Television

Well, it probably won’t make up for yet another Patriots Super Bowl fumble, but perhaps regular Padma Lakshmi sightings could bring some folks in Boston a little cheer. Digitas is trying to lure Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio and the rest of the gang from Bravo’s Top Chef to film their tenth season in Beantown via a social media campaign called “You Gotta Try Boston.”

As you’d expect, the Digitas effort includes a Facebook site (nearly 600 likes and counting) where visitors are (obviously) raving and posting photos/links about Boston’s restaurants, dishes and the like. Of course, Twitter also comes into play and Digitas is asking folks to tweet about what makes Boston the best with the hashtags #topchef and #yougottatryboston. If you’re so inclined to join in on the conversation, go here.

Speaking to the site called, yes, Wicked Local, Digitas ECD Rob Rizzo says that the campaign idea was hatched a couple of weeks ago and regardless of the outcome, he hopes that some of the smaller, low-profile restaurants around town gain notice. We’re big fans of Top Chef, but to be honest, we’re not willing to go all in on a Boston season next year.

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.

One day after the Super Bowl, brands are still fighting over what commercial “won” the big game in regards to social media, buzz or USA Today-ness. Unfortunately, one spot that won’t be part of the “best of” conversation, mainly because it wasn’t technically a “Super Bowl commercial” per se, is NYC-based production company Hungry Man’s pregame mini-musical promo for NBC’s various TV lineups.

“Brotherhood of Man,” passes the mic between shows’ stars, from Jane Krakowski and the 30 Rock cast to Kenan “Goodburger” Thompson and the SNL cast, from Ed Helms and the The Office crew to Will Arnett and the ladies of Up All Night. Hey, we even get to see that Alec Baldwin‘s voice lessons he took for his role in Rock of Ages paid off after all. Credits follow after the jump.

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For the all screenshots I’d seen of a scantily-clad Adriana Lima holding a checkered racing flag, I didn’t have very high expectations for Kia’s Super Bowl spot. But, I was wrong, and David&Goliath definitely delivered on this :90 vacation to a fantasy world driven by the Optima.

What happens when a man is accidentally given access to the sweetest of sweet dreams? He enters a world of super models, Mötley Crüe, giant sandwiches, fire, rhinoceros rodeos, MMA fighting (featuring a cameo from Chuck Lidell) and, of course, fast cars. But, even a perfect world can’t stand in the way of this hero and his significant other. With his Optima, he breaks into his lady’s dream, “rescuing” her from a white horse-riding hunk who looks dull compared to our protagonist. It’s the kind of “manly” everyman story that beer brands somehow continue to fail at telling with each new ad campaign.

Going into the Super Bowl, the majority of hype is undoubtedly surrounding VW’s sequel to last year’s “The Force” and Honda’s homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. After the big game, we hope to see Kia and D&G receive due credit for producing a commercial better than those from their more talked-about competitors. Credits after the jump.

Update: For a play-by-play on how this spot came to life, see D&G copywriter Justin Bajan’s blog post on Adpulp.

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Last year, the folks at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA used animated, biographically-focused TV spots to preview the 53rd Grammy Awards. Judging by the above spot, the agency seems to be employing “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra when it comes to marketing the 54th installment of music’s biggest night.

Though Bon Iver is not performing at the Grammys, the band is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Also, the band’s history is one that quickly found its place in folk music lore. Even passive fans know how singer/songwriter Justin Vernon started his project in humility, writing mournful songs from his parents’ cabin during a cold Wisconsin winter. To the ghostly sounds of the band’s track “Holocene,” a snowy scene evolves into a silhouette of Vernon and his guitar.

Could this be the year that Bon Iver becomes a pop sensation, played on Top 40 stations around the country? Well, you have to remember that the Grammys are now finally attempting a stab legitimacy, and Arcade Fire’s Album of the Year victory last year could be a sign of things to come. Bon Iver’s “We are Music” spot is one of four, with the others focusing on pop crooner Adele, middle-aged rockers Foo Fighters, and the worst thing to happen to music in 2011, dub-step phenom Skrillex.

Each week, we’re sent hundreds of pieces of advertisement-y work that falls into the fun-to-watch-video category. There’s not enough time in the day to think up copy for all of them so here’s a round-up of the best ad-related video we’ve seen in the last 7 days. You’re welcome.

7. Irritable Bowl Syndrome is a rant by comedian Bill Maher that someone turned into a video infographic thing.

6. Dating Rules From My Future Self is longer-form branded content that doesn’t suck at all.

5. There’s a badass Panda out there who will be serving up his own brand of post-Apocalyptic survival justice in a theater near you.

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From Vitro (the agency formerly known as SKINNY) comes the above TV spot launching the super-light ASICS GEL-Neo33.

As a runner, I can confirm that a move to lightweight shoes has a profound mental effect, similar to how drinking Gatorade can make you think that you’re somehow better at basketball. When your knees and shins hold up, you tend to push yourself past where you would go with heavier shoes, despite experiencing a similar level of fatigue.

