We figured we’d hold off on posting about this until this afternoon because it’s Friday and you might actually be able to view this in full, if you haven’t already, because it deserves to be.  Werner Herzog, the legendary director, writer and/or producer of a million projects including Grizzly Man during his 50-year career, has gone behind the camera once again for the above documentary, From One Second to the Next. This is the epic, poignant, sad and important extension of the ongoing “It Can Wait” PSA campaign initially launched by AT&T that has now been supported by the other major wireless carriers including Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.

Herzog, along with BBDO New York, continues to hammer the message home that texting while driving doesn’t shouldn’t mix via the tales of four different people who were affected by it on either end of the spectrum. Be safe this weekend and if you’d care to, take the “It Can Wait” pledge here. Credits after the jump.

Read more

CP+B originally ran with the idea of a blow-up doll lunch decoy last year, suggesting that people could secure more time at Applebee’s by tricking their bosses. In 2013, the same old bag of tricks comes in the form of a longer ad – 102 seconds – showing various worker bees running out of the office to indulge in some Applebee’s. I’ve never been a fan of the fine dining cuisine at such establishments, but I’m told customers can enjoy hundreds of lunch combos starting at $6.99. If you can get a restaurant combo for that cheap, you may want to think twice.

The spot itself isn’t digging much into new ground. There is one interesting bit, when a black construction worker uses a white lunch decoy. I’m not sure what that is trying to say, if anything at all, but the man’s boss must not pay very good attention to his staff if the lunch decoy can be effective while using a different skin color than the man who is jolting to Applebee’s (Ed. update: CP+B clarifies that it did use the likeness that most resembles of its construction worker as part of the campaign. Go here). Maybe the man’s boss is using his own lunch decoy, at which point the men would run into each other at an Applebee’s and ruin the trick for everyone. Credits after the jump.

Read more

Now that pro football fans are stuck in the two-week limbo between the NFL championship games and the Super Bowl (no one gives a shit about the Pro Bowl), let’s try to fill the void with something we overlooked last week that is, well, football-related. Here’s a new effort from Martin Agency for Pizza Hut called “Hut Hut Hut,” which as you can imagine, plays off the latter’s name while highlighting the standard call made by quarterbacks to get the ball rolling, so to speak.

Instead of hiring actual NFL stars, though, this somewhat inviting clip, which is part of Martin’s Super Bowl push for the the Hut, salutes the fans, whether they be high-school football players, average joes, parents and/or their kids. The web effort from Martin also happened to serve as a call for viewers to submit their own “hut hut” clips to Pizza Hut’s Facebook page in the hopes of cutting a user-generated version to air in time for the Super Bowl pre-game run-up. Unfortunately, deadline expired on Jan. 20, but we’ll see what agency and client came up with on Feb. 3. Credits after the jump.

Read more

We’re only four days away from the 12/21/12 Mayan apocalypse prediction, and as the our alleged time on Earth winds down, Jell-O wants us to have fun. Lots of fun. And when I picture the crazy stuff people will do days before turning into characters from a Cormac McCarthy novel, I think of eating Jell-O.

CP+B continues its work for the Kraft brand with the Funpocalypse campaign, which includes #funpocalypse, a TV spot (above), e-cards, a survey, and a small giveweay where winners get $100 apiece to accomplish bucket-list goals until our planet combusts.

The infographic (below) is strangely the most appealing part of the package. Jell-O and Wakefield Research conducted a national survey with 1,000 adults and asked questions about how people would spend their last days before an apocalypse. You can find out things like: 52% of Americans would be most excited about not having to pay taxes anymore and 4% of those surveyed actually believe the world is going to end.

Other brands have been trying to stop the apocalypse. Old Spice already took Dikembe Mutombo, so I guess Jell-O is banking on sacrificing sugary snacks to the gods to save humanity. If the gods have diabetes, then we’re all screwed. Are there sugar-free puddings available for the health-conscious deities?

And more importantly, what would Bill Cosby have to say about this? Graphic and credits after the jump.

