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Indie Agencies Call Out the Best Automotive and Finance Super Bowl Ads

The LA Egotist — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 19:37:40 +0000

National

The Egotist asked Indie Agencies from across the US to break down the best Super Bowl ads by category. Our final installment covers the Automotive and Financial Services categories. Thank you to the agency strategists and creatives who did their homework during Super Bowl parties and reported back to us. To read more about what moved our critics in the CPG category, check out our first story in this series. Our second installment included Beer, QSR and Food and Beverage Super Bowl ads.

Jeep Wins the Automotive Category

Alec Beckett, Creative Director, Nail Communications, Providence, Rhode Island thought the Super Bowl’s car ads were all over the map:
“From the over-the-top macho Mercedes drag race to the schmaltzy “buy a Hyundai unless you want children to get cancer.” Dodge couldn’t decide whether they wanted to be wacky, rock ‘n roll with their Viking spot (clearly an awkward edit after they didn’t make the Super Bowl) or earnest and deep with the questionable use of MLK to sell pickup trucks.

Toyota also seemed to be randomly throwing darts trying to hit the right tone. They went hard for the heartstrings with the odds-of-winning-a-medal Paralympic spot. Then socially-conscious comedy with the rabbi, priest, imam and monk (Toyota brags of being an Olympic sponsor but has the group going to some generic football game?)
Two auto brands did movie tie-ins. Lexus with Black Panther was a generic 2+2=3 partnership. While Jeep did it better with their Jeff Goldblum turning the tables on the T-rex Jurassic Park homage.

Though not a homerun—and perhaps a bit too “inside baseball”—the best car ad of the night for me was the Jeep “Here’s your manifesto.” spot. When your product can do amazing things, maybe the best answer is to show it doing amazing things.”

Andy Grayson, Director of Strategy for Richmond-based creative agency, Arts& Letters Creative Co. was also a fan of Jeep’s Super Bowl spot.

“Jeep really stood out in the automotive category this year by doing what more companies should do: stay true to your brand. While other car companies in the Super Bowl used a lot of borrowed interest this year, Jeep, for the most part, brilliantly predicted other carmakers would do just that and ran spots that skewered the lofty car ads we’re so used to seeing. Jeep played it straight, owning their brand’s off-road identity. Arnold’s quiet “Anti-Manifesto” spot was sharp in its simplicity and was pretty much 180-degrees awa from Ram’s “Built to Serve” that borrowed Dr. Martin Luther King to try and make a statement yet ended up falling flat and setting Twitter ablaze – not in a good way.”

David Mathathia, Chief Strategy Officer, Fitzgerald & Co, Atlanta said that the auto brands chose Meaning Over Metal to make a statement during the Super Bowl.

“From diversity and inclusion, to equality, to defying odds, to tackling childhood illness and even (questionable) use of a civil rights icon, the OEMs were about letting us know what they stand for and less about what they sell. It’s not unusual to use this platform to (re) establish a brands’ meaning in the hearts and minds of a hundred million people but these were some weighty issues. It was an interesting move given the instability of the world around us but continues a trend of heartwarming over heart pounding in the auto category.

And while some of these messages connected, I can’t help but wonder when it’s time to get back to cars being cars? That Stinger ripping around the track from Kia sure looked hot and the Jeep Anti-Manifesto (which was a manifesto) simply celebrated what makes a Jeep, a Jeep. Both made me want to drive.

There’s a way to mix belief, spectacle and product that’s right for the Super Bowl…it’s been done brilliantly before, and hopefully more in the future.”

Financial Services: Still working at age 85: Funny or Not So Funny?

Craig Mikes, Principle & Executive Creative Director at Austin-based, Proof Advertising:

“The financial category has always been thought provoking, albeit a bit stuffy. They’d run the types of spots you’d see at televised golf events – giant firms providing advice in return for fees to the wealthy who could afford them. But this year the category is promoting more app-like technologies aimed at a do-it-yourself audience than the financial planners of the past.

