In 2012, a creative director fell into Herman Melville’s 720-page trap and reimagined Ahab as a tow truck driver, madly chasing his white whale, an Audi Quattro. “Sometimes, I actually think it’s mocking me,” Ahab says in a gruff voice, anxiously twisting his thermos as he waits in the arctic tundra.

Said creative director then got distracted by Cetology, but has now resurfaced to produce “Ahab Redux,” in which, obviously, our automotive whale has yet to meet his driver. Ahab has retired on an island “most folks would call paradise,” but he can’t escape his all-wheel drive demon. “There isn’t a road on earth that can stop it.”

Thankfully this ad is a departure from the old winding-mountain-road glamour reel, and I appreciate the attempt at literary allusion. We’re all familiar with Moby Dick, whether we became obsessed like Ahab or SparkNoted its entirety. “Ahab Redux” is a bit of a cop-out due to its repetition, but the general idea probably gives Audi’s target affluent audience a twinge of self-satisfaction: “Oh, I know that story!”

Credits and original Ahab after the jump Read more

Men with comb overs look hapless. Little boys with comb overs look creepy. To see the difference, please watch the latest Jell-O television spot, appropriately titled “Comb Over.”

In the forty-five-second ad built by CP+B, a balding father whose depressing life resembles a deflated balloon schools his son on the importance of the little things, like a cup of Jell-O pudding. In turn, we see some surreal daydream where the son, still about six years old, goes through a day in the father’s life, only now he has a giant cone head and a comb over. If you ever wanted to know what the male offspring of Lord Voldemort and Francis Dolarhyde (Manhunter version, not Red Dragon) would look like, here you go. Is that not the definition of creepy, a little boy who somehow resembles two fictional psychopaths all because of a comb over? Still, the commercial’s surrealist twist manages to make it stand out in an otherwise standard concept. It’s almost sweet, if not for the whole hapless/depressing/pitying reaction that comes along with comb overs.

Credits after the jump.

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I’m sitting in Salt Lake City Airport, shocked at the number of people wearing flip flops, and I want nothing more than to be in Myspace’s fun room of young, beautiful artists grabbing at one another amidst fluorescent confetti. Their instruments and skateboards may be breakable but they are not. They smash faces and tangle limbs and fall on the floor, but this video gives us the sense that these fiery singers, models, DJs, and rappers will never flame out.

After Justin Timberlake’s reboot, can the same be said for Myspace (capital S begone)? We weren’t sure the social network could drag itself away from obsolescence, but this spot seems to be doing just that, and with a bang. If Myspace is a room filled with the likes of DIIV, Iggy Azalea, Pharrell Williams, Sky Ferreira and Schoolboy Q, then it is anything but irrelevant. If you don’t know those names, you better learn them. And check out the new Myspace while you’re at it; it seems to be the cool thing to do.

Credits and MySpace announce note after the jump.

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Audi and VB+P are traditionally all about appealing to consumers’ inner-adolescent with their Super Bowl ads. Remember when vampires were a big deal? Audi remembered, so they put vampires in their Super Bowl spot last year. However, as the Twilight film series has ended, Audi and VB+P are telling a bit more of a timeless story with this year’s installment, “Prom (Worth It).”

We open on a classic American pastime, a young lad about to go to prom who, judging by his lack of date, is a loser. His dad, in a surprising move, allows him to take his sleek Audi A6 to the big dance. This isn’t the only unrealistic part of the spot, as the boy ends up making out with his crush and getting a shiner from her boyfriend. It’s not exactly the kind of bold move I support, especially as the boy doesn’t seem to ask permission from his female victim. But, according to Audi, who cares? He took what he wanted, and was rewarded. There’s nothing more American than that.

The campaign, which uses the #BraveryWins hashtag, doesn’t seem to be targeting suburban high-schoolers like the protagonist in “Prom,” and instead aims at fathers who are fearful that their spawn may never get any action. In any case, it’s cute enough to be a crowd-pleaser, but I hesitate to think that this will be one of the Super Bowl’s most talked-about ads. Credits after the jump.

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It’s coming up on two years since VW and Deutsch LA’s beloved “The Force” aka “Little Darth” spot captured the hearts of America during Super Bowl XLV. While most agree that “Little Darth” was worthy of the acclaim and awards bestowed upon it, the VW/Duetsch duo has had a difficult time following it up. Last year’s “The Dog Strikes Back” fell well short of its predecessor, and perhaps this is due to an erroneous insight into what the public loved about “Little Darth.”

Yes, the Star Wars tie-in to “Little Darth” was great, but it wasn’t the reason the spot became one of the web’s biggest hits. “The Dog Strikes Back” also had a pretty blatant nod to Star Wars as well, but the spirit of “Little Darth” was lost, and the spot became more of a sequel than a standalone ad. The real reason the public loved “Little Darth” so much was because it was just so damn adorable, and judging by the above new spot for the VW Passat, this insight is now crystal clear.

