Making out-of-home ads that are hard for people to see sounds like a terrible idea. But Daiya Foods does just that with clever ad placements in a new campaign that plays off the line, "It's easier to notice this ad than notice our pizza is dairy-free."

Some ads are running where few people look (like on top of a bus), while others are almost too small to see (tiny stickers on benches, crosswalk lights, elevator panels, phone kiosks and more) or go by too fast to read (taxi tops).

The campaign, by TDA_Boulder, extends to digital and print, including full-page ads with tiny 2¼-by-¼-inch headlines in magazines such as Cooking Light, Every Day With Rachel Ray, Fitness, Health and Food Network Magazine.

CREDITS
Client: Daiya Foods
Agency: TDA_Boulder
Art Director: Austin O'Connor
Copywriter: Dan Colburn
Creative Director: Jeremy Seibold
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Schoenberg

Specs
Who (l.) president Mark Mayer; CCO Josh Mayer
What Full-service advertising agency
Where New Orleans

Just like its clients, Peter Mayer Advertising has its roots firmly planted in the culture and history of New Orleans. The Big Easy agency specializes in bringing local clients into the national spotlight. Take Zatarain's, the New Orleans-based food and spice company. For the past 13 years, PMA has helped the brand rise to national prominence while still keeping its hometown authenticity. In May the shop helped Zatarain's break a Guinness World Record by hosting the world's largest crawfish boil—a New Orleans tradition. Other brands have taken notice. Both the National WWII Museum and Kennedy Space Center have enlisted the agency to take their local presence to the national stage. Peter Mayer's sons, Josh and Mark, who serve as CCO and president, respectively, now run the shop. What's their secret? "We're unlocking the cultural truth about a brand and sharing that with a larger audience," said Josh Mayer.

Coca-Cola hasn't had much luck making the Internet a happier place lately, but maybe this will help—a fun campaign from Coca-Cola Puerto Rico that puts smiley-face emojis right in the brand's web addresses.

The brand registered URLs for every emoji that conveys happiness. Entering any of these happy icons into a mobile web browser, along with the .ws suffix, leads users to Coca-­Cola Puerto Rico's website.

Why .ws, which is actually the domain suffix for Samoa?

"Emojis are not accepted on domains such as .com, .net, and .org," DDB Puerto Rico says. "After doing some research on domains that do accept emojis, we opted to go with the .ws because the letters could stand for 'We smile' and hence seemed most relevant to the brand."



For now, all the emoji URLs lead to a special landing page, Emoticoke.com, where consumers can sign up for a chance to get emoji web addresses of their very own. The campaign is being supported by traditional media, including outdoor.

"The vast majority of our audience now visits our website via a mobile device. And since emojis have become a kind of second language for Coke's younger consumers, we felt this was a great opportunity to connect on a deeper level with our most important demographic," says Alejandro Gómez, president of Coca-Cola Puerto Rico.

No workplace email gets trashed faster than a mass reminder to clean out the company refrigerator. Heck, I wouldn't even bother to open one. (Such an email, I mean. The fridge—I'd open that, sure. I've got to stow my Limburger-onion hoagies someplace.)

At Boston agency Allen & Gerritsen, however, the weekly "Clean the fridge" emails are savored like delicacies thanks to facilities associate Mike Boston, who also happens to be a local hip-hop artist. Each Friday, Boston (yes, it's his name and where he lives, deal with it) cooks up a sweet confection of pop-culture references, employee/client riffs and in-jokes designed to remind staff to remove their leftovers from the premises.

His couplets blow the doors off the fridge:
"Chickens go from so sad to so mad, it's so bad
Clucking 'round the ham like a nomad with no dad."

And they expose moldy (nay, "fuzzy") dregs to the masses:
"Those cuddly-wuddly eyes! How could I deny you?
Spoon-fed with hummus love.
Where in the fridge'd they hide you?"

Tasty puns are on the menu:
"Clean your spoon wisely.
Fork you and have a knife day!"

As are some appetizing free verse reminders:
"Please claim your food in the refrigerators or label it.
This is the one time it's ok to put a label on things."

Lest anyone think Boston is just a bard of the break room, he's begun to put his stamp on the agency's creative product, writing and recording a track for the Boston Celtics' "Green Runs Deep" campaign.

Check out a few of his full emails below. Dude's rhymes are fresh. Even if the food isn't.

