This Space Is For Sale

Client: Old Spice

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Oh, W+K. You know I love you. I really do. But I am unimpressed with this most recent “gimmick” for Old Spice. Straight up, I don’t care for it. I find it cheap and uncreative, and it clearly thinks the same of its consumers.

Old Spice is trying to walk the line of being a lifestyle brand but I’m not really sure what that lifestyle is, exactly. I understand the strategy to appeal to Millennial dudes, but I feel that this execution somehow falls short. What exactly is the purpose of Mr. Wolfdog, except to be a goofy character in a goofy ad? He’s clearly being positioned as  the new campaign spokesperson/animal. Why would you want to associate a dog with a hygiene product? It’s all just a big joke, I get it, but I don’t see any insights embedded into this new spin on Old Spice.

Maybe it’s because I’m not the target market for this spot, but all I’m getting from this is cheap laughs stemming from half baked creative insights. I imagine the brainstorm went something like this: “Let’s make a dog be the boss of the company!” “No, make him a wolf!” “…A WOLFDOG!” “Dude, you’re a genius.”

Quick, someone get a pen.

Genius of the day: John Jay of Wieden + Kennedy.

Preach, brother!

Agency:(TBD)

Client: Internet Explorer

After this came to my attention and I sat there and watched it…I almost stood up and gave it a slow clap. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia talking, but goddamn it, IE hit the nail on the head with this spot. They’re speaking directly to me, they’re honing in onmymemories, onmychildhood and reminding me that hey - things change, and so have we.

“Child of the 90s” has also become somewhat of a popular Internet meme considering Gen Y is the first Internet-centric generation. But some of us still remember a time when Oregon Trail, light-up sneakers, and Dinky Dinos were all that mattered in life and, if you were lucky, you had the chance to dial-up on Internet Explorer and do whatever it is one did before Tumblr.

Love this spot. Love. It.

Client: Red Bull

Agency: Synn Labs

Six minutes of the most ultimate domino effect in sports history. One thing Red Bull has always done really well is own extreme sports and extreme athleticism. This is no exception - a little long but it keeps you interested the whole time. In my opinion, solid online video footage.

Although I don’t agree that Red Bull should be used as a tool for training, I think that as a lifestyle brand it has really held onto its share of what has become a very saturated market. This is a super creative, and definitely extreme, spot for a brand that seems to personify what Drake meant when he coined the term “YOLO.”

Client: Bodyform (UK)

Agency: TBD

It’s viral! Bodyform, a UK feminine hygiene company (ugh, I hate that term), reacts to one ignorant dude’s Facebook comment. The video, posted to the company’s Facebook page was prefaced with: “We are always grateful for input from our users, but your comment was particularly poignant. If Facebook had a ‘love’ button, we’d have clicked it. But it doesn’t. So we’ve made you a video instead.”

Hilarity ensues. Well done, Bodyform, for calling shenanigans on idiots everywhere.

Client: Lexus

Agency: Team One

How’s your mind? Blown?

Great way of keeping the reader on the page while also elevating the experience. Too many AR executions don’t let the print ad live, they just take over.  This is a great way of tying print with digital - both come to live simultaneously. Brilliant!

Client: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Agency: DDB Toronto

When I saw this on TV for the first time, I clapped. Because, damn it, I love a well-done pro-bono ad. This one is so simple, and it gets the point across in so many ways. We need to spend more time discussing the reality of violence against women. It’s heartbreaking to know that the statistic that 50% of girls in Canada are physically or sexually abused in their lifetime. It is astounding to accept that as the truth in my beloved Canada.

But it is. And this simple and succinct ad brings a scary reality to the surface, making you realize that this kind of thing doesn’t happen to other people in a far away country where things are different. Violence against women happens every day, in your neighbourhood, and maybe even to your friends and family.

In a recent article in Marketing Magazine, CWF vice-president remarked that “It’s an issues campaign to stir the pot and build education about the issue…The creative goal is to dispel the idea that everything is fine for women in an era of equality.” 

Indeed. This spot hits the nail square on the head.