It's been a particularly strong week for commercials. But which one was the best?

Below, we've got five great contenders. Was it the latest Call of Duty spot starring Megan Fox and set to a Frank Sinatra soundtrack? Or maybe it was Skype's emotional pen-pal story, Lego's touching father-son tribute, Yorkshire tea's whimsical ditty or Marks & Spencer's lavish, star-studded Christmas ad.

Watch them all below, and vote for your favorite. We'll name a winner later this afternoon. And if your favorite's not listed here, let us know in the comments.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Skype and Pereira & O'Dell for winning this week's contest for best commercial with 37 percent of the vote.

The long wood table that 72andSunny partners John Boiler, Glenn Cole, Robert Nakata and Matt Jarvis share as a desk inside their Playa Vista, Calif., office says a lot about the agency and its recent success. You see, the desk is made of slats from the old floor of Pauley Pavilion, home court of UCLA’s basketball team, another perennial Southern California winner. This desk doesn’t symbolize winning, though—but rather, how you play the game.

“One of our big inspirations is John Wooden,” explains Jarvis, the agency’s chief strategy officer, referring to UCLA’s legendary head coach. “He never talked about winning or losing—he talked about performing at the highest level you’re capable of. And so, that has been a huge influence on how we look at channeling our competitive spirit in a way that’s productive, long term and sustainable.”

And though Wooden didn’t fixate on winning, he still won more than 80 percent of the games he coached—a fact that makes him an extraordinary and appropriate role model for an agency completing its most successful year ever. In 2013, 72andSunny not only expanded relationships with core clients Samsung and Target, but it also landed coveted slots on the creative rosters of world-class brands ESPN, Google and Starbucks. In addition, the shop dethroned JWT as lead global agency on Smirnoff, the biggest selling spirits brand in the world. In the process, U.S. revenue soared 81 percent to an estimated $85 million.

Creatively, the MDC Partners shop with the quirky name took big swings, particularly with Samsung and Activision Publishing, producing high-profile ads that blended celebrities with brands in unexpected ways. One long-form Samsung ad captured Jay-Z in the studio with producer Rick Rubin working on Jay-Z’s latest release, Magna Carta Holy Grail—of which 1 million Galaxy owners got an exclusive early download.

Another Samsung ad made great use of LeBron James in a warm family setting, with his wife using a Galaxy phone to film father and son at play. Finally, for Activision’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, 72andSunny partnered with Eminem, who supplied music for the game and a video that teased the November launch. Call of Duty even one-upped itself: The launch ad featured the music of Frank Sinatra and a four-second cameo from Megan Fox, who subsequently blew up as a global trending topic on Twitter twice within 24 hours of the ad’s release.

Clearly, the shop, which Adweek has crowned U.S. Agency of the Year, feels comfortable on a big stage, whether launching another $1 billion video game franchise or tweaking Apple in a series of Samsung ads that created a tech war reminiscent of the classic cola wars of the 1980s and ’90s. The only difference here is that Samsung actually overtook market leader Apple in global market share of cellphones. Pretty impressive for a nine-year-old agency with just three offices.

Then again, three of 72andSunny’s founders—CEO Boiler; CCO Cole; and design director Nakata—grew up at Wieden + Kennedy, a world-class agency known for taking big brands to even greater heights. Boiler and Cole credit their experience at Wieden for raising their game. “We play our best under the big lights, and you get used to it after a while, being raised the way we did, working on global Nike stuff and other big brands,” says Boiler, a former executive creative director who spent 11 years at Wieden. Cole, whose tenure at the shop lasted 10 years, adds, “I certainly can’t think of a better training ground, that’s for sure. And I can’t think of a better mentor than [co-founder] Dan [Wieden].”

Clients certainly notice that effect. “The thing I like best about them is they’re all in,” says Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “They throw themselves into the business and a partnership in a full-contact sort of way. They’re smart, they’re creative and all jacked-up to do something great. Our business requires that kind of engagement, and they’ve always been up to the challenge. I love that about them.”

Yes, these sons of Wieden certainly have flourished since opening 72andSunny (a reference to the ideal weather conditions for humans) in May 2004. Over time, the agency has earned a reputation for creating buzzworthy campaigns for challenger brands like Carl’s Jr. and K-Swiss.

Likewise, Samsung was an underdog when it hired 72andSunny in 2011 to advertise its mobile devices. The Korean company was producing phones with the latest technology, but to most consumers, the market was Apple and then everybody else. The agency changed that perception with a series of seven ads that ran from late 2011 into 2012, skewering the idea of Apple fans waiting for that company’s next big product when, with Samsung, “The next big thing is here.”

Todd Pendleton, CMO of Samung Mobile, credits 72andSunny with capturing the essence of the brand and constantly finding new ways to tell its story. “Together we deliver work we are extremely proud of,” he says.

Indeed, the shrewd “Next big thing” campaign has transformed the Samsung brand as well as the agency, fueling its meteoric growth and opening the door this year to additional golden opportunities.

First came ESPN, as the sports leader sought another creative option beyond longtime lead agency Wieden. The company needed to draw attention to WatchESPN, an app that enables fans to view live sports on mobile devices. The agency’s resulting campaign showed two animated characters, Steve and Vic, using the app to come through in the clutch for sports-hungry friends. The February launch was followed by a quick-cutting campaign for College GameDay that likened the hijinks of college football fans to the moves and catchphrases of show commentators.

