HelloFlo, famed for its comic, disruptive ads about feminine hygiene products—see "Camp Gyno" and "First Moon Party"—has released another long-form spot.

Playing off the phrase "Aunt Flo's in town"—code for "I have my period," for any of you have never been a teenage girl—the spot brings Aunt Flo to life (dressed in all red, natch). Instead of fresh-faced tweens staring down their first periods, the new spot seeks broader appeal—highlighting a girl waiting to get her first period, a woman kissing it goodbye with the advent of menopause, and a couple who experience the anxiety that comes with Aunt Flo showing up six days late.



HelloFlo is known for defying the ad norms around feminine hygiene (no mysterious blue liquid pouring from a glass beaker into a maxipad here), and this spot is no different. At one point, the tween asks about vaginal discharge—or "white crusty stuff," as she puts it—which is a long way from Woman Wearing White Along the Beach in a tampon spot.

"My goal is to show and normalize the confusing stuff, too," Naama Bloom, founder of HelloFlo, tells Adweek. "One of our most popular articles is about vaginal discharge! This spot is definitely ambitious for us, as we've used these vignettes to showcase transitions in women's lives."

The spot ends comically, with Aunt Flo showing up, unwelcome, in the midst of a would-be steamy backseat scene. There's plenty of product placement in this one, as "A Visit From Aunt Flo" kicks off a year-long partnership with U by Kotex and Poise. It also comes on the heels of the announcement this month that SheKnows Media is acquiring HelloFlo.

CREDITS
Client: HelloFlo
Director: Max Sherman
Copywriter: Jacob Greer/Chris Murphy
Art Director: Denver Eastman
Production Company: OPC
Producer: Isil Gilderdale
Executive Producers: Harland Weiss, Donovan M. Boden, Liz Dussault
Director of Photography: Rob Scarborough
Production Designer: Zazu Meyers
Casting: Mann Casting, Wulf Casting
Editor: Melanie Hider, Saints Editorial
Audio: Grayson Matthews
Post: The Vanity

Weight Watchers has changed a lot in the years since Queens housewife Jean Nidetch started the company after a neighbor assumed she was pregnant (she wasn't.) Though still a popular way to take off the pounds, the company now preaches body acceptance before dieting, and there's no better proof than the upcoming issue of Weight Watchers magazine.

The May/June issue features a photo section of Weight Watchers members of varying ages and body types who agreed to pose with minimal—and frequently no—clothing. They range from 29-year-old Latoya to Janie, a career women and 55-year-old grandmother. Rendered in grayscale, the images are striking, whimsical and rich in personality.

They are also, according to editor Theresa DiMasi, long overdue.

According to a recent study, 89 percent of women from the U.S. and other western countries are dissatisfied with their weight. That dissatisfaction, together with a critical view of one's own body, is a problem that Weight Watchers sees frequently.

"One thing we hear over and over again is that life doesn't start until you're 30 pounds thinner," DiMasi says. "For women, this negative self body talk keeps coming up over and over. But one of the things that happens in Weight Watchers is that, along your journey, you start accepting yourself. You start talking about yourself positively and building a new outlook on your body."

DiMasi's editorial team went looking for women who'd built that new outlook—and were confident enough to demonstrate it by being photographed largely unclothed. (Which couldn't have been easy: 96 percent of women like themselves better with clothes on, according to the magazine.) But DiMasi's staff eventually assembled 11 women willing to be photographed. They all appear in the magazine as they did under the photographer's lights; the editors did no retouching.

"When the WW team asked me to be part of this story, I was extremely hesitant—I almost backed out of the shoot," Janie, the grandmother, relates. "But I went through with it, and when I was taking off that robe and posing for the camera that day, there was a different feeling inside me. I realized that age is just how you feel. I felt special, I felt positive. I took control of my body and I took what it meant to be beautiful into my own hands."

Not that Weight Watchers has left its diet mantra behind. The company still ranks no. 1 in U.S. News' list of best weight-loss diets. And no less a celebrity than Oprah (who signed on as a spokesperson last fall) has thanked the Weight Watchers plan for the 26 pounds she recently lost.

Still, DiMasi said, Weight Watchers has "gone beyond" the emphasis on losing pounds. "For these women," she said, "the higher calling is what they're learning. What these women are saying is: Appreciate yourself right now. Life begins right now, no matter your size and shape, it doesn't matter."

Pages Jaunes—the French Yellow Pages—just launched an interactive music video for Breakbot's latest single, "My Toy." This may sound like a weird combination. But think about how much creative, local and artisanal color gets involved in productions like this. If you never have before, that's fine; it's usually hidden in the background. 

Not this time. 

The non-interactive video, which kicked off the #BreakbotxYellowPages campaign, went live in a global Pitchfork exclusive last week (we'll get to the content later): 



On Breakbot.pagesjaunes.fr, you can watch the whole thing with a layer you can play with. To the top left of your screen, you're told how many small-business professionals worked on each scene, VH1 Pop-Up Video style. 

When you click on the screen, the action freezes and little interaction bubbles guide you to videos about who did what—everyone from makeup artists, to a custom umbrella maker, to a neon vendor are showcased in about 34 videos. (They're all in French, natch, but some videos with subtitles appear below.) 

Here's a scene for an interaction point about an esthetician: 



You probably think the Yellow Pages, whose fat yellow books would make a brick cower in fear, are the perfect symbol for the world we left behind in our race toward bionic supremacy. But in France, Pages Jaunes is still going strong—and remains among the top 10 French media sites, scoring a whopping 15 million unique visitors per month.

Pages Jaunes started going digital deep in the '90s. The company is super mobile and tablet-friendly—its app has been downloaded 21.9 million times—and has made it a mission to bring small-business owners to digital, even going so far as to build them white-label websites (making it the No. 1 website creator for French professionals). 

So, it's managed to keep up with the times. 

