Here's a successfully creepy spot from Deutsch LA for Assassin's Creed III on PlayStation's Vita handheld. Because when you're bored and disgruntled from your commute, what you really want to do is knife somebody! If you like playing video games. Or if you are a sociopath. Either way. The fact that people actually dress like that probably doesn't make the ad less disconcerting.

Over the weekend of Oct. 26, when audiences in Sweden flocked to see the new James Bond film Skyfall (yes, you heard that right—they got the latest Bond movie two full weeks before the U.S. did), one group of fans entered Stockholm's Filmstaden Sergel unaware that they were being filmed for a secret-agent-themed Sony marketing stunt.

Swimming inside the free sodas being handed out by the theater's entrance, the electronics company had surreptitiously hidden several Xperia Acro S smartphones—a new waterproof model. Before the start of the film, audience members were told by a disembodied voice that they might be one of the "lucky devils" with a prize in their soda. Some unseen force then called the hidden phones, resulting in several confused Swedes pulling Xperias out of their ringing drinks. (And kudos to the local office of Crispin Porter + Bogusky for thinking to attach the phones to the soda lids, thus avoiding the nightmare scenario of people plunging their hands into sugary soft drinks. Gross.)

So, apparently, Sony Xperia Acro S phones really are waterproof. But that's not the big takeaway from this stunt. It's the fact that, in Sweden, you not only get to see James Bond movies before anyone in America, but there's always a chance you might find a fancy new smartphone in your soda.

Let's all move to Sweden.



CREDITS
Client: Sony Mobile Nordic
Nordic Marketing Communications Manager: Martina Johansson
Nordic Public Relations Manager: Erik Yström
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Sweden
Executive Creative Director: Gustav Martner
Creative Directors: Jonas Wittenmark, Tobias Carlson
Art Director: Jonas Wittenmark
Copywriter: Tobias Carlson
Junior Art Director: Jakob Eriksson
Junior Copywriter: Elof Ivarsson
Client Service Director: Kristian Jörgensen
Business Director: Therese Olander
Content Supervisor: Karin Branmark
Agency Producer: Annika Andreasson
Event Agency: Grandins Flying Circus
Production Company: Vidiots

The Most Interesting Man in the World is a man of few words—except when he's recording his outgoing voicemail message. Then, he (or possibly a parrot who sounds just like him) sets up elaborate automated prompts to direct his friends and fans to the most interesting information he can provide.

Dos Equis has put up a mural of the Most Interesting Man on the side of Diablo's Cantina in Las Vegas. "Looking for an interesting time?" it asks. "Call 1-888-790-7665." Doing so leads the caller to the Man's voicemail, where different prompts lead to various jokes about bachelorette parties, out-of-control blimps, blackjack-playing otters and low-fat blueberry muffins.

Below, check out the full voicemail transcript from the writers at Havas Worldwide (formerly Euro RSCG) in New York.

FULL VOICEMAIL SCRIPT

AGE GATE: Hello. You have reached the Most Interesting Man in the World. My answering machine is currently locked, and requires a password to access. Lucky for you, the password happens to be your age. Enter it now, then press pound.

IF OVER 21: Well, it seems everything is in order here. Again, you've reached the Most Interesting Man in the World. But I am not here right now. I am not even recording this message. The voice you are hearing belongs to a parrot who has learned to mimic my every vocal nuance and has taken the initiative to set up my voicemail.

IF UNDER 21: Oh no, I'm sorry, but it seems the password you entered is incorrect. I wouldn't feel right filling your young, impressionable mind with stories of moonlight jungle safaris and underwater boxing matches. Until next time, my friend. [Call ends]

—If you wish to reach Diablo's Cantina, press 0.

     And by the way, if you go to Diablo's and see a one-eyed bush pilot named Crusher sitting at the bar, tell him that quilting club has been cancelled this week. [Call is redirected to Diablo's]

—If you want to speak to me directly, press 1.

     Say what you have to say, then press 1. [Caller makes statement, presses 1]

     Anything else you want to get off your chest? Go ahead. Then press 1. [Caller makes statement, presses 1]

     Hmmmm … interesting. I hear that you, like me, are a person of actions rather than words. Our chit-chat would be a waste of valuable time. Instead, allow me to respond by karate chopping a stack of cinderblocks. If this goes awry, we may get disconnected. [Sound of cinderblocks being broken, then caller is returned to the main menu]

—If you are calling for advice, please press 2.

     If you need advice about a woman, please press 1.

          Please state the full name of the woman who is currently perplexing you, then press 1. [Caller states name, presses 1]

          [Man chuckles] Ahhh … that name takes me back. Talk about a …  firecracker. My advice: Go ahead and ride the wave, but hold on tight. [Man chuckles]. Are there any other women you would like advice about? If so, say their name and press 1. [Caller states name, presses 1]

          Hmmmm. Yes, this name is also familiar. We met tracking a herd of red stags across the Nicaraguan countryside some years back. We wined, we dined. I won't bore you with the details, but lets just say, keep an eye on her, my friend. [Call ends]

     If you are calling from an out-of-control blimp and need emergency landing advice, please press 2.