Read more

Basically, it comes down to next Monday’s meeting between the NBAPA, the owners and commish David Stern (yes, it seems these meetings are proving to be increasingly useless) to see whether an actual season will happen, so, in the meantime, why don’t you NBA fans and gamers take solace with this spot for NBA2K12 from 72andSunny. Basically, it’s a follow-up to Jordan’s “Kiss my rings, biyatch” spot and asks fans, whether they be celebs like Drake and the dork from Dodgeball or your average joe, to profess what they think is the greatest NBA team ever. What say you, audience? Damn, this impending lockout irks us. Credits after the jump and, thanks to a tipster’s heads up, a Samuel L. Jackson-starring Nike spot that aired during the last NBA lockout in 1998.

Read more

Drawing inspiration from the world’s first online test drive, in which the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport was awarded its first Guinness World Record for the longest distance driven by a vehicle operated online, 180LA took the automaker’s Outlander and Outlander Sport to Alberta Canada’s Ghost Lake to showcase the tech wares of said vehicles and break as many world records possible within 24 hours.

Driven by stuntman Garvin Cross, the SUV and CUV broke five world records: Greatest distance driven by a vehicle in reverse on snow in 30 seconds, shortest braking distance by a vehicle on ice, most vehicle figure eights on ice in two minutes, fastest vehicle slalom relay on ice and fastest driven square lap, which all in all dubbed Mitsubishi the most awarded family of all-wheel drive vehicles in its class, so the automaker claims.

Digital marketing includes homepage takeovers, online banners as well as a strong social media push all leading consumers to their website to find out more.

Check out the “See How We Did It” video and full credits after the jump.

Read more

David&Goliath nixes the Yo Gabba Gabba gang and Heavy soundtrack in favor of a CGI-addled extravaganza starring everyone from Poseidon and aliens to tribal warriors with its 2011 Super Bowl entry for Kia and its Optima line.

Really though, is there any chance in hell the agency/brand can triumph over last year’s spot? We think not, though at least a cameo from the animated crew could suffice.  Oh well. You can be the judge and the wait for the USA Ad Meter on Monday to see how it fared.

Read more

Check out this new Boost Mobile spot from 180LA, which features a a 20-foot tall giant who’s having a rough go at life and touts the mobile brand’s “Shrinkage” plan. In my world, shrinkage is never a good thing. And with the amount that it’s said in this spot, the point of it is completely lost on me.  How come they’ve gotta say it over and over again sooo many times? Welcome to the world of see, say, kids.

In a statement, Ari Weiss, CD at 180LA, had this to say about the clip (which was directed by MJZ’s Dante Ariola): “Giants have always been glamorized in the public eye, but the truth is being that large comes with obvious setbacks. Giants seemed to be the perfect spokespeople for a campaign featuring the upside of shrinking.”

Umm ya. It’s a whatever spot. Wouldn’t watch it again, wouldn’t necessarily talk about it again. But hey, some of you might actually have some shit to talk about it, so why not, right? Knock yourselves out. Happy November. Credits after the jump.

Read more

A few weeks ago, Adidas and 180LA turned heads with a decidedly strange music video for “Fast Don’t Lie,” the anthem for its new basketball campaign. Featuring NBA stars Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard along with comedian Ken Jeong moonlighting as nutty rich tycoon “Slim Chin,” we had a feeling we weren’t seeing the last of the trio (or Jeong’s pet cheetah).

As it turns out, Adidas and has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to the misadventures of Slim Chin and his lightning-fast, musically inclined athletic friends. Along with the videos, there’s an interactive portion (co-created with 180 Amsterdam) where fans can step into Derrick Rose’s Adidas kicks to drive to the hoop on Slim Chin’s own lavish court, performing aerial dunking maneuvers from an interactive, first-person perspective.

180LA copywriter Eric Helin says the campaign uses Jeong’s popularity to “grab basketball crazed kids attention.” While stars like Rose and Howard can probably do that on their own, watching Ken Jeong ride a jet-ski around his massive pool is pretty hard for anyone to ignore.

Full credits for the spots after the jump.

More: “Adidas Uses NBA Talent for Bizarre ‘Fast Don’t Lie’ Slow Jam”

Read more