The juicy supporting role on ESPN came without a pitch. The agency’s passionate approach to developing work has earned the respect of ESPN svp, marketing Aaron Taylor, who describes the shop as “honest and authentic. There’s no bullshit and no pretension. And it’s just a very open, collaborative and fun relationship.”

Around the time the ESPN relationship began, another exceptional opportunity arose—one that didn’t turn out the way the agency wanted but still represented a high-water mark of sorts. For the first time in 26 years, American Honda Motor Co. put its ad account into review, attracting submissions from about a dozen agencies. Honda executives visited seven shops in January before selecting four finalists: The Martin Agency, Mullen, longtime incumbent RPA and 72andSunny.

The agency was in the midst of onboarding more than 20 new staffers—fortuitous timing since it created the capacity needed to pursue the mega marketer, which spends more than $800 million in media annually. 72andSunny’s leaders loved the work they pitched, but the shop came up empty, as RPA kept Honda and Mullen won Acura.

Understandably, the troops were down when Boiler gathered staffers in a common area following the decision. The CEO’s message, however, was decidedly upbeat. “John did call it—without any irony—‘our finest hour,’ and I think everybody knew that was true,” Cole recalls. Boiler describes the intense pursuit of Honda—a game well played, if you will—as a galvanizing moment, noting how his agency “just lifted, performed and really outperformed what I had ever seen.”

Moreover, existing clients felt no drop-off in service or energy, testament to the shop’s “love the one you’re with” business mantra. “I realized, of course, that they were bringing in key clients, they had a healthy level of growth and the place was buzzing,” says Tim Ellis, Activision’s CMO. “But I never felt that they weren’t paying attention to us as a client. I never felt that they weren’t focused or weren’t thinking as deeply about the business as they did before.”

It helped that the shop turned down more pitch opportunities than it accepted, even though, by Jarvis’ estimation, 72andSunny received about a dozen calls from marketers each month. When Diageo put its global Smirnoff business into review, however, the agency jumped.

Here was a leading brand that the Los Angeles-area office could pitch jointly with its smaller operation in Amsterdam, and which represented a coveted global creative platform. Besides, Diageo marketing execs had already shown an interest in the agency, offering a digital project in 2012 that 72andSunny declined, given its preference to handle all facets of a brand’s marketing. Knowing that Smirnoff executives were attending the Cannes Lions festival in June, Boiler, Cole and company arranged a breakfast meeting with them at the Hotel Martinez.

Despite the Cannes sitdown, Smirnoff initially declined to add 72andSunny to its final list of agencies to consider. But three weeks later, it relented and invited the shop in—only on the same time schedule as everyone else. In just five weeks, 72andSunny challenged target audience assumptions in Smirnoff’s brand manifesto and won the account with work that “you had never seen before or thought of seeing,” recalls Matt Bruhn, Smirnoff’s global brand director. “It just felt new.” Some of the pitch concepts will be produced for a campaign expected to break in the first half of next year.

In contrast to the Smirnoff sprint, the courtship of Starbucks lasted several months. Like ESPN, the coffee empire wanted to add an agency for several assignments. But this time 72andSunny had competition, though it didn’t know who the other contenders were. Adding to the thrill of chasing a behemoth brand was the chance to meet the legendary founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, who participated in the initial and final meetings with agencies.

To prepare for the first meeting, Jarvis devoured both of Schultz’s books. It must have helped because 72andSunny advanced to the final round, which culminated in a 90-minute pitch inside a boardroom at Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters in October. After Boiler, Cole and Jarvis presented, Schultz did what few company leaders ever do in a pitch: He made a decision on the spot, interjecting, “OK, are we doing this?” Stunned at first, the agency’s leadership gathered themselves, stood up and proceeded to hoot.

And just how did they seal that coveted deal? An exuberant Cole raised his hand for a high-five but settled for a fist-bump with a hero instead. It was the most satisfying moment in an incredible year.

The Work
72andSunny is an agency that takes big swings, creating memorable ads that blend celebrities and brands in unexpected ways. Agency leaders, including CCO Glenn Cole and CEO John Boiler, attribute that success to their working at one of the most respected agencies ever: Wieden + Kennedy.

01. Samsung
A fly-on-the-wall look at Jay-Z and producer Rick Rubin honing the superstar’s latest album.



02. Activision
The teaser for Call of Duty: Ghosts features the music of Eminem.



03. Activision
The explosive launch ad turns Megan Fox into a trending topic on Twitter.



04. Samsung
LeBron James is seen as a doting father at home with his wife and kids.



05. Google
Its Chrome browser is “For Everyone,” even nettlesome cartoon characters like Stewie from Family Guy.

After 13 years with Arnold, the Legacy anti-tobacco group is moving on.

The longtime strategic and creative agency for Legacy failed to reach the final round of the organization's creative review, marking an end to the shop's tenure. Sources identified the finalists as BBDO, 72andSunny, 180LA, Anomaly and Droga5.

Annual media spending on the assignment is projected to rise to about $50 million next year. Pile + Co. in Boston is managing the search.

Arnold first started working for Legacy in 2000—in partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky—and became the sole creative shop in 2007. The agency's elimination from the review comes two months after Legacy named a new CEO: Robin Koval, the former CEO of Publicis Kaplan Thaler in New York.

Arnold global president Pam Hamlin referenced the leadership change in an internal email to agency staffers this morning.

"With a new CEO at Legacy, there seems to be a desire to have a new agency partner for the next chapter" of the "Truth" campaign, Hamlin wrote.

"We will be forever proud of what we've achieved," she added. "Every person who has contributed over the past 13 years can walk away knowing they made a difference in people's lives."

