Out to Launch
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
A&W Restaurants creates the world's longest hashtag. Nissan Pathfinder becomes a modern-day Noah's ark. Let's launch!
  • coronaOne sign that you're getting old: you want to drink a light beer and you care about how it tastes. Corona Light is targeting adults -- think thirtysomethings -- who want to drink a light beer that tastes like beer. In "Bar Epiphany," a man walking through a bar realizes that he appreciates his more mature surroundings, where adults can converse with one another without yelling over loud music and light beer can be ordered in draft form and actually taste like beer. A "smoking-hot brunette" catches the man's eye and he's more than confident he'll be taking her home that night. Spoiler alert: he will, because the woman is it's because she is his wife. Goodby Silverstein & Partners created the campaign.

  • at&tTo support World Autism Awareness month, BBDO NY and Autism Speaks have partnered to create an atypical 60-second commercial to encourage parents to look for the early signs of autism, because early intervention can make a "Lifetime of Difference." Interestingly, the 60-second PSA is really four 15-second spots seamlessly woven together to tell the story of a family with a child with autism. The first effort comes from Autism Speaks, illustrating the importance of an early autism diagnosis on a child's developmental upbringing. The next ad, for Band-Aid, shows the autistic toddler getting a scrape on his knee. Next, the middle-school-age son comes home from school and eats a bowl of Campbell's soup. The final ad shows the son graduating from high school, receiving a tablet, powered by AT&T Wireless, as a gift. "You just saw how early diagnosis can make a lifetime of difference," closes the ad. "Watch again and learn the signs at www.autismspeaks.org/signs." Each brand involved in the PSA is a BBDO NY client. Watch it here.

  • bookingcomBooking.com is launching a global TV campaign highlighting an uptick in women taking solo vacations. "Brianless" showcases a woman named Jen in a happy relationship with a man named Brian, but there's a small catch: Brian hates the water and seafood -- two things Jen loves. So, she books a solo vacation at a beachside resort where she rides a horse on the beach and eats seafood that goes from ocean to table. Jen misses Brian, but she's having an experience of a lifetime. See it here. The ad, created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, is currently running in the U.S. and U.K. It will launch in Australia and Canada beginning in May.

  • australiaI thought this 1:45 video was a music video, not a tourism campaign for the South Australian Tourism commission. "Breathe" promotes the Adelaide region, although the most I can gather is that the Adelaide region is known for its wine country, museums, football stadiums and mountain views. The video features singer Emma Louise, singing a haunting rendition of INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart" throughout the video, but she also has an astronaut alter ego, and that's where the video loses me. Great singer, great song, but too much astronaut and not enough info on the Adelaide region, which I'd like to think is important in a tourism ad campaign. Watch it here. KWP! Advertising created the campaign, directed by Jeffrey Darling from Moth Projects.

  • nissanNissan Pathfinder launched a TV spot during the NBA playoffs on TNT where a father and daughter car ride becomes more of an updated rendition of Noah's Ark, as they brave stormy elements to collect pairs of wet animals and bring them to safety in their Pathfinder. Cats, mice and sheep take shelter, along with unexpected animals like penguins and kangaroos. All animals and humans fit comfortably in the Pathfinder until they reach their final destination: a dry, sunny countryside with a rainbow in the background. Watch it here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day LA and directed by Peter Thwaites.

  • awI'm fairly certain this hashtag is longer than 140 characters. A&W Restaurants added a large, new sandwich called the "Hand-bread Chicken Tender Texas Toast Sandwich" to its menu and is promoting the hefty sandwich with a hefty hashtag, one that far surpasses the 140-character limit on Twitter. Essentially, it's the opposite of what users are encouraged to do on social media and that's use short, swift hashtags, if any, to get a point across. A 15-second TV spot promoting the sandwich and accompanying hashtag features a voiceover trying to say the entire hashtag in one breath. He needs to work on his cardio. Watch the video here, created by Cornett IMS. And here's the hashtag:#supertastylargeandinchargetexastoast twohandwichmadewithdeliciousonehundredpercentwhitemeat handbreadedchickentendersandyourchoiceofclassicorspicy papasauceeithewayyoucan'tgowrong wowthatsoundsgoodyouneedtotryoneit'sonlyavailablefor alimitedtimeI'mgoingtohaveto gogetonemyselfareyoustillreadingthis seeyouatA&W.

  • pgaGolf is hard for newbies like me, yet somehow still enjoyable. That's the tone the PGA of America used in its TV campaign promoting a Web site, www.GetGolfReady.com, where golfers in training can find local facilities that offer five lessons starting at $99. In the first ad, friends and family members are enjoying a day on the golf course, despite bad putting, swinging and multiple visits to the sand trap. The golf games might be bad, but everyone is still having a "perfect day." See it here. The next ad features golf balls that traveled off the green and into tall grass, a large tree and the dreaded sand trap. No one really cares though, because the company is great and they're on a golf course, enjoying some time off. Watch it here. Ammirati created the campaign.

  • sidereelRandom iPhone App of the week: There is a lot of great TV to watch, so All Media Network launched SideReel, a free app that lets TV fans keep track of their favorite TV series, offering ways to find, track, and watch shows on an iPhone or iPad. SideReel features Tracker, a catalog of shows and episodes that users can personalize with their favorite series. Users can also discover new shows by searching SideReel's content library by genre. For any tracked series, users can receive alerts when new episodes are airing, mark off watched episodes, and find sources, such as iTunes and Hulu Plus, to stream episodes. SideReel features more than 27,000 shows and 100,000 episodes, so start organizing and carve out some TV time. Download the app here.

  • Tropicana Canada launched a new product, Tropicana Farmstand, that tastes like fruit juice but also contains one serving of vegetables. It masks the unsavory taste of vegetables, making it a hit beverage for young kids. In "Ninja," a young girl maneuvers through her house like a ninja. She's on a mission: reach the refrigerator and drink a glass of Tropicana Farmstand. The mini ninja hides under a rug in the living room and the dining room table undetected, like the serving of veggies found in Tropicana Farmstand. Mom finds the happy ninja in the kitchen drinking a glass of juice. Mission accomplished. See it here, created by Juniper Park, Toronto.