Photo: Indi Samarajiva/Flickr

BBDO New York's "Brady Bunch" Super Bowl campaign for Snickers had a great out-of-home teaser element that not too people saw—but now you can, as video of it was posted Tuesday to the brand's YouTube page.

The teaser video with Danny Trejo brushing his hair in the mirror rolled out online on Jan. 21. But the billboard campaign began way earlier—back in the first week of the year. By Jan. 9, people were already taking photos of the hand-painted New York City board (originally just showing Marcia Brady) and posting them online, tagged #WhatsUpWithMarcia.
 

This is AMAZING! If you're in #NYC you have to find this: Canal & Lafayette #WhatsUpWithMarciahttp://t.co/c7EcY1vLWd#ad

— MARIO (@MarioPalush) January 9, 2015

 
Over a period of a few weeks, painters slowly transformed sweet Marcia into surly Danny. Check out that process in the new video here:



The video isn't just a recap of the creative, either. Rather, it kicks off a new U.S. promotion. A spokesperson with Mars Chocolate North America tells us that fans can visit EatA.Snickers.com and show the brand (in photos or videos) who they are when they're hungry—for a chance to win cash prizes and a YouTube takeover for a day.

Coca-Cola knows that sometimes life straight up sucks. But Coca-Cola also wants you to realize that you, sir, are not the only one with problems.

This new spot from Wieden + Kennedy, which broke on the Oscars, encourages people to put their own misfortunes in perspective and think of others every once in a while. It's Coke's latest attempt to spread happiness around the world. And while some of its recent efforts have fared better than others, this commercial holds up pretty well.

It opens in a sleepy beach town on a picturesque boardwalk, where all seems well. But things quickly go downhill—from bad to worse to downright horrendous in 60 swift seconds.

Take a look:



A rocker's guitar string breaks and it's lousy, but that's not as bad as the lifeguard whose lookout post goes down in flames. Just as each person is about to enjoy a refreshing sip of Coke, they see something worse happen to someone else—and share their Coke with them to ease the pain.

The broadcast ad had a cliffhanger ending—it was unclear who would get the Coke next. Coke extended the happiness to fans on Twitter by asking fans to channel their inner screenwriter and guess who, or what, would appear in the final frames. And it goes some serious, and not-so-serious, responses:
 

@CocaCola#AndTheCokeGoesTo#Birdman

— Debbie De La Rosa (@debbiescott24) February 23, 2015

@CocaCola#AndTheCokeGoesTo John C Riley, who bursts from the sand as a zombie yelling "I'm alive. I'm alive." From the movie step brothers

— Tyler Mezzanares (@mezzy117) February 23, 2015

@CocaCola#AndTheCokeGoesTo Well, isn't it obvious? ET!

— WhtRabbitsDrkSister (@JennReveles) February 23, 2015

 
Finally, Coke revealed the big mystery with a new edit of the spot on Twitter and Facebook:

Thanks to all the screen-writers and guessers out there. Ready to see who gets the Coke next? #AndTheCokeGoesTo... https://t.co/TQa3pKOodQ

— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) February 23, 2015

 
The ad is cartoony and fun, if a bit repetitive. And it does put things into perspective for you. Just when you think your own life is in utter shambles, there's someone else out there who has it worse, and could use a Coke a lot more than you.

Sharing is caring.

CREDITS
Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Spot: "Generous World"

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Hal Curtis / Jeff Gillette / Antony Goldstein
Copywriter: Neil Ramanan
Art Director: Gianmaria Schonlieb
Producer: Jennifer Hundis
Account Team: Brian Mead
Business Affaires: Teresa Lutz
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples / Mark Fizloff
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz

Production Company: MJZ
Director: Dante Ariola
Head of Production: Scott Howard
Line Producer: Natalie Hill
Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sound

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
Assistant Editor: Marjorie Sacks
Post Producer: Shada Shariatzadeh
Post Executive Producer: Angela Dorian

Final Online & Effects: The Mill, Chris Harlow
Color Correction : Company 3, Stefan Sonnenfield

Music Company: We Are Walker
Executive Producer : Sara Matarazzo

Audio Post and Sound Design Company: Eleven Sound, Jeff Payne

Sonic is pretty serious about playing with its food.

A new campaign from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners transforms actors' mouths into zany little characters using face paint, à la makeup artist Lauren Jenkinson's renditions of classic cartoon characters.

