Campaigns: Amex gets personal in NYC; DirecTV = Heaven; Pike gives ALS a hug
Scorsese and de Niro don't leave New York without it; DirecTV gets cable monopoly in the afterlife; Hug her now, while you still can
THIS BOY'S NEW YORK LIFE> It's safe to say that at the moment having a marquee worldwide brand with the word 'American' in it might not be considered good for business. So, if you're American Express, you have two choices: Go big or go home. It's a testament to agency Ogilvy & Mather that with the new Amex 'My Life. My card' campaign they may have managed in their way to do both. The concept is to take extraordinary Americans and create a personal moment with each where they express something about what makes them who they are. "Robert de Niro" is the opening salvo, with Scorsese directing a haiku to New York in tandem with his old buddy. They've brought some heavy artillery with them, including score by Philip Glass and cinematography by Bob Richardson (who also worked with Scorsese on the upcoming The Aviator), but upon a first viewing, it seems as if Scorsese and de Niro left their more personal New York passions and secrets tucked away, leaving only a surface tour through the city. Watch it a few times, though, and there's something elegiac about the rhythm of the spot and the voyeuristic but knowing way people and things are portrayed. For its purposes, it strikes the right tone and maturity for Amex, and it's free of the usual frenetic, antagonistic personality that visitors to New York take away. It's the kind of signature American campaign that could have legs given the right voices, but it would be interesting to see personal statements from other filmmakers in other parts of the world as well. In the meantime, Tiger Woods, Ellen Degeneres and other Americans will follow. Post work done by The Mill. Production company: Tool of North America. View the spot:Robert de Niro
www.mill.co.uk/
www.ogilvy.com
www.toolofna.com
EXCEPT IN HEAVEN THERE ARE NO DRUNK FANS > We like the idea that drives these DirecTV spots: while watching an NBA game on DirecTV's 'League Pass' package, a fan dies an untimely death and is transported up through the ceiling and above the city into heaven, where they're promptly plunked down into the exact same living room and in front of the exact same game as before. The message? DirecTV IS heaven. Yeah, it sounds a bit clunky on paper, and in lesser hands these three spots might easily have come up on the lame side. Fortunately, director Craig Gillespie is smart enough to offset the punchline with a filmic quality; rather than merely advance the plot, the ascending to heaven sequences are actually quite pretty in and of themselves, giving the trio of spots a welcome touch of gravity. Agency: BBDO NY; Production company: MJZ
www.bbdo.com
www.mjz.com
RUN AND HUG>It's not every day you see a guy get stopped for a ticket and lean out the window to give the cop a torso hug. While it's a truism that PSAs by nature deliver toxic in-your-face guilt, it's becoming standard for the talents of Reginald Pike to go slightly beyond the page to provide solid executions of decent creative. This campaign directed by Yael Staav for the ALS Society of Canada is no exception. In "Hugging", after giving some love to the ticketing cop, a man hugs the waitress at the diner, a tree and even his wife. And then the tag comes up telling us that within two years of having the disease ALS, the man will no longer have the use of his arms. "Running" is more subtle with its humor, but perhaps even more poignant in its delivery. A man runs and runs and runs, and the camera moves with him. But there no urgency, just an appropriately peaceful, solitary vibe until he stops for breath. "What would you do if you still could?" says the tag. Both spots are underscored by complimentary sunny lyrics composed by Jim Guthrie. Agency: BBDO, Toronto.
View the spots:
Hugging
Running
www.reginaldpike.com
www.bbdo.com
