Creatives Debate Ownership of ESPN Campaign on Facebook

This weekend, while you were nursing your hangover and preparing for the Oscars, a debate occurred on Facebook between ad industry veterans.

It would seem that Droga5 CCO Ted Royer — or at least his official online biography — took what felt to some like an excessive degree of credit for ESPN’s acclaimed series of SportsCenter campaigns, launched by Wieden+Kennedy in the 90s.

Here’s the line from Royer’s bio that started the debate:

Ted Royer 2

Others — chief among them former ESPN marketing director and ad industry veteran Allan Broce — took issue with the language above.

The resulting Facebook post and comment thread are no longer online, but we can recreate the exchange for you via the magic of screenshots:

Ted Royer 1

Broce and several fellow ad industry players followed by debating the size of said balls. Here’s Scot French, who was an account executive at Wieden+Kennedy when the campaign first launched:

scot french 1

scot french 2

W+K veteran Matt Stiker, who also worked on the ESPN account during that period, responded with a letter:

stiker 1

stiker 2

Stiker did receive that prompt reply:

Stiker 3

The updated bio page reads exactly as the note promised it would:

new ted royer

Broce followed by bringing the debate to an end and noting that Royer had probably not written his own bio in a conscious attempt to take greater credit for the campaign at large:

broce 1

broce 2

The contested line still contains a moderate dose of snark, but all’s well that ends well in ad land.

Gerry Graf, Rob Reilly, and Other Top Creatives Fast-Forward to 2050

The deadline for entry in the 2015 AICP Show and AICP Next Awards, hosted and promoted by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, is next Friday, February 27th.

You probably knew this already.

You may, however, be more interested in the campaign created to promote the awards this year. It involves a series of short films — conceived by Rob Reilly, Gerry Graf, and Eric Monnet — in which five top creatives imagine what their own lives will look like 35 years from now.

First, a 70-something-year-old Graf shares the fact his kids think he’s a loser and pokes a little good-natured fun at David Lubars of BBDO (who did not participate in the project):

Next, CCO Tor Myhren of Grey recalls better times with the E*Trade baby and discusses some press writeups that sound suspiciously like AgencySpy comments:

Rob Reilly of McCann somehow managed to avoid prison, but his life doesn’t really look any more comfortable (and did you know he once worked for Burger King?):

Depending on one’s perspective, Tiffany Rolfe of co:collective turned out either better or worse than her contemporaries:

Finally, Ted Royer of Droga5 let himself go, but he still has a healthy appetite:

In case you missed it, work honored by the AICP will find a permanent home in MoMA’s film archive…and the deadline is next Friday.

Here are your credits:

Writing
Gerry Graf, Barton F. Graf 9000
Tor Myhren, Grey
Rob Reilly, McCann
Tiffany Rolfe, co:collective
Ted Royer, Droga5Directed By Brian Billow of O Positive

Creative Concept
Rob Reilly, McCann
Gerry Graf, Barton F. Graf 9000
Eric Monnet, McCann

Casting
Grande/Morris Casting
Casting Agent: Faye Grande
Graphics
The STUDIO
Audio
COLOR Audio Post
Partner/Mixe: Kevin Halpin
Mixer: JD Heilbronner
Partner/Executive Producer: Jeff Rosner
Equipment Rental
Hello World Communications
Feature Systems
Production
O Positive
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella
Executive Producer: Marc Grill
Production Supervisor: Christina Woolston

Editorial
Editor on “Tor Myhren”: Charles Cusumano

No.6NY
Editor on “Gerry Graf”: Jason Macdonald
Editor on “Rob Reilly”: Justin Quagliata
Editor on “Tiffany Rolfe”: Nick Schneider
Editor on “Ted Royer”: Dan Aronin
Senior Cutting Assistant: Ryan Bukowski
Executive Producers: Corina Dennison, Crissy DeSimone
Producers: Malia Rose, Kendra Desai

Actors
Gerry Graf: Gene Ruffini
Tor Myhren: Jim Murtaugh
Rob Reilly: George Riddle
Nurse: Stevie Steel
Tiffany Rolfe: Marie Wallace
Ted Royer: Frank RidleyWebsite
Istros Media Corp.