Legacy executives are expected to brief the remaining contenders in two weeks and a selection is expected in late January or early February.

As the creative review inches forward, a review of Legacy's media planning and buying responsibilities is complete. Three weeks ago, the group named WPP Group's MediaCom in New York to handle the business. The winner succeeds Omnicom Group's PHD.

We're deep into the third month of the 2014 Winter Olympics—that's how long they've been going on, right?—and the games' gazillion sponsors are still rolling out TV spots in hopes that at least some viewers are still glued to their screens.

One of the prevalent themes this year has been kids getting inspired by Olympic athletes, often with heartwarming results. (The other major trend: AMERICA.) To promote its Galaxy line, Samsung, "the official smartphone partner of the U.S. Olympic Team," jumps on the kid bandwagon with its own Sochi spot, "And … Go!"

The ad, from 72andSunny, follows a number of different storylines, most of which focus on how the Galaxy helps children play out their own Olympic dreams at home. For instance, some would-be bobsledders pretend they're racing down a mountain thanks to a sledding game on their Galaxy. But rather than just stick to a single idea, "And … Go!" also makes an attempt to appeal to those tricky millennials by throwing in a few scenes of tech-savvy office workers chattering about figure skating and Twitter followers. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't quite work.

"And … Go!" feels like two different spots, one of which is your typical, family-friendly fare (while not exactly brilliant, they at least work together as a coherent unit), while the other is a misguided attempt at being edgy (what seems to be an attempt at modern, witty dialogue comes off as a poor imitation of a Girls episode).

Inserted among those nice clips of cute kids, the adults' banter is just annoying. It's a shame the grownups had to ruin things.

CREDITS
Client: Samsung
Spot: "Winter Olympics Fever"
Chief Marketing Officer: Todd Pendleton
Senior Manager: Trevor Lambert
Production Consultant: Peter Friedman
Product Manager: Catherine Schneider
Strategy Marketing Manager: Joseph Fraler

Agency: 72andSunny
Chief Executive Officer, Partner: John Boiler
Executive Creative Directors, Partners: Jason Norcross, Bryan Rowles
Creative Director: Jason Ambrose
Writer: Jean Morrow
Designer: Geno Burmester
Managing Director: James Townsend
Group Brand Director: Judson Whigham
Senior Brand Manager: Mandy Hein
Brand Coordinators: Rochelle Farnum, Caetlyn Caldwell
Head of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Executive Producer: Nicole Haase
Film Producer: Esther Perls
Film Coordinator: Jamie Glass
Director of Business Affairs: Christine Claussen
Business Affairs Managers: La Tanya Ware, Audra Brown
Business Affairs Coordinator: Lexie Papilion

Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Chris Smith
Partners: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody
Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich
Bidding Producer: Shannon Jones
Head of Production: Andrew Colon
Producer: Youree Henley
Director of Photography: Bryan Newman
Production Manager: Rodney Anderson

Editorial: Arcade Edit
Executive Producer, Managing Partner: Damian Stevens
Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Post Producer: Kirsten Thon-Webb
Editors: Paul Martinez, Will Hasell
Assistants: Carmen Hu, Ben Foushee

Postproduction: Mission
Managing Director: Michael Pardee
Creative Director: Rob Trent
Chief Engineer: William Laverty
Lead Flame Artist: Joey Brattesani
Flame Artists: Michael Vaglienty, Chris Moore, Katrina Salicrup, Rob Winfield, Trent Shumway, Colleen Smith
Head of Computer Graphics: Piotr Karwas
Roto: Chris Cortese
Animation, Lighting: Rick Grandy
Graphics: Doug Chang
Bidding Producer: Marlo Baird-Kinsey
Visual Effects Producer: Ryan Meredith
Visual Effects Coordinator: Kristina Thoegersen

Telecene: The Mill
Executive Producer: LaRue Anderson
Colorist: Gregory Reese
Online Effects: The Mission VFX
Artist: Joey Brattesani
Managing Director: Michael Pardee

Audio Mix: Lime Studios
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke
Mixer: Loren Silber
Assistant Mixer: Patrick Navarre

Music: Elias
Executive Creative Director: Brent Nicole
Creative Director: Dave Gold
Composer: Mike Semple
Executive Producer: Ann Haugen
Producer: Katie Overcash

Samsung is keeping up with its favorite advertising pastime: beating up on Apple.

A new spot from 72andSunny takes aim at the iPad Air, poking fun at the grandiose Apple commercial, voiced by Bryan Cranston, that played hide the skinny tablet behind a pencil. In Samsung's cheekier version, the pencil isn't starting poems or finishing symphonies. It's cheating at golf, and getting stuck in ceilings. And hiding behind the iPad Air is an "even thinner" Galaxy tablet, with all kinds of extra whiz-bang features.

Given that Apple pretty much invented—and still leads—the category, it's a bit of an odd choice for Samsung to literally position its product in its rival's shadow. (As pretentious as Apple's tone can be, the brand does have some bragging rights as far as shaping culture goes.) Then again, Samsung's strategy seemed to work pretty well in the smartphone space, and the brand is gaining on Apple in tablet share—it's hard to argue with success, even if Samsung is starting to sound more smug itself.

A second new Samsung spot offers a side-by-side comparison of LeBron James on an iPhone and a Galaxy smartphone. That ad does a better job of staying out of its own way and getting to its point (simply put, that the Galaxy is way better). Still, it's hard to see a stylus pen without thinking of a Palm Pilot … and nothing says 2014 like Palm Pilot.

