Tombras goes to bat for Casey’s

Convenience store brand Casey’s appointed Tombras as its creative agency of record. The Knoxville, Tennessee-based agency is charged with modernizing the Casey’s brand and expanding it beyond its 2,400 locations. The company closed out its 2022 fiscal year by adding 228 stores—the most in its 55-year history. 

Tombras also plans to make Casey’s even more well-known as a pizza brand. Casey’s is the fifth largest pizza chain in the country behind Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caesars and Papa Johns, according to the agency.

“Magic often comes from the most unexpected places—like a gas station with the ambition to be famous for its pizza,” Tombras Chief Creative Officer Jeff Benjamin said in a statement. “The brand’s pizza is shockingly good, and we can’t wait to turn heads in this competitive category with some deliciously bold creative work.”

Tombras officially began working with Casey’s on Jan. 1. The first work is expected in March, with brand work to follow soon after.

Dentsu launches entertainment offering

Dentsu Creative is launching a global entertainment offering, including a fund focused on financing original gaming, scripted and unscripted TV and film content. Born out of Dentsu’s previous entertainment business The Story Lab, the offering will give clients access to a roster of production partners and independent creators in 13 markets to build their own platforms. 

“With this new offering we will help brands act as entertainment companies that also happen to sell snacks, drinks or fashion,” Dentsu Creative’s Global Chief Creative Officer Fred Levron said in a statement. “Our ambition is supported by our position as leaders in entertainment in Japan and our unmatched capabilities that will live at the heart of our creative offering.”

The offering will be led by Juan Woodbury as global head of branded content and entertainment, based in Chicago. He will work in tandem with Cathy Boxall, who was the previous global managing director of The Story Lab and who now takes on the role of global head of content business. Under The Story Lab, Dentsu and Dentsu Gaming launched original content for Netflix, Amazon and Discovery, including producing the Emmy-nominated HBO Max series “The Cost of Winning” with P&G Studios.

Rick Astley as a QR Code

Deloitte Digital is helping CSAA Insurance Exchange launch a 30-second spot that continues its August campaign starring Rick Astley, the British pop star and singer behind the ’80s pop hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

The regional spot will air in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Indianapolis; Philadelphia; and Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, and will show a QR code sporting a “hairdo” that emulates Astley’s own, with ’80s music playing the background. When scanned, the QR leads to the previous spot launched in August.

Mets take a swing during the Super Bowl

It may be all about football this weekend, but the New York Mets are making sure they stay top of mind for New Yorkers by airing a local Super Bowl ad. The spot, which was teased on the team’s social channels on Jan. 28, features multiple Mets such as Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and newly signed Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, among others.

Players are shown in a typical office taking calls as part of a Mets ticket call center. The team’s mascot, Mr. Met, also makes an appearance, trying but failing to fit a headset on his oversized noggin. Throughout the spot, a QR code is shown on the screen that leads people to ticket sales offers for the upcoming baseball season.

The full 30-second spot, which was conceived by FCB New York and produced by Media2 Inc. and the NY Mets in-house production team, will run in the final 45 minutes of the Super Bowl pregame in the New York region and again in the first half. Giant Spoon handled the media buy for the spot.

Let’s get regional

Two additional regional Super Bowl spots are underway. The first, from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and created by Indianapolis agency Young & Laramore, will air across broadcast and digital.

The second is a campaign for Sabrosura Foods, which makes Hispanic products sold throughout the U.S. under the brand names El Viajero, Reynaldos, La Morenita, Bio Salud! and Pancho’s, made by its new creative agency of record, Griffin Archer, Minneapolis.

The work stars Football Hall of Famer and former NFL linebacker John Randle along with animated, talking tortilla chips basking in a bowl of Pancho's cheese dip, who have Big Game commercials on their mind. The spots will air regionally in St. Louis; Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Detroit; Indianapolis; Baltimore; and Boston.

Money Toilet 2.0

Mojo Supermarket is taking a different approach to the Big Game by bringing back its “Money Toilet” campaign from 2021—except this time people will be able to purchase an actual mini money toilet. The work features a parody of a typical infomercial for marketers that “are sick of wasting money making bad commercials for the big game,” the ad’s spokesman shouts. Instead, the agency sarcastically offers marketers a chance to own a money toilet. 

By clicking the link associated with the ad, viewers can buy a mini version of the toilet. The landing page also comes with the following message: “If you don’t like wasting money, and want marketing that makes headlines and cuts through the trash, try Mojo Supermarket.”

Just briefly

Nutribullet has appointed VCCP to lead its global strategy, creative and production following a competitive pitch. Humanaut previously held the account.

Helen Lafford has been named Stagwell’s first chief growth officer for the U.K. and Europe. Lafford joined from media agency Initiative, where she was the EMEA head of growth. 

European pet food brand Edgard & Cooper appointed We are Pi for its next brand-building campaign. Edgard & Cooper gained fame after making an appearance in the hit Netflix show "Emily In Paris," where the brand was part of a pet face filter campaign created by the titular character Emily Cooper.

Frontier Airlines, the low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, has selected Columbia, Maryland-based agency Marriner Marketing as its creative agency of record following a competitive review.

SRW Agency has added  Suji's Asian Cuisine, Rösti Stuft Spuds, and Primal Pet Foods to its natural health and wellness client roster. The new clients further SRW’s mission to be a consumer packaged goods marketing agency for health-forward brands. 

Venables Bell + Partners has named two new associate partners, Brittni Hutchins as chief growth officer, and Gavin Jones as managing director. Both are newly created roles.

The 4A’s has promoted Juan Carlos Suarez to executive VP of member engagement and development, holding companies and growth. Suarez joined the organization in 2019 and was most recently senior VP for its western region. 

Philadelphia-based LevLane Advertising has named Elizabeth Weir, previously the senior VP, content, social media, and PR, to chief marketing officer. The agency also named Kevin Dunn, previously senior VP, strategy and client engagement in its Life Sciences division, to chief client officer. Both of these are newly created roles for the 40-year-old agency.