All films were shot on location at Droga5

Droga5, Nas Take ‘The Ride’ for Hennessy

Droga5 enlisted New York rapper Nas in its latest spot for Hennessy, entitled “The Ride..”

Nas‘ association with the brand dates back to his classic 1994 debut Illmatic, where the brand is mentioned on the very first track. He signed a deal with the company at the beginning of last year to appear in the latest iteration of its “Wild Rabbit” campaign, which finally comes to life with “The Ride.”

The 60-second spot channels Nas‘ own past with a re-worked version of the song “New York State of Mind” from his debut. Over Nas‘ recitation of the re-imagined lyrics he steps on a subway car and is seemingly transported back in time to the 80s, with time progressing over the course of the ad so that when he emerges from the car later, he is back in the present day. A newspaper headline reading “Panic on Wall Street” at one point signifies a transition to the modern era. It’s all very slick and stylish, with plenty of attention to detail lavished on the concept. The spot ends with Nas walking toward a stage after uttering the line “It was only right that I was born to use mics,” and the text “I tell the stories that need to be told” appearing onscreen, followed by the “What’s your Wild Rabbit?” tagline. (more…)

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Droga5 Swarms Taylor Swift with Kittens for Diet Coke

Earlier this month, Droga5 released the spot “Car Wash” as part of its “Get A Taste” campaign for Diet Coke. Now the agency is rolling out a new 30-second ad starring Taylor Swift and a whole lot of kittens.

In the spot, entitled “Kittens,” Swift is playing with a kitten when she takes a sip of Diet Coke and all of a sudden there are two kittens. She takes another sip and there’s an entire table full of kittens, and before the end of the spot the entire room is filled as the singer/songwriter is engulfed in a swarm of feline cuteness. “What if life tasted as good as Diet Coke?” says text at the end of the ad, before Swift works in a quick plug for her new album. Since everyone with a soul likes kittens, this one is sure to be a hit. Add in Swift’s star power, and a preview of a new track featured exclusively in the ad until the release of her new album on October 27th, and this is all but guaranteed millions of views.

The ad was launched online today and will make its broadcast debut this Friday. As part of the campaign, Diet Coke is also giving fans a chance to win “concert tickets and a flyaway trip for two to an upcoming performance through iHeartRadio.com, RyanSeacrest.com and other sites.” The brand is also sponsoring Swift’s co-host appearance on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” on October 30th, the first time a celebrity co-hosts the entire program as well as the first time it is presented by a single brand. (more…)

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Droga5 Gets Sarah Silverman to Become a Man for National Women’s Law Center

Droga5 enlisted the services of “writer, comedian and vagina owner” Sarah Silverman for a new spot addressing the wage gap for National Women’s Law Center.

Silverman introduces viewers to the wage gap issue, pointing out that over the course of their lives women pay a “$500,000 vagina tax,” before informing viewers that she’s becoming a man, since the operation is actually cheaper than dealing with a lifetime of income disparity. She then introduces National Women’s Law Center’s crowdfunding effort to raise the trillions of dollars American women are cheated out of by gender inequality in the workplace, to be payed back to each of them. Since the goal is basically unreachable, it actually serves as a fund raiser for National Women’s Law Center’s efforts, since they receive the money as a donation if (when) the goal isn’t reached. The video ends by directing viewers to EqualPaybackProject.com, which goes live today to inform visitors about the gender gap and accepts donations to the crowdfunding effort. It’s a clever approach, addressing the absurdity of the issue in a way people are sure to remember.

“Equal pay may not be a sexy issue, but it’s an important one,” Casey Rand, Droga5 creative director, told Adweek. “And it is absurd. Young women need to know what’s at stake. And we knew that to get them to engage, we’d need to play up that absurdity.” (more…)

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Droga5 Takes Diet Coke to the Car Wash

Droga5 has a new ad for Diet Coke taking the beverage to a somewhat unusual setting: the car wash.

