Hunt Down Stress
From Estonia: as a solution for these stressful times, a print campaign for sporting goods retailer Rademar encourages people to “find the inside predator” and hunt down stress.
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Wondrously One-Handed
A bewildering spot for AT&T Fiber that gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘single-handed’.
KFC ‘Chickenstock’ Image Library
To quote from the campaign website:
It has come to our attention that many shops are using photos of our chicken to sell, well, their chicken.
We get it. They look so crunchy, juicy and irresistible. If it’s a temptation for customers, we can imagine what it’s like for competitors.
What we can’t accept is that they’re using them improperly. Pixelated, and in low resolution. People want to see crunchiness, not pixels.
That’s why we created KFC ChickenStock. A whole image bank full of KFC chicken. Free of pixelation, free of distortion, free of charge. Ready to be borrowed.
No, the Colonel is not crazy.
We’re just happy they love our images as much as we do. Because even though they can borrow our pictures, they will never borrow our taste.
Link to campaign video
Secured Footballers
Ryan Reynolds finds a way to insert himself and his football team into a cybersecurity commercial.
The Responder (Season 1)
SERIES REVIEW
The Responder is an outstanding character study of a man on the edge of his mental endurance, that doubles as an above-average thriller, tinged with the feel of a documentary. It centres on a Liverpool police officer who does night shifts, patrolling the streets. He’s weighed down by his past- some of which he’s made peace with, most of which he’s struggling to reconcile with. And he’s honestly trying to the make sense of the blurring lines between right and wrong.
Martin Freeman gives a career-best performance in the central role with notable supporting performances all around. But it is the writing which shines above everything else. What Freeman’s character deals with is unglamorous and stressful yet it is riveting. Along the way, the narrative mixes social commentary with scenes of uncommon brilliance.
Heinz Ketchup Seeks Recognition as Actor
Two years ago, just around the Oscars, Heinz Ketchup made an IMDb page for itself in the capacity of an actor, on the grounds of having made appearances in dozens of movies. IMDb nixed the idea so the brand put out a marvellous protest campaign on social media.
Two years later, once again around the Oscars, the brand is renewing it efforts to seek recognition by applying to the Actors Union.
An Insurance Offer You Can’t Refuse
A new spot for Dutch insurer OHRA piles on mafia movie tropes to make the case for car insurance.
Burger King launches Poop Emoji Ice Cream
It’s part of a campaign in Brazil to highlight that Burger King’s ice creams and desserts are 100% free of artificial ingredients. But what exactly is the significance of the poop emoji?
Going by a statement attributed to members of the creative team behind this, the idea was to use “a powerful and memorable visual to make people think about what’s in their food and making a strong point about ours.” In addition, the creative director was quoted saying this:
It's better to look like a poop on the outside than to be stuffed with lots of bad ingredients on the inside. This was the rationale behind the development of this cone.
Uber Eats Pyjamas
From Japan: Uber Eats is promoting its late night delivery with pyjamas that make it easy to order anything to eat. The scannable pyjamas are printed with menu items with QR codes that link to the Uber Eats app.
Tattoo Translation Trouble? Duolingo has a fix
Are you someone who has had the misfortune of getting a foreign language tattoo, only to discover that it was an embarrassing mistranslation? If so, and if the inscription is particularly glaring, you stand a chance to get “a corrective cover up” at no extra cost, thanks to a new campaign from language learning service Duolingo, to mark World Tattoo Day. Regardless, be sure to check out the rib-tickling campaign video.
Nation(al) Sentiments
If you hadn’t heard of Brian Nation before, now you have. He’s a master distiller whose move from a storied Irish whiskey maker to join a startup Irish-American brand in 2021 caused a bit of a stir in some circles. That move is now at the heart of a fun commercial for his new venture. Be sure to watch both versions of the ad- the closing lines are notably different.