          Now, I could tell you how you to land the blimp. But if you figure it out yourself, you'll feel a much greater sense of accomplishment. All I'll say is: Relax and be yourself. You'd be surprised how much out-of-control blimps respond to confidence. Now, hang up and take the controls. [Call ends]

     If you can't find your wallet, press 3.

          You left it in the silverware drawer at home. [Return to main menu]

—If you are calling about a bachelorette party, please press 3.

     I do not perform at bachelorette parties. If you wish me to reconsider, press 1.

          The answer is still no. [Return to main menu]

—If you are calling about renting the otter that I have trained to play blackjack, press 4.

          Sorry, but having mastered the game of blackjack with considerable ease, the otter is now off trying his luck on the world poker tour. Assuming he doesn't go bust, I expect his return by year's end. [Return to main menu]

—For my easy, low-fat blueberry muffin recipe, please press 5.

     That was a test. You have failed. Please try again. [Return to main menu]

—Whatever you do, I urge you, do not press 6. [Caller presses 6]

     Under no circumstances should you press 6 again. You are toying with forces you do not fully understand. [Caller presses 6]

          Congratulations my friend. Your daring and bravado will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. However, I was not joking. Pressing the number 6 sets in motion a super collider, accelerating protons to near the speed of light, and smashing them into each other. Suffice it to say, there are probably going to be a few scientists that need my help. Next time, please, trust me. [Call ends]

—To hear some on-hold music, please press 7.

     Very well. [Away from the mic] Javier, Ramon—show this caller some real on-hold music. [We hear the clatter of instruments, then a band playing an extended set of salsa music, as if the Most Interesting Man has a live band just waiting to play on-hold music.] [Return to main menu]

—If you are one of the several people who left their bathing suits at my home during my recent Lunar New Year barbecue, please press 8.

     Not to worry. I have given your suit to my regular courier. We have triangulated your position, and your suit is on its way to you. Excuse me Javier, aye yay yay. Ah, oh dear, I'm so sorry. The pigeon with your bathing suit … It just got a role in an upcoming spy move … quit his job and few off to L.A. with your trunks. I'm so sorry. [Return to main menu]

—If you are a woman who has not heard from me in a while, press 9.

     First of all, my apologies, señorita. I never meant to hurt you. Our time together was brief, but it was sweeter than the honey of a high-fructose Indonesian sugar bee. Remember the rush of cage diving with great whites? [Man chuckles] That was, in my estimation, at least the third most exhilarating thing we did underwater that day. Anyway, I think the time has come for us to part ways. It's not you, it's me. Right now, I need some space in order to train for the one-armed rowing championships. I hope you understand. If hearing this message again would comfort you, please don't hesitate to press 1. [pressing 1 replays the message]

The holiday season in Britain doesn't really start until department-store retailer John Lewis releases its Christmas ad. Today, it did just that—adding another chapter in a long list of sentimental favorites.

This year's spot, from adam&eveDDB, is pure fantasy, starring a countryside snowman who will travel to the ends of the earth—or at least, to London—to show the depths of his love for his snowwoman. And by love, we mean buying her some expensive and pretty-looking stuff. Set to an ethereal version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love," sung here by Gabrielle Aplin, the commercial doesn't skimp on the treacly tugging of heartstrings. The snowman, who is somehow ambulatory and can also change his facial expressions at will, encounters all sorts of obstacles on his quest, from rivers to mountains to the frightening bustle of the city. But he's undaunted, and returns to bequeath his beloved with the most romantically sensible gift he can find—a good set of hat, scarf and mittens.

The commercial is actually quite a departure for the retailer, whose renowned Christmas spots—typically set to an interesting cover verson of a well-known song—are almost always rooted in reality, telling slice-of-life tales about human love and the joy of giving. Last year's spot was particularly successful, with a great story and a nice little twist at the end. By comparison, this year's entry feels a little flat—with emotions that come off as cool and constructed as the snowmen themselves. As these spots always are, this one is nicely shot and composed, yet it can't escape feeling generic—an overly simplified fable that fails to match the more nuanced and touching work from years past.

Everyone in Britain wants a truly great John Lewis ad for Christmas. Unfortunately, this time, they'll have to wait until next year at least.



CREDITS
Client: John Lewis
Agency: Adam & Eve/DDB, London
Creatives: Frank Ginger, Shay Reading
Executive Creative Directors: Ben Priest, Ben Tollett, Emer Stamp
Production Company: Blink Productions
Director: Dougal Wilson
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Joe Guest

See the John Lewis spots from past Christmases below:

Barton F. Graf 9000's latest spots for Little Caesars are so splendidly, self-consciously stupid, I want to punch myself in the face and watch them all day long. Check out the kid in "Mime." He's a mime on the right side, a regular kid on the left. He's a half-mime, and he talks using only half of his mouth. Awesome! It's such a kooky concept and so perfectly executed, it makes me hate mimes only half as much as I used to. "Stargazing" (posted after the jump) features a father and son scanning the heavens with a telescope when Junior gets a hankering for some pie. The kid spies an impossibly cheesy man-in-the moon—the dude looks like a puffy golf ball—who nods knowingly in the firmament and proclaims that it's "Pizza tiiime!" Ol' crater face delivers the line in such a moronically memorable, sing-song fashion, I'll be mimicking his delivery whenever possible. "Hey, co-workers, it's … weekly meeting tiiime!""Hey, wife, it's … marriage-counseling tiiime!" The ads tout the chain's Hot-N-Ready service (no need to call ahead, so it's mime-friendly), and I will never, ever get tired of them. Pizza tiiime! Huh. You know what, I'm sick of this stuff already.

Putting the wild in wild postings, Gyro's Denver office recently made clever use of outdoor faucets around town to promote the drag-themed theater show Drag Machine at the city's Off-Center theater. The play is about a group of drag queens who use a time machine to take the audience through a brief history of drag. The posters feature the actual cast members—though not, of course, the actual cast's members. Also, the faucets may not be anatomically correct. Two more posters below.

Anything you can do, I can do better—or at least as well. And I'll take up less room doing it.

Apple released its second and third TV spots for the iPad mini on Sunday. Following the earlier dual-piano spot, the new ads show off the newer and more diminutive Apple tablet as an e-book reader and photo viewer—functions that might presumably feel like trouble points to anyone wondering if the smaller, 7.9-inch screen is limiting in any way.

Not in these ads it isn't. "Photos" gets its point across quite literally through the music—"Two of a Kind" by Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer—as we see a regular iPad and an iPad mini sitting side by side. Through the course of the spot, the familiar disembodied hands load and manipulate photos on both tablets, linking the images together to form the kind of simple and delightful visuals for which Apple ads are well known. The second spot, "Books," likewise pairs a regular iPad and an iPad mini, this time both with e-bookshelves loaded up. The devices open pairs of books whose titles are in some way counterbalancing: The Sun Also Rises and The Valley of the Moon; East of Eden and How the West Was Won; Moby Dick and Gone Fishing. The message couldn't be simpler: The mini runs the same apps in the same way as the regular iPad, and looks just as great doing so.

These spots are funny, though. Usually, comparison ads rate a product against a competitor's device, not against one from the same brand. Since we're more familiar with the former setup, subconsciously we tend to expect the Apple spots to tell us which product is better. But of course, they don't—the products are equally good, the ads say. (They leave it up to you to decide which fits your needs more effectively.) The effect of this lightly jarring realization is to reinforce the sense that there's something special about these machines—they're special enough, anyway, to be unexpected even in the advertising.

And there's a simpler gut reaction, too. Comparing oneself to oneself is super arrogant, even solipsistic. And yet, in these spots, it works. Of course they leave out the competition. Through comparison demos of two of its own products, Apple leaves viewers with the lingering sense that the iPad is actually beyond compare.





CREDITS

Spot: "Photos"
Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab
Chief Creative Officer: Duncan Milner
Executive Creative Director: Eric Grunbaum
Creative Directors: Simon Cassels, Jon Lancaric
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Kevin Butler
Art Director: Melinda Keough
Executive Producer: Mike Refuerzo
Agency Producers: Hank Zakroff, Mallory Gordon, Tessa Kocourek, Christina Villaflor
Production Company: Green Dot Films
Directors: Mark Coppos, Rebecca Baehler
Director of Photography: Fernando Cardenas

Editorial Company: Nomad Editing
Editors: Eric Kissack, Jenny Mogen
Postproduction Company: D-Train
Lead Flame Artist: Ben Gibbs

Spot: "Books"
Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab
Chief Creative Officer: Duncan Milner
Executive Creative Director: Eric Grunbaum
Creative Directors: Simon Cassels, Jon Lancaric
Art Director: Luke Martin
Copywriter: Chris Trumbull
Executive Producer: Mike Refuerzo
Agency Producers: Hank Zakroff, Mallory Gordon, Tessa Kocourek, Christina Villaflor
Production Company: Green Dot Films
Directors: Mark Coppos, Rebecca Baehler
Director of Photography: Fernando Cardenas

Editorial Company: Nomad Editing
Editor: Jenny Mogen
Postproduction Company: D-Train
Lead Flame Artist: Ben Gibbs

IDEA: Four ads—with talking turtles, worker ants, mythical dwarf-like creatures and reptilian humanoids—all packed into one 30-second ad? You're going to need some bubble wrap for that. Yet BBDO in Toronto delivers it all in one piece in its latest amusing spot for FedEx. The ad aims to raise awareness of FedEx offerings beyond its core strengths. "FedEx Canada is known as the gold standard in urgent and international shipping," said BBDO group account director Steve Groh. "We want people to be aware of the other stuff—freight, small business and less-than-urgent." The ad's first three scenes focus on those three areas, with the twist being that each segment, beginning with the second, opens with characters watching the previous scene—or "ad"—on TV. The spot wraps with a fourth scene in which two humans remark on all three ads and their "gimmicks" before revealing a gimmick of their own—as a flick of an alien tongue and swing of a dinosaur tail suggest these guys aren't human after all.

COPYWRITING: The agency wrote a handful of scripts. "This was the most ambitious by far, the one that scared us the most, and the one the client loved the most," said executive creative director Peter Ignazi.