But it's still hard to understand how Sid Lee, a young agency best known for its work on Adidas, sold the world's most old-school phone directory on a music video about a lady who builds her own sexbot. (Unlike his Ex Machina counterpart, who went rogue, this android looks terrified... at least until the orgy.) 

We went to Sid Lee's Paris offices on Tuesday morning to find out what this madness was all about. Executive creative director and partner Sylvain Thirache and managing director and partner Johan Delpuech were nice enough not to throw us out. Here's a nice picture of them, so you know whose faces to imagine while they talk: 



Asked how the client managed to stay hip with the flowering conglomos of tomorrow, especially in a country that prides itself on wary tech adoption, Delpuech explained: "Pages Jaunes maintains a very close relationship with small-business owners. And when their business started changing, it adapted fast to respond to their needs." 

But faced with competitors like Airbnb, Google, TripAdvisor and food delivery services like Deliveroo and AlloResto, Pages Jaunes is under pressure to attract a younger target under constant assault. In fact, according to Delpuech, Pages Jaunes considers itself a competitor to any and all Uberization of French services. 

That's a lot of enemies. 

"People think it's still a book," admitted Thirache. "It needed to modernize its image to compete."

"We wanted to do something that would feel modern but still relatable," Delpuech said. "Breakbot is part of Ed Banger records, which launched French electronic bands like Justice, Sebastian, and DJ Mehdi. It's helped share French artists throughout the world, and is a modern expression of our culture. For us, Breakbot anchored that modernity." 

Thus a collaboration was born. But how'd they punt the idea? 

"We wanted something emotional that would showcase the beautiful and unique work of local small businesses," said Thirache. "We told them we wanted to respect the artist's vision."

Even if that vision, Delpuech noted, "is an erotic dream. It's a woman who makes a toy that can bring the Kama Sutra to life!" 

To their surprise, Pages Jaunes got it immediately. "It's tricky for agencies to surprise their clients, but they felt it was strategically sound," Delpuech said. "Each scene was built from the ground up by a small-business owner. Normally at a shoot, you want to work with a minimum of people. But we had to turn that around—we needed to find the maximum number of people to get involved."

Over the course of four months, Sid Lee scoured the country to round up the most interesting collaborators. This is the result of that. 

"What we like about Pages Jaunes is that they kept small, local businesses central to their mission," Delpuech said. "One in two French people don't make a doctor's appointment because they don't want to wait. And most people don't know that, like TripAdvisor and Expedia, it contains reviews. Unlike them, those reviews are certified. They're purists. And to help advance small business, 1,900 local commercial counselors exist to help with everything from SEO to building websites."

French hipsters can expect to catch #BreakbotxYellowPages on Elle.fr, Glamour, Rock en Seine and Facebook, not to mention on the sites and videos of influencers. Radio stations are talking about it, too—and rarely play the song without talking about the overall campaign, Delpuech proudly added.

Below are a few subtitled videos of the French businesses that helped make this randy robot tale happen. 

Neon light manufacturers from Chaville:

The Parisian dry cleaner (because it pays to stay fresh):

The costume seller from Soissons:

Anémone, the swimwear designer from Biarritz—because where else would you get your swimsuits, and isn't her name perfect?!

The clothing designer from Paris:

The Parisian florists:

As Breakbot so melodically put it, "Break the rules. Let's do something we never do." 

CREDITS

Client: Pages Jaunes

Agency: Sid Lee Paris:
Executive Creative Director: Sylvain Thirache
Creative Directors: Céline et Clément Mornet Landa
Art Directors: Yoann Plard, Jules Jolly
Managing Partner: Johan Delpuech
Deputy General Manager: Bruno Lee
Account Director: Jean-baptiste Destabeau
Account Manager: Thomas Lec'hvien
Production Director: Thomas Laget
Producer: Pauline Couten
Digital production Director: David Bismut
Digital producer: Clément Cassajus
Brand Management PagesJaunes:
Executive Director: Christophe Pingard
Deputy Executive Director: Julien Ampollini
Brand and Advertising Director SoLocal Group: Gérard Lenepveu
Advertising and Media Manager SoLocal Group: Yann Drumare
Communication Manager: Isabelle Druesne

Production:
Artist: Breakbot
Label: EdBanger Records
Record Company: Because music

Director "My Toy" clip : AB / CD / CD
Production "My Toy" clip: Partizan
Director Brand Content: Dimitri Pailhe
Digital Production: 60fps

Fashion designer: Xénia Gasull
Choreographer: Catherine Ematchoua

Is it a coincidence that both the entertainment and advertising industries are facing a diversity crisis on their awards juries? Probably not. Both of these industries, which champion and celebrate creative work, share a history of not having many shifts in power. 

Gina Grillo

But as culture and the demographic makeup of this country continue to evolve, so too must the driving forces of creative industries if we're going to remain relevant. To truly recognize creative achievement without bias, we must take a hard look at the construction of our juries and implement systemic changes to ensure all creatives are given opportunity and credit.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took quick, decisive steps to respond to the criticism of #OscarsSoWhite earlier this year, it showed the world that change can't always happen all at once, but it won't happen at all without action. By thinking in incremental, strategic terms about what we can do to affect change on our juries and awards shows in advertising right now, we can start creating bigger, lasting long term results.

As I've spent the past few weeks gearing up for our 52nd annual International ANDY Awards Show & Party tonight, I couldn't help but reflect on how the validity and relevance of creative awards shows have come front-and-center into our industry's consciousness. 

For starters, we must hold ourselves accountable and admit that there is legwork to be done when it comes to diverse jury members. Specific industry organizations have recently come under fire for all-male juries. There's room for improvement all over the industry, but there are also plenty of signs that our leaders are motivated to change—case in point, the Art Director's Club's 50/50 Initiative. The ANDYs have pledged a similar effort towards a jury that is 100 percent inclusive with an emphasis on women and cultural diversity.