Heineken’s Virtual Beer
Heineken has taken a tongue-in-cheek plunge into the metaverse with the announcement of a ‘virtual beer’. To quote from the campaign video: “No calories. No hidden ingredients. No beer.”
Excerpts from the press release:
In the real world, Heineken® is known for its uncompromising quality, refined from decades of brewing innovation. Now, the same brewing expertise that made Heineken® world-famous is undergoing a high-tech transformation to take on the metaverse, one pixel at a time. Heineken® has always been passionate about natural ingredients, but in the metaverse it’s all about the finest, 100% computer-generated ingredients.
Our special A-yeast, usually brewed in horizontal tanks, has been replaced with A-Pixels. Forget hops harvested in fields, virtual Heineken® Silver is brewed with Binary Coded Hops grown by NPC (non-player character) farmers. And of course, the whole virtual brewing process is overseen by Heineken®’s dedicated Virtual Brewing Assistants, digitised stand-ins for our Star Brewers.
These elements come together to develop a completely unique beer that visitors to Heineken®’s virtual brewery in Decentraland will be able to see in the virtual world. If only they we were able to 3D print the product, they’d be able to hold and taste virtual Heineken® Silver in the real world.
The virtual beer was unveiled at a product launch event in Heineken®’s virtual brewery, where guests were able to learn about how the beer is made in seconds, while enjoying pixelated lobster and caviar and rubbing shoulders with Heineken® ambassadors, including Thierry Henry.
About Heineken® Silver:
Heineken® Silver is brewed with 100% purified pixels, tripled-filtered through firewalls, and uploaded with 5 million megabits per second. For more information on the product please contact the above and product fact sheets can be shared.
Will of the Living Dead
From France: a new commercial mixes dark humour, grotesque imagery, and a brutal punchline to pitch what is being called an “online estate transmission service”.
‘Delicious, Theatrical, and Playful’
As strange as that description might sound, what is being described as such, is perhaps, even stranger- a fine dining experience from KFC.
Excerpts from an announcement by KFC Australia, as reported by Mumbrella:
In a world-first, KFC Australia is bringing a new 11-course KFC Degustation restaurant to Sydney from Friday 1 until Sunday 3 April, giving KFC’s most iconic menu items the fine dining experience, they deserve.
From starters that will tantalise your tastebuds, to melt-in-your mouth desserts, fans should expect the unexpected as they experience the Colonel’s finest feeds elevated to new heights in delicious, theatrical, and playful ways.
The 11-course menu will feature a decadent selection of dishes all inspired by and showcasing authentic KFC menu items and ingredients.
Will Power
Last month, Nordic digital bank Lunar announced that Will Ferrell had come on board as an investor. More to the point, it has roped in the actor for a side-splitting new spot.
Workstipation
That’s a term coined by laxative brand MiraLAX for the stress associated with pooping at the office, resulting in “a backed-up gut”, and it is claimed to be a widespread condition. Excerpts from a press release:
A new survey commissioned by MiraLAX® found one in five American office workers cited having to use the office bathroom as a prime reason they are stressed about the return to the office amid the pandemic, with the prospect causing some dire effects on their digestive health. In fact, 66% of Americans admit to holding in their bowel movement at work to avoid using the workplace restroom. As a result, this has caused a staggering 64% of workers to become constipated.
The survey also found that American workers note that they would feel more comfortable pooping at work if there were completely private stalls with no gaps (51%), ultra-soft toilet paper (43%), a speaker system with music (38%) and clean toilet seat covers (38%).
Armed with those findings, the brand has launched a campaign supposedly aimed at “empowering officegoers to advocate for better conditions and etiquette in their workplace bathroom.” One of the more creative aspects of the campaign is a scented, multipurpose poster that can be “strategically torn to improve one’s pooping experience”. It can be cut into a toilet seat cover, and into strips to cover wide stall gaps. In addition, it carries a Spotify code that can be used to play relaxing sounds.
