Sometimes, longer is better. But Pepsi is going super short with its new emoji-themed commercials, creating a slew of 100 five-second spots that will air on TV and in search-triggered digital media this summer. 

Agencies Motive and Quietman developed the creative, while Quietman produced all the spots. They show brief, charming, cartoon vignettes of Pepsi bottles doing summery things like skydiving, sunbathing, eating ice cream and more.

The visual style is similar to the short spots Pepsi ran for its emoji bottles in Canada last summer. The hashtag, #sayitwithpepsi, also carries over from that earlier work. 

Adweek has three of the new spots exclusively here: 



And here are more that were unveiled earlier this week:



Linda Lagos, brand marketing and digital director at Pepsi, tells Adweek that the soda brand has learned a lot about digital media—particularly when it comes to the value of snackable content—and is applying those learnings not just to digital but to traditional media. This explains why the five-second spots are headed to TV, where such short ads are a rarity. 

"The stuff that works best is the stuff that's unskippable, that's very quick-hit entertainment," Lagos said. "This campaign is a perfect example of us taking something that's been happening in digital for a while and applying it to more mainstream media with our TV partnerships."

Getting the TV networks on board with the unusual spot length was a challenge, Lagos admitted, but Turner Broadcasting, Viacom and others are on board with it. The spots will run on both network and cable TV, Lagos added.

The online buy is interesting, too, as search terms will trigger specific spots in preroll.

"We have a really broad catalog where we are actually hand-selecting, if you will, the messages to serve to people based on what they're already interested in," Lagos said. "We worked with Google to identify the top search terms for the summer, and we have creative that will be very relevant for those search terms." 

Thus, popular terms like "fireworks" and "tanning" will bring up ads with those themes.

"We have a really cute execution where the bottles are getting some sun and it's really hot, and the sound design turns to a timer going off, and the bottles turn red with this little lobster emoji," said Lagos. "We tried to tell very simple stories, celebrate the product and make it beautiful and refreshing. We have the emojis elevate the stories in a way that we haven't been able to before."

Pepsi has also struck a deal with a store in New York's Chelsea neighborhood called Story, which is hosting four weeks of Pepsi-themed emoji events. "From a DIY style studio to temporary tattoo parlor and design-driven events, the next four weeks aim at inspiring you to play with your words, food, even your clothes. Put on a happy face and let's get emojional," Story said in a post on its website.

As for the broader focus on emojis—which will appear on Pepsi cans and bottles this summer—Lagos said the ubiquitous symbols are particularly apt for the Pepsi brand.

"Emojis are definitely here to stay. They're global. My dad, who lives in Honduras, sends me emojis every day, which is hilarious," she said. "What we love about them, which is so in tune with what Pepsi is about, is that they are a really great form of self-expression. And at Pepsi, we've celebrated all forms of self-expression." 

Playing on the double-sticked nature of the product, Twix in the Nordics pulled a modern—and more discomfiting—version of Doublemint's "Double Your Pleasure."

Patchwork Group in Denmark helped prep the campaign, which will run in all Nordic nations. In the video, unsuspecting café patrons sit down at a table and immediately start to notice something slightly off. 

They are surrounded by various sets of twins. 

In the best of times, this is probably pretty odd, but at worst you might just think you've wandered into a twin café (weirder things exist, after all). The twinsiness is emphasized, however, to a maddening degree: Each pair is wearing the same clothes and doing the exact same thing. Behind the counter are two matching baristas. At the bar, two twin girls take a selfie at exactly the same time. Elsewhere, two blond men in suits sip from their coffee and flip newspaper pages in tandem. And at the window, two phones ring—and their owners say "Hello?" simultaneously.

Some victims laugh gamely; others look visibly uncomfortable. One guy follows every movement with his eyes, a growing suspicion of foul play dawning on his face. 



Matched with playful tango music, it's at once funny and Shining-level creepy, which is as good a reason as any to use this GIF that's been hanging out in our files for a while:



The video, directed by Sigurd Bæk and produced by Moland Film Company, is labeled "Coffee with a Twix," lending itself easily to future Punk'd-style efforts by replacing one word with a new scenario.

"Twix already has a strong position in the market, and we would like to ensure this for the coming years," says Laura Rajala from Mars Chocolate, Twix's parent company. "Patchwork's plan for 2016 will add a ton of humor and relevance to Twix, and I am looking forward to seeing how the target group reacts." 

We like a good situational gag, but the schadenfreude that stems from watching everybody's faces wears off fast, especially once you realize the ad is missing the bit people usually expect after some hidden-camera action: A satisfying reveal—and, because we're ad people, a coherent product tie-in, which may have been as simple as bringing befuddled patrons a Twix with their check.

Instead, we get a lingering shot of a guy's WTF face, followed by the Twix logo and a cup of coffee with a kooky smile. As that cup splits in two, the tagline appears: "Twice as good."

We can't help thinking it would have been double the pleasure with a payoff, though.

Trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight? No shame in Googling it like the rest of America.

When it comes to learning new recipes, it's no surprise that everyone's turning to the search engine giant for advice. A report released Thursday by Google gives a glimpse into what everyone's cooking, buying and ordering.

"With every query typed into a search bar, we are given a glimpse into user considerations or intentions," according to the report. "By compiling top searches, we are able to render a strong representation of the United States' population and gain insight into this population's behavior."

The results are based on the volume of search queries related to food every month between January 2014 and January 2016. Results were measured for year-over-year growth, velocity and acceleration of searches.

These insights could have an impact not just on dinner tables but also on brands' bottom lines. For example, when General Mills began to see a heightened interest in going gluten-free, the company decided to adapt the trend into products and advertising.

Here are the food trends gaining the most traction on Google:

Here are the has-been dishes on their way out:

Of the food trends, Google's report takes a deep dive into five, examining the geographic popularity of each and the words associated with them. In no particular order, here are some of the findings:

1. Pho

While some may debate how to pronounce pho, there's no doubting its growing popularity. In fact, the fame of pho has increased every year for the past decade, with the pace quickening since 2013, with total searches over the past three years rising 11 percent on a year-over-year basis.