Of course, there is also work to be done beyond the issue of gender diversity, and we must look to lead the industry by building a truly inclusive jury that represents people from varied backgrounds, races and sexual orientations. The excuse that it is hard to find people that represent these groups is hard to believe. This only halts progress by keeping the status quo in place. To address this head on means we need to be brave enough to sponsor and promote talented up-and-comers from the middle and give them a chance to progress through the ranks.

We can also learn from other industries. For example, many companies in the food business are moving towards a healthier norm—a movement that was led by a few conscientious brands who successfully created a cultural shift.

Last year, General Mills made a pledge to remove 90 percent of artificial flavors from its cereals by the end of 2016, including iconic lines like Reese's Puffs and Trix. It knew it would take small steps over two years to enact this kind of change and that it was important to take the time to ensure the cereals tasted and looked great. The company also pushed a broad-reaching campaign on the issue—a bold act of bravery, indeed.

Meanwhile, in hopes of reducing its carbon footprint, HP made a commitment to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Since creating the initiative in 2005, it has created short and long-term initiatives that it has implemented internally and with outside partners, ultimately helping the company reach its goal two years ahead of schedule.

Diversity initiatives must be tackled in a similar fashion—bravely and incrementally. But in the long run, we cannot simply enforce diversity—it needs to happen organically, at the place where the talent pool is created and nurtured. Those involved in the hiring process must shift their focus toward bringing in diverse talent, and new processes will need to be created in order to ensure that we're not just attracting the right people, but retaining them by creating a culture that openly embraces and champions diversity. By evolving our culture in this way, we can create the conditions for lasting change.

For real change to take hold, this talent will need support, such as competitive compensation, mentorship programs, awards and recognition, and career development opportunities that will help them climb the leadership ranks. For our part, the AD Club is pledging $100,000 to provide diverse female professionals access to key industry conferences that they would otherwise not have access to and that will support their careers. 

As daunting as this all seems, it is a lot more daunting to do nothing. The next time you are in a position to hire, promote or train someone, make a concerted effort to be inclusive. It is the one investment that will provide relevancy for decades to come.

The vitality of our industry can only happen in earnest when we are brave enough to invest in the talent that represents the cultural shifts of our society.

Gina Grillo (@gina_grillo) is president and CEO of The Advertising Club of New York and the International ANDY Awards

Hollywood A-listers always draw the biggest crowds at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and this year's event will be even more celebrity-packed as the festival adds a new category of entertainment-based programming.

Celebs such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Channing Tatum and Mindy Kaling will join the speaker roster alongside some of Madison Avenue's biggest names, including DDB North America CEO Wendy Clark and R/GA co-founder Bob Greenberg.

"When we put together our content program, we look to give people inspirational learning that you can't find anywhere else," said Cannes Lions CEO Philip Thomas in a statement. "Importantly, we keep creativity at the heart, designing it to cross all touch points of creativity while offering insights into some of the most creative minds in the world."

Some highlights for this year include a conversation between actress and Goop founder/CCO Gwyneth Paltrow and BBC HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur, a session from VICELAND co-president Spike Jonze on reaching young audiences, and a presentation from director Oliver Stone.

This year marks the first year of the Lions Entertainment program, which was created to focus on and reward, "talented entertainers who have the power to connect directly with consumers." As part of that new program the festival stacked the lineup with big-name entertainers, including a conversation between WWE star and actor John Cena (no stranger to the ad business) and WWE chief strategy officer and TV personality Stephanie McMahon

There will also be sessions from magician David Copperfield on what brands can learn from the art of illusion and from Mindy Kaling on how her show, The Mindy Project, has connected with audiences on Hulu.

Top advertising industry execs will, of course, make appearances as well, with sessions from DDB's Clark speaking on "Managing the Present and Investing in the Future," Barton F. Graf founder Gerry Graf on "Anyone Can Have An Idea. Few Have THE Idea," and FCB global CCO Susan Credle on "The Art of (Brand) Seduction."

The full schedule for the festival, held June 18-25, 2016, and list of speakers is now available online.

Laser-beam blue and spray-tan orange.

Those are the scary shades of common household cleaning products that make Maya Rudolph uncomfortable, as she describes them in a new campaign for Seventh Generation.

The actress and comic—an alum of Saturday Night Live and movies like Idiocracy, Bridesmaids and Sisters—stars in three ads for the environmentally friendly packaged goods marketer. It's the first work for the master brand from 72andSunny's New York office. 

In "Weird Dyes," Rudolph laments the Day-Glo nature of conventional soaps—including one she describes as "Yippee ki-yay yellow," a moment that can't help but evoke Die Hard (though John McClane's filthy tanktop is nowhere to be seen, even if it could serve as a fitting product demo). 



In "Common Scents," she takes aim at the fake smells that grace the labels of the same products, indicting fantastical offenders like "Fiji Funk," "Cabo Clean" and "Siberian Sunbeam" (because nothing says warm and welcoming like the tundra). 



And in "Not Blue Goo," she sets her sights on traditional laundry detergents, dinging them for distorting the colors of the clothes they're meant to clean. (Competitors would likely counter that the effect is actually meant to counteract natural yellowing, and is therefore desirable—but that's for the chemists to duke out.) 



Overall, Rudolph—a mother of four and an actual user of Seventh Generation products, according to the company—is a reasonable fit for the strategy. Highlighting the impossible, industrial colors of less natural soaps is a relatively clean and clear way to emphasize Seventh Generation's core proposition.

She gets that point across well enough, even if the moments she has to play her delivery straight feel the most contrived, and the least entertaining—as if the copy might be trying a bit too hard to charm viewers. 

By contrast, the ads work best when Rudolph's oddball side shines through, with her left-field kickers clocking in as the best parts. Take the brilliantly creepy "Clear as an angel's giggle" punch line in "Weird Dyes." Or the moment when she throws her voice while dangling a T-shirt with her own face on it at the end of a 15-second cut of "Not Blue Goo." It's one of the more entertaining attempts to play up a campaign hashtag ever (even if the :30 sadly takes it in a different direction).