RIP William Hurt
A History of Violence (2005)
- “You could die, Joey”
Gorky Park (1983)
-Reconstruction scene (contains spoilers)
Pubes for the Planet
A new campaign from personal care brand EOS invites people to donate their pubic hair to support a charity engaged in hair and fibre recycling.
Room for Improvement
From Norway: a wonderfully visualised new spot for housing giant OBOS that pitches shared home ownership.
Let’s Come Together
Believe it or not, those flyers are part of an International Women’s Day campaign against “an unspoken example of gender inequality”. To quote from a tweet by the creative agency:
For International Women's Day, we've launched a free sex-positive hotline, voiced by@MeganBHanson, to help close the #orgasmgap - an unspoken example of gender inequality.
Call now to find out how to make a woman orgasm, for once ☎️ 01980-881-905 ☎️ #orgasmgap #IWD22
Crypto Time
You can inherit a lot of things from your parents. Like passion, or poor sleeping habits. But what will they ‘inherit’ from you?
Thus goes the introduction to a crypto ad that is nothing like what you might imagine from reading that.
Wanted- Grizzly Bear Conflict Manager
To quote from a report in The Guardian:
If you are fed up of a mundane desk job, aren’t bothered by austere conditions and have an affection for the hirsute, a potentially ideal new role has opened up in Montana: a grizzly bear conflict manager.
For a salary between $79,363 and $103,176, the US government is offering one lucky applicant the chance to spend time in the Montana wilderness, dealing with discord within the world of grizzly bears.
The disputes aren’t between ursine combatants themselves – although territorial quarrels do occur – but in the friction between bears and humans. While grizzly attacks on people are exceptionally rare, farmers can become agitated if a bear preys on livestock, while residents have raised concerns over bears tearing their way into their garbage, seeking tasty morsels.
The role can be based within 100 miles of Missoula, Bozeman or Kalispell in Montana, though the advert makes clear the successful applicant will not be spending much time in the “adequately lighted, heated and ventilated office” pondering the hefty delights of grizzly bears.
The applicant must be strong enough to lift a 50lb weight, although directly grappling with a bear is not required or encouraged.
Designer Trash Bag
To be more specific, it’s a pink, cherry blossom-scented bag that is being dubbed “the most extra trash bag ever.” What’s more, the promotion video has the look and vibes of a fashion shoot, complete with a ramp-style walk to dispose off the garbage.
A Car Ad to Curb Car Usage
From France: a new spot for Renault, apparently in anticipation of a new law aimed at reducing the use of cars for daily journeys.
A Ballsy Campaign
‘Ball comfort’ has been at the heart of how Canada-based men’s underwear brand Saxx has sought to differentiate itself. Now, for its US launch, it has a campaign that candidly and bluntly conveys that message. To quote a company spokesperson:
We wanted a campaign that treats balls as seriously as we do. Not to say they’re not funny, I mean, they’re balls. But they’re more than just a low-brow punchline.
America’s balls are uncomfortable because they’re not being cared for. But they won’t be comfortable until we’re all comfortable talking about them.
Spot 1: Man or Gentleman
Spot 2: Whiskey
Spot 3: Manfruit
Spot 4: Eggs
Smooth Mafiosi
A new spot for Dollar Shave Club takes a playful dig at a certain kind of gangster greeting.
Alarmingly Supersmart
Pretty much every children’s education brand promotes itself with the promise of making kids more brainy but rarely is it done so delightfully as in this new spot for Hooked on Phonics.
Anti-Appers
Nando’s North America has a witty new campaign that takes aim at anti-vaxxers, science disbelievers and more.
Cutting Through Alien Clutter
From Indonesia: a print campaign for a stock trading app that features aliens. Why aliens? Apparently, the idea was to promote the simplicity of using the app without fearing “the alien language” of stock trading.
Whopper Assisted Refereeing
From France: a hilarious new campaign from Burger King cashes in on the controversies of video assistant refereeing (VAR).