According to Google, consumers want to learn how to make the Vietnamese broth and noodle dish. Consumers are 8 percent more likely to search for pho on the weekends, with the most popular cities including Denver and Seattle.

2. Pork shoulder

While barbecue has been making its way to the coasts from the South for quite some time, people are now pigging out on pork shoulder. Consumers are researching a number of ways for how to prepare it, and while the most popular videos relate to American-style BBQ, viewers are also curious about trying Korean and Cantonese dishes. Popular cities include Boston, Chicago and Denver.

"Americans are taking traditional dishes and giving them a new spin, whether it's with a new flavor or a new method of preparation," the report said. "They're looking to experiment with a familiar meat, and master a new skill. With big cuts of meat and slow cookers, they're turning meals into a full weekend experience that they can do on their own from the comfort of home."

3. Mug cake

Those looking for a picture-perfect piece of cake for the Pinterest crowd might already know about the mug cake—it's essentially a cake inside of a tiny mug. Mug cakes follow the trends of bite-sized snack foods, seeing 82 percent growth from December 2015 to January 2016.

As for flavors, Americans are looking for tasty but healthy options, researching chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter and coffee along with words like "vegan," "paleo," "no egg" and "gluten free."

The most popular YouTube videos related to mug cake include clips of people making them baked with flavors like Funfetti and red velvet.

4. Turmeric

Turmeric—a perennial plant in the ginger family—has risen in searches by 56 percent from November 2015 to January 2016, as health-conscious consumers look for ways to put the golden spice in smoothies and juices.

According to Google, Americans are looking to go beyond hunger or craving by educating themselves on the impact of ingredients entered into their diet.

"While they may be more aware of the added benefits that certain ingredients are said to provide, they are going online to educate themselves on how to consume these functional ingredients," Google said. "This behavior is more likely to occur during the beginning of the week, when consumers are perhaps most motivated to reboot and optimize their lifestyle habits."

5. Pasta

After four years of slow growth, Google search results point to pasta making a comeback. Noodles bubbling up in volume include rigatoni, tortellini, penne, fusilli and linguine. 

Whether it's baked, in a pie or stuffed, pasta as a whole has seen search results rise 26 percent between January 2015 and January 2016. Top associated keywords include sausage, chicken, beef and even lobster or ham. 

"Consumers are most interested in making pasta dishes at home on the weekends. They're experimenting with new recipes and sauces that can be prepared at home or picked up at the grocery store. There's interest in understanding the differences between certain types of pasta and their accompanying sauces."

Livestreaming brand stunts are getting more and more popular—one of our recent favorites being the Waitrose campaign from the U.K. that showed live feeds from the grocery chain's farms. Here's a more gimmicky one from Portugal that tries to combine livestreaming with GIFs—or rather, a live-action imitation of GIFs.

It works like this: From 8 a.m. local time Friday to 8 a.m. local time Saturday, Somersby Cider is doing a livestream of a character named Lord Somersby sitting in front of a camera and making the same movements over and over—creating repetitive, GIF-like footage. The movements involve, naturally, showing off the product and drinking it. 

Here's a real GIF we just made from the live-action "GIF": 



As we type this, the guy is more than eight hours into the stunt. Thankfully, he's getting some breaks here and there to chat with guests. Viewers who are watching the stream on this Somersby site can vote for which guest should appear next. (The lineup includes eskimos, polar bears, penguins, a "real yeti," dancers and even a few Portuguese celebrities.)

Here's footage of the livestream as it's happening right now:



Ad agency Nossa in Lisbon dreamed up the idea. It's fun enough, and the guest aspect makes it less stultifyingly boring than it would have been (even if it lacks the purity of doing a proper 24-hour live GIF, though that would have been brutal).

It's also, of course, an endurance test for this poor actor, who is hopefully sipping apple juice and not actual alcoholic cider here. (If it is booze, the livestream will get pretty interesting later today, we imagine.) Regular bathroom breaks would be good, too. 

Dreyer's has long been a steady presence in your neighborhood supermarket's ice cream aisle, but a new campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners aims to reintroduce this classic brand of sweets to the public at large with a very simple message: Togetherness.

That also happens to be the title of the anthem spot launching today from GS&P, which has been working on the account for nearly a decade.

"We had a brief hiatus in terms of consumer messaging on [Dreyer's]," said Jason Merideth, brand manager of Dreyer's/Edy's at parent company Nestlé USA. "We had time to really shape the core message... focusing on real moments and real families."

The 90-second spot, which will air on various social platforms starting today, focuses on intimate moments shared by a varied set of families all set to a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" by Norwegian singer Ane Brun.

The key insight spurring this campaign came from consumer research: 82 percent of Americans polled said they "crave more time to play and be with friends and family," with more than a third noting that they included such wishes in their own 2016 resolutions.

To put that sentiment to film, GS&P and Dreyer's turned to director Johnny Green of David Fincher's production company Reset. Most of the characters who appear in the campaign are not actors.

"One of the things I'm most proud about is that we were able to use lots of real families," Merideth told Adweek. "It helps show the true feeling of warmth and closeness that you only get when you're with people for whom you feel a deep emotional connection." He added, "They were just really excited to eat ice cream with family while sitting on a picnic bench or having a pool party. They would really forget there was even a camera there."

GS&P creative director Samuel Luchini said, "Dreyer's was founded when an ice cream maker and a candy maker came together in 1928. Togetherness is in their DNA and is what has driven the brand for almost 90 years." Fellow creative director Roger Baran added, "Gathering together with family and friends has always been an important part of our lives. Dreyer's has played a key role in making these moments even sweeter."

Merideth said, "You can see [this sentiment] in the 90-second spot when, during the close-up of the cake, you notice that birthday is actually spelled incorrectly. When you're in the hustle and bustle of last-minute surprise parties, sometimes the candles aren't all in the right place--but that can make the moment even richer and more special."