All in all, it's a solid showing, building on 72andSunny's strong send-up of millennial advertising for Seventh Generation's reusable water bottle brand, Bobble, last fall.

It's probably worth noting, though, that brightly hued soaps are nowhere near as disconcerting as the sports drinks that also look like window cleaning fluid—even if Gatorade is what plants crave.

CREDITS

Client: Seventh Generation, Inc
General Manager & Chief Marketing Officer: Joey Bergstein
Senior Brand Manager: Julian Blazewicz

Agency: 72andSunny New York
Managing Director: James Townsend
Executive Creative Director: Guillermo Vega
Director of Production: Lora Schulson
Director of Strategy: Tim Jones
Creative Director/Designer: Wei Wei Dong
Creative Director/Writer: Matthew Carey
Designer: Rob McQueen
Writer: Matt Vitou
Executive Producer: Kerli Teo
Sr. Producer: Ryan Chong
Strategy Director: Marshall Ball
Sr. Strategist: Jennifer Lewis
Strategist: Carol Chan
Group Brand Director: Marianne Pizzi
Co-Brand Directors: Brittni Hutchins & Lauren Smith
Brand Manager: Jonathan Weiss
Interactive Producer: Vishal Dheiman
Jr. Art Producer: Brigitte Bishop
Business Affairs Director: Julie Balster
Business Affairs Manager: Marissa Burnett
Jr. Business Affairs Manager: Laura Fraser

Production Company: Pretty Bird
Director: Matt Piedmont
Executive Producer / Vice President: Ali Brown
Producer: Bernard Rahill

Editorial
Editor: Patrick Colman
Assistant Editor: Andre Castiglioni
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Head of Production: Jen Sienkwicz
Producer: Penny Ensley

VFX Production Company: Method NY / Company 3
Executive Producer: Angela Lupo
Sr VFX Producer: Heather Saunders
Lead Flame: Tom McCullough

Colorist: Tom Poole

Sound Design & Mixing
Nylon Studios NY
Sound Engineer: Rob Ballingall
Sr Producer: Halle Petro

Procter & Gamble's Secret deodorant is launching an interesting campaign from Wieden + Kennedy that looks at larger, generational reasons why young women sweat—often because of political, gender-based struggles—and not just their more random individual reasons.

The new brand campaign, themed "Stress Tested for Women," begins with the 60-second spot below, titled "Raise." The plot is simple: A young professional woman is psyching herself up in the bathroom at work to ask her boss for more money.

Check out the spot here: 

It's nicely shot (by Aoife McArdle) and very well acted. The scene is full of real drama, as our heroine tries out different approaches in the mirror—and suffers through a horrifying moment when she realizes she isn't alone (though her potential enemy thankfully turns out to be an ally).

Janine Miletic, brand director for North America deodorants at P&G, said the approach here isn't exactly new—that Secret has always shown women's evolving role in society through its advertising. The new campaign, she added, is based around an insight into "stress sweat," which P&G says is biologically different than physically induced sweat.

"We understand the stress that comes with challenging cultural norms and are committed to providing women with high-quality products that can stand up to today's stressors—big and small," Miletic says. "Secret was the first antiperspirant brand made specifically for a woman's needs. We've continued to be on the forefront of innovation for women and that's why we developed product technology designed specifically to fight stress sweat, which is more unpredictable and worse-smelling than normal sweat."

Justine Armour, creative director at W+K in Portland, said the creative team approached the assignment by thinking big—about what it means to be a young woman today.

"What are women still not really 'allowed' to do? What are the barriers they're still up against? What roles and situations still make them feel uncomfortable?" Armour asked. "These are the areas where they're really feeling the stress, and where Secret is going to step up for them in a way that other deodorants can't."

The political bent of the new spot is interesting, and raises familiar questions about how, when and to what degree brands should engage in political causes—and whether tying those causes to particular product benefits engenders loyalty from like-minded consumers or just trivializes the whole thing.

The gender pay gap works nicely as a creative hook here, but of course it would be nice to see the brand take things further by offering resources to women who want to learn more and obtain tools to actually fight the pay gap. (Nothing like this has yet been announced by the brand, or appears on the website.)

On the other hand, the pay gap isn't a particularly polarizing political cause. It's one that many brands could get behind without fearing any backlash, or feeling an obligation to make a more extended commitment. It's also probably good to bring up the issue whether or not the brand really cares deep down about it.

In other words, perhaps the creative hook, on its own, is all Secret needs to worry about.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how this particular campaign develops, and how, exactly, P&G plans to help young women—beyond not wanting to see them sweat. 

CREDITS
Client: Procter & Gamble/Secret
Project: Secret Stress-Tested for Women

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Justine Armour / Caio Lazurri
Art Director: Johan Arlig
Copywriter: Justine Armour
Producer: Jessica Staples
Strategic Planning: Angela Jones
Media/Comms Planning: Stephanie Ehui
Account Team: Dana Borenstein / Alexina Shaber

Production Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Aoife McArdle
Executive Producer: SueEllen Clair / Eric Stern
Executive Producer Somesuch: Sally Campbell / Tim Nash
Producer: Christopher Gallagher
Director of Photography: Alexis Zabe

Editorial Company: Final Cut
Editor: Paul Zucker
Assistant Editor: Betty Jo Moore [Editor on 'Three Dots']
Exec Post Producer: Eric McCasline
Head of Production: Suzy Ramirez
Producer: Sarita White

VFX Company: MPC Los Angeles
Exec Producer: Elexis Stern
Shoot Supervisor: Ben Persons
Colourist: Mark Gethin
VFX Lead: Susanne Scharping
VFX: Sandra Ross / Vincent Blin / Warren Paleos
Designer: Kathleen Kirkman

Music Company: Marmoset
Composers: 'Proposal' by Will Canzoneri / 'Raise' by Jeffrey Brodsky / 'Three Dots' by Kerry Smith
Producer: Tim Shrout
Sound Design Company: Barking Owl
Sound Designer: Michael Anastasi
Exec Producer: Kelly Bayett

Mix Company: Lime Studios
Mixer: Sam Casas

IBM's Watson is perhaps most famous for beating its human competition in Jeopardy, but this week, IBM continued its ad campaign highlighting how the supercomputer uses data to solve business problems. In 15 spots from Ogilvy & Mather that launched during the Masters golf tournament this weekend, IBM used celebrities, thought leaders and brands to show the power of Watson and the IBM Cloud.

