Hasta La Creative!

“What is that?” says a boy at the beginning of Droga5’s new spot introducing Google’s smartphone, Pixel. The ubiquitous Google search bar fills the center of the screen as two boys stare down at something … presumably some strange species of insect, plant or fungi. “Man, I don’t know,” says the other boy, and then offers the only possible way out of this conundrum: “ask Google.”

From there the spot takes off in many different directions, exploring how people have turned to the search engine for a variety of needs over the years. Over the course of the ad, the search bar gradually morphs into the shape of the Pixel, concluding with the tagline, “Life by you. Phone by Google.”

“It has enabled people to get answers to any question, converse with faraway friends and find their way to remote locations—or just their way home,” a Droga5 spokesperson told Adweek. “It’s been the focal point of many great adventures, as well as daily life. And now, the company that organized the world’s information is turning its attention to the most important device in your life: your phone. For the first time ever, all the power and possibilities of Google are now in the palm of your hand.”

That about sums up approach of the spot. There’s little in the way of showing what exactly sets the Pixel apart, what features make it different or make it superior to the competition, perhaps things that will be addressed in subsequent efforts. Instead it relies on hyping the company itself and the idea of bringing its unique features to the smartphone market. Don’t you trust Google? Millions of people do.

The global campaign launched with the broadcast spot yesterday and will roll out throughout the markets where the Pixel will initially be available: the United States, Canada, U.K., Australia, Germany and India.

Sooner or later, everyone’s sausage needs some support.

If you find yourself in such straits between now and this Friday—say, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time—go ahead and call Johnsonville HQ at (844) 9-SAUSAGE. Company employees will be serving up all manner of advice on pork-pipes and cow-casings as part of the marketer’s “Sausage Support Center.”

Live! Unscripted! Sausage talk! That number again: (844) 9-SAUSAGE.

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Droga5 launched a new spot for Under Armour starring Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton entitled “Prince WIth 1,000 Enemies” which makes a couple of unusual decisions for the sporting goods brand.

The voiceover, provided by Cam’s mother, Jackie Newton, quotes Richard Adams‘ 1972 debut novel Watership Down. That voiceover is set to a dark scene of Newton running through the woods as if something is chasing him, literally tearing through trees as he plows forward at full speed. He finally stops to catch his breath as he makes it out of the woods to a nearby road. 

It’s an odd approach for the brand, undoubtedly, but a captivating one. Adams’ words somehow fit the new context, and Jackie Newton does a fine job of delivering them. While something of an anomaly for the category, the spot is not entirely without precedent, as the agency’s March spot starring Michael Phelps and July effort with Bryce Harper also included some intriguing stylistic choices, but nothing so out of ordinary as borrowing from Watership Down.

“Our two creative leads at Droga—Alex [Nowak] and Felix [Richter], who are awesome—they came up with this idea,” Under Armour senior vice president,  global brand development Adrienne Lofton explained to Adweek. “…it was all about these rabbits breaking out from their tribe in order to bring their crew to safety. They experienced all of these temptations and perils along the way, but kept their heads down until they got to a place of safety.”

“We wanted to tell this story around footwork, and footwear, as you see in the spot, but we wanted to tell it differently,” she added. “We took him off the field, we took the ball out of his hands, and we created this metaphorical environment that is about crushing through your challenges. Those trees represent barriers he’s broken through every step of the way through his career.”

Cam Newton’s involvement with the spot was such that “we almost called him a creative director with this spot,” Lofton said. “He chose his wardrobe, he added flair.”

Indeed. Turns out Newton isn’t just a guy who performs badly in the clutch, loses the Super Bowl and then acts like a kid who got his candy stolen!