E-Trade’s “This is Getting Old” spot paints a dire scenario warning us in the funniest way possible that the trends shows we may not have enough money to retire and play Mah-Jongg. Instead, we best start thinking about our next career or use their product to start magically investing our money.

But the standout in the overall category was “Translator.” from Rocket Mortgage. Keegan-Michael Key revisits the translation bit he performed with President Obama, sans the anger, this go around. In this execution, he is opting to de-jargon everyone from pretentious hairdressers to dating profiles and finally the mortgage process from the aforementioned stuffy, giant firms. The unraveling of unnecessary complex financial verbiage brings to life a very simple strategy that showcases their product’s ease-of-use benefits with a light, helpful tone. No monsters under your bed scare tactics.”

Ed Cotton, Chief Strategy Officer for Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and Chair of the 4A’s Strategy Council:

“Instead of its usual babies and animals, E-Trade took on the big issue of retirement, or rather the increasing impossibility of it. A smart strategy and a ripe cultural observation, but the execution left something to be desired. It was one of those where it makes sense on paper, but it’s hard to show 85-year-olds struggling in the workplace and especially hard to make it funny.

TD Ameritrade brought an iconic, and perhaps some would say ironic, celebrity into the picture in the form of the ageless Lionel Ritchie who touted long service hours without ever naming the title of his most famous song.

A final word for Mass Mutual, who tried very hard to pull at some purpose-driven heartstrings, a good notion, but it failed to explain how the brand stands for the purpose”

Indie Agencies on the Beer, QSR and Food and Beverage Super Bowl Ads: What Worked and Could’ve Worked Better

The LA Egotist — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 18:55:35 +0000

National

Tide Wins the Beer Wars

Alec Beckett, Creative Director at Nail Communications in Providence, RI noted that with no hard selling or product features and benefits to flog (in theory) beer advertising has the highest entertainment potential. He felt that this year was a big disappointment for the beer category:
“Our crowd was excited to see the Bud Light battle, but was disappointed that the first spot was not new. Then the Bud Knight fell a little flat. (But an aside here: how did that blatant, heavy-handed attempt to make “Dilly Dilly” a catch phrase work so freakin’ well?)
Michelob Ultra seemed to whiff badly with the “Chris Pratt gets cast as an extra” spot. But managed to redeem themselves later with “Chris Pratt actually being an extra.”

I was not a fan of Stella Artois and Matt Damon trying to blackmail us into buying their beer to give people clean water.
But to me it was pretty clear who did the best beer ad of the night: Tide. Their Clydesdale teaser was just one of the glorious series of faux spots featuring people with clean clothes.”
Andy Dutlinger Creative Director at LRXD in Boulder liked the cause-related messages from the beer category.

“The big-beer-with-a-heart sentiment from Budweiser (who used production facilities to get clean water to disaster victims this year) and Stella Artois (who is selling chalices to bring clean water to people in the developing world) made me feel good about the companies. But that’s not enough to ever make their products my first choice.”

Was Wendy’s Tweet More Effective Than Their Ronald Beat Down?

Craig Mikes, Principle & Executive Creative Director at Austin-based, Proof Advertising said he has meddled in the Fast Food category and found this year’s offering disappointing.
“McDonald’s, perhaps seeing what Wendy’s was up to in their leaked spots, snuck a Big Mac spot in pregame airtime. It did nothing to pull Wendy off of the Ronald beat down. Simple, clean, voiceless spots -- a formula that seem to be what’s next in the category of me-too wannabes --continued the fresh-not-frozen stance as they riddled away at the Arches for their frozen patties. It made what Martha did to Jack seem tame.
We’ve heard this fresh claim from Wendy’s before, but it seemed to sting more this time around even without the guy in the freezer footage. Burger King and other major QSR players were all too happy to sit this fight out knowing Wendy’s twitter account was lurking on the dark web ready to pounce with some pithy back up.”