Director Ridley Scott and author Stephen King follow in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, who appeared in Watson spots in October discussing the data behind music. Scott, who also appeared in Watson ads in February, discusses artificial intelligence in the new ads. Watson tells the director that the way he portrays AI in his movies, which include Alien and Blade Runner, is "not flattering," and that in the real world, Watson helps humans "reduce waste, detect fraud and fight pollution."  

King chats with Watson about storytelling and connecting with an audience. "Whether you're a writer, like Stephen King or any business person, the need to connect with your audience is really important, and the ads show that Watson can help you do that," Ann Rubin, vp of branded content and global creative at IBM, told Adweek.

Actual IBM customers also are featured in the ads. The head of North Face talks with Watson about how it's helping the brand create a tool that refines recommendations for online shopping, and a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic discusses how Watson helps the hospital and its doctors manage patient data. 

Similarly, the IBM Cloud ads feature stories about IBM's real customer engagements, such as developing apps for banks and helping design the car-sharing service Car2Go. "Showing real examples is always really powerful in advertising because people want to know that it's worked for others," Rubin said. "We show that all of these companies are becoming successful with these products and services from IBM and that you can, too."

Three years ago, a young deaf girl named Shaylee Mansfield met her idol, Tinkerbell, and discovered that Tink could sign. The Mansfield family must have shared that magical moment with Disney, because the park flew them back to Disneyland to meet with a Minnie Mouse who had just started learning American Sign Language—and made the family the subject of one of its "Unfortgettable Stories" videos.

Disney Parks has released a number of online videos about family stories in the "Unforgettable Happens Here" campaign, but this one has gone viral. (It has more than 11 million views across Facebook and YouTube—a solid No. 2 among Disney Parks' recent ads, behind its famous mall stunt, which has 27 million view and counting.)



What is it about this family moment, out of a million moments of Disney family magic, that made it more special than the other magic moments? It's the fact that it's the kind of magic we need as a nation right now—inclusive magic.

Disney has persevered with magic that lets generations come together in the same place, for the same—yet somehow singular and special—Disneyland experience, regardless of their differences.

How? The magic of their storytelling. Not just the ones they tell about the brand, but the ones we can tell about our families. The moment when Tinkerbell signs her name for the little girl and she turns to her parents in surprise, that perfect look of joy etched on her face—that is what you shuttle your kids onto the plane for, schlep your way to the enormous parking lot for, bustle into the park that's bursting at the seams for, pay the expensive entry fees for, and walk around all day in the sweltering heat for. That one small moment that makes every other day worth it.

And when we see the Mansfield family's moment, we feel that same joy in ourselves. Hearing is not required. And so we press forward, happy for their moment, remembering our own moments at Disneyland as kids, and wondering when the right time will be to pass that magic on to our own kids. 

Four celebs made a strong showing in Google and Adweek's YouTube Ads Leaderboard this month—rapper (and sudden brand-advertising star) Lil Wayne; revered athletes Michael Phelps and Cristiano Ronaldo; and expert cookie eater Cookie Monster. 

But in the end, none of those gents could perform "Like a Girl." 

P&G's Always brand topped the March list of most-watched ads on YouTube, clocking an impressive 18.1 million views with its video about gender problems in the standard set of emojis. Wayne, Cookie, Phelps and Ronaldo, meanwhile, placed third, fourth, sixth and seventh—in ads for Samsung, Apple, Under Armour and ROC Live Life Loud, respectively.

Android app developer DU Group was a surprise at the No. 2 spot with a popular (though creatively average) spot about Earth Hour. Also making the list: Walt Disney World, Barbie, McDonald's China and a political spot from an anti-Trump PAC.

See all 10 spots below.

Note: To be eligible for Adweek and Google's YouTube Ads Leaderboard, videos must be marked as ads on YouTube (i.e., they get some paid views) but must also earn significant organic views. The algorithm factors in paid views, organic views and audience retention (how much of a video people watched). 

Neff headwear company launched in 2002, initially selling accessories for snowboarders and skateboarders—think beanies, sweatbands and hats. Now at 14, and with a broader selection of accessories, the company has established solid street cred after being sported by some of the hippest millennial celebs—Kate Upton, Wiz Khalifa, Scarlett Johansson and Lil Wayne, to name a few. Neff is based in Camarillo, Calif., in an office they've dubbed the "USS Neff" that is full of inspiration, artwork and a Ping-Pong table. "When we bought the building, we wanted to completely transform it to be very open," said founder and CEO Shaun Neff. "We built it with all glass to encourage community and give employees a place where they could easily work together. Overall we wanted an office vibe that says this is a dope brand that creates dope ideas." Also, its close proximity to the beach means work can be put on hold when the surf's right.

This week, the Adweek staff is highlighting revamped Pod Speakers, a makeover for your sock drawer and a super fast mobile charger. Take a look! 

From the days when he would pop up, unannounced, in your bed in the morning, Burger King's King character has never actually spoken a single word, preferring to let his creepily silent visage speak for him. But now, to celebrate National American Sign Language Day this Friday, the King is speaking up—by signing.

And he's asking BK fans to come up with an official sign for the Whopper sandwich.

Check out the announcement of the project in the video below, from David in Miami and Bullitt director Josh Greenbaum. It's creatively noteworthy in part because the entire 2:27 video is completely silent, which lends it a certain poignance that it wouldn't have otherwise.