Credits:
Client: Under Armour
Campaign: “It Comes From Below”
Spot: “Prince With 1000 Enemies”
Agency: Droga5
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Directors: Felix Richter, Alex Nowak
Senior Copywriter: Thom Glover
Senior Art Director: Eoin McLaughlin
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Executive Producers: David Cardinali, Ross Plummer
Senior Broadcast Producer: Bill Berg
Associate Producer: Troy Smith
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Head of Strategy: Harry Roman
Strategy Director: Sam Matthews
Head of Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy
Communications Strategy Director: Hillary Heath
Communications Strategist: Kathryn Ruocco
Data Strategist: Kaveri Gautam
Executive Group Director: Julian Cheevers
Group Account Director: Shane Chastang
Account Supervisor: Lucy Santilli
Project Manager: Connor Hall
Client: Under Armour
Chief Executive Officer, Founder: Kevin Plank
Chief Marketing Officer: Kip Fulks
Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management: Adrienne Lofton
Senior Vice President, Global Communications: Diane Pelkey
Vice President, Global Creative: Brian Boring
Vice President, Global Consumer Engagement: Jim Mollica
Senior Director, Global Brand Management: Leon Duncan
Senior Director, Integrated Brand Communications: Jack Daley
Director, Campaign Integration: Teresa Oles
Manager, Campaign Integration: Bené Eaton
Production Company: Somesuch / Anonymous Content
Director: Aoife McArdle
Partners, Somesuch: Sally Campbell, Tim Nash
Managing Director, Anonymous: Eric Stern
Executive Producer, Anonymous: SueEllen Clair
Producer: Laurie Boccaccio
Director of Photography: Steve Annis
Production Manager: Yianni Papadopoulos
Editing: Final Cut
Editor: Dan Sherwen:
Assistant Editors: Geoff Hastings, Dan Berk
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Head of Production: Jen Sienkwicz
Producer: Jamie Nagler
Postproduction: BlackSmith
Executive Producer: Charlotte Arnold
Producer: Megan Sweet
Visual Effects Supervisor: Iwan Zwarts
Color Transfer: Company 3
Artist: Tom Poole
Coloring Assitant: Kath Raisch
Producer: Clare Movshon
Sound Design: Factory U.K.
Final Mix: Sound Lounge
Engineers: Tom Jucarone, Justin Kooy, Seth Phillips
Producer: Liana Rosenberg
Executive Producer: Mike Gullo

Havas Worldwide New York hired creative directors Pete Gosselin and Jay Hunt, who will focus on the TD Ameritrade account, LBB reports. The pair has worked as a creative team since 2003.

Gosselin and Hunt join Havas from Droga5, where they served as a senior copywriter and senior art director since May of 2015. While with Droga5, they worked with brands including Prudential, NRG and Chase, including the “Everything Unlimited” campaign starring Ellie Kemper for the latter.

Prior to that the pair spent nearly a year and a half with Grey New York, working with such clients as P&G, Canon and the American Egg Board, for which they helped create the “Side of Kevin” spot starring Kevin Bacon as part of the “Wake Up to Eggs with Bacon” campaign. Before joining Grey, the New Zealand natives spent nearly two and a half years with DDB Auckland, where they worked with McDonald’s and other brands, following a year with Colenso BBDO.

“From New Zealand, London, Amsterdam, and New York, Pete and Jay have seen the world and worked at the best agencies,” Havas Worldwide CCO Toygar Bazarkaya said in the press release. “They bring not only talent and experience but a unique perspective to the table. I am thrilled to have them join our Havas team during such an exciting time of transformation at the agency.”

Havas won the TD Ameritrade business (approximate yearly spend $100 million) in a 2014 review that included FCB and DDB; incumbent GS&P did not participate.

In time for the All Star Game this evening, Under Armour released a new spot for Under Armour featuring Washington Nationals superstar (and starting right fielder for the National League) Bryce Harper.

“Look, baseball’s a numbers game,” Harper says via voiceover at the beginning of the spot while drilling a batting practice pitch over the right field fall. He goes on to list some impressive personal numbers, including hitting a 570 foot home run at age 15, over 100 career home runs, elevating his on-base percentage to .460 last year and, of course, being a four-time All Star. “But kid, just remember,” he says at the conclusion of the spot, as the camera zooms in on his Under Armour Harper One cleats as he pivots and releases a mighty thwack, “no number sounds as good as this.” The spot concludes with the tagline, “It Comes From Below.”

The approach is something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, while emphasizing the intense dedication to sport superstar athletes put in to get to where they are is nothing new, the numbers aspect at least makes the spot stand out. Unfortunately visual gimmicks like the scoreboard’s numbers changing to reflect the numbers Harper harps on are a bit much. That said, the pivot to the tagline works fairly well and watching Harper launch home runs is still some nice eye candy for even the casual sports fan. The campaign will continue this fall with spots starring Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton but for now the spotlight is squarely on the 23-year-old Nationals right fielder.

