This month: Star-studded work from tech, auto, finance and beverage industries with spectacular filmmaking across the board.
Special Report: Creativity Top 5
Top 5 celebrity brand collabs you need to know about right now
Ad Age's ranking of the hottest celebrity marketing moves of the past month
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GMC
No. 5: Samsung x Charli XCX
In America, Samsung’s Galaxy S22 smartphone showed off its nighttime filming capabilities with a run-of-the-mill spot. But across the pond, the brand found a bit more edge in a fashion-forward video from Mother London. Collaborating with designer Charles Jeffrey and featuring splashy fits from his Loverboy label, this Samsung ad is a trippy, after-hours bacchanal featuring pop songstress Charli XCX. Like a martian beamed down from above, the spotlit singer stops time with a saucy glance amidst a swirling herd of cattle. No mind-altering substances are needed to feel out of this world when watching this spot.
Also read: Charli XCX stars in another otherworldly spot for Samsung
No. 4: Hummer x LeBron James
Small crabs, big crabs, cooked crabs—car crab? An army of cute little crustaceans scuttles through a city, bravely pressing on despite the horrors of a seafood restaurant, to meet the king crab: a supersized, hard-shelled creature that can walk just like them. But it’s a Hummer that just so happens to be manned by LeBron James. The basketball great, who lands in quite a few ads these days, shows off the electric vehicle’s “crabwalk” function that lets it move diagonally. Despite a close contest for standout performance, James’s swoony smirk into the camera inches him above the crabs.
Related: LeBron James’s favorite cereal gets a color-changing sneaker
No. 3: Lunar x Will Ferrell
The latest campaign for banking app Lunar feels a lot more like a Will Ferrell comedy than an ad. Playing finance guru Will Power, Ferrell is far more camp than zen. The spot features over-the-top effects and slapstick comedy perfectly aligned with the actor’s strengths. Laugh-out-loud moments include Ferrell punching a man’s head off, Ferrell communicating with the viewer via telepathy and Ferrell developing a maternal bond with a hawk. Even if the ad is more Ferrell than Lunar, the branding certainly gets through after an eighth viewing.
No. 2: Powerade x Simone Biles (and more)
Mental health has been a central conversation in the sports world over the past year, in large part due to Simone Biles’ withdrawal from 2020 Olympic events, which inspired a flood of work from brands. Recent work from Powerade revisits the topic with the gymnast, plus other familiar faces, in a lighthearted and cheery spot—a standout from other ads that take a more serious approach to the subject. What starts as a motivational speech scene from soccer coach Antonio Conte, who advises his team just needs to “pause,” erupts into a delightful ballet of dancing football players, knitting divers, and other celebrating athletes, set to the grandiose overture from Rossini’s “La Gazza Ladra.” In addition to Biles and Conte, the spot includes diver Tom Daly and former NBA stars Chris Webber and Jason Williams.
No. 1: Apple x Park Chan-wook
Apple has released countless campaigns for its iPhone cameras over the years, but none quite like last month’s short film, helmed by “Old Boy” and “Stoker” director Park Chan-wook. The 20-minute film, the first from iPhone completely produced, shot and edited in South Korea, is a genre-weaving spectacular with moments made for crying, laughing, cowering, cheering, and even a little dance party. The breathtaking project, titled “Life is But a Dream,” also features Korean headliners Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Ok-vin and Park Jeong-min.
