Kodak brings a smile to paper cut-out's face
Two hot advertising trends right now: anthropomorphic hamsters and paper stuff that comes to life. This new Kodak video from Ogilvy & Mather, posted below, belongs to the latter (joining the NeatDesk monster and the New Zealand Book Council's animated pages). In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, called "Lost Smile," Marjolaine Siriex's artwork provides a storybook feel, and the mix of animation and live action from Paranoid director Sophie Gateau lends a pleasingly magical, art-film quality to the piece. The techo-chick-pop soundtrack wiped the smile from my face, but I suppose it suits the mood of the video. So, will our heroine get her smile back by the end? Spoiler alert: Nope. In fact, she dies lonely and sad, without even a cat for company. I'm kidding. It's an ad, so you know the grin's coming, revived in part by Kodak photos, naturally. Read more at Adland. —Posted by David Gianatasio
|
|
Published on December 11, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (4)
|
Ogilvy lets it snow in Christmas iPhone app
This could be a first: an ad agency building a holiday iPhone app rather than a Web site. Ogilvy Group in the U.K. has rolled out the free White Christmas application, which lets iPhone users add falling snowflakes to any photo. As the agency puts it, the app is "cheaper than hiring a snow machine." Ogilvy has apparently learned from Dish Network by making it a prominently Christmas-oriented app. There's no talk of a White Holiday. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
|
Published on December 3, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (5)
|
Get superhuman strength with bottled water
Ever need to carry around really heavy stuff like racehorses and houses? Who hasn't!? If you're in France, Vittel bottled water can help, according to a new campaign from Ogilvy Paris (with production company Henry de Czar and director Lionel Goldstein). See all three TV spots here. The ads have some drawbacks. The "It must be the water" message is derivative. (Plus, why must it be the water? There's nothing in water.) The soundtracks are appalling: These French songs would suck in any language. And the house in that one commercial seems a bit too obviously phony. (Maybe it's made of gingerbread. I like the festive notion of gingerbread, but it's too sweet, tastes like crap.) However, the ad below, with the riders carrying the horses, rocks! Damn, those nags look like the real deal! They almost seem to be smiling, enjoying the ultimate equine revenge. Don't kid yourself. They'd turn us into dog food and glue if they could. —Posted by David Gianatasio
|
|
Published on December 3, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (1)
|
Not everyone is smiling at Kodak's new ads
Dave Bry at The Awl is unnerved by this Kodak commercial, part of Ogilvy's new "It's time to smile" campaign. For Bry, it isn't time to smile. At most, it's time to laugh uneasily. He wonders: "Is the grandma supposed to be a ghost? Are they both ghosts? Is this a commercial about the victims of some grisly, long-ago mass-murder coming back to haunt the living?" All that's missing is a dream sequence involving Kodak's dual-cyclops dog. —Posted by Tim Nudd
Previously on AdFreak: |
|
Published on November 10, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (7)
|
Ogilvy ad breaks through against prejudice
Ogilvy & Mather in Istanbul presents a quietly powerful metaphor for prejudice in this effort for the Zaman newspaper in Turkey. We get surreal scenes of average folks who literally run up against their ignorance in the form of unseen, transparent barriers that inhibit their progress. They become trapped, unable to move forward or connect with others. In effect, they are no longer full and active participants in daily life. They've exiled themselves to a no man's land where they're on the outside looking in. The ambient soundtrack works with the bleak visuals to evoke a mood of sad isolation. The climactic "breakthrough," though predictable, provides catharsis and hope. "Our prejudices. Our invisible walls. Isn't it time to demolish them?" says the copy. At 1:45, this is the director's cut (there's also a :60), but the length allows for an almost hypnotic effect to take hold. Those who think the spot's too long should watch without prejudice. |
|
Published on October 30, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (1)
|
Hold on to your hairpiece with Stimorol gum
This spot by Ogilvy in Cape Town, South Africa, for Stimorol "Air Rush" gum manages to transcend its hackneyed office-humor setup through sheer unabashed silliness. The new employee's finger-pistol bit as he quips, "I'll see you cats later" and walks away, is almost a misstep. But then he does it again! Once = bad idea. Twice = brilliantly stupid! And a bit creepy, as the move vaguely suggests he might return later with mayhem in mind. Still, it channels just enough Monty Python-meets-David Lynch to work. I'm not sure what the big deal is about his hairdo. My hair usually looks like that even when I'm not chewing the gum. Via AdPunch. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
|
Published on October 29, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Vanilla Ice reprises 'Ice Ice Baby' for beer ad
Yes, it's 2009, and ad agencies are still asking Vanilla Ice to perform "Ice Ice Baby" for TV ads. This one's from Ogilvy South Africa, and it promotes Castle Lite beer's new thermocromatic-ink labels, which appear blue when the brew is extra cold. Ice himself could use a freshness-dating label. —Posted by Tim Nudd Previously on AdFreak: |
|
Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (1)
|
Rory Sutherland defends advertising at TED
Here's an entertaining speech by Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy Group U.K., from the TED Global 2009 conference, held in Oxford, England, at the end of the July. Sutherland makes the argument that advertising's power to alter people's perceptions can be harnessed for good rather than evil—that it could help preserve the world's limited material resources by emphasizing the perceived value of things over the "real" value. He says: "If you want to live in a world in the future with fewer material goods, you basically have two choices: You can either live in a world which is poorer, which people in general don't like, or you can live in a world where intangible value constitutes a greater part of overall value." Of course, people are shooting his argument to Swiss cheese in the comment string at the TED Web site. Via The Perlorian Brothers. |
|
Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Bikes rescue lonely, isolated Ogilvy staffers
Ogilvy & Mather recently moved its New York offices from Worldwide Plaza on Eighth Avenue to the site of a former chocolate factory on the far west side of Manhattan, way over on Eleventh Avenue. For non-New Yorkers, let's just say Ogilvy is now in the hinterlands, closer to the Intrepid aircraft carrier than a subway stop. Grumbling, of course, ensued. So, what can Ogilvy do to keep employees peppy? Get them bikes. As part of a companywide effort to encourage bicycle use, the agency has purchased 50 commuter bikes for employees to borrow so they can pedal to that client meeting or find somewhere decent to eat. I guess the days of having the fleet of town cars at the ready are over. Welcome to the new reality. The shop hopes to build enthusiasm for the biking program a week from Tuesday with a citywide scavenger hunt, which naturally has a Twitter twist—teams must post photos to Twitter of each stop along the route. |
|
Published on October 19, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (8)
|
Ford pushes balloons-for-clunkers program
The balloon-boy saga brought to mind the 2007 commercial above from Ogilvy London for the Ford Mondeo, showing people across London (a city made bleaker than usual by the Michael Andrews song "The Artifact and Living") attaching balloons to their crappy old cars and send them skyward, preferring the snazzy Mondeo instead. The ad has a nice spooky vibe, though the physics seem questionable. The spot aired in the U.K. but was also exported to New Zealand—where JWT, not Ogilvy, had the Ford account. In a cheeky move, the JWT creatives responded with their own video, posted below, in which two dudes attempt to float their own junker away with a bunch of helium balloons. |
|
Published on October 16, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Ford faring better than Skoda out in the wild
Automakers Ford and Skoda take somewhat similar approaches in new print campaigns for the Ranger and Yeti models, respectively, but the results are markedly different. Ogilvy London's pulp-magazine-style work for Ford (above) is fun and over-the-top but not forced. You can imagine the vehicles taking part in the action. On the other hands, the Skoda campaign from Italy (below), by agency Cayenne Milan, unwisely links drinking and driving with its "Love it on the rocks" headline and scenes in a martini glass. (You could wind up stranded on a floating block of ice after a few too many, and no yeti will come to your rescue!) Also, Skoda tries to have it both ways, presenting pristine mountains, ice floes and cutesy animals in ads for a carbon-belching truck. Ford seems more honest, portraying the Ranger as "taming" nature and generally running amok in the wild. Plus, King Kong could kick some polar-bear butt any day. Via Ads of the World.
|
|
Published on October 12, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Comfort fabric softener leads nudists astray
While we're on the subject of nudists, here's a recent commercial from Ogilvy London for Comfort fabric softener, in which a nudist returns home to find his wife and best friend fully clothed, passionately sniffing each other's Comfort-scented attire. The tagline: "Makes clothes irresistible." |
|
Published on August 26, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
South Africa has best dressed sea rescuersAs we learned from a recent campaign out of New Zealand, yetis will not come to your rescue if you get lost in the wilds of that country. However, if you fall from a boat off the South African coast, you can expect some odd creatures to mobilize on your behalf—specifically, guys dressed in chicken costumes; brides on their wedding day; and foam-finger-wearing sports fans. So say Ogilvy's print ads for the country's National Sea Rescue Institute. The group's volunteers are so dedicated, they're ready to drop whatever they're doing—getting married, watching a game, doing unmentionable things in poultry outfits—when duty calls. You'll notice the groom didn't dive in—typical. See larger images at Adpunch. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
|
Published on August 5, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Another major bummer of an Alzheimer's ad
This heartbreaking print ad by Wurmser Ogilvy for Groupo Ermita in Guatemala is jarring in its simplicity. The copy reads, "If they could help themselves, we wouldn't ask you." Alzheimer's generates such powerful campaigns because it's insidious and takes such a heavy toll. With this affliction, we lose so much that's precious, so much of what makes us human. In fact we lose everything, since we ultimately lose ourselves. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
|
Published on August 3, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Huggies ads capture babies' crapping faces
Ogilvy Brazil gets down to the nitty-gritty of diaper advertising with Huggies print ads showing babies giving their most determined pooping faces. The copy reads, simply, "Anytime. Anywhere." The charming lad (or perhaps lass?) shown here is far and away the most charismatic of the bunch. See the others here. The photos were apparently gathered from Flickr-using parents, whose offspring now will never forgive them. UPDATE: As pointed out in comments, it looks like these ads are scam. |
|
Published on July 29, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (7)
|
The return of Kool-Aid's pitch(er) man
The Kool-Aid Man is back! The disgusting CGI of the '90s is finally gone and Kool-Aid Man is once again a dude in an oversized suit. And though he's no longer bursting through walls, he's still plenty potent. In several new spots ("Kitten" is shown above, "Beach" is below), Kool-Aid Man takes on Soda Man and beats him handily in various competitions. Kool-Aid Man's fancy cargo pants and tweaked slogan, "Delivering more smiles per gallon," might make you think they've dropped his famous "Oh yeah!" catchphrase for good, but I've heard an amusing radio ad where he says nothing more than "Oh yeah!" while a housewife asks him leading questions. Also, it's all over his Kool-Space Web page. Now that Kraft Foods is advertising Kool-Aid year-round instead of just during the summer to steal sales from cash-strapped consumers cutting back on soft drinks, I'd rather watch my main man on heavy rotation than some rival un-anthropomorphic pitcher. Bravo to longtime agency Ogilvy & Mather for bringing back the big guy in red. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers
|
|
Published on July 10, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (6)
|
Post Shredded Wheat isn't fond of progress
Post Shredded Wheat is putting the "no" back in innovation by pointing out that its cereal has been made the same way since 1892. The campaign, courtesy of Ogilvy, goes retro with long-copy print ads, but despite the aversion to progress, they haven't skimped on the digital media. Hop over to ThePalaceOfLight.com to view some amusing anti-progress webisodes. Or check out the spots on Frank Druffel's Facebook and YouTube pages. Turning a negative into a positive has long been one of advertising's best tricks (think Avis). Not only does going against the conventional wisdom make the brand stand out, for Post it's also a good insight about America's current fear of Frankenfood. It's also-also a fantastic time for Post Shredded Wheat to make its move, since Kellogg's has just been smacked by the FTC for misleading claims about Frosted Mini-Wheats. In these times, we need old-fashioned wheat we can trust, not this whiz-bang CGI wheat spouting "scientific" claims and other mumbo-jumbo! |
|
Published on May 14, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (9)
|
SNY ad honors Keith Hernandez's mustache
Fans of Keith Hernandez—and, especially, fans of his mustache—will enjoy this new commercial from Ogilvy & Mather promoting the cable-sports network SNY, on which the former first-baseman is one of the announcers for New York Mets games. In the spot, Hernandez is signing autographs at a sports-gear store, and pretty much everyone in the place has donned a fake 'stache as a sign of respect, or something. If it seems extravagant to build a commercial around the guy's mustache, it's less elaborate than handing out 20,000 free fake mustaches to people who come to the ballpark—which, according to an old blog item on the SNY Web site, is what the network did a couple of years ago at Shea Stadium to celebrate the fact that Hernandez had won "Top Sports Mustache of All Time" honors from the American Mustache Institute. (In case you're not familiar with its work, the institute is dedicated to "protecting the rights of, and fighting discrimination against, mustached Americans by promoting the growth, care and culture of the mustache.") In the unlikely event that Keith ever shaves off his mustache, New Yorkers can mess with his mind by pretending that he never had one in the first place, thus recapitulating the premise of a weird French movie from a couple years ago called La Moustache. —Posted by Mark Dolliver |
|
Published on April 30, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (19)
|
Scrabble boards spring to life in Ogilvy adsMore French advertising: this time, some animated Scrabble ads from Ogilvy & Mather in Paris. Says the agency: "Picture a board of Scrabble at the end of a game: words that have nothing to do with each other are crossing and overlapping, to the point that they sometimes tell a crazy story! Our creative idea is to turn this fabulous potential into images." The animation is pretty impressive, though the ads probably overstate the level of excitement in a typical Scrabble game. And the music in these ads made me want to claw my eardrums out. |
|
Published on April 24, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (8)
|
That old flame will be cursing Pond's cream
The smarmy good looks, leering glances and intensely smoldering accent of the lead actor in this Pond's spot by Bassat Ogilvy are almost hypnotic. He could be last guy they cut before picking a better actor to play the next James Bond. In the ad, he and an old flame (Octopussy?) show up to look at the same penthouse. When he tells her, "It's the perfect flat for one. Or maybe even two," I thought his over-emoting might knock her flat on her back—a perilous position with that creep in striking range. Thankfully, she remains upright, and her new beau arrives, leaving "The Guy Who Loved Me" to pull a final sad face that makes it look like he's been sucking on a lemon. It's a cute spot tagged "Fix you past," though "Fix your cast" could also apply. |
|
Published on April 1, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (1)
|
Castrol's bullying Scot poised for greatness
Castrol Edge's "Think with your dipstick" commercial from Ogilvy & Mather might be the greatest TV ad ever. Yes, I'm given to hyperbole at times. Still, there's plenty to like here. We've got a crazed Scotsman channeling John Cleese, Dave Thomas, Groundskeeper Willie and Nessie who runs around whipping people with a dipstick when they don't buy Castrol Edge. In fact, he also whips people who do buy the stuff, and he calls everybody "Jimmy." He doesn't wear a kilt, but otherwise he's a typical Scot: violent, loud, obsessed about stuff that doesn't really matter. (He does look like he's ready for a few rounds of golf.) The spot played second fiddle to Castrol Edge's grease-monkeys spot on Super Bowl Sunday (it aired pre-game, while the monkeys ad aired during the game), but this plaid phenomenon may be primed to explode. (There's already a parody out there.) Thwack! "Think with yer dipstick, Jimmy!" What few brain cells I have left are happily dying on the misty moors. |
|
Published on March 4, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (8)
|
The cuddly critters that prowl the rainforest
I hadn't realized quite how insect-like modern machinery could be until I saw this clever poster by Ogilvy Frankfurt for German environmental agency OroVerde. (See the full ad here.) I even had to Google one or two of these industrial behemoths to make sure they exist—which they do. "The destruction of the rainforest comes in many shapes," the copy states. "And there are all kinds of animal and plant species which suffer as a result. Every hour three different types of animal and plant life are made extinct." Hat tip to nonprofit über-blog Osocio. —Posted by David Griner |
|
Published on January 12, 2009 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Ogilvy all over the map with new Stoli ads
"Smooth like an alibi," "Who will be your accomplice tonight?" and "Everybody is somebody's secret" are some of the overheated copy lines featured in Ogilvy & Mather's latest work for Stolichnaya vodka. One print ad shows saucy red lips blowing smoke rings. The overall tagline: "Wild wild East." Brandweek has more. What we've got here are jumbled pop-culture references from different eras and places: a vaguely '60s James Bond/spy motif, along with "hot" '80s imagery (those lips remind me of Miami Vice) and a tag that conjures images of the supposedly lawless American Old West. It doesn't really gel, and the press release compounds the confusion by explaining that the goal is to evoke the "anything-goes sensibilities of modern-day Russia" while maintaining a brand experience that's "independent of geography." There's also some talk about "a Russia of the mind." Where's that, Alaska? Oh well. You've still gotta love those lips. |
|
Published on December 8, 2008 | Permalink
| Comments (5)
|
What's missing from this lovely DuPont ad?
The superb miniatures (with a dash of CGI mixed in) are the main draw of this DuPont "Miracles of Science" spot by Ogilvy. I'm not sure exactly what miracles DuPont's talking about, as the ad, directed by Gaelle Denis, is visually stunning but a little short on substance. DuPont does good things, probably via science—that's the take-away. The finely crafted cityscapes are almost magical at times, notably in the scene where that little car glides down the highway and the town lights up all around it. And yet, an essential element is missing, and I think we all know what it is. Little towns this meticulously detailed and lovingly brought to life just cry out to be stomped into fiery ruins by rampaging prehistoric reptiles, as tiny humans scatter on the streets and scream out of sync with the soundtrack! Where's Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra? Any classic Japanese movie monster would do. Come to think of, so would John McCain, as an early attack ad pointed out. Best of all, McCain should be available if DuPont decides to make a sequel. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
|
Published on November 5, 2008 | Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
A tribute in song to David Ogilvy goes awryIt's hard to tell if the staff of Bold Ogilvy Athens are serious with this musical tribute to their legendary namesake founder. Either way, it's sort of horrifying. It's a shame they couldn't get Bank of America's Ethan Chandler to add some harmonies. |
|
Published on October 23, 2008 | Permalink
| Comments (6)
|