LRXD’s Dutlinger added, “Wendy’s had something to say to McDonald’s (who flash freezes their meat), but they did it in the least fresh way possible. I did like Wendy’s tweet at McDonald’s when the broadcast blacked out, insinuating that McD’s was to blame for freezing viewers’ televisions. And it didn’t cost $5 million.”

The Best Food and Beverage Spots (aside from Doritos and Mountain Dew mentioned in CPG recap yesterday)
Jerry Gennaria, Chief Operating Officer and SVP, The Brighton Agency in St. Louis said that any brand manager fighting for space and attention in a crowded freezer aisle can tell you, it’s hard to stand out (especially at the Super Bowl).
“‘Snow Date’ and ‘Dad Time’ positioned the brand as perfect for special occasions, no matter how small or unexpected. Branding and positioning is as important as awareness and Marie Callender has staked their claim for the little moments that mean so much. We can almost smell the comfort food from here.”

Andy Dutlinger CD at LRXD had more to say about the Food and Beverage ads in the Big Game:

“Kraft’s “live” ad that asked viewers to hashtag photos of how they family and perhaps have those shots star in the ad was a good concept, but the execution severely fell down. How good can pictures of people on their couch in sweat pants ever be?”

“Pepsi and Coke are both trying to convince people there’s a soda out there for them. But people are way too smart — and looking too deeply at what’s in their food these days — to have a big-budget, we-are-the-world Super Bowl ad blow it past them. “

Five Agencies Come Together as MERGE To Offer Uncommon Combination of Capabilities

The Chicago Egotist — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 17:41:27 +0000

Local

Ron Bess, CEO of Merge

MERGE, a unified agency with an uncommon combination of capabilities in strategy, creativity and technology, is launching today in three cities—Chicago, Boston and Atlanta, CEO Ron Bess has announced.

All told, five marketing agencies compose MERGE:
•           HY Connect, Chicago
•           MERGE Design + Interactive, Chicago
•           Partners & Simons, Boston
•           Dodge Communications, Atlanta
•           AVID Design, Atlanta

This full-service agency will concentrate on five core capabilities: strategic brand planning, creative and design, digital/tech development, and contact planning across paid, earned and owned channels.

“The name MERGE reflects our belief that a collaborative business model leads to better results for our clients,” explained Bess, who is based in Chicago. “This branding is part of our continued evolution as a unified creative and media agency with a technology capability that allows us to go beyond the typical agency scope.”

The three MERGE offices will be branded, MERGE Chicago, MERGE Boston and MERGE Atlanta, each going beyond traditional digital communications to provide clients full service enterprise solutions equal to those most common among high-tech digital specialist agencies and tech consultancies.

The newly formed operation is already seeing success in its offering, having recently landed accounts and assignments from brand marketers including Marco’s Pizza and LivaNova.

“Our agency’s background in building enterprise solutions like Digital Asset Management and Digital Marketing Engine platforms in-house for clients allows us to conceive and develop digitally rooted business solutions for them as well as brand communications,” MERGE Atlanta President Tom Brand said. “Artists and scientists often have trouble speaking the same language. The same is true of marketing and IT people in business, who often have different priorities. We help them find common ground.”

“Our clients have access to a broader set of expertise, capabilities and services, now with the added flexibility to create purpose-built teams from a much deeper pool of talent, especially in media and technology,” MERGE Boston President Andrew Pelosi explained.

Who Knew This Super Bowl Would be the Year for Laundry Detergents? Indie Agencies Weigh in on the Best CPGs of the Big Game

The LA Egotist — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 20:39:28 +0000

National

The Egotist asked indie agencies across the US to work during the Super Bowl and pick the best Super Bowl ads by category. Here’s the first in the series of what agencies from Austin to Boston and St. Louis to San Francisco had to say about the CPG ads that worked in this year’s Super Bowl.

Andy Grayson, Director of Strategy for Richmond-based creative agency, Arts& Letters Creative Co. summed it up best with the question, “Who knew it would be the year of laundry detergents?”