The writers went back and forth on some of the creatures. But in all cases, they slyly reflect the services they're discussing—the turtles talk about non-urgent (i.e., slower) shipping; the ants want to haul freight; the dwarves are small-business men (in addition to being diminutive themselves). The writers had fun with the dialogue, too. "My favorite line is when the one turtle says to the other, 'Don't be so quick to judge,'" said Ignazi. "It's the little, subtle things we hope people will get. One of the ants is called Anthony. Anywhere we could inject a little humor, we did." The spot wraps with the FedEx logo and tagline, "Solutions that matter."

ART DIRECTION/FILMING: The Sons and Daughters directing team known as Peter Martin filmed the four scenes over two days in Toronto. The first scene was shot with animatronic turtles on a turtle-size set; the ant scene has CGI insects (from Aardman Animations) set against a human-size warehouse; the final two scenes are live action. There are lots of little visual jokes. "Tortoise beats hare!" reads a framed newspaper clipping in the turtles' office; the ants display a "Best Picnic Spots" map on the wall; and the dwarves have a circular door and medieval weaponry as decorations. "These ads get a lot of airplay and a lot of sharing online, so it's good to give people little things to see the next time," said Ignazi.



TALENT: The first two scenes lean on voiceovers—as younger workers chat with their superiors about shipping options. "You have to play in stereotypes to communicate stuff this quickly," Ignazi said. "You have the gruff, older, seasoned guy who's been around for a while—an Ed Asner kind of guy for the turtle. And you have the newbie who needs to learn that FedEx is the answer to whatever the problem is." The voices are more blue-collar in the warehouse than in the office. The dwarves are normal-size actors in makeup and prosthetics who "had to look good in big ears and beards," said Ignazi. The humans in the final scene are "nondescript white-collar guys who roll up their sleeves and tape boxes," he added. "Nothing really special. Just great actors."

SOUND: The sound is mostly ambient office noise, except for the dwarf scene, which has ethereal flute-like music playing. The major sound challenge was to match up the voiceovers to the animatronics and animation in the first two scenes.

MEDIA: National TV and online.

THE SPOT:


CREDITS
Client: FedEx
Spot: "Gimmicks"
Agency: BBDO Toronto
ECDs: Peter Ignazi, Carlos Moreno.
Copywriter: Sean Atkinson
Art Director: Shawn James
Agency Producers: Anna Tricinci, Dave Medlock
Production Company: Sons & Daughters
Director: Peter Martin
DOP: Barry Parrell
Production Designer: Noel McCarthy
Executive Producer: Liane Thomas
Producer: Jeff Darragh
Editing: Posterboy Edit
Editor: Brian Williams
Asst. Editor: Steve MacGregor
Editing Executive Producer: Michelle Lee
Color: Alter Ego
Colorist: Eric Whipp
VP, Group Account Director: Steve Groh
Account Supervisor: Jaya Gothi
Account Executive: Christine Michalejko
Animatronics: Legacy Effects
CGI: Aardman Animations
VFX: Ring of Fire
Sound Design: Grayson Matthews
Casting: Powerhouse

Starting Wednesday, a walking, talking, pants-less billboard named Mark McIntyre will begin hitchhiking mostly naked across Canada. He will make the journey from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Truro, Nova Scotia, to raise money and awareness for "below-the-waist" cancers, as well as money and awareness for underwear brand Stanfield's. It's an updated version of a stunt that Toronto agency John St. created for Stanfield's in 2010, when McIntyre, a testicular-cancer survivor, spent 25 days live-streaming video of himself hanging out at home in his underwear. That effort handily succeeded in its goal of collecting 50,000 Facebook likes (for the campaign site, not the brand itself) in exchange for a $50,000 donation from Stanfield's to the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as a lot of chuckling press coverage for the cause and the advertiser.

This time, supporters can like Stanfield's Facebook page to see McIntyre's progress. There, they can also offer him rides, and vote to give him benevolent gifts like boots and sadistic challenges like swimming mostly naked in icy water. The weather forecast for Vancouver on Wednesday doesn't look great—misty and 40s, or pretty cold for no pants. If McIntyre makes it to Truro within 21 days, Stanfield's will donate $20,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society. He apparently gets to hold a sign that says "I'm doing this for charity," which seems kind of like cheating. It also makes sense, though, because without it, nobody in his or her right mind would pick up McIntyre at all. The campaign is called the "The Gitchhiker," because, for people who speak Canadian, "gitch" is apparently a common slang term for underwear. Also because people who work in advertising love puns at least as much but probably more than people who write headlines for the New York Post.

A year ago today, a 13-year-old boy uploaded a hilarious video of his cursing father chasing their dog Fenton—who himself was chasing a pack of deer—through London's Richmond Park. The man's incessant screams of "Jesus Christ!" became a meme, and the audio was soon grafted on to all sorts of other videos. Now, British telecom EE has jumped on the Fenton bandwagon. Its new spot has a pretty basic premise: that everything on YouTube looks stunning through the company's 4G network. To demonstrate this, they reshot the Fenton video (comically, they're calling it a "remastered" version) as a Hollywood blockbuster-style chase scene—with sweeping, panoramic vistas and a whole herd of animals joining the run, including an elephant, an ostrich, a unicorn and a dinosaur. (In fact, a Fenton Jurassic Park spoof was almost certainly the inspiration.) EE brand director Spencer McHugh tells Marketing Week: "As there is arguably no YouTube video more epic than 'Fenton,' we wanted to make it even more epic by creating our own remastered version—so it can be enjoyed on the go on superfast 4G, in all its epic glory." The spot was done by digital agency Poke and Passion Pictures.