The illustrations are great more or less across the board, even if some of the writing and delivery—the self-destructive robot, the melodramatic doctor, the angst-ridden teenager—might try a little too hard to be funny.

The better monologues turn the corner on relatable bits of truth—like a Southern belle who scrambles to save face after it turns out she's not so refined after all—or on straight-up charming silliness—like a hammy yeti, idiotic octopus or behind-the-times groundhog.

The best moments, though, come from the more subtle facial cues, like when a chin twitch becomes a boxer pumping his pecs, or a soul patch finds new life as chest hair (in what might be the most perfect equivalence ever).

Then again, that all might just be a matter of taste—promoting the fast-food chain's various drink flavors is, after all, kind of the point. But seriously, just try to keep your brain from imploding when Abraham Lincoln cracks a pun about a Leonardo DiCaprio movie.

CREDITS
Client: Sonic
Campaign "Sipsters"
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Creative
Executive Creative Director/Partner: Margaret Johnson
ACD/Writer: Jon Wolanske
ACD/Art Director/Designer: Kevin Koller
Copywriter: Justin Ralph

Account Services & Strategy
Group Account Director: Leslie Barrett
Account Director: Jenna Duboe
Assistant Account Manager: Olivia Mullen
Business Affairs Managers: Chrissy Shearer, Jane Regan
Senior Communication Strategist: John-James Richardson

Production
Director of Broadcast Production: Tod Puckett
Broadcast Producer: Melissa Nagy
Production Company: eLevel Films (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Director: Claude Shade/Jon Wolanske
Director of Photography: Brett Simms
Executive Producer: PJ Koll
Line Producer: Genevieve Giraudo
Production Manager: Haley Klarfield
Make-up Artists: Sarah Coy, Victor Cembelin, Sophie Smith and Monica Bishop

Postproduction
eLevel Films (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Editor: Quinn Motika
Executive Producer: PJ Koll
Post Producer: Samantha Liss
Telecine: Nathan Shipley
Online: Kyle Westbrook
Audio Mix/Sound Design: Nic DeMatteo, Jody Scott, Jon Shamieh
Music: APM Music
End Title Design: Kevin Koller

Rhett & Link will slake your thirst for goofy, brand-inspired comedy in the "Ultimate Water Taste Test," a wonderfully wet episode of their "Good Mythical Morning" YouTube show.

The guys, best known for their brilliantly bad local commercials, compete against each other to identify seven varieties of water. They sample five brands: Dasani, Evian, Fiji, Smart Water and Blk Water. ("It's not from a river in Alabama," Rhett quips, but infused with fulvic powder, "whatever that is.") There's also pond water from Echo Park in Los Angeles and H2O straight from the tap.

The duo don a dual-action water-tasting apparatus—basically hardhats and two hoses for drinking—that actually connects their heads, making them look, Link notes, "like two construction workers talked into doing some kind of scuba trust exercise."



Once the blind water taste test begins, the snark pours forth.

"It's got a flowed-down-through-snow-in-the-Alps kind of a feel to it."
"There's an elevation in this taste—this is from up high, not from down below."
"Tastes like clouds."
"I can taste vapor distillation."
"If somebody's selling this, they need to stop immediately."

You'll have to watch the 15-minute segment—streaming rapidly toward 1 million YouTube views in just two days—to see how many of the seven they correctly identify. Be sure to hang in for the refreshingly honest "Neither Water" spoof commercial at the end, which drives home the point that, when you're truly parched, branding doesn't hold water.

Brands are obsessed with space, getting to space, and anything that's been to space. This week, it was Jose Cuervo's chance to boldly go where no tequila brand had gone before—and hopefully make it home safely.

In honor of National Margarita Day last Sunday, Cuervo and its agency, McCann New York—using aerospace technology and GPS tracking—launched a container of margarita ingredients heavenward, hoping to mix a cocktail in space and parachute it back to Earth.

See how that went in this video:

The agency teamed up with independent space program JP Aerospace, along with scientists who led the Phoenix Mission to Mars, to build and launch the spacecraft. The launch site was Pinal County Park, about an hour north of Tucson, Ariz.

Severe buffeting of winds at high altitude shook the margarita, and the extreme cold froze it. When the capsule reached about 100,000 feet into space, the weather balloons shattered and the capsule parachuted down.