“Persil had an entertaining ad that used the Super Bowl stage to create awareness for their brand that is still very new to the US audience. And then there was Tide, who used the Super Bowl moment brilliantly – on many levels. Their strategy “that every ad could be a Tide ad” not only lampooned the entire marketing rodeo of the Super Bowl, but did so in a way that wasn’t too much of an inside joke for just the ad industry – the rest of America seemed to enjoy it, too.

Beyond that, Tide’s co-opting of other Procter & Gamble brands was incredibly smart, and Tide’s move to buy short format ads and own every quarter of the game is a strategy that I’m sure has other marketers asking “Why didn’t we do that?””

Will Bright, Group Creative Director, O’Keefe, Reinhard and Paul also thought the media strategy was an important aspect of the “It’s a Tide Ad” being a favorite in the game, “As a creative, when I think of the Super Bowl, I think of work like this. A smart insight married with killer execution and production and paid off over the course of the game and online. It’s a dream come true. I’m sure there was a lot of pain getting it to this place, but from the outside it looks effortless. They ran spots in every quarter and continually hammered home the idea: If it’s clean, its Tide. They were self-aware and silly and fun and borrowed interest from other worlds in just the right way. I loved the line, “Does this make every Super Bowl ad a Tide ad?” It’s so simple and easy to follow—for me there’s nothing not to like.”

Ed Cotton, Chief Strategy Officer for Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners and Chair of the 4A’s Strategy Council felt that at a time when CPG brands are reported to be under some pressure, some brand leaders created some of the best spots in the game.”

“That was the case for Dorito’s who threw Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage right into the world of hip-hop culture with a rap challenge. It wasn’t just super-compelling for the sake of it, they made sure the fiery attributes of the product came across.

The other brand to play around with culture was Tide, who took the culture of advertising, inserting itself into familiar Super bowl ad tropes and as a brilliant piece of parody; into its own Old Spice ad. Maybe this was advertising for advertising lovers and those in the industry and lacked the cultural punch of Dorito’s to make it the "best CPG in show."

Deb Maltzman and Angela Denise, Creative Directors, Terri & Sandy described the feeling of watching the Super Bowl as advertising creatives, feel bad bringing down the room during a Super Bowl party by giving their real opinion of the work.

“And now we’re an even tougher audience. Because we watch the spots 1,000 times before the game, genuine laughter during the game is even harder (poor us). So now, when you LOL while watching an ad during the actual game, it’s definitely worth mentioning. This was the case with the celebrity-filled spot for Doritos/Mountain Dew. Was it Morgan Freeman’s and Peter Dinklage’s amazing lip synching? Was it the Easter eggs? Busta Rhymes on a wall? Or just the impeccable execution of it all?

All of the above. But the best part about it was the fact that it happened to escape our feeds pre-game, and we got to see it for the first time on the television—just like we used to. “

Alyssa Toro, Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Connelly Partners, Boston and home of the New England Patriots managed to get through the stressful game and admit that what Monday Morning quarterbacks don’t always realize: humor is hard. It’s really hard. And on a stage like the Super Bowl, it’s about as risky as going to a live comedian. If the joke misses the mark even a little, it gets cringe-y really fast.

“The one spot that stood out for me (if you were to take out the brilliantly executed Alexa spot) was Febreze #bleepdontstink. I have to hand it to the agency writer, especially, for creating a dialogue which was so simple and real that it took an expression of #bleepdontstink and made it current and unique. Perfect cast. Flawless delivery in a storytelling style. And an impressive seamless tie to a social campaign throughout. This was an enviable idea that made creating a funny mockumentary look easy. Which we all know is definitely not.”

By Matching Skin Tones to Pantone Colors, Artist Angelica Dass Challenges Us

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:16:55 +0000

National

See more of Angélica Dass's work here.

Nike Unlimited Stadium: The World's First LED Running Track

The Boston Egotist — Wed, 10 May 2017 18:18:13 +0000

National

So this popped up in Manila...

Amongst other things, the track's main feature is a digital avatar that can pace you as you run the whole length of the running shoe-shaped figure-eight 200m track.