What we have here is a great (and simple) slice-o-life spot, with an absolutely perfectly timed punchline that will make you giggle and then give a long “awwww.” It’s a bit surprising that VW didn’t hold the spot until this year’s Super Bowl, but I’m quite excited for what Deutsch has planned next. Credits after the jump.

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Yes, the holiday advertising season is upon us, and with it comes glad tidings of great consumer spending.

Taking the lead for Christmas 2012 is eBay, that magical monolith of online shopping, who in this spot for VB+P is reminding idiotic, out-of-touch wealthy parents that buying your young daughter a pony is a fucking stupid idea. Sorry, dumb parents, but ponies are terrible pets that do not cope well with being indoors. Also, it’s been proven that ponies will most certainly turn on their young female owners, stomping them to death in protest for being plucked from their wild environs for a life of servitude (not really).

But, really, if you’re even slightly considering buying your daughter a pony for Christmas, you need to stop. This will not make you a good parent, and in two years, your daughter will neglect her tiny horse and force you to have to lure it into a field off the highway to put down. And, do you really think one bullet will kill that thing? Any way you look at it, it will be more expensive than buying a stuffed pony on eBay. Credits after the jump.

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From Deutsch LA comes the above spot for PlayStation Vita, Sony’s latest portable gaming console that, at the lofty price tag of $250, is selling slower than Dreamcast, Sega’s final console before it dropped out of the console-making business completely.

Yes, PlayStation’s pricing model has gotten itself in some financial trouble over the last few years. While PlayStation built up its reputation for having the best video game titles and competitive technology since the release of its first console in 1995, the company got a little greedy with the release of PS3 and PlayStation Vita. Both of these systems are what most gaming experts would agree are the most technologically capable in their respective console categories, but six years after its release, Sony is still refusing to drop the price on the PS3 under $250. Meanwhile, in spite of the Vita’s sluggish sales since it debuted on the international market earlier this year, Sony is still not dropping its price tag. For you to truly understand the above spot for the Assassin’s Creed 3 bundle pack for Vita, you need to understand the position that Deutsch is in.

Unlike the campaign for the PSP, PlayStation’s earlier handheld platform that was marketed to casual gamers, Deutsch is aiming to hit the video game fanatics that are willing to shell out $250 in exchange for constant stimulation at all times. Look at it this way, thieves are probably more likely to rob iPhones on the subway these days instead of foreign-looking, clunky devices. Add to that the promise of a violent murder during your morning commute, and perhaps Sony can move some Vitas during the holiday season without lowering the price. Credits after the jump.

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Ladies be lovin’ handbags, amirite guys? I mean, what woman in America can’t totally relate to how absolutely insane this purse-coveting psychopath becomes upon seeing the item of her dreams?

To be honest, I only recently became aware that the target demographic of Venables Bell & Partners’ and prodco Arts and Sciences’ new spot for eBay, “Frenzy,” is actually all too real. My ladyfriend works for a luxury consignment store in Chicago, and I find it absolutely fascinating how closely her company is tied to eBay. In my uninformed mind, selling second-hand apparel online means finding the strengths (or surpluses) in your company’s inventory and writing Google Ads to move product. However, I’ve come to learn that a highly-rated eBay account is the best advertising for a company that sells high-end designer products. If the game is to sell a $40,000 python skin purse, eBay can actually make all the difference.

The new campaign from VB&P consists of two other TV spots. The second of which (above) finds parents indulging in their conspicuous consuming habits in order to ease the transition into new parenthood. Hey, if you can’t sleep at night, it might as well be the fault of a crying baby AND a brand new speaker system. Yes, these people are terrible. Credits and the third spot follow after the jump.

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Debuting tonight during the Giants vs. Cowboys NFL season kickoff, the above 60-second spot from Venables Bell & Partners titled “Suspect” marks the first time Audi is introducing its full line of S models to the U.S.

Despite the YouTube commentariat noting that the S8 is too overweight to be race-engineered, an accusation that sounds plausible though I am too unfamiliar with racing to confirm or deny the validity of it, Audi has selected the campaign tagline “Heighten Every Moment” to describe the intensity that waiting in your car for your girlfriend to pickup coffee will undoubtedly provide. Yes, most passerby will assume you stole the S8, and may have your sights set on that armored car as well. Just don’t be a minority driving the S8 (especially in Arizona), or you’ll most likely be shot by a rent-a-cop with a transistor radio.

Audi is also pleased to announce today that it will be returning to Super Bowl advertising for the sixth consecutive year in early 2013. Watch this year’s spot, “Vampire Party,” here and view credits for “Suspect” after the jump.

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Last night, the folks from the AICP threw down multiple parties in Chicago, NYC and Santa Monica to announce the 2012 shortlist for both the main show and the Next Awards, which will take place on June 12 at the MoMA in New York. AICP president/CEO Matt Miller says in a statement, “This year more than ever we have witnessed the evolution of the collaborative process. Because so many projects included companies working together to in roles that defy traditional definition, we have decided to forgo a formal tally, as there is really no fair way to determine the level of contribution to each project.”

As expected, the Chipotle “Back to the Start” and “Dear Sophie” Google spots topline the commercial list. Your full shortlist can be found here.