Credits:
Client: Under Armour
Campaign: It Comes From Below
Title: Numbers
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Director: Felix Richter
Group Creative Director: Alexander Nowak
Copywriter: Bryan Wolff
Art Director: Daniel Sumarna
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Executive Producer: David Cardinali
Associate Producer: Troy Smith
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Head of Strategy: Harry Roman
Strategy Director: Sam Matthews
Head of Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy
Communications Strategy Director: Hillary Heath
Communications Strategist: Kathryn Ruocco
Strategist: Newman Granger
Senior Data Strategist: Anthony Khaykin
Group Account Director: Julian Cheevers
Account Director: Bola Adekoya
Account Supervisor: Lucy Santilli
Senior Project Manager: Courtney Kosup
Project Manager: Connor Hall
Client: Brand/company name
CEO and Founder: Kevin Plank
Chief Marketing Officer : Kip Fulks
SVP, Global Brand Management: Adrienne Lofton
SVP, Global Communications: Diane Pelkey
VP, Global Creative: Brian Boring
VP, Global Consumer Engagement: Jim Mollica
Senior Category Director: Jim Bel Bruno
Director, Global Marketing Operations, Process & Integration : Teresa Oles
Production Companies: Somesuch + Anonymous
Director : Aoife McArdle
Found Partner, Somesuch: Sally Campbell
Found Partner, Somesuch: Tim Nash
Managing Director, Anonymous: Eric Stern
Executive Producer, Anonymous: SueEllen Clair
Producer: Laurie Boccaccio
DOP: Steve Annis
Production Manager : Yianni Papadopoulos
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor:: Dan Sherwen
Cutting Assitant (NY):: Geoff Hastings
Assistant Editor (UK):: Leila Gaabi
Executive Producer:: Sarah Roebuck
Head Of Production:: Jen Sienkwicz
Producer (UK): Frankie Elster
Producer (NY):: Jamie Nagler
Post Production: BlackSmith
Executive Producer: Charlotte Arnold
Producer: Megan Sweet
VFX Supervisor : Iwan Zwarts
Music / Sound Design: Siren / Factory
Partner and Company Director: Sean Atherton

Droga5 New York launched a Fourth of July effort for Dixie entitled “We, the Salad Men.”

The 60-second anthem ad opens with the voiceover, “Every barbecue season, men everywhere are made to feel like lesser men for eating salad.” Going on to take a stand against such “salad shaming,” which the spot claims is “driving a wedge between us,” it  tell guys to proudly reach for a plate of leafy greens if that’s what they desire.

The approach is a bit ridiculous, addressing a problem we’re not convinced exists (Seriously, who makes fun of someone for eating a salad?) to present Dixie plates as perfect for stacking high with various types of greens and veggies. But then the spot does sort of revel in its over-the-top nature, complete with slow-motion plate flipping, so clearly nothing here is meant to be taken too seriously. Still, the approach makes the eventual tie-in to the brand feel more than a little forced.

The spot will be promoted on the brand’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels through the holiday weekend, with supporting efforts including a Facebook ad presenting a variety of salad recipes to try without shame.

Credits:
Client: Dixie
Campaign: We the Salad Men
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Creative Director: Devon Hong
Creative Director: Jeff Scardino
Junior Art Director: Tommaso Fontanella
Junior Copywriter: Ted Meyer
Chief Creation Officer: SallyAnn Dale
Social Producer: Luke Bumgarner
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Strategy Director: Elaine Purcell
Strategist: Newman Granger
Senior Communications Strategist: Delphine McKinley
Senior Data Strategist: Brad Mumbrue
Data Strategist: Remy Lupica
Executive Group Director: Brett Edgar
Account Director: Ross Gillis
Account Manager: Andrew DeMatos
Associate Account Manager: Kyra Gembka
Project Manager: Lindsay Larson
Client: Dixie/Georgia Pacific
Senior Director of Content: Shari Neumann
Senior Brand Director: Andrew Noble
Director, Brand Building Leader: Teresa Bossong
Associate Brand Manager: Nandini Subramanya
Social Media Coordinator: Brooke Lujano
Production Company: D5 Films
Director: Brian Lannin
DOP: Brian Lannin
Producer: Sara Vander Horn
Editor/Sound Mixer: Eric Harnden

Some of the best marketing embodies the brand promise you’re trying to communicate. This is especially true of well-crafted products, whose advertising had better be well-crafted, too. Droga5 takes that idea to impressive lengths with a new interactive site for Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège (the agency’s first work for this particular Hennessy brand).

