When the robopocalypse comes, will you be ready? Or will you at least have some snacks on hand so you can ride out the chaos in an underground bunker somewhere?

A snack brand called Halfpops wants to help—partly by stoking fears that highly advanced artificial intelligence will rise up and kill us one day (soon) and partly by offering sustenance to the robofighting code ninjas among us. These two groups need each other to survive, says Halfpops.

That's the premise of the brand's new digital ad campaign, which teases the concept of Armageddon. It's all in fun, though, so there's really no need to worry about death by cyborg (at least not yet).

The tongue-in-cheek video, launching Tuesday on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms, puts out the call to "binary badasses" across the country to prove their coding skills in exchange for free Halfpops in a handful of flavors.



"Since the brand itself is irreverent and playful, we wanted to do something that would be bold and a little bit ridiculous," says Mike Watts, vp of marketing at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Halfpops Inc. "We're a small brand trying to make a big splash."

The three-minute video, shot near Lookout Mountain in Tennessee by indie ad agency Humanaut, lays out a doomsday scenario of machine conquering man, complete with images of some creepy walking, talking, lifelike robots.

"Have you seen this?" the video's narrator says. "When our new bot lords take over, we're all gonna die. Bummer! Total bummer!"

Even though futurists, scientists and tech mavens like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have raised this serious issue, it's clear from the start that the Halfpops video is less conspiracy theory and more satire, even though the outdoorsy hero destroys a kid's drone in a misplaced fit of paranoia.

"When you're an emerging brand, you really want to get into the conversation, and this was our way to do it," said David Littlejohn, Humanaut's chief creative officer.

In an imagined robo-controlled world, "Halfpops has nothing to offer but its snacks," Littlejohn said. "So they're saying to coders and developers, 'We love you. Will you help us not die?' "

The rock-climbing star of the short film makes a plea directly to code-writing wizards, kicking off a website dedicated to the Halfpocalypse Challenge, halfpops.com/halfpocalypse, and the product giveaway.

"Just prove you can code, and we'll send you this first giant box of Halfpops rations, with 90 frickin' snacks," the site says before putting coders through their paces. Hint: Captcha is involved. Once participants finish the quiz, they'll need to sign an agreement to protect Halfpops' peeps in the event of catastrophe.

"We're only saving our own skins by making friends with the people who speak robot language," Littlejohn said. The rest of the world, it seems, is on its own.

The company is also promoting the campaign with what it says is the first-ever binary hashtag on Twitter—#0110100001100001011011000110011001110000011011110111000001110011 (which translates to "Halfpops," apparently).

Halfpops has created a limited-edition box suited to the theme of the campaign—it has survival tips, Morse code and other useful end-of-days information stamped on it. (The company is prepared to give away at least 500 boxes of the product, whose name spells out its defining quality—it's half-popped popcorn.)

This is the first national advertising push for Halfpops, which competes with everything from traditional popcorn and chips to healthy snacks like nuts and granola.

The product, for which the company has a patent, had been sold mostly in the Pacific Northwest since its launch about five years ago. Within the last six months, its distribution has expanded. It's now available in national retailers like Whole Foods, 7-Eleven and Stop & Shop. 

Summer is better with perks. To take advantage of that, Miller Lite is spending these sun-soaked months offering "kick backs"—a fun series of unexpected rewards—to people across the country. Who says service is dead? 

Because each kickback is so different, the best thing to do is run through them, and Miller Lite's done us the service of encapsulating a handful in a series of videos. Get in the zone with this roundup video from Digitas, which sums various perks up at whiplash speed: 



Now onto the fun stuff. We'll start Lite: To provide "fresh perspective" to people lounging face-up on the beach, Miller Lite took to the skies and dispensed advice to improve their loungey day—ensuring they could spend it without sunburn, lukewarm beer or communal thirst. 



Can't be bothered to slather on another layer of sunscreen? In another video, "We Got Your Back," Miller Lite erected a booth in Florida that sprays some on you in a shower you'll definitely want to close your eyes for. It used over 90 gallons of the stuff in a day.



And in its last video, Miller Lite hit up Bonnaroo to throw some much-needed shade over festival goers. 



In addition to all these charmed efforts to keep the nation's sunrats from developing skin cancer, Miller Lite did other stuff, too, like take an entire Southside Chicago bar to a White Sox Game, and set up giant Jengas. 

Summer's only half over, so grab a towel and keep your eyes on the sky. To keep track of where Miller Lite may strike next, or shoot them a hint in your direction, follow the #itsmillertime hashtag.

A new ad from a consumer activist group is taking aim at Pepsi's sourcing practices by spoofing one of the soft drink company's most famous commercials—Cindy Crawford's roadside gas station spot from the 1992 Super Bowl.

In the parody, created by nonprofit SumOfUs, a svelte brunette pulls up to a small town fueling station . Two young boys playing catch in a nearby yard stop and gape as she struts—in a tight white tanktop and cutoff shorts—to the vending machine, grabs a Crystal Pepsi and proceeds to chug it.

The similarities to the original end there, as the scene takes a fast downward spiral into disturbing territory. 

Instead of fresh, clear Crystal Pepsi, a viscous yellow-brown substance oozes out of the upturned bottle and onto the Crawford stand-in's face. Unfazed, she lets the sludge run down her body, face contorted in grotesque ecstasy, while her admirers gag in horror.

Here's the original Cindy Crawford Pepsi ad, so you can compare and contrast:

The parody ad went live ahead of last Monday's limited re-release of Crystal Pepsi, a caffeine-free, translucent beverage that was en vogue in the early '90s—assuming it ever really was. Crystal Pepsi existed for just a year, but has since built a nostalgic cult following. (In an attempt to stoke the flames of our memories, its relaunch campaign will include "The Crystal Pepsi Trail," an online game inspired by "The Oregon Trail.")

The ingredient at fault here is palm oil, which plays a role in a wide range of consumer products, from foods to cosmetics. More at issue are the beverage company's palm oil suppliers, which SumOfUs claims destroy rain forests to make way for farms, exploiting workers in Indonesia—a major low-wage producer with inadequate safety regulations—and facilitating the extinction of animals like orangutans, tigers and elephants.

It's a familiar set of complaints, and not PepsiCo's first time facing such critiques. Last year, SumOfUs launched a similar parody ad mocking Doritos, which also uses palm oil. The brand—also owned by PepsiCo—dismissed the gag as fiction, insisting it is "absolutely committed to 100 percent sustainable palm oil in 2015 and to zero deforestation in our activities and sourcing."

