Out to Launch
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Hulk Hogan distracts. Salt shakers sent to group therapy. Let's launch!
  • I volunteer as tribute if the winner takes all the hidden Milka Easter bunnies. The chocolate brand launched "Easter Tastes Better Together," its first pan-European Easter campaign.

    The debut ad, "All For One," follows three highly-competitive children participating in an Easter egg hunt. Each will do whatever it takes to collect the most candy -- including some "Hunger Games"-esque sabotage.

    Goodies are hidden in challenging places and these kids are breaking a sweat. I enjoyed watching the young girl use a slingshot to hit a bee's nest to send the inhabitants after one of her rivals.

    The trio then find themselves on a cliffside, each after the Milka chocolate bunny, when the unthinkable happens. Actually, it's totally thinkable, since they're on the side of a cliff. The bunny falls and the trio must work together to build an elaborate contraption that lowers a basket and a helpful hedgehog, to retrieve the bunny.

    The trio share the candy and hedgie gets a thank you. The 90-second ad is running in 10 markets across Central and Eastern Europe including Germany, France, Austria and Poland. Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam created the campaign.

  • Bargain or robbery? Look close and you'll see it's robbery. UN Women launched #StopTheRobbery to support equal pay for women.

    This campaign illustrates how, on a global level, women are being robbed of 23% of their earnings, with women making 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for equal work.

    Grey New York created a pop-up shoe shine stand close to New York's Flatiron Building. There were two employees, a woman and a man. If the woman shined your shoes, you'd pay $0.77 -- but $1 for the man's work.

    Initially, passersby think the woman is the bargain, since it will cost them less. When the shoeshine employees explain the pricing structure, consumers are unhappy and frustrated. Needless to say, all of the woman's customers pay her the full dollar for services rendered.

    Viewers are encouraged to visit 23percentrobbery.com to tweet about the global injustice.

  • A group of children who never flew before were asked about their flying expectations.

    First, kids talk about why they haven't flown. For one child, it's because his dad only has a car; for another, it's because her parents have never flown.

    Then for their expectations: Kids want to see adults resemble ants, have butterflies in their stomach, and see clouds up close and personal.

    EasyJet brought kids to the airport for "My First Flight," although the flying part was a surprise. The kids thought they were on a field trip to visit an airport and view the inside of a plane.

    When the children took their seats, the pilot informed them they were going to take a ride. No one panicked. I was impressed.

    Once the plane took off, the kids held hands, screamed, looked out the window and enjoyed the view. Afterward, a few even ran to the pilot to smother him with hugs. At the baggage claim, each kid received his or her own custom backpack. Uzina created the campaign.

  • Anyone who has seen the movie "Sausage Party" will get a kick out of "Group Therapy," a 30-second ad for Mrs. Dash.

    The salt-free seasoning is making salt and pepper shakers a thing of the past. When a family purchases Mrs. Dash, the beloved pig-shaped salt shaker is relegated to an unknown location, where additional adorably shaped salt shakers reside. "Relax. You're with your own kind now," says the lead shaker.

    After the shakers watch a family devour a flavorful meal sans added salt, the shakers are brought outside for purchase at the family's tag sale: $3 each, or two for $5. Resource/Ammirati created the campaign.

  • Coinciding with its 30th anniversary, Dutch insurance company Centraal Beheer launched its latest "Just Call Us" ad, starring Hulk Hogan.

    The 90-second ad follows an international family vising Florida. While stopping for a photo, mom's purse is stolen. She takes chase and finds the crook stopped by none other than Hulk Hogan.

    Things get strange when Hogan attempts to teach the thief a lesson with some wrestling moves from his past. Since we know that wrestling can be staged, we see Hogan place the thief in a piledriver, but he doesn't follow through. Hogan also fake-punches the man and jumps from the pier, only to land without hurting the man. Hogan gets the crowd roaring, with all eyes on him, which makes it easy for the purse snatcher to grab the bag and rush off while Hogan greets fans and takes pictures.

    When mom tries to stop the thief, Hogan pulls her closer for another photo op. "Just Call Us," closes the video, created by DDB & Tribal Worldwide, Amsterdam and directed by Sven Super.

  • Take four minutes and watch this emotional video for The Paper and Packaging Board, which illustrates how powerful putting pen to paper can be for those who suffered tragedies.

    "How Life Unfolds" partnered with five survivors of tragedy, asking them to share their handwritten messages of peace to help others going through difficult times.

    A Columbine survivor, a Boston Marathon bombing survivor and a human trafficking survivor are among those who worked tirelessly to overcome their own personal hurdles and now seek to help others.

    The young man injured in the Boston marathon bombing taped letters he received from strangers inside his hospital room to remind himself of the support he had worldwide.

    When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand on an actual piece of paper? Cramer-Krasselt created the campaign.

  • According to Shaquille O'Neal, his childhood was awkward until he grew a beard... and the earth is flat. In an amusing ad for Wix.com, O'Neal recalls his youthful days where he was taller than his classmates and picked last in gym. He never won the lead in the school play; instead he was selected to be Tree #3.

    He believes his mojo is found in his beard, although his stylist is not convinced and is ready to shave it off. Shaq keeps his beard healthy and luscious with Age of Beard products, purchased online from a site powered by Wix.com.

    Brendan Gibbons directed the 90-second video, produced by Station Film.

  • The only snowmen I want to see are on TV. Hopefully, last week's snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast will be it, now that's it's technically spring. An ad for the 2017 Nissan Rogue, "Return of the Snowmen," brings back the evil snowmen, animated and hellbent on causing an accident or two.

    Snowy roads are no problem for the Rogue.

    An army of evil snow beasts emerge from a forest to take down a fleet of Rogues. The snowmen even sacrifice their heads for use in a trebuchet, a war machine used during the Middle Ages. When face-to-face with the mightiest snowman, a lone Rogue emerges dirty but unscathed. Juniper Park\TBWA created the campaign, directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan of Hey Wonderful.

  • CBS News updated its apps for Amazon Fire TV and Android TV, with a redesign highlighting its streaming news coverage. The apps offer 360-degree video playback, allowing users to control videos via remote. Viewers have real-time access to CBSN's anchored coverage and original reporting 24/7, at no cost.

    Aside from live video, users can browse other videos while watching one, scroll through video playlists curated by network editors and create a personalized playlist of favorite videos.