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The Week on AdFreak: Jan. 1-6, 2012

Tim Nudd — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:59:01 +0000

The 10 most-read AdFreak stories from the past week:
1. Boy With Down Syndrome Becoming an Unlikely Ad Star
2. Gaming Firm in Crisis Issues 1,200-Word Press Release
3. Israel Uses Facebook Timeline to Show an Addict's Descent
4. BP Accidentally Includes Anti-BP Protesters in Latest Ad
5. Creepy Steve Jobs Action Figure Will Be a Real Collector's Item
6. It's Game Over for One Insanely Abrasive Video-Game PR Guy
7. Here Are Your 5 Doritos 'Crash the Super Bowl' Finalists
8. 'Blue Busters': Apple's 'Ghostbusters' Spoof From 1984
9. Ace Metrix's Top Ads of 2011 Aren't Exactly Glamorous
10. Axe Unleashes 'Anarchy' on the Comics World

Trailer Mash 01-06-12

Stevan Keane — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:21:53 +0000

The Devil Inside is what happens when a director believes that despite ample evidence to the contrary there is another genuinely scary movie to be made about satanic possession almost a half-century after The Exorcist. It's what you might call an act of faith. A couple of years ago The Last Exorcism offered up the same prayer before it descended into a parody, possibly witting, of '70s schlocker The Devil's Rain. This, too, looks well enough on a first glance, though the hackneyed nursery-rhyme device and hints of hit-and-miss performances don't do it any favors.

The trailer for Beneath the Darkness—an everything-but-the-haunted-kitchen-sink small-town horror flick, it seems—is interesting mainly for the same reason the film will be, which is to generate a range of answers to two questions: 1) What does Beneath the Darkness actually mean? Was it not a parody title from a '90s SNL sketch about '80s slasher flicks? And 2) What happened to Dennis Quaid? Is he now channeling brother Randy, absent from Hollywood due to his refugee status in Canada?

Over a seductively self-aware voiceover about America, dreams and the power of the image, a series of 8mm sequences of veteran rocker John Mellencamp are intercut with shots of Main Street America looking attractively vintage and decayed. Some kind of postmodern take on the concert-tour movie, It's About You definitely seems to want to have its cake and eat it, but while the message comes across pretty sweetly in this small slice, a whole one could be a bit much to swallow.

The Isle of Man is a self-governing tax haven the size of a small town and sits in the middle of the sea halfway between England and Ireland. Among the reasons to visit, which include the glorious countryside and the annual TT motorcycle races, are the tax concessions you get if you make a film there, recently via the agency of the government's partner CinemaNX. This is how low-budget bursts of genius such as the brilliant The Disappearance of Alice Creed or Me and Orson Welles get made nowadays. Albatross, a coming-of-age tale of sexual awakening that appears to make a good fist of turning that dead phrase on its head, is the latest. The trailer suggests a bittersweet affair: On the one hand, there's an eye-opening performance by Jessica Brown-Findlay as a teen seductress; on the other, there's Julia Ormond, once the ingenue to Harrison Ford in the remake of Sabrina, as a cuckolded mum.

Haruki Murkami's international bestseller Norwegian Wood here appears to be getting one of those respectful screen adaptations than never quite delivers on the novel's nuances despite the very best intentions and, on this occasion, the benefit of a Jonny Greenwood score. Back in 1993, Tran Anh Ung made the groundbreaking The Scent of Green Papaya, and with its pastoral-meets-politics vibe this trailer has very much the same feel. Could be like last year's Jane Eyre though, which, while by no means a comprehensive retelling of the book, was quite brilliant.

Roadie appears to have been sabotaged by facial hair. It could be the greatest movie ever made about what happens to roadies after their careers collapse and they return home to sleep with their former schoolmates' wives. But when you face the audience with the kind of weird Victorian mutton chop and Zapata mustache combo sported by Ron Eldard, it's impossible to be taken seriously, at least according to this trailer.

Trailer Mash: 01 06 12

Adweek : Advertising & Branding — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:05:10 +0000

Facebook App Will Post Your Farewell to Friends If You Die

Tim Nudd — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:35:04 +0000

We recently wrote about the ad guy who sent out cards to friends and family this holiday despite having died several months earlier. Here's the Facebook version of that—an app called If I Die, which allows you to post farewell messages and videos on your Facebook wall after you pass away. It's simple: You craft your goodbyes, load them into the app, and then designate three of your friends as "trustees," who will confirm your death. After it's confirmed, your farewells get posted, and all your virtual friends can mourn you and "like" your final words. It's kind of morbid, but people could probably get into this—if it were positioned in a respectful, sentimental way. Unfortunately, the video for the app doesn't know what tone to take. At one point, it suggests leaving "a favorite joke" or settling an old score as your final words. If that's the case, perhaps you will be, as they say, better off dead. Via Mashable.

Ad of the Day: Starburst

Tim Nudd — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:55:11 +0000

Mars's consolidation of creative duties on its global brands at Omnicom last year saw the Starburst and Skittles accounts move from TBWA\Chiat\Day to DDB. Now, we get DDB's first effort for Starburst—and it aims for the same kind of intriguing quirkiness as TBWA's celebrated oddvertising on the candy brands.