Clearly, the joggers in this spot feel the same way, running deep into the late hours of night with their glowing balloons trailing behind them. After constructing a floating tribute to their lighter-than-air idol, the runners rock out to some soaring indie music. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with positioning yourself as the athletic footwear provider to the fashionably fit, is there? See more from the campaign here and view credits after the jump.

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From Ogilvy and production company Psyop come a new trio of highly animated TV spots for IBM’s “Smarter Planet” campaign.

As we’re told in the release, each of these spots was created with the purpose of giving the campaign a more “visually distinctive” look. In the above spot, “All in the Cloud,” 32 animators, illustrators, designers and modelers were tapped to create an imaginary world existing only in the Cloud. To make this place come to life, “Everything in the spot was painted by hand and then mapped onto 3D wireframes to create the completely bespoke look. Each character has a back story which sparked the animators’ imaginations. Every ‘location’ was extensively researched to make sure the transformed world looked like the real one.” Those who fear change will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing that IBM’s blue widescreen bars remain intact.

Since IBM’s green “Smarter Planet” marketing campaign launched in early 2009, its television advertising rarely strayed from zipping through closeups of talking faces. In “Smarter Commerce” (above), we see a cardboard box, a sole narrator, and an army of animated paper figures portraying IBM’s benefit to business efficiency. So, are you “Team Faces” or “Team Animation?” Credits and one more spot follow after the jump.

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Upon viewing the above spot from Arnold Worldwide for McDonald’s, you probably scoffed at the idea of the “Egg McMuffin of” catching on as a widespread euphemism for “the best.” Either that, or you started debating which of McDonald’s breakfast items was the best. (“I get that you’re more of a McGriddle girl, but I’m a big biscuit kind of guy myself.”) Some of us did both.

The nice shout-out to Cadillac in the spot served as a reminder that no one under 50 (maybe older) has ever referred to anything as the “Cadillac of” similar but lesser things. Hey, maybe Arnold’s trying to blow the doors wide open for America’s youth and their love of ridiculous slang. Could this silly tagline along the same lines as “the cure for the common” actually make its way into popular vernacular? Well, this Hoboken apartment listing, this popular website, and this Twitter update sent to us in the release argue that it already has. In fact, we were given statistics that say the phrase “has been tweeted over 11,000 times on Twitter and mentioned nearly 1,200 times on Facebook since the debut of the commercial on December 29, 2011.”

Still skeptical? Of course you are. But, one true measure of determining whether this was surprising success or failure is seeing if it pops up in news headlines. Perhaps, sooner than you think, we’ll see Aaron Rodgers hailed as the Egg McMuffin of quarterbacks, Facebook called the Egg McMuffin of web 2.0 IPO successes, and Mitt Romney declared the Egg McMuffin of presidential candidates at the Republican National Convention. Credits after the jump.

 

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In the south lies a wonderful fast food chain, one stretching from Arizona east through New Mexico, Texas, and all of SEC country. But, unlike Chic-fil-A before it, Texas-based Whataburger has yet to move north across the Mason-Dixon line, where it would surely beat the piss out of competitors like Hardee’s. Should you need proof, forgo that annual trip to Iron Works BBQ during SXSW this year and cruise around until you find a location. They’re everywhere, so it won’t take long.

From Austin-based McGarrah Jessee (which is fun to say with a Texas accent) comes a new TV campaign for Whataburger, one that sent camera crews to over 20 restaurants throughout Texas and Alabama. Here, staff and customers spoke of their emotional connections to their burgers, using buzzwords like “pride” and “tradition” and phrases like “barbecue is the only way of life down here.” Hey, when you’re dominating college football year after year (and even have your own curious chant about it), you get to celebrate with a Whataburger. And, wow, do those sandwiches look tasty. Two more spots follow after the jump.

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From Deutsch LA comes the above TV spot for Dr. Pepper, set to debut during the BCS National Championship game tonight. As college football fans know, it’s a funny coincidence that tonight’s game will be anything but “one of a kind,” as the two teams playing already met once before in the regular season (with LSU beating Alabama 9-6 in overtime).

As you’ll notice, “Always One of a Kind” is veering quite a bit away from the “controversial” nature of recent work for Dr. Pepper 10, which is, by the way, “not for women.” For the brand’s full calorie-d product, Deutsch is taking a more inclusive approach. See, Dr. Pepper classic isn’t just for women. It’s for proud cougars who wear their identity on t-shirts. It’s also apparently for control freaks, momma’s boys and canine wingmen, all of whom look quite dashing in red. And, in case you’re wondering, the “I’m a Pepper” shirt that shows up at the end is an homage to a 1970s TV campaign of the same name.

The obvious complaint is that the “one of a kind” individuals in the spot are all wearing the same t-shirt, an observation that skeptical millennials are sure to point out upon seeing the ad. Well, Dr. Pepper has them covered, because viewers can actually purchase customized “I’m a (declaration)” shirts from Dr. Pepper’s website. I wonder if “I’m a Coke loyalist” or “I’d like to teach the world to sing” will fly with the powers that be. Also, for you social media devotees, Dr. Pepper’s promoted #ImA hashtag is currently trending nationwide on Twitter. Credits, and an animated new spot from Deutsch (this time for Diet Dr. Pepper) follow after the jump.

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