Agency: BBH Singapore

Learn more here.

Heineken Opens Your World With "Worlds Apart" Short

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 15:58:15 +0000

National

Agency: Publicis London

Are you paying attention, Pepsi?

Via

Spotted: The Best Signs From the Boston Marathon

The Boston Egotist — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 19:13:27 +0000

Local

This sign #BostonMarathon pic.twitter.com/urwYQHqYdl

— Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) April 17, 2017

Favourite #BostonMarathon sign thus far. pic.twitter.com/e45x5Cm9xY

— Jon Ashley (@jonashley87) April 17, 2017

@freckells is going to crush #Boston today!

A post shared by Lindsay A. Roth (@lindsayaroth) on Apr 17, 2017 at 7:41am PDT

—AP Photo/Steven Senne

Lauren Harvey from New Jersey is waiting for her husband Jonathan in #Framingham #whyicheer #bostonmarathon #tw https://t.co/dDX5AxJrRE pic.twitter.com/CynwDHizSP

— MetroWest Daily News (@metrowestdaily) April 17, 2017

Best. Sign. Ever. #BostonMarathon #signs pic.twitter.com/5EefkdxaWN

— Steve Kapner (@SteveKapner) April 18, 2017

These women got the next 50 years! #bostonmarathon #iamsafr #261fearless

A post shared by Safr (@gosafr) on Apr 17, 2017 at 9:19am PDT

How about you? See anything interesting you wanna share?

Via here & here.

Worst Ad Ever: Pepsi's "Jump In" Featuring Kendall Jenner

The Boston Egotist — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 13:27:49 +0000

National

You just have to see this cringe-worthy production for yourself:

It would be easy to pile on Pepsi and its in-house agency, Creators League Studio, for being so tone-deaf, amongst other things, so we'll just let the work speak for itself.

But yes, just to be clear, this is how not to make an ad.

Via

Food, Not Boobs: Carl's Jr. Changes Up Its Ad Game

The Boston Egotist — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 19:33:59 +0000

National

We dig it. Thanks, 72andSunny.

Via

'Love, Actually' Sequel Comes on Red Nose Day, May 25

The Boston Egotist — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 18:24:21 +0000

National

Tune in to NBC on Thursday, May 25th at 10pm.

Make a Fashion Statement. Literally.

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 21:51:15 +0000

National

How do you say "Resist" in Morse Code? This scarf will tell you:

Check out StudioQStore for more.

Get a Load of This: An Exploration of Loaders.

The Boston Egotist — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 22:34:32 +0000

National

Ready for the long weekend to load? Kick it off with this visual treat:

Via

Super Bowl 51 Ads Wrap-Up: Our Picks

The Boston Egotist — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 18:02:02 +0000

National

Just like we do every year—here, in no particular order, are the spots that got our attention during the big game last night:

Agency: In-house

Agency: Publicis Seattle

Agency: GSD&M

Agency: David&Goliath

Agency: Anomaly

Agency: Venables Bell & Partners

Agency: Brunner

Oh yeah, we totally called this one, Tide...

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, NY

And of course, GO PATS.

How Comic Sans Came To Be.

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 19:19:09 +0000

National

Love to hate Comic Sans? Well, you have Vincent Connare to thank for it...

Via

Ed Emberley: From Advertising to Children's Books

The Boston Egotist — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 19:25:07 +0000

Local

Best known for his 1970 work, Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals and the series that followed, Malden, Mass. native (and current Ipswich, Mass. resident) Ed Emberley is a prolific illustrator who has inspired a generation of artists. At age 85, he recalls how he went from MassArt to his first job in advertising, and eventually illustrating multiple children's books a year—ultimately leading to his first-ever career retrospective Kahbahblooom: The Art and Storytelling of Ed Emberley, which runs through April 9, 2017 at the Worcester Art Museum. This is one of those creative journeys that's both inspiring and humbling.

Read more about Ed Emberley's life in his own words here.

Via.

Reebok Launches CrossFit Nano 7 Shoe.

