CAREERBUILDER
WIEDEN & KENNEDY, PORTLAND, ORE.
How to tell if you don't like your job, vividly dramatized, in a
"House That Jack Built" litany. We, of course, cannot relate
because those of us in the finding-fault-with-others industry enjoy
not merely professional but also spiritual fulfillment -- but about
90 million other suckers started uploading resumes posthaste.
CARS.COM
The charming storytelling makes up for a missed opportunity: Why
don't we see the ultraconfident hero totally freaking out at the
prospect of getting hosed by a car dealer? Still, another sterling
example of the power of narrative, and the pie-chart bit is
wonderful.
COCA-COLA
WIEDEN & KENNEDY
"Heist" and "Avatar" are two very cheerful stories with fairy-tale
sensibilities and "Open Happiness" endings. They're technically
flawless and hugely product-centric. "Avatar" is even culturally
timely. But they're cotton candy: sweet and insubstantial, and gone
with barely a trace.
E-TRADE
GREY, NEW YORK
The baby is back, this time with a sidekick, another infant who
childishly changes the subject from the shattered economy to sing
an old Mr. Mister track, "Wings," in adult falsetto. Hmm, but is he
changing the subject after all? "Take these broken wings and learn
to fly again." Weird, adorable, funny and -- if you foolishly
believe E-Trade is a solution to anything -- pointed.
GATORADE
TBWA/CHIAT/DAY, LOS ANGELES
The striking black-and-white panorama of sports icons -- now
officially revealing itself as a Gatorade commercial. That settles
that. What's G? So far so Good but Going to Get annoying if the
agency doesn't Get busy.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
The Oz scarecrow is reimagined, stuffed with wire and
semiconductors, singing (in Ray Bolger's original track) about a
smarter power grid. It almost defies even the eco-magination that
transmission and distribution confers corporate warm and fuzzies.
But it does.
HYUNDAI
GOODBY, SILVERSTEIN & PARTNERS
Who needs jokes, CGI or chimpanzees when you have an extraordinary
offer? Buy a new
Hyundai and, if you
lose your job, return the car at no risk to your credit. That is
advertising in its purest form: news. On the other hand, a little
dramedy is nice, too, such as depicting your jealous
performance-luxury competitors angrily screaming your brand name to
subordinates because you've been named Car of the Year. The idea is
old; the execution, flawless.
NFL
IN-HOUSE/BBDO, NEW YORK
True Tales of NFL Success II: Usama Young, the world's worst
stadium snow-cone vender, dreams of being a player and becomes a
New Orleans Saint. Appropriately, the spot is very cool and very
sweet
PEDIGREE
TBWA/CHIAT/DAY, LOS ANGELES
You know how there's always a path of destruction when your rhino
stampedes through the living room? Here we see it dramatized, along
with glimpses at other unruly pets, such as wild boars, ostriches,
etc. Then the payoff title card: "Maybe you should get a dog." Very
funny, and a nice way into Pedigree's pet-adoption do-gooding.
PEPSI
TBWA/CHIAT/DAY, LOS ANGELES
Will.i.am, of Black-Eyed Peas fame, is the equivalent of Bob Dylan?
And Jack Black is the new Belushi? If you buy that, you'll have no
problem with the premise: that
Pepsi's youthful spirit
keeps refreshing and refreshing. As Dylan sings it, "Forever
young." (Wait. Gumby ... and Shrek??!!)
PEPSI
Arnell, New York
A spoof of Will Forte's "SNL" spoofs of MacGyver, featuring Kristen
Wiig, Richard Dean Anderson (in the non-MacGyver role) and a
self-conscious Pepsi product placement, a la the famous
Verizon gag in
"30 Rock." This second MacGyver send-up in two years (MasterCard
had the last) is a lot to process in 60 seconds AND the
intentionally-too-shaky handheld camera is nauseatingly
intentionally too shaky. AND ironically mouthing "Refresh
Everything" doesn't necessarily validate the slogan. Still ...
PepSuber. Pretty great.
PEPSI MAX
TBWA/CHIAT/DAY
Serial slapstick showing all the painful injuries a man can stand,
yet he can't stand diet soda. Hence Pepsi Max, "the first diet cola
for men." Good positioning, and pretty good use of an otherwise
tired comedy formula. (But the 15-second coda in the fourth quarter
just sucks.)
SPRINT
GOODBY, SILVERSTEIN & PARTNERS, SAN FRANCISCO
What if roadies ran the airlines? Well, efficiency, lots of
push-to-talk-beeping and -- though not specifically mentioned here
-- probably free bags of meth in coach.