Mouse really asks for it in Euro's d-CON ads
Euro RSCG in New York produced the spots above for d-CON glue traps, starring a man in a mouse suit who shows off some intense rodent-acting chops. His line deliveries are borderline psychotic. "You disgust me," says a housewife as the varmint eats from a peanut-butter jar. "Prove it," he whispers disgustingly, doing just about the best Dirty Harry impression possible for a guy wearing mouse ears and a long curly tail. Of course, he might not be so cavalier if he found himself in the LowLow Cheese commercial below by Fallon London. A couple of glue traps might work with this guy, but I'd go with the several thousand old-fashioned snap traps. —Posted by David Gianatasio Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Travelers ad by Fallon drifts in meaningfully
The unexplained airborne event has been popular in commercials ever since Sony Bravia's "Balls" spot, created by Fallon London in 2005. The new Travelers ad above, by Fallon Minneapolis, directed by Frank Budgen, continues the tradition, with a swarm of little umbrellas floating in on the breeze, captivating the humans and settling like rose petals on things you'd insure, like your car, your house, etc. It's nicely shot, but the formula is getting a bit irritating. Grand, nonsensical visual + quirky acoustic tune ("Worries" by Langhorne Slim) + lots of slow motion = atmosphere of wonder, where people get enraptured by things like an influx of corporate logos. It probably looks great in HD, but it pales in comparison to Fallon's Katamari-inspired Travelers spot from 2006 (below), which also has brilliant visuals but a more compelling, less cloying message and technique. |
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Published on October 13, 2009 | Permalink
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'Un' is a dirty word in Fallon's Charter spots
7Up used to the "Uncola." The "Un" meant it was different, and you were different for drinking it—not as boringly assimilated as everybody else. Sure, it was a pitch to sell a soft drink, but at least it aspired to something beyond mundane normality. Now, we have Charter Communications, via Fallon, also using "Un," but taking the opposite tack. In these spots, "Un" (as in, non-Charter "unbundled" phone, Internet and cable) is a condition to be avoided at all costs. "Un" means you're anti-social, an outcast. "Un" = weirdo. "Un" = loser. Charter says we'd be happier, more productive members of society if we bundled our cable, Internet and phone and "undid the 'Un' " in our lives. Of course, it's actually Charter who'd be happier. We'd just watch more TV and avoid the real world even more. Which may be a good thing. There are lots of weirdos and losers out there! —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on July 29, 2009 | Permalink
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Fallon tries to improve on Modernista!'s site
Fallon wants to get its mojo back as an innovative shop steeped in the latest and greatest interactive. After all, it's been eight years since BMW Films debuted. The Minneapolis agency was inspired by Modernista!'s fresh take on the agency Web site when it decided to recast its own site, according to Chris Wiggins, creative director at Fallon. "There was something there," he said. "I thought there were a lot of ways that it could be improved." The Fallon twist: It created a "lifestreaming" tool it calls Skimmer to aggregate Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and other social tools. It's an Adobe AIR desktop application that visitors can download and try out. (The site's actually been up and down all morning, making it hard to download. Goes to show how the digital stuff is tough to execute.) Fallon's 175 employees are using Skimmer and showing the world their innermost thoughts, photos, videos and pokes in this new "We are Fallon" section. Give it a whirl, and see if Fallon has raised the bar for rethinking the agency site. |
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Published on March 24, 2009 | Permalink
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Boston Market urges men to ride other menIn its first campaign from Fallon, Boston Market "countrifies" the familiar Klondike Bar ad concept. "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" becomes, basically, "What would you do for a taste of Boston Market's Crispy Country Chicken?" A lot gets lost in translation. In the spot above, an office drone attempts to ride on a copier repairman's back in return for a bite of deep-fried hen. Not the smartest move, given the rampant layoffs in today's economy. The guy on bottom bucks like a bronco, and the voiceover is delivered with a drawl. It's a misguided effort to communicate the whole "country" theme. Rodeos are more Wild West, anyway. Besides, the place is called Boston Market, so how authentically "country" can the food be? I live in Boston, and the closest we get to "country" is watching Jeff Foxworthy on TV, or the occasional weekend antiquing jaunt to Vermont. And that ain't real country, that's just a lot of aging hippies and trees. |
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Published on March 5, 2009 | Permalink
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Who's a better BFF than the Wicked Witch?