If it seems random that the activist group—which also targets companies like Apple, Delta and Zara for various other issues—would choose an almost 25-year-old commercial as the foil for its message, it's worth noting that Pepsi recently revived the Crawford ad, with a twist for millennials—recasting humans as emoji on giant ambulatory bottles:

As off-putting and contrived as the final result of the new parody is, it effectively draws a line between some of Pepsi's more iconic branding, and a visceral sense of disgust about the product—substantive or not. Whether it's more unpleasant than watching James Corden stuff himself into Crawford's classic outfit is a different question altogether.

Taiyo Kikaku's TOKYO division made a video for Nissin Chikin ramen that appropriates a dizzying array of Japanese ad tropes.

"SamuraiDroneCatIdolSuperhumanRubeGoldbergViewerWarningTooExplosiveHighSchoolGirl"—a breathless title that references all the stuff it plays with—is a kinetic, visually impressive piece of business that includes contemporary ad trends like drones, parkour sequences and complex Rube Goldbergian visual stunts.

It also parodies Shiseido's "High School Girl," a viral spot for NTT Plala, and Marukome's "Definition of Japanese Kawaii" (itself a visually rich ad for soup).

The satirical tone is broad enough that people will enjoy it, even if they don't catch all the references. It also seems to wink at what Westerners recognize as major elements of Japanese culture—sumo wrestling, Samurai, smartly dressed schoolgirls and a martial arts aesthetic.

They aren't one-off gags, either; as ridiculous as it may seem, the content builds to a central point, which is that fads are fleeting, but institutions aren't. (Nissin Chikin, obviously, is the institution in question.)

After seeing this, we got to thinking about what the Western version would look like. It would probably be a faux documentary with lots of lazy absurdist humor ... and at least one shot of people jumping up and down at an outdoor music festival.

Annie's Homegrown hops online with a campaign featuring bunnies. So many bunnies.

Created by the Bell Shop, in-house agency for Annie's parent General Mills, the Facebook and Instagram push consists of cottony tales anchored by 30 seconds of mind-melting adorbs. 

Here's the anthem spot: 



It can't be hygienic to set those cuddly critters loose all over the aisles like that, can it? And the punny tagline, "Organic for Everybunny"—suggesting the range and affordability of Annie's product line—is enough to curl your whiskers. 

"We built the campaign to be newsworthy, enjoyably quirky and memorable," says client marketing director Dan Stangler. "Bunnies have been at the heart of our brand identity since we were founded back in 1989. We have been sharing bunny content on our social channels for years, and it continues to be some of our most popular content." 

Annie's stamps a cartoon "Rabbit of Approval" named Bernie on its packaging, and some of its products are shaped like rabbits. These include the cheddar pasta in the "Chewdown" clip below, which features a bunny facing off against a cute kid (a human kid, not a young goat). 



Ah well, the bunny tried its best. Maybe the leporidae will fare better with granola bars:



Humanity wins again! (By a hare's breadth, so to speak.) 

Finally, folks don rabbit ears because, well, that's just how they wanna roll: 



"We hope consumers take away the fact that Annie's is bringing organic versions of foods their families love to more places in the store—it's not just in the Mac & Cheese and snack aisle," says Stangler. "We're now bringing the goodness of Annie's to the dairy aisle, the cereal aisle and even the frozen aisle in categories kids love, and parents loved when they were kids."

For the lead spot, shot after hours in a Minneapolis market, "30 'show bunnies' were brought in from a local handler who typically enters bunnies in pageants—this was their first commercial," Stangler says. (Yes, bunny beauty pageants are a thing.)

Predictably, the cute cast members had a few issues taking direction. 

"Bunnies aren't exactly the easiest animals to work with," Stangler says. "They definitely kept us on our toes during the all-night shoot. We had to do numerous takes because, well, let's just say that bunnies were trying to 'multiply' on set. They are frisky little animals." 

Hey, rabbits—get a room!

CREDITS Client: Annie's
Marketing Director, Annie's: Dan Strangler
Agency: The Bell Shop
Chief Creative Officer: Michael Fanuele
Creative Director: Carol Henderson
Writers: Robb McNeill, Tony Libera
Director: Jonathan Nowak
Senior Producer: Amanda Bastian
Producer: Barth Ward
Production Company: Rain&Shine at Pixel Farm
Post Production: Pixel Farm

Beverage giant AB InBev has expanded its advertising roster yet again by choosing Deutsch as the lead creative agency for the Busch family of brands including Busch and Busch Light. The news comes less than a week after the multinational company hired Droga5 to promote its Best Damn malt beverage brand without a review.

"Anheuser-Busch is the undisputed leader in the value beer segment, with Busch and Busch Light representing two of the Top 10 best-selling beers in the United States," Chelsea Phillips, senior director of value brands at AB InBev, said in a statement. "As part of our ambition to continue to grow share and revitalize these important brands, we are pleased to add Deutsch to our roster as the lead creative agency for the Busch family of beers."

It is the latest in a series of recent wins for the IPG agency, which became ride-hailing giant Uber's first U.S. agency partner after a creative review earlier this month.

It is also AB InBev's biggest agency shift since moving lead creative duties on Bud Light from BBDO to Wieden + Kennedy more than a year ago.

Phillips' statement regarding the appointment continues: "Deutsch is a fully integrated advertising, design and digital shop with a track record of inventive, award-winning CPG and beverage campaigns. They've hit the ground running, bringing great energy and ideas to the table, and we look forward to a strong and productive partnership."

The agency's win did not come after a creative review. As with Droga5, AB InBev reached out to Deutsch, which a client spokesperson described as "an agency our marketing team has been watching," when the Busch account provided an opportunity to bring the IPG shop onboard.

AB InBev has worked with St. Louis marketing agency Group360 on the Busch brands in the past and will continue to do so, though Deutsch will be creative lead on the account moving forward. 72andSunny created the last major TV campaign promoting the Busch brands but has not worked on the business for several years.

Deutsch representatives deferred to the client for comment. The new account will be run by the agency's New York office.

It's better to leave a pile of chocolate wrappers by the bed than it is to leave a pile of regrets. This, among other things, is the theme of "This and Every Day," the latest ad from Mars brand Dove Chocolate.