A girl pops open a bottle of Diet Coke while going through a car wash. Instantly, the car wash is transformed, as a choreographed scene unfolds in front of her eyes. Dancers in yellow outfits similar to car wash scrubbers mingle with others in white bubble dresses, while everyone drinks Diet Coke (obviously) in a lavish, hallucinatory party scene. This enjoyable eye candy is followed by the nonsensical line, “What if life tasted as good as Diet Coke?” as the girl returns to reality, followed by the new “Get a Taste” tagline. The new ad, the latest in the “Get a Taste” campaign, will run tonight during Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy (a 15-second version will debut next week). Another broadcast spot featuring Taylor Swift will launch later this month. (more…)

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Diet Coke Moves Up a Class with Droga5

Ogilvy may be handling the Coke Zero account now, but this new Droga5 campaign for sister brand Diet Coke would fit the brand well: it’s all about the flavor, see…

The “Economy Class” spot’s protagonist is a washed-out airline customer awakened by the unstoppable flavor of Diet Coke…until she realizes that the visions of shaggy dogs and upright bassists dancing in her head are just that.

The larger campaign’s theme, of course, holds that Diet Coke offers consumers a taste of “The Good Life.”

This spot will debut on Wednesday’s Nashville premiere, but it’s really just a taste…coming weeks will see the debut of two new spots, one of which stars Taylor Swift.

You’ll have to be satisfied with credits after the jump, though. The client included the second spot, “Car Wash”, in the credits and the press release but didn’t feel like sending the actual work out to press contacts.

(more…)

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Droga5 Celebrates ‘Not Broken’ Families for Honey Maid

Earlier this year, Droga5 and Honey Maid celebrated families of all kinds with a campaign called “This Is Wholesome.”

Now, Droga5 is continuing its celebration of diversity in families with a new ad entitled “#NotBroken,” a reference to the outdated phrase “broken home” to refer to families of divorce. As the two-minute ad points out, “More than 40% of Americans are part of a blended family,” so it seems odd that we so few of them in advertising that this spot is noteworthy for including one.

“#NotBroken” is constructed as a sort of two-minute documentary (it will also debut as a 30 second broadcast spot today). “Sometimes it’s hard to explain our family to people. I have two moms, and I’ve got two dads,” says a boy named Isaac, at the opening of the ad. We then follow Isaac and his family, which is celebrated as well-functioning and supportive. “At first I didn’t think there were a lot of families like ours, but now I realize that we aren’t that different,” he eventually concludes. The spot ends by inviting people to celebrate their own blended families with the #NotBroken and #ThisIsWholesome hashtags, which are sure to get some love.

So far, the “This Is Wholesome” campaign has proven to be a success for the brand, with both increased sales figures and Google searches for “Honey Maid,” as Adweek points out.
(more…)

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Droga5 Inspires for Under Armour

Droga5 takes Under Armour in a different direction with a new campaign called “I Will What I Want” aimed at women, starring Misty Copeland, a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre.

The spot opens with a young girl reading a rejection letter from a ballet academy over a sparse piano track as we see Copeland, poised on her taut ankles in a practice room. “…You lack the right feet, Achilles tendons, turnout, torso length and bust,” reads the girl. “You have the wrong body for ballet. And at 13, you are too old to be considered.” At this point, the soundtrack is set in motion and Copeland springs to life, twirling and gliding across the stage decked out in Under Armour. It is not until the conclusion of the 60-second spot that Copeland’s identity is revealed, her ultimate triumph over adversity implied.

Copeland, who is only the third African American soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theatre, told The New York Times “she never received a rejection letter that so starkly enumerated the reasons she was ill suited to be a ballet dancer,” but that “it accurately encapsulated the resistance she had faced throughout her career,” told from the time she was an adolescent that she had “the wrong body type” for ballet.