"The Burger King brand is built not only on including everyone, but celebrating everyone," Fernando Machado, the fast-food chain's svp of global brand management, said in a statement. "National ASL Day felt like a perfect opportunity for the King to extend our brand mantra and engage with the ASL community on such a great day."



BK has also created an ASL version of its logo, and is making a scholarship donation benefiting students who are dedicating their studies to ASL language and interpretations.

It also has the King interpreting a recent TV spot in ASL, as you can see below. 



CREDITS

Client: Burger King
SVP Global Brand Management: Fernando Machado
Chief Marketing Officer, North America: Eric Hirschhorn
Senior Director, Media and Communications: Adam Gagliardo
Director Field Marketing: Elizabeth Greenberg

Project: Whopper Sign

Agency: David, Miami 
Client: Burger King
Chief Creative Officer/Founder: Anselmo Ramos
CD: Russell Dodson / Tony Kalathara
Head of Art: Carlos "Panza" Lange
Art Director: Ricardo Casal
Copywriter: Juan Peña
Head of Global Production: Veronica Beach
Associate Producer: Marina Rodrigues
Jr Producer: Calvin Beach
Business Manager: Ann Marie Turbitt
Creative Manager: Katia Ramos
Managing Director: Paulo Fogaça
Group Account Director: Carmen Rodriguez

Production Company: Bullitt
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Executive Producer: Todd Makurath
Executive Producer: Luke Ricci
Producer: Jon Dawes
Head of Production: Elícia Laport
Bidding Producer: Victoria Curtis
Director of Photography: Matthew Woolf
Coordination: Michael Cheng
Production Supervisor: Cindy Miller
Asst Production Supervisor: Megan Peason
Art Director: Chris Ashley
Stylist: Bebe Ferro
Gaffer: Ted Ayd
Key Grip: Rhett Blomquist

Editorial: Cosmo Street Editorial
Executive Producer: Yvette Cobarrubias-Sears

Editor: Stephen Berger
Post Producer: Marie Mangahas
Assistant Editor: Zack Winick
Assistant Editor: Rich Gonzalez

Agency: Code And Theory 

Senior Art Director: Kate Bergquist
Senior Art Director: Jeremy Stein
Senior Copywriter: Mike Latshaw
Copywriter: Conor Champley
Visual Designer: Daniel Nosonowitz
Visual Designer: Chris Szeto
Jr Visual Designer: Riley Walker
Senior Community Manager: Carlos Matias
Junior Community Manager: Hallie Martin
Digital Analyst: Jon Leavitt

PR: Alison Brod Public Relations

Media Agency: Horizon Media 

It's a fundamental choice for online video marketers: Should you hit viewers with a quick, memorable pitch that's (hopefully) less skippable? Or should you engage them with longer-form content that's more captivating but runs the risk of being tuned out?

Clearly, it depends in part on what you're selling, to whom, and what your immediate business goals are for the content. But are there general lessons to learn from shorter- vs. longer-form online video?

Google thinks so, and recently partnered with Mondelez International to try some tests.

They took three different cuts of the same Honey Maid graham cracker commercial—a 15-second version, a 30-second version and a 2:17 extended version—and tested them using TrueView, YouTube's skippable preroll ad format. Then, they measured how viewers responded in two separate ways—how much of each version of the spot they watched; and how each version affected ad recall and brand favorability.

The spot being tested was made for National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2015 and explored what it means to be American through the eyes of a Dominican family of immigrants. Here's how Google described the three versions of the spot, and the theories, going into the experiment, about how each one might perform: 
 

The 15-Second Cut:
The shortest version of the ad, with a voiceover from the father, includes scenes of the family together and ends with the brand's logo and tagline. The product appears at the six-second mark, and either product or logo is present for a total of five seconds, or 33 percent of the total runtime.

The Theory:
The short length of this YouTube ad will make it less skippable, without sacrificing the narrative or brand lift effectiveness. The balance of story and brand in a concise format will hold the viewer's attention and create a connection to Honey Maid.
 

The 30-Second Cut:
The longer cut gives more detail and dimension to the story, with scenes of the father headed to work and the family playing together. While the longer format adds more Honey Maid product shots, the relative amount of explicit branding is roughly the same as the 15-second version. The product first appears at the 11-second mark, and either product or logo is present for 10 seconds, or 30 percent of total runtime.

The Theory:
This video will draw viewers in with a more in-depth story, and is still relatively short. It is the best of both worlds—short enough to keep viewers entertained and long enough to create a meaningful impression. 
 

The Long Cut (2:17 runtime):
The longest version adds further depth to the family's story. In addition to the father, the viewer hears from the mother, daughter and grandmother (who speaks in Spanish). Like the other ads, the themes of family and celebration are highlighted. The product does not appear until 1:17, and either the product or logo are present for only 12 seconds or just under 9 percent of the overall runtime.

The Theory:
The long-form version builds tension by illuminating some of the Gomez family struggles, which adds a richness to the final scenes of celebration. The layered story that reveals more facets to the family will pull viewers in and keep them engaged. 

 
For years, Google has preached about power of longer-form content on YouTube, pointing out that there's a consistent relationship between how long an ad is viewable and increases in brand awareness and consideration. Also, viewers are clearly willing to watch long ads on the platform, as Adweek and Google's monthly YouTube Ads Leaderboard regularly shows.

But the Honey Maid experiment offered more nuanced results.

• The :15 was the most skipped of the three versions, and the least effective in lifting brand favorability. But it was the most effective of the three in driving ad recall. Thus, this kind of short format would seem like a good choice for brands focusing more on awareness and less on favorability.

• The :30 was watched all the way through more than either of the other versions. (It was 30 percent higher than the :15 in that regard.) It was also better than the :15 at lifting brand favorability. As the initial theory suggested, the ad was short enough to keep viewers entertained yet long enough to create a meaningful impression.