Created by BBDO New York, the work follows a woman through 24 hours, a bite-sized period of time that encapsulates a full life—we meet her as a child in the morning, and leave her, silvery and smiling, in the evening before the cycle begins again. In the background, Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" ("No, I Do Not Regret Anything") trills, tough and vigorous. 

There aren't any lines of dialogue, but if there were, we're sure the ad would have passed the Bechdel test: As she flits from age to age, our protagonist artfully bypasses the benchmarks of an established life. You don't see professional successes. There is no love story, no man guiding her footsteps. Her weight doesn't seem to be a primary concern, and she will not be surrounded by grandchildren. 

Instead she floats through her city in a turquoise dress, engaging in whimsies and small pleasures—an agent in her own story. The ad concludes with a cliché that, given the theme, happens to work: "Live each day as if it's the only one." 

Here's the 90-second version:



"Edith Piaf's lyrics of enjoying life without regret are as true today as they were when she first performed the song," says brand director Kerry Cavanaugh. "We all need to be reminded to take a moment to savor life's everyday pleasures, big or small, like unwrapping and enjoying the signature taste of Dove Chocolate." 

We do that with Reese's. Hope Dove doesn't mind! 

What's pleasant about "This and Every Day" is that it isn't trying to find the best possible speech to get our minds right (recent work from Unilever's Dove, the beauty brand, comes to mind—though there's no relation to Dove Chocolate). It's a small, emotional glimpse into a life punctuated not by battles or benchmarks but by small delights—a game of darts with friends, cutting your own bangs (a dangerous pastime), skateboarding down the street, eliciting smiles from strangers, chocolate.

The woman isn't conventionally pretty, but neither is she unconventional. She's slim and smiling, the way a lot of people think (and will often say) women should be as they go about their business in public. And it's true that all the passersby she charms—teetering over bannisters, gliding into buses and skipping through protests—are men and boys. Some vestige of a male ideal lingers here, thick but insidious under the tale of a free feminine spirit.

Still, as a lesson in flirting with convention and ultimately escaping it, it somehow still feels curative. Like a piece of dark chocolate melting against your palate, it goes down more smoothly, more kindly, than yet another call to arms.

We need balms like this, too. And maybe, one day, we'll arrive at a point when an ad about a woman aging, single, happy and free of regrets, is neither unusual nor obliged to pay lip service to the approving gazes of men. 

The 60-second version appears below.

CREDITS
Client: Dove Chocolate
Agency: BBDO New York

When this Nutchello ad popped up in my feed, it melted my brain into a delicious puddle of chocolate pouring onto a gold cougar statue. You know, in a good way.

The ad, from Fallon, throws one quirky headline after another at you while you stare at giant type superimposed over impressively weird CGI. You are assailed by alternately relaxing and terrifying images.

A woman performs yoga on top of a walnut on top of a turtle. A pink poppy opens to reveal an almond, suggesting both the beauty of nature and the joy of opiates. Molten chocolate pours on the head of a golden cougar rising from a mound of mixed nuts. A magician turns a walnut into a magnificent butterfly with the word "you" superimposed on its wings. Most chillingly of all, giant comets made of almonds burn up on entry to the Earth's atmosphere, seconds away from destroying all life as we know it.



After each seemingly unrelated snacking axiom over luscious, inexplicable visuals, a woman seductively whispers "Nutchello" like it's a high-end perfume ad.

Taken together, this glut of advertising techniques all rolled into a single spot harken back to oddvertising. But maybe it makes sense, since oddvertising was mostly a phenomenon that made people buy candy, and Silk's Nutchello is the candy of nut milks.

The strange spot certainly stands out in a category touting questionable health benefits and relief for the lactose intolerant. But even better than the 3 million views on the YouTube spot is that someone is replying to all the comments with a whispered "Nutchello."

CREDITS
Client: Nutchello/Silk
Agency: Fallon
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Kling
Creative Director: Patrick Figueroa
Art Director: Jay Morrison
Copywriter: Charlie Kuhn
Account Director: Nick Bondeson
Director of Business Affairs: Brendan Lawrence
Producer: Erin Kirby
Group Account Director: Matt Benka

They're tiny hard candies that may be small enough to fit between your thumb and forefinger, but they're still packed with adventure, says a fun new campaign from The Martin Agency.

Anthropomorphic Tic Tacs experience Hollywood-level excitement in four 30-second web spots, featuring miniature worlds wherein mints wear human garb and enjoy human experiences, like cage diving with sharks, riding barrels over the top of waterfalls, jumping classic sports cars over the Grand Canyon and piloting rocket ships to Mars.

Part of the brand's clever "Go Little" positioning (almost like a modern-day version of "Think Small"), the clips are completely ridiculous, and thoroughly enjoyable—stupid and carefree, yet somehow on message.

The writing is clear and simple, with appropriately minor bits of suspense built into each spot. (Will the diminutive green daredevil stick the landing, or explode against the cliff face?) The visuals don't disappoint, either, with charming detail on all the bite-sized models and inviting backdrops. (The spots were directed by Jeff Boddy of Martin's production partner Hue&Cry.)

And that's not to mention the cheesy, retro-TV-style intros. "In a big world … dare to be little," barks the voiceover. Meanwhile, even the campaign's name, "Little Adventures," is aptly on-the-nose. (Stories filmed in miniature are often adorable when done well. See also: McCann New York's amusing work for French Toast Crunch.)

Overall, the point is clear, without having to say it in so many words: Tic Tacs, the heroes in these stories, are, perhaps counterintuitively, packed with flavor. The real question, then, becomes: If eating one is tantamount to space travel, what happens when you pour a dozen into your mouth?