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:28:08 +0000

Local

Canton, MA-based Reebok—but not for long—just released the latest iteration of their CrossFit Nano training shoe, just in time for you to start training for the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games Open. And the sneakerhead and CrossFitter in us like it:

Happy New Year, indeed. What do you think?

Cambridge BioMarketing Takes On Mannequin Challenge to Raise Rare Disease Awareness

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 17:47:40 +0000

Local

Watch and share via pauseforgood.com.

#ICYMI: Casey Affleck & SNL Parody 'Real' Dunkin' Donuts Customer

The Boston Egotist — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 20:25:26 +0000

Local

That Boston/Southie stereotype never gets old, eh?

HIll Holliday, did you have a hand in this?

'Subway Therapy' Asks Us to Think Positive and Share

The Boston Egotist — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 19:50:20 +0000

Local

Just in time for Thanksgiving... This past weekend we came across this at the Harvard T Station:

A photo posted by Pope Carlos (@popecarlos) on Nov 18, 2016 at 9:11pm PST

Over 2500 post-its. Small act. Big Impact. <3 #subwaytherapyboston #loveboston

A photo posted by Venita Subramanian (@venitasub) on Nov 19, 2016 at 5:42am PST

A photo posted by Subway Therapy Boston (@subwaytherapyboston) on Nov 18, 2016 at 7:18pm PST

We're not going to comment on the current national political climate, but we are going to comment on the brilliance, especially in its simplicity, of this crowd-sourced "campaign" to encourage and drive positivity through the general public—in this case, MBTA commuters. We're fans.

So far, we've determined Kayla M, Jing Wu, Grand Master E, and Venita Subramanian to be the perpetrators of #SubwayTherapyBoston.

Well, ladies, we thank you—for the simple act of brightening our day. We could all really use that from time to time, don't you think?

See more by clicking on the hashtag: #SubwayTherapyBoston

Mercedes-Benz Welcomes Winter with "Snow Date"

The Boston Egotist — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 19:18:57 +0000

National

Somehow, it just turned into winter overnight, didn't it?

Well, what better TV spot to go with the drop in temperature and those snow flakes falling than this little gem from Mercedes-Benz and director Noam Murro:

Agency: Merkeley + Partners

Sleeping At Last updates Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" for this simple, yet well-executed spot.

Via

Designers v. Normal Humans

The Boston Egotist — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 18:36:59 +0000

National

Cute.

From Pixelo via DesignTAXI

Gift Idea: Latest Edition of 'Hey, Whipple' Co-Authored by Edward Boches

The Boston Egotist — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Local

Black Friday and the holiday shopping season is almost upon us. For those looking to give a thoughtful, advertising/branding/marketing industry-related gift, may we suggest the latest edition of Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This:

Luke Sullivan's classic guide to creating great advertising was recently revised with chapters written by Boston ad industry stalwart Edward Boches, who provides such insight as the following:

"We share an idea for two reasons: because it makes us look good to share cool stuff or because we think the person with whom we share could use it or would enjoy it.

Put another way, 'We tell our friends about your brand not because we like your brand, but because we like our friends.'"

To impart his lessons on the rapidly changing digital landscape Boches also points to some prominent campaigns created by his old shop, locally-based MullenLowe.

You can get a copy for yourself or someone you love here.

Via

Get Involved: Support MullenLowe's Campaign to Help the Movember Foundation

The Boston Egotist — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Local

Looking to do some good today? How about helping MullenLowe support the Movember Foundation to change the face of men's health?

It's easy. Upload your pic with MullenLowe's custom app. Add and edit your Mo as you please. Then share it and tag it. For every pic tagged with #MullenLoweMo, MullenLowe will donate $10 USD to the Movember Foundation.

So, what are you waiting for? Get snappin'.

Nike Salutes Cubs With "Someday"

The Boston Egotist — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 14:42:37 +0000

National

Congratulations to the 2016 World Series Champions Chicago Cubs.

Agency: Wieden

Good for you, Cubs fans. About damn time.

Via