Deutsch

Deutsch LA is promoting the new Twisted Metal game for client Playstation by providing 100,000 bullets (yes, for real) in a military-sized machine gun for those laptop jocks and jockettes who want to let out some aggression and fire away and blow shit up. The agency went so far as to send us a promo poster, which you can see above, which we suppose a new kind of Valentine’s Day massacre. We’re not sure why we feel giddy/weird about something like this, but we’re on the list. If you care to join in on the fun, time is limited, but go here.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

Yeah, we know advertising bloggers and “journalists” have been giving a lot of attention to this Super Bowl trailer this morning. But, we can’t remember another time when a :60 “ad trailer” got this much buzz. The bandwagon is just too inviting to avoid.

From Deutsch LA and VW comes “The Bark Side,” a Super Bowl commercial teaser and an obvious nod to last year’s much-beloved “Little Darth” spot. Boosted by an overwhelmingly positive response on social media, “Little Darth” quickly established its place among the best Super Bowl spots ever. Instead of shying away from the hype going into this year’s big game, Deustch and VW are embracing it. Along with the dogs, the duo is drumming up buzz with a microsite, allowing users to invite others to their Super Bowl party using a customized Star Wars title crawl (starting Jan. 27).

But, we’re still a bit skeptical that this year’s spot can live up to its predecessor. Should Deutsch and VW have picked a new theme to go with this year? Indiana Jones perhaps? And, can anything really top dogs dressed as Ewoks, droids, Wookies and Imperial Walkers? Will George Lucas soon announce that the singing dogs will be digitally edited into a “special Blu-ray edition” of the original Star Wars trilogy? By Feb. 5, we’ll have our answers.

Well, not sure how to really segue from the awful news regarding the Y&R building, but we’ll just tell you that Winston Binch and his crew have come through with their new website for Deutsch Inc., which is part of a project that the agency’s aforementioned partner/chief digital officer spearheaded called  “30 Days to Beta.”

We’ve been told by the Deutsch LA camp that the site was developed “as a way to change our culture and become more agile.” Throughout the 30-day process of creating the new online destination, which you have to scroll down through to view the usual client roster, leadership and other content, visitors could view the goings on of the dev team that dwelled in what they called “escape pods. ” Watching other folks write code, drink coffee and argue? Priceless. Anyhow,

 

While we’re on the promotional tip today, though we’d let you know that Deutsch bumped up several of its creatives to VP in its New York office. Seven creatives in all are adding VP to their title including ACD Judd Counsell (who served as copywriter on the Manning bros’ “Football Cops” work for DirecTV among other things), as well as creative directors Donovan Goodly and John Heath (left-who can forget that headshot? who joined Deutsch NY in January to work on the Microsoft business.

Former CP+B partner/managing director Winston Binch, who headed to Deutsch L.A. back in April to assume the title of partner, chief digital officer, is giving himself and his current crew an assignment: Build Deutsch’s web, mobile and tablet platform in just 30 days. The “experiment” as Binch calls it is aptly enough titled “30 Days 2 Beta” and is tethered to the hopeful directive that ad folks “…need to work, get things to market, and learn faster. Do it cheaper, leaner, and more collaboratively.” Technically, the 30 Days experiment started yesterday, so we’re down to 29. Will they make it in time? Who knows, but if you want to keep up with Binch and his bunch, check out this site that includes live feeds of the geeky goings on and follow on Twitter at #30DaystoBeta.

Video game ad of the year? No doubt about it.

Over the past couple of months, the PlayStation brand has taken a beating. In April, Sony’s global PlayStation Network was repeatedly assaulted by hackers, and the network had to tell over 77 million users that their personal information (including credit card data) might have been compromised and put at risk for fraud. As if this wasn’t horrifying enough for the PlayStation faithful, word leaked that Sony executives waited a full week to tell its users it was a victim of a security breach. The PlayStation network was down off and on for over a month due to a bevy of hacker attacks, and many PlayStation loyalists moved on to different consoles and gaming platforms. Can you blame them for losing trust?