Via Unruly Media.

The original video:

Tumblr has announced a dozen ad agency and technology vendors as the first participants in its A-List Partnership Program, which appears to be similar to Facebook's Preferred Developer Program. Notable Tumblr partners include AKQA, Social@Ogilvy, Deep Focus, 360i, Droga5, We Are Social and Carrot Creative.

Rick Webb, marketing and revenue lead at New York-based Tumblr, said in a statement: "We couldn’t be happier with the early success brands have had using Tumblr to tell their stories, and we’ve been honored to work with some of the most creative and talented agencies around the world."

The move comes one month after Tumblr showcased its two young ad products at Advertising Week. Ad buyers have included notable brands like ABC, Coke and Adidas, which have given some rave reviews.

"Tumblr is about visual storytelling," said Aisling McCarthy, Account Lead for Adidas at We Are Social, during the trade conference in early October. McCarthy explained how We Are Social shot original footage of European soccer stars, turned the footage into stills and gifs, and baked them into Tumblr ads which got shared by fans all over the world.

The A-List Partnership Program could escalate such brand activity on the micro-blogging platform. Like Facebook's Preferred Developer Program, Tumblr's program will give agency partners more access to the site's application programming interface (API), firehose of data, how-to training and overall technical support.

Specs
Who Co-CEOs Jon Cohen (l.) and Rob Stone
What Marketing and PR agency
Where New York offices

When it comes to mixing music with marketing, Cornerstone may be king. This summer it created the Pepsi NFL Anthems campaign, getting stars like Kelly Clarkson and Kid Rock to write hometown stadium songs for pro football teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. Founded in 1996 by former Arista exec Rob Stone, the agency employs 100 people with clients like Bushmills, Converse and Microsoft. Its growth was fueled in part by what’s-next music magazine The Fader, which Stone started with co-CEO and Columbia veteran Jon Cohen in 1998. “The Fader’s editorial mission really helps keep us in the know,” said Cohen. 

Christmas is a lot of work. For those brave souls whose job it is to decorate the house, trim the tree, send the cards, stuff the stockings, wrap the presents and cook the meal, pulling off a successful Christmas once a year can seem like a nearly impossible task—a feeling that U.K. supermarket chain Morrisons perfectly encapsulates in its new spot, "For Your Christmas," by London agency DLKW Lowe.

In a country that takes its Christmas ads seriously, this is one of the year's stronger contenders so far. You know how when you finally manage to set up the tree, it seems like all the needles suddenly fall off? Or how cooking a turkey can turn into a wrestling match? And you've somehow invited 100 people over for Christmas dinner? On top of which, you've got 20 pots on the stove and your mother-in-law is literally incapable of finding the spice cabinet? All of these things—usually an exasperated exaggeration of the truth—become real (or rather, surreal) for one British mum. Her Christmas is a lesson in Murphy's Law, where the needles really do fall, the line of people expecting to be fed actually does go around the block, and the Christmas turkey is legitimately pugnacious.

But on Christmas Day, as she looks at her family around the dining room table, enjoying their holiday meal, the mother's look of panic slowly turns to a smile. And come next year, it'll be that moment—the flash of clarity that maybe, just maybe, it was worth going nearly insane for this little bit of joy—that she'll remember.

And then she'll start the battle all over again.



CREDITS
Client: Morrisons
Agency: DLKW Lowe
ECDs: Richard Denney, Dave Henderson
CDs: Dave Henderson, Richard Denney, Tom Hudson
Creatives: Matt Lever, Helen Rhodes
Producer: Abbi Tarrant
Production Co.: Academy
Director: Si & Ad
Producer: Lucy Gossage
Editing House: Final Cut
Editor: Joe Guest
Flame Artist: Jason Watts
Post-Production: Finish
Producer: Justine White

Old Spice feels more like Skittles in this latest "Believe in your smellf" spot from Wieden + Kennedy for the brand's Champion line. This time, speedy Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings isn't going anywhere for a while—he's stuck, body parts all over, in a block of cement. Whether this is a metaphor for writer's block or what is unclear. See another new :15 after the jump.

Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan represent "true love" in a holiday print ad for Gap, part of the retailer's "Love Comes in Every Shade" campaign via Peterson Milla Hooks in Minneapolis. Musician Rufus Wainwright and artistic director Jörn Weisbrodt represent "married love." In a video, rapper Nas and his dad, blues musician Olu Dara, stand for "fatherly love." According to the client, "This campaign celebrates these diverse, optimistic views on family and the many forms love can take." That's laudably inclusive, though I initially wondered if the social message isn't somewhat diluted by other elements, like happy-happy quick-cuts of fireworks, babies, puppies and, naturally, all that colorful winter clothing for sale at Gap. It's a breezy take on a serious subject, a softer sell than similar campaigns by JCPenney. Ultimately, I think Gap's easy fusion of topical issues with instantly familiar sales imagery is a virtue that helps it make a point without seeming preachy. A loose, casual fit is almost always the most comfortable. More print ads below.

