Mars's consolidation of creative duties on its global brands at Omnicom last year saw the Starburst and Skittles accounts move from TBWA\Chiat\Day to DDB. Now, we get DDB's first effort for Starburst—and it aims for the same kind of intriguing quirkiness as TBWA's celebrated oddvertising on the candy brands.
The new spot pitches Starburst's Flavor Morph candies—a strange, Willy Wonka-like creation that somehow changes flavors as you chew. It opens with a prim girl giving a Flavor Morph to a guy who thinks he's an urban youth, despite his clearly affluent surroundings. She's hoping he can be like the candy and change too—pick himself up and start fresh. But he refuses—and tools away on his scooter, through the lush gardens of suburbia, giving a little bunny hop as he declares his allegiance to "the streets."
The spot was directed by Matt Aselton, who did some Starburst work for TBWA. (He also did the Boost Mobile "Pigs" ad, which was probably the best of the "Unwrong'd" spots.) And while it may not be an instant classic, "Mean Streets" is nicely executed—with a character that 14-year-old suburban kids everywhere will think is hilarious.
Look for the first Skittles work in the next month or two.
CREDITS
Client: Starburst
Spot: "Mean Streets"
Agency: DDB, Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson
Creative Director: Chuck Rachford
ACD, Copywriter: Pat Burke
ACD, Art Director: Chris Carraway
VP, Executive Producer: Will St. Clair
Assistant Producer: Jamie Gallant
Director: Matt Aselton
Production Company: Arts & Sciences