The margarita landed in a ravine 100 miles from the launch site. It reportedly tasted good.

In this inspirational ad from Wieden + Kennedy for Powerade, a boy who represents a young Derrick Rose rides through the south side of Chicago to a voiceover by Tupac Shakur—the late rapper's first narration of a commercial.

"You see, you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals," Shakur says. "On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses. This is the concrete. These are my damaged petals. Don't ask me why. Ask me how."



The bike ride from the South Side to the United Center reflects Rose's journey from the streets of Englewood, through adversity, to the NBA. The scenes then change to the present day, with the recently injured Bulls point guard drinking a Powerade courtside. Copy flashes, "We're all just a kid from somewhere," and the spot ends with a Rose wearing a "Just a kid from Chicago" sweatshirt.

The #powerthrough hashtag seems poignant in light of Rose's recent injuries. And of course, using lines from "The Rose That Grew Through Concrete" is almost too lovely and perfect.

CREDITS
Client: Powerade
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Jaron Albertin

It's the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola's classic glass bottle, and the soda brand is celebrating hard—with 14 new global ads in different styles.

The first might be best described as a super-diverse high-five stop-action hand party, shot by pop photographer David LaChappelle. Human paws of all colors, ages, types and garnishments inch toward each other, craving meaning, and connection, and presumably Coca-Cola, while a soundtrack about loving together reaches fever pitch in the background.

Naturally, in the end, all those lonely hands find their true purpose in life—coming together to pay homage to the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle.



In a second spot, Coke's life actually flashes before its eyes. It had its first kiss in 1915, with Adrien Brody's great-grandfather apparently, before seducing a stern young journalist during the anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s, and then proceeding to hang around for every good thing that's ever happened, including break-dancing, bikinis, oceans, marriage proposals, Santa Claus, pool parties, street soccer and lots of young, beautiful people making eyes at each other.



And here's a third spot that tells a tall tale—most of it animated—about the creation of the Coca-Cola bottle. There's not much truth in advertising in this one.



There are still more ads on the Coke's YouTube page, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has even mounted a whole exhibit, The Coca-Cola Bottle: An American Icon at 100.

See the 12 other ads below.

This ad from BBH London for Mentos NOWMints is amazingly funny—perfectly paced, surprising, silly, and close enough to making sense that it actually serves the brand, especially because it's so memorable.

It also sends up fresh-breath kissing clichés. Right from the start, the subtly awkward acting hints that a twist is coming, but it's not clear exactly what until the payload hits … and it really doesn't disappoint.



And while cute animals, as a rule—and in ads—may not be particularly fresh, this one definitely gets pretty rude with the driver. Loverboy can be happy he wasn't the one to catch it, though hopefully the product doesn't actually taste like rabbit, too.

The spot positions NOWMints as "little moments of pleasure." The spot will air only in Italy, though of course it's online for the rest of the world to enjoy, too.

CREDITS
Client: Mentos NOWMints
Agency: BBH London
BBH Creative Team: Shelley Smoler, Raphael Basckin
BBH Creative Directors: Gary McCreadie, Wesley Hawes, Shelley Smoler, Raphael Basckin
BBH Strategy Director: Ben Shaw
BBH Strategist: Jamie Watson
BBH Business Lead: Carly Herman
BBH Team Director: Tom Woodhead
BBH Team Manager: Francois d'Espagnac
BBH Producer: Natalie Parish
BBH Assistant Producer: Sarah Cooper
Production Company: Blink
Director: Benji Weinstein
Executive Producer: James Bland
Producer: Patrick Craig
Director of Photography: Simon Richards
Postproduction: The Mill
Editor, Editing House: Max, Stitch
Sound: Sam Ashwell, 750mph

The "Play with OREO" campaign, which launched in January, continues this month with a lovely new set of out-of-home ads featuring groovy illustrations from 10 artists.

The artists were given words to play off—functional ones like "dunk" and "twist," as well as more emotional ones like "dream" and "wonder"—and asked to come up with a scene that brings those words to life. The only requirement was that the scene include a character with the Oreo cookie wafer as the face/head.

The ads will run outdoors in New York City, Los Angeles and Indianapolis and shared through Oreo social channels starting this week. The featured artists are Shotopop,Jeff Soto,Ryan Todd,McBess,Andrew Bannecker,Geoff McFetridge,Andy Rementer,Alex Trochut,Craig and Karl and Brosmind.