Rufus Wainwright and Jörn Weisbrodt

Nas and Olu Dara

The New Normal

The Atomics

Orso and Jack Huston

Haley Bennett, Thomas Keeling, and Lani Bennett

Gia Coppola and Nathalie Love

Diana Garcia and Gregory Rogove

Aubrey Plaza

Box sets of HBO programs are probably a little pricey as gifts for co-workers. But if you've got the extra cash, they can make the perfect passive-aggressive presents. That's according to BBDO's new holiday spot for the pay-cable network. What better way to say "You're a backstabbing slut" this season? Lena Dunham dodged a bullet here. Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: HBO
Title: "Office Gift Exchange"

Agency: BBDO, New York
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars
Executive Creative Directors: Greg Hahn, Mike Smith
Producer: Diane McCann
Copywriter: Jessica Coulter
Art Director: Matt Sorrell
Executive Music Producer: Melissa Chester
Senior Account Director: Tara DeVeaux
Account Lead: Leland Candler
Account Manager: Christina Liu

Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Tim Godsall
Executive Producer / Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Producer: Rick Jarjoura
DP: Darko Suvak
Production Designer: Bruce McCloskey

Music House: Stock
Editing House: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Carlos Arias

Gimme a P! Gimme a Q! Gimme a blank square!

What's that spell?

Nothing. It spells nothing at all. You're useless. If you had an I, you could spell "quip," but that's it. And you don't. You have to sit there and miss a turn while everybody else spells words with X's and J's that you swear aren't in the dictionary. You just sit there, hating your letters.

Did you ever think about how that makes them feel?

P, predictably, seems pretty nice, although she does say "I'm P!" at the end in a way that makes my inner 6-year-old giggle, the way he used to when asked to spell "icup." Q, unsurprisingly, has low self-esteem, but the spot featuring the little guy is a great boon to pedants like myself, who are forever telling their siblings (who are all getting a link to this blog post, believe you me) that "qi" is so a word.

Easily the best of these 30-second spots is "Blank," which makes everyone's favorite square out to be a huge Donald Trump-level jackass, owner of everything everywhere and the life of all the parties. That's totally what he'd be like, amirite?

San Francisco's Pereira & O'Dell got the Mattel games account earlier this year. (Though Hasbro markets the game in the U.S., Mattel does so abroad. These branding spots will break this month in France, Latin America, Spain, Germany and Mexico.) The agency has been doing good things for the kids market—notably some really, really fun stop-motion spots for Lego's DC Super Heroes line—and it's interesting to see them give wildly different personalities to the each Scrabble letter's advertisement. You have to dig a little bit to find the humor in the P ad (unless you're 6, of course), making it probably the weakest of the bunch. But the running theme of letter-people making interesting words mostly by accident is a nice way to realize the brand's aspirational, we-promise-your-family-won't-end-up-arguing-this-time strategy.

For a real challenge, let's see what Mayfair Games can come up with to promote my family's notorious fight-starter, Settlers of Catan. Proposed tagline: "The murder should look like a robbery."







CREDITS
Client: Mattel
Vice President, Games Marketing: Nick Karamanos
Global Marketing Director: Elizabeth Grampp
Senior Marketing Manager: Rebecca Cottrell 
Marketing Manager: David Schwartz
Associate Marketing Manager: Blake Knight
 
Agency: Pereira & O'Dell
Chief Creative Officer: P.J. Pereira
Executive Creative Director: Jaime Robinson
Creative Directors: Aricio Fortes, Paulo Coelho
Art Director: Keli Linehan
Copywriter: Charlie Wolff
Executive Producer: Jeff Ferro
Producer: Monica Wilkins
Director of Client Services: Gary Theut
Account Director: Henry Arlander
 
Production Company: Biscuit
Director: Jeff Low
Executive Producer: Shawn Lacy
Producer: Colleen O'Donnell
Line Producer: Mary Beth Jenner
Director of Photography: Igor Jadue-Lillo
 
Editorial Company: Umlaut
Editor: Inome Callahan
Assistant Editors: Jaime Kruse, Peter Geiger, Michael Pavloni
Executive Producer: Gina Locurcio
 
Graphics: Laundry
 
Music: Tonic
Track: Original Track

Not since The Gashlycrumb Tinies has there been so much exquisitely hilarious death on display as in this animated PSA from McCann Australia for the Melbourne Metro train system. Described aptly by one viewer as "Feist meets Itchy and Scratchy," the three-minute spot catalogs all manner of avoidable demises in a series of simple and amusing set-piece cartoons—with the ludicrously jolly and catchy tune "Dumb Ways to Die" by Tangerine Kitty playing in the background. The spot draws only slightly more attention to the one kind of death Melbourne Metro is particularly interested in avoiding—the getting-hit-by-a-train kind—but that just makes it more delightful. "This campaign is designed to draw people to the safety message, rather than frighten them away, especially in our younger segments," says Chloe Alsop, marketing manager of Metro Trains. It should help curtail deaths by superglue, too. Via Reddit.

There are a few ways to approach Black Friday commercials. You can go all heartwarming in the spirit of the season. You can go heavy on the sale specs. Or you can get George Takei to sing an epic power ballad promoting an epic sale with an epic name.