The new spot pitches Starburst's Flavor Morph candies—a strange, Willy Wonka-like creation that somehow changes flavors as you chew. It opens with a prim girl giving a Flavor Morph to a guy who thinks he's an urban youth, despite his clearly affluent surroundings. She's hoping he can be like the candy and change too—pick himself up and start fresh. But he refuses—and tools away on his scooter, through the lush gardens of suburbia, giving a little bunny hop as he declares his allegiance to "the streets."

The spot was directed by Matt Aselton, who did some Starburst work for TBWA. (He also did the Boost Mobile "Pigs" ad, which was probably the best of the "Unwrong'd" spots.) And while it may not be an instant classic, "Mean Streets" is nicely executed—with a character that 14-year-old suburban kids everywhere will think is hilarious.

Look for the first Skittles work in the next month or two.

CREDITS
Client: Starburst
Spot: "Mean Streets"
Agency: DDB, Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson
Creative Director: Chuck Rachford
ACD, Copywriter: Pat Burke
ACD, Art Director: Chris Carraway
VP, Executive Producer: Will St. Clair
Assistant Producer: Jamie Gallant
Director: Matt Aselton
Production Company: Arts & Sciences

Quantum Levitation Demo Turns Out to Be Video-Game Ad

David Kiefaber — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:55:37 +0000

Another day, another fake viral video breaks our hearts. This time it's a WipeOut model-car track whose vehicles appear to use superconductivity and magnetic fields to hover above the ground. Gizmodo wanted so badly to believe this, despite the obvious connection to a video game and the intro credits for the not-very-plausible-sounding Japan Institute of Science and Technology. (It was actually made by Sony and SCE Studio Liverpool.) Seriously, how much faker did it need to be? They might as well have said Santa's Workshop made it, though I doubt St. Nick's elves could have strung together such adorable Engrish for the introduction.

Lost Bets Lead to Sad, Hilarious Fates in Great ESPN Spot

David Gianatasio — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:54:52 +0000

Clemson fans, this one's for you! College football fanatics are shown suffering humiliating fates after losing "gentlemen's bets" placed on their beloved teams in this new ESPN spot. One loser winds up roaming the streets clad in a diaper and baby bonnet. Another rings a bell while publicly sporting a sign proclaiming his reign as the "Fart King." Still another must eat a dish best served cold: the chest hair of the guy who won the wager, sprinkled on a post-game snack. Wieden + Kennedy crafted the diverting spot as part of its ongoing "It's not crazy, it's sports" campaign for ESPN. These are gentlemen's bets because, let's face it, women would never make such ridiculous wagers, let alone follow through when they lose. They just don't understand that sometimes the bro code of honor requires us to dress like giant babies and cry "Whaaa!" beneath an overpass all night long. And they look at us like we're nuts when we try to explain! Ah well, it's probably wise to take the ad's cautionary message to heart. Next time I bet on my favorite team, I'll play it safe and just bet the rent money.

Weird Naked Dude Bathes Behind Kiddies in French Fashion Ad

Tim Nudd — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:42:29 +0000

This has been kicking around for a day or two, but it's too weird not to mention: Upscale French fashion chain La Redoute committed the most bizarre of advertising fails by featuring a photo on its website and in its catalog of four happy children frolicking on a beach—with a creepy naked dude wading in the water behind them. The image, which you have to imagine was some sort of prank (though the perpetrator remains at large), was swiftly pulled from the website. As for the catalogs, well, they already went out, so that's water, with naked men bathing in it, under the bridge. Definitely the oddest catalog image since the Ikea dog with the human penis.

Northwestern Mutual Scores NCAA Partnership

Anthony Crupi — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:44:04 +0000

Northwestern Mutual has brokered a deal through CBS Sports and Turner Sports to become an official corporate partner of the NCAA, representing the life insurance, wealth management and retirement-planning services categories.

The Milwaukee-based firm replaces The Hartford, which wrapped its eight-year partnership with college sports’ governing body in December.

The Northwestern Mutual pact extends through 2014. Its partnership with the NCAA provides exclusive marketing and promotional rights in the three relevant categories, as well as usage of all NCAA-approved trademarks and logos.

While financial terms were not disclosed, the average corporate partner invests around $7.5 million per year for the rights to team up with the NCAA.

Now in the initial stages of activation, the partnership will tip off on the national stage as the curtain goes up on the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Northwestern Mutual will serve as presenting sponsor of the first four March Madness games on truTV, a premium that includes in-game graphic enhancements and custom vignettes.

The Road to the Final Four begins March 13-14 in Dayton, Ohio.

Over the course of the first four broadcasts of the 2011 tourney—the first to be shared by CBS and Turner under their 14-year agreement—truTV averaged 1.15 million viewers. All told, last year’s big dance was the most watched since 2005, averaging 10.2 million total viewers.

Fast Chat: Denny’s CMO Frances Allen

Andrew McMains — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:36:44 +0000

Frances Allen, chief marketing officer at Denny’s, discusses why she’s picky when choosing movie sponsorships—such as the recent Arthur Christmas tie-in—how she feels about the economy and why her brand isn’t returning to the Super Bowl this year.

Adweek: What has Arthur Christmas