CREDITS
Client: Tic Tac
VP of Marketing: Todd Midura
Marketing Director: Dan Cutchin

Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Group Creative Director: Danny Robinson
Associate Creative Director: John Szalay
Senior Designer: Todd Hippensteel
Copywriter II: Mark Habke
Executive Broadcast Producer: Letitia Jacobs
Associate Broadcast Producer: Emily Goodman
Junior Broadcast Producer: Nicolette Steele
Business Affairs Supervisor: Suzanne Wieringo
Senior Production Business Manager: Kelly Clow
Group Account Director: Darren Foot
Account Supervisor: Stephanie Brummell
Account Executive: Lauren Dushkoff
Project Manager: Hayley Soohoo
Senior Community Manager: Ari Sneider
Planning Director, UX Strategy: Meg Riley
Planning Director, Strategic Planning: Elizabeth Cleveland

Production Company: Hue&Cry
Director: Jeff Boddy
Creative Director: Magnus Hierta
Executive Producer: Joe Montalbano
Producer: Colleen Hopkins
Production Coordinator: Abbey Reddington
Storyboard Artist: Timo Prousalis
Assistant Editor: Andrea De Leon
Designer: Shannon Rollins
Animators: Liam Ward, Timo Prousalis, Andrea De Leon
Set Design Company: Nix + Gerber
Set Designers: Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber

Live-Action Shoot: The Branching
Executive Producer: Lucas Krost
Producer: Alexandra Krost
Director of Photography: Thomas Bingham
Production Coordinator: Adela Satrova
1st AC: Tony Summerlin
2nd AC: Jack Payne
Media Manager: Rex Teese
Gaffer: Chris Thompson
Key Grip: Mike Flinn
Swing: Patrick McLynn
Production Assistant: Alex Delarosa

Offline Postproduction House: Running with Scissors
Head of Production – Brian Creech
Editor – Danny Reidy

Online Postproduction House: Running with Scissors
Colorist: Drew Neuhart
Flame Artist: Chris Hagen

Music Company: Tiny Lion
Composer: Tiny Lion

Mix company: Rainmaker
Mixer: Mike O'Conner

McDonald's has ended its creative and media agency review by consolidating its nearly $1 billion advertising business with Omnicom, marking the end of a 35-year relationship with Leo Burnett.

DDB beat out the Publicis Groupe shop in the review, which launched in April and sparked controversy across the industry. The announcement comes as welcome news for both Omnicom—which recently emerged as the big winner in AT&T's creative and media agency consolidation—and DDB, which has now recorded its biggest new business win under North American CEO Wendy Clark.

Omnicom will launch an as yet unnamed unit based in Chicago that will combine its creative and media assets, including staffers from Sparks & Honey, Critical Mass and other Omnicom Media Group organizations

"Exactly 18 weeks ago today, we received a dream brief from one of the most iconic brands in the world … to create 'the agency of the future,'" Clark said in a statement. "The best and the brightest talent across multiple Omnicom agencies came together over the last 4 months to create, operationalize and deliver on that brief. The result is a customized agency built with intelligence at the core, to fuel brilliant creative work, that's delivered at the speed of the marketplace at an efficient cost. We are thrilled and honored to be selected and excited about immediately creating impact for McDonald's business."

McDonald's representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A Leo Burnett spokesperson said, "While this news is certainly very disappointing, we're extremely proud of the Power of One thinking we brought to McDonald's. The work we've done over the years for McDonald's has been nothing short of spectacular, and we are particularly proud of having been partners throughout their business turnaround. We wish them continued success."

The fast-food chain had been working with Leo Burnett for more than three decades and pitted the two Chicago-area agencies against each other when it was trying to redefine its brand in 2014. The result was last year's "All Day Breakfast" effort, with creative by Leo Burnett and supporting work from DDB.

Earlier this year, the review provoked a contentious conversation regarding some specific demands McDonald's made of its future agency partners. Most prominently, the chain allegedly insisted the agencies operate at cost with all profits tied to unnamed performance goals. WPP dropped out of the review as those claims went public, though a spokesperson declined to elaborate on the holding company's decision at the time.

Despite struggling to retain market share in recent years, McDonald's remains one of the biggest single advertisers in the U.S. According to Kantar Media, the chain spent roughly $820 million on measured media in 2015 and $195 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Coca-Cola's grown tired of happiness, and is moving on to magic. As one does.

In "Taste the Magic," a new spot by agency David, a waiter approaches a table that's ordered an unusual amount of Coca-Colas. (Really, nobody wanted anything else?) A woman tells him she didn't order a regular Coke. No problem! Before her eyes, he transforms it into a Coca-Cola Zero. 

It turns out this is no ordinary waiter. This is Justin Flom, a resident Las Vegas magician and social media star. 

"Do it again!" another guy at the table commands. 

Flom is so down, reciting his lines like they're actually the way people speak: "I feel you want the crisp taste of Coca-Cola, without calories. So I'll give you Coca-Cola Light." 

That little gender reversal is interesting: Zero has historically been marketed to men, while women prefer Light (called Diet in the U.S.), which also has stronger associations with the fashion industry. This subtle shift is magic we weren't expecting! 

All of the the tricks are performed entirely in front of the camera. Watch the rest of Flom's Coke transformations below. 

He goes on to turn another Coke into a Coca-Cola Life, which we didn't realize anybody drinks, and, because the normal Coke is the brand's stronghold, we end with a lady finding one in her handbag. It's fun for the whole family. 

In addition to benefiting from Flom's social media presence, Coca-Cola is using the magician's act as a pretext to remind people of its different low-calorie options. (It also nicely serves to explain what the difference is between them.)

"50 percent of Coca-Cola's communication will be aimed at its original variant and the other 50 percent at the low and no-calorie options," reads an accompanying pressie. "This means that in 2016, Coca-Cola will have invested four times more in these options compared to 2015."

You may also have noticed that the packaging is subtly different, with Coca-Cola's red disc taking precedence in all variations of the product. This is part of Coke's new "One Brand" strategies to pull the disparate offerings closer together. Flom also uses a red disc-shaped coaster in his first table trick, subtly reinforcing that association, and brings it back for the ending, which introduces the fresh new iconography. 

That's a lot of change to wiggle in, so it's apt that transformation is the topic the ad plays with. What better way to change your identity than by magic? You have less to explain that way, and getting people to focus on the magician, instead of the new branding, may redirect them from other awkward conversations they could be having instead. 

The campaign will include product sampling—the better to taste the nuance of Stevia-enriched Life?—and digital and experiential activations, as well as print.

CREDITS
Client: Coca-Cola
Product: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola light, Coca-Cola Life
Title: "Taste the Magic"
Agency: David
Executive Creative Directors: Joaquín Cubría, Ignacio Ferioli
Creative Director: Nacho Coste
General Account Director: Emanuel Abeijón
Account Director: Lucila Castellani
Account Executive: Florencia Scrimaglia
Planning Director: Javier Quintero
Head of Global Integrated Production: Veronica Beach
Head of Production: Brenda Morrison Fell
Client Production: La verde Pro
Director: Martin Romanella
Production Agency: argentinacine
Executive Producers: Nano Tidone, Laura Passalacqua
Producer: German Escande
Postproduction: Aldo Ferrari
Postproduction House: Pickle House
Color: Pentimento
Sound Design: Elefante Resonante
Music: "Taste the Feeling" by Conrad Sewell
Client Supervisors: Luis Gerardin, Guillermo Gimenez y Brotons, Alberto Velasco, Diego Luis, Sol Jares Cánovas, Jennifer Dolan

Ever bitten into a sandwich only to meet with freezerburn, an unsatisfyingly thin piece of bacon or an unwelcome vegetable? We've all been there. It's one of our most trying and persistent #FirstWorldProblems. 

