Dave Grohl, William Shatner And A Scary Fortune Teller: 5 Ads You Should Watch Right Now
Elton John gets covered in butterflies and a fortune teller scares the crap out of people. Yep, it’s just another week in AdLand!
So which ads have caught fire on the web over the last seven days? Here are our five picks.
Enjoy!
5. Red Bull – Steve Aoki’s Aerobatic Flight With Kirby Chambliss
If you’re not familiar with the work of electro house DJ Steve Aoki, then Red Bull’s latest spot sadly won’t enlighten you. However, it will make you au fait with the pained expressions of a man learning first hand what the term aerobatics means.
Jumping into the cockpit with champion plane-fellow Kirby Chambliss, Aoki gets a taste of everything a flying machine probably shouldn’t do. This includes flying backwards, upside down, back in time (okay, maybe not) – all while the fabulously-monikered Chambliss looks nonplussed at the control.
If it’s unclear what aerobatics and electro house have to do with ch other, the spot’s best moment comes when Aoki tenuously tries to connect the stunt to his upcoming album. Don’t worry, mate, you can just admit you wanted a plane ride.
4. Universal Pictures – Ouija Psychic Terror
Agency Thinkmodo has made a name for itself with tongue-in-cheek horror pranks that tease some aspect of an upcoming film. For ‘Devil’s Due’, they created a monster baby to traumatise unsuspecting New Yorkers. For ‘Carrie’, they convinced strangers that telekinesis is not only possible, but happening in your local coffee shop. Both videos received more than two million shares.
By contrast, ‘Ouija Psychic Terror’ has been shared just over 22,000 times, but there’s still a lot to appreciate here. Thinkmodo piles on the jumps, with floor-bursting demons and spooky possessed Ouija boards overrunning a fortune teller’s shop. As always, the spot’s participants/victims are reliably good fun, sprinting from the room as if they’ve just been threatened by an occult monster. Oh wait, they have.
3. Volkswagen – Future For All
In ‘Future For All’, Volkswagen tell the universal tale of a Star Trek-obsessed lad who happens to live next to William Shatner. While the whole spot is spoken in German, the simplicity of the narrative managed to transcend the language barrier (with a little help from Google Translate).
So what do we learn from ‘Future For All’? First, is that Bill Shatner still insists on playing the Star Trek theme music from his car. Second, is that Bill Shatner obviously lives next to Leonard Nimoy. Third and finally, Nimoy mysteriously has some kind of space-age car that Shatner (maybe) envies. I’ll admit these facts are thin on the ground but I don’t speak German – give me a break.
2. Planbelgie.be – Little Girls Hijack Age Warnings During Prime Time
The latest campaign from Belgium charity Plan, produced by agency Duval Guillaume Modem, brings an abrasive approach to a serious issue. Otherwise called ‘Too Young To Watch. Old Enough To Get Married’, the cause interrupted film age warnings with clips explaining what a child of a similar might expect from life in different parts of the world.
“I don’t have time to watch movies,” one says, “Next week, I’ll have to marry a man who’s old enough to be my father”. Plan’s work against child marriage has had a particular impact this week, with their Swedish blog campaign catching a lot of attention. Inventive, thoughtful marketing for an important message.
1. BBC Music – God Only Knows
Watching BBC Music’s latest heart-warming homage to itself, a cover of The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’, I couldn’t help but think that I’d love to be the commissioner’s assistant. I mean, what a job. Every couple of years, you BCC an email to some of the world’s biggest pop stars, and ask them to divvy up lyrics to a classic song. Piece of cake.
Though for nostalgic reasons it’d have a hard time topping this BBC extravaganza, ‘God Only Knows’ is really rather fun. With Brian Wilson himself there to lend some kind of credulity, agency Karmarama really let their freak flag fly. Elton John covered in butterflies? Why not! Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl emerging from clouds like Mufasa from ‘The Lion King’? We’d be crazy not to!
Never mind the fact that poor Jake Bugg isn’t given any actual words to sing, so is left humming in a field, looking like he’s just staggered out of Secret Garden Party.