• The 2:17 was skipped less than the :15 but more than the :30. Only about 15 percent of viewers watched the 2:17 all the way through. While this about double the typical benchmark for consumer-packaged goods videos of this length, it still meant many viewers never saw the Honey Maid branding at all—since it didn't appear in any form until 1:17. Like the :30, the 2:17 also was good at lifting brand favorability. But Google suggested weaving the brand into the storytelling earlier for best results.

In its final analysis of the experience, Google still argued more for value of longer-form video, despite the bright spot in the research for the :15 (its stronger ad recall) and the limitations evident in the extended cut (the loss of branding opportunity in this example.)

Google summed up the tests this way: "The challenge is the same now as it was in the beginning of advertising: to figure out how to blend story and brand successfully. This has never been tougher, as we're now competing to reach people who are hit with thousands of messages a day from every direction. This media pressure can lead brands to feel like everything needs to be faster faster faster. But, as this experiment showed, making ads shorter doesn't get them more attention—it may get them even less. With a great story, brands can take the time to create a connection, and change a mind." 

Love and hate is Nike's big theme around the retirement of Kobe Bryant, who will play his 1,346th and final NBA game on Wednesday night. We saw this last week in this Nike spot from Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai in China, where Bryant is revered (but where, in the spot, he urged fans to consider hating him instead of loving him).

There's a similar polarizing feel in Nike's U.S. farewell to Bryant, which gets the player's friends and foes (the ones who are also Nike endorsers) to sound off about the the Lakers star. Nike has also declared April 13 to be "Mamba Day," a reference to Bryant's nickname, Black Mamba.

The stars in the black-and-white ad are asked which words come to mind in thinking about Bryant. They mostly end up saying positive things about him, with some respectful insults thrown in. Kevin Durant even calls Bryant an asshole, though it's bleeped out. (And Roger Federer, in a charmingly awkward moment that's typical of him, proudly tells of the Kobe emoji he came up with.)



There's a digital element to the campaign. If you visit nike.com/mambaday on a mobile device, you can choose "Love" or "Hate," enter a word you think best describes Kobe, and then build a poster of the word superimposed on any photo you upload.

Nike certainly got its endorsers in line for this project. The video features Kyrie Irving, Russell Wilson, Allyson Felix, Elena Delle Donne, Odell Beckham Jr, Paul George, Rafael Nadal, Paul Rodriguez, Natalie Anchonwa, Kirani James, Michelle Wie, Richard Sherman, LeBron James, Neymar Jr, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Phil Jackson, Sanya Richards-Ross, Tiger Woods, Clay Mathews, NaVorro Bowman, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Durant, Rob Gronkowski, Ali Krieger, Rory McIlroy, Gerard Pique, Eric Koston, Shao Ting, Javier Mascherano, Yi Jianlian, Andres Iniesta, Marcus Mariota and Mo Farah. 

A nebula made from soy sauce, coffee, flour and salt. A galaxy formed from curry powder, cinnamon and poppy seeds. 

Welcome to the intergalactic and largely edible inventions of Seattle-based engineer-turned-photographer Navid Baraty. An inventive and multi-talented creative (you can buy his planet-themed cross stitch patterns on Etsy), Baraty posted a new gallery this week of swirling, astronomical images created by putting food items on an Epson scanner. 

The image above is described as an Earth-like planet made from the bottom of a glass filled with bourbon, coconut milk, water, soy sauce and food coloring. The stars were created with salt, flour, cinnamon and curry powder. 

"I've always been a huge space geek," Baraty explained on his popular Reddit post about the project. "I'd also seen other scanography where people scan objects with the lid open to create an all black background and wondered if I might be able to use the same method to make space scenes out of spices for stars/galaxies, liquids for planets, etc. I was pretty surprised at how realistic it all can look."

OK, it's not all strictly edible. One of the images, "Two-Cat Nebula," was made from Sriracha, chili powder, cinnamon, baking powder, salt—and the fur of two cats.

Check out some of his creations below (with Baraty's description of the components), and visit his full gallery on Imgur and his photography site. 

You can also follow his project on Instagram.
 

"Ring of fire—turmeric, powdered cheese, cinnamon, baking soda."
 

"Planet and moon—pancakes. Background—olive oil, flour, cinnamon, cumin, seasoned salt."
 

"Edge-on galaxy—curry powder, cinnamon, poppy seeds, flour, salt, cheese, cumin."
 

"Planet—bottom of a glass containing orange juice, wasabi, tomato sauce, half & half. Moon—pancake. Nebula—water, coffee, food coloring, half & half."
 

"Mars-like planet—bottom of a glass containing tomato sauce, water, food coloring, soy sauce, coconut milk. Background—flour, baking soda."

Adobe has long excelled at comically portraying the disastrous consequences of not managing one's marketing properly. But in its latest spot, it literally becomes a matter of life and death.

The commercial, by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, features a couple of buddies out hiking together, when one of them is suddenly bitten by a snake. Luckily, they have their mobile phones with them, and seem to be getting a good signal. But it all goes downhill from there.

Check out the spot here:



The brand's earlier comic spots for its Adobe Marketing Cloud services encouraged marketers to look at the data—to know their audiences and understand the performance of their marketing efforts. This spot goes further by encouraging marketing to look more broadly.

"This new spot reminds us that we can't just look at data in a silo," Alex Amado, vp of experience marketing at Adobe, tells AdFreak. "Everything we do as marketers culminates in an experience for our customers. Even if some of the numbers look good, the overall experience may still be poor. We want to help marketers think in terms of experience, not just performance."

The tone of many previous spots was dark—"Mean Streets" is a good example—but not quite this dark. "Marketing gone wrong can have disastrous consequences for a brand," Amado says. "We hear about it all too often. The campaign dramatizes worst-case scenario, but hopefully it does it with enough good-natured humor to be cautionary yet still entertaining.