But Wendy's has a solution: The Baconator, which promises no frozen beef, no microwaved bacon and no vegetables whatsoever. And instead of food-porning us into submission, it's conveying these messages with a trio of bizarre short stories, in which anthropomorphized foodstuffs try penetrating the Baconator in modern contexts. 

Let's start with "Frozen Beef Need Not Apply." In this spot, a clearly frozen Australian beef patty tries interviewing for a Baconator job. It adds something to our disgust that he sweats (or defrosts?) all through it, but the final test of unfrozenness will send chills up the spine of anyone who's ever been given a corporate pee cup. 



In "Microwaves Are a Dealbreaker," a cute, upwardly mobile fresh meat patty is trying to find "a meaningful connection with the right applewood smoked bacon." Our juicy heroine meets a slice on the dating site "Meatswipe" (sadly not a thing—we checked so you wouldn't have to) who claims he's less thick than in his pictures because of filters. It all goes downhill from there ... but in his defense, we do consider microwaves a type of oven. 



The third spot, "No Veggies Allowed," is a little bit stranger, because veggies are usually a token indication of how fresh a sandwich is. But we guess there are some meals where they're just not welcome, like when you really want to focus on the unadulterated sensation of hot cheese melting over bacon and beef, which is totally fair enough. 

Anyway, in this one, three geeky veggies try getting into Club Baconator, using fake IDs. Needless to say, the bouncer is not impressed. 



The ads were created by VML, which swiped lead creative agency status out from under Publicis' nose back in March. At the time, Wendy's chief concept and marketing officer Kurt Kane said VML "has proven it can tell the Wendy's story in a modern and compelling way that drives winning business results." And indeed, it's done a lot to help the burger chain flex its beefy muscles in digital. 

Last year, to promote the Strawberry Fields Chicken Sandwich, it released a charming series of cinematic pins on Pinterest. Right after that, it held a livestream chat with YouTube duo Rhett & Link. Wendy's has also spent some time developing its chops on Snapchat, whose users these ads happen to feel destined for. 

CREDITS
Client: Wendy's
Advertising Agency: VML, Kansas, USA
Chief Creative Officer: Debbi Vandeven
Executive Creative Director: Chris Corley
Group Creative Director: Pat Piper
Creative Director: Daniel Lobaton
Associate Creative Director: Ethan Tedlock
Senior Copywriter: David Brandorff
Associate Art Director: McKailey Carson
Associate Copywriter: Ant Tull
Senior Producer: Michael Kinney
Associate Producer: Shae Mermis
Group Director: Jason Bass
Director, Client Engagement: Kelly Gartenmayer
Supervisor, Client Engagement: Nicole Debrick
Business Affairs Manager: Julie Kolton
Campaign Manager: Patty Jones
Production Company: Moo Studios
Director: Shaun Sewter
Producer: David Lyons
Line Producer: Monica Monique
Producer : Bennett Conrad
Editorial: Liquid 9
Editor : Ryan Lewis
Editor: Katie Wade
Production Coordinator: Kate Zadoo

"Boats run on diesel and coffee."

That pearl of wisdom comes courtesy of Glen Miller, a tugboat captain who stars in "The Harbor That Never Sleeps," one of several new 360-degree videos from Dunkin' Donuts.

The brand's "Always Running" film series begins rolling out this week across Discovery's online platforms in a deal fashioned by Hill Holliday media agency Trilia. Produced by Discovery's creative team, with agency input, the content focuses on average folks whose busy lives are powered, at least partly, by coffee.

Despite that perky premise, the campaign's first two installments are a decidedly mellow brew, with muted, moody imagery and subtle storytelling being the flavors of the day.

In the clip below, Miller takes us on a tour of New York Harbor, the towers of Manhattan rising through the morning mist as the tug's prow parts the waves:



"The Discovery audience aligns nicely with the naturally curious and adventure-seeking segment of our broader target demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds," Nick Dunham, Dunkin's director of media, tells AdFreak. "With the emergence of virtual reality, we have been testing this technology as a means of conveying product and brand messaging through immersive storytelling. Knowing that Discovery has already done a terrific job at producing content using VR, we felt that this would be a great canvas to engage their audience."

In a second video, cell-tower worker Sean Gilhooley climbs high above the Florida Keys to share the heady view from his "office" in the sky. (Watch that spot, which is not yet public on YouTube, over on Discovery's site.)

Dunkin' wisely limits its presence to a trickle, more or less. Gilhooley takes a sip as he arrives on the job, there's a cup in Miller's wheelhouse, and the brand's logo flashes on screen to illuminate some fast facts. Still, over the course of the ads, which run about two minutes apiece, the branding never feels intrusive.

The stark visuals enhance the 360-viewing experience. You really get a feel for Miller's eerie a.m. harbor routine, the cityscape a distant gray jewel dividing sea and sky. Likewise, the rugged dirt roads and scrubby terrain leading to Gilhooley's tower, where a single concrete-block structure stands guard, lend his vignette an air of poignant isolation. As he ascends the steel rungs on his mission to facilitate connection among the masses, the desolate expanse of land and water below seem to stretch into infinity.

"We wanted to transport the viewer into the daily lives of these individuals to give a first-person perspective and feeling for what they do every day," Dunham says.

It's easy to empathize with these men and appreciate what moves them most deeply about their chosen professions. In that context, the washed-out land- and seascapes seem apropos. Scenes crammed with bright vistas and excess motion would have been gaudy distractions. (Dunkin' launched a far more caffeinated flight of fancy a few months back with its "Wingsuit" spot from Digitas LBi.)

"We also wanted stay true to our brand, which is grounded in positive energy, by selecting and featuring individuals who love and are very passionate about what they do," says Dunham. "These characters have some pretty amazing views they experience every day, so we wanted to be able to showcase what that looks like using VR."

Indeed, the Dunkin' brand seems just right for a tugboat captain and cell-tower technician. No frou-frou designer lattes for these hard-workin' Joes!