See all the ads below, along with credits.

CREDITS
Client: OREO, Mondelez International, Inc.
Advertising: The Martin Agency
Public Relations: Weber Shandwick
Social: 360i
Media Buying: MediaVest

Client Credits:
VP, Global Biscuit Category Jason Levine
VP, Brand Strategy and Communications Jill Baskin
Senior Director, OREO & Chips Ahoy! Janda Lukin
OREO Global Brand Manager Flavio Ackel
OREO Sr Associate Brand Manager Kerri McCarthy

Agency Credits:
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
SVP/Executive Creative Director: Jorge Calleja
VP/Creative Director: Magnus Hierta
VP/Creative Director David Muhlenfeld
VP/Associate Creative Director/Design: Chris Peel
Associate Designer: William Godwin
Senior Studio Artist: Matt Wieringo
VP/Group Planning Director: John Gibson
Strategic Planner: Gigi Jordan
EVP/Worldwide Acct Director: John Campbell
SVP/Group Acct Director: Darren Foot
VP/Account Director: Leslie Hodgin
VP/Account Director: Britta Dougherty
Account Supervisor: Molly Holmes
Account Coordinator: James Salusky
EVP/Managing Director Production & Development: Steve Humble
Senior Art Producer: Anya Mills
Senior Print Producer: Paul Martin
Junior Print Producer: Jamie Parker
Group Project Management Supervisor: Giao Roever
Business Affairs Supervisor: Juanita McInteer

Illustrators:

—Bernstein Andruilli
Shotopop
Jeff Soto
Ryan Todd
McBess
Andrew Bannecker
Geoff McFetridge

—Big Active
Andy Rementer

—Levine Leavitt
Alex Trochut
Craig and Karl
Brosmind

We've seen plenty of ad campaigns that have handcrafted elements meant to evoke some handcrafted aspect of the product. (Patron tequila's ads from 2013 were particularly lovely.) But Deutsch New York takes things up a notch in this beautiful work for Jägermeister.

The agency got artists Olivia Knapp, Yeahhh! Studios and DKNG Studios to create three unique wooden works of art corresponding to the brand's three pillars—heritage, ingredients and process. Each piece was constructed in 56 separate parts that fit together like a puzzle—representing the 56 different ingredients (roots, fruits, herbs and spices) that go into Jägermeister.

The artwork, weighing up to 250 pounds, were then photographed for use as ads—out-of-home, painted wallscapes, rich media, print, mobile and social media. The campaign is called "56 Parts. Best as One."

Check out a ton of the art below.

 
—"Cheers" by Yeaaah Studio

 
—"Fount" by Olivia Knapp

 
—"The Process" by DKNG

CREDITS
Client: Jägermeister, Sidney Frank Importing Co.
Agency: Deutsch, New York:
Chief Creative Officer: Kerry Keenan
Executive Creative Director: Menno Kluin
Associate Creative Directors: Sean Lee, Luke Hughett
Copywriter: Brian Alexander
Art Director: Katrina Mustakas
Design, Typography: Juan Carlos Pagan, Brian Gartside
Interactive Design Director: Aliza Adam
Interactive Designer: Alex Miller
Experience Design: Anna Farrell
Art Buyer: Ali Asplund
Director of Creative Operations: John Bongiovanni
Senior Studio Artist: Tom Eberhart
Print Producer: Melissa Betancur
Retouching: James Cullinane
Director of Integrated Production: Joe Calabrese
Director of Digital Production: Suzanne Molinaro
Digital Producers: Josh Deitel, Katie Miller
Digital Developer: Patrick Batey
Senior Motion Designer: Matthew Severin
Motion Designers: John McLaughlin, Aaron Epstein
Director of Photography: Owen Levelle
Producer: Joe Pernice
Editors: Bryan Reisberg, Chris Pensiero
Assistant Editor: Drew Bolton
Senior Project Manager: Marea Grossman
Production Company: Remote Control Productions
Photographers: Andrew Myers, Adam Coleman (BTS)
Photo Assistants: Scott Burry, Landon Speers
Digital Tech: Adrien Potier
Fabrication Company: Bednark Studios
Artists: Olivia Knapp, DKNG Studios, Yeaaah! Studio
Additional Deutsch Credits:
Executive Vice President, Group Account Director: Talia Handler
Account Directors: Kristen Rincavage, Michelle Ziff

Kraft has changed how it defines consumers who eat Velveeta, from age and gender (millennial males) to mindset (fun people who like to indulge). As such, new ads for Velveeta Shells & Cheese feature a broadly appealing pair of prospectors from the 19th century instead of a cool dude who sells remote-control helicopters at a mall.