Earlier this month, Ogilvy & Mather Los Angeles cut 33 jobs, all but eliminating its ad agency presence (already drastically down from its 350 level in 2000). In December, DDB L.A. parted with longtime client Wells Fargo and relocated 30 agency employees to San Francisco. 

 

Some 20 years ago, network agency offices were the dominant players in Southern California. They’d land a local anchor client—usually a car, entertainment or technology account—and try to build from there, despite the dearth of big marketers out West.

But even as technology—driven from the West Coast—transforms the industry, many remaining L.A. network agencies still have more of an outpost mentality than an entrepreneurial reflex born of such change.

One reason is that West Coast network offices often conform to their headquarters’ more traditional operating model, relegating them to service entities. “If the West was a different country, these agencies would be developed within that culture and have a clearer business role within the network,” said Robert LePlae, former North American head of TBWA\Chiat\Day and McCann Erickson.

Not surprisingly, then, L.A.’s industry dynamism comes from hot independent shops like 72andSunny and content creation upstarts.

“To thrive in this market, you have to thrive at the intersection of marketing, technology and entertainment,” said John Boiler, founder, CEO, 72andSunny.

John Seifert, O&M's North American chairman, said Ogilvy L.A. will now focus on technological and social media PR work there. “We believe a strong presence is essential, but we don’t think anyone has nailed the model of how to take advantage of it yet,” Seifert said.

Aside from the vulnerability inherent in being dependent on a couple of clients, big-agency L.A. offices face other challenges. Prospective new clients can conflict with other existing ones in the network. Agencies don’t cultivate talent like they used to and may have fewer high-profile accounts to keep creatives happy. With technological advances and corporate pressure to trim overhead, the need for a network office is less critical.

“With business consolidation and the recession, clients are migrating to larger markets, and it’s harder to sustain smaller offices,” said Mark O’Brien, North American president of DDB. “L.A. boutiques have an advantage in that it is their primary office.”

Jay Chiat’s onetime boutique redefined L.A.’s ad industry in the ’80s. Network agencies with local roots, like TBWA\C\D, have done better by retaining their local identity. Deutsch’s L.A. office, founded before its acquisition by IPG, still has original partner and chief Mike Sheldon. Draftfcb has the advantage of Foote, Cone & Belding’s strong West Coast legacy born of Don Belding’s L.A. base.

“It’s the kiss of death if clients think you are a satellite office,” said Carter Murray, CEO at Draftfcb Worldwide. “The West Coast used to be all about S.F. Now that power base is shifting to L.A.”

Deutsch’s Sheldon says a certain amount of independence is necessary to succeed in that transformational L.A. “It comes down to thinking like an entrepreneur,” he said. “This city has always been a combination of relentlessness and effortlessness. People work really hard, but it’s difficult to be negative on a sunny day—and it’s always sunny.”

The Legacy Foundation has shifted its creative business to 72andSunny.

The shift came after a review in which there were four other finalists: Droga5, 180LA, Anomaly and BBDO. Annual media spending on the business is estimated at $50 million.

"Legacy is known for its brave campaigns and creative ambition,” said Glenn Cole, co-founder and chief creative officer of 72andSunny. “We are humbled and excited to bring truth to the next generation while collaborating with such passionate, talented people."   

In a statement, Legacy chief marketing officer Eric Asche said the challenge before 72andSunny was to build on the momentum of Legacy's "Truth" campaign. The agency, he added, "brought a transformative approach to the issue that we believe will impact youth culture from the inside."

72andSunny succeeds Arnold on the account. Arnold had work for the anti-tobacco foundation since 2000.

Media responsibilities were not in play and remain at WPP Group’s MediaCom in New York. Legacy shifted that account in December, also after a review. Omnicom Group’s PHD was the previous agency.

Pile + Co. in Boston managed both the media and creative searches, which began last year.

"The idea of 'Sport Doesn't Care' is that sport is the great leveler," says Carlo Cavallone, ecd at 72andSunny in Amsterdam, of his agency's hard-hitting 90-second spot for Paralympics sponsor Samsung.

"Abled and other-abled athletes are exactly the same when it comes to competing," he tells AdFreak. "Paralympic athletes don't go to the games because they want to make a statement about their disability; they go because they want to win a medal. This is often missed in the communication about this event."

The spot pulls no punches, showing athletes faced with fatigue, pain, stress, the elements and burnout as they struggle through the rigors of practice and preparation that they hope will carry them to glory at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, starting March 7 in Sochi, Russia.

"We wanted to make this point to invite more viewers to follow the event, present it as a true, intense, awesome sporting competition," says Cavallone. The agency worked with Smuggler director Henry-Alex Rubin (who lensed 72andSunny's previous Paralympics work and co-directed the documentary film Murderball) to achieve an edgy mood that Cavallone calls "real, raw and pitiless. The last thing we wanted to be was tear-jerking. There's nothing to cry about here."

The tone is similar to Procter & Gamble's "Tough Love" spot from Wieden + Kennedy, which unflinchingly focuses on youngsters participating in sports with the loving support of their moms. The Samsung ad is more low key and gritty, showing the adult athletes balancing grueling training regimens with child-rearing and other workaday responsibilities.

"It is incredible that in 2014 we still see campaigns where other-abled athletes are presented as objects of pity, on one end—or supermen, on the other," says Cavallone. "Isn't that incredibly patronizing? We think so. They are just athletes and they really don't care about their disability."

That point is driven home by the spot's conclusion as a voiceover says, "You know what my real problem is? I hate losing," and the end theme flashes on screen: "What's your problem? Sport doesn't care."