Some great writing and delivery in this new TV ad from Fallon London for Orange, a British telecom that's offering customers two-for-one movie tickets on Wednesdays. While I'm still not convinced the Wicked Witch of the West would be a top pick for a BFF, I suppose I'd rather be sitting beside her at the theater than behind her. |
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Published on February 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Cadbury returns with dancing-eyebrows ad
Here's "Eyebrows," the new British spot by Fallon for Cadbury. I'd like to say it matches or even surpasses the famous drumming gorilla, but it doesn't. I'd even go so far as to call it annoying. That said, I could easily be in the minority. British advertising mega-blog Scamp feels "the status of the industry you work in just went up a notch." I guess we'll just have to see if the official Cadbury Eyebrows page on Facebook (currently at 211 fans) can catch up to the Cadbury Drumming Gorilla Appreciation Society (population 4,123). —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on January 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Ladders' little monster airs some grievances
Fallon has created these enjoyable online extras for job site The Ladders to augment its "Monsters" TV spot. In these "behind-the-scenes interviews," one of the pint-sized creatures from the ad complains about his giant counterpart's starring role, plots revenge on the commercial's director and whines about the misuse of his method-acting skills—all reinforcing the campaign's premise that "not everyone is ready for the big jobs." The British accent, I must confess, took me by surprise, particularly since Guilala is a beast of the '60s Japanese Kaiju variety. At times, he sounds like a cross between Kelsey Grammer and Sir Martin Sorrell. (If you were to cross those two, by the way, you'd get a creature like Guilala—the big one that spits fireballs and generally lays waste. Scary.) Also, posted below: another new Fallon spot for The Ladders, with a safari hunting theme. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on January 9, 2009 | Permalink
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The Ladders only wants the worst monsters
Here's a new commercial from Fallon Minneapolis for premium job-search site The Ladders, showing a bunch of small-fry monsters trying (and failing) to wreak havoc on a cityscape and instill fear in its populace. "If you think about it," says the voiceover, "this is what makes The Ladders different from other job-search sites. We only work with the big talent." The site evidently only deals with executives who make $100,000 or more—personified in the spot by a suitably devastating Japanese creature. It's a nice twist on the usual Godzilla ad theme, with the added bonus of seamless dressing down Monster.com and its ilk. |
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Published on January 5, 2009 | Permalink
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Humor makes giant leap as white guy raps
Is there still any novelty left in the idea of white people rapping? Perhaps, as evidenced by the science dropped in this Holiday Inn Express ad from Fallon. Maybe this loquacious nerd and his homies from Accounts Payable can rent out the Holiday Inn's conference room for a real battle rap tournament against these cocky urban youths. More likely, he'll get the crap beaten out of him if he ever crosses their paths again. |
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Published on October 20, 2008 | Permalink
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Miscommunication still plagues candy world
Fallon London has whipped up some off-kilter spots for Natural Confectionery Co.'s candies, all of which contain no artificial colors or flavors. In each spot, two different types of candy attempt to interact, with generally awkward results. They have their naturalness in common but cannot otherwise bridge the divide. See two more spots after the jump. |
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Published on August 25, 2008 | Permalink
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Ecstatic simian drummer loves Phil Collins
I don’t know what this has to do with Cadbury Dairy Milk, but it’s funny. Among gorilla drummers, it seems the work of Phil Collins inspires a genuine cosmic connection. Created by Fallon London’s Juan Cabral, one of the creatives behind the Sony Bravia “Balls” spot. —Posted by Tim Nudd |
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Published on August 31, 2007 | Permalink
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