For agency Deutsch LA, the great task of getting PlayStation users back after this global controversy must have seemed quite daunting. How does a company recapture those who they caused to feel fear, anger and confusion? Well, as the above spot shows, Deutsch employed a major element of its successful and acclaimed “Little Darth” Super Bowl spot: Nostalgia. Over 25 characters from major franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, God of War, and Assassin’s Creed join together to honor the gamer, the person who has “told their story” for the 15+ years of PlayStation’s existence.

As Deutsch says in its announcement for the “Long Live Play” launch, the agency “needed to approach the owners of each of those game characters and franchises to ensure we were able to get the right actors, visual/sound effects, wardrobe and brand voice from each of them to make this effort truly authentic. The fans of these franchises won’t settle for ‘close enough’.” What Deutsch has created is a love letter to PlayStation’s fans, sparking their imaginations by presenting them with the opportunity to re-connect with the characters that they’ve created memories with for over a decade. Excellent work from Deutsch, and a great reminder of the unique gaming experience PlayStation offered that captured those 77 million users’ attention in the first place.

If you’re going to be reveling in the week-long bacchanal that is Advertising Week here in NYC (and of course, attending our party on Oct. 5), Deutsch is unveiling its upgraded app that provides daily event schedules, venues, maps, and local area attractions. See, you can look less like a tourist thanks to your handy smartphone. Considering that we feel like we’re in Memento half the time, guess this app comes in handy as it also lets you tweet, post to Facebook, email events to friends, and check in using you know what. Wait, doesn’t our iPhone do that already? Anyhow, if you feel the need to organize your Advertising Week jaunt, perhaps you should click here and download for free.

Just two months after Matt Ian joined the ranks at Deutsch LA to serve as EVP/group creative director, his former CP+B colleague Shannon McGlothin has followed suit. Like Ian, McGlothin has assumed the title of EVP/GCD at Deutsch and in turn, is partnering with fellow EVP/GCD Jason Elm on the Playstation and Diamond Foods accounts.

During his 20-month stint at CP+B, McGlothin, who maybe looks like Seth Green from a distance, served as creative director on the Coke Zero account. Prior to that, he spent six-plus years at Wieden + Kennedy, serving as senior art director on projects for Nike, Coca-Cola, LVMH and EA. While at W+K, McGlothin perhaps most notably was part of the creative team behind the Grand Prix-winning Livestrong campaign for Nike.

So why the move from CP+B to Deutsch LA? There are several reasons, according to a comment from McGlothin: “An impressive roster of clients, great people, fantastic opportunity, lots of positive momentum within the agency and the chance to become part of something special.”

It’s been a whole three weeks or so since we last reported a Deutsch hire, so let’s shake the rust off, shall we? The agency’s Los Angeles office confirms that it’s bringing on Trevor O’Brien and Nathan Pitzel (pictured) as executive creative technology director and executive integrated producer, respectively.

Things are a bit fuzzy at the moment, but our sources tell us that O’Brien will join on September 27 and Pitzel, once he joins, will work on the HTC digital business. As for background, O’Brien formed and led the creative technology department at McKinney since 2010 but joined the agency initially in 2008. Pitzel, meanwhile, has spent the last two years or so as an EP at Domani Studios. During his career, he’s worked on the interactive side at agencies since the late ’90′s, holding production titles with the likes of WhittmanHart, Razorfish, Juxt Interactive and RED.

Just in case you were already burnt out on the clever Tweets regarding the East Coast earthquake…

With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks fast approaching, there are no doubt many different ways people will honor those lost in the tragedy or as a result of it. One such tribute is a joint effort of volunteer network HandsOn, nonprofit 9/11 memorial foundation MyGoodDeed along with Deutsch LA and the folks at Moxie Pictures.

The “I Will” campaign seeks to direct those looking to honor someone affected by 9/11 to do a public service. On the campaign’s website, volunteers are encouraged to pledge what good deed they will do on 9/11, upload a video or photo that further expresses what they will do and dedicate their charity to someone lost on 9/11 or “another person, such as a first responder, recovery worker, or a member of the military.”

Project supervisor and Deutsch LA SVP and GCD David Dreyer said in a statement, “After 9/11, there was a sense of unity across the country that was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The 9/11 Tribute Movement attempts to recapture that spirit by inspiring selfless action, bringing the country together for the common good.” The campaign also includes TV spots featuring celebrities, including the above spot with Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Baron Davis. Watch another spot featuring Law and Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay after the jump.

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