Banker is launching an ad campaign during awards show season. "Home Sweet Home" launches during the GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 26. If you're like me and tend to think of the Mötley Crüe song that shares a name with Coldwell Banker's ad, then you're in luck; the rock ballad is used throughout the ad, which betters explains why a real estate company is buying air time during the GRAMMYs. The ad is simple, but effectively tells a story that we all know: There's no place like home. Regardless of how big your home is, nothing beats arriving there at the end of a long day to kick off your shoes, plop onto the couch or take a relaxing bath. Spending quality time with friends and loved ones doesn't hurt, either. The spot, seen here, ends with the appropriate hashtag, #HomeRocks.Siltanen & Partners created the ad.

  • highmarkGimme shelter. As someone who is no fan of cold, wintry weather, I like this campaign for Highmark Inc. As a way to promote its Community Blue health plan, Highmark transformed four bus shelters in downtown Pittsburgh into cozy log cabins. These bus shelters didn't just look like log cabins -- each were equipped with mini heaters  activated by motion or by pushing a button. Given the recent amount of snow and cold temperatures, I'm sure these bus shelters were packed with commuters and students alike.

  • pricelineJust because a potential suitor uses Priceline.com to book a room doesn't mean Dad is going to approve. Kaley Cuoco and her date learn this the hard way in "Negotiator Rises." In it, Cuoco's new man books a room in a fancy high-rise hotel. Shatner scales the hotel -- think Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" -- cuts through the window, and asks about  Cuoco's new boyfriend, Blair. Blair quips that he used Express Deals to score the room, meaning he got the room he wanted without having to bid for it. When Blair adds that he always gets what he wants, Shatner pulls him out of the window, watching as Blair winds up in the hotel pool. See the ad here, which was shot at the WaterMarke Tower in Los Angeles. Butler Shine Stern & Partners created the ad, directed by Roman Coppola.

  • landolakesLand O'Lakes launched an in-depth website that shows where Land O'Lakes Butter is made, with a closer look into the lives of the people who make it. The site is a beautifully captured form of brand transparency, since visitors can read about the hardworking cooperative of farm families that produce the milk that becomes Land O'Lakes butter. The site features audio and video content of the families interviewed though each of the four seasons. Foodies, be sure to check out the recipes section. Colle+McVoy created the site.

  • Random iPhone App of the week:"John Lennon: The Bermuda Tapes," an interactive album app that chronicles the former Beatle's life-changing trip to Bermuda in June 1980, has launched in the App Store. The app features rare and previously unreleased demos, interviews with Lennon and Yoko Ono, photographs, Lennon's handwritten lyric sheets and audio recordings describing Lennon's writing process. The app costs $4.99, with net proceeds from the sales supporting WhyHunger and its "Imagine There's No Hunger" campaign. Download it here.Eyeball designed the app and is handling the social media campaign, where fans can share their experiences via #TheBermudaTapes and #ImagineNoHunger hashtags.