CREDITS

Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Title of Creative Work: Togetherness

Nestlé Dreyer's Brand Account Team
VP, Marketing: Kim Peddle-Rguem
Director, Marketing: Jessica Vasisht
Brand Manager: Jason Merideth
Associate Brand Manager: Aasha Barot

Creative
Co-Chairmen: Rich Silverstein
Creative Director: Sam Luchini
Creative Director: Roger Baran
Associate Creative Director: Tristan Graham
Art Director: Sam Luchini
Copywriter: Roger Baran, Tristan Graham
Designer: Todd King

Production
Director of Broadcast Production: Tod Puckett
Senior Broadcast Producer: Conor Duignan
Broadcast Producer: Molly Troy

Account Services
Managing Partner: Robert Riccardi
Account Director: Erin Fromherz
Account Manager: Kaitlin Giannetti
Account Manager: Lindsay Agosta
Assistant Account Manager: Leah Tichansky

Brand and Communication Strategy
Director of Brand Strategy: Bonnie Wan
Director of Communications: Meredith Vellines
Brand Strategist: Gabriella Svensk

Business Affairs
Business Affairs Manager: Jane Regan 

Production Company
Company name: Reset
Director: Johnny Green
Director of Photography: Jeremy Rouse
Producer: Aris McGarry
Executive Producer: Jeff McDougall

Editorial Company
Company name: Cartel
Editor: Kyle Valenta
Assistant Editor: Micah Chase
Senior Producer: Meagen Carroll
Managing Partner: Marc Altshuler

Finishing
Company Name: Electric Theatre Collective
Flame: John Price
Colorist: Aubrey Woodiwiss
Producer: Kate Hitchings

End Treatment Graphics
Company Name: Elevel
Director of Elevel: Pj Koll
Creative Director: Mike Landry
Animator: Anthony Enos
Animator: Luke Davisson

Sound Design and Music
Music: "True Colors" By Ane Brun
Music Supervisor: Todd Porter
Sound Design: Lime Studios
Sound Designer:  Joel Waters

Mix
Company name: Lime Studios
Mixer: Joel Waters
Assistant Mixer: Stephen Fredericks
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

Wasn't it fun when we were kids to doodle on restaurants' paper placements with crayons? Well, McDonald's has introduced a high-tech, musical version of that sort of play with McTrax—a snazzy placemat that acts like a little music production station.

TBWA\Neboko in the Netherlands created McTrax. The placemat, developed with This Page Amsterdam, uses conductive ink, a small battery and a thin circuit board with 26 digital touchpoints. You put you phone on it, download an app and make music with in-house produced audio loops, synths and musical effects. You can also record your own voice.

See it in action here:



"The paper of the placemat is what makes this technique so innovative," TBWA creative technologist Radha Pleijsant and digital design lead Jan Jesse Bakker said in a statement. "The phone merely acts as the speaker and screen, which is easily connected to the placemat via Bluetooth, making the sure you can hear the music on your speakers."

"This placemat brings technique, engagement and entertainment together making it 'experience advertising,' " added chief creative officer Darre van Dijk.

"This is exactly what McDonald's is; a place to have fun and experience great moments, for everyone," said Erwin Dito, director of marketing, communications and consumer insight for McDonald's Netherlands.

CREDITS
Client: McDonald's Nederland
Agency: TBWA\NEBOKO
App and tech development: This Page Amsterdam
Placemat development: Novalia, Londen
Programmed beats: Darius Dante

The first campaign for Grandma's cookies from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners wrestles with a timeless question: "Are you my grandma?" 

This twisted take on the kids' classic Are You My Mother? combines the delightful naiveté of the 1960 P.D. Eastman book with a deepening sense of confusion. It seems the nostalgia sparked by the smell of a cookie can quickly lead even straight-laced adults astray. 

The first spot, "Park," demonstrates that this sort of pining for days gone by easily transcends race and gender. Also, knitting can quite literally be a hobby for everyone.



That one did very slightly warm our cold, cold hearts. And it turns out the Grandma's phenomenon also eliminates the age gap between one's grandparents and one's primary school classmates. 



"The opportunity to work on Grandma's cookies immediately took us to a nostalgic place," GS&P creative director Jon Wolanske tells AdFreak. "This is a brand we all grew up with. They're cookies we'd see next to the register in convenience stores, or that our folks would buy for us on road trips. So when it came to thinking of creative ideas, I think we went to a place of imagining Grandma's from a child-like perspective." 

That said, adults are hardly immune to the cookies' charms—and they can somehow make things even more awkward.



"The name Grandma's is all about nostalgia," says copywriter Colin Nissan. "We wanted to show just how powerful the nostalgia is for these cookies." Art director Sean Farrell adds: "It seemed really funny to us to take the ultimate comfort food and somehow make it really, really uncomfortable."

On that note, the last ad in the series is also the most unsettling.



Now who wants a cookie?!

"The comedy comes from the tension or awkwardness that's created when anyone can adopt the nurturing power of a grandma—no matter the situation or environment," says Wolanske. "In an office break room. Or a school cafeteria. Or a serene park. When you open a package of Grandma's cookies, you unleash that inner Grandma power."

Nissan couldn't help but add, "Whether you like it or not."

GS&P has worked with Grandma's parent company Frito-Lay for some time, but this campaign marks the agency's first work for the classic cookie brand. Here's hoping future ads keep things just as weird.