V.S.O.P Privilège is known for its remarkable consistency—it’s precisely the same cognac in every glass and every bottle, year after year—despite myriad variables at play during its creation. So, Droga5 set out to tell this story of creating harmony from chaos through the digital experience.

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Commercial production company Furlined appointed Ben Davies as executive producer/director of development. In the role, he  will work closely with Furlined’s directors, collaborating on projects across all platforms.

Davies joins Furlined from Droga5 New York, where he has served as head of broadcast production since November of 2012. He originally joined the agency as an executive producer at the start of 2011. While with the agency, he has has worked on campaigns for brands including Under Armour, Hennessy, Toyota, Newcastle Brown Ale, Honey Maid, Chobani and Spotify. Prior to joining Droga5, he spent over 13 years as a broadcast producer with BBH London, working on campaigns for brands such as Audi, Levi’s, Vodafone and Johnnie Walker.

“I am thrilled to get to work alongside Furlined’s exceptionally talented directors,” Davies said in a statement. “The opportunity to partner with, and build a team around them to bring their visions to life is truly exciting. Furlined’s culture, values and creative sensibilities match my own and I look forward to being part of the continued growth and development of new creative opportunities for the team.”

Droga5 promoted Colm Murphy and Harry Román-Torres to roles as co-heads of the agency’s strategy department as former head of strategy Chet Gulland announced his plans to depart for a new (undisclosed) venture at the end of the month. Murphy and Román-Torres join now chief strategy officer Jonny Bauer, head of communications strategy Colleen Leddy and head of data strategy Andrew Tully atop the department.

“We are excited to double down on leadership with two of the kindest, most creative and capable people in the industry. Together with Colleen and Andrew, Colm and Harry will continue to build and grow the influence of our 70-plus-strong Strategy team,” said Bauer.

Gulland has served as Droga5’s head of strategy since September of 2014. He originally joined the agency as strategy director in January of 2009, leading strategy on brands including Puma, Rhapsody, Unilever, Activision, as well as on new business. He left briefly nearly two years later to serve as head of strategy at The Barbarian Group for a year and a half and returned as head of digital strategy in June of 2012. Prior to joining Droga5 in 2009, he served in senior strategy roles with Next Great Thing and Anomaly.

“It is always tough when the good ones go, but we respect that, after six years, he has the urge to stretch his legs. Chet is family. We will miss him greatly and wish him every success in his next venture,” Bauer added.

After joining Droga5 as a strategy director in June of 2014, Murphy was promoted to group strategy director the following May. Before joining Droga5, he spent over three and a half years as planning director with JWT New York, working on global accounts including Puma and Rolex. He originally joined JWT as an analyst with JWT London in June of 2005 and became a planner in 2007.

Román-Torres originally joined Droga5 as a senior strategist in October of 2008, serving as lead planner on Hennessy/LVMH, Suave/Unilever, UNICEF TAP, WindMade, Activision, and Tracfone/Net10, while also working on new business. He left the agency to become director of strategy at Leo Burnett New York in early 2012, followed by a brief stint as insights leader at Google Primer, before returning to Droga5 as group strategy director in early 2015. Before his first stint with the agency, he spent nearly two years as a planner with Taxi NYC, and two years as a junior planner with The Cartel Group before that.

Taking care of yourself and eating healthy is all well and good when life is going smoothly. But when does life ever go smoothly?

That’s the message of a comical new campaign by Droga5 for Pure Protein, maker of protein bars, powder and shakes. (Pure Protein is owned by NBTY, for whom Droga5 is also working on the MET-Rx brand.)

Three online spots focus humorously on the “Derailers” who totally muck up your plans for the day, making you much more likely to go for an unhealthy snack. Which is why you should always carry a Pure Protein bar with you, the ads say, so you can get your 19-21 grams of pure whey protein with only 3 grams or less of sugar. 

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