In both clips, the gritty approach is refreshingly real, evoking the texture and aroma of the meaningful moments we savor during our daily grind.

CREDITS
Client: Dunkin' Donuts

Production: Discovery Communications

Trilia Media:
Cynthia Glasbrenner – Group Media Director
Jeff Zannella – VP AMD
Lindsey Hagopian – Associate Media Director
Jacqueline Klein – Associate Media Director
Cam Nekoroski – Senior Media Planner
Kyle Vascovitz – Assistant Media Planner
Carlo Pugliano – Media Buyer Supervisor
Allison Scharf – AMD Media Buyer

Hill Holliday Account and Creative:
Mike Rubenstein – Integrated Producer
Luke Higgins – Account Director
Chris Damico – Creative Director
Brittany Passafaro – Account Supervisor

Dunkin' Donuts:
Nick Dunham – Director of Media
Mike Lucas – Media Manager
Kimberly Vollono – Ad Manager

Diversity has been an explicit theme of more progressive advertising for some time. But this ad takes it to a new level—featuring a parade of Australians from different religions and cultures, and with various physical looks and abilities, all to sell, oddly enough, Australian lamb.

"What's the best thing about diversity? Everything!" says the client, Meat & Livestock Australia. "So let's all unite with the meat that doesn't discriminate—lamb." The hashtag is #unitedwelamb.

That product connection is pretty dumb, and the spot itself borders on parody of the very ideas of acceptance that it's promoting. And yet it works, mostly because of the entertaining way it's presented—and because of the involvement of so many well-known Australians.

The inclusive cast includes actor Indian Australian Arka Das (who narrates most of it) to transgender comedian Jordan Raskopoulos to Indigenous model Samantha Harris and indigenous athletes Cathy Freeman and Greg Inglis. There's also a woman using sign language, two gay dads, several disabled people, a little person and more.

There's even a diverse range of white people—not just, in the ad's estimation, the "perky white males [who] are contributing to a lack of diversity on our screens."



Freeman and Inglis appear near the beginning, and again at the very end, and are involved in the sign-off punch line. Das offers a lamb chop to whoever was there first. To which Freeman and Inglis reply: "That would be us."

The involvement of Freeman and Inglis is particularly notable, given that Meat & Livestock Australia's previous campaign, around Australia Day, came under fire for being culturally insensitive to indigenous people.

The only people who appear to be absent from this giant love fest? Vegetarians. But then again, this client has never been too fond of them anyway. 

Both campaigns were made by ad agency The Monkeys in Sydney.

CREDITS
Client: Meat & Livestock Australia
Agency: The Monkeys, Sydney

Channel 4 in Britain recently made one of the greatest ads ever about disability with "We're the Superhumans." The spot, timed to the 2016 Paralympic Games, was a follow-up to 2012's "Meet the Superhumans" but went well beyond the original to create its own brilliant, freewheeling world of fun.

But it didn't end there. Channel 4 also dreamed up a companion contest called "Superhumans Wanted," which challenged U.K. brands to develop a bold, creative campaign with disability and diversity at its core.

The winner has just been announced, and it's pretty great—though quite different than the larger-than-life "Superhumans" spots. It's a campaign for candy brand Maltesers, and the ads, by AMV BBDO, feature disabled actors telling amusing stories of awkward everyday situations that involved their disability in some way.

All three spots were "inspired by real-life stories," the brand says. In the end, as the tagline says, the protagonists can only "Look on the light side" of life.

Check out the spots here:

The campaign breaks Wednesday during Channel 4's coverage of the Opening Ceremonies of gthe 2016 Paralympics Games. Channel 4 is giving £1 million (about $1.3 million) worth of free airtime to the campaign. Notably, the sign-language spot will air on TV without any subtitles, which is said to be a first for the U.K.

The spots are very well done, and manage the difficult trick of helping to normalize disability, through funny and relatable anecdotes, without taking away from the very real challenges that disabled people face. That lighthearted approach should help viewers think about disability in a more open way.

Also, the spots are done in the same style as others in the campaign, just with a twist.

"Rather than creating distance by putting disabled people on a pedestal, we believed we could achieve more by showing disabled people simply as… people," says Cat Collins, strategy partner at AMV BBDO. "For Maltesers, that meant seeking out the hilarious stories from their lives that they look on the light side of, just as the characters in the rest of our campaign do. It meant using a powerful weapon to break down discomfort, division and prejudice—a good laugh."

Adds Lisa Quinlan-Rahman, director of external affairs at disability charity Scope: "We know comedy is a great way to shine a light on the awkwardness that many people feel about disability. We hope Maltesers' use of humor in these adverts will get people thinking differently about disability and help break down the barriers that many disabled people face. But life isn't always full of laughs, and we've worked very closely with Mars to ensure the adverts reflect the experiences of disabled people. Disabled people come from an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds. They rarely see their lives reflected in marketing campaigns, the media, in advertising and in public culture."

CREDITS
Project: Maltesers 'Look on the Light Side'
Client name & job title: Michele Oliver, UK VP of Marketing, Mars
Fabio Alings, Brand Director, Maltesers
Brief (in one line): Look on the light side of disability
Creative Agency: AMV BBDO
Creative Director: Tim Riley
Copywriter/Art Director: Dave Buchanan
Agency Planner: Catriona Collins, Elly Fenlon
Agency Account Man: Philippa Field, Rebecca Kavanagh, Abbi Brown
Agency Producer: Lizzie Mabbott, Frankie Burwell-Wright
Media Agency: ZenithOptimedia
Media Planner: Aurelie de-Menthiere, Daisy Ross
Production Company: Biscuit
Director: Clay Weiner
Production Co. Producer: Toby Courlander

A packed bar is a lot like the prom. You look forward to having this epic night, but most of it is spent waiting in line for one thing or another. 

It's a problem tailor-made for brand-hacking. With help from AMV BBDO, Italian alcohol brand Martini has created the Smart Cube, a piece of connected "ice" that tips the server off, via Bluetooth, when your glass hits slurping point. 

On its face, it's the perfect way to get sloshed: The Smart Cubes are marketed as a way for waiters to bring you a full new drink without you ever having to leave your seat ... or even ask. If the switchover works as seamlessly as in the video below, you might not even realize you're on your fifth Moscow Mule until you've already become that guy dancing on the table with his bare belly out.