Bottom line: "They've got a lot of problems, the problems every athlete has," Cavallone says, "but their disability doesn't count as one."

The Webby Awards released its list of finalists for the 18th Annual Webby Awards today, and with nine nominations R/GA leads the pack in the Internet competition. Los Angeles-based 72andSunny (eight nominations), McCann in New York (six nominations) and Ogilvy & Mather in Paris (six nominations) weren’t too far behind and are all in consideration for the Webby Agency of the Year award.

Other agencies like Clemenger BBDO, Droga5, Mullen and Pereira & O’Dell each have four nominations and are also looking to win the Webby Agency of the Year honor.

Popular campaigns including “The Epic Split” by Forsman & Bodenfors, “Real Beauty Sketches” by Ogilvy & Mather in Brazil, “The Scarecrow” by Creative Artists Agency and “The Next Big Thing” by 72andSunny are also being recognized with nominations.

The Webby Awards have lauded branded content by Ogilvy & Mather (“A Boy and His Atom”), Barton F. Graf 9000 (“Climate Name Change”) and GREY (Canon’s “Project Imaginat10n”) as well.

The Webbys will announce award winners at a ceremony on May 19 which will be hosted by Patton Oswalt. 

If there's one age-old trick that's worked for mid-priced brands, it's poking fun at the pretentiousness of their costly competitors. Smirnoff's new campaign is no exception, though it somehow accomplishes the goal while still using some of TV's hottest talent.

Alison Brie of Community and Mad Men and Adam Scott of Parks and Recreation come together to host a party in this three-minute Smirnoff video—the first work for the brand from 72andSunny's offices in Amsterdam and New York. "The Party" has also been broken into 30-second clips that will be running as TV ads, along with a related spot dedicated to designated drivers.

With the tagline "Exclusively for everybody," Smirnoff spends most of the ad mocking all things VIP, while also taking quite a few digs at the mixology movement, represented by a Stockholm-educated neckbeard who curates his herbs and deconstructs martinis. 

"Smirnoff was created to be enjoyed by everyone, from czars and Hollywood stars to you and your friends in the bar down the street," U.S. brand director Dan Kleinman said in a statement. "We want to celebrate that we're there for good times, wherever and however they occur."

The full video has its comedic lulls, but Brie and Scott are right in their sweet spot as charmingly awkward friends, and there are a few fun cameos that will get a smile from fans of 30 Rock and a certain classic 1984 karate-themed movie.



"When I read the script for 'The Party,' I really liked the message and vibe that Smirnoff wanted to bring to the forefront," Brie said in the campaign announcement. "A good time is always more fun when everyone is included, and I think the playfulness of 'The Party' videos brings this to life."

The spots were directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who won an Emmy for their pilot of Arrested Development and later served as executive producers of NBC's Community. Most recently, they directed Marvel's newest superhero film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Smirnoff says its campaign will include "broadcast, out of home, digital and a national partnership with Spotify," along with a sweepstakes to win one of four "epic house parties."

Here's the "get home safely" clip from the campaign that's not included in the full video:

CREDITS
Client: Smirnoff
Agency: 72andSunny, Amsterdam and New York

Traditionally, a finalist in a creative review has had to beat just a couple of other shops to get the business. Recently, though, the odds of winning have gotten much longer.

The finalists that emerged in reviews for CVS, the Legacy anti-tobacco campaign and TripAdvisor faced four or five competitors. “That’s frustrating,” said a leader at one of six shops that pitched TripAdvisor, adding, “It’s hard to stay motivated.”

With as little as a 17 percent chance of winning, some may wonder why agencies in those reviews even bothered with the long and expensive pitch process. Then again, the market isn’t exactly awash with opportunities right now, and those three brands collectively spend about $200 million in media each year.

What’s making these shortlists so long? Agency leaders, search consultants and a marketing chief point to three factors: market conditions, the number of decision makers involved and when the brand last searched for a new agency.

First and foremost, it’s a buyer’s market. For agencies under pressure to grow, the prospects, again, are few. And if you’re a marketer, why not seek more ideas, even if it means a longer process? After all, the agencies foot the bill.

“The calculation is that the agency business is hurting, so they’ll get more participation,” explained Robert Birge, CMO at Kayak.com. “Clients often want to get a range of perspective,” added Ken Robinson of Ark Advisors in New York.

Of course, more ideas don’t necessarily yield better results, particularly with finalists working off the same brief. Meanwhile, a key goal of any review is to get a sense of what it’s like to work with an agency, which, naturally, is harder with a longer roster of finalists.

“I would imagine, for a client, it becomes very difficult to distinguish some of the agencies,” said Matt Weiss, CMO at Havas Worldwide.

Then, there’s the factor of how many decision makers. Generally, more “cooks” lead to more shops, as each marketing leader puts forth his or her individual preferences.

At TripAdvisor, for example, CMO Barbara Messing and vp of brand strategy Anne Bologna collectively have spent decades in advertising, and Bologna is a former agency exec. The point is, they know a lot of players, and in that context, a sextet of finalists doesn’t seem so outrageous.

Finally, those marketers that haven’t done a search in a while may want to meet with more shops to get a feel for the current environment.

Before hiring 72andSunny in February, Legacy had worked with Arnold for 13 years. Four other agencies pitched that business. Likewise, BBDO beat four other agencies to land CVS last month.

TripAdvisor appears headed to Johannes Leonardo, though a company rep said the search was still ongoing.

Whether the trend of longer shortlists will continue is debatable. What is clear is that as long as agencies outnumber marketers, marketers will have the leverage to ask for more.

Samsung Electronics has begun a global review of its creative, digital and media business, sources said.

The South Korean company spent a whopping $14 billion worldwide on advertising and marketing in 2013, three times more than it invested in 2012, according to a Cellular News report. That figure, however, goes well beyond media spending and may include, for example, the cost of marketing deals with telecommunications companies. In the U.S. alone, the brand's media spending approached $615 million last year, up from about $595 million in 2012 and $265 million in 2011, according to Kantar Media.

Of course, Samsung has a vast portfolio of products that range from cell phones and digital cameras to PCs, laptops, tablets, printers, televisions and appliances.

The creative business is currently split among agencies like Cheil, 72andSunny, Leo Burnett and McKinney, with digital handled by shops like R/GA and Razorfish. Starcom is the company’s global media partner.

In December, Samsung hired S.P. Kim as its new chief marketing officer. He was previously president, CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe and has been charged with reviewing all of the company's marketing and media relationships.

Sources said the search process, covering business in 65 countries, is focused on industry holding companies and agencies have just been contacted. The process is expected to last up to three months.

The consultancy R3 is managing the search, according to sources. Neither consultancy nor Samsung could immediately be reached.

For the second year in a row, the Facebook Studio Awards' best distinction goes to an agency-brand combo that used the social media platform as an anchor for a narrative ultimately shared via many channels.

Droga5 wins the 2014 Facebook Blue Award for its "If We Made It" initiative for client Newcastle Brown Ale, the Heineken-owned beer brand that employed social ads and content to help drive desktop and mobile views for its Super Bowl spot that it never made. (If you had an Internet pulse back in late January, you likely saw Newcastle's mock-teaser videos starring actress Anna Kendrick, animated cats and a Transformer-like robot.)

Mark D'Arcy, CCO at the Facebook Creative Shop, said the Newcastle effort stood out due to its "investment in storytelling and production." He said it built on the 2013 Blue Award triumph by Draftfcb/360i for Oreo's 100-day Daily Twist push, which was seeded on Facebook but spread across YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and other digital platforms.

"[Droga5] had a huge idea," D'Arcy said. "They had a multitude of different content pieces. They really built it up in a way that people are consuming content."

In other words, the brand team nailed short-form bits that grabbed people's attention and kept them tuned in for days on end. And they had some fun with unorthodox but clever copy, interesting animation and an appearance by the aforementioned Kendrick that drew millions of views across the Web.

"It drove enormous results and really impressed the [awards panel] jury," D'Arcy added.

Per the CCO's team, Newcastle's Facebook-based appeal drew 56.6 million impressions and 1.3 million consumer engagements, while growing brand awareness by 5 percent. The numbers underscore the Facebook Studio Awards' heightened emphasis on business results and mobile effectiveness this year for its awards, according to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based digital giant.

The third annual Facebook Studio Awards leaned on 14 notable jurors from around the ad industry (Grey, AKQA, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Y&R, JWT, etc.), while attracting entries from 80 different countries—21 nations competed for the first time. Its 36 finalists hailed from 17 countries. The top five nations submitting were the United States, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Turkey, in that order.

And the tech player is recognizing campaigns from various points around the globe with its announcement today. For instance, Colenso BBDO/Aim Proximity won best goodwill marketing campaign for an Amnesty International campaign titled "Trial by Timeline" in New Zealand.

Saatchi & Saatchi Norway killed it for Toyota ("Try My Hybrid"), while Leo Burnett Tailor Made orchestrated an inspiring plea ("Bentley Burial") for the Brazilian Association of Organ Transplants. Facebook gave both gold awards, which essentially equate to third and fourth place, respectively.

Silver award winners include: DDB Paris for Musée de la Grande Guerre (France); VML for Wendy's; Finch for Save Our Sons & Duchenne Foundation (Australia); Colenso/Aim Proximity for Samsung New Zealand; Clemenger BBDO for National Australia Bank; and Social Flyer for Sportchek (Canada).

The 2014 Facebook Studio Awards bronze winners are: Contexta for SO Appenzeller GmbH (Switzerland); Heimat Berlin for Hornbach Baumarkt AG; 72andSunny for CKE (Hardees/Carl's Jr. brands); FoxyMoron for Worldwide Media; and Rethink Communications for Playland.

See videos and other creative from the 2014 winners by clicking here.

On Thursday, Complex and a few other outlets found a SoundCloud file, with no context attached, of somebody who sounded an awful lot like Kevin Spacey delivering a bad-guy-sounding monologue about democracy—and not really being into that particular form of government so much. Complex originally hypothesized it was a viral campaign for House of Cards.

Variety's Marc Graser ran a spectral analysis on the sound file (wow, Marc) and found a picture of a soldier holding a gun, and made the leap that it was from a new Call of Duty ad.

Late Thursday night, Activision put the full trailer—by The Ant Farm—up on its website for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the latest game in the franchise. And sure enough, there's the digitized K-Space, telling the world he's sick of the Electoral College. (Really, though, this is like HoC Season 4, right? We're on our way there.)



There's also the video below, produced by 72andSunny for Activision and Vice, which holds its NewFront presentation on Friday, about the world of Blackwater/Xe Services-style mercenary organizations (euphemism of the day: private military contractors—please note that "private" can modify both "military" and "contractors," depending on how you choose to understand the phrase), much like the one Spacey heads in the new CoD. It's a news report ... except it's also an ad!