In one TV ad breaking today, the bearded prospectors, one older and one younger, marvel at the "liquid gold" they're eating, and the young one asks the oldster how he found it. Then what looks like a campfire conversation in the woods pulls back to reveal a whole different scene entirely.



Future spots will find humor in the odd placement of frontiersmen in a modern supermarket. The campaign also includes online ads, social media marketing and a new wrinkle for the brand, radio spots, said Tiphanie Maronta, a senior brand manager at Kraft.

The ads are the first for Velveeta from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which inherited the brand from Wieden + Kennedy in an agency consolidation late last year. 

Carlsberg doesn't do things half-ass. If the Danish brewer is going to do something, it will make it the best in the world—at least, according to three new ads admitting that might not actually be true at all.

The campaign, by 72andSunny in Amsterdam and the new Copenhagen office of New York's MacGuffin Films, imagines what would happen if Carlsberg made erotic dramas, sang karaoke or taught language courses. In each, it would excel—"probably," the ads say.



The campaign marks the return of the famous "If Carlsberg Did" theme after an absence of four years. "Carlsberg beer is made by natural, unique ingredients, and MacGuffin have helped us make these come to life in a refreshing and indulging way. Hereby, the beer itself is put on a pedestal, just where we think it should be. Probably," says Carlsberg director of strategy and innovation Didrik Fjeldstad.

See the other spots below.

CREDITS
Client: Carlsberg
Spot: "If Carlsberg Did"
Agency: 72andSunny, Amsterdam
Production Company: MacGuffin Films, New York
Director: Nick Fuglestad
Executive Producer: Sam Wool

In 1940, Richard and Maurice McDonald started a BBQ joint in San Bernardino, Calif. It took eight years for the rookie restaurant to develop its brand and switch focus exclusively to burgers and French fries, solidifying itself as the greasy hamburger connoisseur we think of today.

In 1955, McDonald's franchises were introduced when businessman Ray Kroc came into the picture, opening the first location in Des Plaines, Ill. Since then, the fast-food giant, thanks in part to its iconic Big Mac, has become synonymous with America and consumerism. With more than 35,000 outlets around the world, McDonald's serves almost 70 million customers a day, lending credence to its "billions and billions served" billboard tagline.

The fast-food mainstay has come a long way since 1940, and just might be more American than apple pie. Through myriad sponsorships like Nascar, the National Football League, Olympics and others, McDonald's has proven its name and message can be translated to a range of audiences. Need more proof? Both Woody Allen and LeBron James have been spokespeople for the burger chain.

Now, McDonald's, and every other brand on earth, has its sights set firmly on millenials. And there may be no better way to reach them than infiltrating their world, which is exactly what McDonald's hopes to do as South by Southwest Interactive's sponsor. This is the first time McDonald's has shown up in Austin for the event, and it's hanging its hopes on quirky activations, healthier menus and more–hoping beyond hope that the young tech set will want to sit at its table in the cafeteria. They didn't get off to the best start, but anything is possible.

Kevin Bacon has traded off the whole "six degrees" things in ads for years. Now it's time to put the Bacon to work.

And that he does in an amusing if obvious campaign from Grey New York promoting eggs on behalf of the American Egg Board. Because after all, nobody knows eggs better than bacon. Or Bacon.

The online video gets surprisingly suggestive, as Kevin puts up with some heavy flirting from a married woman who discovers him just lying on her counter one day. And the spot doesn't tire of puns, even though Kevin claims not to enjoy them.



He does enjoy his eggs, however.

"With a last name like Bacon, I'm the obvious choice, and I'm excited to be a part of the new Incredible Edible Egg campaign," Bacon says in a statement. "I like the creativity behind the idea, and I've always been a big fan of eggs. They're a nutritional powerhouse and I never get tired of them because there are so many ways you can eat them."

Per-capita egg consumption grew to 260 in 2014, an increase of more than a dozen over the last five years, according to the USDA. The celebrity ad campaign is designed to keep that momentum going.