CREDITS

Client: Grandma's Cookies
Title of Creative Work: "Break Room," "Park," "Cafeteria"
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Creative
Co-Chairmen: Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein
Executive Creative Director / Partner: Margaret Johnson
Creative Director: Jon Wolanske
Art Director: Sean Farrell
Copywriter: Colin Nissan

Production
Executive Producer: Hilary Coate
Senior Producer: Conor Duignan

Account Services
Group Account Director: Brian McPherson
Account Director: Meredith Williams
Account Manager: Lisa Kourakos
Assistant Account Manager: Levi Russell

Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy Director: Ralph Paone

Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Business Affairs Manager: Jane Regan
Business Affairs Manager: Kelli Cline

Production Company
Company Name: Hungry Man
Director: Dave Laden
Managing Partner / Executive Producer: Kevin Byrne
Executive Producer: Dan Duffy
Producer: Caleb Dewart

Editorial Company
Company Name: HutchCo
Editor: Jimmy Hutchins
Assistant Editor: Patrick O'Leary
Executive Producer: Jane Hutchins

Telecine
Company Name: HutchCo
Colorist: Jonny Mcpheeters

VFX / Finishing
Company Name: HutchCo
Lead Flame: Austin Hickman-Fain

Music
Composers: Derek and Brandon Feichter

Sound Design
Company Name: One Union
Sound Designer: Eben Carr
Producer: Lauren Mask

Mix
Company Name: One Union
Sound Designer: Eben Carr
Producer: Lauren Mask

April Fools' Day was a month ago, but KFC is only just now announcing that it has made two edible nail polishes that bring the classic tagline, "Finger Lickin' Good," grossly to life.

Ogilvy & Mather worked with food technologists at McCormick, the spice company that provides KFC's secret mix of 11 secret herbs and spices, to crate the nail polishes for KFC Hong Kong. The polish flavors are sourced from natural ingredients and based on the brand's two favorite recipes, Original and Hot & Spicy.

So, yes, it tastes like chicken—at least, the coated stuff KFC sells. 

"To use, consumers simply apply and dry like regular nail polish, and then lick—again and again and again," the brand said in a statement.



"The recipe for our edible nail polish is unique and was specifically designed to hold the flavor, but to also dry with a glossy coat similar to normal nail polish," says Ogilvy creative director John Koay. "This campaign is designed to be intriguing and fun to increase excitement around the KFC brand in Hong Kong."

KFC really did make this stuff—thus, it's not exactly a gag. But it's not mass producing it. At least not yet. The nail polishes are packaged in a designer bottle and box and have been teased on social media in recent weeks.

The brand has released on online music video around the project, too, and is inviting Hong Kongers to choose the best flavor to go into mass production.

CREDITS
Client: KFC
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Chief Creative Officer: Reed Collins
Creative Directors: John Koay, Matt Nisbet
Art Director: Elaine Li
Copywriters: Buji Ng, Kerwin Choy
Vice President Asia-Pacific: Soames Hines
General Manager: Gladys Wong
Business Director: Penny Chow
Associate Account Directors: Janice Ho, Sincere Ng
Account Executive: Stella Fung
Senior Producer: Mikyung Kim
Producer: Jayden Wong
Managing Director - Social: Jason Fashade
Senior Strategist: Michael Wong
Community Manager: Pammy Li
PR Senior Associate Michel Wong
PR Senior Consultant: Corwin Wong
Design agency: Brand Union
Creative Director: Andy Reynolds
Designer: Kitty Chan
Production Company: Mutual Workshop
Director: Helen Clemens
Producer: Cyrus Lai
Photographer: Kimhoo So
Composer: Lindsay Jehan
Music Company: Song Zu

Taking care of yourself and eating healthy is all well and good when life is going smoothly. But when does life ever go smoothly?

That's the message of a comical new campaign by Droga5 for Pure Protein, maker of protein bars, powder and shakes. (Pure Protein is owned by NBTY, for whom Droga5 is also working on the MET-Rx brand.)

Three online spots focus humorously on the "Derailers" who totally muck up your plans for the day, making you much more likely to go for an unhealthy snack. Which is why you should always carry a Pure Protein bar with you, the ads say, so you can get your 19-21 grams of pure whey protein with only 3 grams or less of sugar. 

Check out the ads below, which aren't above stooping to potty humor to make their point: 

CREDITS

Client: Pure Protein / NBTY
Campaign: Derailers
Title: "Kid", "Driver," "Pilot"

Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Director: Matt Ian
Assoc. Creative Director: Dustin Tomes
Senior Copywriter: Sara Shelton
Design Director: Rich Greco
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Head of Broadcast Production: Ben Davies
Senior Broadcast Producer: Mike Hasinoff
Broadcast Producer: Goldie Robbens
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Ramon Jimenez
Strategy Director: Katy Alonzo
Strategist : PJ Mongell
Senior Data Strategist: Anthony Khaykin
Communications Strategist: Kevin Wilkerson
Group Account Director:  : Kelsey Robertson
Account Manager: Sophia Bernard, Jordan Cappadocia
Account Supervisor - Kristin Postill
Associate Account Manager: Elizabeth Sova
Senior Project Manager: Claire Arendse

Client: Pure Protein / NBTY
Brad Charron : SVP General Manager S&AN
Monique Acevedo : VP Marketing, Active Nutrition
Amie Testerman: Senior Brand Manager, Pure Protein

Production Company: Caviar
Director: Matt & Oz
DOP: Dave Jones
Head of Production: Kelly Bowen
Executive Producer: Michael Sagol, Jasper Thomlinson
Producer: Luke Thomlinson-Clark

Editorial: Arcade Edit
Editor: Dave Anderson
Assistant Editor: Sam Barden
Executive Producer: Sila Soyer
Producer: Alexandra Leal

Post Production: The Mill
Executive Producer: Clairellen Wallin
Producer: Clairellen Wallin
Coordinator: Tabitha Ozturk
Telecine Artist: Fergus McCall
2D Lead: Kyle Cody
2D Assists: Rob Meade & Sungeun Moon
3D Artist: Sean Dooley
Matte Painter: Marc Samson

Music: Massive Music
Creative Director: Elijah B. Torn
Executive Producer: Keith Haluska

Sound: Sonic Union
Mixer: Michael Marinelli
Studio Manager: Justine Cortale
Producer: Pat Sullivan

As completely invented, marketing-driven rituals go, Corona Extra has a fun one on its hands with the #LimeDrop, a campaign the Mexican brewer is running across social media for Cinco de Mayo.

R/GA Chicago, Ketchum and Constellation Brands teamed up to create the campaign, which urges people everywhere to drop a lime into their Coronas at exactly 5:55 p.m. on 5/5. OK, so it's not the most fascinating brand activation ever, but Corona has gotten a few celebs involved, including Aaron Paul and Jon Gruden, who recorded the videos below.

Aaron Paul is getting close on his #LimeDrop. Check out how he plans to drop his lime at 5:55pm on 5/5!https://t.co/5BUT663dDp

— Corona (@coronaextrausa) May 4, 2016

Jon Gruden knows how to draw up a #LimeDrop.
See how he's getting ready for 5:55pm on 5/5.https://t.co/dI1YwYsVUo

— Corona (@coronaextrausa) May 3, 2016

The Corona Extra social team will working late into the night urging fans to share their lime-drop photo with @CoronaExtraUSA on Instagram or Twitter using #LimeDrop. The brand will then customize the photos, "Cinco-ifying" them with festive designs.

CREDITS

Client: Corona Extra – Constellation Brands Beer Division
Chief Marketing Officer: Jim Sabia
Vice President, Brand Marketing: John Alvarado
Senior Media Director: Joanne Coleman
Digital Marketing Director: Sally Boots
Senior Brand Manager: Alex Schultz
Senior Brand Manager: Carelys Hepburn
Brand Manager: Saul Trejo
Associate Brand Manager: Susie Robberson
Associate Brand Manager: Joe Richardson
Associate Brand Manager: Lee Gamlin

Agency: R/GA
Executive Creative Director: AJ Hassan
Creative Director: Jeff Canzona
Associate Creative Director: Lizz Pietrus
Copywriter: Mikinzie Stuart
Copywriter: Peter Toutant
Design Director: Jessica Bergstresser
Design Director: Monina Velarde
Designer: Adam Daniels
Social Strategist: Daniela Vieira
Community Manager: Sebastian Ibarra
Strategist: Tyler Moore
Analyst: Sunny Lee
Managing Director: Jeff Brecker
Account Director: Dan Baker
Account Supervisor: Neal Erickson
Executive Production Director: Charles Chung
Senior Producer: Cathy Hughes
Senior Content Producer: Julie Benevides
Associate Producer: Nicole Poull
Director, Business Affairs: Stephen Bernstein
Business Affairs Managers: Mairead Murray, Lynda Blaney-Smith

Ever wonder what it'd be like if your head turned into a taco, wobbling on your neck as pigeons pecked away at the shell?

No? You're not alone.

But for the few who have that fantasy, Snapchat's Cinco de Mayo face lens sponsored by Taco Bell today might be up your alley. And for those who plan to get sauced tonight, Taco Bell's got you covered with a packet of Diablo that promises to "turn up the heat."

The Yum! Brands franchise joins Starbucks, Hollister and Wendy's as yet another company finding creative ways to draw in a younger crowd on the social app, which gets as many as 10 billion video views a day. Last month, Starbucks bought a star-filled lens to promote its loyalty program, while Hollister bought a geofilter in 2015 to get U.S. high schoolers interested in the fashion brand. 

But even while brands spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to playfully get in front of Snapchat's more than 100 million users, consumers don't always bite. In fact, many accused the Los Angeles-based app of creating a black-face filter last month when it launched a Bob Marley lens for the April 20 "Weed Day."

Taco Bell's effort probably isn't the kind of photo you're going to screen shot for an avatar selfie, but it's sure to make you not want to be reincarnated as a chalupa. (Or worse: a Quesalupa.)

Don't go soft—get some balls.

When the product name is Mike's Harder and the target is millennial men, it's impossible not to bust out the dick jokes. Why fight it? It's the low-hanging fruit, so to speak, and the brand and its new agency are going there, unequivocally.

Mike's Hard Lemonade brand Mike's Harder—some call it an "alcopop," but technically it's a "premium malt beverage"—rolls out a brazen bunch of sight gags in three digital ads launching today. They involve having characters pitch a tent (literally), sit on a pool noodle, knead lifeless bread dough and wrestle a garden hose. Get it? No, really—get it?

It's the first work from Los Angeles indie agency Battery, whose chief creative officer Philip Khosid said subtlety can be overrated. "The client wants to own it," Khosid said. "So we came up with something to engage the young male audience and be irreverent but still be clever about it with a play on words."

Client marketing execs have spent the past few years differentiating Harder, a convenience-store staple, from the core brand, the already quirky Mike's Hard Lemonade. They've collaborated with graffiti artists and fans to design collectible cans and tied in with Fox's R-rated blockbuster Deadpool, said Harder's creative director Kevin Brady.

Sales for the brand—which is 8 percent alcohol, packaged in 16-ounce and 23.5-ounce sizes and dubbed by Serious Eats as "a tasty, sleazy way to get a $3 buzz"—are up 13 percent year over year, he said.

The new campaign will run through the summer or longer. "It's funny and bold," Brady said, "and it made us laugh out loud." He thinks it has, well, staying power.

British cereal brand Alpen sends up sunny start-your-day-right clichés in two fun 30-second ads by BBH London—because a good breakfast cereal can't guarantee you'll have a good day ... but at least you'll enjoy the meal. 

The first spot, "Cricket," features a man winding up for a big cricket game. Pitching an imaginary ball, he cranks up a chipper tune on the kitchen radio—the Monkees' "Daydream Believer"—and pours himself a bowl of sugarless Alpen.

He reads the paper while eating, then kisses his wife goodbye before heading out to the pitch ... where his aspirations to glory are ignominiously dashed, as captured on YouTube. 

The fun thing about the campaign is that the YouTube fails are real.

"The development of the campaign began with finding genuine YouTube fails and then imagining the great start to the day that they had before these events unfolded," BBH says. "Careful casting and wardrobe were used to get actors looking as close to the real people in the YouTube clips as possible." 

The second spot, "Kite," features a mother smiling as she climbs out of a downy bed on a beautiful morning. The birds are singing, and "Daydream Believer" reprises in the background. She ties her hair, then joins her young daughter and husband at the table for a bowl of granola. 

After breakfast, the family heads out for a trip to the park. "Can mommy fly the kite?" she asks as they leave the house. That turns out to be a particularly apt question—the camera cuts to YouTube footage of her less-than-entirely-successful efforts.

"It all started so well," concludes the tagline for both spots. It's the perfect sort of non-apology, tantamount to a shrugging "At least we did our part." That's refreshing; the slapstick endings are welcome twists on dull and obnoxiously upbeat category tropes. 

It's the clips of cricket guy and kite mom that will be relived by cackling friends and families for years to come—even if nobody remembers what they had for breakfast that morning. 

CREDITS

Client: Alpen
Campaign: "It All Started So Well"
Global Marketing Director: Sally Abbott

Agency: BBH
Copywriter: Martha Riley
Creative Director: Carl Broadhurst
Strategy Director: Rowenna Prest
Business Lead: Sian Cook
Account Executive: Nathan Coffey
Account Director: James Rice
Producers: Ally Mee, Ronae Rayson

Production Company: Nice Shirt Films
Director: Liz Murphy
Producer: Luke Goodrum
Director of Photography: Justin Brown

Postproduction: Jon Hollis @ Raised by Wolves

Editor, Editing House: Mark Burnett @ Whitehouse Post

Sound: Sam Ashwell @ 750mph

People throw around the term "food porn" a lot on Instagram, but a chain of sushi restaurants in Colorado is posting real food porn shots—sushi dishes delivering clichéd lines right out of porn movies.

Check out the posts below. They'll be hitting Hapa Restaurant Group's Instagram page starting this week. Fun work by agency TDA_Boulder.

CREDITS

Client: Hapa Restaurant Group
Art Director: Mia Nogueira
Writer: Brian Mulligan
Creative Director: Jonathan Schoenberg
Photographer: Chad Arnold Photography and Design. Denver, CO.
Assistant Account Exec.: Martha Powers
Director Client Services: Christi Tucay

American cheese isn't just about getting your own. It's about helping someone else get theirs, too. That, at least, is the upshot of a sentimental new ad from iconic dairy company Land O'Lakes, created by The Martin Agency. 

A young man waits at a deli counter for his ticket to be called. A nursery-rhyme voiceover waxes philosophical about the passage of time, and the passing along of rituals. The young hero reminisces about how he's buying groceries just the way his mom used to do. 

When his number finally comes up, he makes a modern gesture of consumer chivalry. 



Featuring the tagline "Add a little good," the commercial is part of a broader campaign—Martin's first for the brand—that includes print and digital work, along with two other 30-second TV spots focusing on the marketer's most famous product: butter. 

In one, a little girl helps her mom cook, chopping onions with a plastic knife, washing carrots and ensuring the pepper shaker is handy. Like the first ad, the rhyming voiceover muses on the importance of showing the next generation the way. In the end, it turns out the meal they've been making isn't for themselves. 



In the last one, three Land O'Lakes farmers rise at 5 a.m. to tend their cows. The voiceover celebrates the company's model—it's a cooperative owned by more than 4,000 producers and members—before arriving at that old American saw about doing things right even when it's hard, as the farmers sit down for butter-drenched breakfasts with their families.



Overall, it's a sweet approach, even if it flirts with being saccharine. It's beautifully produced, with inviting visuals and soundtracks sure to tug on plenty of heartstrings, even if the sing-song copy risks driving viewers insane upon repeat exposure. 

It also doesn't hurt that butter pretty much sells itself. But the tagline is particularly apt, too—as good as butter is, it's probably not a good idea to eat too much. 

Print work and credits below. 

CREDITS

Client: Land O'Lakes
VP Marketing, US Dairy Foods: Heather Anfang
Director, Integrated Marketing Communications: Leah Lamon
Marketing Director, Consumer Cheese: Martin Abrams
Director, Test Kitchens & Consumer Affairs: Becky Wahlund
Team Leader, National Retail Operations: Bob D'Imperio
Director Member Relations: Pete Garbani
Director, Superspreads: Stacey Kearin
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Superspreads and INBD: Melissa Alphin

Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Executive Creative Director: Andy Azula
Creative Director: Jordi Martinez
Senior Art Director: Tara Gorman
Senior Copywriter: Lassiter Stone
Managing Director – Production & Development: Steve Humble
Executive Producer: Letitia Jacobs
Senior Producer: Adrienne Daniel
Associate Broadcast Producer: Coleman Sweeney
Business Affairs Supervisor: Alice Isner
Director of Production Business Management: Karen Taylor
Senior Project Manager: Courtney Faudree Hurd
Group Account Director: Walker Teele
Account Director: Carey Ely
Account Supervisor: Chloe Bos
Account Executive: Sarah Smith
Account Coordinator: Alexis Nelson

Production Company: Thomas Thomas Films
Director: Kevin Thomas
Executive Producer: Philippa Thomas
Producer: Jon Dino
Director of Photography: Robert Pendar-Hughes
Food Stylist: Debi Halpert

Editorial Company: White House Post
Editor: Heidi Black
Assistant Editor: Sam Perkins
Executive Producer: Joni Williamson
Head of Production: Joanna Manning
Producer: Jonlyn Williams

Animation/VFX: Go Overboard
VFX Supervisor/Lead Flame Artist: Jan Cilliers
Flame Assist: Sarah Vigil
Flame Artists: Brandon Sanders, Jim Bohn, Michael Angelo
Matte Painter: Dark Hoffman
Producer: Krystle Seiden
Executive Producer: Celest Gilbert
Colorist: Matthew Schwab

Music for "Next" & "Soup Kitchen": Human
Composers: Craig DeLeon ("Next")
Thomas Keery ("Soup Kitchen")

Music for "Co-Op": Asche & Spencer

Audio Post Company: Rainmaker Studios
Sr. Sound Designer, Music Composer, Technical Supervisor: Jeff McManus
Executive Producer, Owner: Kristin O'Connor
General Manager / Scheduler: Clinton Spell II

Here's a gum for people who feel they've bitten off more than they can chew.

Wrigley's Orbit is rolling out a new campaign tagged "Time to Shine," a shift from the brand's familiar "Just brushed clean feeling" to something more aspirational.

"The idea is that when you have a clean mouth or fresh breath, you feel more confident," John Starkey, regional vice president of marketing at Wrigley Americas, tells AdFreak. "The scripts are a celebration of what can happen when you feel ready to take on your 'Time to Shine' moment."

In the minute-long anthem spot below, we meet various gum chewers who feel unsure of themselves in the classroom, on sports fields, at weddings and elsewhere. British actor Noah Huntley provides the voiceover, though he doesn't talk and chew gum at the same time: 



Three BBDO offices—EnergyBBDO, CLM BBDO and BBDO South China—collaborated on the campaign. "It is more aspirational than you'd expect from a gum commercial," says Starkey. "We've shifted away from the things chewing Orbit helps you get rid of, like food or coffee, and instead are focusing on being ready for what comes next. And those moments can be very small or very big."

Such "moments," previewed in the anthem spot, are explored in a series of 15-second clips, each with a different hero or heroine. First up, a young soccer player gets her kicks: 



"The trickiest thing on set was capturing the right confident smiles," says EnergyBBDO creative chief Andrés Ordóñez. "It can be hard to show genuine emotion on demand without it seeming posed or overly manufactured, especially when it comes to smiling."

Next, a pint-sized basketball player rises to the occasion:



Lastly, we find love at first sight on a public bus. (Don't leave the gum beneath the seat.)



That last ad seems to channel a vibe from another Wrigley's brand, Extra Gum. And given the global success of "The Story of Sarah & Juan," we wondered if perhaps the Orbit team felt "extra" pressure to perform?

"For Extra, it's about the act of sharing and connection," says Starkey. "With Orbit, it's having the confidence to be ready for your moment." 

But how, exactly, does Orbit prepare you for said moment? Will you shoot better hoops with minty breath? Is that Steph Curry's big secret? 

The emotional approach works in Extra's long-form videos, largely because the gum is tangential to the storylines, which are riveting in their own right. Also, the clever use of wrappers is just so three-hanky sweet, it's tough to be overly critical. 

In Orbit's ads, however, the product is more front and center—the chewing faces are, at any rate—and for some viewers, this could make the aspirational message seem strained or downright silly.

The work is just earnest enough to be ripe for parody or ridicule, and we wish Anonymous Content director Joachim Back had leaned into the comedy a bit harder. Still, the concept obviously isn't meant to be taken too literally, and the gum-in-cheek tone is more successful than not.

CREDITS

Client: Wrigley, a Subsidiary of Mars Inc.
Agency: Energy BBDO & CLM BBDO & BBDO South China
Chief Creative Officer: Andrés Ordóñez
Executive Creative Director: Kevin Lynch
Creative Director: Pedro Pérez
Creative Director: Josh Gross
Creative Director: Jeff Cena
Creative Partner: Helen Sze
Associate Creative Director: Alejandro Peré
Associate Creative Director: Dan McCormack
Sr. Art Director: Jesús Diaz
Director of Integrated Production: Rowley Samuel
Executive Producer: John Pratt
Producer: Alice Chu
Director of Music: Daniel Kuypers
Vice President, CLM BBDO: Julien Lemoine
Deputy Managing Director: Laurent Duvivier
Group Account Director: Melanie Marchand
Account Director: Erin Welsh
Global Strategic Planner: Veronique Bernard
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Joachim Back
Managing Director: Eric Stern
Producer: Tim Kerrison
Visual Effects: The Mill
Colorist: Luke Morrison
Design Artist: Anzie Lee, Erik Michelfelder, Anthony Morrelle, Adrian Navarro
2D Lead: Jay Bandlish
2D Artist: Andrew Pellicer, Michael Sarabia, Trent shumway, Ryan Urban
Head of Production: Andrew Sommerville
Producer: Tracey Khan
Audio: Stir Post
Audio Sound Design/MIx: Nick Bozzone
Audio Producer: David Kaplan
Audio Producer : Mindy Verson
Editorial Company: The Assembly Rooms
Editor: Eve Ashwell
Editor: 60/30 Anthem : Sam Rick-Edwards
Assistant Editor: Edward Cooper
Producer: Polly Kemp
US Executive Producer: Mary Know

Kyrie Irving has an arsenal of secret tricks that make him great at basketball, but his latest reveal may be his most surprising edge yet—his own personal donut. 

In a new R/GA ad from Nike's Kyrie 2 sneaker, the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard promotes a special-edition design of a Krispy Kreme-themed shoe—the Ky-Rispy Kreme. 



A traveling truck, meanwhile, has been distributing small numbers of the glaze-and-sprinkle-themed shoes in Cleveland, Baltimore, Manhattan and Brooklyn.



The commercial, which is part of R/GA's "Unexpected Moves" campaign for Nike, joins other spots featuring Irving's hard-to-explain wordplay-driven advantages, like an arcane math equation, the ability to turn into a human torch (which anyone who grew up playing NBA Jam will especially appreciate), or unique karaoke powers—certainly one of the best fake mid-game celebrations ever.

In this particular instance, it's great to watch Irving stuff his face with sugar-laden rings while trying to explain why they—or rather, their rubber-soled offspring—are so important.

A string of onscreen question marks, marking an inability to translate his donut-muffled praise, makes for a brilliant sneaker-head sales pitch ... because in the end, the performance doesn't really matter so long as they look good, and they do.

CREDITS
Client: Nike
Campaign: Kyrie 2 "Unexpected Moves"
Spot: "Unexpected Move #79 – The Kyrispy Kreme"
Agency: R/GA

This week is American Craft Beer Week. To celebrate, craft brewers have teamed up to create a single beer, which is being made using the same recipe by more than 100 craft brewers—and in an act of even greater unity, features the names of 4,490 craft brewers from all 50 states on the can.

It's a cool idea, and an interesting design, though truth be told it doesn't exactly pop. Still, it's the thought (and the quality of the beer) that counts—and craft brewers are using this week to spread their message with a movement to #MakeSmallBeerBig.



Victors & Spoils created a campaign video above. And also check out more of the ad materials. The Biggest Small Beer Ever is now on sale nationwide.

CREDITS
Client: CraftBeer.com
Agency: Victors & Spoils
Executive Creative Director: Sesh Moodley
Creative Director: Kate Kayne, Pat Horn
Associate Creative Director: Rob Lewis
Copywriter: Andrew Bridgers, Arthur Tanimoto
Art Director: Travis Brown
Account Director: Alexander Kayne
Agency Producer: Jenny Stefanov
Designer / Production Artist: Brent Erb
Executive Producer: Blaise Saunders
Production Company: More Media
Director: The Dads
Editor: The Dads
Postproduction: Postmodern

The cream keeps rising to the top at Organic Valley.

After earlier hit ads like "Saving the Bros" and "Real Morning Report," the brand really milks it in a new spot by having one of its dairy farmers, Gerrit van Tol, open a peculiar pop-up store on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan and do business for a single weekend last month.

Spoofing the hipster coffee-house/artisinal-maker mindset, the store specialized in Organic Valley Half & Half, treating the oft-overlooked mixture as if it were a premier caffeinated beverage. Customers could even order their H&H in three "trendy" sizes: Lil Bit, Double and Lotta. (In your face, Starbucks!)



"It's pretty obvious coffee culture has become a parody of itself, considering how seriously it takes itself," David Littlejohn, creative chief at Humanaut, which crafted the campaign (as well as Organic Valley's earlier lauded efforts), tells Adweek. "The truth is, Organic Valley dairy farmers have the same amount of craft and passion for their product, but they would never talk about organic milk with the same level of pretension. We knew there was a funny tension between farmers and baristas we could play with."

In the store, the coffee itself was placed off to the side in stainless steel carafes, and available free of charge—just like milk, cream and, yes, half-and-half are in more traditional cafes.

"What surprised us most is that people didn't seem that thrown off or confused by a coffee shop that only sold organic half-and-half," says Littlejohn. "No one had a problem paying $2 for a pour of organic half-and-half. In the end, the idea wasn't as crazy as we thought it was."

Well, that's New York for you. Anything that costs only $2 just flies off the shelf.

Actually, the campaign's central joke is stretched a bit thin, and poking fun at big-city coffee culture feels too easy. Still, Organic Valley earns Gold Level Stars for scale. Opening a physical store that sells half-and-half was a delicious conceit—and to stretch a metaphor, casting Farmer Gerrit was like the heart-shaped foam on top.

In his first trip to New York City, the dude really pours his heart into the barista role, exuding a folksy charm while casually tossing off some great lines. These include, "We're gonna need one of those modern logos with an X in it, or some arrows," and best of all, as he surveys the local street scene: "I just saw a girl carrying a ukulele!"

"Gerrit was cast mainly because he really, truly enjoys interacting with Organic Valley customers," says client vp of brand marketing Lewis Goldstein. "He and [his wife] Karen frequently represent Organic Valley at trade conferences, community events, farm visits and so forth."

Yeah, but how you gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Nolita?

CREDITS
Client: Organic Valley
Agency: Humanaut
Chief Creative Director: David Littlejohn
Chief Strategist: Andrew Clark
Copywriters: Liza Behles, Andy Pearson, Tyler Sharkey
Design Director: Stephanie Gelabert
Designer: Coleson Amon
Account Director: Elizabeth Cates

Production Company: The Bindery
Director: Eric Ryan Anderson
Executive Producer: Greg Beauchamp
Director of Photography: Josh Goleman
Producer: Bo Armstrong
Production Manager: Lee Manne
Editor: Tyler Beasley / Fancy Rhino
Post Producer: Katie Nelson / Fancy Rhino
Music: Carl Cadwell / Skypunch Studios
Store Design: Pink Sparrow Scenic

For this year's Cannes Film Festival, BBDO created four limited-edition beer-can designs for Stella Artois. But instead of promoting the brand's values in a traditional way—flashier takes on the logo and the like—the series of cans tell a comic book-style story that takes place on the legendary Croisette. 

"Story is what Stella Artois stands for," says Denis Keleberdenko, creative group head at BBDO Kiev in Ukraine. "And traditionally Stella Artois supports the Cannes Film Festival, so we show a story that happens in Cannes, in four parts, for each can. There's accidents, unexpected twists, a chase, drama, a beautiful woman, a kiss at the end and even a helicopter! It's almost a film on cans, actually." 

The case study provides Film Festival ambiance and explains the cans in more detail. Each story is told in French, and is filled with clues that will encourage deep, beer-lit examination of their containers. 



The cans also feature URLs for various Ukrainian websites, which plunge you deeper into the story's universe and provide a kind of bizarre access to the mysterious machinations of the glamorous rich. (Use your Google Translate option to see the sites in English.) 

One of the sites, VIPsecurity.com.ua, gives you the option to hire strongmen whose knowledge set can include "English," "French" or "abuse" (decidedly a language all its own). 

Each site drives people to the Stella Artois Ukraine website, where you could win Film Festival tickets (already claimed, sorry) and, after a painstaking submission process, watch a video. 

We never got that far, because that form was horrid. But we did find the video, which you can check out below, assuming you read Ukrainian better than we do. 



Lastly, here's a full go-around of the packshots:

CREDITS
Client: Stella Artois
Agency: BBDO Ukraine Kiev
Creative Director ­ Anze Jereb
Head of design studio ­ Martynas Birskys
Creative Group Head ­ Denis Keleberdenko
Art Director ­ Mike Petrusiak
Copywriter ­ Julia Kolesnik
Designer ­ Mariya Teterina
Illustrator ­ Olga Bandura