It's worth noting that this wasn't entirely how the CoD reveal was supposed to go down, though it is pretty close. With a few images and some hints here and there, Activision had prepared a countdown clock for Sunday, when the trailer was supposed to go live.

But tease enough reporters, and they start reporting: Gaming site Destructoid acquired a leaked copy of the trailer and posted it Thursday night, either blowing the lid off the reveal or moving it up slightly and creating a lot of buzz around a promotional video, depending on how you look at it.

Anyway, the whole thing is kind of brilliant: We bring to you highly sensitive information that is also a series of neato advertisements for a popular video game.

It's one of the oldest, hoariest tricks in the book: using snippets of dialogue from films and TV shows out of context, so the characters appear to be surprised or impressed by something you're promoting—that cable movie marathon this weekend, or next week's DVD release.

Cheesy as it is, it still works, particularly when it's done well. And this Samsung spot—from 72andSunny, director Rian Johnson and Oscar winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda—certainly has its moments.

The ad, which broke Sunday during AMC's Mad Men, NBC's Women of SNL, Fox's Family Guy and other shows, features iconic scenes from movies like Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Field of Dreams and more—with the characters appearing to marvel over the beauty of Samsung's Curved UHD TV.

And lest you worry that it's only good for watching the classics, the ad throws in a screaming sheep, streamed online, for good measure. (The animal emotes better than Kevin Costner.)

"The Samsung Curved TV is just a beautiful object," says Johnson. "Beyond the quality of the picture, the industrial design of the TV—with its subtle curve—is really stunning when you see it up close in person. We were tasked with finding ways to show off the curve, but you really just need to point a camera at the TV and it pops off the screen."

The campaign will also include print, digital and out-of-home components, including billboards in New York and Los Angeles that will show larger-than-life curved TVs.



CREDITS
Client: Samsung
Agency: 72andSunny
Director: Rian Johnson
DP: Claudio Miranda

Jason Collins. Michael Sam. Robbie Rogers. It's been an eventful couple of years for athletes coming out publicly in professional sports. And now, YouTube, a longtime supporter of gay rights, is celebrating diversity in sports with a campaign themed #ProudToPlay, set to run all through June, which is LGBT Pride Month and also will include the first two weeks of the World Cup in Brazil.

A star-studded anthem spot from 72andSunny features clips of everyone from Nelson Mandela to President Obama to Kobe Bryant talking about both the transcendent power of sports and the courage of gay athletes to be open in a sometimes hostile environment.

"We applaud the courage and openness of athletes at all levels who have come out and admire their teammates, friends, families, and supporters who are all proving that it doesn't matter who you are or who you love—what matters is that you put forward your best effort," YouTube says in a blog post.

"We stand with our community in the belief that youth everywhere should all have the same opportunities to grow up and pursue their dreams and passions, on or off the field."

CANNES, France—In one of the marketing industry's hottest categories, branded content and entertainment, three U.S. campaigns won gold Lions at Cannes here tonight, but the top honor went noticeably unawarded.

Chipotle and CAA Marketing topped the leaderboard with three gold Lions in Branded Content for The Scarecrow, a three-minute animated video that's been viewed on YouTube more than 12.8 million times. The video and the marketing effort around it have been big winners throughout this year's Cannes Lions, taking a Grand Prix in both PR and Cyber, along with multiple golds.

Read more about The Scarecrow in our article on its PR victories at Cannes. 

While Chipotle was the category's clear winner in terms of number of gold Lions, the judges declined to honor the burrito chain nor any other entrant with the Grand Prix, the festival's highest honor. The absence of a top honoree was no random quirk of scoring. Jury president Doug Scott, president of OgilvyEntertainment, told Adweek that the panel hopes to encourage bolder ideas in future years. 

"Despite the fact that we saw great submissions from clients and agencies around the world, and awarded 11 golds, none of the work exemplified all of the key elements of extraordinary branded content—originality, craft, integration, brand alignment and most importantly narrative," Scott said.

"It is my belief that we as the provocateurs of culture need to push harder with our creative tools and create stories that not only reflect the present but set the future."

Despite the general criticism and lack of a Grand Prix, the judges did honor quite a few campaigns with prestigious gold Lions. Beyond Chipotle, U.S. marketers earning gold Lions were:

• Honda and agency RPA, taking home two gold Lions in Branded Content for its U.S. campaign "Project Drive-In," an integrated campaign to raise awareness and support for America's drive-in theaters, which face closure due to the high cost of upgrades needed to meet Hollywood's transition to digital projection. 

• Samsung and 72andSunny for the "Oscars Selfie"

• Sony Music and Interlude N.Y. for "Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Stone"

The non-U.S. gold Lion winners were:

• Volkswagen Brazil / AlmapBBDO / Kombi Last Wishes - Brazil - 2 gold Lions
• Terre Des Hommes Netherlands / LEMZ Amsterdam / Sweetie - The Netherlands - gold Lion
• AMIA (Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina) / Ogilvy & Mather Argentina/ AMIA Booth - Argentina - gold Lion

The slide was always meant to be provocative, but it wasn't originally intended to be quite so vulgar.

"When I first saw it, it had 'F*** Briefs,' " recalled Nick Law, the global creative chief at R/GA. "And I said, 'Just spell it out.' "

The result was a slide that may have sparked more conversation among Cannes Lions attendees than any other, which is especially impressive considering that, beyond the R/GA logo, it had only two words.

Part of a presentation by R/GA London managing director James Temple and Beats by Dre marketing evp Omar Johnson, the slide was meant to be a rallying cry for agencies and clients to collaborate closely and constantly, rather than relying on the longstanding process of creating strategic marketing briefs.