Obviously, that's dangerous—even if a restaurant will happily rack up the extra cocktail fees. But Smart Cubes can also be used for making our lives that much less stressful. Instead of giving us a new glass like magic, it could simply work as a practical cue that tells the waiter, "Hey, a bunch of drinks are empty over there. Maybe it's time to pay that table a visit?"

Because we're less concerned about finding an empty tumbler under our fingertips than we are about breaking eye contact with our buddies in desperate hope that this is the time a passing server notices our "Excuse me?" face. It's a distracting group game nobody wants to play ... especially in Europe, where it sometimes feels like not seeing you is an art form.

If you think C-suiters are pompous and obnoxious when they're stone-cold sober with their feet on the ground, imagine how they'd carry on after loosening up with a few Heinekens on draught while cruising at 35,000 feet.

Actually, you don't have to imagine. Just check out this clip from DDB & Tribal Amsterdam, which heralds the arrival of a fancy trolley that dispenses Heineken draught beers aboard select KLM World Business Class flights:



Just a few sips, and they're already deep into the #LameHashtag selfies. Pretty soon, those two braggadocious stuffed shirts will be flying higher than the plane. (Hope the Dutch carrier has some extra barf air-sickness bags handy.)

"It took years of experimenting to produce the perfect schooner at high altitude," says Jesse Mons, executive producer at the agency. The trolley uses air pressure, not carbon dioxide, as flight safety regulations forbid the use of CO2 aboard aircraft. So, passengers can imbibe without igniting the cabin in a fireball—clearly a point in the system's favor.

Wonder if that spokesguy from the new U.S. KLM campaign has been nipping at the trolley tap? It might explain his stunningly silly behavior. Toss back another round, dude, and you won't care if KLM's an airline, milk, a radio station, or whatever. *Hic!*

CREDITS
Client: KLM, Heineken
Agency: DDB & Tribal Amsterdam
Talent: Pep Rosenfeld, Andrew Moskos

In a bit of Doctor Who-esque regeneration, Dos Equis on Wednesday introduced its new Most Interesting Man in the World—to replace Jonathan Goldsmith, who retired from the role earlier this year. And this MIM isn't just a new face. He heralds a new approach to the ads, in what the brewer calls a "contemporary twist to the legendary character." 

He's actor Augustin Legrand. And in the first hint that this isn't your worldly grandfather's Dos Equis campaign, Legrand is actually a French actor, and he delivers his first line as the MIM in Spanish.

Check out the launch spot, from Havas New York, here:



The Spanish setting and dialogue of the opening spot aren't merely incidental. Hispanic consumers are a much bigger part of the beer-drinking market than they were when MIM launched nine years ago. And of course, Dos Equis is a Heineken-owned brand with a Mexican name and heritage.

As for Legrand's version of the character, the brand says he'll be doing less reminiscing about past glories, which was the amusing Goldsmith style, and more hands-on adventure seeking in a kind of James Bond style.

"The new Most Interesting Man is a man of our times, and in this first glimpse, he shares hints of being a resourceful, rough and tumble guy, who remains a jack-of-all-trades hero that one would expect from the man bearing this infamous title," the brand says in a statement. "Viewers get a quick preview of his latest adventures and new friends including his love of sports, as he emerges from a well, ball in hand, to save a game of soccer."

The brand also describes Legrand's characters as "timelessly masculine" and "edgier and more daring." (It helps that Legrand is just 41, while Goldsmith is now 77.)

On the other hand, as different as Legrand's character will be, visually he looks quite a lot like Goldsmith, and the same voiceover actor introduces him. There's also a nice meta feel to this first spot, with the bartender asking Legrand literally if he's as interesting as his predecessor. Dos Equis is no doubt, deep down, wondering the same thing. 

"The meaning of 'interesting' has evolved over the past decade, and this campaign features a new character and look and feel that opens the door to a world of interesting possibilities for today's Dos Equis drinker," Andrew Katz, vp of marketing for Dos Equis, said in a statement. "With the reboot of the campaign, we're celebrating the good times The Most Interesting Man has with friends wherever he travels, while highlighting our refreshing cerveza. In the coming weeks, fans will have the opportunity to get to know the new character in a uniquely interactive way."

The old campaign style isn't completely going away. The brand will return to the classic vignette style in its next commercial, breaking Oct. 19 and synced to Dos Equis' College Football Playoff sponsorship.

But the October launch will also show the modernization of the campaign, as it will include social integrations on Snapchat, including a national lens available for College Football Game Day on Oct. 22.

CREDITS
Client: Dos Equis
Title: "Cantina"

Agency: Havas Worldwide New York
Chief Creative Officer of the Americas: Toygar Bazarkaya
Chief Creative Officer of North America: Jason Peterson
Group Executive Creative Director, Managing Director: Jason Musante
Executive Creative Director: Jim Hord
Group Creative Directors: Keith Scott, Paul Johnson
Creative Directors: Jonas Wittenmark, Tobias Carlson, Paul Fix
Associate Creative Directors: Matthew Hock, David Fredette

Global Chief Executive Officer: Andrew Benett
Global Chief Revenue Officer, Global Chief Marketing Officer: Matt Weiss
New York President: Laura Maness
Group Account Director: Chris Budden
Account Directors: Jamie Sundheim, Michelle Garrard
Account Supervisors: Wendy Hu, Jenny Maughan

Chief Strategy Officer, North America: Tim Maleeny
Brand and Digital Strategy Director: Maggie Gross
Senior Strategists: Stacey Kawahata, Cassie Taylor

Director of Social Marketing: Larry Lac
Social Strategist: Rachel Korenstein
Social Coordinator: Katie Campo

Global Chief Content Officer: Vin Farrell
Heads of Content, North America: Dave Evans, Sylvain Tron
Executive Producer: Jill Meschino
Junior Producers: Lauren O'Driscoll, Alex Zubak
Director of Broadcast Business Affairs: Cathy Pitegoff
Senior Broadcast Business Manager: Deborah Steeg
Senior Talent Specialist: Yvette Aponte

Production Company: Traktor
Director: Traktor
Director of Photography: Hoyte Van Hoytema
Executive Producer: Rani Melendez

Production Company: Rattling Stick
Executive Producer: Joe Biggins
Head of Production: Richard McIntosh
Controller: Christine Berentsen
Staff Coordinator: Hayley Wyett

Editing Company: Final Cut
Editor: Rick Russell
Executive Producer: Stephanie Apt

Visual Effects: The Mill
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Angus Kneale
Executive Producer: Verity Graham
Visual Effects Shoot Supervisor: Tara Demarco
Senior Flame Artist: Michael Smith

Sound Design: Yessian
Sound Designer: Weston Fonger
Executive Producer: Marlene Bartos

Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Producer: Clare Movshon

Audio: Sound Lounge
Sound Engineer: Tom Jucarone

Music: Beacon Street Music
Composers: Beacon Street Studios
Executive Producer: Adrea Lavezzoli

Heineken and Publicis New York show their can-do spirit in a video that celebrates Miami Marine Stadium.

