Out to Launch
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
A travel agency for kids. Chipotle gets real. Let's launch!
  • Toyo Tires launched a pair of TV ads that show the face of the advertised product minimally, which make the ads that more entertaining.

    "Your Car Deserves Better" illustrates the absurdity of spending big bucks on a fancy car, only to outfit it with sub-par tires. It's like putting spray cheese on an expensive cut of beef, or clown shoes on a sexy model.

    The brand scores with its first U.S. advertising campaign targeting the mainstream tire market. The first ad will make you hungry, with its close-up shots of a well-aged and seasoned steak. The moment is ruined when canned cheese is sprayed atop the otherwise scrumptious meal, a more amusing way to explain to drivers not to scrimp when buying tires.

    The second ad reminds me of those perfume ads that have breathy voiceovers, silhouettes of attractive women and close-up shots of perfume sprayed on a freshly showered body. Would you don a fancy dress, heavy makeup and expensive earrings only to finish the look with clown shoes? Probably not.

    Vitro created the campaign.

  • If you could speak to your future self, what would you say? Better still, what would your older self say to present-day self?

    Samsung Italy created "The Impossible Talk," allowing a teen boy to speak to his future self. Kind of. In Europe, 60% of students don't attend college after high school. Chalk it up to financial reasons or going to work for the family business, despite having different aspirations.

    Samsung has educational projects in more than 20 countries to give teens an added push to follow their dreams and attend college.

    The 3-minute video introduces viewers to Michael, who's 19 and planning on working with his father in the family business, despite his dreams of becoming a doctor. Michael is prompted to watch a video of an older doctor describing his 40-year career and his most memorable patient, a young boy who smiled for the first time after a successful operation.

    The doctor also describes the challenges leading up to becoming an MD -- the studying, specialty training -- and how he would do it all over again just to see his young patient smile.

    Here's the kicker: the doctor then walks through the door, and introduces himself as Dr. Michael Sanders, the adult version of this kid. "I'm the one you could be," says fake adult Dr. Sanders.

    "Dreams only become a reality when you start believing in yourself," closes the video, by Leo Burnett Italy.

  • Poett, a fabric perfume under the Clorox umbrella, launched "Home," a 60-second ad that begins with a woman strangely spraying random objects outdoors: an abandoned chair, a bicycle and a shirt tied to a bridge. It reminded me of Tony Shaloub's Adrian Monk character from the series that ran from 2002-2009.

    The woman returns home briefly, only to leave the house again, clearly looking for something. A new day and new outdoor items to spray: an old car, the welcome mat. Mom sees her daughter coloring a missing dog poster and now viewers understand the outdoor spraying. The woman is leaving a sensory trail of familiar house smells so the beloved pooch can find his way home. And he does. Mission accomplished.

    FCB Buenos Aires created the campaign.

  • Hateful language runs rampant online; Vets Fight Hate is combating anti-immigrant statements one tweet at a time.

    Close to 11% of all U.S. veterans come from an immigrant background. Vets Fight Hate partnered with Southern Poverty Law Center to urge Americans to think twice before posting hateful rhetoric online. Negative tweets like "immigrants are a disease to this country" or "learn English or go back to your country" were replied to with personalized, positive video messages from immigrant vets who fought for our country and for the safety of all Americans, including the haters.

    Additionally, visitors to vetsfighthate.com can learn how to get involved. Wing, Grey's Hispanic communications agency, created the campaign.

  • Planet Fitness launched "Puffy Baby Man," a ad with a name that sounds eerily similar to 2016's Mountain Dew Super Bowl commercial, "Puppymonkeybaby."

    In this ad, a man of average build opens his blinds, only to be mocked by chiseled male models on the billboards outside his apartment. The models refer to the man as "Puffy Baby Man," mock his looks and laugh at the thought of hanging out with him socially.

    The man blocks the negativity from his life and heads to Planet Fitness to exercise in a judgment-free zone. Hill Holliday created the campaign.

  • Radio Flyer is celebrating its 100th anniversary by opening a travel agency for kids. Can adults sneak in?

    The whimsical ad applauds the creativity and imagination of kids. The travel agents ask kids important questions to determine the right location for them to explore. Basically, if you're OK with unicorn kisses, there's an island for you.

    Kids browse brochures like Puppy Island and Octopus Shiny Treasure Bay, then test Radio Flyer's line of wagons, scooters and bicycles to determine which ride would ideally suit their travel destination.

    "I'm fine with anything that's dragon," is my favorite response from an adorable boy who's ready to roll. FCB Chicago created the campaign.

  • Chipotle is "As Real As It Gets" in a series of online videos that back the company's declaration to use only real ingredients.

    The campaign stars various comedians who get real when inside the belly of a Chipotle burrito.

    John Mulaney is the first comedian to enter the burrito. Mulaney shares his fears and a possible book title. Burrito tweaks said book title with options that are insulting, questioning the comedian's talents. If you can't stand the heat, don't step inside an all-natural burrito?

    Venables Bell & Partners created the campaign.

  • The Volkswagen Atlas is the brand's first family-sized SUV built in America, so it's only fitting that Paul Simon's "America" is the tune played throughout a 90-second spot from Deutsch.

    Three generations of a family take a road trip to honor the recently departed family patriarch. Starting in New York, the family makes their way west, learning about their family roots and how Grandma and Grandpa first met. The spot ends with Grandpa's ashes scattered on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

  • The cost of corruption in Brazil is actually calculated in a digital campaign for Estadão newspaper.

    Created by FCB Brasil, "The Corruption Converter" tool allows users to calculate benefits and services that could have been provided had funds not been diverted due to corruption.

    For example, the tool shows users in Reals (R$) that R$316 million of corrupt funds could have purchased 2,257,142 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, 15,800 ambulances or 0.316 km (0.196 mi) of subway tracks.

    The service began in beta in September 2016, and went live in February of 2017, automatically converting amounts mentioned in news pieces about corruption into usable items and services like ambulances, vaccines, school lunches, medication and sports courts. Check out this video of how the converter works.