Old Navy wholeheartedly embraces the latter strategy with a 60-second spot from Crispin Porter + Bogusky that broke Sunday night during the American Music Awards. In it, Mr. Sulu takes to the microphone and belts out an exuberant and heartfelt (if not quite on key) rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," reimagined here as "I Don't Wanna Miss a Deal." The song, of course, is from the 1998 movie Armageddon—likewise, the theme of Old Navy's 2012 Black Friday sale is "Cheermageddon," which the company is characterizing as the "most epically friendly sale ever," which apparently means it won't stress you out inordinately or cause you to get trampled mercilessly by fellow deal-seekers. (This is because the deals are spread out over a number of days—and because Thursday's big "doorbusters" are staggered throughout the day, though they will begin, surely somewhat stressfully, at midnight.)

The spot is suitably over the top. You've got the control room/music studio; the nerdy engineer band; the cheesy dancing and jumping and showing off the clothes; and loads of absurd mock-interplanetary goofiness, including a snowball asteroid, from which only Old Navy's performance fleece can save you. Scrooges would call it Forced Cheermageddon, though it fits in perfectly with Old Navy's existing cartoon world of light irony writ large in bold, bright colors.

Takei is himself a cartoon character, perfectly ludicrous for the role. As usual in commercials, he's seen here (mostly) in a white lab coat, and surprised no one when he delivers his trademark and (probably contractually obligated) "Oh my!" at the end. Old Navy is reinventing precisely nothing here, and having a fun time doing it.

The spot is backed by a more hardworking :30, in which Takei and his nerds run down some of the specific deals. CP+B also created the campaign site at cheermageddon.com.





CREDITS
Client: Old Navy
Spot: "I Don't Want to Miss a Deal"
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Partner, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Rob Reilly
Executive Creative Director: Jason Gaboriau
Creative Directors: Robin Fitzgerald, Cameron Harris
Senior Copywriter: Gerard Seifert
Senior Copywriter (Spanish): Jorge Ortega
Senior Art Director: Cerra Buckholz
Copywriter: Rachel Carlson
Art Director: Patricia Ortiz
Director of Video Production: Chad Hopenwasser
Executive Integrated Producer (Music): Bill Meadows
Executive Integrated Producer: Deb Drumm
Junior Integrated Producers: Jackie Maloney, Kelli Espinoza
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Amy Jacobsen
Production Company: Smuggler, Hollywood, Calif.
Directors: Randy Krallman, Tobias Perse
Production Company, Executive Producers/Partners: Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith
Production Company, Executive Producer/Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich
Production Company, Executive Producers: Allison Kunzman, Laura Thoel
Production Company, Head of Production: Andrew Colon
Line Producer: Cory Berg
Editorial Company: Cut & Run, Santa Monica, Calif.
Head of Production, Senior Producer: Christie Price
Executive Producer: Carr Schilling
Editor: Frank Effron
Assistant Editor: Susan Kim
Postproduction Company: Method, Santa Monica, Calif.
Executive Producer: Robert Owens
Producer: Colin Clarry
Lead Compositor: Kelly Bumbarger
Set Supervisor: Rob Hodgson
Visual Effects Supervisor: Jason Schugardt
Music Company: Search Party, Portland, Ore.
Music Company Producers: Sara Matarazzo, Genevieve Vincent
Composer: Nicholas Wright
Partner, Managing Director: Steve Erich
Group Content Director: Danielle Whalen
Content Director: Kate Higgins
Content Management Supervisor: Joselyn Bickford
Content Supervisors: Charissa Kinney, Georgette Young
Content Managers: Kristin Obi, Michelle Forbush, Tommy Cottam
Cognitive Anthropologists: Lindsey Allison, Jennifer Hruska

Client: Old Navy
Spot: "Cheermageddon"
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Partner, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Rob Reilly
Executive Creative Director: Jason Gaboriau
Creative Directors: Robin Fitzgerald, Cameron Harris
Senior Copywriter: Gerard Seifert
Senior Copywriter (Spanish): Jorge Ortega
Senior Art Director: Cerra Buckholz
Copywriter: Rachel Carlson
Art Director: Patricia Ortiz
Director of Video Production: Chad Hopenwasser
Executive Integrated Producer (Music): Bill Meadows
Executive Integrated Producer: Deb Drumm
Junior Integrated Producers: Jackie Maloney, Kelli Espinoza
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Amy Jacobsen
Production Company: Smuggler, Hollywood, Calif.
Directors: Randy Krallman, Tobias Perse
Production Company, Executive Producers/Partners: Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith
Production Company, Executive Producer/Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich
Production Company, Executive Producers: Allison Kunzman, Laura Thoel
Production Company, Head of Production: Andrew Colon
Line Producer: Cory Berg
Editorial Company: Cut & Run, Santa Monica, Calif.
Head of Production, Senior Producer: Christie Price
Executive Producer: Carr Schilling
Editor: Frank Effron
Assistant Editor: Susan Kim
Postproduction Company: Method, Santa Monica, Calif.
Executive Producer: Robert Owens
Producer: Colin Clarry
Lead Compositor: Kelly Bumbarger
Set Supervisor: Rob Hodgson
Visual Effects Supervisor: Jason Schugardt
Music Company: Search Party, Portland, Ore.
Music Company, Producers: Sara Matarazzo, Genevieve Vincent
Composer: Nicholas Wright
Partner, Managing Director: Steve Erich
Group Content Director: Danielle Whalen
Content Director: Kate Higgins
Content Management Supervisor: Joselyn Bickford
Content Supervisors: Charissa Kinney, Georgette Young
Content Managers: Kristin Obi, Michelle Forbush, Tommy Cottam
Cognitive Anthropologists: Lindsey Allison, Jennifer Hruska