The landmark structure on Biscayne Bay hosted world-class powerboat races, concerts and other events for 30 years until sustaining damage from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Since then, it's been abandoned—and become a draw for graffiti artists, who covered its concrete surfaces with intricate artwork and colorful designs.

Now, efforts are underway to restore the arena. Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado has pledged as much as $4 million to the cause, and an Indiegogo push set up by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as Heineken, has raised more than $100,000 so far. (The brewer's involvement ties into its multifaceted "Cities" campaign.)

The stadium's copious spray-painted frills, however, will endure, even after its walls and columns are scrubbed clean and the dilapidated seats have been replaced.

First off, the minute-long clip below presents the artwork, enhanced by efforts from a group of Miami-area graffiti masters who were brought in to meticulously hand-paint the frames used for the eye-popping stop-motion segments:



"Being able to tell the story visually is key to the success of generating awareness and raising money for the initiative," especially in a crowded social-media landscape with lots of video content competing for eyeballs, Publicis New York creative chief Andy Bird tells AdFreak.

Production was extremely involved, with five cameras running for five days, "making it more like a 25-day shoot," says agency creative director Jeremy Filgate. "We went through pallets of spray paint, made hundreds of boat wheat-paste stickers and even crashed a drone into the middle of the marina, just to make that epic aerial view possible."

But wait, there's more.

Publicis worked hard to ensure that "the graffiti will live on beyond the video," Bird says. "Before production started, we shot the entire stadium using 360 spheres [to preserve the art]. That content has since been integrated into the Google Maps API, so people will be able to do a virtual walk-around in the stadium using the street view interface at Heineken.com."

That's a good thing, because in the real world, nothing's truly written in concrete (especially graffiti). But on the internet, tagging is forever—right? 

CREDITS
Client: Heineken
Campaign Title: The Miami Marine Stadium Project
Agency: Publicis New York
Global Chief Creative Officer Publicis Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Chief Creative Officer Publicis New York: Andy Bird
EVP, Executive Creative Director Publicis New York: Joe Johnson
VP, Creative Director Publicis New York: Jeremy Filgate Senior Art Director Publicis New York: John-Paul Cannucciari
Copywriter Publicis New York: Patrick Merritt
EVP, Chief Production Office Publicis New York: Lisa Bifulco
Producer Publicis New York: Patrick Haertel, Chris Muldoon
SVP, Strategy Director Publicis New York: Ian Zelesko
Senior Strategist Publicis New York: Nicole Sands
EVP, Group Account Director Publicis New York: Kathryn Harvey Worldwide Account Director Publicis Italy: David Pagnoni
Account Supervisor Publicis Italy: Jana Uhlarikova
VP, Group Account Director Publicis New York: Shari Lederman
VP, Account Director Publicis New York: Mae Cheng
Production Company: Solab
Director: Romain Chassaing
Executive Producer: Nicolas Tiry
Line Producer: Erwan Collas
Director of Photography: Josh McKie
Post-production Company: NightShift
Editor: Manuel Coutant
Executive Producer: Mathieu Hue
Post-Producer: Josselin Dor
Colorist: Mathieu Caplanne Flame artist: Sebastien Aubert
Graphic artist: Olivier Stephant

Artists:
1. Jose Mertz (featured artist in video)
2. Baghead (real name Josh Hall, featured artist)
3. Brian Butler (featured artist)
4. Nicole Salgar (featured artist)
5. Abstrk (not featured)
6. Frankzilla (not featured)
7. Smash (not featured)

We love ourselves some limited-edition custom packaging. It's the kind of non-news that works almost mindbendingly hard to prove it's worth mentioning, making it a princely marketing exercise. 

That's what you get in Bud Light's flagrantly titled new ad, "This Is Your Can's Year." Sounds confusing at first, but it's really just that simple: It's time for your can to shine. It promotes Bud Light's latest cans with NFL team logos on them—introduced last month, after a first run last year. The new spot will debut tonight during CBS's Thursday Night Football, for which the brand is presenting sponsor. 

All the standard ad land levers are pulled—hard. Really, all that's missing is a Clydesdale and a puppy. Created by industry darlings Wieden + Kennedy, it features Bo Jackson (seen playing Tecmo Bowl—nostalgia tug!), Justin Tuck and Tim Couch.

It's also a whopping 75 seconds long and was directed by Mark Romanek, who, among other things, is responsible for the "Sandcastles" music video in Beyoncé's Lemonade, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" video, Johnny Cash's "Hurt" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems" (along with a slew of other ads).  

That's some serious firepower for a Giants-embossed beer can. And the video doesn't disappoint, working with sweat-beading vigor to show how a six-pack of fandom can literally change the game. In a dizzying feat of marketing acrobatics, the ad directly conflates your can with your team: "You root for this can. Your father roots for this can. Your father's father rooted for this can!"



Hear that? It's the beer with your team on it. Consider what that means, or don't, because Tuck already has: "The game wouldn't be the same for us players without the fans who put their heart and soul into gameday," says the former defensive end. "The Bud Light ad honors each and every one of these fans and their passion for the sport." 

The newly streamlined can designs are inspired by classic football jerseys. Bud Light, the official beer sponsor of the NFL, inked local agreements with 28 of the 32 teams, who will each have their own limited-edition packaging. Billboards and other geo-specific out-of-home elements will sport signature phrases fans know, and :15 and :30 versions of the spot will also air throughout football season, on top of team-specific ads in local markets. All creative comes courtesy of W+K. 

"Just like wearing your favorite player's jersey or team colors is a badge of honor, so is drinking from your Bud Light team can," beams Bud Light senior marketing director Mark Goldman. "Our mission with our new film was to pay tribute to the passion fans feel for their team, and capture the optimism that we all feel as NFL fans at the beginning of the season, when it truly can be your team's year."

Catch the ad live tonight. And if you're worried you'll forget, don't: To kick the season off, Bud Light will be ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange today. You really couldn't miss it if you tried.

CREDITS
Client: Bud Light
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy