From Arnold Worldwide comes “Runnovation Anthem,” a spot for New Balance that depicts people running in different environments interspersed with cuts of what appear to be acts of science. There’s also a very loud musical number, which one would suppose is the titular anthem, despite not being very anthemic. The song is so utterly terrifying, in fact, that it’s easy to imagine all of these people running away from a masked pursuer who chases them while playing this song full-blast on a JVC Kaboom Box held above his or her head.

With an introduction to the idea of “Runnovation” (running + innovation for those playing at home) out of the way, the campaign will unfold into three different storylines across media platforms, with the first focusing on a grassroots fitness group called “November Project.” If you’re interested in watching some suburban white dudes run around outside and yell “fuck yeah” for a while, watch this video:

Did you enjoy watching those people vomit? Yeah, you probably did, you sicko. Credits after the jump.
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Never before has the “What The…?” category tag been used more appropriately. No, Gary Busey is not the new spokesman for Men’s Wearhouse, but the folks at Jimmy Kimmel Live! had some fun with the recent ousting of MW co-founder, George Zimmer. Zimmer’s velvety rasp has been replaced with Busey’s unvelvety crazy that complements his devious smile and plaid clown suit. When Zimmer said “You’re gonna like the way you look, I guarantee it,” it made you want to buy a suit. When Busey says the same line, you almost expect him to follow it with: “It puts the lotion on its skin.” Normally I’d be kidding, but not with Gary Busey. He’s one of few people who can make brand parody truly frightening.

h/t AR

From Team One and director Jonas Åkerlund (whose music video reel includes Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up,” Blink 182′s “I Miss You,” and Madonna’s “Ray of Light”) comes a new campaign for the Lexus IS. As you can see, Lexus is really trying to market their new luxury sedan as a high-fashion, chique automobile, which strays a bit from the brand’s usual “Hey, you want a luxury car, but you don’t want to go nuts?” appeal. And, considering Åkerlund’s impressive resume, who better to pay a ton of money to make your product pop on TV?

Both “Crowd” and “Color Shift” succeed in that they’re flashy, somewhat dystopian depiction of urban wealth looks starkly different than any other car advertising you’ll see during commercial breaks. However, will consumers buy that Lexus is a brand that can adeptly align itself with fashionable, rebellious youth? Credits after the jump.

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Usually, city rivalries related to sporting match-ups involve wacky wagers from politicians. The mayor of City X wants 100 pounds of cheese from the governor of City Y if City X wins the Super Bowl. But for the 2013 Stanley Cup between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, the wacky wagers are getting social and, well, smack-talky. The folks over at Arnold Boston and Leo Burnett in Chicago are using the Stanley Cup to launch their own trash-talking competition for charity: The Smackley Cup. Agency employees and random fans from all over are encouraged to tweet using #smacktalkboston or #smacktalkchicago. Once the series concludes, the agency supporting the loser of the Stanley Cup will have to donate 10 cents per tweet and retweet to a charity AND wear the opposing team’s sweater in the office the following day. That sort of masochism always makes for fun water cooler talk.

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From the power trio of Atmosphere Proximity, The Parternship at Drugfree.org and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy comes the above spot for the “Above the Influence” campaign which asks the question, “Who better to convince kids not to drugs than their peers?”

Of course, this begs a second question. “Wait, which of your peers is the BEST at not telling you to do drugs?  That is the peer we need.” And so, things got interesting. After all, what’s more American and capitalistic than making this shit into a contest? This isn’t about the message anymore. No sir, this shit is about TALENT. You got talent? Stand up, let’s hear it. No talent? SIT DOWN. Do some drugs until you’re able to talk about them in a raw, powerful way that is better than that other kid’s way of talking about drugs. Then, you win.

Before you submit your awesome ad idea at Above the Influence on Facebook, start strategizing. What kind of shenanigans will your peer group use to their advantage? Perhaps they lost a family member to drugs. Perhaps they’re recovering addicts themselves. Remember, this isn’t about drugs. This is about winning, and being the most popular kid at school for appearing in an anti-drug commercial. This is about fame. This is about being the best.

“Designed by Apple” is the third and newest spot in TBWA\Media Arts Lab’s recent reinvention of Apple’s TV ads. The first two, “Photos Every Day” and “Music Every Day” offered a refreshing take on the iPhone, moving it out of Apple’s white world and into the real world. It seemed as though Apple was hitting its stride, until today.

Now, it’s difficult for tech companies to do sentimentality, but it’s not unprecedented (see Google). But, “Designed by Apple” is trying so damn hard to make you feel anything that it misses the mark by a mile. Perhaps it’s watching grown men absolutely lose their shit when Tim Cook mentioned “Finder windows” during yesterday’s Worldwide Developer Conference yesterday, or have the press react to Jonathan Ive‘s pastel-tinged redesign of iOS as though it was 2013′s answer to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This is so saccharine that it’s silly.

Maybe the most misguided part is the tagline, “Designed by Apple in California” (check out the web video here). After all, as anyone who’s ever owned an Apple product knows, the words “Assembled in China” always immediately follow that statement on every device.

Before you read on, watch the above spot in full screen. If you have heart problems, maybe avoid this clip altogether.

Good? Okay, “Spoiler Alert” and all that. The above spot comes from Leo Burnett’s London shop and is part of the UK’s Department of Transportation campaign, “THINK!” It’s pretty damn terrifying, watching a bloodied head come crashing through glass.

Unfortunately, the press release ruins some of the magic by telling us that the guys in the bathroom are actors, as there are probably some rules about pulling this prank on unsuspecting citizens, especially if they’re at risk for a heart attack. In any case, pretty effective messaging. Oh, and don’t drive drunk this weekend. Credits after the jump.

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Hey, did you know that Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos tacos now come in a Cool Ranch variety? Of course you did, and you and your 20-something-year-old friends are probably celebrating in a parking lot or pool hall right now according to this spot from DraftFCB. “By golly, what a wonderful new offering,” you thought to yourself. “I should throw a Doritos bag containing a taco to my similarly aged friend across town. That is what I shall do.” And then you did.

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Nine months after reaffirming its “commitment to awfulness” as our own Bob Marshall so eloquently stated, AMC has finally revealed details of the upcoming second season of its ad agency reality slugfest (well, if only), The Pitch. The brands participating in season two — which will consist of eight, hour-long installments and kicks off Thursday, August 15, at 10pm — include 1-800-Flowers, Bliss, College Hunks Hauling Junk, Fuller Brush Company, Gibson Guitar Corporation, Little Caesars, Square Trade and Tommy Bahama.

Perhaps you’re familiar with several of the names mentioned above, as are we, but we’re not sure if any of the actual agencies vying for their work in The Pitch part deux ring a bell. But maybe that’s just us. Here’s your list: Daniel Burton Dean (Nashville, TN), Fletcher Rowley (Nashville, TN), Powell Creative (Nashville, TN), breensmith Advertising (Atlanta, GA), Innerspin (Los Angeles, CA), MC2 (Los Angeles, CA), COR (Santa Monica, CA), Neuron Syndicate (Santa Monica, CA), Central Coast (Chicago, IL), Commonground (Chicago, IL), The Monogram Group (Chicago, IL), Bee-line Communications (Chicago, IL), Mischievous Studios (Hollywood, CA), Heavenspot (Glendale, CA), OneX (Culver City, CA) and Pasadena Advertising (Pasadena, CA).

Maybe season two is a little less high-profile than its predecessor, but at least we’ll have more of Bob’s epic day-after recaps to look forward to once again.

From Apple and TBWA/Media Arts Lab comes the spiritual sequel to last month’s “Photos Every Day” spot for the iPhone.

“Music Every Day” uses the exact same formula as its predecessor, with similarly excellent execution. We’ve come a long way from Apple’s original iPod commercials. No longer do we have silhouetted dancers projected against green screens with a loud, indie-rock soundtrack. Instead, just like “Photos Every Day,” we have a simple concept that, more than anything, humanizes iPhone users. What are these people listening to? It doesn’t matter; the important thing is that they’re enjoying it. We see them smile, nodding their heads along to a beat, something that we see occur is real life every single day.

Again, it ends with a single-sentence VO: More people listen to music on the iPhone than any other phone. The entire concept seems obvious, but sometimes it’s the obvious that needs to be said. Credits after the jump.

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