IDEA: A live pony, the pet every little girl dreams of, is lovely and sweet and the perfect Christmas gift. But no—actually, it's a violent little monster who will tear your home apart, then gallop off righteously into snowy oblivion. Venables Bell & Partners' new holiday ad for eBay offers just this trajectory, as a well-meaning dad buys a Shetland pinto for his daughter. When that goes spectacularly wrong, a quick-witted mom saves the day by ordering a plush pony from eBay's Toys R Us store. The ad achieves a few things: It shows eBay has the hottest new toys, that its mobile app is ready when you are, and that the company knows what families go through at the holidays. "Parents often put tremendous pressure on themselves to find perfect presents for their kids," said Deirdre Findlay, senior director of consumer marketing at eBay North America. "This spot uses humor to show that even the best intentions can sometimes go awry, and there's an easier way to make the holidays merry with eBay mobile."

COPYWRITING: Mom and Dad lead their daughter down the stairs on Christmas morning. "A pony!" she screams, seeing the animal in the living room. But things quickly fall apart as the pony does a freaky spin, kicks out a window, mauls the Christmas tree and flees down the road. Mom whips out her phone and quickly pulls up FurReal Friends' Baby Butterscotch. "A pony!" the girl screams, delighted again. "OK. Who wants waffles?" says dumb Dad.



VB&P creative director Lee Einhorn has three daughters, so the plot was a natural for him. "I'm 'Uncle Daddy' at home—the fun uncle who's supposed to be the dad," he said. "The spot kind of wrote itself after a while. Dad is sort of the anti-hero. Target-wise, Mom had to be the hero, along with the mobile app." The spot closes on the voiced tagline, "When it's on your mind, it's on eBay," the new eBay logo and the ebay.com/toysrus URL.

TALENT: The agency used Shetland ponies. "They look really sweet, but they're actually kind of mean," said Einhorn. "We used three ponies that looked similar: One was a kicker, one was a spinner, one was a runner. We would swap them in to get the kinds of destruction we needed." Trainers handled the animals, and the Humane Society was on hand to monitor them. The human actors are meant to look like an "all-American-ish family," Einhorn said. They couldn't look too comical, or it would steal the joke of the surprise. Einhorn said the girl was particularly adept at "screaming like a banshee over and over."



ART DIRECTION/FILMING: Director Matt Aselton shot the ad at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, Calif. (The Griswold house from Christmas Vacation can be seen across the street.) Snow-making company Snow Business blanketed the outside with fresh flakes the night before, but it rained and they had to do it again in the morning. The agency dressed the entire house for Christmas. The pony kicking out the window was a real shot, though it was "Hollywood glass" made of sugar. The trainers and other extraneous visuals were removed in post. The furnishings and wardrobes feel aspirational. "We were trying to be a little bit Brooks Brothers with the dad's pajamas," said Einhorn. The spot is "super Hallmarky" at the outset, he added, "so we can yank the rug out, and then come back to this sweet little family again at the end."

SOUND: Sound design was crucial for making the chaos feel immediate, but so was the mix, as it let the family's humanity still come through.

MEDIA: TV and online. eBay declined to give more details of the buy.

THE SPOT:


CREDITS
Client: eBay
Spot: "Pony"

Agency: Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco
Executive Creative Directors: Paul Venables and Will McGinness
Creative Director: Lee Einhorn
Art Director: Matt Miller
Copywriter: Matt Keats
Director of Integrated Production: Craig Allen 
Agency Senior Producer: Emily Moore

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Director: Matt Aselton
Line Producer: Jeffrey Shupe
Executive Producer: Marc Marrie
Managing Director: Mal Ward
Director of Photography: Toby Irwin

Editorial Company: Arcade
Managing Partner: Damian Stevens
Producer: Denice Hutton
Editor: Geoff Hounsell
Assistant Editor: Sean Lagrange

Sound Design: 740 Sound Design & Mix
Executive Producer: Scott Ganary
Sound Designer: Andrew Tracy

Music: Mophonics
Executive Producer: Michael Frick
Composer: Nico Mansy

Mix: PLAY, John Bolen

Telecine: MPC (LA)
Colorist: Mark Gethin

VFX: The Mill LA
VFX Head of Production: Arielle Davis
Producers: Enca Kaul/Gabriel Libitsky
VFX Shoot Supervisor: Adrian Hurley
2D Lead: Glyn Tebutt
2D Artists: Steve Cokonis, Narbeh Mardirossian, Ben Smith, Nick Tayler
2D Assist: Robert Murdock

End Animation: The Mill LA
Design Set Supervisor: Tom O'Neill
Motion Graphics: Kasey Allen
Design Coordinator: Krissy Estrada