"Kevin Bacon brings real star power to the world of eggs and we think consumers are going to love this clever new version of bacon and eggs," says Kevin Burkum, the American Egg Board's svp of marketing. "And there's no better time to talk about eggs with consumption at its highest level in three decades and Easter right around the corner."

See the print ad below.



CREDITS
Client: American Egg Board
Spot: "Side of Kevin"
Agency: Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren (Global) / Andreas Dahlqvist (New York)
Creative Directors: Ari Halper (Executive Creative Director), Steve Krauss (Executive Creative Director), Brad Mancuso, Susan LaScala Wood
Art Directors: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin, Matt DeCoste
Copywriters: Jay Hunt / Pete Gosselin
Agency Producer: Perry Kornblum
Production Company (location): Moxie Pictures (LA)
Director: Martin Granger
Director of Photography: Alar Kivilo
Editor (person & company): Alex Cohan / Vision Post
Music/Sound Design (person & company): Matt Baker / Vision Post
Principal Talent: Kevin Bacon, Geneva Carr, Jeff Wiens

Starbucks is encouraging its baristas to write the words "Race Together" on cups to get customers talking about racial issues. The idea started internally when about 2,000 Starbuckians attended a forum to talk about Ferguson, Mo., but surely no one foresaw the shit storm that would erupt when it went public.

This isn't the coffee company's first time at the social cause rodeo. It's taken on guns and gay rights gamely, with applause from its largely liberal audience. But somehow, the clumsy nature of reducing a serious, impossibly complex national conversation to a hashtag on a coffee cup has united Twitter users of all races in roundly denouncing the attempt.

Not sure what @Starbucks was thinking. I don't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train. #RaceTogether

— April (@ReignOfApril) March 17, 2015

Being a barista is hard enough. Having to talk #RaceTogether with a woman in Lululemon pants while pouring pumpkin spice is just cruel.

— Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) March 17, 2015

if only Selma had just put in a starbucks

— Jessica Misener (@jessmisener) March 17, 2015

Apparently, in the @Starbucks world, this is what #RaceTogether looks like. http://t.co/ciaEl3yu2lpic.twitter.com/SIox0kmGnz

— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) March 17, 2015

Entrepreneur points out that the campaign puts an unfair burden on the baristas. And let's be frank, they maybe aren't being given the resources and information to hold an informed, nuanced discussion of the topic when a customer walks in and asks their feelings on the subject of cultural appropriation. By the way, do they find it awkward that ordering a black coffee or a flat white espresso will now have an extra layer of uncomfortable meaning?

More than a few people are suggesting Starbucks needs to first have a serious conversation with itself about race—more diversity in leadership, a serious look at where they are and aren't putting their stores (interestingly, there are no Starbucks in the town of Ferguson), and of course, fair trade for all their coffee growers.

It's worth a little discomfort. Here's the what and the why of #RaceTogether. http://t.co/jO56LvKeO8

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) March 17, 2015

Starbucks, for its part, claimed that broaching the topic is worth a little discomfort. But that was right before vp of communications Corey duBrowa deleted his Twitter account because attacks were distracting from a "respectful conversation."

The important thing is that Starbucks has finally united Americans in a conversation about how much they don't want to have a conversation about race—at least, not before they have their coffee.

As part of its continued assault on microbrew-swilling beer snobs, Budweiser headed to Brooklyn during Restaurant Week and orchestrated a little stunt to get people to actually drink Bud—and even rave about it.

Vayner Media planned the whole thing, inviting some hip young adults to a sneak peek at a new bar, weeks before its opening. There, they were invited to sample a smooth, crisp, golden lager, aged over beechwood, whose recipe hasn't changed for 139 years.

See how things went here:



New Yorkers are really getting punked lately—first the fake gun store, and now this, which some might feel is just as egregious. There are certainly some focus-group-like social dynamics at play here—i.e., if you hide your brand name, put it in a different context and tell people it's special, they'll parrot that sentiment back to you.

Still, setting it in Brooklyn gives it a nice cultural punch. And many of the reactions seem genuine—perhaps not surprisingly, as Bud isn't actually a bad beer (though perhaps I'm biased, having lived in St. Louis for five years).

Try this with Bud Light, though, and you'd get pelted with free-range eggs.

CREDITS
Client: Budweiser
Agency: Vayner Media