Out to Launch
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
There's a new Colonel in town for KFC. Live every week like it's Shark Week. Let's launch!
  • I had no idea Shark Week was upon us until watching a social media video that Office Depot and OfficeMax posted to their socialmediaaccounts. In the video, Shark Week becomes Sharpie Week when a beach-going orange Sharpie spots a shark (or, really, a gray Sharpie) in the water. Cue the "Jaws"-esque music, and I'm confident the orange guy will stay on land. In addition, the brands also created a video for Independence Day that envisions an easier way of signing the Declaration of Independence. McCann New York created the campaigns.

  • Seventh Generation teamed up with Maya Rudolph to create the "Vajingle," a jingle about vaginas. The #ComeClean campaign promotes Seventh Generation's line of feminine care products, which are free of perfumes, unnecessary chemicals and chlorine processing. In the video, which will run online and once during TBS' "Full Frontal," Rudolph sings an improv jingle about unnecessary chemicals on pads and tampons. Needless to say, it's hysterical. "Hey Mr. Chemical, stay away from my vajayjay," begins the vajingle and ends with "#ComeClean in your hooha." Prepare to laugh for the next 1:40. 72andSunny created the campaign.

  • FCB/SIX created "Cannes Meow," an app attendees of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The app provides graphic leaderboards about the awards, and is divided into four main content areas: "Hangover Hub," "After Dark," "Top Trending" and "Meow." Expect that last category to offer catty Cannes content. Now say that three times fast. The app will stream live Twitter responses, real-time stats, photos and festival gossip, aiming to be the unofficial app of Cannes. The free app is available for iOS and Android.

  • There is a ton of soccer taking place in France until July 10, when EURO 2016 concludes, with fans from all over the world coming together to root for their country's team. An out-of-home campaign from AIDES is encouraging fans from different countries to mingle -- and to do it safely. "Make love, not war," was photographed by Eric Traore and features naked soccer fans of all sexualities painted as their country's flag and getting close to another soccer fan painted in a different flag. "Blend together, safe together," reads copy on each ad. The campaign informs people that that the HIV epidemic is still active in Europe and central Asia. Thirty percent of HIV-positive people are still unaware that they carry the virus, and 142,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2014. TBWA\Paris created the campaign of love, seen here, here, here and here.

  • Let love rule. Inter-LGBT and TBWA\Paris created an online video to raise awareness that LGBTphobia is still present, and a rough journey for LGBT folks to travel. The 2:15 video puts the viewer in the role of of an LGBT person, whose identity is never revealed. This person has been suffering and running through an "Obstacle Course" of emotions and negative events starting at a young age. Torment begins in school and moves through teenage years, family life, looking for a job, and the desire to express their love, have a family and not be judged. This person is maneuvering through a never-ending obstacle course of closed doors, disappointed parents and muddy terrain. It's hard to watch. Ben Briand of Moonwalk Films directed the video.

  • Samsung Electronics Australia and Leo Burnett Sydney created the brainBAND Project, an initiative that uses wearable technology to track data that can hopefully improve research into concussions. In Australia, neuroscientist Dr. Alan Pearce teamed up with industrial designer Braden Wilson to create a prototype wearable head monitor to measure the impact of a concussion. It's fascinating. The headband looks like a bigger version of a FitBit and houses sensors at the back of the head that measure the force of an impact. This information can be relayed in real time via an app to paramedics, referees and coaches. A series of LED lights in the headband indicate the severity of a hit: yellow, orange or red, which means a player should be taken off the field.

  • Fans of Dairy Queen Blizzards have a new option for the summer: S'mores Oreo Blizzard. Don't worry, the classic S'mores Blizzard is still available, and an ad campaign by Barkley pits the two flavors against one another. Fans are either purists or adventurists. Camp S'mores kids plays folk songs, while Camp Oreo S'mores kids play electric guitars. Camp S'mores hikers hike. Camp Oreo S'mores chases people through the woods with spears and gave me a "Lord of the Flies" vibe. Survival of the fittest. Choose your side. Keith Schofield of Caviar directed the ad.

  • Hagerty Classic Car Insurance is "for people who love cars." A pair of TV ads show off beautiful classic cars and taught me that car lovers have their own language, since half of the terms used were Greek to me. The first ad describes the happy feeling classic-car lovers get when they drive their car around, generating looks and reactions of excitement. The second ad shows classic car owners telling the camera what their dream car would be. As one guy said, he could always build a bigger garage. Grenadier created the campaign.

  • George Hamilton is an extra-crispy human, so it makes complete sense that he's the latest actor to play KFC's Colonel Sanders, promoting the brand's extra-crispy recipe. Four TV spots will highlight KFC's signature $5 and $20 Fill Ups, meals for a small group or a small army. In one ad, extra crispy is a lifestyle, not just a product. The more extra-crispy chicken a fair-skinned boy eats, the tanner he becomes in another spot. In a pair of 15-second ads, a serving tray doubles as food holder and a way to catch rays; the Colonel is buried in the sand, yet able to hand-feed a family crispy chicken. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign.