Shadow-puppet bunnies prefer U.S. Cellular

What leaps to mind when you see huge shadow-puppet bunnies? U.S. Cellular, of course! Publicis & Hal Riney joined with Anonymous Content and The Mill to create this new spot, which is visually arresting, though its creepy music and moody photography suggest a childhood nightmare. It sort of plays like a Japanese monster bash sans the city-stomping destruction (which, of course, is the best part of such movies). Here, the crowd uses U.S. Cellular to share images of smooching rabbits. Big deal! A second spot, currently in post-production, is shaping up as a surrealistic tour de force—in addition to a giant inflatable octopus, it includes torpedo-style "flying fish" and all manner of outsized marine life tooling around town. Maybe the tentacled terror, the deep-sea dynamos and the mammoth marsupials will fight to the death. I'd bet on the octopus. The few times I've tried it, it was pretty tough.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

See also:
Protect the crayon people with U.S. Cellular
Don't you just love people on cell phones?

Published on August 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Gianatasio, Publicis & Hal Riney, Telecom, U.S. Cellular

Protect the crayon people with U.S. Cellular

This ad from Publicis & Hal Riney for U.S. Cellular is, without a doubt, the greatest reverse-melting crayon ad ever made. It's hypnotic, creepy, trippy and ever so vaguely sexual, with perfect portions of each quality skillfully mixed to keep the brand message from being overwhelmed. The clip provides a memorable visual metaphor to illustrate the point that with U.S. Cellular, users' data is never lost for good. To see the same basic idea handled much differently, watch this ham-fisted (actually, cow-fisted!) Draftfcb commercial for Qwest. Psychedelic crayons vs. hands-in-a-heifer! When it comes to data protection, I think the choice is clear.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on May 7, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Gianatasio, Publicis & Hal Riney, Telecom, U.S. Cellular

Don't you just love people on cell phones?

This grand new U.S. Cellular spot from Publicis & Hal Riney is based on a pretty ludicrous premise: that people talking on their cell phones in public are a source of joy for everyone around them. Nothing could be further from the truth, but don’t let that get in the way of your obligatory sweeping 60-second feel-good branding spot. After seeing this ad, the company’s “Don’t be afraid to be that friend” gorilla ad is growing on me.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on June 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Nudd, Publicis & Hal Riney, U.S. Cellular

Gorillas now required in every ad campaign

What to make of this admittedly arresting new U.S. Cellular print ad from Publicis & Hal Riney? We have some guy—we’ll hope it’s a guy—in an ape mask and furry-hand gloves. The headline reads: “Don’t be afraid to be that friend.” Since I usually am that friend, I should probably take offense. Riney CCO Roger Camp tells Adweek: “We want to convey the heart and soul of the brand without going ha-ha funny.” For better or worse, mission accomplished. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some calls to make and some drumming to do. “I can feel it, coming in the air tonight ...”

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on June 23, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Gianatasio, Publicis & Hal Riney, U.S. Cellular