Temple and Johnson described their teams' relationship as one so interwoven on a daily basis that the idea of creating a strategic brief in advance of a campaign seems archaic and pointlessly bureaucratic—a lingering relic of a bygone era.

Nick Law

"The reaction I expected," said Law, who designed the presentation, "was a lot of planners getting angry."

That's largely what came to pass. For days after the presentation at last week's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, everyone from strategy chiefs to social media managers to brand architects debated the slide and its larger message that strategic briefs have outlived their usefulness.

"When you had smaller teams, and before client organizations became so complicated, then a brief would be a significant moment in that process," Law told Adweek. "But the process wasn't as engorged as it's become, so it didn't represent all that numbing consensus that it does now."

In the days following R/GA's presentation with Beats, we tracked down several of the industry leaders at Cannes and asked what they thought of the merit and meaning behind "Fuck Briefs." Here are their responses:

Andrew Robertson, CEO, BBDO Worldwide:

Andrew Robertson  

"Precisely because you want to be able to move in real time, you have to have had a really crisp, well-thought-through, well-articulated strategy. If everything just becomes an impulse, instead of creating a stronger wall, you're just going to end up with a pile of rubble.

"You don't restart every time you start another piece of work, because you know what you're working with. You take Snickers—'You're not you when you're hungry' is so precisely defined, we could, right now, write a Snickers ad set at this table in this location, we could write a tweet, etc., because the idea is so crisply defined.

"When you've got that, then you don't have to keep starting over. Without that, you run the risk of just adding to noise."

José Mollá, founder and chief creative officer, La Comunidad:

José Mollá

"There are two kinds of briefs: the brief that inspires you, and the brief that is used in the corporate world as a safety net so you can say, 'Hey, it's in the brief.'

"I think people forget about the meaning of the word 'brief.' It's supposed to go to the essence of something, of the problem. And that's inspiring because it simplifies it. But that's not the case all the time. It's loaded with stuff.

"Sometimes you spend a month to get to the right brief and then you have 10 days left to come up with ideas, and you're like, 'Seriously?'"

Daz McColl, global chief brand strategy officer, SapientNitro:

Daz McColl

"I just thought they missed the point. If that's an issue for them, then they don't get it, because it should never be about the brief. Even though I'm the guy who helps frame it and make sure everyone does a brief, it's never about the brief. It's actually about the briefing. It's about the conversation.

"The way [R/GA and Beats] used it was to say, 'Hey, we don't have these things because they get in our way.' Whereas I would say, 'We have these things because they're a small tool, but it's the conversation that's most important.'

"To me, a brief should inspire, and it should actually speed the process up because a group of people have actually had meaningful discussions about how we're going to focus our efforts rather than being random."

Matt Jarvis, chief strategy officer, 72andSunny:

Matt Jarvis  

"You can't use speed as an excuse to not be strategic. That's letting yourself off the hook way too easily. You just have to be strategic faster.

"You have to be comfortable with the fact you can make a damn good decision very quickly with 80 percent of the data, or you can wait forever for 100 percent of the data. What you give up in getting that complete knowledge you lose in the fact that that complete knowledge might not be relevant anymore.

"At 72andSunny, our strategic function operates in real time. We have ongoing tracking of all our brands, all the analytics, everything that's going on. So no one ever has to hit pause and say, 'We need a data analysis.' We believe strongly in briefs. We just believe in doing them a lot faster."

Photos of Nick Law, Andrew Robertson and Matt Jarvis by Alfred Maskeroni. Presentation photo courtesy of Engin Gedick. 

Carl's Jr./Hardee's isn't a shy fast-food chain. But this time they've traded oiled-up models for innuendo. I won't spoil the new spots, but let's just say they aren't too subtle.

The approach shouldn't be too surprising, as this is the same restaurant chain that once asked people if they preferred A holes or B holes. I am curious as to how they expect people to eat these Cinnamon Pull-Aparts anywhere (wouldn't the icing drip?), but I will give them points for having both men and women allude to masturbation. Kudos?

Agency: 72andSunny. Via Adland.

The Barbarian Group in New York has added a chief financial officer and a head of account management, two new positions for the digital shop.

Alex White is the CFO while Sherri Chambers is head of account management. Both report to CEO Sophie Kelly, who took the reins last fall from co-founder Benjamin Palmer. 

"The combination of Alex's sharp financial acumen and Sherri's proven track record in client relations will complement the agency's executive team as we strengthen our focus on business development," said Kelly, in a statement. The new hires stem from business growth, according to a spokeswoman who declined to elaborate. 

White, who joined July 1, leads financial and strategic planning, managing and negotiating client contracts and implementing a new financial infrastructure. Chambers started today and will oversee the management of all accounts, with the aim expanding existing relationships.

Sherri Chambers (Photo: Barbarian Group)

The Barbarian Group employs 125 staffers, mostly in its New York office, and works with clients like Bloomberg, Cinder and Pepsi. 

White joins after having founded his own consultancy, Rawcliffe, last June where he advised U.K.-based digital startups. Before that, he worked as a consultant CFO for Loveurope. He also previously served as CFO for Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, Grey Global Group in the U.K. and McCann Erickson in London. 

As for Chambers, she most recently served as a global business director at JWT in New York. After landing a Google Enterprise assignment, JWT needed to ramp up its business side and reached within 72andSunny for Chambers where she worked as a group brand director. She also has worked at Strawberryfrog and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.