We see a lot of ads aim to be inspirational, but seldom do they succeed like “I Will What I Want,” which, unlike most spots with similar ambitions, doesn’t come across as forced or hokey. Coming from Under Armour, it’s an unexpected and refreshing new direction. Along with the broadcast spot, the campaign also includes digital and outdoor components, featuring Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, tennis player Sloane Stephens and soccer player Kelley O’Hara in addition to Copeland. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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10 Minutes Without Your Phone Can Provide Water for a Child in Need

TapProject_MilestoneScreen

The latest iteration of Droga5′s UNICEF Tap Project (started all the way back in 2007) asks people to put down their smart phones for ten minutes to provide clean water for a child who needs it.

Across the globe, 768 million people lack access to clean drinking water and 1, 400 children die every day from diseases directly related to unsanitary drinking water. Since 1990, UNICEF has been working to provide clean drinking water to those who would otherwise lack access to it. For the past seven years, Droga5 has been helping get the word out via UNICEF’s annual Tap Project campaign.

TapProject_Landing1

This year, visitors to www.UNICEFTapProject.org will be met with a challenge: for every ten minutes they don’t use their mobile phones, UNICEF’s sponsor will provide one day of clean water for a child in need. Currently in its beta phase, the app from Droga5 is scheduled for official launch on March 1st. The way it works is pretty simple: once you visit the site, the app will calculate how long you spend there, with a final tally counted once you touch the mobile device again. For every 10 minutes, a donation will be made by UNICEF’s sponsors, including national sponsor Giorgio Armani Fragrances. Visitors to the site “can also learn more about UNICEF’s clean water initiatives, sign up to be a volunteer and make their own personal donation to help UNICEF provide children with clean water.”

So, if you’re reading this on your smart phone, head on over to www.UNICEFTapProject.org and then put your phone down for a while. It’s for a good cause, and you’re probably on your lunch break anyway. You can live without it for a few minutes. Credits after the jump. continued…

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VCU Brandcenter’s Campaign for AICP Show Asks, ‘Where Have the Coke and Hookers Gone?’

Students at the VCU Brandcenter are back, launching a campaign promoting the AICP Show and AICP Next Awards for the 9th straight year.

The campaign takes a humorous route to displaying the lasting quality of an AICP award, showing top creatives like Gerry Graf, Co: collective partner/chief content officer Tiffany Rolfe and Droga5′s Ted Royer waxing on the perceived perks of yesteryear. While these perks may have vanished, their AICP awarded work is in the permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.

“Every generation hears about the halcyon days when perks were free-flowing – perhaps they were, or perhaps it’s all wishful thinking. But through it all, the one constant is that no one can ever take away your AICP honor and recognition,” explained Matt Miller, President and CEO of AICP.

Ty Montague of Co:Collective, Susan Credle of Leo Burnett, and Diane Jackson of DDB Chicago (all VCU BrandCenter Board members and either current or past AICP Show Curators)” collaborated with Miller, AICP Director of Events Ileana Montalvo and AICP Chief of Staff Kristin Wilcha in selecting the campaign from among those presented by second year student teams at VCU Brandcenter. The results are pretty funny, with Graf commenting on vanishing drum kits, Rolfe wondering where the prostitutes went, and Royer lamenting the ever-shrinking office. The entry deadline for the awards is March 7. Both the AICP Show and the AICP Next Awards will take place June 10-12, during AICP week. You can check out Graf’s video above, and stick around for Royer and Rolfe’s two cents, along with credits, after the jump. continued…

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Newcastle Celebrates ‘Independence Eve’

Normally, a made-up holiday like Independence Eve would be some sort of patriotic money grab, but for Newcastle Brown Ale and Droga5, it’s actually a tongue-in-cheek U.K. money grab. Independence Eve – the latest part of the No Bollocks campaign – celebrates the last day of British rule, one day before John Hancocks were signed and European monarchies renounced.

Across the States, Americans (and immigrants, legal and illegal) can buy a Revolutionary Koozie, which features both the British and American flags on the bottle. I’m not sure how many Americans would willingly drink a British beer the day before July 4th, but I think we’ve buried the hatchet 237 years later. You see, revolutions can be humorous once enough time has passed. So in the next decade, everybody get ready to chug some Edelweiss and giggle over the French Revolution. Credits after the jump.

continued…

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