Ultimately, he adds, "your customer experience is your brand. More and more customers are connecting with you through digital channels, and they expect high-quality content and a seamless experience on mobile. They want what they want, when they want it, and the stakes are higher than ever for marketers—get the experience right or risk losing your customers."

The spot will be running on various business, media and marketing news sites, and in targeted placements on Hulu and addressable TV. 

Ice Breakers breath mints are actually unicorns that will help millennials squeeze extra perks out of job negotiations, according to a new campaign by Crispin Porter + Boguksy for the Hershey's-owned brand. 

In a 15-second ad, a young woman gets her future boss to agree to three weeks of vacation (rather than the standard two) after the candy she pops into her mouth summons a mythical beast rearing its hind legs to kick in the office's glass wall. 

It's not entirely clear whether the supervisor makes an awestruck concession more out of love or fear, but either would be reasonable. (Maybe the woman from yesterday's Secret ad should invest in some breath mints.) 



A 30-second ad, released as a teaser for the series—which will include more shorts—sheds more light on the concept. A song introduces the glittering horned creature—which appears to have Ice Breakers embedded in its fur—as the "unicorn of your confidence." 

In other words, fresh breath will help you feel more comfortable asking for things you probably haven't earned but could get anyway.



It's an entertaining enough concept, with a reasonable connection back to the product, even if the scenario is absurd: Any self-respecting member of Gen Y would have insisted on four weeks off per year, at least. 

And yes, a unicorn would be a good sidekick in most situations, assuming it's not busy running around powering British seaside towns or defecating rainbow ice cream.

CREDITS
Client: Hershey
Agency: CP+B
Product: Ice Breakers
Campaign: Break Through
Chief Creative Officer: Ralph Watson
Creative Director: D'Arcy O'Neil
Associate Creative Director: Quinn Kathermann
Art Directors: Mackenzie Gire, Tyler Gonerka
Copywriters: Mariangela McMurray, Josh Shelton
Agency Producers: Aymi Beltramo, Jake Burnett, Rachel Noonan
Client Service Director: Danielle Whalen
Account Director: Kevin Sypal
Account: Neylu Longoria, Amy Denton
Social Strategy Director: Kristen Fox
Social Strategists: Jillian Hart, Devon Dickson
Planning Director: David Nottoli
Senior Planner: Brian O'Connell
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Craig Gillespie
Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson
Line Producer: Martha Davis
Editorial: Plus Productions
Editor: Lawrence Young
Assistant Editor: James Bedford
Editorial Producer: Dre Krichevsky
VFX/Post Production: Method Studios
Executive Producer: Robert Owens
VFX Supervisor: Ben Walsh
Lead Flame Artist: Noah Caddis
Producer: Karena Ajamian
Telecine: Company3 LA
Telecine Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Telecine Executive Producer: Rhubie Jovanov
Music/SoundDesign/Mix: Beacon Street Studios
Musicians: Andrew Feltenstein, John Nau, Dewey Thomas
Executive Producer: Leslie DiLullo
Producer: Lindsey Lerman
Audio Mixer: Rommel Molina
Mix Producer: Erin Reilly 

States United to Prevent Gun Violence and Grey New York have made celebrated gun-control PSAs together for years. Now, they back with another powerful video, following up 2015's famous "Gun Store" experiment with another sobering real-world prank.

This time, they invited self-professed action movie lovers to a screening of a film Gun Crazy, which was billed as the latest big-budget blockbuster. But when they got into the theater, with hidden cameras rolling, they were sickened to see real footage of gun violence, including unintentional shootings, suicides, incidents of domestic violence and homicides.

Check out the spot below.

Warning: The video contains graphic footage of real gun violence. 



It's a pretty sadistic way of illustrating the gap between American culture's glorification of guns and the actual consequences of real gun violence. But then, SUPGV believes it's important to shock audiences back to reality, if necessary, who have been desensitized by fictional depictions of gun death.

"In 2015 alone, there were almost as many mass shootings as there were calendar days," Julia Wyman, executive director of States United to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement. "Our goal with #GunCrazy is to showcase the need for society as a whole to re-sensitize themselves to the gruesome consequences of gun violence. We encourage people to watch and share this educational PSA featuring first-hand reactions to real footage. Help us continue to bring widespread awareness to this issue and reignite the dialogue about our national crisis."

The message, revealed on screen at the end of the video, is this: "We need to change the way we look at guns. We would be crazy not to." 

Advertisers have been saying goodbye to Kobe Byrant, who plays his final NBA game on Wednesday night, with either comedy or drama.

But Nike, which has always prided itself at balancing both, offers a mix in "The Conductor," a just-released spot that portrays the retiring 37-year-old Laker as an orchestra conductor fully in control of an arena of players, coaches and unruly fans—lovers and haters alike.

The spot, created by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., and directed by Mark Romanek, also features Phil Jackson, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Benny the Bull and fans representing nine basketball teams.

Check it out here:



As in Nike's earlier tribute to Bryant, starring the brand's other endorsers, the theme here is the love and hate that Bryant has experienced over the years—depicted in the new spot by the "symphony of cheers and jeers" across the stadium, as Nike puts it.

The spot has a goofy theatricality to it that actually recalls W+K's Old Spice work, particularly the "Momsong" and "Dadsong" spots, which were also musicals. But while it walks that line, "The Conductor" is also clearly not a parody—but rather illustrates "how hate has manifested into respect and admiration for Bryant," Nike says. 

Beginning at tipoff tonight, fans will also be able to customize and purchase a limited-edition of the KOBE 11 Mamba Day NIKEiD shoe. The final NIKEiD shoe of his pro career will feature a graphic highlighting eight notable career stats (see below).



We'll have more on Bryant's retirement, and marketers' handling of it, later today.

CREDITS
Client: Nike
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Director: Mark Romanek
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Executive Producers: SueEllen Clair, Eric Stern
Producer: James Graves
DP: Greig Fraser